International
Five mining villages in Peru left in rubble by mudslides
February 8th
Five villages in southern Peru were left in rubble after landslides caused by constant rains on Sunday and Monday, which washed away mud, water and rocks and swept away precarious facilities and homes in an area dedicated to informal gold mining.
Residents of the Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel municipality, settled in the foothills of a mining area, were looking for their belongings buried in the mud on Tuesday, while others with muddy shoes and desperate faces came from remote villages to ask for help.
One of them was Mauro Noa, leader of the Posco Miski village, who asked for help and food to assist more than a thousand residents trapped since Sunday on the side of a mountain. They cannot cross because an immense body of mud and stones has formed in the form of a river that surrounds the hill. “They are hungry and thirsty, no one remembers them,” he told The Associated Press.
Noa said that in 18 years he has never seen an avalanche like the one that fell Sunday in Posco Miski. He added that they have compiled a list of 14 residents of Posco Miski whose whereabouts are unknown. “People reacted in disarray, neighbors who could not leave their homes were carried away by the wave of mud,” Noa said. “Children have been traumatized, with the rain and the mudslide,” he added.
Police dispatched 15 rescuers who were scheduled to arrive in Secocha late in the afternoon because the road is blocked by mud, said agent Giancarlo Vizcarra.
The agent indicated that after arriving in Secocha carrying stretchers and ropes they will try to climb up to the most remote villages to look for bodies under the mud and for that purpose they were transporting two specialized dogs that work in earthquakes looking for people in the rubble.
A local Civil Protection official reported the day before that at least 36 people had died, however, a prosecutor told The Associated Press on Tuesday that they only had confirmation of 12 dead and three missing. The federal government has not given any new figures, although the president was touring the area to see the disaster and receive the latest reports.
The avalanche that fell on Sunday from the highest mountains swept away houses and everything in its path. Residents could only scream and wail as they watched the dense torrent of brown water and mud slide with force.
“We are isolated,” Arturo Muñoz, who lives high above the village of La Eugenia, where the mudslide began Sunday, told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday. The affected mining villages are in the municipality of Mariano Nicolas Valcarcel, in the province of Camana, Arequipa region.
Rescue tasks could not yet be deployed on Tuesday due to the difficulty of accessing the area with the relevant machinery, according to the local head of Civil Defense.
The main street of another of the settlements, Secocha, was still covered on Tuesday with a muddy mass that had penetrated through doors and windows. In that street, called Los Angeles, some people were cleaning the kitchens, refrigerators and televisions that until the weekend were working without problems in restaurants, hotels, clothing and food stores.
The prosecutor in charge of the event, Luis Supo, rectified the death toll that had been published on Monday, when it was said that 36 bodies had been recovered in the remote village of Posco Miski. The count was made known by Wilson Gutiérrez, Civil Defense official of the Mariano Nicolás Valcárcel municipality, to the local radio station RPP.
However, prosecutor Supo assured that as of Tuesday they had only received 12 bodies rescued from the avalanches and that three other people were missing.
Civil Defense also indicated on Monday that the landslides affected bridges, water intakes, irrigation canals, roads and houses and around 630 houses were left unusable. The impact of the landslides in the five affected villages was due to the fact that it is a downhill area of about 48 kilometers where miners have been installed for two decades to extract gold from pits.
Constant rains are frequent in February in Peru, a time when precipitation causes landslides that affect homes, but also public infrastructure, including bridges and roads.
International
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.
The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.
Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.
Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.
The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.
International
At least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
At least 23 people were killed and 11 others injured in an explosion at a supermarket in Hermosillo, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, local authorities reported on Saturday.
“So far, there are 23 confirmed deaths and 11 injured, including minors,” said Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo in a video message. He added that the injured are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the city.
“I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation to determine the causes of the incident and assign responsibility where appropriate,” Durazo said.
The explosion occurred at a Waldo’s store in downtown Hermosillo. Local authorities confirmed that the incident was not an attack nor related to any violent act against civilians.
Meanwhile, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences on X, offering sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
At least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
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
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