International

Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US weapons in Russia but only to defend Kharkov

Joe Biden’s government has given Ukraine permission to attack inside Russia using weapons provided by the United States, but only near the Kharkov area, a US official confirmed to EFE.

“The president recently ordered his team to guarantee that Ukraine can use weapons supplied by the United States for counterattack purposes in the Kharkov region, so that Ukraine can counterattack the Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them,” he said.

However, the source added, the policy regarding the prohibition of the use of ATACMS ballistic missiles or long-range attacks within Russia “has not changed.”

With this decision, the Biden Administration has given in to the request of Ukraine, which has been asking Washington for weeks to make this change of policy, especially since the Russian offensive against Kharkov began this month.

Therefore, Ukraine can now use weapons provided by the United States, such as rockets and rocket launchers, to shoot down Russian missiles launched into this area against troops that are concentrated just across the Russian border. Or against Russian bombers that throw bombs into Ukrainian territory.

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However, Ukraine cannot use those weapons to attack civilian infrastructure or launch long-range missiles, such as the Army Tactical Missile System, to achieve military targets in central Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the first U.S. official to publicly insinuate that Biden could change course and allow such attacks. In turn, he told journalists that US policy towards Ukraine would evolve as necessary.

The spokesman of the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, did not subsequently rule out a possible change.
Those messages came after the main allies of the United States, such as the United Kingdom and France, said that Ukraine should have the right to attack within Russia using Western weapons.

Russia accused NATO of opening a new phase of tension in its stormy relations by encouraging Ukrainian attacks against targets in Russian territory with Western weaponry, a position in which there is no unanimity in the Allied bloc.

“In recent days and weeks, NATO members, especially the United States and other European countries, have entered a new phase of escalating tensions. And they do it consciously,” Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, said at his daily press conference.

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In recent days, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the green light to be given to Kiev, an appeal that was supported this week by France.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenski, considers it “unfair” that Kiev cannot use Western weapons to respond to Russia, but the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, already told him this week that the F-16 fighter planes he will deliver to Kiev will not be able to be used in the neighboring country.

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.