International

Trump criticizes pro-Biden Jews: “If you vote for him, be ashamed”

Former President Donald Trump criticized Jewish American voters of the Democratic Party on Thursday, after the Joe Biden Administration confirmed on Wednesday that it will withhold the shipment of weapons to Israel while studying how it proceeds in the Palestinian enclave of Rafah.

“If you are Jews, don’t vote for Biden. They are doing a lot of damage to their country. (Biden) Now he is totally on the other side. He has abandoned Israel. If you are Jewish and you vote for it, I tell you to be ashamed,” Trump said in an interview with Spectrum News 1.

He also assured that he would not have made Biden’s decision and spoke of “loyalty.”

“I wouldn’t do what Biden did. He has just left Israel. I’ve never seen anything like it. They have to do it (attack Rafah)… They were attacked sacily on October 7. They had scenes that no one has ever seen,” he said, when asked if he would clarify to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that the escalation of aggressions in the Gaza Strip has a limit.

The former ruler had already repeatedly charged against American Jews who vote for Democratic candidates, both before and after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. In fact, in 2019, he said that Jewish Democrats were “very disloyal to Israel.”

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Likewise, he has assiduously stressed that this conflict would never have been unleashed if he remained in the White House, due to his diplomatic skills with power leaders in the Middle East region.

According to CNN, the US arms blockade of Israel would have about 3,500 bombs: 1,800 of 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) in weight and 1,700 of 500 pounds (226 kilos). The United States would be especially concerned about Israel’s use of the heaviest in densely inhabited areas of Rafah.

Since October 7, 2023, the Biden administration has given the go-ahead to more than a hundred arms sales operations to Israel without the approval of Congress, according to The Washington Post.

Of these, it has only made public 2: 14,000 projectiles for tanks worth 106.5 million dollars and 155 mm type artillery projectiles worth 147.5 million dollars. In addition, the transfer approved by Congress of the 2,000 and 500 pound bombs, as well as 25 F-35A fighter planes, was pending.

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International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

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.