International
Haiti, in a deadlock, waiting for a transitional government
The situation in Haiti remains at a standstill, a month after the escalation of chaos and violence began and the council that must lead the transition in the country, where elections have not been held for almost eight years, has not yet been established.
For a month, the impoverished Caribbean nation has been experiencing an escalation of violence at the hands of the armed gangs, who joined forces to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, and who on March 2, in the midst of chaos and horror, attacked two of the main prisons, from which about 3,600 inmats would have fled, many of them bandits known for their extreme cruelty.
The seriousness of the events, which have forced the closure of schools, hospitals and airports, led the authorities to declare the curfew in the department of the West, where the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is located, and where a state of emergency has also been in force since then.
All this happened in the absence of Henry, who was then visiting Kenya to agree to send the multinational security support mission that Haiti awaits and whose deployment is also paralyzed.
Ariel Henry, who took office in June 2021 after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, has not been able to return to his country and is currently in the United States after several days stranded in Puerto Rico, from where on March 12 he agreed to resign to give way to a transitional government in Haiti, where elections have not been held since November 2017 when the failed ruler was elected.
However, three weeks after its formation was reported, the Presidential Council, in charge of carrying out the transition, still does not carry out its official inauguration, which, as agreed, will be followed by the appointment of a prime minister, with whom it will form a Government of National Unity.
Once this institution is implemented, Henry will leave power in the impoverished nation whose situation, according to the UN, is a “cataclysm” with more than 1,500 deaths at the hands of armed groups so far this year.
In its first communication, issued this week, the council promised stability and return the country to the path of democratic legitimacy and dignity.
Although the situation is stagnant, violent acts continue to be reported, although to a lesser extent than at the beginning of the month, while countries continue to evacuate their citizens.
Precisely this same Sunday, local media reported shots when a French Navy helicopter evacuated citizens of the European nation, although no one was injured.
Likewise, it was reported that two men were lynched by a mob that took them out of a police detachment, which had previously arrested them when they were supposed to buy weapons for the gangs.
The events occurred in the town of Mirebalais and, according to the Police, the two men had with them the equivalent of more than 50,000 dollars, which were presumed to buy weapons and ammunition.
The dead were identified as Alexandre Ananel, a police officer; and Musca Michelet, a security officer of the Provisional Electoral Council.
Meanwhile, one of the latest kidnappings that is known is that of the American YouTuber of Lebanese origin Addison Pierre Maalouf, who, according to several reports, traveled to Haiti to interview the powerful leader of armed gangs in Haiti Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbecue.
After several days kidnapped, the man was released on Saturday, as he himself announced on social media.
All this happens in a country with an economy that continues to plummet after the contraction of GDP last year, of 1.8% compared to 1.7% in 2022, and in which 5.5 million people, half of its population, need humanitarian aid.
International
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces have struck three suspected Venezuelan drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean so far, not two as previously reported.
“We took down boats. It was actually three boats, not two, but you only saw two,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a state visit to the United Kingdom.
The president was asked about remarks by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who accused Washington of plotting to invade his country.
“Stop sending members of the Tren de Aragua to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States,” Trump responded.
The Republican leader mentioned this third vessel a day after announcing that U.S. forces had struck a speedboat in which, according to him, three “terrorists” were killed. Later, from the Oval Office, he claimed the boat had been carrying cocaine and fentanyl.
The attacks come amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the U.S. military maintains a Caribbean deployment under the banner of counter-narcotics operations.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of heading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which the Venezuelan government denies. Washington has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
On Monday, Maduro said communications with the U.S. were “broken” in the face of what he called an “aggression” and declared that Venezuela is now “better prepared” in case of an “armed struggle.”
International
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in seven provinces due to what he described as “serious internal unrest,” as road blockades and demonstrations erupted in response to the elimination of the diesel subsidy and growing concerns over insecurity.
The 60-day measure applies to the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Azuay, Bolívar, Cotopaxi, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas.
Since Monday, partial protests have been reported in Pichincha, Carchi, Azuay, and Imbabura. On Tuesday, road blockades extended to northern Pichincha and routes in Carchi, near the Colombian border. In response, the Executive headquarters was temporarily relocated to Cotopaxi and the Vice Presidency to Imbabura.
The presidential decree states that the measure comes amid “strikes that have disrupted public order and provoked acts of violence, endangering the safety of citizens and their rights to free movement, work, and economic activity.”
According to the decree, the goal is to “prevent the radicalization of disruptive actions” in the affected provinces and to limit the impact on the population. It further emphasizes that the situation requires an “exceptional intervention by state institutions to safeguard security, guarantee citizens’ rights, maintain public order, and preserve social peace.”
Social organizations and labor groups, including the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), have strongly rejected the diesel price increase following the subsidy’s elimination.
The decree justifies the two-month duration as necessary “to ensure a strengthened state presence in the affected territories, restore order, and prevent further acts of violence against people, public, and private property.”
International
Colombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders
Seven former rebel leaders, including their last known commander Rodrigo Londoño, alias “Timochenko,” have been handed the maximum penalty established in the 2016 peace agreement.
Under the ruling, they will face mobility restrictions and be required to carry out activities aimed at restoring the dignity of victims, such as helping locate missing persons and participating in landmine clearance in territories where they once operated. These alternative sentences to prison were part of the historic deal signed in 2016 between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) —once the most powerful guerrilla group in Latin America— and then-President Juan Manuel Santos, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) found the ex-commanders guilty of being responsible for the kidnapping of 21,396 people before laying down their arms and transitioning into a political party. “Investigations showed that kidnapping became a systematic practice. These crimes not only broke the law but also left open wounds that persist in families, communities, and the daily life of the country,” a magistrate told reporters in Bogotá, in the absence of the former commanders, who had accepted responsibility for their crimes back in 2022.
It took the tribunal more than seven years to deliver its first ruling, amid criticism from opponents of the peace deal who argue it is too lenient on the rebels. The former commanders still face charges for other crimes against humanity, including the recruitment of minors.
During their decades-long conflict, the FARC held hostage soldiers, police officers, businesspeople, and political leaders, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt. Images of emaciated captives chained in jungle camps shocked the world and became symbols of the conflict.
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
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
-
International5 days agoJair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss
-
International5 days agoAuthorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation
-
International2 days ago20th Festival Salvadoreñísimo brings together thousands of salvadorans in Houston
-
International3 days ago22-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After 33-Hour Manhunt in Small Western U.S. Town
-
International16 hours agoEcuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador unveils 2025-2029 National Reintegration Plan for returned migrants
-
Sin categoría16 hours agoTrump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
-
International16 hours agoTrump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
-
International16 hours agoColombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders