International
Fiona batters Turks and Caicos as Category 3 hurricane
AFP
Hurricane Fiona battered the Turks and Caicos islands as a powerful Category 3 storm on Tuesday after leaving a trail of destruction in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The top US disaster management official was headed to Puerto Rico meanwhile to assess the damage in the US territory still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria five years ago.
Fiona has left at least two people dead as it churned across the Caribbean — a man whose home was swept away in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic who died while cutting down a tree.
The Turks and Caicos, a British territory of some 38,000 people, was being lashed by heavy rains and strong winds as Fiona crept northwards on a path that could see the storm approaching Bermuda late Thursday.
“Hurricane Fiona has proven to be an unpredictable storm,” Anya Williams, the deputy governor of the Turks and Caicos, said in a broadcast.
Williams said no casualties or serious injuries had been reported in the Turks and Caicos overnight but she urged residents to continue to shelter in place.
Blackouts were reported on Grand Turk and several other islands in the archipelago and 165 people were admitted to shelters, she said, adding that Britain’s Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard are standing by provide assistance.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Fiona was packing maximum winds nearing 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, making it a major hurricane, and it is expected to become even stronger.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia — home to the popular resort of Punta Cana — El Seibo and Hato Mayor.
Several roads were flooded or cut off by falling trees or electric poles around Punta Cana where the power was knocked out.
Footage from local media showed residents of the east coast town of Higuey waist-deep in water trying to salvage personal belongings.
“It came through at high speed,” Vicente Lopez told AFP, bemoaning the destroyed businesses in the area.
‘I have food and water’
US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico — where the storm hit a day earlier — and dispatched the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the island.
“We’re sending hundreds of additional staff in the next few days to place staff in each of the impacted communities,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said the storm had caused catastrophic damage on the island of three million people since Sunday, with some areas receiving more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain.
Michelle Carlo, medical advisor for Direct Relief in Puerto Rico, told CBS News that “a lot of people in Puerto Rico are suffering right now.”
“About 80 percent of Puerto Ricans are still without power and about 65 percent are without water service,” Carlo said.
Across Puerto Rico, Fiona caused landslides, blocked roads and toppled trees, power lines and bridges, Pierluisi said.
A man was killed as an indirect result of the power blackout — burned to death while trying to fill his generator, according to authorities.
On Monday afternoon, Nelly Marrero made her way back to her home in Toa Baja, in the north of Puerto Rico, to clear out the mud that surged inside after she evacuated.
“Thanks to God, I have food and water,” Marrero — who lost everything when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico — told AFP by telephone.
The hurricane has left around 800,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.
After years of financial woes and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest bankruptcy ever by a local US administration.
Later that year, the double hit from hurricanes Irma and Maria added to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island — which has suffered from major infrastructure problems for years.
The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to resolve the problem of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.
International
Colombia slams Ecuador’s 30% tariff as ‘economic aggression’
Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma, on Wednesday described as an “economic aggression” the 30% “security fee” imposed by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on imports from Colombia.
“We reject the tariff measure imposed by Ecuador, an economic aggression that breaks the principle of regional integration,” Palma said in a post on X.
President Noboa explained that the decision was taken due to what he described as a “lack of reciprocity and firm actions” by Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking. He added that despite Ecuador having made “real efforts of cooperation,” including maintaining a trade deficit exceeding $1 billion annually, the country’s armed forces continue to face drug-linked criminal groups along the border without any cooperation.
For that reason, Noboa stated that the measure will remain in place “until there is a real commitment” from Colombia to jointly confront drug trafficking and illegal mining along the 586-kilometer shared border, with the same level of determination Ecuador is currently applying.
According to official data, Ecuador seized 214.5 metric tons of drugs in 2025, down from the record 294.6 tons confiscated in 2024.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on January 7 that during his administration, which began on August 7, 2022 and ends this year, drug seizures have increased significantly, adding that total confiscations are expected to exceed 3,500 tons by the time he leaves office.
International
José Jerí claims destabilization attempt after videos of secretive meetings surface
Peru’s interim president, right-wing leader José Jerí, on Wednesday denounced an alleged plot against him and warned of a deliberate attempt to destabilize the country, following the release of a series of videos showing semi-clandestine meetings with a Chinese businessman, as well as visits to the Government Palace by another businessman of the same nationality who is under house arrest.
“I also want to know who is behind this entire plot. I am an objective and impartial president who does not give in to pressure, but someone has found a way to do so. I want to know who is behind it and what their real objective is,” Jerí said while appearing before Congress’ Oversight and Comptroller Commission.
The interim president, who recently marked 100 days in office after replacing former president Dina Boluarte (2022–2025) in his role as head of Congress, insisted that he has never lied to the country. Without directly accusing any individual or group, he argued that routine activities—such as visiting a restaurant or a shop—are being portrayed with a “malicious” intent.
So far, reports indicate that on December 26, close to midnight, Jerí visited a chifa restaurant—a Peruvian-Chinese eatery—owned by Chinese businessman and state contractor Zhihua “Johnny” Yang, accompanied by Interior Minister Vicente Tiburcio, and wearing a hood. On January 6, he also visited a shop belonging to the same businessman, which had been shut down by municipal authorities just hours earlier.
The revelations have fueled political controversy and renewed scrutiny of the interim administration’s actions amid Peru’s ongoing political instability.
International
Mexican influencer “La Nicholette” kidnapped in exclusive area of Culiacán
The content creator known as “La Nicholette,” also referred to as “La Muchacha del Salado,” was kidnapped Tuesday afternoon in Isla Musalá, one of the most exclusive residential areas of Culiacán, capital of the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, according to local media reports on Wednesday.
The abduction was captured by the security camera of the young woman’s vehicle, a lilac-colored Tesla Cybertruck, which was later found abandoned at the scene.
Video footage circulating on social media shows a masked man carrying a long firearm preventing the influencer from entering her vehicle, while another individual forces her into a white sedan, reportedly an older-model Toyota Corolla.
According to media reports, the incident occurred at approximately 5:00 p.m. local time (2300 GMT) at the intersection of Tachichilte Avenue and San Esteban Street, within the Musalá residential area.
Authorities have not yet released official details regarding the victim’s whereabouts or the motives behind the kidnapping.
Colombia slams Ecuador’s 30% tariff as ‘economic aggression’
José Jerí claims destabilization attempt after videos of secretive meetings surface
Mexican influencer “La Nicholette” kidnapped in exclusive area of Culiacán
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