International

Rescuers find three bodies after Peru landslide

AFP

Rescuers digging through a landslide in northern Peru said Wednesday they had recovered three dead bodies, including a one-month-old baby.

A landslide Tuesday in the town of Retamas, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Lima, buried several homes and trapped at least eight people, five of whom are still missing, authorities said.

“We were able to recover the body of a third person, a 62-year-old man,” Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Valderrama, the village’s chief of police, told AFP.

Hours earlier emergency crews recovered the bodies of the baby girl and an adult male who was likely trying to protect the infant when the landslide buried them both, a police spokesman said.

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All three victims were found under the rubble of a market.

Defense Minister Jose Gavidia said the eight missing include three children.

On Tuesday, authorities had said there were 15 people missing from the mining village of around 5,000.

Gavidia also corrected a claim from Tuesday by La Libertad governor Manuel Llempen, who said at least 60 homes were buried, lowering that figure to “about seven.”

“I managed to get out in time (but) my house was buried. The landslide has left us with nothing,” said Ledy Leiva, who escaped with five family members.

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Rescue efforts went on all night into Wednesday with only a couple hours’ break. But the work was suspended late Wednesday due to heavy rain in the area.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo arrived at the village early Wednesday to supervise rescue efforts.

“In Peru we lack a risk map, there are people who dare to put a roof over a river or drill a hole in a hill to make homes,” said Castillo, referring to poor people with no other option than to build makeshift homes in precarious places.

In 2009, at least 13 people were killed by another landslide in Retamas, which is considered a high-risk area.

Landslides are frequent in the wet summers of the Peruvian Andes.

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Tuesday’s landslide is believed to have been caused by heavy recent rainfall.

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.