International

A Texas judge approves the transfer of Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada to New York

Judge Kathleen Cardone approved this Thursday the federal government’s request to expedite the transfer to New York of the co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada, to be judged in that city.

Zambada (76 years old), who is currently detained in the border city of El Paso and has already had two initial hearings before Justice, had been a fugitive for almost 50 years in Mexico and until his arrest on July 25 in El Paso (Texas) he was one of the most wanted criminals by the United States with a reward of 15 million dollars.

There is already a pending accusation against him in the Eastern District of New York and after the U.S. Prosecutor’s Office formally filed the request for his transfer on Thursday, the magistrate accepted it.

The accusation in New York is one of at least four that it faces in the United States, but it was updated in February of this year and is the only one that mentions the trafficking of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that has generated a serious crisis of overdose deaths in the United States and that has become the center of the country’s anti-drug policy.

In the Eastern District of New York, his former partner Joaquín ‘el Chapo’ Guzmán was already sentenced to life imprisonment. A son of the latter, Joaquín Guzmán López, stopped him next to ‘el Mayo’ last month.

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The U.S. Department of Justice then stressed that both “face multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its lethal fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”

The judge accepted on Thursday that an initial appearance be set for the accused “without further delay.”

International

Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids

Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.

The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.

In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.

He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”

The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.

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The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.

International

Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”

International

Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains

Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.

“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”

Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.