International
Mexico rejects U.S. reinstatement of “Stay in Mexico” plan
February 7th |
Mexico rejected on Monday that the United States reinstates the program for returning asylum seekers known as “Remain in Mexico”, a measure imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump that the current administration of Joe Biden abolished but was forced to reactivate on one occasion by court order.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that U.S. authorities notified it of their intention to restart the return of non-Mexicans to await in Mexico while their asylum application is being examined in the United States.
The Biden administration has not made such intentions public and ended the program, but Republican politicians have litigated in court for its reinstatement. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which authorized the Democratic president to put an end to the measure, but returned the matter to local courts due to certain administrative issues.
According to the Mexican press release, on December 15, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling forcing Biden to reactivate the “Remain in Mexico”. The White House did not respond to a request for comment at this time.
The Biden administration has said it opposes the program, which has been criticized by UN agencies and human rights bodies, as it returns asylum seekers to places of high organized crime activity and where many of them have been victims of all kinds of crimes in recent years.
During the Trump administration more than 70,000 asylum seekers were returned to Mexico to await the processing of their U.S. claim there. When Biden was forced to reinstate the program, some 7,600 people were returned from December 2021 to October last year, according to Mexican government data.
That second version of the measure attempted to take a more humanitarian approach and affected a very small percentage of the tens of thousands of migrants who are returned to Mexico each month under a public health rule known as Title 42, which was imposed by Trump at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to prevent the spread of contagions, and which Biden has maintained and expanded.
However, the current U.S. government also recently increased the number of temporary visas it grants for certain nationalities in the face of the unprecedented migration flow recorded in the last year at the country’s southern border.
International
One Dead, Three Injured in Shooting at Cree Nation in Saskatchewan
One person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting reported early Tuesday in the Big Island Lake Cree Nation, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, according to local media.
Police said they were alerted to the incident in a remote area located approximately 392 kilometers northwest of the city of Saskatoon. Authorities issued a dangerous persons alert for two suspects, who were described as armed.
Saskatchewan police urged residents to seek shelter immediately, lock their doors, and avoid the area while the situation remains under investigation. Officers are working to determine whether the shooting was a targeted attack or a random act of violence.
As a precautionary measure, seven health-care facilities in the surrounding area were placed under lockdown, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a post on X.
International
Mexico’s President Visits Victims After Train Derailment Kills 13 in Oaxaca
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum visited on Monday the victims injured in a train accident that left 13 people dead in the southern state of Oaxaca and announced financial assistance for those affected by the derailment of the Interoceanic Train, which was inaugurated in 2023.
The train, carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members, derailed on Sunday while traveling along the Interoceanic Corridor, a major infrastructure project that connects the Pacific coast with the Gulf of Mexico across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The corridor was one of the flagship initiatives of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration (2018–2024).
Sheinbaum visited three hospitals in the neighboring towns of Tehuantepec and Salina Cruz, where around 20 injured passengers remain hospitalized. She also went to a funeral home to accompany the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.
According to Mexico’s Navy Secretary, Raymundo Morales, the accident occurred when one of the locomotives derailed, causing all four railcars to leave the tracks.
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
One Dead, Three Injured in Shooting at Cree Nation in Saskatchewan
Mexico’s President Visits Victims After Train Derailment Kills 13 in Oaxaca
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
-
Central America5 days agoGuatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
-
International2 days agoMan accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
-
Central America5 days agoInternational leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
-
International3 days agoWinter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
-
International2 days agoSix killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
-
International12 hours agoOne Dead, Three Injured in Shooting at Cree Nation in Saskatchewan
-
International12 hours agoMexico’s President Visits Victims After Train Derailment Kills 13 in Oaxaca