International

Arizona governor sends National Guard to border to handle migrant flow

Photo: @GovernorHobbs

December 18 |

Arizona’s governor on Friday ordered the state’s National Guard to be stationed along the border with Mexico to help federal authorities handle the influx of migrants.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said she issued the executive order because “the federal government refuses to do its job to protect our border and keep our communities safe.”

“I’m taking action where the federal government won’t,” Hobbs added.

It is unclear when troops would arrive at the border or exactly how many elements would be mobilized.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Hobbs asked President Joe Biden’s administration a week ago to mobilize 243 Arizona National Guard troops already in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector – which includes Lukeville – to help federal authorities reopen the border crossing that was closed indefinitely on Dec. 4.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has stated that it was necessary to close the crossing to allow personnel there to assist the Border Patrol in managing the hundreds of migrants who cross illegally through that area daily.

Although remote, the crossing is a popular route for Arizonans traveling to the Mexican resort of Puerto Peñasco, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the border on the northern coast of the Sea of Cortez.

Hobbs said National Guard soldiers will be stationed at various points along the southern border, including around Lukeville.

There, they will be supporting state and local authorities in maintaining security, as well as interdicting drug and human trafficking.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The San Miguel crossing, located farther east in the territory of the Tohono O’odham First Nation, has also seen hundreds of migrant arrivals each day, but tribal authorities said the National Guard would not be stationed on the reservation.

“We are in close communication with Gov. Hobbs on this issue,” said Verlon Jose, leader of the Tohono O’odham Nation. “We made it clear that no National Guard members would be deployed on the Nation and her office agreed. Today’s action by the governor is a necessary step to address the current crisis on the border.”

Hobbs said the Biden administration did not respond to his request that the federal government reimburse Arizona for border security spending.

CBP officials said they had no immediate response to the governor’s decision.

Lt. Gen. Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, who oversees the Arizona National Guard, noted that in September he concluded a 30-month active duty assignment providing support to law enforcement agencies in southern Arizona.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Muehlenbeck said the previous mission provided logistical, administrative, cyber and medical support.

U.S. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, who represents southern Arizona, said he disagreed with Hobbs’ executive order.

“But I do appreciate that Governor Hobbs has rejected the brutal and cruel tactics of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who have taken advantage of this crisis to inhumanely and illegally use migrants as political pawns and to politicize and pander rather than work on real solutions,” Grijalva said in a statement.

Related Topics:Arizona Katie Hobbs migrants

Up Next

Fifth cycle of peace talks between the Colombian Government and the ELN come to an end

Don't Miss

Peruvian Congress postpones vote to suspend JNJ

20260224_estafa_mh_300x250

International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.