Central America
Salvadoran heroes who provided aid in Turkey return home
February 19 |
After nine days away from home, the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) El Salvador and the Humanitarian Rescue Unit (HRU) of the Armed Forces, made up of 111 rescuers, military and health personnel, who carried out search and rescue work in Turkey, returned to Salvadoran soil.
This nation was strongly affected last February 6 by two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.6 on the Richter scale, and El Salvador was one of the first countries to send rescue support.
The Salvadoran heroes landed on their return flight on Saturday afternoon at the San Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport, where they were received by the authorities of the Ministries of the Interior, Defense, Health, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the directors of Civil Protection and Firefighters.
“Thank you, a great job, it is a pride to work with you, it is a pride to have you at home, welcome heroes”, were the words of the Minister of the Interior, Juan Carlos Bidegain.
He added that thanks to the work done, El Salvador was able to demonstrate in Turkey that it has highly prepared teams that have now been placed among the elite USAR teams around the world.
“We are the ones who are grateful to you, what you have done, what you have done is incredible, what you have done is wonderful,” said Bidegain.
For his part, Erick Vázquez, lieutenant of the USAR-EL SALVADOR group, in his report to the authorities, highlighted the rescue of two people alive.
“We have done a job with all the logistics involved, we went to put into practice everything we learned. We had the joy of performing two rescues, a minor and a woman of approximately 30 years of age, we are proud to have done it”, celebrated Vázquez.
He explained that during their stay in Turkey, from February 9 to 17, they worked in 15 buildings, in which the canine unit and the rescuers did the work they were assigned to do, earning the respect and admiration of USAR groups from the rest of the world.
“Leaders of other USAR groups around the world have told us that we have positioned ourselves among the best, along with France, Germany and Egypt, among others,” Vazquez said.
The recognition given by the leaders of other USAR groups was also shared by Defense Minister Rene Francis Merino Monroy.
“I want to highlight the level of the two search teams of El Salvador [USAR and UHR] to provide assistance to other countries,” said the official.
At the same time he added: “We have in El Salvador a response team that can highly prepared to help foreign countries”.
Merino Monroy congratulated the USAR and UHR team of the Armed Forces for putting the name of El Salvador on high and fulfilling the mission entrusted to them.
“The mission that was entrusted to them, to the USAR and UHR group of the Armed Forces, to rescue lives was fulfilled, in addition to reviewing and cleaning each of the buildings in which they worked,” said the minister.
Turkey’s ambassador to El Salvador, Gül Büyükerşen, also received the heroes and expressed her gratitude for the support of the Salvadoran teams, as well as to President Nayib Bukele’s willingness to help from the first moment.
“President Nayib Bukele was one of the first leaders who spoke with my president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, by phone (after the earthquakes),” said the diplomat.
In addition, he stressed that “El Salvador may be a small country (in territory), but it has a big heart”.
Sports
AC Milan defeats Juventus to secure Supercoppa Italiana final spot
AC Milan will take on Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana final on Monday following a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory against Juventus in the second semifinal held in Riyadh on Friday.
Turkish sensation Kenan Yildiz, a late addition to Juventus’ starting lineup, opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a powerful strike that caught French goalkeeper Mike Maignan off guard.
However, AC Milan, under new Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição—who replaced his compatriot Paulo Fonseca earlier this week—delivered a much-improved second-half performance.
The ‘Rossoneri’ leveled the game in the 71st minute through a penalty converted by American star Christian Pulisic. Just four minutes later, their winning goal came via an own goal by Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who accidentally sent the ball past his goalkeeper, who was caught out of position.
Central America
Honduras to send delegation in place of president Castro for Maduro ceremony
Honduran President Xiomara Castro will not attend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration on January 10, an official source confirmed Friday in Tegucigalpa.
In brief statements to journalists, Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Torres said that Castro “will not go to Venezuela” and that a delegation will likely be sent to represent Honduras at Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony.
Regarding the $100,000 reward announced by Venezuelan police for information on the whereabouts of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, Torres remarked that it is an internal matter for Venezuela. However, he noted that the situation “reflects a tense political climate ahead of Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration.”
Central America
Panama Canal marks 25th anniversary of handover, honors Jimmy Carter
The Panama Canal celebrated its 25th anniversary of being handed over to Panama this Tuesday, with a solemn ceremony honoring the late former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, while disregarding Donald Trump’s threats to reclaim the interoceanic route.
The ceremony, held in the garden of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) headquarters near the waterway, was attended by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and hundreds of guests, including former President Mireya Moscoso, who symbolically received the canal from Carter on December 31, 1999. “Today we feel the same emotion” as 25 years ago, Moscoso told AFP, recalling that after signing the transfer documents, Carter said to her, “it’s yours,” and she began to cry.
Mulino stated in his speech that he felt joy for the 25 years of Panamanian sovereignty over the Canal, but added, “a sadness… fills us due to the death of Jimmy Carter,” who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100. A moment of silence was observed during the ceremony in memory of the former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
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