International
Biden in Mexico for talks on migrants, drugs
January 9th | By AFP | Daniel Rook |
A regional migration and drug smuggling crisis is expected to dominate talks between US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday.
Biden arrived in Mexico City late Sunday after a politically charged stop at the southern US border — his first since taking office.
He will meet Monday and Tuesday with Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau one-on-one and also together in what is dubbed the “Three Amigos” summit.
While trade and environmental issues are also on the table, Biden has put a surge in irregular migration and dangerous drug trafficking front and center of his trip, his first to Mexico as president.
“Our problems at the border didn’t arise overnight,” Biden tweeted after his arrival.
“And they won’t be solved overnight. But, we can come together to fix this broken system. We can secure the border and fix the immigration process to be orderly, fair, safe, and humane.”
Lopez Obrador, who joined Biden in his armored limousine for the journey from the airport, called for increased investment in the region so that people are less likely to flee their countries.
“Opportunities must be guaranteed to citizens, to workers of all countries in their places of origin,” he told reporters.
‘Where are our rights?’
On his way to Mexico, Biden stopped for several hours in El Paso, Texas, a city at the heart of the troubled border.
He met with US officials at the Bridge of the Americas crossing, watching a demonstration of the latest border enforcement technology, as well as a customs sniffer dog.
He later got out of his motorcade to inspect a section of the tall fencing that snakes between El Paso and its twin city Juarez on the Mexican side.
“They need a lot of resources. We’re going to get it for them,” Biden told reporters after his visit to the customs post.
Just ahead of Biden’s arrival in Mexico, a line of migrants, some with children in their arms, were deported from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Venezuelan Jose David Melendez told AFP that he had been apprehended by border guards at a church where he was taking refuge.
“The police officers from the border patrol came and hit us, made us run, pointed guns at us, pointed at children with firearms. Where are our human rights?” the 25-year-old said.
Biden is under political pressure in the face of spiraling illegal border crossings and applications for asylum.
Adding to the crisis has been a surge in cross-border smuggling of the highly addictive and often deadly narcotic fentanyl.
Biden’s visit sought to respond to Republican accusations that he has been ignoring the situation.
On Thursday Biden announced an expansion of powers to expel people showing up at the border without clearance.
At the same time, a legal, strictly enforced pathway will be created for up to 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The quota will be restricted to those who already have a US sponsor, while anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be expelled in coordination with Mexico.
Human rights groups harshly criticized this as closing the door on desperate people, but the Biden administration says its actions will essentially kill the market for human smuggling networks, while encouraging legitimate arrivals.
Cartel violence
In 2021, the United States and Mexico announced a revamp of their fight against drug trafficking to address the root causes of migration, encourage economic development and bolster curbs against cross-border arms smuggling.
Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 340,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.
Days before Biden’s visit, Mexican security forces captured a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence at a US prison.
The United States had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ovidio Guzman’s arrest, accusing him of being a key player in the Sinaloa cartel founded by his father.
Climate change and cooperation in clean energy technologies will also be on the summit agenda, with Mexico hoping to benefit from Washington’s efforts to reduce its reliance on Asia-based manufacturers.
International
Authorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation
A man identified as the main financial operator of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was arrested Thursday at Mexico City’s international airport, authorities reported.
The individual, named by Mexican media as Óscar Antonio Álvarez, was apprehended during an operation involving the army, navy, National Guard, police, and the attorney general’s office, according to a joint statement.
Álvarez is considered the primary financial operator of a criminal group originating in Jalisco, and the capture took place at Benito Juárez Airport as he arrived on a flight from Barcelona, Spain.
Authorities stated that Álvarez faces charges of organized crime and money laundering, specifically for receiving and transferring illicit funds. His work with the CJNG reportedly included purchasing properties and managing businesses in the tequila and livestock sectors.
According to El Universal, Álvarez was directly under the command of Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho”, the cartel’s top leader, for whom the U.S. offers a $15 million reward.
The CJNG, which operates throughout Mexico and in various parts of the world, was designated earlier this year as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. government.
Álvarez was handed over to the federal public prosecutor to determine his legal situation, the report added.
International
Jair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 70, has been sentenced for leading an armed criminal organization that attempted to cling to power after losing the 2022 elections to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The alleged coup plot, which reportedly included a plan to assassinate Lula, was not carried out due to lack of support from the military leadership.
By a four-to-one vote of the judges overseeing the case, seven co-defendants, including former ministers and military chiefs, were also convicted.
“A criminal armed organization was formed by the defendants, who must be sentenced based on the factual circumstances I consider proven,” said the final judge to cast a vote, Cristiano Zanin.
Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, did not attend the court hearings, citing health issues.
Reacting on X, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, said: “They call this a trial a process whose outcome everyone already knew before it began.”
One of the first international reactions came from the White House. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the sentence “very surprising,” while Senator Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the United States will “respond accordingly” to the “unjust” ruling.
International
Poland invokes NATO Article 4 after russian drone incursion
The violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones on Wednesday triggered the most serious clash between Russia and NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine, prompting Poland to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which calls for consultations among allies.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Parliament on Wednesday, describing an unprecedented “aggression” in which at least 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace, creating a situation that the Prime Minister described as “the closest to an open conflict since World War II.”
Speaking at the start of an extraordinary Council of Ministers session, Tusk stated that “this is the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a NATO member state, and that is why all our allies are taking the situation very seriously.”
Although he affirmed that “there is no reason to claim that we are in a state of war,” he labeled the incidents as “a large-scale provocation” and ordered the invocation of NATO’s Article 4 to call for consultations with allied nations.
Tusk also noted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had received “not only expressions of solidarity with Poland but, above all, concrete proposals to support the country’s air defense” during discussions with European leaders throughout the day.
The Polish leader specifically mentioned conversations with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands—Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, and Dick Schoof—along with French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
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