International

Pope Francis: ‘We are destroying the world with war’

“We are destroying the world” with war, Pope Francis declared this Tuesday in a message broadcast during the closing of the Sant’Egidio peace forum held in Paris.

“I make their cry, and that of many people affected by war, my own, and I direct it to political leaders: Stop the war! Stop the wars!” urged the Argentine pontiff in his text, which was read during a ceremony in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

“We are already destroying the world. Let us stop while there is still time!” he exhorted.

“We must pray for peace” in the face of “the risk that many conflicts, instead of ending, may dangerously expand,” the pope insisted.

His message was read during the closing ceremony of the 38th “International Meeting for Peace” by Sant’Egidio, a Catholic community close to the Vatican, which since Sunday had brought together in Paris dozens of religious dignitaries, experts, cultural figures, civil society leaders, and politicians.

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Founded in 1968, the Sant’Egidio community, present in more than 70 countries, has become one of the channels for the Vatican’s “backdoor diplomacy” and has been particularly active in Africa and Latin America.

“May this gathering inspire all believers to rediscover the vocation of fostering fraternity among peoples today,” Pope Francis, also known as Jorge Bergoglio, remarked.

“Too often in the past, religions have been used to fuel conflicts and wars, a danger that still lurks today,” warned the pope.

Religions must not “become instruments to fuel nationalisms, ethnicisms, populisms,” Francis insisted. “Woe to those who try to drag God into taking sides in wars!” he added.

During the event, a minute of silence was observed for the victims of wars, and religious leaders lit candles.

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A survivor of World War II, Gilberte Fournier, 93, urged that “the memory of the great evil, the great defeat of humanity that is war,” must not be lost.

The Sant’Egidio community also made a “call for peace” to demand “a radical change […] from political leaders, warlords, and all peoples” to prevent leaving future generations with “a world destroyed by war and ecological crisis.”

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.