International
Former official linked to Ayotzinapa case remanded in custody
July 3 |
A Mexican federal judge prosecuted this Sunday for the crimes of torture and forced disappearance Gualberto Ramirez Gutierrez, who served as head of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Specialized Deputy Attorney General’s Office for Organized Crime Investigation (Seido) at the time of the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa normalistas, in September 2014.
The Criminal Justice Control Judge, Juan José Hernández Leyva, determined that Ramírez Gutiérrez was a co-perpetrator of these crimes to the detriment of Felipe Rodríguez Salgado, identified as an alleged hitman for the Guerreros Unidos criminal organization, which is accused of the disappearance of the 43 students.
In addition, he ratified his preventive detention, considering that there is a risk of flight and that Ramirez Gutierrez Gutierrez intimidates an official of the Seido who testified against him. On the other hand, the judge gave a term of six months for the complementary investigation of the charges against him.
Ramírez Gutiérrez was arrested last June 26 and shares the accusation with the former Attorney General, Jesús Murillo Karam (arrested) and with the former head of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) of the then Attorney General’s Office, Tomás Zerón (Mexico is trying to extradite him from Israel, where he fled).
In addition to committing acts of torture, the judge considered that Ramírez Gutiérrez participated in illegal interrogations of Rodríguez Salgado in an illegal detention center operated by Tomás Zerón, who was based in the AIC facilities in the Lomas Sotelo neighborhood in the Mexican capital.
Amidst torture and beatings, Rodríguez Salgado was threatened with death there if he did not confess to having participated in the kidnapping and disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students. He remained in prison for four years and was finally acquitted of the charges.
After intense investigations, it has been determined that Ramírez Gutiérrez, Murillo Karam and Tomás Zerón participated in a meeting on October 7, 2014, in which they shaped the so-called “historical truth” of the Ayotzinapa case, according to which all the normalistas were incinerated in the landfill of Cocula, Guerrero state.
Subsequent investigations indicate that they lied to hide the truth from Mexican society and prevent justice from being done in a clear case of State terrorism, committed during the six-year term of office of former President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
In this regard, the Undersecretary of Human Rights, Population and Migration, Alejandro Encinas, valued that the arrest of Ramírez Gutiérrez represents an important step towards truth and justice.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
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