International
Seven FARC dissidents who were traveling in official vehicles were captured in Colombia
Seven members of the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissident of the FARC, were captured in the Colombian department of Antioquia (northwest), when they were intercepted in a surprise military operation when they were moving in official vehicles.
The confirmation of the arrests was made by the Prosecutor’s Office in a statement in which it assured that it “captured in flagrante” seven members who were mobilized in official vehicles of the National Protection Unit (UNP) on a road between the municipalities of Santo Domingo and Barbosa.
The Prosecutor’s Office detailed that “three of them will be released as a result of the suspension of the arrest warrants requested by the national government, as members of the peace negotiating table with that armed organization outside the law.”
It all began when the Army intercepted a caravan of seven vans from the UNP, which depends on the Ministry of the Interior, in which the heads of an EMC block were traveling.
Among them was Alexander Díaz Mendoza, alias ‘Calarcá’, who is the commander of the Magdalena Medio Block and one of the EMC negotiators with the Government, who had valid safe-conduct, but also guerrilla bosses on whom arrest warrants weigh.
The governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián Rendón, was the one who from the beginning warned of the presence of guerrillas in the caravan of official vehicles, while, as he said, there are two mayors of that region, those of Toledo and San Rafael, who despite being threatened, do not have protection from the UNP.
“There is a very sad thing here and that is that I have two mayors threatened (…) and these criminals walking with the resources of the UNP throughout the country with weapons, with cash, with gold,” said the governor.
The Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, said that six members of the dissidents who traveled with alias ‘Calarcá’ were captured at a checkpoint.
He explained that among the detainees is Edgar de Jesús Orrego Arango, alias ‘Firu’ or ‘Leo’, who had an arrest warrant for several crimes.
Likewise, “five more people in flagrante dest,” were arrested, including alias ‘Érika’, “who had in her possession a supplier and other elements and María Alejandra Ojeda, who had a gun in illegal possession,” he said.
Velásquez added that he was also arrested alias ‘Ramiro’, who, despite having the arrest warrant suspended, “admitted to carrying an illegal weapon and for that reason was captured in flagrante delite.”
The same thing happened with ‘Urías Perdomo’, leader of the front Rodrigo Cadete and alias ‘Oliver González’, of the Raúl Reyes Commission.”
The minister pointed out that in the search the authorities found two revolvers, a supplier, bullets and one hundred million pesos in cash (about 25,000 dollars today).
Regarding the situation, the chief negotiator of the Government of Colombia with a part of the EMC, Camilo González Posso, said that the suspension of the arrest warrant with alias ‘Firu’ is in progress but that at the time of being arrested he was in an “irregular situation.”
“In these circumstances we have been informed of the arrest of one of the commanders of front 36, named ‘Firu’ or ‘Leo’, who has suspension of arrest warrant pending, we hope he will come out soon, but anyway it is an irregular situation and we have proceeded in accordance with the law,” added the chief negotiator.
Despite the incident, González Posso said: “We hope that this situation will be clarified (…) we want it to be resolved by law and we can resume the activities planned for this week.”
Last week the Colombian Government announced the termination of the bilateral ceasefire with the EMC due to its constant attacks on the civilian population and the Police in the southwest of the country, but maintained it for three months with three other organizations of that group, including the Magdalena Medio Block.
The EMC has been in peace talks since last year, but the dialogues have been hampered by the frequent attacks of that group in the departments of Cauca, Nariño and Valle del Cauca, in the southwest of the country.
Faced with that situation, the Government suspended contacts with the faction led by alias ‘Iván Mordisco’ last April, with which it ended the ceasefire in force since the beginning of the year, while maintaining them with the other three groups.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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