International
The Court of the IADH rules out measures in favor of Gustavo Petro amid investigations into his campaign
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDHR) considered it “inappropriate” to grant provisional measures in favor of the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, which his representatives requested in the midst of investigations for apparent irregular financing of his political campaign.
The IADH Court explained that Petro’s legal team requested the measures as part of the process of supervising the sentence issued in 2020, in which the court condemned Colombia for the dismissal of Petro from his position as mayor of Bogotá in 2013.
The resolution, published on the website of the IADH Court, determined that the case resolved in 2020 is not related to the provisional measures and therefore rejected them.
“The Court considers that the aforementioned request is not related to the subject of the case (resolved in 2020) or to the implementation of any of the three guarantees of non-repetition of regulatory adequacy ordered in the judgment, which makes it inappropriate,” the resolution indicates.
A “factual” and “legal” situation different from that of 2020
The text adds that the request of Petro’s representatives “is based on a factual and legal situation different from that known to this Court in the Petro Urrego case judgment issued in 2020.”
“On that occasion, the Court considered it unconventional for an administrative authority to order the cessation and eventual disqualification of popularly elected officials. From the information provided in this request for provisional measures, it does not appear that the administrative body in question has the power to disqualify or restrict the political rights of a popularly elected official,” the Court of Human Rights determined.
Last October, the National Electoral Council (CNE) filed charges for alleged irregularities to the campaign that led Petro to the Presidency of Colombia in 2022.
The investigation found an alleged violation of spending caps of 5.3 billion pesos (about 1.19 million dollars).
In the request for provisional measures before the Inter-American Court, Petro’s representatives affirmed that there is an “irregular attribution of powers to the CNE to investigate President Gustavo Petro Urrego, which contravenes the conventional and constitutional guarantees of the integral jurisdiction enjoyed by the dignity of the office of President of the Republic.”
They added that the responsibility for investigating belongs to the Legal Committee of Investigation and Prosecutions of the Senate House of Representatives.
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
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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