International

Processing centers also to open in Costa Rica, but for limited group of migrants

Photo: AP

June 13 |

The U.S. State Department announced that it reached an agreement with the Costa Rican government to establish migrant processing centers in the Central American country that began operating on Monday.

As in Colombia and Guatemala, the so-called “safe mobility offices” in Costa Rica will open in a six-month “exploratory phase” in which migrants will be referred to refugee resettlement programs and other legal pathways to the U.S., Canada or Spain.

However, the eligibility of those who can access services in Costa Rica will be more limited.

According to the State Department, during the exploratory phase, the offices’ services will be limited to Nicaraguan and Venezuelan nationals who “can demonstrate that they are physically present in Costa Rica as of the date of this announcement and are currently registered as asylum seekers”.

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Those who enter Costa Rica after June 12 will not be eligible to access the processing centers.

In addition, in the first two months of the opening of the offices, only eligible persons will be contacted for an evaluation appointment to determine if they are qualified candidates for legal migration channels.

After the first two months, the aforementioned group of migrants will be able to make an appointment online at the movilidadsegura.org website. “Individuals will not be able to request an in-person appointment at the offices,” State determined.

“Individuals who enter Costa Rica irregularly after June 12 may be subject to return to their country of origin if they do not have a legal basis to remain in the country,” it added.

This is in addition to Title 8 measures in the U.S. which determine that those who attempt to cross the southwest border irregularly may face a five-year ban on admission and removal to the country of origin.

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The White House also announced on Monday that it had reached an agreement with the Colombian government for the opening of the offices in that country on June 19. No details have been provided so far as to whether access will also be limited to specific nationalities.

In Guatemala, on the other hand, secure mobility offices opened on Monday in the Guatemalan Air Force, Petén, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Quiché and Huehuetenango.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.