International
US team discusses help for troubled Haiti but cautious on troops
AFP
US officials on Wednesday held talks in Haiti on requests for international intervention to combat spiraling insecurity but President Joe Biden’s administration indicated reluctance over sending US troops.
The Biden administration said, however, that it was imposing US visa restrictions on Haitians blamed for the unrest and was working with Mexico on a UN Security Council resolution to draft targeted sanctions and take additional security measures.
Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for the Western Hemisphere, and Lieutenant General Andrew Croft, deputy commander of the US Southern Command, will spend two days in the capital Port-au-Price where they will meet Prime Minister Ariel Henry and other key stakeholders, the State Department said.
The Haitian government on Friday formally requested international assistance as a cholera epidemic grows and law and order break down, with armed gangs seizing swathes of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country including its largest fuel import terminal.
The US team will “talk about the request that was put forward by the prime minister and ensure that we are engaging actively with all sectors of Haitian society to make sure that the international community is responding to the needs of Haiti,” another US official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.
The official said the United States was also looking to “expedite” new humanitarian assistance to fight cholera and provide fuel.
But the official indicated that Biden — a frequent skeptic of US troop deployments who last year ended the war in Afghanistan — was in no mood to include US boots in any potential force for Haiti, which the United States controlled for nearly two decades a century ago.
“The question of security presence is obviously an area where we are treading very carefully to make sure that we are doing the right things and not doing the things that in the past have not worked,” he said.
“I think it’s premature to really start thinking about whether the United States is going to put have a physical presence inside of Haiti.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the immediate deployment of a special armed force, warning of a “dramatic deterioration in security.”
But the US official said Washington’s focus was on upgrading the Haitian National Police, which was created in 1995 under the country’s first elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to ensure civilian control and bring security.
The United States, long the key player in Haiti, has devoted $90 million since last year to strengthening the police as well as $171 million in humanitarian assistance.
International
Authorities Say Teotihuacán Gunman Was Obsessed With Mass Shootings and Extremist Symbolism
Julio César Jasso Ramírez, identified by authorities as the gunman behind the armed attack at the archaeological site of Teotihuacán, had allegedly spent years building a personal narrative shaped by an obsession with historical mass shootings, extremist symbolism, and an increasing detachment from reality.
According to preliminary findings from the Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de México, the 27-year-old suspect, originally from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, acted alone and appeared to have carefully planned the attack.
Investigators also pointed to signs of a severe psychological or psychiatric disorder. One official involved in the case stated that the suspect seemed to live in “his own reality,” disconnected from the world around him.
“I would not speak of a motive; I would speak of psychopathy, a condition, an illness,” the official said while discussing the ongoing investigation.
Authorities reported that Jasso Ramírez was allegedly fixated on mass violence incidents that occurred outside Mexico, particularly in the United States.
Among the items found in his possession were writings, images, and materials reportedly linked to the Columbine High School massacre, the school shooting that took place on April 20, 1999.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue analyzing evidence connected to the suspect’s background and mental state.
International
Iran refuses to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ongoing U.S. Naval blockade
Iran reaffirmed on Wednesday that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the United States maintains its naval blockade against Iranian ports and vessels, amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf warned that reopening the crucial maritime route depends on Washington honoring the ceasefire agreement. According to Qalibaf, Iran considers the deal to be violated due to ongoing U.S. actions.
The Iranian official accused the United States of carrying out a “naval blockade and the hijacking of the global economy,” while also pointing to Israeli military operations in Lebanon as part of the broader conflict affecting the region.
Qalibaf stated that military and economic pressure would not force Iran to change its position. “The United States and Israel failed to achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will not succeed through intimidation. The only path forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation,” he said.
His remarks come amid stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States following direct talks held on April 11 and 12 in Islamabad.
The discussions, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian representatives, have shown little progress in recent days, increasing uncertainty over whether dialogue between the two sides will resume.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced an extension of the ceasefire but decided to keep the naval blockade in place, a move Tehran considers incompatible with ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intensified operations in the area by seizing two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing them of operating without the required permits and escorting them into Iranian territory.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical oil trade routes, and any prolonged disruption could have significant consequences for global energy markets.
International
Maradona’s daughter accuses medical team of “horrible manipulation” in court
One of the daughters of Diego Maradona testified in court this Tuesday, breaking down in tears as she denounced what she described as “absolute and horrible manipulation” by her father’s medical team, during an emotional hearing in Argentina.
Gianinna Maradona stated that she and her siblings agreed to home hospitalization after doctors presented it as the best option following the neurosurgery Maradona underwent on November 3, 2020.
The football icon died on November 25 of that year, and the ongoing trial seeks to determine whether the conditions of his home care were appropriate.
According to Gianinna, what the family found at the residence where Maradona was recovering did not match what had been promised. She testified that there was no adequate medical equipment, constant monitoring, or even an ambulance available, despite assurances of continuous care.
“The manipulation was absolute and horrible,” she said during the hearing in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires.
She accused members of the medical team, including neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist Carlos Díaz, of misleading the family.
“I trusted these people, and all they did was manipulate us and leave my son without a grandfather,” she added.
Later in her testimony, recalling that six years have passed since her father’s death, she became emotional and said she struggled deeply with grief in the aftermath.
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