International

Health or jobs: Peruvian mining town at a crossroads

Photo: Ernesto Benavides / AFP

| By AFP | Carlos Mandujano |

The Peruvian mining city of La Oroya, one of the most polluted places in the world, is seeking to reopen a heavy metal smelter that poisoned residents for almost a century.

The Andean city, situated in a high-altitude valley at 3 750 meters (12 300 feet), is a grey, desolate place.

Small houses and shops — many abandoned — cluster around towering black chimneys, surrounded by ashen mountain slopes corroded by heavy metals and long devoid of vegetation.

In 2009, the gigantic smelter that was the economic heartbeat of La Oroya went bankrupt, forcing residents to leave in droves and bringing local commerce to its knees.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Since 1922, the plant processed copper, zinc, lead, gold, selenium, and other minerals from nearby mines.

If the metallurgical complex reopens, as announced by its new owners in October, it could breathe life back into the economy.

“The large majority of the population is eager and has waited a long time for this to start up again, because it is the source of life, the economic source,” said 48-year-old taxi driver Hugo Enrique.

But at what cost?

A lifetime of disease

In 2011, La Oroya was listed as the second-most polluted city on Earth, falling into fifth place two years later, according to the Blacksmith Institute, an NGO which works on pollution issues.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

It was in insalubrious company, rubbing shoulders with Ukraine’s nuclear-sullied Chernobyl and Russia’s Dzerzhinsk, the site of Cold War-era factories producing chemical weapons.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, in 2013, 97 percent of La Oroya children between six months and six years of age, and 98 percent between age seven and 12, had elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Manuel Enrique Apolinario, 68, a teacher who lives opposite the foundry, told AFP his body has high levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium.

Residents had “gotten used to the way of life, surrounded by smoke and toxic gases,” he said.

“Those of us who have lived here for a lifetime have been ill with flu and bronchitis, especially respiratory infections.”

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Another 100 years?

The foundry was opened in 1922, nationalized in 1974, and later privatized in 1997 when US natural resources firm Doe Run took it over.

In June 2009, Doe Run halted work after failing to comply with an environmental protection program and declared itself insolvent.

Now, despite years of residents accusing Lima and Doe Run of turning a blind eye to the harmful effects, some 1 270 former employees want to reopen the smelter next March — with the vow not to pollute.

Luis Mantari, one of the new owners, who is in charge of logistics, said the plant would operate “with social and environmental responsibility.”

“We want this unique complex to last another 100 years,” added human resources boss Jose Aguilar.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The company has stockpiled 14 million tonnes of copper and lead slag waste waiting to be converted into zinc.

“Those of us who fought against pollution have never opposed to the company working. Let it reopen with an environmental plan,” said Pablo Fabian Martinez, 67, who also lives near the site.

For many, though, the decision comes down to pure pocketbook issues.

“I want it to reopen because, without the company, La Oroya lost its entire economy,” added Rosa Vilchez, a 30-year-old businesswoman. Her husband left to work in another city after the closure.

Respect health

In 2006, La Oroya residents sued the Peruvian government at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for allowing the company to pollute at will.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Hearings began in October with the court sitting in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, and residents recounted how they struggled with burning throats and eyes, headaches, and difficulty breathing.

Others told of tumors, muscular problems, and infertility blamed on pollution from the smelters.

The commission found last year that the state had failed to regulate and oversee the behavior of the mining company and “compromised its obligation to guarantee human rights.”

“We are aware that the metallurgical complex is a source of employment. We don’t deny that,” said Yolanda Zurita, one of the litigants, who plants trees to counter the pollution.

“But it must respect the population’s health.”

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

ICE agent arrested in Texas over shooting of Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota

U.S. authorities arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Friday in Texas after he was accused of shooting a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota earlier this year and later providing false information about the incident.

The suspect, identified as Christian Castro, faces four counts of second-degree assault, along with an additional charge related to filing a false official report. He was taken into custody after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located him, according to a statement from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

The case stems from a January operation carried out by ICE during which Castro shot Julio César Sosa, a Venezuelan migrant, in the leg. Prosecutors allege that the agent later submitted a misleading account of the incident, claiming that Sosa and another migrant had attacked officers with a shovel and a broomstick.

However, investigators say that video evidence and further findings contradicted that version of events, leading to the dismissal of charges initially brought against the migrants by federal prosecutors.

ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, acknowledged in February that agents involved in the incident had given “false sworn testimony” about what occurred.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty described Friday’s arrest as a “critical step forward” in the judicial process and reaffirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.

Internacionales

Rubén Gallego says U.S. policy may push for Cuba regime change under Trump administration

Democratic Senator Rubén Gallego said on Friday in Madrid that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has an “obsession” with Cuba and suggested that the administration of President Donald Trump is determined to change the Cuban government by any means necessary.

Speaking in Spanish during a meeting with journalists at the Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies, Gallego said he believes there could be an attempt to alter the Cuban government, potentially through military or other non-democratic means.

“I think there will be an attempt to change the government of Cuba, it could be through the military or in another way,” said Gallego, who is of Mexican-Colombian origin.

The Arizona senator argued that Cuba does not represent a threat to the United States, describing it as “a very poor island of nine million people.” However, he acknowledged the significant political influence of Cuban-Americans and of Secretary of State Marco Rubio within the current Trump administration.

Gallego also expressed opposition to U.S. military interventions aimed at overthrowing foreign governments, stating that such actions are unacceptable, particularly when their objective is regime change.

He noted that “almost 99% of Democrats” oppose any military intervention in Cuba.

The senator also referred to the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, stating that although Maduro is “a horrible and very corrupt man,” this does not justify overthrowing governments through force.

“If we start arguing that a president is a criminal, what prevents China from saying the same about Taiwan or other nations?” he warned.

Gallego further described the political transition process in Venezuela as a “failure,” arguing that little has changed in terms of governance outcomes.

“We went from one dictator to another, so from a geopolitical and strategic point of view it has been a failure, until we see whether Venezuela achieves a real democratic transition,” he said, referring to Maduro’s replacement by Delcy Rodríguez.

International

U.S. classifies CV and PCC as terrorist groups in major policy shift

The United States government announced on Thursday that it will add the Brazilian criminal organizations Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), a designation set to take effect on June 5, 2026.

The State Department justified the decision by stating that both groups are among the most powerful criminal organizations in Brazil and accused them of coordinating violent attacks against police officers, public officials, and civilians.

The designation comes just days after Brazilian senator and presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro directly asked U.S. President Donald Trump to classify these groups as “narco-terrorist” organizations during a visit to the White House.

Bolsonaro, who is running in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October, has made tougher action against organized crime and prison-based gangs a central part of his campaign platform.

He is part of a political dispute with current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has opposed the U.S. classification, warning it could open the door to potential foreign military intervention in Brazilian territory.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital emerged in Brazilian prisons during the 1970s and have since expanded their influence, now controlling extensive criminal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, smuggling, and other illicit operations.

According to security experts and Brazilian authorities, both organizations have tens of thousands of members and support networks spread across multiple states in the country.

The U.S. measure aims to increase financial and operational pressure on these groups by restricting funding sources, limiting international mobility, and expanding cooperation in security enforcement efforts.