International
Criticism of ICE in Florida for arresting a minor from Honduras and taking him away from a foster family
Congressmen and civil organizations criticized this Friday the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) for handcuffing a 17-year-old Honduran teenager who was with a foster care family in Florida in possible violation of the law.
The Young Center for the Rights of Immigrant Children accused officials from the Florida State Department of Children and Families (DCF) of violating a 30-year rule that prohibits them from handing over an undocumented minor to migration authorities.
“Instead of protecting this young man and keeping him safe from damage, the state of Florida did the opposite by calling ICE, which then cruelly removed him from his foster home with handcuffs and shackles, and put him in immigration detention,” said Kelly Albinak Kribs, co-director of the organization, in a message.
The Young Center referred to an article published on Wednesday by the Miami Herald that reported that the authorities removed the young man, identified as Henry, from his foster family in Pensacola because members of Florida called ICE to take him.
The minor and his mother, who had already been deported, crossed the border to Texas, from where he traveled to Pensacola to look for work after being a victim of human trafficking for job search purposes.
After the case was disclosed, local congressmen sent a letter this Friday to Secretary Taylor Hatch, of the DCF, to demand that she clarify the collaboration between this department and ICE, considering that what happened was “unnecessary and unacceptable.”
“It is morally reprehensible to try to complete deportation quotas by focusing on vulnerable children under the protection of Florida. Florida is better than this, even if our Government is not,” wrote Representative Fentrice Driskell when sharing the letter she signed with more than a dozen colleagues.
State Senator Ileana García, co-founder of the organization ‘Latinas for Trump’, blamed Stephen Miller, one of the president’s main advisers and architect of anti-immigrant policies, for this type of event.
“Miller has included undocumented minors in the shelter system, many of them victims of human trafficking, in its efforts to desperately meet a weekly deportation quota. These individuals are being picked up in the homes of their foster parents. This is unacceptable, regardless of her status as a citizen,” the Republican wrote in X.
The controversy occurs while Florida is a leader in the execution of Trump’s immigration policy, since Governor Ron DeSantis has promoted agreements 287(g) that force the authorities of the 67 counties to work with ICE.
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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