International

Xóchitl Gálvez assures that she will be the “braver” president in the face of crime

The opposition candidate for the presidency of Mexico, Xóchitl Gálvez, assured during her campaign closure in Nuevo León (north) that she will be the “bravest” president to face the wave of violence that the country is experiencing and has left 186,000 homicide victims, 50,000 missing and 12,000 minors murdered.

At the event, which was held at the facilities of the Monterrey Arena, the candidate managed to bring together about 17,000 people, supporters of the ‘Strength and Heart for Mexico’ coalition, which is made up of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN) and the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

During his message, Gálvez, 61, asked those present if Mexico was better in security, medical care and education.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, is security better now than ever? Of course not, 186,000 people murdered, 50,000 people missing, you are living it here in Nuevo León; 12,000 children murdered, 40,000 young people murdered, that is the result of a security strategy where hugs have been for criminals and bullets for citizens,” he said.

However, he mentioned that this strategy will be over because Mexicans “will have the bravest president.”
He also noted that under the administration of the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the health system has been deficient.

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“lack of medicines, hospitals are falling apart, 50,000,000 Mexicans do not have social security,” he said.

He also questioned education in Mexico and said that more than a million students left school with the current government.

In this sense, he affirmed that Mexico has retreated in educational matters because the Government of Morena, rather than betting on technology, has done so to ideology, and regretted the legacy of division left by López Obrador.

“No divided country is moving forward, that’s why we are all going to work hand in hand,” he said.

He added that Mexico needs to meet the needs of everyone: the countryside, teachers, seeking mothers.

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During the event, the batons and cries of support were not long in coming for the candidate and most of those present wore pink that identifies the coalition.

Candidates for the various popularly elected positions of the ‘Fuerza y Corazón por México’ coalition were also present, such as the candidates for mayor’s offices in Nuevo León, local, federal and Senate councils.

The polls place Gálvez behind the ruling candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, while in a distant third place is the also opposition Jorge Álvarez Máynez, of the Citizen Movement.

Mexico, whose Constitution does not allow presidential re-election, will have the largest elections in its history, since 98 million voters are called to renew more than 20,000 positions, including the Presidency, the 500 deputies, the 128 senators and nine state governments.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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“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.