International
FAO: Latin America facing “very worrying” scenario due to high numbers of hunger and obesity
Latin America and the Caribbean face a “very worrying, but with positive elements” panorama, given the 41 million people who suffer from hunger and a third of the population dealing with obesity problems, said this Monday in Honduras the deputy director general and regional representative of the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin.
“It is worrying because we still have 41 million people who go hungry, that is dramatic if we think that in Latin America there are people who do not eat,” Lubetkin stressed to EFE after participating in Honduras in the inauguration of a meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
However, Lubetkin stressed that in the last two years, hunger has decreased, which has allowed 4.5 million people to emerge from food poverty; which “forces” countries to strengthen their public policies to further reduce these figures.
Latin America and the Caribbean also face “bad food”, a problem that affects 140 million people, said the representative, who highlighted that the region has the capacity to produce food for 1.3 billion people.
Lubetkin said that following a healthy diet carries a daily cost of “$3.96” per person in Latin America and the Caribbean, after highlighting that the region has made progress in reducing hunger but records an increase in overweight.
“Almost a third of the region’s population is currently in the obesity scenario,” a problem that also affects “8% of children over 5 years of age,” he added.
In this sense, Lubetkin urged the region to look for “solutions” to eradicate both hunger and overweight and climate change, and warned that Latin America is beginning to fragment into three different realities, something that cannot be allowed.
“Not the whole region is in the same scenario and that is an alarm signal because today Latin America begins to divide into three Latin Americas, in other regions of the world there are subregions with different realities and we did not have that,” he explained.
Neither South America nor Central America can “allow there to be another subregion, to go backwards because it will affect us all,” the official insisted, after calling on the nations to “act together.”
Likewise, Lubetkin demanded greater investments to face climate change, strengthen the region’s agri-food systems and reduce food waste.
Faced with the seriousness of climate change, he said that it is necessary to implement “insurance” for producers that guarantees them the possibility of future production, even in adverse situations, he emphasized.
Finally, the FAO representative asked to create “new conditions” to improve food security in the region and assured that the value of food lost between harvest and sale exceeds “a quarter of all food production”.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
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