International
On Lebanon’s line of fire, Spanish troops patrol between alerts and destruction
Early in the morning of what would be one of the most intense days in eight months of hostilities between the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá and the Israeli forces, a patrol of Spanish blue helmets receives the warning that a level 2 alert has been activated.
As mandated by the protocol, the group immediately goes to the position of the nearest UN peace mission in Lebanon (FINUL), something that they have to do quite often in the midst of the escalation that since October has hit their area of operations in the south of the Mediterranean country.
Another Spanish patrol arrives to take refuge at the same base, less than two kilometers from the border with Israel, where the hours go by while from the heliport you can observe in the distance the smoke of some impact on the mountain.
From time to time, you can hear the buzzing of the drones or a few distant explosions. “Another greeting,” jokes one of the military.
Well into the afternoon, eight hours after its activation, the alert that weighed on the entire East sector is lifted and the blue helmets can finally leave the facilities to continue their activities.
According to them, it was by far the most prolonged alert of that type since they arrived in Lebanon last month, when the last rotation of Spanish troops took place.
During the wait on Wednesday morning, the Israeli Army announced the arrival of at least 160 rockets to different parts of the north of the country, including the Lower Galilee region, further from the common border where its crossfire with Hizbulah is usually concentrated.
And in the previous hours the Shiite formation had lost an important commander, his loss of higher rank since the beginning of the clashes, which led him to launch a total of 19 attacks throughout the day, many of them of great magnitude, as confirmed in a series of statements.
The head of one of the Spanish patrols that took refuge at the base, Lieutenant Jesús Sánchez Burgos, explained to EFE that the frequency of the alerts does not follow any specific pattern and that “it depends on the day.”
“When we go on patrol we have (…) our area of responsibility divided into security zones, and they activate them depending on the probability of impact on those areas. When it touches level 2 or level 3, we have to welcome the nearest position,” he said.
“In this case, we were on patrol, they have touched level two and we have had to accept position 966, the position of the Serbs,” added the section chief.
Each patrol consists of two vehicles with a boss, driver, shooter and operator in each of them, which try to ensure compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbulah.
“Our mission here is to monitor the cessation of hostilities between the two States, support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and we are patrolling for that (…) But the situation right now is a little complicated, so that surveillance of that cessation is a little more complicated,” Sánchez acknowledged.
Before the alert was activated, the group that EFE joined was able to develop part of its patrol through the de facto divide between the two countries, also passing through ghost towns dotted with destroyed houses or businesses, and mountains of debris, such as Kafr Kila.
In other areas of the Spanish area of operations, such as the so-called “Christian corredor”, life “is normal” and a good part of the population continues in the area despite the outsping of violence, the lieutenant explained.
In southern Lebanon, about 700 Spanish soldiers are deployed, the vast majority in this contingent part of the Eastern sector, with a total of 3,500 blue helmets of different nationalities.
Its spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel José Irisarri Antón, told EFE that the forces keep a count of the security incidents, recording the type of projectile, the weapon used and the estimate of the damage caused.
But he recalled that the main objective of the patrols is to comply with resolution 1701, that is, “to try that there are no militias or armed personnel in the area that does not belong to the Lebanese Armed Forces,” in his words.
In this sense, the lieutenant colonel stressed that, in fact, they try to make about 25% of their patrols joint with the troops of Lebanon.
“In case we locate something that may involve a missile or mortar launch point, the LAF is informed, they are responsible for controlling that there is nothing and if there is something to seize it, and then destroy it,” he concluded.
International
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
Mexican authorities dismantled a clandestine laboratory containing 2.5 tons of methamphetamine in the southeastern state of Chiapas, seized a warehouse with more than four tons of chemical precursors in Guerrero (south), and intercepted a trailer in Tijuana attempting to cross into the United States with 2.7 tons of drugs.
Omar García Harfuch, head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), reported on Saturday via social media that agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), along with representatives from the Defense Secretariat, Navy (Semar), National Guard (GN), and SSPC, disabled the methamphetamine production lab in Chiapas and confiscated 2.5 tons of the drug.
A statement specified that the agents secured 2.5 tons of methamphetamine, barrels containing substances used to manufacture synthetic drugs, a firearm, and four trucks. In another operation in Guerrero, authorities located over four tons of chemical substances.
The discovery took place on a property in the community of Margarita Maza, Juárez, used to store materials for synthetic drug production. Sufficient evidence was collected and presented to a control judge who authorized the intervention of the property.
In Chiapas, authorities also seized more than 300 barrels and containers with chemicals for making synthetic drugs, as well as various metal containers and devices.
International
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
The National Assembly of Venezuela expressed its support this Saturday for President Nicolás Maduro, condemning the United States’ increase in the reward offered for his capture as an “act of aggression.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that Washington had doubled the reward to $50 million for Maduro’s capture, labeling him as one of the “world’s largest drug traffickers.”
“We reject the absurd and desperate actions announced by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, which are clearly illegal and lack any real basis, beyond being a delirious attempt of aggression against the president (…) and against our rebellious and brave people,” said the Assembly leader, Jorge Rodríguez, while reading a letter he said was unanimously approved by the deputies.
“It is precisely President Nicolás Maduro (…) the protector of the strong democracy that shelters us and the leader who firmly upholds the rule of law and justice,” Rodríguez continued. He is also Venezuela’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington.
Bondi accused Maduro of using “terrorist organizations like the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Cartel of the Suns to introduce lethal drugs and violence” into the United States.
“In 25 years of revolution, we have resisted and advanced despite constant imperialist aggressions. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, with crude sanctions, criminal blockades, or senseless threats in diverting the noble path the Venezuelan people charted in the free elections of July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was elected President of the Republic,” the statement read.
The Venezuelan opposition alleges fraud in those elections and claims victory, and as a result, has boycotted the 2025 legislative, regional, and municipal elections.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
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