International
Mexican authorities report 39 dead in fire at immigration center
March 28 |
A fire at a migrant detention center in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez left 39 dead and 29 injured, the National Migration Institute said in a statement Tuesday.
Images from the site showed rows of bodies under emergency blankets in front of the compound. Ambulances, firefighters and morgue vans were also seen.
The fire started Monday night at a Mexican immigration agency facility near the El Paso border, in a dormitory area where “68 adult men from Central and South America were being held,” the statement added.
The injured were transported “in serious condition to four local hospitals for immediate attention”.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire and called in the National Human Rights Commission, an official entity, to attend to the migrants.
They also began working with consular officials from several countries to identify the deceased.
“The National Migration Institute strongly rejects the acts that resulted in this tragedy,” the note added, without clarifying what actions it was referring to.
Migrant internment centers have been the scene of occasional protests and riots, especially at times of high migratory flow and when the detention facilities were more crowded. However, an incident as lethal as Monday night’s was not in recent memory.
According to the website of the NGO “Sin Fronteras”, which monitors Mexican immigration facilities, the Ciudad Juarez facility has a capacity for 60 people.
In October, Venezuelan migrants rioted inside an immigration center in Tijuana which had to be controlled by police and National Guard troops. In November, a similar situation occurred at the Tapachula detention center near the Guatemalan border. There were no deaths in either incident.
Ciudad Juarez is an important transit point for migrants arriving in the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have applied for asylum in the United States and are waiting for their cases to be processed.
In early March, more than 30 civil organizations and migrant shelters issued a statement denouncing the growing criminalization of foreigners in the city, as well as the existence of “arbitrary detentions where municipal agents question people’s immigration status, extort them, break their documentation and steal money and other belongings.”
The tension of those waiting in that town was felt a little more than two weeks ago when a group encouraged by false rumors that they could cross into the United States attempted to cross the border bridge en masse and was blocked by U.S. authorities.
International
U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.
The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.
The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.
“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
International
Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.
“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.
Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.
According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.
International
Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power
Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.
The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.
Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.
Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.
The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.
Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.
Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.
In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.
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