Internacionales
Petro denounces missing more than one million projectiles and ammunition from military bases
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, denounced on Tuesday that two inspections made at two military bases in the country found that more than one million projectiles and ammunition are missing, including missiles, and assured that these materials may be in the hands of international arms trafficking networks or illegal armed groups.
“The only way to explain this type of missing is that there have been for a long time networks made up of people from the Military and Civil Forces dedicated to a mass trade in weapons using the legal weapons of the Colombian State,” the president said in a statement at the Casa de Nariño.
Petro explained that the inspections carried out in the Fort of Tolemaida, located in the central department of Tolima, and at the base of the 10th Brigade of the Army, in the north of the country.
In Tolemaida, according to the president, “746 calibre 81-millimeter grenades are needed; 3,712 M-26 hand grenades; 2,880 40-millimeter grenades; 1,590 60-millimeter grenades; 797 40-millimeter grenades slaboned; 8,203 7.62 caliber ammunition; 41,745 5.56 caliber ammunition; 131,577 7.62-mped-caliber ammunition and 626,614 5.56-caliber ammunition”.
While at the base of Brigade 10 they did not find “two Spike missiles; 37 Nimrod missiles (both Israeli-made); 550 RPG rockets; 22 155-millimeter grenades; 621 106-millimeter grenades; 1,077 105-millimeter grenades for howitzer grenades; 1,077 90-millimeter caliber grenades; 960 81-millimeter-caliber grenades,” and “1,218 60-millimeter grenades.”
Also missing in the tanks are “4,171 40-millimeter caliber grenades; 24 40-millimeter L70HE caliber cartridges; 1,494 40-millimeter sloon grenades; 3,694 M-26 hand grenades; 17,456 anti-tank charges; 22,293 anti-tank loads .50 TAP; 330,419 7.62 Slap caliber ammunition; 9,829 162 caliber ammunition; 761,551 5.56 ammunition; 5,992 caliber 5.56 Slap and 1,262 special caliber .38 ammunition.
“As you can see, only among 5.56 ammunition there are more than a million lost ammunition,” added the president, who was accompanied in the statement by the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, and by the commander of the military forces, General Helder Giraldo Bonilla.
The president explained that the networks that allegedly stole their weapons were sold “to armed groups in Colombia” or possibly provide “foreign conflicts, the closest to Haiti.”
This is because that country is “hours away by speedboat” from the base of Brigade 10, located in the Colombian Caribbean region.
Petro also lamented that “with these same ammunition they end up injuring and killing the same members of the Military Forces” and warned that they will continue to carry out this type of inspections in other bases in the country.
“This type of gang must be dismantled,” concluded the head of state.
Internacionales
Major winter storm threatens “catastrophic” ice and snow across much of the U.S.
A major winter storm is threatening to blanket large portions of the United States with a dangerous mix of freezing rain and heavy snowfall, potentially creating “catastrophic” conditions across areas home to nearly 160 million people.
Several U.S. states have declared a state of emergency as the Arctic blast advances from the California coast across much of the continental United States, affecting central regions, including the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, according to forecasts.
The National Weather Service warned the storm could cause a “catastrophic accumulation of ice,” leading to prolonged power outages, widespread tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue cautioned that “the next 10 days of winter will be the worst in 40 years in the United States.”
“Think about where you can go, what you can do, and who may need even more help to survive the coming week. This is not an exaggeration or a joke,” Maue said.
He urged residents to prepare for temperatures dropping below -18°C (0°F).
More than 1,500 weekend flights had already been canceled, according to flight tracker FlightAware, including numerous flights in Texas.
In the southern state, many residents still recall the devastation caused by a similar storm in February 2021, which resulted in more than 200 deaths linked to hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, and traffic accidents.
Texas authorities have assured the public that the power grid, which suffered widespread failures during that storm and left millions without electricity, is better prepared to withstand the extreme weather this time.
Internacionales
Juan Orlando Hernández’s family takes time to decide next steps after surprise U.S. release
Ana García, the wife of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was pardoned on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump after being sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison on drug trafficking and firearms charges, told EFE on Wednesday that the family has not yet decided whether he will return to Honduras.
“We have not made any decision about that yet. Everything is still very recent, and as a family we are going to take the time to reflect carefully and make wise decisions thinking about the well-being of Juan Orlando, our children, and all our families,” García said at her residence in Tegucigalpa.
García wore around her neck her husband’s wedding ring, which she has kept since Hernández was held at a special police detention facility known as the ‘Cobras’ on the day of his arrest, February 15, 2022.
“We are still deciding many things. He has just been released, it has not even been 48 hours since he got out. So we are taking things calmly,” she reiterated.
She also explained that since she does not have a U.S. visa — revoked after her husband was requested for extradition following the end of his presidency in January 2022 — she has not been able to see him, but said she is “awaiting some form of communication from the United States” in order to do so.
García declined to reveal where in the United States her husband is currently located, although she stressed that she is confident she will have an opportunity to reunite with him.
Internacionales
One killed, 188 evacuated as wind-driven blaze rips through Kyushu neighborhood
One person died and 188 residents were evacuated after a massive fire swept through at least 170 buildings in a residential area on the island of Kyushu, southern Japan, authorities reported on Wednesday.
The regional government confirmed one fatality. Public broadcaster NHK reported that police, who had been searching for a missing 76-year-old man, found a body inside his home.
Footage recorded on Tuesday night showed firefighters spraying water on towering flames engulfing homes, while residents were escorted to an improvised evacuation center.
“The flames rose so high they turned the sky red. The wind was strong. I never imagined it would spread so far,” a man told NHK.
“I was shaking with fear. I had never seen a column of fire like that,” another witness said.
The fire broke out late Tuesday, with at least 170 buildings affected. According to NHK, the blaze spread rapidly, likely fueled by a lack of rainfall, dry air, and the tightly packed wooden houses characteristic of the area.
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