International
Honduran Drug Trafficker Handed Over to U.S. After Extradition Treaty Ends
A business associate of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of drug trafficking in New York, was handed over to the United States on Wednesday. This transfer comes just a week after leftist President Xiomara Castro terminated the extradition treaty between the two countries, according to police reports.
Mario José Cálix was delivered to U.S. agents at Palmerola Airport, 50 kilometers north of Tegucigalpa, and boarded a plane bound for the United States around 11:30 a.m. local time (5:30 p.m. GMT).
“The plane is already in the air,” said police spokesperson Edgardo Barahona to AFP.
The 42-year-old alleged drug trafficker was transported in handcuffs under heavy security from the Police Special Forces headquarters in the capital, where he had been held since June.
Cálix’s extradition is likely to be the last from Honduras to the United States following the cancellation of the treaty between the two countries, explained judicial spokesperson Melvin Duarte.
“Of the pending cases, [Cálix’s] is the last to be processed to the United States” before the treaty was denounced, Duarte told AFP.
Sought by the United States since 2019 for drug trafficking, Cálix was captured on June 21, and a judge authorized his transfer to the U.S. on August 16.
President Castro ordered the termination of the treaty on August 28 after U.S. Ambassador to Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu, criticized a meeting between Honduran military leaders—including a niece of the president—and a Venezuelan minister sanctioned by Washington for drug trafficking.
However, the opposition claims that the president ended the treaty, which had facilitated the imprisonment of around fifty Honduran drug traffickers, including Hernández, to protect members of her government and family.
Her brother-in-law Carlos Zelaya—brother of her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, who was overthrown in a 2009 coup—was accused of meeting with drug traffickers in 2013 to fund that year’s electoral campaign.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
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.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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