International
FAO: Latin America facing “very worrying” scenario due to high numbers of hunger and obesity
Latin America and the Caribbean face a “very worrying, but with positive elements” panorama, given the 41 million people who suffer from hunger and a third of the population dealing with obesity problems, said this Monday in Honduras the deputy director general and regional representative of the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin.
“It is worrying because we still have 41 million people who go hungry, that is dramatic if we think that in Latin America there are people who do not eat,” Lubetkin stressed to EFE after participating in Honduras in the inauguration of a meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
However, Lubetkin stressed that in the last two years, hunger has decreased, which has allowed 4.5 million people to emerge from food poverty; which “forces” countries to strengthen their public policies to further reduce these figures.
Latin America and the Caribbean also face “bad food”, a problem that affects 140 million people, said the representative, who highlighted that the region has the capacity to produce food for 1.3 billion people.
Lubetkin said that following a healthy diet carries a daily cost of “$3.96” per person in Latin America and the Caribbean, after highlighting that the region has made progress in reducing hunger but records an increase in overweight.
“Almost a third of the region’s population is currently in the obesity scenario,” a problem that also affects “8% of children over 5 years of age,” he added.
In this sense, Lubetkin urged the region to look for “solutions” to eradicate both hunger and overweight and climate change, and warned that Latin America is beginning to fragment into three different realities, something that cannot be allowed.
“Not the whole region is in the same scenario and that is an alarm signal because today Latin America begins to divide into three Latin Americas, in other regions of the world there are subregions with different realities and we did not have that,” he explained.
Neither South America nor Central America can “allow there to be another subregion, to go backwards because it will affect us all,” the official insisted, after calling on the nations to “act together.”
Likewise, Lubetkin demanded greater investments to face climate change, strengthen the region’s agri-food systems and reduce food waste.
Faced with the seriousness of climate change, he said that it is necessary to implement “insurance” for producers that guarantees them the possibility of future production, even in adverse situations, he emphasized.
Finally, the FAO representative asked to create “new conditions” to improve food security in the region and assured that the value of food lost between harvest and sale exceeds “a quarter of all food production”.
International
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
Mexican authorities dismantled a clandestine laboratory containing 2.5 tons of methamphetamine in the southeastern state of Chiapas, seized a warehouse with more than four tons of chemical precursors in Guerrero (south), and intercepted a trailer in Tijuana attempting to cross into the United States with 2.7 tons of drugs.
Omar García Harfuch, head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), reported on Saturday via social media that agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), along with representatives from the Defense Secretariat, Navy (Semar), National Guard (GN), and SSPC, disabled the methamphetamine production lab in Chiapas and confiscated 2.5 tons of the drug.
A statement specified that the agents secured 2.5 tons of methamphetamine, barrels containing substances used to manufacture synthetic drugs, a firearm, and four trucks. In another operation in Guerrero, authorities located over four tons of chemical substances.
The discovery took place on a property in the community of Margarita Maza, Juárez, used to store materials for synthetic drug production. Sufficient evidence was collected and presented to a control judge who authorized the intervention of the property.
In Chiapas, authorities also seized more than 300 barrels and containers with chemicals for making synthetic drugs, as well as various metal containers and devices.
International
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
The National Assembly of Venezuela expressed its support this Saturday for President Nicolás Maduro, condemning the United States’ increase in the reward offered for his capture as an “act of aggression.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that Washington had doubled the reward to $50 million for Maduro’s capture, labeling him as one of the “world’s largest drug traffickers.”
“We reject the absurd and desperate actions announced by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, which are clearly illegal and lack any real basis, beyond being a delirious attempt of aggression against the president (…) and against our rebellious and brave people,” said the Assembly leader, Jorge Rodríguez, while reading a letter he said was unanimously approved by the deputies.
“It is precisely President Nicolás Maduro (…) the protector of the strong democracy that shelters us and the leader who firmly upholds the rule of law and justice,” Rodríguez continued. He is also Venezuela’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington.
Bondi accused Maduro of using “terrorist organizations like the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Cartel of the Suns to introduce lethal drugs and violence” into the United States.
“In 25 years of revolution, we have resisted and advanced despite constant imperialist aggressions. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, with crude sanctions, criminal blockades, or senseless threats in diverting the noble path the Venezuelan people charted in the free elections of July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was elected President of the Republic,” the statement read.
The Venezuelan opposition alleges fraud in those elections and claims victory, and as a result, has boycotted the 2025 legislative, regional, and municipal elections.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
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
-
International4 days agoMassive wildfire in Southern France kills one, injures nine
-
Central America4 days agoFour honduran presidential candidates sign anti-corruption pact ahead of 2025 elections
-
International4 days agoFlorida officials warn against raw milk after dozens sickened
-
Central America2 days agoNicaragua’s Telica volcano erupts four times, no damages reported
-
International2 days agoOver 240 guatemalans detained at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz await deportation
-
International4 days agoJapan marks 80 years since Hiroshima bombing with call for nuclear disarmament
-
International2 days agoColombian President Gustavo Petro announces talks with clan del Golfo outside country
-
International2 days agoMaría Corina Machado thanks OAS allies for condemning Venezuela’s growing repression
-
International1 day agoThree injured in early-morning New York City shooting
-
International1 day agoU.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
-
International8 hours agoMaduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
-
International7 hours agoMexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states