International
Daniel Sancho’s mother says that her son is “well” and adapting to the new prison
Daniel Sancho’s mother, Silvia Bronchalo, assured on Wednesday that her son is “well” and in “adaptation period” in the Thai prison of Surat Thani, to which he was transferred on August 30, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta.
“(It’s) okay. He is strong and where he is, logically, but well,” Bronchalo told EFE today in Surat Thani after visiting Sancho, 30, in the prison of this city in southern Thailand.
Bronchalo, a Spanish investment analyst, said that she has been able to visit her son on several occasions since last Friday and this week because the prison, which only allows a weekly appointment, has “compressed his visits.”
“It’s not like Samui, where you can see him every day,” said Bronchalo, who stressed that “they have compressed the visits, they have had that deference,” and said she was “happy” to have had the opportunity to see her son on more than one occasion.
The Spaniard referred to the differences between Samui prison, where Sancho remained on a provisional regime from August 7, 2023 until he was transferred to Surat Thani prison one day after he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the 29th of last month.
The Provincial Court of Samui found Sancho guilty of the premeditated murder of Arrieta on August 2, 2023 on the neighboring island of Phangan, a sentence that can still be appealed up to two times in Thailand.
“He is in a period of adaptation, now he is in another prison, there are more people, there are more prisoners of all kinds and they are other rules,” Bronchalo said.
Sancho had to be transferred from prison after the sentence because Samui’s prison only accepts prisoners with sentences of a maximum of 15 years, while Surat Thani’s includes prisoners with a minimum of that sentence and up to the death penalty.
Bronchalo confirmed that Sancho “is in an isolation module,” in which the prisoners are installed “until some time passes” of adaptation and then “they classify them depending on the sentence or what they have done.”
The Spaniard, his mother said, shares a cell “with 14 people,” all Asian except a European of Austrian origin.
The isolation module would be inside zone 6 of the prison, qualified as high security by the prison, according to sources close to the case.
Surat Thani prison is located in an almost depopulated area about 600 kilometers south of Bangkok and hosts about ten times more prisoners than Samui’s, about 4,730 prisoners and 626 prisoners, according to the Department of Corrections.
Also son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, Daniel Sancho initially confessed to the crime but later and during the trial last April he maintained that the death of Arrieta, with whom he stayed in Phangan on the day of the events, was due to an accident.
International
Ten Bodies Found in Mexico’s Zacatecas State Amid Security Operation
Mexican authorities discovered the bodies of 10 people on Saturday in the central state of Zacatecas, a region that was heavily affected by organized crime violence just a few years ago.
The victims were found in different municipalities across the state, which experienced a surge in violence between 2021 and 2022 as rival criminal groups fought for control of key drug trafficking routes.
Rodrigo Reyes, secretary general of the Zacatecas state government, said on social media that the bodies were located in the municipalities of Morelos, Pánuco, and Sain Alto.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the causes of death or identified those responsible for the killings.
Reyes said security forces have launched a coordinated operation to locate those behind the crimes and strengthen the police presence in the affected areas as the investigation continues.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
Ten Bodies Found in Mexico’s Zacatecas State Amid Security Operation
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
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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