International

Cuban government protests release of pilot who arrived in the U.S. in a fumigation plane

Photo: Televisión Avileña

March 2nd |

The granting of asylum and release a little over a week ago of a pilot who arrived in the United States in an AN-2 crop-duster plane in October 2022, provoked what the Cuban government described Monday as a “vigorous protest” against Washington.

“Granting political asylum to someone who committed the hijacking of an aircraft for the purpose of emigrating also constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Joint Declaration on migratory matters signed by both countries on January 12, 2017,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

Cuban pilot Ruben Martinez Machado arrived on October 21, coming from the central province of Santi Spíritus at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Florida.

Martinez was granted asylum by a state judge on February 21 after arguing “credible fear” and on the 24th of that month, he was released, according to Telemundo 51, which published a video of Martinez in his lawyer’s car leaving the detention center.

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The Cuban Foreign Ministry said that it summoned Benjamin Ziff, US Chargé d’Affaires on the island, to its Havana headquarters to present the complaint in the person of Vice Minister Carlos Fernández Cossío.

In addition, Havana has accused Washington of violating the Convention on International Civil Aviation, better known as the Chicago Convention, which, according to the communiqué, is “a negative and dangerous precedent”.

The State Department recalled on Monday, in a report on state sponsors of terrorism, that Cuba “did not formally respond to extradition requests” for the leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN), Víctor Orlando Cubides, alias ‘Pablo Tejada’, and Ramírez Pineda, alias ‘Pablo Beltrán’, “presented by Colombia”.

Voice of America sent a request for comment to the U.S. State Department, but at the time of writing has not received a response.

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International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.