International
Peru vote review can resume as new judge sworn in
AFP
Challenges to balloting in Peru’s disputed June 6 presidential election can resume as a new judge was sworn in Saturday to the panel overseeing vote disputes.
Leftist Pedro Castillo took a majority of votes, according to the unconfirmed count, in an election his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori — charged with corruption in an unrelated scandal — claims was riddled with fraud.
The election has not been called due to the fraud claims from the Fujimori camp, which asked the National Jury of Elections (JNE), the final vote arbiter, to review thousands of votes.
If she loses, Fujimori risks an imminent graft trial that would otherwise be delayed until after her presidential term.
One of four JNE judges, Luis Arce, announced Wednesday that he “declined” to continue his duties, from which he cannot resign under law until the job at hand is done.
On Saturday Victor Raul Rodriguez was sworn in as Arce’s replacement.
“Electoral justice cannot remain paralyzed or blocked,” said Jorge Luis Salas, the top JNE official.
Salas has endured fierce criticism from Fujimori supporters and even demonstrations outside his home.
The JNE has had to weather a highly polarized political environment that has seen large demos in favor of Fujimori and Castillo, including two in Lima on Saturday.
The situation was further rocked this week by the airing of audio from Vladimiro Montesions, the nefarious intelligence chief under Fujimori’s father Alberto Fujimori (who was president from 1990-2000). Montesions is currently serving time for human rights abuses.
In the audio the imprisoned Montesinos gives instructions to buy three of the four JNE magistrates and throw the election for Fujimori.
According to the full vote count, Castillo received 50.12 percent of the votes in the election, or some 44,000 more than Fujimori.
The United States has declared the vote “free, fair, accessible and peaceful” and the Organization of American States has said it was without any “serious irregularities.”
The JNE has already rejected the majority of Fujimori’s objections.
Peru’s new president is due to be sworn in on July 28, the country’s independence day.
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.”
International
Three injured in early-morning New York City shooting
A shooting in New York City early Saturday morning left three people injured, a police spokesperson told AFP.
The incident occurred at around 1:20 a.m. local time (05:20 GMT) following a dispute. An 18-year-old woman sustained a scratch to the neck, while a 19-year-old man and a 65-year-old man were injured in the lower limbs.
The victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.
The alleged shooter was taken into custody at the scene, and a firearm was recovered. As of now, the suspect has not been formally charged.
Videos circulating on social media show scenes of panic among the crowd, though AFP has not been able to verify their authenticity. The incident comes just weeks after another shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper that left four people injured before the gunman took his own life.
International
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announces talks with clan del Golfo outside country
Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated on Friday that his government has begun talks outside the country with the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s main criminal group also known as the Gaitanist Army.
“We have started conversations outside Colombia with the self-called Gaitanist Army,” the president said during the handover of 6,500 hectares of land to farmers in the Caribbean department of Córdoba.
The president noted that his administration “has seized more cocaine than any other government” because it seeks to “cut off the finances (of criminal groups) that fuel violence in many regions of Colombia.”
“A bill has been introduced that I hope the Congress studies thoroughly, because it essentially elevates restorative justice even for serious crimes,” Petro said.
The initiative he referred to was presented by his Minister of Justice, Eduardo Montealegre, aimed at “the consolidation of total peace.”
According to the Ministry of Justice, the bill seeks to provide the government with clear regulations to achieve the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of illegal armed groups.
For groups such as the Clan del Golfo, a judicial submission process will be applied, which could bring possible legal benefits if they genuinely cooperate, surrender weapons, and dismantle their groups.
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