International
Chilean mother travels 1,300 kilometers on foot to try to save her son with dystrophy
In the city of Ancud, one of the most important of the Chiloe archipelago, in the south of Chile, there is no hospital, so if one of its about 165,000 inhabitants gets sick, he must take the ferry and travel about 50 kilometers to reach the neighboring city of Puerto Montt, the nearest place.
Camila Gómez, a young mother, decided to take a trip but this time to walk to the Palacio de la Moneda, in Santiago de Chile, more than 1,300 kilometers from her home, to raise funds and make visible the drama of her son Tomás, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, one of the so-called “rare diseases”, which almost no one worries and no one finances.
Its main objective is to help collect the nearly four million dollars that costs a vital treatment that does not exist in Chile – it must be imported from the United States – and that would help stop the progression of the child’s ailment, barely five years old.
“Tomás has Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a neuromuscular degenerative disease that gradually weakens the muscles, the respiratory system and the heart, which leads to premature death,” he explains in one of the highs of his journey.
“In Chile there is no type of treatment for this disease, but in the United States there are several treatment options, there are three and here they told me that it was not possible to cover a medicine that is abroad. And it motivated me to do this walk, this physical effort,” he adds.
Gómez regrets that no one, neither the precarious public service nor the greedy private insurance, has offered him an exit in the country, although his son “does have options abroad.
“That’s why we decided to walk, to make the disease visible and take it very particularly to collect the 3.9 million dollars that the drug that is administered for the only time in a lifetime costs. So far (its administration) is approved until the age of four and five. Tomás is five and a half years old. So we are against time,” she urges in anguish.
Even so, hope has not been erased from his face and sometimes, especially when asked about solidarity, he outlines a smile of love and trust.
“We are all aware of the great health deficit, that Chile is a country very backward in health, unlike other more developed countries and we are all aware of that. So people have empathized, supported and contributed to the campaign,” he says.
Along with this mother, who left Ancud on April 28, her husband and father of Tomás, Alex Ross, a friend Álvaro Neira and Marco Reyes, president of the Duchenne Families corporation in Chile, who has two teenage children with the same disease and who proposed the Ross Gómez family to the odyssey.
“I am the logistical support for Camila and Marco who have been walking from Chiloé. I assist them on the way, usually with a change of clothes, food, food, I manage the lodging,” explains Alex.
“(Camila) Walk through Tomás, because we are against time, but he also does it so that no mom has to do it,” he says.
Camila’s third objective is to be able to speak in person with the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric, to urge him to promote a bill to Congress that allows improving the coverage of rare diseases in the country, and medical assistance in rural areas, abandoned by the state in a country where the privatization of health care prevails.
Neira joined the walk because he was moved by Tomás’ suffering but also because he is worried that “in Chile we do not have the means, a clinic where we can have these medicines, that we have to go to this.”
Tomás was diagnosed in March 2023 with Duchenne’s syndrome, the most common but also most severe form of this type of muscular dystrophy that is triggered by a defective gene that affects dystrophin, a protein that helps keep the body’s cells intact.
It causes problems when walking and running, fatigue, learning difficulties and heart and respiratory deficiencies, and those who suffer from it usually have a life expectancy of between 20 or 30 years in difficult conditions.
With more than 700 kilometers of love in her terrified legs, this mother hopes to arrive in the Chilean capital at the end of this month of May from Chiloe, where there is a movement so that the spending on a bridge that they believe is unnecessary, is dedicated to the construction of a perentory hospital
International
President Noboa Declares New Security Strategy as Ecuador Faces Record Violence Levels
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday declared the National Comprehensive Security Plan 2025-2029 as a nationwide public policy, a strategy aimed at guiding state actions on security matters over the next four years.
The measure was formalized through an executive decree that activates the plan approved on March 9 by the Public and State Security Council (Cosepe) and replaces the National Comprehensive Security Plan 2019-2030, which had been designated as public policy in 2021.
Under the new decree, implementation of the strategy will be led by the ministries of Interior, Defense, and Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, along with the National Intelligence Center and the National Secretariat for Risk Management. These institutions will be responsible for coordinating actions according to their respective areas of responsibility.
