International
Colombian dies publicly under new euthanasia policy
AFP
Victor Escobar decided to die and to do so publicly, becoming one of the first Latin Americans to end their life without suffering from a terminal disease, under a ground-breaking court ruling in Colombia.
Hours before dying on Friday, 60 year old Escobar celebrated what he called victory in his two-year battle with a lung ailment that left him unable to breathe on his own.
“Little by little, it becomes everyone’s turn. So I do not say goodbye but rather, see you soon. And little by little we will end up with God,” Escobar, who is a practicing Catholic, said in a video sent to news organizations.
He died in the city of Cali with doctors present, his lawyer said on Twitter.
The last footage of him alive shows him smiling and surrounded by family. He was sedated and then given a lethal injection.
Colombia depenalized assisted death in 1997, and in July 2021 a high court expanded this “right to dignified death” to those not suffering from a terminal illness.
It is the first Latin American country to take the step and one of the few in the world, and did so despite being mostly Roman Catholic. The church categorically opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide.
“I was already feeling sick. I felt like my lungs did not obey me,” Escobar told AFP in October as he waged the final chapter of his legal battle.
– Non terminal-
Diabetes and a cardiovascular ailment left him in a wheel chair and suffering from spasms that wracked his body.
His family backed the idea of euthanasia.
In Europe only Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Spain have legalized euthanasia.
Colombia may have joined that list but access to the procedure is not always smooth.
As of mid-2021 patients like Escobar — with chronic diseases and a life expectancy of more than six months — could not undergo euthanasia.
“They were being forced to live in undignified conditions against their will,” said Monica Giraldo of an NGO called the Foundation for the Right to Dignified Death.
She said that since the court ruling on euthanasia, three people with non-terminal diseases used it to end their lives but Escobar is the first to do so with cameras rolling so the public could witness it.
“I want my story to be known because it creates a path for patients like me, patients with degenerative conditions, to have an open door to seek rest,” Escobar said.
Escobar has said he got ill from years of working with exposure to asbestos, an insulating material now known to cause cancer.
– Permission to die –
In October of last year a panel at the Imbanaco clinic rejected Escobar’s request for euthanasia, after two years of earlier petitions that were also rejected.
The committee argued that Escobar was not terminal and there were still ways to try to alleviate his suffering.
Days earlier in another city, Medellin, 51 year old Martha Sepulveda, suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also saw her request to die cancelled at the last minute on grounds that she was not terminal.
Giraldo said hospitals sometimes deny euthanasia requests over “ideological positions” or scrap them at the last minute over legal concerns.
But Escobar appealed in court and won. He chose to die on January 7 — a Friday, so it would be easy for relatives to go to his funeral on the weekend, his lawyer said.
“I suffer from my diseases, and I suffer watching ny family suffer because of me,” Escobar said in October, gasping for breath.
The courts also granted permission for Sepulveda to die. Like Escobar she had gone public with her case.
The government says at least 157 people have chosen euthanasia since the July 2021 legal change.
Giraldo’s foundation is now working with five people seeking assisted suicide, two of them with non terminal conditions.
Shortly before dying, Escobar said God does not like to see people suffer.
“I do not think God will punish me for trying to stop suffering,” he said.
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
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