International

Two Mapuche die in clashes with Chilean security forces

AFP

Two members of Chile’s indigenous Mapuche community died and three others were injured on Wednesday in clashes with security forces, the government said.

The fighting happened in Arauco province in the south, an area that has been under a state of emergency since last month amid escalating violence.

The incident occurred a day after President Sebastian Pinera said he had asked Congress to extend the state of emergency and the deployment of military forces in four provinces in the Biobio and La Araucania regions, including Arauco.

“I can confirm two deaths so far and I can confirm three injured who have arrived at different hospitals,” Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado said in the capital Santiago.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

The minister said the deaths occurred during two attacks by hooded men near the town of Canete, 640 kilometers (400 miles) south of Santiago.

The deceased, two Mapuche community members aged 23 and 44, died of gunshot wounds, health officials said. The prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of three people.

The state of emergency was adopted by Pinera on October 12, a date which commemorates the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the Americas and which has become riven by controversy.

The president then extended by 15 days the militarization of these regions, which have experienced an historical conflict between the Mapuche people — Chile’s largest indigenous community — and the state.

The indigenous people are demanding the state return lands that they consider theirs by ancestral right and which have been handed over to private companies, mainly forestry companies and landowners.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

The lack of a solution to Mapuche demands has prompted radical groups to carry out attacks on trucks and private property over the last decade.

One person was killed and 17 injured last month when clashes broke out in Santiago between security forces and protesters marching for Mapuche autonomy.

The confrontations have also brought to light the presence of drug trafficking and self-defense groups, as well as police operations denounced as set-ups by indigenous people.

International

Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.

The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.

International

U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster

A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.

This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.

The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

International

Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday highlighted her government’s achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, after the United States said challenges remain in combating organized crime.

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that “despite progress, challenges still exist” in addressing organized crime.

“There are very strong results from joint cooperation and from the work Mexico is doing: first, a 50% reduction in fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.

The president also said that authorities have seized nearly 320 tons of drugs and that there has been a “40% decrease in intentional homicides in Mexico” since the start of her administration on October 1, 2024.

Sheinbaum added that the United States should implement campaigns to reduce drug consumption within its territory and curb the flow of weapons into Mexico.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

“There are many results and there will be more, but there must be mutual respect and shared responsibility, as well as respect for our sovereignties,” she said.

On Monday, Sheinbaum held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security issues. She said she once again ruled out the presence of U.S. troops in Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Security has been a recurring issue used by Trump to threaten tariffs on Mexico and to pressure negotiations over the USMCA (T-MEC) free trade agreement, which are scheduled for 2026.

The agreement is crucial for Mexico’s economy, as about 80% of the country’s exports are destined for the United States.