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
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.
In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.
During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.
“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”
The remarks highlighted ongoing differences between Washington and Mexico over how to confront drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
International
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the creation of a 17-nation alliance across the Americas aimed at dismantling drug cartels, during a regional summit held at his golf club in Doral.
Speaking to a group of allied leaders at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the initiative would rely on military force to eliminate powerful criminal networks operating throughout the hemisphere.
“The heart of our agreement is the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy these sinister cartels and terrorist networks. Once and for all, we will put an end to them,” Trump told the assembled heads of state.
The Republican leader argued that large portions of territory in the Western Hemisphere have fallen under the control of transnational gangs and pledged U.S. support to governments seeking to confront them. He even suggested the potential use of highly precise missiles against cartel leaders.
Before making the announcement, Trump greeted the roughly twelve leaders attending the summit, including close allies such as Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa and Nayib Bukele, whom he described as a “great president.”
The meeting forms part of Trump’s broader regional strategy inspired by his reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reinforce Washington’s influence in the Americas, strengthen security cooperation and counter the growing presence of powers such as China.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. actions in the region as examples of his administration’s approach, including the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
The summit also takes place amid escalating international tensions following the conflict launched last week by the United States and Israel against Iran.
International
Trump replaces Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday the departure of Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, one of the key architects of the administration’s policy of deporting undocumented immigrants.
Noem, who has been assigned a new role as a “special envoy” to Latin America, will be replaced starting March 31 by Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, the president said in a message posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
According to media reports, Trump made the decision after Noem’s recent hearings in Congress, during which she faced tough questions regarding the awarding of a major public contract.
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
Trump replaces Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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