International
Peace talks begin in the Colombian port of Buenaventura
July 19 |
As part of the total peace agenda promoted by President Gustavo Petro, the Colombian government began dialogues on Tuesday with two criminal groups that dispute the control of illicit businesses in the port of Buenaventura.
The dialogue table was installed in the Casa de Encuentros Heriberto Correa Yepes in the presence of the high commissioner for peace, Danilo Rueda; the president of the Senate, Alexander López, and the archbishop of the city, Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo, in addition to international organizations, businessmen and members of civil society.
“We believe that they are on the right path to be able to achieve these transformations without violence in Buenaventura,” said the high commissioner for peace during the event.
Representatives of the criminal groups the Shottas and the Espartanos, met publicly for the first time on the occasion of the installation of the so-called “urban peace table”.
The spokesmen for the criminal gangs said they were willing to take the message of peace to the gang members.
We came “for those boys and girls, so that they don’t go later to take up arms,” said Jose Jimmy Garcia, a community leader representing the Shottas.
The spokesman for the Espartanos, Félix Orlando Luna, followed the same line: “The people want peace (…) between all of us we can build peace and move forward,” he said.
The Shottas and the Espartanos were born in 2020 and have since been responsible for shootouts and murders amid their dispute for control of illegal businesses such as drug trafficking and extortion.
The high commissioner for peace, Danilo Rueda, recalled that the Colombian government maintains a policy to address the causes of violence in a systemic, comprehensive and effective manner.
According to Rueda, since September 2022, when the truce that brought the city of Buenaventura to 100 days without homicides began, 14 discreet and private meetings have been held with both organizations in different areas of the city.
Recent clashes between criminal organizations have caused displacement on the outskirts of the Colombian port city.
In the midst of the policy of total peace, the Colombian government maintains dialogues with the illegal structures of Medellin and holds political negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN).
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
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.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America5 days agoFuneral turns tragic as armed attack leaves seven dead in Guatemala City
-
Central America5 days agoCosta Rica issues Yellow Alert and halts water activities over tsunami currents
-
International5 days agoThree salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
-
International5 days agoKremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
-
Central America3 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
International5 days agoU.S. launches ads urging undocumented migrants to self-deport via CBP Home App
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International3 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
International2 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International2 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
Central America2 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International8 hours agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International8 hours agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison