International
Haiti ‘formally’ seeks international assistance with security crisis
AFP
Haiti said Friday it had “formally” sought international assistance with a worsening security situation “which our national police cannot deal with.”
Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, told AFP in Lima that a request for “foreign assistance” was made on Thursday.
“Now we are waiting on the international community and the international partners to decide what kind of form that assistance will be,” he said on the sidelines of the general assembly meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS).
What it will not be, said Edmond, is a “foreign force or foreign occupation” of Haiti.
Rather, “it’s a call to solidarity” in the face of a “human tragedy,” the ambassador added.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is facing an acute political, economic and security crisis.
Protests and looting have rocked the already unstable country since September 11, when Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced a fuel price hike.
To add to the woes, “you have one of the most notorious armed gangs… still keeping the fuel ports under their grip. It has been more than 20 days,” said Edmond, with hospitals and schools crippled.
“It is a humanitarian issue. There is a necessity (for) the international community to come and assist,” the ambassador said.
On Thursday, the United Nations warned of a possible explosion of cholera cases in Haiti.
And it made an appeal for the creation of a humanitarian corridor to allow for the release of fuel at the Varreux fuel terminal, the country’s largest, under the control of powerful armed gangs.
OAS secretary general Luis Almagro tweeted on Thursday he had advised Haiti to “seek urgent assistance from the international community “to help resolve security crises and determine characteristics of the international security force.”
And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also attended the OAS meeting, said on Twitter he had met his Haitian counterpart Jean Victor Geneus and assured him “we remain committed to helping Haiti restore security and democratic order so that all Haitians can have a brighter future.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on the same forum Friday that “the solution to this crisis must be Haitian-led.”
“We also called for restoring the supply of fuel from the Varreux terminal and providing robust security assistance to Haiti. We will work together to help restore peace and stability in Haiti,” she tweeted
Haiti, which shares the mountainous Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, has a population of more than 11 million.
In July, the UN Security Council agreed to ask member states to ban the transfer of small arms to Haiti but stopped short of a full embargo requested by China.
International
Uruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support
The Uruguayan Lower House voted Wednesday to legalize euthanasia, following the examples of Cuba, Colombia, and Ecuador, marking a significant social shift in a predominantly Catholic region.
The bill to decriminalize assisted death was approved 64-35 in the 99-seat Chamber of Representatives after an emotional night-long debate. The legislation will now move to the Senate, which is expected to pass it into law before the end of the year.
Under the new law, mentally competent adults suffering from terminal or incurable illnesses will be able to request euthanasia.
A key amendment appeared to help convince lawmakers who opposed the original 2022 proposal, requiring that a medical board review a case if the two attending doctors disagree.
Representative Luis Gallo, who opened the debate, recalled patients whose struggles inspired the bill.
“Let us not forget that the request is strictly personal: it respects the patient’s free and individual will, without interference, because it concerns their life, their suffering, and their decision not to continue living,” said Gallo of the center-left governing coalition, Frente Amplio.
Public opinion polls indicate broad support for euthanasia, from President Yamandú Orsi downward. Uruguay has also been a pioneer in legalizing same-sex marriage, abortion, and cannabis use.
International
Trump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
The Pentagon is considering creating a task force of hundreds of soldiers to be rapidly deployed anywhere in the country in the event of domestic civil unrest, according to The Washington Post, which reviewed Defense Department documents on Tuesday.
The proposed unit, tentatively named the “Rapid Civil Disturbance Response Force,” would consist of 600 soldiers on “constant alert”, capable of responding to incidents within just one hour.
According to the report, the force would be split into two equally sized units: one stationed at a military base in Alabama in the eastern U.S., and the other in Arizona in the west.
Internal documents indicate that if approved, the initiative could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly if troops are kept on 24-hour readiness and transported via military aircraft.
While the National Guard already maintains a rapid response unit, this new military formation would go further, potentially moving soldiers between states whenever necessary.
The plans remain preliminary, with funding potentially starting in fiscal year 2027 at the earliest.
This report emerges just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard for the second time since returning to the White House in January. On Monday, Trump instructed this volunteer force, which supports the Army and Air Force in emergencies, to move to Washington D.C. to combat crime and remove homeless individuals from the streets—a third deployment to the capital.
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.
Uruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support
Trump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
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