International
Alausí, in Ecuador, is still at risk a year after the gigantic avalunc that left 75 dead
A year after 75 people died from an allh in Alausí, this population of the Andes of Ecuador gradually rises with the effort of its inhabitants, who continue to live under the danger of new landslides while waiting for official help for reconstruction.
On the night of March 26, 2023, thousands of tons of land buried more than fifty houses. It took the relief agencies about three months to rescue the bodies in the midst of the pain and anguish of relatives and neighbors, who joined the work.
Now, in the anglum area, some herbs have begun to cover the land that swallowed part of the population.
“With our machinery we have made some stabilization for the protection of the margin of the homes that were left (safe),” the mayor of Alausí, Remigio Roldán, told EFE.
Without a “concrete response from the State,” he said, “Alausí allied with universities and non-governmental organizations” to solve different problems left by the landslide,” such as the destruction of a water conduction system that fed 8,000 inhabitants.
“Thanks to the European Union (EU) we are receiving funding of about two million dollars for the new system of collection, conduction and re-empowering of the drinking water treatment plant for the 8,000 inhabitants,” Roldán reported.
The mayor highlighted the efforts of the inhabitants to rehabilitate an important road, which connects the south with the center of the Andean region of Ecuador, where they opened a path in the middle of the ‘ground zero’ to peak and shovel.
In addition, about 18 million dollars are needed to stabilize the slope of the entire perimeter of the landslide.
“We can’t let it stay as it is. In the upper part of the collapse we have two communities that do not have a sewer system, we still have septic wells, the problem is still latent,” he said.
Therefore, last February, at the visit of a group of diplomats from European countries, headed by the EU ambassador, Charles-Michel Geurts, the situation was exposed, since the representatives visited the province of Chimborazo – of which Alausí is a part – to analyze potential aid in various sectors.
Geurts highlighted the admiration they have for Alausí, for its people, resilience and vision of the future, while his counterpart from France, Frédéric Desagneaux, mentioned the willingness of the EU for accompaniment in the restoration of the dynamism of Alausí.
The mayor numbered 75 people who died in the all. and pointed out that they have not been able to rescue nine “who remained among the rubble” in the area where 163 families lived.
According to the latest official report of the tragedy, published in November by the Secretariat of Risk Management, there are 65 deceased and 10 who are officially listed with the status of “disappeared” after not being able to find their bodies.
The victims reached 800. “Some,” said Roldán, “have had to emigrate, some are renting apartments, rooms, others are where the relatives are.”
By following the area at risk, they have not allowed the return of the inhabitants to the houses that were left standing on the banks of the avalh: “We do not want to lose more lives. We warn that the problem is still latent, we have a part (in the) that continues to give way to the cracks.”
“We demand the Government to give homes,” Roldán stressed, adding that the investment of 1.5 million dollars has been budgeted for the construction of 57 homes and, although they have the land to carry out the works, they have not made progress because the Government has changed, which has been led by President Daniel Noboa since November 23.
In addition, apart from the allanch polygon, there are two schools with 800 students, who cannot return to their classrooms if the slope is not stabilized.
“We are improvising in other infrastructures that were abandoned for the boys to receive classes,” he said.
Roldán comments that they do not have “the concrete support” of the Government in roads and housing. “We have to adjust to living in the middle of this reality, making all our effort, as a small government (mayor’s office), as communities, as organizations,” he noted.
He recalled that in a visit to Alausí hours after the tragedy occurred, then-President Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023), offered to invest 8 million dollars, but “not a single penny in immediate actions” has not yet been specified.
He lamented that none of the 186 rural communities of Alausí has drinking water, sewerage or sanitation, and pointed out that the State must disburse the 50% advance of a contract for the construction of a hospital, whose cost is around 23 million dollars, but that does not advance either.
In January, the Secretariat of Risk Management presented the roadmap for the recovery of Alausí, with a budget of 10 million dollars financed mainly by international cooperation to rebuild the road that connects with Riobamba, the provincial capital, as well as housing solutions and the delivery of bonds for vulnerable people, among other actions.
