International
Rescued condors spread wings in Chilean Andes
AFP
Pumalin and Liquine, two juvenile condors rescued from certain death, have been released back into the wild in a much-needed boost for a dwindling species emblematic of the Chilean Andes.
After 14 months of rehabilitation, the pair of scavengers were freed last week in the Patagonian National Park in Chile’s extreme south, where every individual counts for a species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “vulnerable” to extinction.
From a vast cage perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Patagonian valley, the pair spread their massive wings, waddled to the ledge, and took the leap of freedom, soaring away graciously.
“Today we have witnessed a milestone,” Christian Saucedo of the Rewilding Chile Foundation told AFP.
“It is a very complex process… but it means returning individuals who would otherwise be condemned to live in captivity,” he said.
According to the IUCN, the Andean condor — a type of scavenging vulture — is a declining species, with fewer than 7,000 left in the wild.
– Human ‘persecution’ –
The main threat is “direct and indirect persecution by humans,” it states.
Dominic Duran, the executive director of the Manku Project for condor conservation, told AFP “the biggest threat is toxic baits set by humans to poison… pumas or wild dogs eating their livestock.”
When the condors feed on these carcasses, up to 30 at a time, they get poisoned in turn.
The first to eat, he added, are usually the breeding males and females, and “when condors are killed by toxic bait, all the reproductive individuals at the top of the chain die.”
Other threats are hunting by humans, intoxication from poorly-managed landfills and dwindling numbers of the wild animals that make up their diet.
The foundation that rescued Pumalin and Liquine is a legacy of US philanthropist Douglas Tompkins, who in 1990 donated 8,000 square kilometers (3,088 square miles) of land to Chile and Argentina for conservation.
The Patagonia National Park now housed there holds an estimated 70 percent of Chile’s Andean condors — the largest population in South America.
Pumalin, a male, was found over a year ago unable to fly after getting caught in a heavy storm, and Liquine, a female, was rescued struggling to make it in the wild after an earlier attempt to rehabilitate her.
They will now go back to “learning the codes of condor society,” said Saucedo.
The pair’s progress will be monitored with radio transmitters implanted in their wings.
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.
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.
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.
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