International
Displaced by the crime in southern Mexico threaten to boycott the elections
Inhabitants displaced by organized crime in the Sierra de Guerrero, a southern state of Mexico that faces a wave of violence, protested this Thursday to demand security and warned of a boycott in Sunday’s elections.
The group of people from the municipality of Leonardo Bravo was placed with banners at the entrance to the municipal capital, Chichihualco, where they will block the interstate road, if they do not have a solution before the elections.
“We want a solution now, before Sunday, because, if not, there are no votes on Sunday,” said one of the protesters with a half-covered face.
The protesters belong to about 20 communities in the mountains, with between four and six years of having left their villages due to the threats of criminal groups.
In addition, they denounced that the criminal group of Los Tlacos looted or burned their homes, appropriated their land and stole their animals.
The demonstrators asked for help from the federal government and the state of Guerrero to recover his life, so they requested the permanent installation of two Army operations bases in El Carrizal and Filo de Caballos, for which they demanded the intervention of the governor, Evelyn Salgado.
They also demanded a hearing with the municipal president, Saúl Villa Adame, whom they have not seen in the area for a year. They accused him of not attending to them.
Chichihualco is a constant scene of armed clashes for the control of that corridor in Mexico, where at the beginning of the month a group of self-defense from the municipality of Heliodoro Castillo arrived, linked to Los Tlacos, although after protests they left the place.
The protest reflects the exacerbation of violence in the midst of the elections in Guerrero, where this Wednesday Alfredo Cabrera, opposition candidate for the mayor of Coyuca de Benítez, was murdered in the last hours of the campaign, which aroused a condemnation of the Electoral Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The standard-bearer of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution (PRD) alliance was shot twice in the head as he came down from the temple where he had offered his closing speech.
In addition, the demonstration takes place in the midst of a national upturn in homicides, which rose by 7.37% in April to 2,622, the deadliest month of the year, in the midst of political violence that has left dozens of political murders.
More than 98 million voters are called to renew more than 20,000 positions, including the presidency, the 128 senators and the 500 deputies.
Eight state governments and the Head of Government of Mexico City and its 16 mayor’s offices will also be renewed.
Likewise, 1,098 local councils, 1,802 municipal presidencies, 1,975 syndicates, 204 councils, 14,560 councils, 22 municipal board presidencies, 88 municipal board councils, 22 municipal board unions and 299 community presidencies.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
International
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
The United States may soon carry out airstrikes on military facilities inside Venezuela as part of an escalating offensive against Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to reports Friday from the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the Trump administration.
Airstrikes could take place “within days or even hours,” the Herald reported. The Journal noted that while the option is under serious consideration, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on authorizing strikes on Venezuelan soil.
Potential targets allegedly include military-controlled ports and airports used in drug trafficking operations, such as naval installations and airstrips, officials told the Journal.
The Herald also quoted a source saying that “Maduro’s time is running out”, suggesting that more than one Venezuelan general may be ready to detain and hand him over. However, officials declined to confirm whether the Venezuelan leader would be among the military targets.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, following nearly two months of airstrikes against vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Those operations have destroyed 15 boats and left 61 people dead and three survivors since September 1.
“We are finally waging a war against the cartels — a war like they’ve never seen before — and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning at sea,” Trump told U.S. troops during a speech in Japan.
The reports on possible airstrikes come on the same day the United Nations accused the U.S. of violating international law with its maritime operations, saying those killed at sea may have been victims of extrajudicial executions.
International
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Pope Leo XIV announced on Friday that he will revive and update the Global Compact on Education, an initiative launched by the late Pope Francis aimed at deeply transforming global culture through education.
The announcement was made during an audience in St. Peter’s Square, held on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Educational World, which this week gathers more than 20,000 participants from 124 countries in Rome.
During his address, the pontiff — who is of U.S. origin and Peruvian nationality — emphasized the importance of restoring the value of educators and reinforcing the principles that support the pact.
“We must be careful: damaging the social and cultural role of educators means mortgaging our own future,” he warned before thousands in attendance. “A crisis in the transmission of knowledge leads to a crisis of hope.”
The Global Compact on Education, launched by Pope Francis, seeks an integral and long-term cultural transformation. It is structured around five pillars: dignity and human rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and integral ecology; education for peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. To date, the initiative has been joined by over 553 schools and nearly 410,000 students, according to Catholic Schools data.
Pope Leo XIV also expressed concern over the widespread inner fragility affecting both students and teachers — many of whom feel overwhelmed by bureaucratic burdens.
He additionally addressed the role of artificial intelligence in education, warning that it may worsen emotional isolation among learners: “It can further isolate students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, the feeling that they are unworthy of them,” he said.
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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