International
Haiti ‘formally’ seeks international assistance with security crisis
AFP
Haiti said Friday it had “formally” sought international assistance with a worsening security situation “which our national police cannot deal with.”
Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, told AFP in Lima that a request for “foreign assistance” was made on Thursday.
“Now we are waiting on the international community and the international partners to decide what kind of form that assistance will be,” he said on the sidelines of the general assembly meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS).
What it will not be, said Edmond, is a “foreign force or foreign occupation” of Haiti.
Rather, “it’s a call to solidarity” in the face of a “human tragedy,” the ambassador added.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is facing an acute political, economic and security crisis.
Protests and looting have rocked the already unstable country since September 11, when Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced a fuel price hike.
To add to the woes, “you have one of the most notorious armed gangs… still keeping the fuel ports under their grip. It has been more than 20 days,” said Edmond, with hospitals and schools crippled.
“It is a humanitarian issue. There is a necessity (for) the international community to come and assist,” the ambassador said.
On Thursday, the United Nations warned of a possible explosion of cholera cases in Haiti.
And it made an appeal for the creation of a humanitarian corridor to allow for the release of fuel at the Varreux fuel terminal, the country’s largest, under the control of powerful armed gangs.
OAS secretary general Luis Almagro tweeted on Thursday he had advised Haiti to “seek urgent assistance from the international community “to help resolve security crises and determine characteristics of the international security force.”
And US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also attended the OAS meeting, said on Twitter he had met his Haitian counterpart Jean Victor Geneus and assured him “we remain committed to helping Haiti restore security and democratic order so that all Haitians can have a brighter future.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on the same forum Friday that “the solution to this crisis must be Haitian-led.”
“We also called for restoring the supply of fuel from the Varreux terminal and providing robust security assistance to Haiti. We will work together to help restore peace and stability in Haiti,” she tweeted
Haiti, which shares the mountainous Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, has a population of more than 11 million.
In July, the UN Security Council agreed to ask member states to ban the transfer of small arms to Haiti but stopped short of a full embargo requested by China.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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