International
Peru militarizes its borders in response to the arrival of migrants
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.
“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.
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.
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”.
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
Missile attack hits Kharkiv homes, leaving 13 wounded
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that a Russian missile attack on residential buildings in the eastern city of Kharkiv has left at least 13 people injured, according to local authorities.
“A horrific Russian attack on Kharkiv,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, explaining that two missiles were fired, striking residential areas and causing “a number of casualties that is still being clarified.”
Local officials later confirmed that 13 people were injured in the attack, six of whom were hospitalized, including one woman in serious condition.
International
Sheinbaum evacuates National Palace after 6.5-magnitude earthquake hits Southern Mexico
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo evacuated the National Palace on Friday along with journalists and federal government staff after the seismic alert was activated during her morning press conference, triggered by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in the south of the country.
The alert sounded while the president was speaking from the Treasury Hall, forcing the immediate interruption of the event and the activation of established safety protocols.
“Oh, it’s shaking,” Sheinbaum said as she noticed the tremor, before urging those present to remain calm.
According to preliminary information, the earthquake struck the state of Guerrero, one of Mexico’s most seismically active regions. The National Seismological Service (SSN) reported that the quake occurred at 7:58 a.m. local time (13:58 GMT).
Sheinbaum led the orderly evacuation of the historic building, accompanied by reporters covering the briefing and federal government personnel. Images released afterward show the president waiting in the central courtyard of the National Palace as she awaited guidance from Civil Protection authorities on whether it was safe to resume activities.
International
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney to join Ukraine peace talks in Paris
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Friday that he will take part in peace negotiations on Ukrainescheduled to be held in Paris on January 5 and 6.
In a statement, the Canadian government said the meeting will bring together countries belonging to the so-called Coalition of the Willing, and aims to “accelerate efforts toward a negotiated peace” in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, supported by robust security guarantees.
Carney said Canada is working closely with its allies to achieve a “just and lasting peace,” stressing that the Coalition of the Willing must both deter further aggression and reinforce security guarantees, while ensuring that Ukraine is able to rebuild, recover and lay the foundations for genuine prosperity.
The Coalition of the Willing is made up of around 30 countries, the vast majority of them European, all of which are allies of Kyiv.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that a meeting of the Coalition, alongside other European leaders, will take place in Paris on January 6, focusing on security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a future peace agreement with Russia.
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