International
Nearly 19,000 kids crossed dangerous Darien Gap in 2021: UN

AFP
A record of almost 19,000 children have crossed the dangerous Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama this year en route to the United States, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Monday.
That figure is “nearly three times more than the number registered over the five previous years combined,” said UNICEF.
The report said almost 20 percent of the migrants crossing the jungle are children, and half of those are below the age of five.
The Darien Gap is one of the main routes for migrants heading from South America to the United States, but the jungle has been overrun by armed groups such as drug and people traffickers.
“The number of migrant children who cross the Darien Gap on foot has hit an all-time high,” said UNICEF, adding that the jungle “is one of the most dangerous places for migrants attempting to reach North America.”
“In this dense tropical forest, migrant families with children are particularly exposed to violence, including sexual abuse, trafficking and extortion from criminal gangs.
“Children who cross the Darien Gap are also at risk of getting diarrhea, respiratory diseases, dehydration and other ailments that require immediate attention.”
Wild animals, insects and a lack of safe drinking water exacerbate the problems of trying to cross the jungle.
At least five children have been found dead in the jungle in 2021, while more than 150, including newborn babies, have arrived in Panama without their parents, a near 20-time increase over 2020.
“Each child crossing the Darien Gap on foot is a survivor,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Never before have our teams on the ground seen so many young children crossing the Darien Gap — often unaccompanied.”
He said the issue needs to be treated as a region-wide humanitarian crisis.
So far in 2021, more than 91,000 migrants have crossed the 575,000 hectares (1.4 million acres) of virgin jungle, according to Panama’s migration authorities.
The majority of migrants tackling this treacherous journey are Haitians and Cubans, but some come from as far afield as Africa or Asia.
International
Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.
“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.
“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.
Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.
International
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.
However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
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