International

Peru militarizes its borders in response to the arrival of migrants

Photo: Mega

April 27 |

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte decreed on Wednesday a state of emergency on its borders and ordered the deployment of the military to reinforce controls in the face of the arrival of hundreds of migrants, mostly from Chile.

The troops will support surveillance at border crossings with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.

In principle, the state of emergency will be in force as of Thursday. However, the executive has not specified its duration nor whether rights will be restricted at the border crossings.

Relying on press reports stating that “those who commit daily assaults, robberies and other criminal acts are foreigners”, Boluarte claimed that his decision is aimed at combating insecurity.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

“That is why we have to speak almost in unison of migration and citizen insecurity”, he said.

In this sense, his Minister of Defense, Jorge Chavez, said that the state of emergency has the “purpose” of avoiding “the irregular and illegal entry” of people.

Under the desert sun and cold, hundreds of migrants who left Chile have been crowded for weeks at the border crossing between the Peruvian city of Tacna and the Chilean city of Arica, where the Peruvian authorities are preventing them from passing for lack of a stamped passport and valid visa.

Women, men and children are trapped between Chilean and Peruvian police officers guarding the border crossing, 1,500 km south of Lima.

The Peruvian government cut them off and sent 200 troops to reinforce migration controls, which had already been tightened by Chile.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the majority are Haitians and Venezuelans. The migrants claim that they only intend to cross Peruvian territory to their countries of origin or to the United States, in order to reunite with their families.

“We are between a rock and a hard place, we are doing this because we have our needs, but waiting here for a week, two weeks (…) nobody would want to do that”, said Venezuelan Yosier Canelón to AFP.

UNHCR issued a statement on Wednesday night where it advocated for a humanitarian solution to the situation of migrants on the border with Chile because while “it is the legitimate duty of States to control their borders; it is also important to have regular channels for people in need of international protection, family reunification and other humanitarian issues to access the territory through checkpoints”.

The UN agency welcomed some of the measures announced by Lima, including an “amnesty of fines that will allow 100,000 refugees and migrants in the country to regularize and update their data.”

“Regularization is a lifesaver: regular status is a door to local integration”, he added.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Between Tacna and Arica there has been a daily average of 150 to 200 people.

“They are changing flows, there has been a peak of about 400 people, of different nationalities,” Federico Agusti, UNHCR’s representative in Peru, told AFP on Friday.

Migrants rejected by Peru have improvised camps at an intermediate point, in a sort of geographical limbo between the two countries, and others have returned to Arica.

With the measures announced by Lima “it is going to be more difficult for people to pass (to Peru), and we are going to have a situation of encampment at the border, which is what we have been warning about”, assured Gerardo Espíndola, mayor of Arica, to Biobío radio.

In addition to the state of emergency, Boluarte also announced that those who have entered Peru irregularly in recent years “will have a period of six months to go to the Peruvian authorities to regularize their situation”.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

It is estimated that the Venezuelan population in Peru, which represents almost 9 out of 10 foreigners, is close to 1.3 million people, of which one third do not have a migratory permit to stay in the country, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INEI).

International

Macron meets Machado, stresses need for democratic transition in Venezuela

Emmanuel Macron met on Monday at the Élysée Palace with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, where they discussed the importance of advancing a democratic transition in Venezuela.

In a message shared on social media, Macron highlighted Machado’s commitment to freedom and stressed the need to achieve a transition that is peaceful and respects the will of the Venezuelan people.

“I received María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Together, we discussed her commitment to freedom and the importance of achieving a democratic, peaceful transition in Venezuela that respects the will of its people,” he wrote.

For her part, Machado expressed her “deep gratitude” to Macron and to France for their support of democracy and freedom in Venezuela.

“We have gone through a long and painful journey, and we are now very close to freedom. Venezuela will become a nation of free and equal men and women—prosperous, safe, and united,” she said.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

International

Trump says Iran seeks new talks after failed negotiations in Pakistan

Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran has reached out to United States to resume negotiations, following the collapse of recent talks held in Islamabad.

“We’ve been contacted by the other side,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran is eager to reach a deal “at all costs.” Speaking from the Oval Office, he reiterated that his main objective is to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons and warned that he will not allow Iran to “blackmail” the international community.

After negotiations between Washington and Tehran ended without agreement on Sunday, Trump announced that the U.S. would move to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil trade.

The waterway had already been disrupted by Iran in response to a U.S. and Israeli offensive launched on February 28, causing significant shocks to the global economy.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump further warned that any Iranian vessel attempting to bypass the U.S. naval blockade in the strait would be “eliminated immediately.”

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The renewed tensions have pushed oil prices higher, while global stock markets have reacted negatively to the lack of an agreement in Islamabad.

International

Trump orders U.S. control of Strait of Hormuz after failed Iran talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz“effective immediately,” following the collapse of negotiations with Iran held in Islamabad.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to block vessels attempting to enter or exit the strategic waterway, a key route for global energy trade.

“The meeting went well, agreement was reached on most points, but the only really important one — nuclear weapons — was not approved,” Trump said, referring to the talks with Iranian representatives.

The president also stated that he had instructed authorities to intercept ships in international waters that had paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait, calling such payments “illegal.” He further accused Tehran of hindering an agreement by deploying mines in the area, describing the move as “international extortion.”

Trump added that the United States will undertake efforts to clear mines from the strait and expressed confidence that a future agreement ensuring free navigation could eventually be reached.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The announcement came after Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed the president on the outcome of the negotiations, considered the highest-level contacts between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While Trump acknowledged that enough progress had been made to maintain a temporary truce, he criticized Iran for remaining unwilling to abandon its nuclear ambitions, calling its position “very inflexible” on the central issue.