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
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
International
Cuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
Cuba is facing a severe dengue and chikungunya epidemic that has already claimed at least 44 lives, including 29 minors, according to the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap). The outbreak—now considered out of control—has expanded across the entire country amid a critical shortage of resources to confront the emergency.
Authorities report more than 42,000 chikungunya infections and at least 26,000 dengue cases, though they acknowledge significant underreporting as many patients avoid seeking care in health centers where medicines, supplies, and medical personnel are scarce. The first cluster was detected in July in the city of Matanzas, but the government did not officially use the term “epidemic” until November 12.
Chikungunya—virtually unknown on the island until this year—causes high fever, rashes, fatigue, and severe joint pain that can last for months, leaving thousands temporarily incapacitated. Dengue, endemic to the region, triggers fever, muscle pain, vomiting, and, in severe cases, internal bleeding. Cuba currently has no vaccines available for either virus.
Minsap reports that of the 44 deaths recorded so far, 28 were caused by chikungunya and 16 by dengue.
The health crisis unfolds amid deep economic deterioration, marked by the absence of fumigation campaigns, uncollected garbage, and shortages of medical supplies—conditions that have fueled the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for both diseases. “The healthcare system is overwhelmed,” non-official medical sources acknowledge.
Beyond the health impact, the epidemic is heavily disrupting economic and family life. The intense joint pain caused by chikungunya has led to widespread work absences, while hospital overcrowding has forced relatives to leave their jobs to care for the sick. In November, authorities launched a clinical trial using the Cuban drug Jusvinza to reduce joint pain, though results have not yet been released.
International
Ecuador on track for record violence as homicides hit highest level in Latin America again
Violence in Ecuador is expected to reach historic levels by the end of 2025, with the country set to record the highest homicide rate in Latin America for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). The organization warns that criminal activity is not only persisting but could worsen in 2026.
Official figures show 7,553 homicides recorded through October, surpassing the 7,063 registered throughout all of 2024. ACLED estimates that 71% of the population was exposed to violent incidents this year, despite President Daniel Noboa’s declaration of an “internal armed conflict” in an attempt to confront powerful criminal groups.
According to the report, several factors are driving the deterioration of security: a territorial war between Los Chonerosand Los Lobos, the two most influential criminal organizations in the country; the fragmentation of other groups after the fall of their leaders; and Ecuador’s expanding role as a strategic hub for regional drug trafficking.
Since 2021, violence has forced the internal displacement of around 132,000 people, while more than 400,000 Ecuadorians — equivalent to 2% of the population — have left the country. Between January and November alone, violent deaths rose 42%, fueled by prison massacres and clashes between rival gangs.
The report warns that conditions may deteriorate further. Ecuador has been added to ACLED’s 2026 Conflict Watchlist, which highlights regions at risk of escalating violence. The expansion of Colombian armed groups such as FARC dissidents and the ELN, state weakness, and a potential rerouting of drug trafficking corridors from the Caribbean to the Pacific intensify the threat.
“The president is facing a wave of violence that shows no signs of easing,” the report concludes.
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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Ecuador on track for record violence as homicides hit highest level in Latin America again
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