International
ELN, Colombia’s last rebel group, announces Christmas truce
| By AFP |
Colombia’s last recognized rebel group, the ELN, on Monday announced a “unilateral ceasefire” for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), which is in peace negotiations with Colombia’s new leftist government, said in a video on social media that the truce would last from Christmas Eve to January 2.
It would apply “only to the military and police forces,” a masked ELN member said, adding “we deserve the right to defend ourselves in case of being attacked.”
Just last week, some 10,000 inhabitants of Colombia’s northwestern Choco jungle region found themselves trapped as the ELN launched an armed strike.
The attack, criticized by the government and opposition, was said by the ELN to be in retaliation for the death of one of its own at the hands of “paramilitaries” allegedly in “collusion” with government forces.
Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.
The ELN is the last recognized rebel group operating in Colombia, although dissidents who refused to sign the 2016 peace deal between the FARC guerrilla group and the government also remain active.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro — a former urban guerrilla himself — has vowed to negotiate with armed groups in search of a “total peace” for Colombia.
Talks resumed with the ELN in Venezuela last month for the first time since 2019 — when Petro’s conservative predecessor Ivan Duque broke off negotiations following a car bomb attack on a police academy that left 22 people dead.
The initial talks have not resulted in a formal ceasefire agreement.
Armed since 1964, the ELN has a force of some 2,500 fighters and a wide network of collaborators, according to independent estimates.
International
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with skin cancer while serving a historic sentence for attempting a coup d’état. His medical team confirmed that the lesions have been removed and that, for now, he does not require further procedures, though he will need regular monitoring.
On Wednesday, September 17, Bolsonaro’s doctors confirmed the diagnosis. The announcement comes shortly after the former leader was convicted of orchestrating an attempted coup.
According to his physician, Claudio Birolini, Bolsonaro has “squamous cell carcinoma, which is neither the most benign nor the most aggressive form — it is intermediate.” Birolini warned, however, that this type of skin cancer “can carry more serious consequences.”
International
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Argentine President Javier Milei praised Paraguay’s economic growth over the past two decades during a speech before the Paraguayan Congress on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2025), crediting it to incentives that favored capitalism. At the same time, he contrasted that progress with what he described as Argentina’s deepening “decline” during the same period.
“If we compare the last 20 years of Paraguay with those of the Argentine Republic, we will find almost diametrically opposite results,” Milei told lawmakers during a special session of Parliament on the second and final day of his official visit to Asunción.
“While you have not stopped growing, we have deepened our decline. If we understand incentives as the engine of capitalism, Paraguay focused on preserving and strengthening them, while Argentina dedicated itself to chaining, directing, and suffocating them,” the right-wing leader stated.
International
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a large-scale immigration operation in the Chicago area with the arrival of additional Border Patrol agents on Tuesday and the presence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a raid.
Noem posted a video on her X account showing the immigration operation, in which DHS reportedly removed “violent criminals” from the streets. The footage shows Noem observing the arrest of a man taken into custody at his home early Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location.
“I was in Chicago today to make it clear that we will not back down,” the secretary wrote. “Our work is just beginning,” she added.
The warning from Noem was echoed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino, who posted a video on X Tuesday showing multiple Border Patrol vehicles arriving in the city with the caption: “Chicago, we are here!”
Bovino, who led the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles implemented since last June, said the team will remain in Chicago to continue the mission they started in California.
Operation “Midway Blitz” is currently focused on the Chicago metropolitan area and its suburbs. Activists and residents have reported sightings of masked agents and unmarked vehicles in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.
Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction
Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’
Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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