International
An official plane from Venezuela makes an emergency landing in the Colombian city of Cúcuta
An official plane from Venezuela made an emergency landing this Friday at the airport of the Colombian border city of Cúcuta, apparently due to a confusion with the destination runway, official sources said.
The device is a Cessna 550 Citation II, with Venezuelan license plate YV3226, which landed this morning at the Camilo Daza International Airport in Cúcuta, the main border city between the two countries.
“The information we have about the landing of the Venezuelan plane in Cúcuta is that it is an emergency. We expect a report from the Civil Air Force, which is the competent authority for the case,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on his X account.
According to the FlightAware flight tracking page, the plane with license plate YV3226 took off this morning from Maiquetía International Airport, in Caracas, and landed an hour and 20 minutes later at Camilo Daza, in Cúcuta.
So far the reason for the flight and how many people were on board are unknown, but Colombian media claim that the aircraft was carrying five people, two of them armed soldiers.
The Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) issued a statement indicating: “the YV3226 aircraft has the proper authorization from the Colombian civil aviation authority” in accordance with the provisions of the Chicago Convention, which “recognizes the right to perform technical stopovers on Colombian territory, as well as the use of airfields in emergency situations.”
Apparently the destination of the flight was the neighboring Venezuelan city of San Antonio del Táchira, located on the border, but the crew had to land in Cúcuta.
According to Aerocivil, in this case the emergency landing was “derived from a circumstance of confusion between nearby runways” which confirms the version that the plane was heading to San Antonio del Táchira, a city separated from Cúcuta only by the Táchira River.
Aerocivil added that he was given permission to land because the fact “corresponds to an aircraft that was in danger.”
“In consideration of international law that the YV3226 aircraft has in that condition, the information collected about the operational incident, the takeoff of said aircraft is authorized to continue its flight to its final destination,” Aerocivil added.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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