International

Belgium prevents Ukraine from using the F-16s to attack Russian territory

The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, warned today that the F-16 fighter jets he will deliver to Ukraine, according to the agreement he signed on Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, can only be used in Ukrainian territory and not to directly attack Russia.

“Everything that this agreement covers is very clear: it is for use by the Ukrainian Forces in Ukrainian territory,” De Croo said in an appearance with Zelenski.

The Ukrainian president, on the other hand, insisted on the need to obtain permission from his allies to use the military equipment they deliver against Russian territory.

“They are shooting at you and you can’t respond, because we don’t have the right to use weapons. (…) You receive the satellite images of your intelligence service but you can’t do anything to respond, I think it’s unfair,” Zelenski said.

“But we cannot risk the support of our allies, so we are not using the weapons of our allies to attack Russian territory. That’s why we are asking, please, give us permission to do so,” stressed the Ukrainian leader.

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De Croo and Zelenski signed an agreement today with which Belgium undertakes to support Ukraine militarily for the next ten years, with the commitment to deliver 30 F-16 fighter-bombers until 2028 and with the intention that the first ones will arrive before the end of this year.

Belgium is already part of the coalition to train Ukrainian pilots in the handling of the F-16, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.

The agreement between Belgium and Ukraine also includes a financial package of 977 million euros of military aid, as well as industrial cooperation in defense, support for the Peace Formula of Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, compensation for damages, justice for the aggressor, the use of frozen Russian assets and economic recovery, Zelenski said.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenbnerg, is in favor of Ukraine being able to use the weapons donated to it by the West to attack targets within Russia, such as missile launchers, artillery or airfields, in the exercise of its legitimate defense.

“It will be very hard and difficult for Ukrainians to defend themselves if they can’t attack military targets right across the border. It may be missile launchers, artillery or airfields used to attack Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told the press upon his arrival at a meeting of Defense ministers of the European Union.

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The Norwegian politician has been defending for days the possibility of the allies allowing Ukraine to use the weapons they have given to him to hit specific targets within Russia, something that countries like Germany have fully rejected.

“Ukraine has, in accordance with international law, the right to defend itself. The right to self-defence includes attacking legitimate military targets within Russia. And this is particularly relevant now, because the strongest fighting is taking place in the Kharkov region, near the border,” he said.

In any case, he made it clear that these are decisions that fall to the countries individually and not to NATO.

So far, the coordination of international military aid for Ukraine is centralized by the United States with a group of fifty countries, known as the “Rammstein group”.

However, at the meeting that the Allied Foreign Ministers held last April, they agreed to work for NATO to play a greater role in coordinating assistance and training for Ukraine’s security.

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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.