International
“I had to swim out of the house,” says one of those affected by floods in Brazil
Entire neighborhoods in southern Brazil remained underwater this Monday, due to the unprecedented floods that have caused the death of 84 people and forced thousands to leave their homes by helicopter, boat or directly swimming.
More than 46,000 people have been rescued and about 150,000 have had to leave their homes, according to the most recent official data, since the worst floods in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, a state bordering Uruguay and Argentina, began.
After spending four days in isolation, Suzana Martins, a 50-year-old commercial representative, had to “swim out of her house” located in a residential neighborhood of the regional capital of Porto Alegre, a city of 1.3 million inhabitants.
The neighbors gave her an inflatable mattress of those used in the pool to put backpacks with clothes and the dog on top, while she and her son were still swimming.
“The water reached up to the neck and there were not enough boats or help to get us out of there,” he explained to EFE Martins, who assured that there were still many elderly people trapped in his neighborhood without being able to leave.
With more luck than Martins, Regina Ribeiro, a 62-year-old housewife, was rescued by boat after the water flooded the door of the building in the living for 14 years.
“On the way I got scared because the boat was swinging. If I had overturned, I don’t know how to swim…,” this neighbor of Porto Alegre told EFE, who plans to rent an apartment in another place further from the river when everything has happened.
Ribeiro’s husband didn’t want to leave and stayed in the apartment with two gallons of water, a few kilos of rice and pasta and a cell phone in case he had to ask for help.
“I’m hypertensive and I’m very nervous, wanting to cry. I never imagined that water would enter the building, ever,” she says incredulously.
Rescue work continues in forced marches with the participation of 42 aircraft, 243 boats and 15,000 soldiers, which are added to the teams of the regional and local authorities.
The flood in Porto Alegre began last Friday, the level of the Guaíba River reached its all-time high this Sunday, a level of 5.31 meters, more than two meters above the overflow level, and since then it has dropped only three centimeters.
However, the authorities believe that the floods will continue for several days because there is still a lot of water to evacuate.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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