According to the official document, the new plan adopts a multidimensional and comprehensive security approach, with a long-term vision focused on national interests and on strengthening the State’s ability to respond to current threats.
The Ecuadorian government said the strategy seeks to improve coordination among public institutions within the framework of the “internal armed conflict” declared by Noboa in 2024 as part of the fight against criminal organizations operating across the country.
The plan also includes measures to strengthen international cooperation against transnational organized crime, which authorities identify as one of Ecuador’s main security challenges due to its links to drug trafficking and illegal mining.
The government described the document as a roadmap for prevention, protection, response and recovery actions in the face of national security risks, promoting coordinated efforts among state institutions.
Ecuador has remained under an internal armed conflict declaration since 2024, when Noboa intensified operations against criminal gangs that his administration has labeled terrorist organizations. Despite the increased security measures, the country recorded around 9,300 homicides in 2025, the highest figure in its history, according to data from the Ministry of Interior.
The new security plan comes as Ecuador seeks to strengthen its institutional response to escalating violence and the growing influence of organized crime networks.
International
Foreign Medical Teams Race to Prevent Health Crisis in Venezuela Earthquake Camps
More than two weeks after the twin earthquakes that devastated parts of Venezuela and left thousands of people without homes, medical teams from several countries are working to prevent a potential health crisis in temporary shelters where survivors are living in precarious conditions.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck on June 24 have left more than 4,561 people dead and 16,740 injured, according to the latest government figures. The hardest-hit area has been La Guaira state, located near Caracas and considered the epicenter of the disaster.
Field hospitals from El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Spain are now facing the challenge of containing respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal problems and psychological conditions linked to the tragedy.
Among those affected is 54-year-old Darwin López, one of nearly 18,000 Venezuelans who lost their homes and are now living in crowded emergency shelters set up in stadiums, parks, public squares and even sidewalks across La Guaira.
During the first three days after the earthquakes, López focused on rescuing his 44-year-old wife and their three-year-old child from the rubble of the building where they lived.
On Friday, he took another of his children, a 35-year-old man, to a U.S.-operated mobile hospital after he developed severe stomach pain.
“He had a strong stomach ache, and I took him to Pariata Hospital in La Guaira, but it was overwhelmed. So they gave us this alternative,” López told AFP while waiting outside a Samaritan’s Purse field hospital installed in large white tents.
Doctors are now treating him and his family hopes the condition is not serious, although López fears it may have been caused by contaminated food or unsafe water.
In the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, international medical teams focused primarily on treating severe trauma cases, fractures and performing emergency surgeries. However, their priorities have now shifted toward addressing post-disaster illnesses and implementing epidemiological monitoring programs to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.
Health authorities and humanitarian organizations warn that overcrowded shelters, limited access to clean water and difficult living conditions could increase the possibility of respiratory and gastrointestinal outbreaks among thousands of displaced survivors.
International
France Holds Largest Bastille Day Military Parade as Europe Highlights Strategic Defense
France held its largest-ever Bastille Day military parade on Tuesday, with nearly 6,700 troops, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 315 military vehicles marching along the iconic route from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.
The annual parade, held to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution, was centered this year on France’s defense capabilities and Europe’s growing security challenges.
According to the Élysée Palace, the event aimed to highlight “France’s rearmament, France’s strategic autonomy and the strategic awakening of Europe.”
Among the main guests in the presidential stand was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who received a warm welcome upon his arrival, including a greeting from French First Lady Brigitte Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
Zelensky was joined by 24 European heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The parade also featured military contingents from 35 countries, with around 500 international participants, as well as 25 Ukrainian soldiers who took part in the ceremony.
The event came one day after a new summit in Paris of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of countries committed to supporting Ukraine over the long term. Some members of the coalition have considered deploying troops to Ukraine once a ceasefire agreement with Russia is reached.
The large-scale celebration reflected France’s efforts to reinforce its role in European defense and underline unity among allies amid ongoing security concerns across the continent.
President Noboa Declares New Security Strategy as Ecuador Faces Record Violence Levels
Foreign Medical Teams Race to Prevent Health Crisis in Venezuela Earthquake Camps
France Holds Largest Bastille Day Military Parade as Europe Highlights Strategic Defense
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