International

Honduras extradites alleged drug matriarch to the US

AFP

Honduras on Tuesday extradited Herlinda Bobadilla, a 61-year-old alleged gang leader arrested in a shootout that killed one of her sons, to the United States on drug charges.

A US indictment alleges Bobadilla, also known as Chinda, and two of her sons led the “Los Montes” drug cartel — one of the largest in Honduras.

Los Montes is “responsible for the distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States valued at millions of US dollars,” the indictment said.

The clan matriarch was captured with three other people in the mountainous department of Colon in the country’s northeast in May.

One of her sons, Tito, was killed in a shootout. Another fled and is still on the run.

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The trio had allegedly taken control of Los Montes after Bobadilla’s other son, Noe Montes-Bobadilla, was arrested and extradited to the United States in 2017 and subsequently sentenced to 37 years in jail for drug trafficking.

In handcuffs and surrounded by members of the special forces, Bobadilla was taken Tuesday to the air force base at Toncontin near the capital Tegucigalpa.

She was handed over to six members of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and escorted onto a plane that took off for the United States.

She will be tried in the Eastern District Court of Virginia on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine to be “unlawfully imported into the United States,” according to the indictment.

Honduras is a major transit country for Colombian cocaine and other narcotics headed mainly to the United States.

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The US had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of Bobadilla and her sons.

In April, former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was also extradited to the United States on drug charges just over a year after his brother Tony was sentenced in New York to life in prison.

In May, Honduran former police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla was also sent to the United States to stand trial for allegedly supervising drug trafficking operations on behalf of his boss, Hernandez.

International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.

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International

U.S. lowers travel advisory for much of Venezuela but keeps high-risk zones under warning

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that it has lowered its travel advisory for much of Venezuela to Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”), reflecting what it described as improved security conditions in parts of the country.

However, the agency will maintain the highest Level 4 warning (“Do Not Travel”) for several regions, including the states of Táchira, Amazonas, Apure, Aragua and Guárico, as well as rural areas of Bolívar, citing ongoing risks such as crime, kidnapping and terrorism.

The updated advisory marks a shift from December, when the United States raised the alert for Venezuela to Level 4 nationwide, warning of severe security threats.

Despite the partial downgrade, U.S. authorities continue to urge caution, emphasizing that conditions remain volatile in certain areas and that travelers should carefully assess risks before planning any trips to the country.

International

EU lawmakers move to ban AI tools that generate non-consensual nude images

Members of the European Parliament are pushing to ban across the bloc artificial intelligence services that allow users to digitally “undress” people without their consent.

The proposal, adopted on Wednesday at committee level, aims to prohibit applications that generate non-consensual explicit images. Irish lawmaker Michael McNamara, one of the sponsors, said the measure seeks to stop tools that “have caused significant harm for the benefit of a few.”

Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory, especially for women and children in Europe.”

The amendment, part of broader EU legislation on artificial intelligence, was approved by the Parliament’s civil liberties and internal market committees. It specifically targets systems that use AI to create or manipulate sexually explicit or intimate images resembling identifiable individuals without their consent.

The proposal will be put to a full vote in the European Parliament on March 26. If adopted, lawmakers and European Union member states will need to agree on a final version before it can take effect.

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Separately, representatives of the 27 EU countries recently backed a Franco-Spanish amendment seeking to ban AI services used to generate non-consensual sexual images or child sexual abuse material.

The initiative follows controversy surrounding a feature introduced in Grok, developed by xAI, which allowed users to create simulated nude images from real photos. The tool sparked widespread criticism and prompted an EU investigation.

In response, xAI restricted image generation features in mid-January to paying subscribers and stated it blocks the creation of sexualized images in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.