International
The Colombian Government will go on the offensive against the ELN for the violence in the Catatumbo
The Minister of the Interior of Colombia, Juan Fernando Cristo, said on Wednesday that the Government will go on the offensive against the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the violence exercised since last week in the Catatumbo region that has left between 60 and 80 dead and more than 38,000 displaced.
“The Government has decided to use all constitutional and legal instruments to reject that intention of the ELN (to control the Colombian-Venezuelan border), to go on the offensive and to restore normality for the inhabitants of Catatumbo,” Cristo said in a statement to the press.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Monday that he will declare a state of internal commotion for the offensive undertaken by the guerrillas, a measure that will come into force tonight, according to Cristo.
“It is totally inexcusable, unacceptable, the crimes committed by the ELN, are acts of barbarism, it is a premeditated, organized massacre, the one that the ELN has done in the Catatumbo while they were preparing for a new conversation with the Government,” said Cristo.
Petro also suspended on Friday the peace talks with that guerrilla, with whom the Government delegation was supposed to meet this month to try to unlock negotiations that have stalled since May last year.
However, Cristo said that with this offensive, the ELN aims to “appropriate the income of coca, drug trafficking” and to “exercise territorial control over the Colombian-Venezuelan border area in that part of the Catatumbo.”
The ELN offensive against a FARC dissident has left between 60 and 80 dead (according to reports from the Ombudsman’s Office and the Government of Norte de Santander), although Legal Medicine has so far received only 41 bodies due to the difficulty in accessing the areas where the fighting took place.
Likewise, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) figures 38,419 displaced and 12,176 confined.
With the declaration of internal shock, the Government considers that it will have “all the necessary legal instruments to face this crisis and to restore normality.”
“From the issuance of the decree tonight, the Government will be authorized for 90 days to issue measures that allow us to restore that normality,” Cristo said.
It seeks to strengthen “military capabilities, increase the foot of strength, restrict communications and intercept communications.”
“We need to advance in the control of coca, advance with a crash plan in programs to replace illicit crops, because if we do not transform that economy (…) we will continue in the same,” he said.
Likewise, it has a humanitarian dimension to “attend as it properly deserves, with all dignity, to the displaced people caused by the ELN, who are today in Tibú, Ocaña and the city of Cúcuta.”
Finally, the interior commotion seeks to carry out a “social and economic transformation of the territory”.
“We are going to use the inner commotion to advance in a defined way in the replacement of illicit crops, but also in the fulfillment of a dream of the catatumberos, which are investments,” Cristo concluded.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
Analyst warns of cracks in Nicaragua’s inner circle as Ortega prepares succession
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
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
-
Central America5 days agoHonduran prosecutors charge three with terrorism and assassination plot against Manuel Zelaya
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemalan police regain control of prisons after gang riots leave one guard dead
-
International3 days agoErin weakens to Category 3 after rapid intensification to Category 5
-
International5 days agoTrump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine peace agreement
-
International2 days agoNYPD declares suspicious Times Square package safe after investigation
-
International4 days agoEx-Pemex director linked to Odebrecht scandal detained in Texas, faces trial in Mexico
-
International1 day agoPeruvian woman arrested in Bali for smuggling cocaine in sex toy
-
International1 day agoCuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
-
International4 days agoResidente to perform free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo on september 6
-
International1 day agoTrump says Russia open to security guarantees for Ukraine amid peace talks
-
International2 days agoTexas opens major migrant detention center amid civil rights protests
-
International2 days agoThree arrested in Dubai hours after $25 million pink diamond theft
-
Sin categoría2 days ago
Zelensky meets Trump with European leaders amid peace deal tensions
-
International1 day agoFinnish MP Eemeli Peltonen dies at 30 in Parliament building
-
Central America11 hours agoAnalyst warns of cracks in Nicaragua’s inner circle as Ortega prepares succession
-
International15 hours ago
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
-
International15 hours agoThree U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking