International
Experts cast doubt on inquiry into Mexico’s missing students
| By AFP |
Independent experts investigating the disappearance of 43 Mexican students in 2014 raised concerns on Monday about apparent inconsistencies in an official inquiry into the tragedy, which shocked the nation.
In August, a truth commission tasked by the government to investigate the atrocity branded it a “state crime” and said that the military shared responsibility, either directly or through negligence.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) questioned the credibility of purported WhatsApp messages presented by the commission as apparent evidence of collusion between criminals and authorities.
“It’s not possible to guarantee the authenticity of the messages,” which were shared as screen shots, a member of the group, Francisco Cox, told reporters.
The GIEI, created in 2014 under an agreement between Mexico and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, expressed concern that the government was trying “to speed up the results” without a full investigation.
The experts noted that some of the messages purportedly sent before the students disappeared had two blue ticks indicating they had been read — a feature only later introduced by WhatsApp.
Last week, the truth commission’s head, deputy interior minister Alejandro Encinas, said that of 154 screen shots, 99 were consistent with other evidence and 55 were not.
The teaching students had commandeered buses in the southern state of Guerrero to travel to a demonstration in Mexico City before they went missing.
Investigators believe that they were detained by corrupt police and handed over to a drug cartel that mistook them for members of a rival gang, but exactly what happened to them is unclear.
One theory put forward by the truth commission is that cartel members targeted the students because they had unknowingly taken a bus with drugs hidden inside.
An official report presented in 2015 by the government of then-president Enrique Pena Nieto concluded that cartel members killed the students and incinerated their remains at a garbage dump.
Those findings, which did not attribute any responsibility to members of the armed forces, were rejected by relatives and independent experts.
So far, the remains of only three victims have been identified.
Prosecutors announced in August that arrest warrants had been issued for more than 80 suspects, including military personnel and police officers, but so far only a handful of them have been detained.
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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