International
Peru’s Castillo shakes up police leadership after raid of govt headquarters
AFP
Leftist Peruvian President Pedro Castillo replaced the leadership of the country’s national police Saturday, two weeks after anticorruption officials searched government headquarters in search of the leader’s wanted sister-in-law.
During the raid earlier this month, which Castillo has called “illegal,” investigators looked for Yenifer Paredes, who is accused of taking part in a corruption ring which prosecutors allege is run by the president and his wife, Lilia Paredes.
Among others, Castillo is now seeking to dismiss the head of that operation, Harvey Colchado, whom he says violated presidential immunity.
Deputy Internal Order Minister Abel Gamarra Saturday the turnover is a “natural change” as part of regular personnel switch-ups at the Interior Ministry.
“Norms (on appointment requirements) have not been violated,” Gamarra told RPP radio, adding that the “police command is not being crushed.”
Nevertheless, right-wing opposition lawmaker Jorge Montoya, who sits on the Internal Order parliamentary committee, on Twitter called the changes an “indiscriminate abuse of authority” by Castillo.
According to human rights lawyer Carlos Rivera Paz, Castillo “seems to want a police force that accommodates his interests,” which could include obstructing any investigations of which he is a target.
The ordeal is the second scandal Castillo has faced in regards to personnel changes at the top of Peru’s security forces.
In January, he was forced to name a new cabinet head after controversy over promotions in the Peruvian National Police (PNP) and the armed forces.
Those promotions are under investigation by prosecutors, which alleges that Castillo and former secretary of the presidency Bruno Pacheco engaged in influence peddling.
Castillo is currently the subject of an unprecedented six investigations for offenses including organized crime, obstruction of justice and plagiarism, though he carries presidential immunity through the end of his term in July 2026.
And Castillo’s family also faces legal trouble — his daughter risks three years of preliminary detention for her role in the corruption plot, while his wife could be banned from leaving the country.
Castillo, who has faced two impeachment attempts in his 13 months in office and currently has a disapproval rate around 70 percent; he has denied involvement in any crimes and claims he is a victim of a campaign trying to remove him from power.
International
Trump says Venezuela is ‘feeling the heat’ amid U.S. anti-drug operations in the Caribbean
President Donald Trump said he believes Venezuela is “feeling the heat” as his administration intensifies its military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean — operations that have resulted in the destruction of at least two boats over the past week.
While Trump has stated that the missions aim to curb the flow of narcotics into the United States, analysts and several lawmakers argue that the operations have a broader political goal: to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down.
“The Trump administration is likely trying to force Maduro to voluntarily relinquish power through a combination of diplomatic moves and now military action — or the threat of it,” said Brandon Buck, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, in an email to Fox News Digital. “Whether that amounts to ‘regime change’ or something else is largely a matter of semantics.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, describing him instead as the leader of a drug cartel. In August, Washington raised its bounty for information leading to Maduro’s capture to $50 million, calling him “one of the world’s most notorious drug traffickers.”
So far, U.S. officials have remained tight-lipped when questioned about potential plans targeting Maduro. On Wednesday, Trump declined to say whether the CIA had the authority to “eliminate” the Venezuelan leader.
International
U.S.-Colombia Tensions Escalate as Trump Ends Subsidies, Criticizes Petro
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, of tolerating drug production and announced that the United States will end “large-scale payments and subsidies” to the South American nation.
The relationship between the two historically allied countries has reached a low point with the arrival of Trump in office and Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president in history, assuming power.
“As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment or subsidies, will no longer be made,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that Petro is “strongly encouraging mass drug production.”
In response, Petro took to X (formerly Twitter), claiming that the U.S. president is “misled” by his advisors. He added, “I recommend Trump carefully read about Colombia and distinguish where the drug traffickers are and where the Democrats are.”
Last month, Washington revoked Colombia’s status as a key ally in the fight against narcotrafficking, a certification that had previously enabled the country to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid.
International
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado declared on Friday that Venezuela is facing “the most decisive moment in its contemporary history” and that the country is “closer than ever to regaining freedom and democracy.”
Her remarks were delivered via video message during the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Machado emphasized that the situation in Venezuela remains “extremely serious” due to censorship and repression imposed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, particularly in a global context where “society is built on information.”
She warned that authoritarian governments manipulate public opinion through “psychological warfare” and disinformation, while shutting down media outlets and persecuting journalists.
“The only way to topple these regimes is through the constant, relentless, and unrestricted preaching of the truth. It is absolutely true that the truth will set us free,” she stated.
Trump says Venezuela is ‘feeling the heat’ amid U.S. anti-drug operations in the Caribbean
U.S.-Colombia Tensions Escalate as Trump Ends Subsidies, Criticizes Petro
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
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