International

The Strasbourg Court rules that climate inaction goes against human rights

The Strasbourg Court issued a historic ruling on Tuesday in favor of one of the three demands raised for the insufficient action of the States to limit climate change and pointed out that Switzerland had violated the human rights of a group of elderly women.

However, the judges overturned the media lawsuit that six young Portuguese had raised against Portugal, but also against 31 other European countries that they intended to condemn for insufficient policies to mitigate climate change.

The judges dismissed their allegations without examining the merits of the case in the first place because the six plaintiffs skipped a fundamental rule of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which is that the internal remedies of the country they denounce must be exhausted before taking a case to Strasbourg.

The young people had argued that climate urgency exempted them from that basic legal rule, but the ECHR did not accept that thesis.

In addition, European judges also pointed out that, to denounce other States beyond Portugal and apply a supposed principle of extraterritoriality because their action or inaction may have effects for them, there are other international legal instruments and the ECHR is the competent body to do so.

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They also pointed out that a certain policy cannot be dictated to States about what they would have to do because of the effects that will have for people outside their territory or outside their authority and control.

But beyond this case, which by the form of its approach already raised many doubts about the possibility of it going ahead, the movement against climate change received a note of hope from the Strasbourg Court, with a ruling condemning Switzerland in a lawsuit raised by elderly women from that country.

The president of the ECHR, Síofra O’Leary, pointed out that Switzerland had violated the rights of those women, gathered in the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen association, because “criticism gaps” have been found in Swiss policies against climate change.

Specifically, European judges estimated that Switzerland failed to comply with its obligations to the rights of these elderly women (more than half are over 75 years old) to prevent them from suffering the effects of global warming.

They illustrated it by pointing out that there have been shortcomings in Swiss policy to quantify, by setting a price for carbon or otherwise, the limitation of its greenhouse emissions.

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In the same vein, Switzerland did not respect in the past the objectives it had set itself to reduce those emissions.

International

Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.

The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.

International

U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster

A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.

This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.

The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.

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International

Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday highlighted her government’s achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, after the United States said challenges remain in combating organized crime.

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that “despite progress, challenges still exist” in addressing organized crime.

“There are very strong results from joint cooperation and from the work Mexico is doing: first, a 50% reduction in fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.

The president also said that authorities have seized nearly 320 tons of drugs and that there has been a “40% decrease in intentional homicides in Mexico” since the start of her administration on October 1, 2024.

Sheinbaum added that the United States should implement campaigns to reduce drug consumption within its territory and curb the flow of weapons into Mexico.

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“There are many results and there will be more, but there must be mutual respect and shared responsibility, as well as respect for our sovereignties,” she said.

On Monday, Sheinbaum held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security issues. She said she once again ruled out the presence of U.S. troops in Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Security has been a recurring issue used by Trump to threaten tariffs on Mexico and to pressure negotiations over the USMCA (T-MEC) free trade agreement, which are scheduled for 2026.

The agreement is crucial for Mexico’s economy, as about 80% of the country’s exports are destined for the United States.