International

Noem appoints new Immigration Service leaders with a view to accelerating deportations

The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the United States, Kristi Noem, appointed this Sunday the two new leaders of the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) with a view to accelerating the deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Noem appointed “a new leadership of ICE to deliver the results that President (Donald) Trump and the American people legitimately demand: Todd Lyons will be the interim director of ICE and Madison Sheahan the deputy director of ICE,” according to a statement.

The DHS secretary said she had Trump’s “support” and assured that Lyons and Sheahan are “working horses, strong executors and responsible leaders who will lead the men and women of ICE to get the mandate of the American people to pursue, arrest and deport illegal foreigners.”

At the end of February, the Trump Administration dismissed the previous interim director, Caleb Vitello, whom the president himself elected, due to the growing frustration at a slow pace of deportations, and two other senior officials were also dismissed previously.

Noem also said in her statement that during the last four years ICE employees have been “prevented” from doing their job and pointed out that the service “needs a culture of accountability that it has been deprived of under the Biden Administration.”

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The comments come after reports in US media that the DHS is subjecting some employees to the polygraph to determine who is behind the leaks of information about federal raids and operations against undocumented immigrants.

Noem and Trump’s so-called “border czar”, Tom Homan, have blamed the lower than projected numbers of arrests on this type of leaks about when and in which cities immigration raids were going to occur.

According to his biographies, Haynes was until now the associate executive director of ICE, in charge of the pursuit and deportation operations, while Sheahan, Noem’s collaborator when she was governor, was secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fishing.

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.