International
López Obrador says that “all” Celac’s countries support Mexico in crisis with Ecuador
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Wednesday that “all” the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), which held a summit on Tuesday, support Mexico for the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito.
“Well, everyone, everyone, helping, supporting Mexico, supporting Mexico,” the president said during his morning press conference.
The Mexican ruler made this evaluation after the meeting of the leaders of the region, convened on Tuesday by the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, in which Mexico asked them to join its complaint against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after the assault on the Mexican Embassy in Quito on April 5.
At the summit, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the closure of his Embassy and consulates in Ecuador in support of Mexico, while the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, said that he will join the Mexican Government’s complaint.
Likewise, this Wednesday, López Obrador reported that after the meeting, the Honduran president notified him that she will also sympathize with Mexico and they will temporarily withdraw her diplomats from Ecuador.
“At the end he notified me that they will also show solidarity and are going to call their diplomatic representatives, that is, that this is nothing more the case of Venezuela,” he said.
Questioned by the absence at the summit of the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, the Mexican ruler evaded a direct response and asked to exhibit the video of the meeting again.
“Let’s see it, because they talk about everything there and it helps us a lot,” he replied.
The controversy began after the raid of the Police at the Embassy of Mexico on April 5 to take away former Vice President Jorge Glas (2013-2017), sheltered there in the face of a corruption process.
And it has grown because a court in Ecuador declared last Friday the detention of Glas inside the diplomatic headquarters as illegal and arbitrary, although he was imprisoned while waiting to serve the sentence for the Bribery case and for illicit association in the Odebrecht case.
The situation has led the Mexican Government to file a complaint with the ICJ and ask the United Nations (UN) to suspend Ecuador from the agency.
Meanwhile, Noboa has assured that he does not regret ordering the assault on the Embassy and even pointed out that he will invite López Obrador to eat a ceviche and “probably” some tacos to fix the crisis, to which the Mexican responded that the conflict “is not a frivolity.”
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
International
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.
“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.
In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.
In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.
The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.
International
Pope Leo XIV Says Countries Have Border Rights but Migrants Deserve Respect
Pope Leo XIV said Thursday that migrants must be treated with dignity as he addressed the global migration crisis during a press conference aboard the plane returning from his tour of Africa.
The pontiff answered questions from journalists regarding his upcoming trip to Spain, which will include a visit to the Canary Islands, a region heavily affected by migration flows and growing political polarization surrounding the issue.
“Obviously, migration is a very complex issue and affects many countries — not only Spain, not only Europe, but also the United States. It is a global phenomenon,” the pope said.
Pope Leo XIV also questioned the role of developed nations in addressing the crisis.
“My response begins with a question: What is the Global North doing to help the Global South and those countries where young people no longer see a future and dream of going north, even when the North sometimes has no answers to offer?” he asked.
While acknowledging that “a state has the right to establish rules for its borders,” the pope insisted that the debate must go beyond border control and address the structural causes that force people to leave their home countries.
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
Pope Leo XIV Says Countries Have Border Rights but Migrants Deserve Respect
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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