International
Security is essential to be able to respond to the crisis in Haiti, warns PAHO
Security is indispensable to address the “complex” health and humanitarian situation in Haiti, plunged for years into a crisis that has been aggravated in more recent times by armed violence, warned the Pan American Health Organization (PAHo).
“Nothing can happen if there is insecurity,” the representative of PAHO in Haiti, the Colombian Óscar Barreneche, said categorically in a telephone interview with EFE.
The severity of the crisis affects vital sectors such as health and education and, although the most affected city is Port-au-Prince, other demarcations do not escape this situation either, said Barreneche, a doctor by profession.
Faced with this panorama, Barreneche called on the international community “not to forget the promised support” to the depressed country, which is preparing to soon receive the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which will lead Kenya and which has the approval of the United Nations.
“Without the return of security, it is difficult to guarantee services” in Haiti, he said.
For decades, this country, the poorest in America, has been going from crisis to crisis, including the one resulting from the powerful earthquake of 2010 that caused about 300,000 deaths, the outbreak of cholera that arose that same year and that ended the lives of thousands of people and the successive hurricanes that have only aggravated the situation.
Many times Haiti “has had to respond simultaneously to several crises at the same time,” which “puts pressure on the health system,” as is currently the case, when armed violence is added to the already deteriorated situation, which prevents professionals from providing an adequate service, this specialist said.
This “definitely affects the performance of the country,” which has the highest rate in maternal mortality in the region, according to Barreneche.
Haiti has “serious problems” of access to hospital care, medicines or vaccines due to the critical situation of insecurity, which also has consequences on health personnel, according to the PAHO representative, who, however, stressed that both the Government and humanitarian organizations “continue to work” to try to alleviate the crisis.
A good number of Haitian doctors have decided to go abroad, especially to the United States and Canada, fleeing the precarious situation.
In some areas it is estimated that between 15% and 20% of health personnel have emigrated, a percentage that can reach up to 30% in other departments of the Caribbean country, said Barreneche, who described the situation as “a hemorrhage of human resources” of health, although, in his opinion, it is something “understandable” given the current panorama.
This represents “a huge problem,” to which is added that only 18% of Haitian hospitals are operating at 100% of their capacity, which causes the saturation of services.
42% is not working or is closed and 37% is operating in a reduced way, explained the representative of PAHO, an organization that collaborates in centers such as La Paix University Hospital and Eliazar Germain Hospital, both in Port-au-Prince, in supplies or programs with pregnant women.
PAHO also cooperates with Haiti on issues such as cholera, the situation of internally displaced persons and in vaccination campaigns for preventable diseases, “fundamental to guarantee a minimum of health and well-being,” he said.
At the same time, this agency is working with the authorities in the implementation of measures in the face of possible emergency situations related to the hurricane season, which began on June 1.
In fact, Barreneche said, this week there has been a meeting “with all the humanitarian partners of the country” to “try to give the necessary support” to this issue, since this year’s is expected to be one of the most active and intense cyclonic seasons in decades.
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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