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.
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
U.S. sanctions cuban president Díaz-Canel over regime crackdown on protesters
The United States announced on Friday, for the first time, sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, citing his role in the regime’s crackdown on the Cuban people as the country marks four years since the historic anti-government protests of July 2021.
The U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on Díaz-Canel and other key figures in the Cuban government, including Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, according to Senator Marco Rubio, who shared the update on social media platform X.
“The United States is capable of imposing migration sanctions on revolutionary leaders and maintaining a prolonged and ruthless economic war against Cuba, but it will not break the will of our people or its leaders,” responded Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
In addition, the State Department added “Torre K”, a newly inaugurated 42-story hotel in central Havana, to its list of restricted entities in an effort to prevent U.S. dollars from funding repression by the Cuban regime.
The hotel has sparked criticism for representing a massive state investment in luxury infrastructure despite Cuba’s declining tourism sector and worsening shortages of food, medicine, water, and electricity.
“While the Cuban people suffer from shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime squanders money,” wrote Rubio.
In another post, Rubio also accused the Cuban government of torturing dissident José Daniel Ferrer and demanded immediate proof of life.
Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), was among the 553 prisoners released in January as part of an agreement between Cuba and the Vatican, following a decision by former U.S. President Joe Biden to temporarily remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
However, Ferrer’s conditional release was revoked in late April, prompting strong protests from Washington. The island has since been returned to the terrorism list after Republican President Donald Trump’s return to power in January.
International
Two missing after torrential rains cause flooding in Catalonia
Two people are missing in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, after torrential rains hit the region on Saturday night, causing flooding and disrupting rail traffic for several hours.
“We are working on the search for two people in Cubelles,” announced the Catalan Fire Department in a message posted on social media platform X. Cubelles is a town of about 17,000 residents located 50 kilometers from Barcelona.
Emergency crews remain active in the affected area, where the heavy rains overwhelmed local infrastructure and forced temporary closures of several transport routes.
International
Trump administration begins downsizing ‘bloated’ state department workforce
The U.S. Department of State issued layoff notices on Friday to more than 1,300 employees both domestically and abroad, marking the start of a workforce reduction aimed at trimming what officials have called a “bloated” staff. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to restructure the federal government.
According to local media reports, more than 1,100 Civil Service employees and around 250 Foreign Service officers received notifications via email. Those affected will be placed on administrative leave for periods ranging from 90 to 120 days from the date of their dismissal notice.
The job cuts are part of a plan to centralize and streamline the agency’s operations without disrupting its overall functioning. The restructuring was designed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had previously informed Congress in May of his intention to reduce the department’s workforce by 15%. The State Department currently employs about 18,000 people.
According to the top U.S. diplomat, the goal is to optimize what he described as a “bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” as well as to eliminate remnants of “radical political ideology.”
The reorganization is expected to hit hardest in offices focused on human rights and refugee issues, which will now be handled by regional bureaus, according to The New York Times.
“We inherited a system that needed reform, and we are delivering it,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Thursday, adding that the Administration is committed to a foreign policy that puts U.S. interests first.
U.S. sanctions cuban president Díaz-Canel over regime crackdown on protesters
Two missing after torrential rains cause flooding in Catalonia
Trump administration begins downsizing ‘bloated’ state department workforce
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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