International
Desolation at the Mexican border in the face of the new restrictions on asylum in the United States
The new standards for applying for asylum announced this week by the United States Government arouse desolation among activists and migrants who wait in shelters or next to the Rio Bravo, on the northern border of Mexico.
Pastor Gigio Heredia, representative of the Humanitarian Hub Center in Ciudad Juárez, bordering El Paso, warned EFE that this measure will cause more and more migrants to cross irregularly through the Rio Bravo with the risks that this entails.
“We have seen it again and again, every time migrants arrive here with us we see that, encountering so many restrictions, seeing all the refusals to be able to get to the place where they thought since they left their places, it is a strong blow to the mood and especially to the dreams they had,” he said.
The activist referred to the rule promulgated by the Joe Biden Government to instruct migrant agents to prohibit people considered a “risk to public or national security” from applying for asylum and being, therefore, admitted within the United States, although the rule is still under review.
These filters are already applied when studying asylum cases, but this new measure allows them to be used during the “credible fear” interview phase, where it is decided if a person meets the requirements to request protection after crossing the border with Mexico.
The rule has consequences for border cities in Mexico, such as Ciudad Juárez, since “every decision made by the United States Government on the migration issue in one way or another has repercussions on the border, since this would close the door to many families who would have to stay,” according to Heredia.
The religious pointed out that, when faced with so many laws and restrictions, migrants go into despair. For this reason, they take riskier routes and expose themselves to organized crime.
“They are a prisoner for organized crime since they are vulnerable, we have had many cases where we have seen that their belongings have been stolen, where they have been outraged they have been threatened and that is a risk for them,” he said.
Likewise, he considered that “they would be forced to spend some time here and that would cause contingencies, a greater number of migrants stranded here at the border.”
The rules occur in the midst of growing operations to stop migrants in the United States and Mexico. In the first quarter of 2024, irregular migration intercepted by the Mexican Government grew by about 200% per year to almost 360,000.
Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador agreed at the end of April to “work together to immediately implement concrete measures in order to significantly reduce irregular border crossings and at the same time protect human rights.”
This already has effects on migrants such as Denis Ramos. A Guatemalan who has been waiting for four months in a hostel in Juárez for his appointment to enter the United States.
For him, the news of the tightening of the rules for applying for asylum is “very hard”.
“It is quite complicated for those of us who are already here, as well as for those who are on their way, because there are some who are not aware of the news and every day it gets a little more complicated,” the migrant told EFE.
He added that many travel companions are already desperate in the face of the difficulty of the journey, so they prefer to risk an irregular crossing.
“We who come from Guatemala, which is a neighboring country, feel that it is ‘very distant’ (too far away), let’s not say they come from Colombia, Venezuela, from different countries of the world. The course of the trip already brings them desperate and that leads them to surrender once and for all,” he said.
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.
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.”
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.
“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.
“I am an artist who has taken a step into politics to bring peace to my country,” Álvarez told reporters while surrounded by supporters.
Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident
Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador
Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge
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
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