Sin categoría
Protesters against Panama’s soaring costs end roadblocks: authorities
AFP
Protesters angry at the high cost of living in Panama ended their three-week blockade of major roads on Tuesday, authorities said, as negotiations between the government and groups behind the demonstrations continued.
Security minister Juan Manuel Pino told AFP in a short message that the roads were “all open” for the first time since the protests began.
Earlier, police had announced on Twitter that “the roads that had been kept closed by protests have been cleared,” and traffic was flowing freely.
Panama has been gripped by protests over the cost of living and corruption in the worst social crisis since the American invasion of the country in 1989.
Since the unrest began, protesters have blocked various roads, most notably the Pan-American Highway, which connects Panama with Costa Rica and is the country’s main route for trade and the transport of goods.
The severing of the routes had led to shortages of food and fuel in several cities.
On Tuesday, leaders of the indigenous region of Ngabe-Bugle in the east of the country announced that they would stop blocking the Pan-American Highway in the province of Chiriqui, the source of most of the fresh food consumed in the country.
The president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, had reiterated on Tuesday his call for protesters to reopen the roads.
“The protests (and) closures of streets and highways affect us all, putting at risk the health and lives of Panamanians, and raising the cost of food and threatening employment,” he said.
While the government “respects the right to protest,” Cortizo said it should be done “without disruptions to social order, violations of the rights of third parties, and much less acts of vandalism.”
The opening of the roads came amid talks that have been taking place since Thursday in Penonome, 150 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the capital, between the government and representatives of the organizations behind the protests.
So far, the government has agreed to reduce the cost of 72 basic goods and to lower the price of fuel from $5.20 per gallon (3.78 liters) to $3.25.
However, the groups have demanded the price of gasoline be cut to $3, along with reductions to the cost of medicines and electricity, improvements to public health and education, and measures to fight corruption.
Sin categoría
Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, which denounced the legal move on Tuesday as an attempt to silence the press.
In this new stage of his presidency, the 79-year-old Republican leader has escalated his long-standing hostility toward traditional media, repeatedly attacking critical journalists, limiting their access, or taking them to court.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, seeks $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation “in an amount to be determined at trial.”
The New York Times had reported last week that Trump threatened legal action over articles concerning a birthday letter allegedly sent by him to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The letter featured a typed message inside the outline of a nude woman. Trump denies that the accompanying signature is his.
“For too long, The New York Times has been allowed to lie, defame, and slander me freely — and that ends NOW!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Sin categoría
Maduro warns Venezuela would enter armed struggle if attacked by foreign forces
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated on Friday that if his country were attacked, it would enter a phase of armed struggle, amid his claims of “threats” from the United States, which is conducting a military deployment in Caribbean waters near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is currently in the non-armed phase, which he described as political, communicational, and institutional, but added that if the country were somehow aggressed, it would move to a planned, organized armed struggle involving the entire population, whether the threat is local, regional, or national.
“We would enter a stage of armed struggle, in defense of peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and our people,” Maduro said during an event activating citizen militias, broadcast on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He also noted that Venezuela is currently in a phase of readiness and preparation to defend the country and will proceed to the deployment of defensive capacities, including training and retraining of the entire Venezuelan population.
Maduro described the Venezuelan people as pacifist yet warrior-like, asserting that “no one will enslave us, neither today nor ever.”
Sin categoría
USCIS gains law enforcement powers: Agents now authorized to investigate and arrest immigration violators
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), traditionally responsible for handling naturalizations, visas, residence permits, and work authorizations, is now expanding its role to include law enforcement powers, according to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the new directive, specially designated USCIS agents are now authorized to investigate, arrest, and bring to justice individuals who violate U.S. immigration laws. Previously, USCIS primarily managed administrative and bureaucratic processes, while enforcement responsibilities were handled by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Illegal immigration has been a central issue under President Donald Trump’s administration, with DHS reporting that over 300,000 migrants have been arrested in the first six months of his presidency. However, the number of people who have crossed U.S. borders illegally in recent years remains controversial, with experts estimating between 8 to 10 million individuals.
The policy shift also comes amid heightened legal battles over immigration enforcement. Recently, a federal judge blocked the deportation of minors to Guatemala, who were moments away from boarding a flight. Trump’s aggressive measures, including large-scale raids in cities like Los Angeles, have faced multiple judicial challenges, some upheld and others overturned at various federal levels, including the Supreme Court.
According to the DHS statement, the expanded authority allows USCIS to “manage investigations from start to finish rather than referring cases to ICE,” aiming to reduce backlogs and combat fraud within the immigration system.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow will have the power to appoint and train special agents under the order signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ensuring that the agency can effectively execute its newly granted enforcement responsibilities.
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