International

Fake Covid vaccination certificates for sale in Mexico

AFP

First there were fake vaccines. Now bogus coronavirus immunization certificates are being offered for sale in the Mexican capital, aimed at people traveling to countries that require proof of inoculation.

In an area of the historic district known for its printers and counterfeiters, a new service has appeared alongside documents purporting to be birth certificates, driver’s licenses and passports.

Customers for the fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates are usually people who want to travel but have not been fully immunized, or who received vaccines not recognized in the country they plan to visit, a vendor said.

“If they were vaccinated with the Chinese shots, here we change it for Pfizer or Sputnik V,” said the man, who gave his name as Cris.

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Undeterred by the presence of police officers nearby, he told potential customers the price ranged from 1,100 to 2,000 Mexican pesos ($55-100), according to an AFP reporter.

“In two hours you’ll have the document,” he added, his face partly concealed by a face mask, as he worked in the Santo Domingo district.

Mexico’s health ministry recently announced that people who have been vaccinated can download an immunization certificate for free through an official website to use when traveling or in other situations.

Around 21 million people have been fully vaccinated in Mexico, a country of 126 million, which has used Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Cansino, Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson shots.

The official certificates have a QR code that redirects whoever scans it to a government page that confirms the holder is fully immunized.

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The counterfeiters offer to tamper with that code, but whether it actually works is unclear.

To cheat the system would require a certain level of technological know-how so that the person checking the certificate is redirected to a fake government website, said cybersecurity specialist Carlos Ramirez.

In theory, he said, it would be possible to load each QR with the data requested by customers — a challenging but not impossible task for cyber criminals.

The Mexican health ministry did not respond to a request for information about its digital security protocols and what measures it plans in response to the counterfeits.

It is not the first fraudulent activity linked to the pandemic in Mexico, where Pfizer said in April fake vaccines had been found for sale under its brand name.

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In Santo Domingo, forged laboratory tests with a negative Covid-19 result are also on sale for about $30.

The falsification of official documents carries a prison sentence of four to eight years in Mexico, whose official coronavirus death toll of more than 235,000 is the world’s fourth highest.

International

Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.

Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.

In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.

Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.

“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.

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He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.

International

Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking

Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.

Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.

The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.

“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.

International

Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing

Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.

“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.

He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.

A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.

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Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.