International

Peruvian constitutional judge deems Fujimori’s release order a “Legal Impossibility”

Photo: EFE

December 1 |

Peru’s Constitutional Court (TC) Judge, Manuel Monteagudo, referred to the resolution issued by the court on the previous day ordering the release of former dictator Alberto Fujimori as a “legal impossibility” during a statement on Wednesday.

“It is a legal impossibility from the moment the decision of the Constitutional Court has been deemed unconventional. This could not be,” stated the judge to local media.

On the contrary, TC President Francisco Morales emphasized that Fujimori’s release should proceed “immediately,” despite a previous order established last year by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) prohibiting the former president’s liberation.

Monteagudo highlighted that the TC examined a pardon granted in 2017, not the current situation of the former head of state, who, he emphasized, “has been convicted of a very serious crime, and there is a consideration that must be made.”

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In this regard, he emphasized the complaints filed by the victims, which form the basis of the IACHR’s order, calling on Peruvian authorities to refrain from complying with the TC’s ruling.

Following the TC’s decision, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Minjusdh) affirmed that the Executive Branch reaffirms its obligation, according to Article 118, Section 9 of the Political Constitution, “to comply with and enforce the judgments and resolutions of jurisdictional bodies.”

International

xMexico to Send Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid U.S. Threats Over Oil Shipments

Mexico will send “humanitarian aid” to Cuba this week, including food and “essential supplies,” President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Sunday, after the United States threatened to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to the island.

“We are planning humanitarian aid for Cuba (…) including food and other products, while we resolve diplomatically everything related to the shipment of oil for humanitarian reasons,” Sheinbaum said during a public event.

Mexico has become a key oil supplier to Cuba, which is facing a deep energy crisis worsened by the suspension of crude oil shipments from Venezuela following U.S. military intervention in that country and the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Sheinbaum has previously warned that Mexico would continue to act in “solidarity” with Cuba, although she instructed her foreign minister to establish contact with Washington to “clearly understand the scope” of President Donald Trump’s decree sanctioning hydrocarbon shipments to the island.

While her government seeks a diplomatic solution with the U.S. administration, the leftist president decided to proceed with the delivery of other humanitarian goods.

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International

Petro Resumes Extraditions, Sends Top Criminal to U.S. Before White House Talks

Colombian President Gustavo Petro extradited a major drug trafficking kingpin to the United States early Tuesday morning, just hours before his scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.

Under pressure from Washington, the leftist leader resumed the extradition of top criminal figures, a practice that had been suspended for months amid stalled peace negotiations with armed groups.

“President Petro gave a very clear order over the weekend for the criminal known as Pipe Tuluá to be extradited from Colombia to the United States as quickly as possible,” Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday. Sánchez is accompanying Petro in Washington for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

The criminal leader was transferred wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest as he boarded a private aircraft that departed from a military base at Bogotá’s airport. Nearly 70 security officers were deployed for the operation, according to police colonel Elver Sanabria.

The United States had strongly criticized Colombia’s suspension of extraditions during a period of strained relations between Trump and Petro.

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After months of tensions, the two presidents eased differences during a phone call on January 7.

Petro now appears to be taking steps aimed at improving relations with Washington, including the extradition of Pipe Tuluá, the leader of the feared criminal gang known as La Inmaculada, who is wanted by U.S. authorities.

International

Mexico Arrests Suspect in Shooting of Sinaloa Lawmakers

Mexican security authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of one of the alleged perpetrators of last week’s armed attack against two local lawmakers in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, one of the most violent regions in the country.

The suspect was identified as Jesús Emir “N”, who authorities say is a member of a criminal cell and was “one of those responsible for the cowardly attack against lawmakers” from the opposition party Movimiento Ciudadano on January 28, according to Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch in a post on X.

García Harfuch said the detainee was in charge of controlling radio communications, installing surveillance cameras to monitor the movements of authorities, and acquiring drones for the criminal organization.

The attack took place in broad daylight as local lawmakers Sergio Torres and Elizabeth Montoya were leaving the state Congress building in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, when they were shot by armed assailants.

According to Mexican media reports on Monday, Torres, 59, remained hospitalized in critical condition due to his injuries, while Montoya, 55, lost an eye in the attack but was reported to be out of danger.

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Following the attack on the lawmakers and the kidnapping on January 23 of 10 workers from a Canadian mining company operating in southern Sinaloa, the federal government reinforced security in the state by deploying 1,600 military personnel.

Located along Mexico’s Pacific coast, Sinaloa is among the country’s five most violent states, particularly since an internal conflict erupted within the Sinaloa cartel in 2024.

That factional war broke out after the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, one of the cartel’s historic leaders, who was allegedly lured to the United States by a son of his former associate Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.