International
Petro launches ‘Mission Cauca’ strategy to guarantee security in southwestern Colombia
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the Minister of Defense, Iván Velázquez, presented this Friday ‘Mission Cauca’, a strategy that seeks to transform the region and guarantee security in this convulsive area of the southwest of the country.
The operation will focus on “strengthening military and police operations in the department in order to neutralize organized armed groups and organized criminal groups, as well as their illicit economies mainly associated with drug trafficking, illicit mineral extraction and extortion,” the Presidency said in a statement.
This initiative, which is part of the National Development Plan and will be carried out by the State, the communities, local authorities and the private sector, aims at a territorial transformation including economic, productive, cultural and social aspects to “guarantee full security and integral development in the region.”
The head of state ordered that the Military Forces be responsible for building roads, hospitals, schools, university headquarters and drinking water aqueducts in the conflict zones of the department (province).
He pointed out that the resources for these works will be provided by the General Budget of the Nation, while stressing that “the military take better care of the money than the politicians.”
The director of the National Planning Department (DNP), Alexander López, pointed out during the presentation that the initiative “has a strictly social component, which is linked to guaranteeing the security and rights of the population,” and added that this mission is the articulation for the transformation of the department of Cauca.
For his part, Minister Velásquez stressed that the objective is to have an “effective” control of the territory in which citizen security can be promoted, in addition to fighting against illicit economies (narcotrafficking) by cutting their financing, not only with military confrontation.
The departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca have been the scene for two months of terrorist actions of the Central General Staff (EMC) – dissidents of the extinct FARC guerrillas – against military and police facilities, which have left them dead and injured.
Just last week, the EMC, which is currently spart into two groups previously commanded by ‘Iván Mordisco’, intensified the number of violent actions in Cauca that began with four coordinated attacks that left a civilian and two policemen injured.
Likewise, Sigifredo Márquez, father of the Colombian vice president, Francia Márquez, was the subject of an attack on Sunday when he was traveling with a six-year-old nephew of the high official, between the towns of Timba, in Cauca, and the Robles hamlet, a rural area of Jamundí, in the interior of Colombia.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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