International

The extreme right pressures Netanyahu to start a war against Hezbollah

The far-right sector of the Israeli Government yesterday pressured the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during the meeting of the Security Cabinet, to opt for a large-scale offensive against Hezbollah, in Lebanon where tension does not stop escalating.

These demands emerged after the message conveyed to the White House by the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, during his visit to the United States this week, in which he indicated that Israel advocates a diplomatic solution with the pro-Irani militia before starting an open war.

“Have we not learned anything from the last 20 years of (diplomatic) agreements? In a year or two, they will rape our women and murder our children,” Ben Gvir said in leaked statements to several Israeli media.

“An agreement with Hezbollah will lead to another October 7. You can’t reach an agreement with the Nazis,” Ben Gvir said.

According to the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel, Netanyahu said yesterday during the meeting that achieving a diplomatic agreement under “adequate conditions” is the best scenario for Israel.

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The border between Israel and Lebanon is experiencing its biggest peak of tension since 2006 with an intense exchange of fire since October 8 that has been exacerbated in recent weeks.

Yesterday, Thursday, was another day marked by crossfire, since Hizbulah launched about thirty rockets against Israel after the death of three of its members in Israeli attacks.

This Friday, the Army reported the arrival of several anti-tank projectiles launched from Lebanon into the area of Galilee and specified that no victims have been reported.

“The soldiers identified terrorists who were operating within a military structure of Hezbollah in the Kfarkela area, in southern Lebanon. Our forces quickly attacked the structure and the terrorists,” they explain in a statement.

Hostilities in the partition have caused more than 60,000 Israelis living in the northern communities to remain evacuated more than eight months later, and the international community fears that this scenario will result in an open war.

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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.