International
Dina Boluarte: Peru’s first female president
| By AFP |
Dina Boluarte was virtually unknown on the Peruvian political scene a year and a half ago, when she rode into office in July 2021 as Pedro Castillo’s vice president.
But on Wednesday she made history — becoming Peru’s first female president after Castillo was ousted from office amid an attempt to avoid an impeachment vote by dissolving Congress and ruling by decree.
A 60-year-old lawyer and mother, Boluarte became one of the Castillo government’s best-known faces due to her position as Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, a post she held simultaneously with the vice presidency up until two weeks ago.
Castillo, who after being removed from office on Wednesday was detained on charges of rebellion, had sidelined Boluarte from his latest cabinet reshuffle — the fifth of his short presidency.
“She has the profile of a fighting woman,” said leftist Congresswoman Sigrid Bazan of the new president.
Just two days ago, Boluarte narrowly avoided being disqualified from holding public office for 10 years, after a congressional commission dismissed a complaint that she committed an alleged constitutional violation.
The country’s comptroller had accused her of holding a private and public position at the same time, something prohibited under Peruvian law.
According to the Comptroller’s Office, Boluarte had signed documents as president of a club after she had already taken up her government post.
She admitted that she signed the documents, but cited various bureaucratic reasons for doing so. The club is made up of those who, like her, live in Lima but are from Apurimac, a region in the southeast of the country.
‘Mandate of the people’
In July, Boluarte said she was willing to assume the office of president and even finish the term that runs until 2026, if Castillo — who was under investigation for corruption by the prosecutor’s office — was removed.
“There is a mandate that the people have given us, to govern for five years, and that is the only agenda we have. To work these remaining four years for the most vulnerable, the most needy,” she said.
Boluarte said that Castillo has repeatedly denied to her having committed any act of corruption.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America5 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
Central America5 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
Central America5 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International5 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
Central America3 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International2 days agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International3 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International3 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
International2 days agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
-
International22 hours agoU.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
-
International22 hours ago
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction