International

Colombia police find second top leader of Clan del Golfo criminal organization dead

March 2nd |

Police in Colombia reported on Wednesday that the second most senior leader of the criminal organization Autodefensas Gaitanistas, better known as the Gulf Clan, was found dead on a road in the northwest of the country.

The body of Wilmer Antonio Giraldo, alias “Siopas,” the second-in-command of the Gulf Clan, was identified after being found shot a few kilometers from the municipality of Dabeiba, in the department of Antioquia.

“A criminal profile of 12 years within this criminal structure, this organized armed group,” said Colonel Oscar Hernan Cortes, commander of the Police Department of Uraba, after noting that they are investigating the cause of death.

Security and intelligence sources told Reuters that the death was apparently the result of internal fighting within the Clan del Golfo, an organization with more than 3,000 members dedicated to drug trafficking and illegal gold mining.

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Alias ‘Siopas’, 40, had demobilized in 2009 from the fifth front of the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), long before a peace process the government signed with the guerrilla group in 2016.

“Today he was under absolute command of all criminal actions in the department of Chocó and in the Colombian Pacific,” Cortes added in a video.

President Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in the country’s history, is promoting a policy of total peace with organizations such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Gulf Clan, the Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada, as well as urban groups, to end the nearly six-decade armed conflict.

Siopas’ was against a negotiation with Petro’s government that seeks the submission to justice of the members of this criminal gang in exchange for legal benefits such as reduced sentences, the sources said.

The armed confrontation in Colombia, fueled by drug trafficking, has left more than 450,000 dead between 1985 and 2018 alone.

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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.

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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.