International
UN sounds alarm on Haiti’s looming hunger crisis, calls for urgent funding
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has issued an urgent appeal for funding to address the worsening hunger crisis in Haiti, which is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe amid escalating violence.
Cindy McCain, the executive director of WFP, emphasized the critical need for immediate action, stating, “Our humanitarian operations in Haiti are running critically low on resources, with funds for hot meals expected to be depleted within two weeks. We urge donors to step forward urgently to address the escalating hunger crisis and prevent further chaos.”
McCain stressed that Haiti requires more than just security measures, emphasizing the necessity for a robust humanitarian response to address the growing needs of the population. However, she highlighted the urgent requirement for funding to effectively respond to this largely overlooked crisis.
The UN agency warned of the potential paralysis of humanitarian operations due to insecurity limiting access to communities and the depletion of donor funding. Failure to address the hunger crisis in Haiti could jeopardize efforts to restore stability.
Despite the challenges posed by violence, the WFP has provided assistance to over 280,000 individuals since March 1, including the distribution of 62,000 hot meals to 14,000 displaced persons.
Jean-Martin Bauer, the WFP director in Haiti, emphasized the organization’s commitment to providing aid but emphasized the need for consistent and secure access to reach those in need.
The agency aims to assist 2.4 million people in 2024 through emergency aid, including cash transfers and food rations, contingent upon security conditions.
Haiti is currently experiencing one of the most severe food crises globally, with 1.4 million people at risk of famine. Approximately half of the country’s population faces food insecurity, and over half of its 11 million inhabitants live in poverty.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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