International

Spanish chef José Andrés resorts to his influence and pain to change Israel’s policy in Gaza

Spanish chef José Andrés has resorted to his influence in Washington and the immense pain he feels for the death of seven aid workers of his NGO, World Central Kitchen (WCK), so that the United States asks Israel for changes in its military strategy in the Gaza Strip.

When José Andrés speaks, Washington listens. He has important connections in political circles: the former president of the United States. Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2016, and earlier this year, the former president of the Lower House, Nancy Pelosi, nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The chef, who is also a U.S. citizen, has a close relationship with the president, Joe Biden, and both talked on the phone after the tragedy.

After that call, Biden issued one of the strongest statements to date against the Israeli government, accusing him of “not having done enough to protect humanitarian workers” since the beginning of the war and said he “have a broken heart” by the death of WCK aid workers in Gaza.

Since the moment of the tragedy, José Andrés has used the loudspeaker that gives him his position to question Israel’s policy and make it clear that this is not an isolated incident, since the beginning of the conflict 196 humanitarian workers have died and more than 33,100 Palestinians have asked for their lives.

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Even more important, José Andrés has asked for an independent investigation into the attack on the WCK convoy and has urged the United States, Australia, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom, countries of origin of the deceased aid workers, to join this call, although Washington has already refused to do so.

In an interview with the ABC network, broadcast this Sunday, José Andrés insisted on the need for an independent investigation and considered that Israel is waging a “war against humanity itself.”

“This is no longer about the seven men and women of WCK who perished in that unfortunate event. This has been happening for too long. It’s been six months attacking anything that seems to move,” said José Andrés.

“This doesn’t look like a war against terror. This no longer looks like a war to defend Israel. Actually, at this point, it seems that it is a war against humanity itself,” he added.

Therefore, he argued, it is imperative that a “deeper” investigation be carried out, in which the videos of the event and the radio conversations of the military involved can be analyzed.

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“The one who has perpetrated the attack cannot investigate himself,” he stressed.

The Israeli Army has carried out its own investigation and, in its first conclusions published on Friday, it stated that the attack was the result of a chain of “serious mistakes” and assured that they fired believing that there were two Hamas “gunmen” inside the vehicles.

When asked about it, José Andrés was especially forceful. “Every time something happens, we can’t just include Hamas in the equation,” he said.

José Andrés has not only made this type of statement on the ABC network, but he also published an opinion article this week in The New York Times and has used his account on the social network X, with more than a million followers, to question Biden’s policies towards Israel.

The pressure on Biden is enormous, especially since the chef’s words come at a time when his policy towards Israel could cost him dearly in the November elections, especially in key states where the Arab community has an important weight, such as Michigan and Minnesota.

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In this context, Biden spoke on the phone with Netanyahu on Thursday and gave him an ultimatum. For the first time, the US leader put conditions for his government’s support for the war in Gaza and warned that Washington’s policy would change if Israel did not take “concrete” measures to improve the humanitarian situation.

Hours later, Israel facilitated the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza and dismissed two commanders responsible for the attack on the co-operants.

The real test will now be the negotiations of the next few days in Cairo, in which the United States is putting pressure on Israel to reach an agreement with Hamas and achieve a ceasefire in the Strip, in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.

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“I am an artist who has taken a step into politics to bring peace to my country,” Álvarez told reporters while surrounded by supporters.

International

FBI: Man who attacked Michigan synagogue died from self-inflicted gunshot

The man who died during Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in the United States suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the FBI.

FBI agent Jennifer Runyan told reporters that the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Lebanese citizen Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, shot himself at some point during the confrontation.

“At some point during the shooting, Ghazali suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said during a press conference.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the suspect’s identity.

Authorities said Ghazali drove a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, located in the state of Michigan, on Thursday.

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According to Michael Bouchard, sheriff of Oakland County, synagogue security personnel noticed the vehicle and confronted the suspect with gunfire.

Investigators said it would be premature to speculate about the motive for the attack, although reports indicate Ghazali recently lost relatives during Israeli strikes in Lebanon earlier this month.

“It would be irresponsible for me to speculate about his motive,” Runyan said.

Ghazali arrived in Detroit in 2011 on a spouse visa for U.S. citizens and obtained American citizenship in 2016, according to reporting by The New York Times.

He was the father of two teenagers, divorced from his wife in 2024, and had recently been working as a waiter.

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The newspaper also reported that Ghazali attended a memorial service in the nearby city of Dearborn for relatives killed in the recent conflict, alongside other grieving family members from the Lebanese town of Machghara.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said the incident is being investigated as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

A source from Michigan’s Lebanese-American community told CBS News that several of Ghazali’s relatives had been killed roughly ten days before the attack, leaving him deeply devastated.

International

Mexican Navy Ships Deliver Third Shipment of Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Two logistics support vessels from the Mexican Navy — the ARM Papaloapan and the ARM Huasteco — docked again on Friday in the bay of Havana carrying a third shipment of humanitarian aid for Cuba.

The vessels had previously arrived on the Caribbean island on February 28 with a second cargo that included 1,200 tons of food, sent to help alleviate the country’s ongoing crisis, which has worsened following the U.S. oil restrictions affecting fuel supplies to the island.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister Josefina Vidal confirmed the new shipment in a social media post.

“Two ships carrying a third shipment of aid from the Government and the people of Mexico for the Cuban people are now arriving at the port of Havana. Thank you Mexico for your solidarity with Cuba,” she wrote.

Previous aid shipments

During the second shipment, the Papaloapan transported 1,078 tons of beans and powdered milk, while the Huastecocarried 92 tons of beans and 23 tons of assorted food products collected by social organizations with support from the government of Mexico City.

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In recent months, Mexico has become the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Cuba, sending around 2,000 tons of supplies, mostly staple foods and hygiene products, in the two shipments prior to Friday’s delivery.

The first shipment alone included 814 tons of food.

Cuba praises Mexico’s support

Hours before the ships arrived, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted Mexico’s support during a televised appearance, describing the country as “a friendly and brotherly nation that has shown tremendous solidarity,”particularly praising Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Díaz-Canel also addressed reports suggesting that Mexican donations were being resold in state-run stores, dismissing them as a “disinformation campaign” promoted by right-wing groups.