International

Government says it does not have full control of Paraguayan prison

Photo: ABC_py

October 18 |

The Minister of Justice of Paraguay, Angel Barchini, acknowledged that they do not have full control of the country’s penitentiaries and in the specific case of the Tacumbú prison, admitted that there is an entire ward in charge of the inmates.

Barchini pronounced himself in these terms in a meeting that he held this Monday with prison officials of the Tacumbú prison.

The head of Justice spoke of the different claims and requests made by the prison guards. “They are demanding life insurance, which I consider absolutely fair and necessary due to the risk they run every day in the execution of their work”, he said.

According to the minister, “The use of technology, equipment, uniforms, weapons, provision of resources for the transfer of the penitentiaries. We were talking about a general problem of the functioning of the penitentiary centers”, he pointed out.

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The Minister acknowledged that “Not everything is under control, we have a high risk that this situation that arose a few days ago continues to occur”, he said. He was referring to a riot that left the largest prison in the country in the hands of the inmates.

He acknowledged that, even today, “There is a sector of the prison that is in charge, the D pavilion”. He added that, nevertheless, “We want with our intervention and with the collaboration of our fellow prison officials to be able to regain absolute control of the penitentiary centers,” he said.

Regarding the situation of those responsible for prison security, the minister said that the officials remain firm in their position of not entering the Tacumbú penitentiary until they receive answers to their demands.

“They are going to stay outside because they have some fair demands,” he said.

The Secretary of State explained that 80 percent of the weapons in the Tacumbú penitentiary have been recovered, but it is still not known where the rest are, which are suspected to be in the hands of the inmates.

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International

Winter Storm Fern Leaves 30 Dead and Over One Million Without Power Across the U.S.

The massive winter storm Fern, bringing polar temperatures, battered large portions of the United States for a third consecutive day on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead, more than one million households without electricity, and thousands of flights grounded.

In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below -20°C. Forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days as an Arctic air mass moves south, particularly across the northern Great Plains and other central regions, where wind chills could plunge to -45°C, temperatures capable of causing frostbite within minutes.

Across the country, heavy snowfall exceeding 30 centimeters in roughly 20 states triggered widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 800,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning, most of them in the southern United States.

In Tennessee, where ice brought down power lines, approximately 250,000 customers were still without power. Outages also affected more than 150,000 customers in Mississippi and over 100,000 in Louisiana, as utility crews struggled to restore service amid dangerous conditions.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.