International
Police raid leaves 11 dead in Rio favela: Brazil authorities
AFP
A police raid in a Rio favela early Tuesday left 11 people dead, authorities in the Brazilian city said.
Military police said they came under gun fire as they planned to enter a slum called Vila Cruzeiro in the north of the city with the mission of locating and arresting “criminal leaders.”
In the ensuing gunbattle 10 alleged criminals died, as did a female resident of the favela who was hit by a stray bullet.
Police often carry out raids in Rio’s teeming slums to fight drug trafficking.
They said that this time they were looking for gang leaders hiding out in Vila Cruzeiro that were from other parts of Brazil.
This was the deadliest police raid in a year in Rio.
Last May a police raid in a favela called Jacarezinho left 28 people dead including a police officer. It was the largest such toll in the city’s history.
The news website G1 said Tuesday’s raid targetted the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, one of Brazil’s most powerful crime gangs.
Police said there were gunbattles in high-ground areas of the favela itself and in wooded grounds surrounding it.
Police seized seven assault riles, five pistols, 10 motorcycles and six cars in Tuesday’s operation.
International
79-Year-Old ICE Detainee Faces Hearing as Family Warns His Health Is Rapidly Deteriorating
Paul John Bojerski, a 79-year-old man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida, will face a hearing before an immigration judge on Tuesday as his family warns that his health has sharply deteriorated due to detention conditions.
Bojerski was arrested on October 30 during a mandatory ICE appointment in Orlando. Although he has lived in the United States for more than seven decades, he never obtained U.S. citizenship. Born in a refugee camp in Germany after World War II, he legally immigrated with his family in 1952 at the age of five and has lived since then in the city of Sanford.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, his record includes criminal convictions from the 1960s and 1970s, which led to a deportation order that authorities did not carry out at the time.
In July, ICE warned him that he had to leave the country voluntarily. He was instructed to return on October 30 with a travel plan, but was unable to do so because he has no passport and no country willing to receive him. As a result, he was arrested and transported for eight hours to the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” located in the middle of the Everglades west of Miami.
Immigrant rights organizations have denounced “inhumane” conditions at that facility, which opened in July, reporting issues such as spoiled food, lack of medical care, limited access to drinking water, mosquito infestations, and difficulty contacting the outside world.
His family says Bojerski has lost mobility since being detained. He previously walked unassisted, but now uses a wheelchair, has been left without his usual treatment for chronic back problems, and reportedly fell to the floor of his cell without receiving help for hours.
He is currently being held at the Krome detention center in Miami, where a judge will determine on Tuesday whether he can be released on bond.
International
Trump: “I Don’t Rule Out Anything” When Asked About Troops for Venezuela
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he may speak at some point with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and did not rule out the possibility of sending American troops to the South American nation.
Trump’s remarks come amid heightened tensions over the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean aimed at combating drug trafficking. Venezuela views the operation as a step toward toppling Maduro, whom Washington accuses of leading a “terrorist” organization involved in narcotics trafficking.
“At some point, I will talk to him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Maduro “has not been good for the United States,” he added.
When asked whether he ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela, Trump replied, “No, I don’t rule it out. I don’t rule out anything.”
“We have to take care of Venezuela,” he continued. “They have sent hundreds of thousands of people from their prisons into our country.”
International
Armed Civilians Block Roads in Michoacán Amid Operation Targeting Criminal Leader
Armed civilians blocked several highways in the western Mexican state of Michoacán on Monday in response to a security operation targeting a criminal leader, just a week after President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government reinforced the presence of federal forces in the region.
The federal deployment was increased following the early November shooting death of Carlos Manzo, mayor of the municipality of Uruapan. His killing sparked protests and widespread demands for justice.
Michoacán is home to major drug trafficking groups such as the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and La Nueva Familia Michoacana—both designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” by U.S. President Donald Trump in February.
“Following an operation to apprehend a priority target (a criminal leader), armed civilians set up roadblocks and burned vehicles at various highway points in La Piedad, Zamora, and Pátzcuaro,” the Michoacán Public Security Secretariat reported on X.
“Our Civil Guard is already clearing the roads; two suspected individuals were killed,” the agency added, without specifying the intended target of the operation.
Organized crime groups in Mexico frequently block roads to prevent the capture of their leaders or to hinder law enforcement activities.
The blockades also occurred just hours before a new state public security secretary took office. José Antonio Cruz—a former official of the local prosecutor’s office and former National Guard executive—assumed the position, replacing Juan Carlos Oseguera.
The killing of Mayor Manzo during a public Day of the Dead event on November 1 triggered protests throughout Michoacán. During demonstrations held Saturday in Mexico City, participants also demanded justice for the crime.
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