International

Petro has the former director of the DIAN as the new Minister of Commerce

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, inaugurated on Tuesday the former director of the Directorate of National Taxes and Customs (DIAN), Luis Carlos Reyes, as the new Minister of Commerce. Petro entrusted him with the challenge of changing oil and coal exports for those of industry and agro-industry.

“Today we have the first cabinet change in the middle of the year. Dr. Umaña played a decent role, he will continue to work with us on other aspects of the action that is economic,” Petro said in the act of possession with respect to Germán Umaña. He leaves office after having taken care, among other matters, of recovering trade relations with Venezuela.

Reyes is an economist and historian and has become popular on social networks such as ‘Mr. Taxes’ for his pragmatism in explaining tax issues in a simple way. He assumes from today as a minister with the challenge of changing the country’s export matrix.

“We are selling mainly coal and oil, if the world decarbonizes, we stop selling coal and oil, which is what is already happening in these months. Therefore, replacing those currencies becomes fundamental,” Petro explained during the possession speech.

For that, according to President Petro, we have to: “export agriculture – something we have done -, we have to export agro-industry – we have a lot to do -, and we have to export industry, which is where we have to do the most.”

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That change, which is not simple, because the “industry has red numbers” and therefore there are flaws in the “industrial policy”. It has to come, in the words of the president, from an increase in international tourism.

“The industry involves allocating public and private resources in a priority way; lowering their interest rates; achieving regions prone to industrialization; stimulating the profitability of transforming products in Colombia; increasing it; which implies lowering its financial costs and lowering their electricity costs,” Petro added, who also added the need to lower energy prices and make it clean.

“These are its objectives and its challenges, these alone, are: how to achieve a true industrialization process, in my opinion, starting with agro-industry, modernizing manufacturing, even to export,” the president told the new Minister of Commerce.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.

International

Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.

Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”

International

Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.

The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”

The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”

Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.

The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.