International
Four police, five others dead in Colombia attacks
AFP
Four policemen were among nine people killed in three separate attacks blamed on Colombian armed groups that continue to sow mayhem in the country in contravention of a peace pact, authorities said Sunday.
Three off-duty police died in an attack by armed men in the northeastern town of Pailitias in which one of the officers’ pregnant wife was injured, a police statement said.
It did not identify the attackers but the ELN, Colombia’s last active guerilla group, is known to operate in the area.
In the country’s south, five men were found murdered in San Vicente del Caguan, mayor Julian Perdomo told AFP, lamenting that “frequently, peasants are being found murdered” in the countryside there.
Such attacks are blamed by authorities on dissidents who rejected a 2016 peace deal that led to the disarming of the FARC guerilla group.
A fourth policeman died in “an incursion by an armed group” in a neighborhood of the city of Cali in the southwest, according to mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina.
He did not identify the culprits but military intelligence says FARC dissidents and ELN guerillas are active around Cali, as well as paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.
Including the latest killings in San Vicente del Caguan, the Colombian observer group Indepaz says there have been 45 massacres — the killing of three or more people in a single event — so far this year.
President Ivan Duque’s government blames groups financed by drug trafficking and illegal mining.
Colombia is in the midst of its worst outbreak of violence since the peace deal that ended Latin America’s most powerful insurgency.
On Friday, a helicopter carrying Duque was attacked near the Venezuela border, with several shots — apparently from rifles — fired at it.
It was the first attack on a Colombian head of state in nearly 20 years.
International
Claudia Sheinbaum: Operation Against ‘El Mencho’ Was Based on Pending Arrest Warrants
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday rejected claims that the military operation that resulted in the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was carried out under pressure from the United States government.
Sheinbaum explained that the deployment of federal forces was aimed at executing outstanding arrest warrants against Oseguera Cervantes, who was considered one of the most wanted criminals in both Mexico and the United States.
“That was not the objective (to ease pressure from the United States). It is very important, and I want to repeat it. This individual had an arrest warrant, or several,” Sheinbaum said, referring to the operation conducted on February 22.
According to the president, the initial goal was to capture Oseguera Cervantes, but military forces responded after coming under attack during the intervention.
“The operation was to detain him. The problem is that they were attacked — the Secretariat of National Defense — and they responded at that moment,” she said.
The president insisted that the action was not carried out in response to external demands, although she acknowledged intelligence cooperation with the United States.
“It was not done in any way because of pressure from the United States, not at all. Of course, there was intelligence information from the United States that was used specifically,” she concluded.
International
Spain Denies Any Agreement to Cooperate with U.S. Military in Iran Operations
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Wednesday firmly denied that Madrid has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military in operations against Iran, contradicting statements made minutes earlier by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“I categorically deny it,” Albares said in a radio interview cited by EFE. “The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed by a single comma.”
Earlier in the day, Leavitt told reporters that Spain had “agreed to cooperate with the United States military in recent hours,” following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid. Trump had warned of economic measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish bases for operations related to Iran.
“I have no idea what that could be referring to or where it could be coming from,” Albares said, insisting that Spain’s position “has not changed at all” and therefore “remains absolutely unchanged.” He added that he had “no desire” and “almost no time” to speculate about the White House spokesperson’s remarks.
Albares reiterated Spain’s “No to war” stance, which he said had been clearly and forcefully expressed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in an institutional address. According to the foreign minister, that position has been supported by “many European colleagues.”
International
White House Says Spain Agrees to Cooperate with U.S. Military After Trump Threatens Trade Embargo
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Spain has agreed “in recent hours” to cooperate with the U.S. military, following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid.
Trump had warned of potential commercial measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish military bases for operations related to Iran.
“With respect to Spain, I think you heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and I understand that in recent hours they have agreed to cooperate with the United States military,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
She added that the U.S. military is currently coordinating with its counterparts in Spain. However, the president expects broader support.
“The president expects that all of Europe, all of our European allies, of course, will cooperate in this important mission — not only for the United States, but also for Europe,” Leavitt said.
Her remarks came in response to questions about Spain’s position and its role as a U.S. ally amid rising tensions surrounding operations involving Iran.
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Spain Denies Any Agreement to Cooperate with U.S. Military in Iran Operations
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