International
Joy and worry for Venezuelans as US shuts land border
AFP | Paula Ramon
Jose was reunited with his wife and four-year-old child in the United States minutes after Washington shut its southern border to Venezuelans. But his happiness was short-lived.
His adult son, currently battling through the treacherous Darien Gap jungle that straddles Colombia and Panama, will likely be turned away from the United States — if he even makes it that far.
“Last night I was happier than a child at Christmas,” he told AFP by telephone on Thursday.
“But when I saw the news I immediately called my son and asked him not to continue his journey.”
AFP has changed the names of migrants interviewed for this story because of their vulnerable status, or the risk of retribution from human traffickers.
Humanitarian program
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced that Venezuelans entering the United States by land will be returned to Mexico, in line with almost all other migrants without visas coming over the border.
Until now they have been granted exceptions because of Washington’s distrust of the hard-left regime in Caracas, which it says punishes political opponents.
Instead, the United States will allow 24,000 Venezuelans to apply for entry under a humanitarian program, similar to a scheme that has welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.
The program — launched a month ahead of elections — is a bid by President Joe Biden’s administration to chart a path between Democratic demands for helping desperate migrants and Republican calls to stem what they paint as a “tide” of illegal migration.
In the year to September, border authorities encountered more than 155,000 Venezuelans, more than triple the previous year.
Most, like Jose, arrive in Texas.
He set foot on US soil on Sunday after wading across the chest-deep waters of the Rio Grande river near Eagle Pass.
“It was nothing compared to what I had to do to get here,” he said as he stood in the baking Texas sun, his clothes wet and his shoes muddy.
In his backpack were the few clothes he still owned.
“The others I left on the road.”
Crisis
Millions of Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, fleeing a political and economic crisis under authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro.
Many have traveled to nearby Latin American countries but an increasing number are heading for the United States — despite the distance and the danger.
Videos on TikTok — a main source of news for Venezuelans — show columns of people with backpacks making their way through dense vegetation.
Stories of rapes, robberies, murders and bribery are common among those who make it.
Jose’s seven-country journey took him a month.
After reuniting with his wife and young child, he thought things were finally coming together, with his 22-year-old son setting off from Caracas to join him.
Then the US government changed the rules.
“I am very sad, and so is he, because we were all going to be together finally,” he says.
“It would give me a lot of pain if he makes such a big effort and they send him back to Mexico, where the people are very good but the immigration agents and the police mistreat us a lot.”
Jose says his time in Mexico was the hardest part of the trip.
“In the jungle they put a bracelet on you to distinguish those who pay from those who don’t. Those who don’t pay are mistreated.
“In Mexico, the coyote tells you it’s $500, but if you tell him ‘I have $200,’ he accepts it.
“But a Mexican cop will tell you it’s $500 and if you don’t give it to him, he’ll beat you or rob you.”
Maria, who also arrived in Eagle Pass on Sunday, was reunited with her boyfriend in Georgia on Wednesday.
“I was lucky, but the Mexican agents took my friends and beat them. They detained them for two weeks, and released them somewhere else. Now they won’t be able to get into the US,” she says.
Maria’s boyfriend is overjoyed that she made it to the United States, where he hopes she will be able to get treatment for a chronic illness.
But he frets over what will happen now to his three sisters, who are somewhere deep in the Darien Gap.
“I do nothing but think, I’m happy because Maria is finally here, but I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.
International
Biden administration approves $8 billion arms sale to Israel ahead of Trump’s Presidency
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden approved a weapons sale to Israel worth approximately $8 billion, which includes air defense ammunition, the State Department announced on Saturday.
The sale—which must be approved by Congress—was agreed upon just days before Republican Donald Trump assumes the presidency, also a strong ally of Israel in the Gaza conflict. Before leaving office, Joe Biden once again ignored pressure from human rights organizations and Democratic lawmakers who oppose the arms sale to Israel.
“The president made it clear that Israel has the right to defend its citizens in accordance with international law and humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its allied organizations,” it was stated.
International
Scottie Pippen’s dream predictions about Bitcoin gain attention as market faces volatility
Financial analyst Jim Bianco commented on Monday about Scottie Pippen’s dream encounters with Satoshi Nakamoto, noting that the NBA legend’s predictions about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) have been surprisingly accurate.
What Happened Bianco, president and founder of Bianco Research, stated in a post on X that Pippen’s predictions have gained followers due to their accuracy, despite the strange methods he claims to use, such as receiving messages from Bitcoin’s anonymous creator in his dreams.
Bianco also analyzed Pippen’s latest forecast, in which the basketball star said, “I just took a nap, and Satoshi whispered to me: ‘Bitcoin will get closer to the Black Mamba numbers before it returns to Chamberlain.'”
According to Bianco, the post referenced NBA legends Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 81 and 100 points in a single game, respectively. Simply put, Pippen expected Bitcoin to drop to $81,000 before recovering to $100,000.
Why It Matters The world’s leading cryptocurrency has fallen below the key support level of $93,000 and is at risk of falling further. Since the Christmas rally, Bitcoin has dropped by up to 6.5%.
Earlier, Pippen grabbed attention by predicting Bitcoin would hit $84,000 on U.S. presidential election day. While the digital asset didn’t meet these predictions, it reached $84,000 a week later.
International
Ecuador Imposes 60-Day State of Emergency in Most Violent Provinces as Drug Gangs Clash
Ecuador, engaged in a war against drug trafficking gangs, has declared a new state of emergency in Quito and seven of its 24 provinces, which are considered the most violent, according to a presidential decree released on Friday.
The 60-day measure suspends the rights to the inviolability of the home and correspondence in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Santa Elena, and El Oro, as well as the Amazonian provinces of Orellana and Sucumbíos. This state of emergency has been in effect since Thursday and was implemented due to the severe internal turmoil and internal armed conflict declared last year because of drug-related violence.
The decree includes Quito (in the province of Pichincha) and the towns of La Troncal (Cañar) and the mining town of Camilo Ponce Enríquez (Azuay), as well as the prison system, now under military control.
The government of Daniel Noboa, which began in November 2023, has consistently used this measure in response to an escalating wave of drug gangs fighting for control of the streets and prisons.
“This declaration is based on… the increase in violence rates, the commission of crimes, and the prolonged intensity of the presence of organized armed groups,” states the decree released on the presidential website.
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