International
More than 20 dead and 15 injured in an attack by an armed gang in Haiti
More than 20 people died and at least 15 were injured in an attack by the Gran Grif armed gang in the town of Pont Sonde in Haiti, local sources reported on Thursday.
It is not ruled out that the number of victims will increase after the incursion led this morning by the Gran Grif gang, based in the town of Savien (Petite Riviere, Artibonite), and that has forced the population of the affected area to flee en masse and take refuge in the public square of the city of Saint-Marc.
The injured are receiving treatment in health centers, especially at the Saint Nicolas de Saint-Marc hospital, a town located a hundred kilometers from Port-au-Prince.
Since this morning, the armed group controls the Pont Sonde area, in the Haitian department of Artibonite.
Violence is on the rise in Haiti
Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security announced that the corresponding instructions have been given to the National Police of Haiti in order to “re-establish order and knock out all those who sow terror in the department of Artibonite.”
“These crimes will not go unpunished. The perpetrators and their accomplices will be persecuted to the last trench,” according to a statement from that ministry, which reiterates its determination to take “all the necessary measures to restore peace to the country and so that the population can freely dedicate themselves to their activities.”
This attack comes a few days after the sanctions announced by the United States and the UN against the leader of the Great Griffin, known as Luckson Elan.
Haiti suffers from extreme violence from armed gangs, which has led thousands of people to leave their homes to escape insecurity.
More than 700,000 internal refugees
According to the latest report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 700,000 people – more than half of them children – are currently internally displaced in Haiti.
The latest figures show a 22% increase in the number of internally displaced people since June, with a consequent worsening of the humanitarian situation.
In the last seven months, gang violence has forced more than 110,000 people to leave their homes, especially in Gressier, west of the capital.
The majority of the displaced in Haiti, about 75%, are currently refugees in the country’s provinces, and the Greater South region alone welcomes 45% of all these people.
In a recent report, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) indicated that at least 1,379 people were victims of armed gang violence in Haiti, between deaths and injuries, during the second quarter of 2024, bringing the number of victims to almost 3,900 in the first half of the year.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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