International
Jury finds Hunter Biden guilty of illegal possession of a firearm
The jury of the trial of Hunter Biden for illegal possession of a firearm in 2018 found him guilty on Tuesday, in a historic ruling of the first trial of the son of a sitting United States president.
Hunter, the 54-year-old son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty of the three charges against him, in a context of drug addiction, CNN and other American media reported.
The president’s son was accused of lying about his drug use in order to buy a 38-caliber revolver in 2018.
The verdict comes at a time when his father seeks re-election and less than two weeks after the guilty sentence on charges of business fraud against Donald Trump, the probable Republican presidential candidate in November.
Hunter Biden did not testify during the trial held in Wilmington (Delaware), his hometown.
He faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, although a lighter sentence is expected, even without prison, for not having a criminal record.
The first lady, Jill Biden, attended the trial for several days to support him. The president did not show up but said that he is “proud” of his son.
“As president I do not or comment on pending federal cases, but as a father, I have an infinite love for my son, confidence in him and respect for his strength,” Biden said in a statement last week.
The process, along with another case in which Hunter faces tax evasion charges in California, complicates the efforts of the Democrats to keep the focus on Trump, the first former president to be found guilty of criminal offenses.
Hunter Biden’s past addictions were the central issue of the trial, which included the testimony of ex-partners of the president’s son.
Last week, the prosecutor reproduced fragments of Hunter Biden’s memoirs “Beautiful Things”, recorded by himself, in which he remembers moments of his addiction in which he was desperately looking for crack.
“I was cooking (the crack) and smoking. He cooked and smoked,” says the fragment reproduced in the court, extracted from the audiobook.
In addition to being a political distraction, Hunter Biden’s legal problems have reopened old family wounds, derived from his drug problems and other previous situations.
Her brother Beau died of cancer in 2015 and her sister Naomi died when she was a child, in 1972, in a car accident in which her mother, Neilia, the president’s first wife and mother of the three, also died.
Hunter, a Yale-trained lawyer and a lobist turned artist, had the firearm in his possession for eleven days after the purchase.
The president’s son, who has written profusely about his addiction, said that at the time he bought the revolver he did not consider himself addicted. Hunter assures that he has not used drugs since 2019.
Hunter Biden has long been in the sights of the Republicans, who promoted an exhaustive investigation within Congress pointing out corruption and influence peddling, although charges were never filed against him for that.
His businesses in China and Ukraine also served as a basis for Republicans to try to open impeachment proceedings to dismiss their father, but those efforts did not succeed.
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.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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