International
New blow against Israel at the UN in an overwhelming vote in favor of the ceasefire
The UN General Assembly approved by an overwhelming majority two resolutions to which Israel opposes regarding the situation in the Palestinian territories: one, in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza, which received 158 votes in favor and 9 against, and another, in support of the mandate of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which was 159 votes in favor and 9 against.
A two-thirds majority was required to advance these non-binding resolutions, which represent another international blow for Israel and its traditional ally the United States, due to the brutality exercised in the Palestinian enclave and the international inability to stop hostilities.
Several Latin countries among the support for Israel at the UN
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Hungary and the Czech Republic were the most prominent countries that voted on the side of Israel and the United States in their rejection of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Likewise, Albania, Cameroon, Georgia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Ukraine and several small island states abstained in this vote.
“These two resolutions have no logic and challenge any concept of morality (…) UNRWA is not a neutral actor, but an entity where Hamas infiltrates. It is an open secret, said the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, during the session.
The resolutions, which were co-sponsored by more than 50 countries around the world, follow the path previously traced by others ratified in the same assembly, where a ceasefire was already called for in December last year and the “end of the Israeli occupation” in September, although both with lower margins of support.
The US was isolated again
Today’s vote also comes after last month the US vetoed for the fourth time since October 7, 2023 another resolution in the UN Security Council for a ceasefire in Gaza, once again evidencing its international isolation in the United Nations with regard to Palestine.
“The lasting end to the war in Gaza must come with the release of the hostages. Hamas feels isolated by the ceasefire in Lebanon and supporting these two resolutions could send a dangerous message that it is not necessary to release them,” said the US deputy ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood.
And he added: “Israel’s struggle is against Hamas not with UNRWA (…), but the resolution has serious flaws, since it does not establish the way to restore trust between Israel and UNRWA,” thus justifying his new vote against.
Russia’s statement
For his part, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasili Nebenzia, directly blamed the United States for continuing the war in Gaza – where more than 44,800 people have already died and another 106,000 have been injured – for his inaction in the Security Council.
For Nebenzia, with his position the US sends “a clear message” that “if you are a (American) partner, you should not feel constrained by international law.”
Other Arab and Muslim countries, such as Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Turkey, also dedicated sharp speeches against Israel’s intervention in the Palestinian enclave, which has already lasted fourteen months with disastrous humanitarian consequences.
“We are witnesses of genocide and ethnic cleansing (…) This is a stain on humanity,” they said from the representation of Algeria in the UN.
The approval of these resolutions is not binding but, after them, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, must issue a written assessment and a detailed report in the next 60 days with a short, medium and long-term plan that paves the way for the resolution of the conflict.
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
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