International
ICE raids in L.A. accused of racial profiling after detaining U.S.-born latinos
Recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have raised alarm among immigrant rights activists, who claim that U.S. citizens of Latino descent are being detained based solely on their appearance, a practice they describe as racial profiling.
Over the course of two weeks, hundreds of individuals have been arrested. Among them are U.S.-born citizens, such as Cary López Alvarado, a nine-months pregnant 23-year-old woman who was detained on June 8 in Hawthorne by masked federal agents.
López was arrested alongside her partner, Brayan Nájera, and her cousin Alberto Sandoval—also a U.S. citizen—and taken to a processing center despite presenting her identification. “You’re from Mexico, right?” one of the agents reportedly asked, according to her account to KTLA. “I said, ‘No, I’m from here, from Los Angeles,’” she recalled.
With chains around her ankles and wrists, she struggled to protect her pregnant belly. After complaining of pain, she was released and taken to a hospital, where she gave birth to a healthy baby girl four days later. Her daughter has yet to meet her father, who was transferred to a detention center in Texas.
“This kind of arrest is outrageous and heartbreaking,” said Luis Carrillo, López’s attorney, who warned the incident could have caused a miscarriage due to extreme stress.
Protests erupted soon after. On Tuesday, nearly 1,000 people gathered in Pico Rivera demanding justice for Adrián Andrew Martínez, a 20-year-old Walmart employee who was physically assaulted by federal agents. Videos show an officer grabbing him by the neck and slamming him to the ground, despite bystanders shouting that Martínez was a U.S. citizen and an employee of the store.
In another incident on Thursday in Montebello, vendor Javier Ramírez shouted, “I have my passport!” as he was handcuffed outside his business along with an employee. The scene, captured on video, quickly went viral.
Federal authorities have defended the arrests by claiming that individuals were obstructing ICE operations. However, community members and organizations such as CHIRLA, led by director Angélica Salas, condemned the actions, stating that “U.S. citizens are being disappeared because of the color of their skin.”
The operation, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is expected to continue for up to 60 days, leaving the Latino community in Los Angeles on edge.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
International
Peruvian woman arrested in Bali for smuggling cocaine in sex toy
A Peruvian woman was arrested on the popular Indonesian tourist island of Bali for allegedly attempting to traffic 1.4 kg of cocaine, part of which was hidden inside a sex toy in her vagina, police announced on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old woman, identified only by her initials N.S., arrived at Bali’s international airport from Qatar on August 12.
“Customs officers became suspicious of her behavior and, after consulting with the police, conducted additional checks,” said Radiant, head of Bali’s narcotics unit, during a press conference.
Authorities discovered 1.4 kg of cocaine, partly concealed in the sex toy. She was also accused of carrying dozens of ecstasy pills.
The Peruvian confessed to the police that she had been hired by a man she met in April on the dark web to transport the drugs to Indonesia in exchange for $20,000.
Indonesia has some of the world’s strictest drug trafficking laws and imposes the death penalty on drug traffickers. Currently, more than 90 foreign nationals are on death row in the country for drug-related offenses, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
In July, a court in Bali sentenced an Argentine woman to seven years in prison for attempting to smuggle 244 grams of cocaine into the island in a condom hidden in her vagina.
The last executions for drug trafficking in Indonesia occurred in 2016, when an Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed.
International
Trump says Russia open to security guarantees for Ukraine amid peace talks
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Monday that Russia is willing to accept security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House.
After the talks, Zelensky described the discussions as positive, while Trump took a moment to speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and confirmed a trilateral summit between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia.
Trump expressed optimism about the prospects of ending the Russian invasion.
Zelensky, who also held a separate meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, called the discussions with the U.S. leader “the best to date.” He emphasized the importance of “strong signals” from the United States regarding Western security guarantees.
The atmosphere between the two leaders was reportedly more relaxed than in February, when Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance, publicly rebuked Zelensky for not appearing “grateful” for U.S. support.
“In one or two weeks, we will know if we are going to resolve this or if this horrible fight will continue,” Trump said at the start of the meeting.
The presence of leaders from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission, and NATO highlighted ongoing concerns about Washington’s stance on Ukraine.
Before the meeting, Trump had pressured Kyiv to relinquish Crimea and abandon its NATO membership ambitions, two of Moscow’s main demands. However, he stated that the Alaska summit with Putin had brought progress.
“I like the ceasefire. From another perspective, it immediately stops the killing. But I think a peace agreement at the end of all this is very achievable and could be reached in the near future,” Trump said.
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Peruvian woman arrested in Bali for smuggling cocaine in sex toy
Trump says Russia open to security guarantees for Ukraine amid peace talks
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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