International

Justice rejects that the investigation of luxury watches has violated the rights of Boluarte

The Peruvian Justice declared this Sunday unfounded the protection of rights presented by the defense of Dina Boluarte, who argued that the rights of the president were violated during the investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office for the alleged commission of illicit enrichment in the case of the luxury watches that she wore without having declared.

“Judicial power declares unfounded protection of rights presented by the defense of President Dina Boluarte, in the investigation followed against her for the alleged crime of illicit enrichment and another in the grievance of the State,” the institution reported on social network X.

He added that this decision was issued by the Supreme Court of Preparatory Investigation, in charge of Judge Juan Carlos Checkley Soria, “who considered that the defense arguments raised in this appeal have no factual or legal basis.”

Last Tuesday, in the hearing in which this protection of rights was analyzed, the lawyer of Boluarte, Eduardo Barriga, maintained that the Prosecutor’s Office violates the rights to the defense and due process of the ruler during the investigation opened by the case of the luxury watches that Boluarte wore in public without having declared.

He questioned the alleged violation of the right to defense and equality of parties, because the Prosecutor’s Office would not have allowed him to intervene in open source information extraction proceedings (public media information).

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“(Boluarte) Requests before this Supreme Court Protection of Rights for being the subject of tax proceedings without the presence of technical defense and for violation of the constitutional right of defense and procedural equality by the Public Ministry,” reads the document of the complaint published on May 16 by the Judiciary in X.

Boluarte requested that, for that reason, the actions carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office during the investigation be declared null and void and that the information obtained in proceedings of the Public Prosecutor’s Office be excluded from it.

“As a corrective measure, it requests that the actions carried out by prosecutors Karina Llatance Mendoza and Walter Arlando Giles Paucar be declared null and void with respect to the tax proceedings of extraction and open source transcription act described in their application,” the complaint adds in this regard.

He also requested that the information generated as a result of the tax proceedings of extraction and open source transcription described in his application be excluded from the investigation.

A month ago, on April 24, the Prosecutor’s Office extended the preliminary investigation to Boluarte for the case known as ‘Rolexgate’ by including the possible commission of a crime of improper passive bribery, which is in addition to that of illicit enrichment and failure to record statements in documents.

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He also announced that he expanded the preliminary investigations to include the regional governor of Ayacucho, Wilfredo Oscorima, who assured that he lent the luxury watches to the president, for the alleged commission of generic active bribery crimes.

International

Winter Storm Fern Leaves 30 Dead and Over One Million Without Power Across the U.S.

The massive winter storm Fern, bringing polar temperatures, battered large portions of the United States for a third consecutive day on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead, more than one million households without electricity, and thousands of flights grounded.

In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below -20°C. Forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days as an Arctic air mass moves south, particularly across the northern Great Plains and other central regions, where wind chills could plunge to -45°C, temperatures capable of causing frostbite within minutes.

Across the country, heavy snowfall exceeding 30 centimeters in roughly 20 states triggered widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 800,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning, most of them in the southern United States.

In Tennessee, where ice brought down power lines, approximately 250,000 customers were still without power. Outages also affected more than 150,000 customers in Mississippi and over 100,000 in Louisiana, as utility crews struggled to restore service amid dangerous conditions.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.