International

Brazil police open investigation of Indigenous ‘genocide’

Foto: Actualidad RT

January 24 | By AFP |

Brazilian federal police are investigating a “genocide” against the Yanomami people after it emerged that nearly a hundred children from the Indigenous group had died, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.

The announcement came after a government report revealed Saturday that 99 Yanomami children living on Brazil’s largest Indigenous reservation — all under the age of five — died last year from malnutrition, pneumonia and malaria.

“I decided yesterday to open a new police investigation to find out (if there has been) a genocide,” Justice Minister Flavio Dino told CNN Brasil.

“We are considering that there are very strong indications of neglecting nutritional and health assistance for these Indigenous populations, there was intention,” he added.

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The probe will consider the actions — and failures to act — by authorities and public health officials on Yanomami land, including possible environmental crimes.

Authorities also found several more cases of children with serious malnutrition, malaria, respiratory infections and other health complications during a visit last week, the ministry said.

Newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described an “inhumane” scene after himself visiting the community in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima.

According to Dino, the aid infrastructure for the Yanomami is “very precarious.”

Yanomami territory, home to more than 30,000 Indigenous people, stretches 37,000 square miles (96,000 square kilometers) between Roraima and Amazonas states.

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Lula’s government has set up a department to address the community’s concerns, in a pivot from far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who maintained a hostile relationship with Brazil’s Indigenous peoples.

Before the genocide investigation announcement, a health crisis had already been declared in the are.

Conditions on the Yanomami reservation have become increasingly violent, with illegal miners regularly killing Indigenous residents, sexually abusing women and children and contaminating the area’s rivers with the mercury used to separate gold from sediment, according to complaints from Indigenous organizations.

And the increase of illegal mining in the Amazon has driven the spread of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and Covid-19, according to experts.

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International

Virginia Police Arrest Salvadoran Man in Great Falls Woman’s Killing

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, identified by federal officials as an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested in connection with the death of Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, who was found dead Monday, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

Authorities said Cedillos-Campos and Puch were coworkers and were also involved in an “intimate relationship.”

“Our victim suffered numerous stab wounds in a truly brutal and indescribable manner,” Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a news conference Wednesday.

Investigators said surveillance video showed Cedillos-Campos at the restaurant where he and Puch worked, allegedly taking a fixed-blade knife, a pair of black latex gloves and a bottle of water before leaving.

“He left with the intent to harm and kill the victim,” Davis said.

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Cedillos-Campos was arrested Wednesday morning in Maryland and confessed to the killing, according to Davis. He is awaiting extradition to Virginia. Authorities have not said whether he has an attorney representing him.

The Department of Homeland Security said Cedillos-Campos had previously been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2024 after allegedly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally near El Paso, Texas.

International

Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027

Mexico and Guatemala agreed Tuesday on a 2027 Binational Plan built around five areas of cooperation, along with a schedule of meetings and initiatives aimed at making progress by the end of 2026 on security, border infrastructure, human mobility, development and technical and social cooperation.

The agreement was announced by the foreign ministers of both countries following a meeting in Mexico City.

Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said the plan will establish the “direction and priorities” of bilateral relations for next year. His Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, said the meeting allowed both governments to make decisions, schedule activities and revitalize bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Security and border infrastructure

In the area of security, the two governments have nearly completed negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding for the Mexico-Guatemala High-Level Security Group (Ganseg), which was reactivated in 2025.

The countries expect to sign the agreement in the coming months to strengthen coordination and their ability to respond to shared security threats.

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Regarding their nearly 1,000-kilometer shared border, Mexico and Guatemala agreed to advance infrastructure improvements at border crossings and continue work on a joint cargo clearance program between Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Umán, two border areas separated by the Suchiate River.

The measures are intended to facilitate bilateral trade while making cross-border exchanges safer and more efficient.

The two governments will also continue defining a route toward a railway connection between their countries through Line K of Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), with the aim of strengthening economic and community ties.

Migration and development

On human mobility, Mexico and Guatemala will maintain coordination to ensure safe, orderly and dignified returns, while strengthening protection for people in transit.

The bilateral agenda also includes a second phase of the Sembrando Vida program in Guatemala, which is expected to benefit 10,000 people across 15 departments.

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Both countries will also advance initiatives under Juntos para el Bienestar, as well as six technical, scientific and energy cooperation projects approved by the Joint Commission.

The agreements seek to strengthen bilateral ties and establish concrete priorities for cooperation between Mexico and Guatemala during 2027.

International

France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that France will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to what Paris described as an attack on two French representatives in Iran last month.

“Two French diplomats were scandalously and deliberately assaulted on July 19. I had announced that this intolerable act would have consequences. It has now happened. Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days,” Barrot said in a message posted on X.

The two Iranian diplomats have been declared persona non grata and will be required to leave France within the coming days, according to the French foreign minister.

About a month ago, Barrot said that two members of the French diplomatic staff had been detained by Iranian security forces for several hours. One of them was also subjected to harassment, he said.

The French government described the incident as an “extremely serious act of intimidation” that violated diplomatic immunity.

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The two French embassy staff members were working on programs supporting Iranian civil society, particularly initiatives involving artists and researchers.

Iran has denied France’s allegations regarding the incident. The diplomatic dispute comes amid already strained relations between Paris and Tehran.