International
Mexico and U.S. Launch New Bilateral Security Group to Combat Fentanyl and Organized Crime
The governments of Mexico and the United States officially launched the Bilateral Implementation Group (BIG) on Friday, a new initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation on security issues and enhancing joint efforts against transnational crime.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced that he and Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco addressed officials from both countries who will lead what he described as a “new phase of bilateral cooperation.” The initiative seeks to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, illegal firearms, and human trafficking across the shared border.
Earlier this week, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed that senior security officials from both nations would meet in Mexico City on June 12 to review and advance existing cooperation agreements.
Through social media, Ambassador Johnson explained that the new bilateral group is designed to improve coordination between the two governments by placing greater emphasis on implementation, accountability, and measurable results. The effort will also focus on combating transnational criminal organizations operating across North America.
“The participation of 15 U.S. government agencies, working alongside their Mexican counterparts, reflects the seriousness of this effort and our shared commitment to delivering measurable results,” Johnson said.
The ambassador also highlighted several achievements that he attributed to ongoing bilateral cooperation. According to Johnson, maritime drug trafficking into the United States has declined by more than 95 percent, while overdose deaths have fallen by 35 percent.
He further noted that Mexican authorities have seized more than 400 metric tons of illegal drugs and dismantled over 2,300 clandestine laboratories as part of their efforts to combat organized crime and narcotics production.
The launch of the Bilateral Implementation Group marks the latest step in the security partnership between Mexico and the United States, as both countries seek to address shared challenges related to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and the activities of criminal networks operating across the region.
International
‘El Chapo’ Guzmán again asks Mexican president to seek his return from U.S. prison
Convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has once again appealed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to intervene on his behalf and seek his transfer from the United States to Mexico, where he hopes to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.
Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is currently serving a sentence of more than 50 years in the United States after being convicted in 2019 on multiple charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to reports, the latest request was made in a letter dated June 2, one of several messages that Guzmán has reportedly sent to Sheinbaum in recent months in an effort to secure his repatriation. In the letter, he expresses hope that the Mexican government can support the efforts of his legal team.
Written in English and by hand, the letter asks that he be allowed to complete his sentence in Mexico, arguing that such a transfer would enable him to receive visits from family members more easily.
Guzmán is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, commonly known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” one of the most secure prisons in the United States.
As in previous communications, the former cartel leader complained about his prison conditions, stating that he remains in near-total isolation and has little to no contact with other inmates.
He also reiterated his long-standing claim that he did not receive a fair trial in the United States and argued that the Mexican government bears responsibility for much of the violence associated with organized crime in the country.
In the letter, Guzmán maintains that his actions were motivated by a desire to protect himself and his family amid the violence linked to criminal organizations in Mexico.
Mexican authorities have not publicly indicated whether they plan to respond to the request. Guzmán remains one of the most notorious figures in the history of international drug trafficking and is serving his sentence under some of the strictest security measures in the U.S. prison system.
Central America
U.S. Authorities Accuse Guatemalan Nationals of Using False Information to Sponsor Migrant Minors
Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday criminal charges against three Guatemalan citizens accused of using false information to sponsor migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.
According to an indictment filed in Ohio, Maritza Cahuec Coc allegedly submitted at least 12 sponsorship applications, several of which were filed under aliases or contained materially false statements intended to secure custody of the minors.
Under U.S. procedures, unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the southern border are placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for their care until they can be released to a qualified sponsor, such as a parent or relative living in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that Cahuec Coc, who reportedly entered the United States illegally in 2018, received payments between late 2020 and 2023 for helping bring 12 migrant minors into the country. Authorities claim she submitted fraudulent documents and misleading information to obtain approval for the sponsorship requests.
The case was announced during a joint press conference led by Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. However, officials provided limited details about the investigation and instead focused much of their remarks on criticizing immigration policies implemented under the previous administration.
Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials have frequently pointed to the increase in unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border during President Joe Biden’s term, arguing that the government failed to adequately oversee their care and placement.
During Thursday’s briefing, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, alleged that Cahuec Coc used the identities of other individuals and falsely claimed family relationships in order to obtain custody of the children.
“Maritza submitted sponsorship applications using other people’s identities and falsely represented that the minors were the children of close relatives in order to secure their release,” Duva said.
The case remains under investigation, and federal authorities have not yet disclosed additional information regarding the other two Guatemalan nationals charged in connection with the alleged scheme.
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