International
More than forty dead in Gaza after another night of Israeli bombings
– More than forty people died in the Gaza Strip, 16 of them in the city of Rafah, after another night of intense Israeli bombings, some of which reached several tents for displaced people near the centers of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).
The Gazati Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reported the death in the last hour of 46 people and more than a hundred injured.
According to sources from Rafah, at least seven people died in the Al Hashash area, while another seven perished in attacks against the displaced person camp in Al Baraksat, in the northwest of the town and near UNRWA shelters.
Two other Gazats, specifically an old man and a ten-year-old boy, died in artillery attacks, also in Rafah.
The boy’s family told the Qatari channel Al Jazeera today that his home was the target of a bombing when they were preparing to leave the Zourob neighborhood, in search of a safe place, in the face of the intensity of the Israeli attacks.
In that same neighborhood, this morning there were movements of Israeli military vehicles and excavators “under intense fire of smoke bombs and flares,” in addition to the flight of helicopters and drones, according to the information provided to EFE by local sources.
There were also intense bombings in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood, an alleged “safe zone” in the northwest of Rafah that hosts hundreds of displaced people and in which at least 45 Gazans perished yesterday as a result of an Israeli attack that triggered a fire.
The more than 100 people who were injured in that attack have flooded the few medical services in operation.
As denounced today by the oenegé Doctors Without Borders (MSF), some of the attacks recorded in recent days took place near its stabilization center (where the most serious cases are treated), which prevented medical personnel from both entering and leaving the enclosure where they treated patients.
According to UNRWA, about one million Gazans have fled Rafah, since the Israeli ground offensive began in the area.
Now they are also being forced to leave the western area of Rafah, heading for Jan Yunis, as the bombings grow and the troops approach.
The Israeli Army said today in a statement that it has dismantled tunnels and observation posts of Palestinian militias in the vicinity of the Yabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza, where the armed forces returned to operation after leaving the area practically devastated at the beginning of the war, under the premise that Hamas was regrouping.
In addition, Israeli soldiers located several tunnels and weapons in Rafah, where they hold “close-range combats” with Palestinian militiamen.
“The activity is carried out while efforts are being made to prevent damage to civilians not involved in the area,” the Army said.
International
Mexico requests extradition of ‘Mini Lic’ for murder of journalist Javier Valdez
The Mexican government has requested the extradition of Dámaso López Serrano, a former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who is accused of masterminding the 2017 murder of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday.
López Serrano, known as “Mini Lic,” was arrested last Friday in Virginia, United States, on charges of fentanyl trafficking, a crime he committed while on parole.
“This is the key issue for us, he [López Serrano] is the mastermind of this murder. The rest of the perpetrators are already processed and in jail, he was the one missing,” said Attorney General Alejandro Gertz.
“We immediately made the extradition request,” the official added during the routine morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Valdez, an award-winning reporter specializing in drug trafficking and correspondent for AFP and the newspaper La Jornada, was murdered on May 15, 2017, in front of the office of his magazine Riodoce in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state.
“Mini Lic” was originally arrested in 2017 when he voluntarily turned himself in to U.S. authorities and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. In 2022, he was released on parole.
Gertz confirmed that the Mexican Attorney General’s Office had requested López Serrano’s extradition “countless times,” but Washington had declined to act on the request because he had become a “protected witness” for the U.S. government and “was providing a lot of information.”
“Now, with this situation where they themselves are acknowledging that this individual is still committing crimes, I think there are more than enough reasons for them to support us,” the prosecutor added.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was founded by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Culiacán has been shaken by a wave of murders since the arrest of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, another key leader of the cartel alongside Guzmán, on July 25 in New Mexico, United States.
International
Cuba’s government stresses openness to serious, respectful U.S. relations
Cuba reiterated on Tuesday its willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States, just weeks before Republican President Donald Trump assumes office. During his first term, Trump halted the historic rapprochement between the two countries, which had been initiated just ten years earlier by Democrat Barack Obama.
“It will not be Cuba that proposes or takes the initiative to suspend the existing dialogues, to suspend the existing cooperation. Not even the discreet exchanges on some sensitive issues,” said Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío at a press conference in Havana.
“We will be attentive to the attitude of the new government, but Cuba’s stance will remain the same as it has been for the last 64 years. We are willing to develop a serious, respectful relationship with the United States, one that protects the sovereign interests of both countries,” he added.
His statements come on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the historic rapprochement announcement between Washington and Havana.
On December 17, 2014, Cuban leader Raúl Castro (2006-2021) and Barack Obama (2008-2016) announced the beginning of a thaw in relations, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties in 2015, after more than half a century of confrontation.
This process of thawing bilateral relations was later halted by businessman Donald Trump, who significantly reinforced economic sanctions against the communist-ruled country. The Republican will return to the White House on January 20.
Cuba, under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962, was re-listed in 2021 on the “blacklist of countries supporting terrorism,” blocking financial and economic flows to the island of 10 million inhabitants.
Subsequently, the administration of current Democratic President Joe Biden made only slight adjustments to the sanctions and also kept Cuba on this list. However, his administration resumed bilateral contacts with Havana on migration issues and the fight against terrorism.
International
Mexican government to use church atriums for gun surrender program to combat violence
The atriums of Mexican Catholic churches will be used for the voluntary surrender of weapons in exchange for economic and legal incentives as part of a plan announced on Tuesday by the government to reduce violence.
According to the Mexican government, there is a link between the illegal trafficking of weapons—almost entirely coming from the United States—and the spiral of criminal violence that has plagued the country since late 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug offensive was launched.
“The idea is to set up areas in the church atriums where people can voluntarily surrender their weapons, and in return, they will receive financial resources based on the weapon they are turning in,” explained President Claudia Sheinbaum during her regular press conference.
The left-wing leader emphasized that the program, called “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace,” guarantees that those who surrender their weapons will not face any “investigation.”
“What we want is to disarm. This will be implemented next year. We also did it in Mexico City, and it had significant results,” added the former mayor of the capital, with a population of 9.2 million.
The disarmament plan is part of the government’s “comprehensive security strategy,” one of whose pillars is promoting a culture of peace, especially in regions severely affected by organized crime violence, Sheinbaum pointed out.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since the government launched its military-led anti-drug operation, alongside about 100,000 people who have gone missing.
Despite being a secular state, the Mexican Catholic Church has played a key role in efforts to contain violence, with priests acting as mediators between citizens and criminals. Several clergy members have been killed for this cause.
Just last week, the Catholic hierarchy called on cartels to declare a truce in their violent actions during the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12 and the upcoming Christmas holidays.
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