The Honduran Police on Monday raised the reward to 3.5 million lempiras (approximately 135,553 dollars) for information leading to the capture of Romeo Vásquez, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, who is accused of the 2009 murder of a young man during the 2009 coup against former President Manuel Zelaya.

Vásquez, a retired general, is listed among the top ten most wanted Hondurans for various crimes. Also on the list is Yulan Adonay Archaga, the leader of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, who escaped from a courthouse in El Progreso (northern Honduras) in 2020 and faces five murder charges.

For Archaga, the National Police has also raised the reward to the same amount set for Vásquez.

The Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) accuses Vásquez, former Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces Venancio Cervantes, and former commander of the Special Operations Command Carlos Roberto Puerto, both generals, of the murder of young Isis Obed Murillo and the attempted murder of Alex Roberto Zavala, both of whom were supporters of Zelaya.

Spanish lawyer and former congresswoman Macarena Olona believes that Europe’s decline in public safety can be reversed by adopting anti-gang policies similar to those implemented by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

“Historic. The U.S. State Department has given El Salvador its highest travel rating, Level 1. Spain is at Level 2, considered a higher risk to travelers’ safety. Europe will only stop its decline by following models that have proven effective: Bukele’s security model,” Olona posted on social media.

Spanish newspaper Marca echoed Olona’s remarks, highlighting in an online article that “the arrival of Nayib Bukele to the presidency of El Salvador in 2019 changed the country forever.” That year, the president unveiled his anti-gang strategy.

“Thanks to the Territorial Control Plan, Bukele’s government arrested over 84,000 suspected gang members, driving violence in the country down to record lows,” Marca added.

Three years later, in response to a spike in homicides in March 2022, Bukele’s administration invoked a constitutional state of emergency to intensify the crackdown on criminal groups. The government also built the Terrorism Confinement Center, a high-security prison to hold thousands of inmates.

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CEL

Two people lost their lives near the Estadio Monumental in Santiago, Chile, following a chaotic incident that occurred before the Copa Libertadores match between Colo Colo and Brazil’s Fortaleza on April 10. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the victims were crushed after a fence on the stadium perimeter collapsed, though authorities are investigating whether a police armored vehicle may have played a role.

It was a black Thursday at Chile’s Estadio Monumental. Two local fans died outside the stadium after a yet-unclarified incident caused a metal gate to fall on them, leading to fatal asphyxiation.

Local media reports indicate that a group of fans attempted to force their way into the stadium before kickoff. In response, local police allegedly deployed armored vehicles to block the breach.

Preliminary reports cited by local newspapers and news agencies like EFE identify the victims as two young individuals—one 18 years old and the other just 13.