International

Petro asks Pope to host ELN peace talks at the Vatican

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday asked Pope Leo XIV to consider the Vatican as a new host for peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, whose negotiations have been suspended since January due to escalating violence in northeastern Colombia.

“They (the ELN) want to keep the meetings in Cuba, in Venezuela… but I believe it is here where the theory of effective love can be recalled — in the Vatican,” Petro said in a video released by the presidential office after his first private audience with the pontiff.

The Holy See did not comment on Petro’s proposal in its official statement regarding the meeting with the pope or the subsequent one with Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations. Instead, the communiqué highlighted the “positive and enduring cooperation between the Church and the State in supporting peace and reconciliation efforts.”

Petro had previously made the same request in January 2024 to then-Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican, though it never materialized. The ELN negotiations have so far been held in Cuba, Venezuela, and Mexico — three of the guarantor countries in the process.

By inviting Pope Leo XIV to consider the Vatican as a host for renewed talks, Petro implied that the ELN might be given “a second chance” to return to the negotiating table, though he did not confirm any concrete progress with the group.

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Petro launched peace talks with the ELN after taking office in 2022 as Colombia’s first leftist president. However, the government suspended the talks in January after the ELN engaged in clashes with a rival armed group in the Catatumbo region, near the border with Venezuela. The violence led to the displacement of over 56,000 people and more than 90 deaths.

“The ELN has just committed a massacre. They’ve forgotten their revolutionary principles. They’ve forgotten that Catholic priests once led their ranks,” Petro said, referencing the group’s origins, which were inspired by Liberation Theology and included a Catholic priest among its founders.

International

Authorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation

A man identified as the main financial operator of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was arrested Thursday at Mexico City’s international airport, authorities reported.

The individual, named by Mexican media as Óscar Antonio Álvarez, was apprehended during an operation involving the army, navy, National Guard, police, and the attorney general’s office, according to a joint statement.

Álvarez is considered the primary financial operator of a criminal group originating in Jalisco, and the capture took place at Benito Juárez Airport as he arrived on a flight from Barcelona, Spain.

Authorities stated that Álvarez faces charges of organized crime and money laundering, specifically for receiving and transferring illicit funds. His work with the CJNG reportedly included purchasing properties and managing businesses in the tequila and livestock sectors.

According to El Universal, Álvarez was directly under the command of Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho”, the cartel’s top leader, for whom the U.S. offers a $15 million reward.

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The CJNG, which operates throughout Mexico and in various parts of the world, was designated earlier this year as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. government.

Álvarez was handed over to the federal public prosecutor to determine his legal situation, the report added.

International

Jair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 70, has been sentenced for leading an armed criminal organization that attempted to cling to power after losing the 2022 elections to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The alleged coup plot, which reportedly included a plan to assassinate Lula, was not carried out due to lack of support from the military leadership.

By a four-to-one vote of the judges overseeing the case, seven co-defendants, including former ministers and military chiefs, were also convicted.

“A criminal armed organization was formed by the defendants, who must be sentenced based on the factual circumstances I consider proven,” said the final judge to cast a vote, Cristiano Zanin.

Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, did not attend the court hearings, citing health issues.

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Reacting on X, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, said: “They call this a trial a process whose outcome everyone already knew before it began.”

One of the first international reactions came from the White House. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the sentence “very surprising,” while Senator Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the United States will “respond accordingly” to the “unjust” ruling.

International

Poland invokes NATO Article 4 after russian drone incursion

The violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones on Wednesday triggered the most serious clash between Russia and NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine, prompting Poland to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which calls for consultations among allies.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Parliament on Wednesday, describing an unprecedented “aggression” in which at least 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace, creating a situation that the Prime Minister described as “the closest to an open conflict since World War II.”

Speaking at the start of an extraordinary Council of Ministers session, Tusk stated that “this is the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a NATO member state, and that is why all our allies are taking the situation very seriously.”

Although he affirmed that “there is no reason to claim that we are in a state of war,” he labeled the incidents as “a large-scale provocation” and ordered the invocation of NATO’s Article 4 to call for consultations with allied nations.

Tusk also noted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had received “not only expressions of solidarity with Poland but, above all, concrete proposals to support the country’s air defense” during discussions with European leaders throughout the day.

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The Polish leader specifically mentioned conversations with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands—Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, and Dick Schoof—along with French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.