International
Equal marriage comes into force in Thailand
Equal marriage came into force this Thursday in Thailand, the first country in Southeast Asia that allows same-sex unions and only the third in Asia to do so, after Nepal and Taiwan, a milestone that will be celebrated today with hundreds of links.
It has taken 120 days since the law was published in the Royal Gazette on September 24, after being approved by Parliament in June, so that it could become effective and begin this Thursday to allow equal marriages in tourist Thailand.
The records will receive today for 10 hours the couples who wish to formalize their links, and the first to do so were the women Ployanapat Jirasukorn, 33, and Kwanporn Kongphet, 32, who sealed their marriage in a ceremony for hundreds of couples convened in the Bangkok Siam Paragon shopping center.
Around 300 couples are expected to be part of that collective wedding today in the Thai capital, a symbol of the step achieved in the Asian country that will accompany a speech by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, while in parallel a multitude of events will be held in provinces throughout the country.
A festive atmosphere to applaud the advances of the LGBTI collective in Thailand, stagnated for years by the two military coups since 2006 that restricted civil liberties, and that now place the country at the head of the entire Southeast Asian region, and most of Asia.
While homosexual couples in Thailand will from today have the same rights as heterosexual ones, including those related to the inheritance and adoption of children, the setbacks are palpable in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei, with a Muslim majority, which criminalize same-sex relationships.
Modern Singapore did not repeal until November 2022 the law that penalizes homosexual sex – section 377A, inheritance of the British colonial period -, in parallel approving a constitutional amendment to shield marriage as an exclusively heterosexual union.
In China, homosexuality has been legal since 1997, although the collective still faces numerous prejudices and challenges. Although India decriminalized in 2018 as Singapore the colonial law that criminalized homosexuality, marriage is only for couples of opposite sex.
Japan, for its part, is the only member of the G7 that does not recognize same-sex marriage, although in recent years its courts and local authorities have taken a series of steps that pave the way for future legalization.
Thailand thus joins the few places in Asia that recognize equal marriage, following Nepal, which legalized it last year, and Taiwan, which was a pioneer in approving it in 2019
Internacionales
Jalisco’s grim discovery: drug cartel mass grave found in construction site
A mass grave was discovered in a residential area under construction in the municipality of Zapopan, part of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco.
“After analyzing the recovered remains, they correspond to 34 individuals,” said a state official during a press conference. Jalisco has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in Mexico, largely due to the activity of drug cartels.
As of May 31, official data shows that Jalisco has recorded 15,683 missing persons, according to the state prosecutor’s office. Authorities attribute most of these cases to criminal organizations, which often bury or cremate their victims clandestinely.
“The construction company notified us at the end of February after discovering some remains,” explained the official, González, adding that excavation efforts have been ongoing since then.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in the region and was designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington has accused CJNG and the Sinaloa cartel of being the main sources of fentanyl trafficking, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.
Mexico has accumulated more than 127,000 missing persons, most of them since 2006, when the federal government launched a heavily criticized military-led anti-drug offensive.
International
U.S. targets families of sanctioned drug traffickers with new Visa restrictions
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday a new visa restriction policy targeting the family members and close associates of individuals sanctioned for drug trafficking, as part of efforts to combat the spread of fentanyl.
Overdoses from this synthetic opioid remain the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 44. According to official sources, more than 220 overdose deaths are reported daily in 2024, and over 40% of Americans know someone who has died from opioid-related causes.
“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy (…) which will apply to close family members and personal or business associates of individuals sanctioned for drug trafficking,” Rubio said in a statement.
International
White House claims challenged as most ICE arrests in LA involve non-criminals
Nearly seven out of ten people arrested during immigration raids in Los Angeles from June 1 to June 10 had no criminal record, contradicting White House claims that the raids targeted “criminals,” according to an analysis published Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Around 722 individuals were detained in the Los Angeles metropolitan area during the first ten days of June, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated the raids, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project of the University of California Berkeley School of Law.
The Los Angeles Times analysis found that 69% of those arrested during this period had no criminal record, and 58% had never been charged with any crime.
These figures contradict the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which said in a statement Tuesday that since June 6, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched an operation “to remove the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned that the arrests are part of President Donald Trump’s promise to secure the border by deporting criminals, including drug traffickers in Los Angeles, without providing further details.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized last week in a CNN interview that although the White House said it would target violent criminals, the raids had focused on workers.
“This wasn’t a drug den, it was a Home Depot,” Bass said, questioning the locations where raids were conducted.
Activists have also denounced the raids for targeting vulnerable workers who are easy to detain.
The Los Angeles Times analysis found that the average age of those arrested was 38, mostly men. Nearly 48% were Mexican, 16% Guatemalan, and 8% Salvadoran.
Honduras secures IDB loan to improve access and quality of education in vulnerable areas
Jalisco’s grim discovery: drug cartel mass grave found in construction site
U.S. targets families of sanctioned drug traffickers with new Visa restrictions
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