Internacionales
Argentine opposition requests explanation from Chancellor Cafiero after Ecuadorian ex-official’s escape
March 16 |
Opposition parties in Argentina are demanding that Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero give explanations to Congress for the escape of a former Ecuadorian minister convicted of corruption from the embassy in Quito where she was in asylum, which has provoked a diplomatic crisis with Ecuador.
The former minister of the government of former president Rafael Correa requested asylum in the Argentine embassy in Quito in August 2020, but the government of Ecuador denied the safe conduct because it considered that it was not a case of political persecution.
Duarte disappeared on Sunday, March 12 from the Argentine embassy in Quito and reappeared the following day at the Argentine embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.
The senator of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) for Mendoza Alfredo Cornejo said that the fact shows once again the terrible foreign policy of the government of President Alberto Fernandez.
“It is a new blunder of our foreign policy, our president and our Foreign Ministry have erred in their links with the world and are always entangled with corrupt people who dress up as political prisoners, when in fact they are condemned by judicial systems that live in democracy”, said Cornejo.
According to the senator, the president’s policy is tied “100% to the decisions of (Vice President) Cristina Fernández and makes him make these tremendous mistakes that isolate us from the world”.
Others are also concerned that the episode may affect the ties between the two countries.
“It is very serious everything that happened and damaged diplomatic relations with Ecuador. It is very serious that the Argentine government has given political asylum to a woman convicted of corruption, seeking to cover up these crimes in some way. It is serious that both governments have expelled the diplomats. But we advocate for dialogue to solve this conflict”, expressed the deputy of the PRO, for La Pampa, Martín Maqueyra.
The former Argentine ambassador to the US, China, Brazil and the European Union, Dr. Diego Guelar, expressed concern about the gestures that damage Argentina’s diplomatic tradition.
“The logic is to think that after two years of asylum, there was complicity, that he did not slip away and his exit was facilitated. It is also an irregular situation that the vice-president of Argentina maintains that the justice system cannot evaluate the responsibilities of political officials. This does not show independence of powers and violates the function of the judiciary”, said Guelar.
On the other hand, the Argentine ambassador in Venezuela, Oscar Laborde, denied that the former official was a refugee in the Embassy in Caracas, and clarified that she only went there for a meeting to find out how the immigration procedures would be in order to be able to live with her son in Buenos Aires.
“I don’t know where she is and there was never any talk of an escape”, declared the diplomat.
Internacionales
Juan Orlando Hernández’s family takes time to decide next steps after surprise U.S. release
Ana García, the wife of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was pardoned on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump after being sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison on drug trafficking and firearms charges, told EFE on Wednesday that the family has not yet decided whether he will return to Honduras.
“We have not made any decision about that yet. Everything is still very recent, and as a family we are going to take the time to reflect carefully and make wise decisions thinking about the well-being of Juan Orlando, our children, and all our families,” García said at her residence in Tegucigalpa.
García wore around her neck her husband’s wedding ring, which she has kept since Hernández was held at a special police detention facility known as the ‘Cobras’ on the day of his arrest, February 15, 2022.
“We are still deciding many things. He has just been released, it has not even been 48 hours since he got out. So we are taking things calmly,” she reiterated.
She also explained that since she does not have a U.S. visa — revoked after her husband was requested for extradition following the end of his presidency in January 2022 — she has not been able to see him, but said she is “awaiting some form of communication from the United States” in order to do so.
García declined to reveal where in the United States her husband is currently located, although she stressed that she is confident she will have an opportunity to reunite with him.
Internacionales
One killed, 188 evacuated as wind-driven blaze rips through Kyushu neighborhood
One person died and 188 residents were evacuated after a massive fire swept through at least 170 buildings in a residential area on the island of Kyushu, southern Japan, authorities reported on Wednesday.
The regional government confirmed one fatality. Public broadcaster NHK reported that police, who had been searching for a missing 76-year-old man, found a body inside his home.
Footage recorded on Tuesday night showed firefighters spraying water on towering flames engulfing homes, while residents were escorted to an improvised evacuation center.
“The flames rose so high they turned the sky red. The wind was strong. I never imagined it would spread so far,” a man told NHK.
“I was shaking with fear. I had never seen a column of fire like that,” another witness said.
The fire broke out late Tuesday, with at least 170 buildings affected. According to NHK, the blaze spread rapidly, likely fueled by a lack of rainfall, dry air, and the tightly packed wooden houses characteristic of the area.
Internacionales
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts, sends ash 13 km high and forces evacuations
Mount Semeru, located in eastern Java and about 310 kilometers west of the popular tourist destination of Bali, erupted at 07:13 GMT, spewing pyroclastic flows, according to Indonesia’s geological agency chief, Muhamad Wafid.
“The public is advised to refrain from any activity within an 8-kilometer radius of the crater or summit of Mount Semeru due to the risk of falling volcanic rocks,” the official said in a statement. The national disaster management agency reported that the ash column rose as high as 13 kilometers.
Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari added that at least 300 residents living near the volcano were evacuated to two temporary shelters. No casualties have been reported so far.
The geological agency also noted that seismic activity at Mount Semeru remains high.
Authorities at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport stated that flights are operating normally for the time being.
A previous eruption of Semeru in 2021 killed more than 50 people, damaged over 5,000 homes, and forced nearly 10,000 residents to seek refuge.
Indonesia is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.
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