International

Colombia’s Duque says deploying military to protest-hit Cali

AFP/Editor

Colombian President Ivan Duque announced Friday he was deploying military troops to Cali, at the epicenter of bloody anti-government protests across the country that have left dozens dead over the past month.

“Starting tonight, the maximum deployment of military assistance to the national police in the city of Cali begins,” Duque announced after chairing a security meeting in the city of 2.2 million people.

Three people died Friday during the protests in Cali, authorities said, the latest fatalities in weeks of unrest.

The new toll brings to 49 the deaths officially reported to date, two of them police officers. Human Rights Watch puts the tally at 63.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The latest deaths occurred in clashes between “those blocking and those trying to get through” a barricade, Cali mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina said in a video posted to social media.

Video footage showed a man lying in a pool of blood and another nearby wielding a gun, who was then attacked by a group of people.

Ospina regretted what he described as an “insane situation of death and pain.

“We cannot allow these circumstances to keep happening in Cali. We must not fall into the temptation of violence and death,” he added.

Colombians first took to the streets on April 28 against a proposed tax increase many said would leave them poorer even as the coronavirus pandemic was erasing jobs and eating into savings.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Though the reform was quickly withdrawn, it triggered a broad anti-government mobilization by people who felt they were left to fend for themselves in the health crisis, and angry over the heavy-handed response of the security forces.

The police clampdown has provoked international condemnation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Colombia’s Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez in Washington on Friday.

The US diplomat “expressed his concern and condolences for the loss of life during recent protests in Colombia and reiterated the unquestionable right of citizens to protest peacefully,” according to spokesman Ned Price.

Blinken also “welcomed the national dialogue President (Ivan) Duque has convened as an opportunity for the Colombian people to work together to construct a peaceful, prosperous future.”

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Two weeks of negotiations to end the unrest have yet to bear fruit.

In order to move forward, protest leaders insist the government must acknowledge abuses by the armed forces.

But Bogota, while conceding individual bad apples, claims leftist guerrillas and dissident FARC fighters have infiltrated the demonstrations to foment violence and vandalism.

On Monday, the White House had urged Colombia to find more than 100 people reported missing as a result of the unrest.

Some 2,000 people have been reported injured.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

International

U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense

Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.

The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.

According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.

Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.

Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.

International

U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico

The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.

According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.

“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.

In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.

The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.

International

Pope Leo XIV Says Countries Have Border Rights but Migrants Deserve Respect

Pope Leo XIV said Thursday that migrants must be treated with dignity as he addressed the global migration crisis during a press conference aboard the plane returning from his tour of Africa.

The pontiff answered questions from journalists regarding his upcoming trip to Spain, which will include a visit to the Canary Islands, a region heavily affected by migration flows and growing political polarization surrounding the issue.

“Obviously, migration is a very complex issue and affects many countries — not only Spain, not only Europe, but also the United States. It is a global phenomenon,” the pope said.

Pope Leo XIV also questioned the role of developed nations in addressing the crisis.

“My response begins with a question: What is the Global North doing to help the Global South and those countries where young people no longer see a future and dream of going north, even when the North sometimes has no answers to offer?” he asked.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

While acknowledging that “a state has the right to establish rules for its borders,” the pope insisted that the debate must go beyond border control and address the structural causes that force people to leave their home countries.