International
Body of Venezuelan migrant murdered in Colombia repatriated
AFP
The body of one of the young Venezuelan migrants murdered in Colombia was repatriated Sunday following international outrage over their deaths.
Colombian authorities said the two youths, one of whom was a minor, were murdered by an “illegal armed group.”
The remains of Jackson Enrique Arriaga, 23, were given to his aunt Auricia Moreno in Cucuta, Colombia, she told AFP. Arriaga, the father of a three-year-old daughter, had migrated to Colombia almost two years ago due to the economic crisis in Venezuela.
His body will be transported to the northeastern city of Tibu, where he and the other youth were killed, and from there will be taken to Zulia state in Venezuela.
“I make a call to the Venezuelan youth: go back to your country,” Moreno said in tears. “Today it was Jackson, tomorrow it could be one of you. Return to Venezuela.”
Videos and photos shared on social media appeared to show the two migrants trying to steal clothing from a shop in Tibu, on the border with Venezuela — an area rife with criminal gangs.
Images seemingly from after the two were allegedly caught stealing show the young men with their wrists bound with tape, surrounded by people giving them a warning: “We don’t want to see you lying by the side of a road tomorrow. We’re handing you over to authorities.”
The younger of the two was pictured carrying a red school backpack.
Other images show their bodies covered in blood by the side of a rural path after they were apparently shot in the stomach.
A piece of cardboard with the words “thieves” had been placed on the younger Venezuelan.
“Our family has not even had time to really think about what happened,” Moreno said. “We found out through social media because those videos went viral.”
She said she did not know who the minor was, and that she did not believe her nephew had been robbing a store
Local media reported the minor’s body had already been repatriated.
Tibu is the site of Colombia’s largest plantation of coca leaves, the main ingredient used in the manufacture of cocaine.
Various armed groups in the country are battling for control of the lucrative drug trafficking market.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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