International
Neighbors, rescuers search for 52 missing after Venezuela landslide
AFP | Margioni Bermúdez
Neighbors helped rescue teams comb through mud and debris Monday for signs of 52 people missing after a landslide swept through a town in Venezuela, killing at least 25.
Another 13 people were killed in heavy rains elsewhere in the South American country, while four died in Central America after tropical storm Julia dumped torrential rain on El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Residents of Las Tejerias some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Caracas, used picks, shovels and any tools they could find to dig through a thick bank of mud deposited on the town Saturday.
“It came too fast, we had no time,” resident Carlos Camejo, 60, said of the mudslide.
“The town is lost, Las Tejerias is lost,” added Carmen Melendez, 55, desperately waiting for news on the whereabouts of a missing relative.
Some 1,000 rescuers were involved in the effort, Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos told AFP, with the military also deployed.
Authorities erected shelters for the displaced in Maracay, capital of the affected Aragua province.
The efforts had continued by lamplight overnight, with dogs and drones.
“We are working to find the people who are still missing, that is our main task right now,” Ceballos posted on social media late Sunday.
President Nicolas Maduro decreed three days of national mourning after the biggest river flood in the area in 30 years.
A torrent of mud several meters deep razed houses and businesses in Las Tejerias, a town of 54,000 people nestled in the mountains.
The deluge swept away cars, homes and telephone poles and felled large trees that were dragged by mud through the streets of the town left without electricity.
By the last count, Ceballos put the toll at 25 dead and 52 missing.
According to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, five streams in the region overflowed after “as much rain fell in eight hours as normally falls in a month,” blaming the “climate crisis.”
Crews of workers with machinery were clearing the debris-covered roads while residents battled to clean out meters of mud dumped inside their homes.
Las Tejerias resident Jose Santiago spent 40 minutes clinging to an antenna while the flood dragged along several houses. His home was left standing but a torrent of mud swept through it.
“The river caught me and I couldn’t find anything to do besides climb a roof and grab onto an antenna,” the 65-year-old recounted.
‘Life-threatening’
Further afield, four people died in Honduras and El Salvador when tropical storm Julia raced across Central America.
El Salvador police said on Twitter that “at least two people died” after a house collapsed in the town of Guatajiagua, some 150 kilometers east of San Salvador.
Wilmer Wood, mayor of the eastern Honduran town of Brus Laguna, said two people died after Julia capsized a boat.
A third person is missing, said Wood.
The storm barelled into Nicaragua early Sunday as a hurricane packing sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour, before weakening to tropical storm status but still inundating parts of the country with heavy rains that caused flooding.
By Monday morning, Julia’s eye was moving northwestward along the El Salvadoran and then Guatemalan coasts, according to the US National Hurricane Center which warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides” across Central America and Southern Mexico.
The system was forecast to weaken to a tropical depression later Monday.
In Venezuela, the Tigres de Aragua and Caracas Lions baseball teams availed their stadiums as collection points for donations, and the Caracas metro said it too would raise collections from the public for those affected.
The crisis-hit country is no stranger to seasonal storms, but this was the worst so far this year following historic rain levels that caused dozens of deaths in recent months.
In 1999, about 10,000 people died in a massive landslide in the northern state of Vargas.
-
Residents walk among the rubble of destroyed houses washed away by a landslide during heavy rains in Las Tejerias, Aragua state, Venezuela, on October 9, 2022. - A landslide in central Venezuela left at least 22 people dead and more than 50 missing after heavy rains caused a river to overflow, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Sunday. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)
-
Residents walk among the rubble of destroyed houses washed away by a landslide during heavy rains in Las Tejerias, Aragua state, Venezuela, on October 9, 2022. - A landslide in central Venezuela left at least 22 people dead and more than 50 missing after heavy rains caused a river to overflow, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Sunday. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)
-
International
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubiocould potentially form a Republican presidential ticket for the 2028 elections.
Speaking during a dinner with law enforcement officials as part of National Police Week, Trump publicly praised both officials and said they could make “an ideal team” for the next presidential race.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” Trump asked attendees before adding that the pair “sound like a good combination.”
The president highlighted his vice president’s performance in office, stating that their current partnership has been highly effective. “JD is perfect, that has been a perfect formula,” Trump told reporters later.
He further suggested that a Vance-Rubio pairing could represent a strong presidential and vice-presidential ticket, although he stopped short of offering any formal endorsement.
“I think it sounds like a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate,” he said, while clarifying that his remarks should not be interpreted as an official backing of any future campaign.
So far, neither Vance nor Rubio has publicly confirmed any intention to run in the 2028 presidential election.
Rubio previously sought the Republican nomination in 2016 but withdrew after losing the primary race to Trump. Later, in a December 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, he said he would be among the first to support Vance if he decided to run for the White House.
Vance, meanwhile, has recently dismissed speculation of any political rivalry with Rubio amid growing discussion about potential future GOP leadership.
International
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating Victory Day Truce
Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of violating a Victory Day truce that was reportedly agreed with mediation from the United States, claiming that Ukrainian forces carried out attacks on Russian territory as well as on the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Despite the declared ceasefire, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Ukrainian forces attacked Russian military positions using attack drones and artillery.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces made twelve attempts to advance toward Russian-held positions across several sectors of the front line.
It also alleged that Ukrainian strikes targeted civilian infrastructure in Crimea, several border regions, the Caucasus, and other areas including Moscow and Perm in the Ural region.
The Defense Ministry estimated around 8,900 violations of the ceasefire in total, including more than 7,000 drone attacks and over 1,000 strikes involving tanks, artillery, multiple rocket launch systems, and mortars since the truce came into effect at midnight.
Russia said its forces responded “symmetrically” to what it described as violations by Ukrainian troops.
Earlier, the Kremlin denied claims that Ukraine attempted to sabotage a military parade in Red Square marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“No attempts were made. Everything went well,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told local media.
International
Trump Says U.S.-Iran Talks Progressing, Signals Possible Deal on Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington is holding “very good” talks with Iran and stated that there is a strong possibility of reaching an agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’ve had very good conversations over the last 44 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll reach an agreement,” Trump said during an event held in the Oval Office at the White House.
The president’s remarks came just hours after he announced a temporary suspension of the military operation aimed at escorting vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf due to Iran’s blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Trump explained that the pause in operations is intended to facilitate diplomatic negotiations between both sides and prevent further military escalation in the region.
“We’re in good shape, and right now things are going well. Now we have to achieve what we need to achieve. If we don’t, we’ll have to go much further,” the Republican president warned.
In a post published on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump reiterated that if Iran accepts Washington’s proposed conditions, military operations and the naval blockade affecting the Islamic republic would come to an end.
However, he also issued a new warning to the Iranian government, stating that the United States would respond with attacks “of greater intensity” if Tehran rejects the agreement promoted by the White House.
Panama confirms drug contamination of El Salvador coffee shipment occurred on its territory
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating Victory Day Truce
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
