International
115,000 Ukrainians cross border into Poland: official
AFP
Poland’s Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker Saturday said 115,000 people had crossed the border into Poland from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion started this week.
Just four hours earlier he had put the number at 100,000 arrivals, showing just how quickly the refugees are flowing into their EU neighbour.
“At this moment, there are 115,000 people who have crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border since the war erupted” on Thursday, Szefernaker told reporters in the border village of Dorohusk, eastern Poland.
The head of the Polish border guard, Tomasz Praga, said nearly 50,000 people had crossed into Poland from Ukraine on Friday alone.
Poland, which was already home to an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians before Russia’s invasion and which has expressed steadfast support for Ukraine, has so far seen the bulk of those fleeing Ukraine cross into its territory.
“More than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have now crossed into neighbouring countries, half of them to Poland, and many to Hungary, Moldova, Romania and beyond,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi tweeted on Saturday.
“Displacement in Ukraine is also growing but the military situation makes it difficult to estimate numbers and provide aid,” he added.
Szefernaker said 90 percent of the refugees entering Poland have places to go, such as the homes of friends or family, but the remainder are seeking help at nine reception centres set up along the border.
The centres offer meals, medical care and a place to rest, as well as any necessary information.
Those with nowhere to go are then taken by bus to various accommodation options prepared in advance.
Separately, Poland’s Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk announced Saturday that “for the next four weeks, Ukrainian citizens will be able to ride trains operated by (Polish rail service) PKP Intercity free of charge.”
The EU member of 38 million people has also readied an ambulance train in the border city of Przemysl.
Polish government official Michal Dworczyk said that, if and when necessary, the train would travel to the Ukrainian border city of Mostyska, pick up the wounded and transport them to Warsaw for hospital treatment.
“I hope that we won’t have to use these railroad cars,” he told reporters.
He added that Poland is doing everything it can to help its neighbour under attack.
“Over the last few days we’ve seen an incredible burst of solidarity among Poles,” he said.
“I have yet to come across someone who didn’t want to somehow help.”
International
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. administration labeled him as the leader of the “Cartel of the Suns” and authorized the Pentagon to use military force against drug cartels, which could lead to an intervention on Venezuelan soil to combat these criminal groups. Petro stated that any military operation without the approval of Colombia or Venezuela would represent an “aggression.”
Petro responded over the weekend following reports on Friday from U.S. media about President Donald Trump’s order to confront designated global terrorist organizations such as the Cartel of the Suns, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Tren de Aragua, including operations on foreign soil. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $25 million to $50 million.
“I publicly convey my order given as commander of the Colombian armed forces. Colombia and Venezuela are one people, one flag, one history. Any military operation without the approval of the brother countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean. It is fundamentally contradictory to our principle of freedom. ‘Freedom or death,’ Bolívar shouted, and the people revolted,” Petro posted on his social media, clearly expressing his disagreement with potential U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on The World Over program on Friday that controlling these terrorist groups is decisive. He added that, for the U.S., these gangs are no longer just local street gangs but well-organized criminal enterprises spreading from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
“We cannot continue treating these guys as local street gangs. They have weapons like terrorists, in some cases they have armies. They control territories in many cases. These cartels extend from Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, which is not a legitimate government,” Rubio told the audience.
International
U.S. offers $5 million reward for arrest of haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier
The United States announced on Tuesday a $5 million reward for the arrest of Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, accused of violating U.S. sanctions. Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, is engulfed in a political crisis and a wave of armed gang violence, which an international security mission led by Kenya is trying to end.
Cherizier, 48, and Bazile Richardson have been formally charged with attempting to transfer funds from the United States to Haiti to finance gang activities, the Department of Justice reported.
“There is a good reason to offer a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest,” said federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro at a press conference.
“He is a gang leader responsible for atrocious human rights violations, including violence against U.S. citizens in Haiti,” she added.
Cherizier has been subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2020 and UN sanctions since 2022.
International
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to meet Guatemalan leader Bernardo Arévalo next friday
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday that she will hold her first bilateral meeting with her Guatemalan counterpart, Bernardo Arévalo, next Friday.
During her press conference at the National Palace, Sheinbaum detailed that the August 15 meeting will include a brief visit to Guatemala, followed by a trilateral meeting with Belize’s Prime Minister, Juan Antonio Briceño, in Calakmul, Campeche, in southeastern Mexico.
Sheinbaum explained that the meeting was proposed by Arévalo during a phone call last Friday, in which the Guatemalan president invited her to visit Guatemala.
The agenda will begin on Thursday night when Sheinbaum travels to Chetumal to lead her morning press conference on Friday.
Afterwards, she will travel to Guatemala for the bilateral meeting with Arévalo, then return to Calakmul to meet Belize’s Prime Minister Briceño for a trilateral meeting with Arévalo.
Later, Sheinbaum will hold a bilateral meeting with the Belizean leader.
The president announced that many agreements will be announced during the meetings with the southern border countries but avoided providing details to keep them as a surprise for that day.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
U.S. offers $5 million reward for arrest of haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier
Honduras condemns U.S. reward against Nicolás Maduro as baseless attacks
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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