International
Former FARC hostage Betancourt announces fresh presidential bid
AFP
Ingrid Betancourt — who was abducted 20 years ago while campaigning for Colombia’s presidency, and held captive by FARC rebels in the jungle for more than six years — on Tuesday announced a new bid for the country’s top job.
The Franco-Colombian leader of the Oxygen Green Party told reporters in Bogota she would vie to become the nominee to represent centrist parties in the race.
If she wins the nomination, she will contest the first round presidential election on May 29.
“I will work tirelessly from this moment… to be your president,” she said.
Betancourt, 60, was captured by the FARC guerilla group in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency, and was rescued in a military operation six-and-a-half years later, in 2008.
She was chained for much of her captivity after she tried to escape.
The Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia (FARC) has been disarmed and disbanded under a 2016 peace pact that ended Colombia’s decades-long internal war, and has since converted itself into a minority political party.
“I am here today to finish what I started with many of you in 2002,” said Betancourt, who has mostly lived abroad since her liberation.
She added she was convinced “Colombia is ready to change course.”
Betancourt presented herself as a centrist alternative to the right in power and the left led by former M-19 guerrilla and former Bogota mayor Gustavo Petro, a favorite in the polls.
“For decades, we have had only bad options: extreme right, extreme left,” she said.
“The moment has come to have a centrist option.”
She listed as objectives environmental protection and combating insecurity in a country with high rates of violence, and said she believed “in a world with a woman’s vision.”
Betancourt returned to public life in support of the peace process, confronting her captors last June for the first time since her ordeal in a meeting between victims and perpetrators arranged by Colombia’s Truth Commission.
Colombia established the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a tribunal to try the worst atrocities committed during the conflict.
Since 2017, it has charged former FARC commanders with the kidnapping of at least 21,000 people and the recruitment of 18,000 minors.
The JEP hopes to deliver its first verdicts this year. It has the authority to offer alternatives to jail time to people who confess their crimes and make reparations.
International
Nicolás Maduro’s Son Calls U.S. Trial Against His Father and Cilia Flores “Unjust”
Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra on Wednesday described as “unjust” the legal proceedings in the United States against his father, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, following their capture in Caracas on January 3 by U.S. forces.
“Faced with the unjust trial taking place today, the people raised their voices with a single demand: We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and the First Lady,” Maduro Guerra wrote on his Instagram account.
The lawmaker attended a rally in Caracas where supporters of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)gathered to show support for the former president, who faces charges in the United States including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and cocaine importation. Flores is accused of crimes related to drug trafficking and weapons possession.
The event was also attended by PSUV Vice President for Mobilizations and Events Nahum Fernández and Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez, according to photos shared by Maduro’s son.
The third hearing in the case against Maduro and Flores concluded Wednesday at a federal court in New York after lasting only about 18 minutes. During the hearing, the judge preliminarily set June 2027 as the expected start date for the trial.
One of the main arguments from the defense will focus on immunity. Maduro’s lead attorney, Barry Pollack, who has also represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, said the defense plans to request immunity for both defendants, arguing that Maduro was serving as head of state and Flores as first lady at the time of their detention.
Both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance in New York on January 5.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power after Maduro’s capture, has not yet commented on Wednesday’s hearing in the United States.
International
Mexico Files 20 Complaints in U.S. Over Deaths of 17 Citizens During ICE Operations
The Mexican government announced that it has filed 20 legal complaints across different jurisdictions in the United States seeking investigations into the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens who died since May 2025 during immigration enforcement operations or while in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported that the complaints were submitted on July 13 by Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Roberto Lazzeri. Of the total, eight cases were filed with state prosecutors’ offices and 12 with county prosecutors’ offices in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.
According to the Mexican government, the legal actions seek to clarify the circumstances surrounding each death and determine whether any immigration authorities may bear responsibility.
During meetings with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE, Ambassador Lazzeri expressed Mexico’s concerns over conditions in immigration detention centers, including privately operated facilities, and requested thorough investigations into every case.
In addition to the complaints filed in the United States, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry sent a communication to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, informing him of the deaths and requesting that the UN gather information, assess the situation under international human rights standards, and issue recommendations to prevent similar incidents.
The SRE also stated that Mexico’s consular network continues to provide support to the families of the deceased citizens, including legal assistance, help with repatriation of remains, and other procedures requested by relatives.
The announcement comes after the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araújo, a Mexican citizen who died after being shot by ICE agents during an immigration operation in Texas. The case has gained additional attention after a federal judge in Houston ordered a halt to the deportation of José Trinidad Rojas Pliego, considered a key witness in the incident.
Mexican authorities reiterated that they will continue using all available legal and diplomatic mechanisms to monitor the investigations and defend the rights of Mexican citizens in U.S. territory.
International
India Approves New Dengue Vaccine as Global Cases Continue to Rise
India has approved a new dengue vaccine as health authorities seek to strengthen prevention efforts against a mosquito-borne viral disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the global population is currently at risk of contracting dengue, which causes between 100 million and 400 million infections annually.
Since 2021, India has recorded more than one million dengue cases, including at least 1,500 deaths.
The virus can cause high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, nausea, skin rashes and, in rare cases, internal bleeding and death.
The vaccine, authorized by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), was developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda. The Indian Health Ministry said the vaccine is recommended in two doses for people between 4 and 60 years old.
The treatment has already been approved by health authorities in around 40 countries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical company Panacea Biotec has begun the final phase of clinical trials for a single-dose dengue vaccine, aiming to provide another prevention option against the disease.
Brazil recently announced the suspension of the use of another single-dose dengue vaccine developed in the country after two suspected deaths were reported.
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