The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expelled former Minister of Agriculture Tang Renjian “for serious disciplinary violations” and “on suspicion that he accepted bribes,” according to a statement published this Friday by the authorities.

Tang had been “under disciplinary investigation” since May, and in September a substitute for the portfolio, Han Jun, was appointed.

The two most important and powerful anti-corruption bodies of the Party, the Central Commission for the Inspection of Discipline and the state National Supervisory Commission, said today that Tang was expelled for “ineffective in the implementation of decisions” and for “making decisions blindly.”

Likewise, the statement accuses Tang of being “morally corrupt” and of showing “unbridled greed.”

Suspected of receiving commissions for contracts with companies

The investigation concluded that Tang used the position to “seek benefits for others in business operations, project contracting and job adjustments, receiving in return an extremely large amount of money and valuables.”

“Her actions constituted a serious offense and it is suspected that he accepted bribes,” the statement adds.

Your “illicit” earnings will be confiscated and your case will be “remitted to the Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution,” the note concludes.

His dismissal this year raised to three the number of ministers of the Chinese Government abruptly dismissed since in July 2023 the then head of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, lost office only seven months after his appointment and after not having been seen in public for a month.

Last year, the then head of Defense, Li Shangfu, was also dismissed without explanation and subsequently expelled from the CCP after being accused of a crime of corruption.

Mexico’s National Defense Minister, Ricardo Trevilla, announced on Tuesday the deployment of over 12,000 security agents to the southern state of Guerrero, an area recently plagued by violence and insecurity following a series of armed attacks.

Trevilla explained that the contingent consists of more than 4,200 military personnel and an additional 8,400 members of the National Guard. These forces are operating across three distinct fronts where “local group confrontations” have led to a severe state of instability and violence.

The Defense Minister also highlighted that more than 670 marijuana plantations have been destroyed, over 430 kilos of marijuana seized, and more than 1,400 kilos of cocaine confiscated. To date, authorities have detained over fifty individuals.

In recent weeks, Guerrero has seen a wave of armed attacks by criminal organizations, including Los Adillos, who are responsible for the killing of the Chilpancingo mayor and eleven other members of a local family, as noted by El Universal newspaper.

Rafael weakened on Sunday into a low-pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico, after striking Cuba last week as a Category 3 hurricane, according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) based in Miami.

The NHC reported on Sunday that the post-tropical cyclone was located about 560 kilometers (345 miles) north-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h (35 mph). It was moving eastward at 6 km/h (3 mph) and was expected to turn south towards southern Mexico as it continued to weaken.

Meteorologists warned that the storm was likely to produce dangerous waves and rip currents along parts of the northern and western Gulf coast.

Rafael made landfall on Wednesday in western Cuba. Its strong winds left the entire island without electricity, forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, and knocked down hundreds of homes.