International
Starmer condemns the far-right riots in England and promises to bring those responsible to justice
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, condemned this Sunday the violent riots of the extreme right that broke out this weekend in several British cities and promised to bring those responsible “quickly” to justice.
“If people are attacked because of the color of their skin or their faith, then that is extreme right and I am willing to say it. This is violence, it’s not protest. It doesn’t matter what the reason is,” Starmer said in a statement, following the outbreaks of violence instigated by anti-immigration and anti-Islam groups registered in the United Kingdom.
The population of the United Kingdom wants to see “their safe streets and that is what I am determined to offer. They will regret it,” added the Labour leader and insisted that the troublemakers will face the full weight of the law and that the judicial response will be “quick.”
“We will do everything necessary to ensure that the message is absolutely clear: if you participate in this violence, you will regret it and you will be brought to justice as soon as possible,” he said.
“The people of this country have the right to be safe and yet we have seen Muslim communities attacked, attacks on mosques,” the prime minister said.
“Other minority communities attacked, Nazi greetings on the street, attacks on the police, unbridled violence along with racist rhetoric, so no, I will not be ashamed to call it by its name: extreme right-wing violence,” he said.
The violence instigated by far-right groups that broke out this weekend in British cities such as Liverpool, Bristol, Hull and Manchester has resulted in the arrest of more than 90 people while several officers were injured after being attacked with stones, beer cans, bottles and chairs.
Some protests continued today in some towns, including Rotherham, in the north of England, where a group of protesters threw stones and chairs at a hotel that houses asylum seekers.
The anti-immigration and anti-Islam protests organized in multiple towns and cities in the United Kingdom, supported by groups such as the English Defense League, ended in riots when many of the attendees assaulted the agents with all kinds of objects while some stores were looted and garbage cans were set on fire.
Although these groups have been organizing protests for weeks, the tension increased as a result of the July 29 stab attack on a recreational center in Southport (northwest England), in which three girls were killed and eight minors and two adults were injured.
The perpetrator of the attack, Axel Rudakubana, 17, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, has been accused of the murder of the girls and the attempted murder of the other ten people, but the discomfort of the far-right groups increased when false information was disseminated on social networks that the aggressor was an asylum seeker who had crossed the English Channel by boat.
The British Government will offer greater protection to mosques in the United Kingdom by virtue of a “quick response” measure for the violence that broke out in several cities in the country this weekend, the Ministry of the Interior reported on Sunday.
The measure is designed to address as quickly as possible the threat of new attacks against Muslim temples, which began in response to the attack in Southport.
In this weekend’s violence, more than 170 people were arrested after the agents were attacked with stones, bottles, beer cans, garbage cans or chairs.
In the town of Rotherham, in the north of England, a group of protesters, some masked and wrapped with the flag of England, today attacked a hotel that houses asylum seekers and also agents who were trying to control the disorder.
The ground floor of the hotel was set on fire when some troublemakers managed to break the police cordon and accessed the building while a police helicopter flew over the place.
Meanwhile, some protesters in Middlesbrough, in the northeast of England, destroyed windows of houses and cars and threw other objects while racist insults were heard.
These incidents followed similar scenes of riots seen this weekend in British cities such as Southport, Belfast, Hartlepool, Hull, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Sunderland, all in reaction to the Southport attack.
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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