International
Guatemala concludes key election of the 13 members of the Supreme Court for the next five years
The deputies of the Guatemalan Congress elected this Thursday the new 13 members of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) for the period 2024-2029, a transcendental designation for the fight against corruption in the Central American country.
The Guatemalan congressmen reached the necessary consensus to elect the new members of the Supreme Court 10 days before the deadline established in the law to define the substitutes of the current magistrates expired.
“Congress has made its decision and chosen the new magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice. Each deputy must take responsibility for his vote,” said the president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León, in a message on the social network X after concluding the election.
Regain confidence in justice
The president recalled that “in the hands of the new CSJ is to fulfill the commitment that the people of Guatemala demand: to recover confidence in justice, respect for human rights and the frontal fight against impunity.”
“Beyond speculation, we need to see his vocation for justice in concrete facts. Never again courts that are not at the service of democracy, the rule of law and the construction of a better future,” he concluded.
Among the elected candidates stands out the re-election of three current magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, headed by Gustavo Adolfo Morales Duarte, who in 2020 accused himself of participating in the rigging of the election of courts that year.
When the election of the magistrates ended, opposition deputies, such as Allan Rodríguez, with complaints of corruption, celebrated with applause and shouts the election of the magistrates.
“Despite the fact that the ruling party allied itself with organized crime, that yesterday they distributed money, that there was a list of vetoed by the embassy, despite the fact that there were pressures against deputies (…), today Guatemala won,” Rodríguez, who did not prove his accusations, told the press.
According to the deputy, it is a “balanced Supreme Court, not all with the same ideology, but it doesn’t matter, it’s professional people, who have demonstrated their ability, many of them magistrates with experience.”
The new magistrates of the Supreme Court of Guatemala
The new Supreme Court magistrates are: Carlos Lucero Paz, Claudia Paredes Castañeda, Gustavo Morales Duarte, Jenny Alvarado Tení, Igmaín García Pimentel, Flor Gálvez Barrios, Carlos Contreras Valenzuela, Flor García Villatoro, Clemen Juárez Midence, Teodulo Cifuentes Maldonado, Estuardo Cardenas, Luis Conrado Campos and René Girón Palacios.
The process of electing magistrates of the Guatemalan Supreme Court has been under the international magnifying glass, of entities such as the Organization of American States (OAS), due to the current deterioration of the country’s judicial system, reflected in cases of political persecution against journalists, prosecutors and activists.
According to the OAS, as well as international organizations such as Impunity Watch or Human Rights Watch (HRW), this Supreme Court election process was vital for “the rescue of Guatemala’s justice system.”
Members of the official bench, consulted by EFE during the vote, indicated that the election ended with “questionable” candidates elected and with others without precedents that this faction supported them for their integration.
Between 2014 and 2019, investigations were carried out on the rigging of court elections through the intervention of political operators, such as former ministers and presidential candidates who sought to place their relatives in these positions.
International
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
Mexico accounts for the highest number of urgent actions related to enforced disappearances worldwide, according to the latest report by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
The report, released by I(dh)eas, indicates that Mexico has accumulated 819 cases between 2012 and February 2026, representing 38% of the global total.
In the past five months alone, 40 new urgent requests have been recorded — more than one-third of all such actions worldwide during that period.
The report warns that this trend reflects a structural problem, as the urgent action mechanism — originally intended as an exceptional measure — has become routine in Mexico.
Although the Mexican state formally complies with response deadlines, the Committee identified significant shortcomings in the implementation of these measures. These include the lack of comprehensive search plans, delays in key investigative procedures such as video surveillance and phone data analysis, and insufficient inquiries into possible links involving state agents.
The report also highlights inadequate protection for relatives and individuals involved in search efforts, including cases of reprisals.
Among the most serious incidents documented is the disappearance of a father who had denounced alleged involvement of authorities in his son’s case in the state of Guanajuato.
The accumulation of cases could lead to the application of Article 34 of the Convention, which would allow for the launch of an international investigation into systematic enforced disappearances.
Geographically, the state of Chiapas accounts for 30% of the new urgent actions, many of them linked to collective disappearances of migrants.
International
Le pape Léon XIV appelle à relancer le dialogue pour une paix au Moyen-Orient
Le pape Léon XIV s’est entretenu par téléphone ce vendredi avec le président d’Israël, Isaac Herzog, soulignant la « nécessité de rouvrir » les canaux de dialogue afin de parvenir à une « paix juste » au Moyen-Orient.
Selon un communiqué du Vatican, les deux dirigeants ont insisté sur l’importance de relancer tous les mécanismes diplomatiques pour mettre fin au conflit en cours et œuvrer en faveur d’une paix durable dans la région.
Le communiqué précise également que les discussions ont porté sur la protection des populations civiles et sur le respect du droit international et humanitaire.
Cet échange intervient dans le contexte de la Semaine sainte, cinq jours après un incident à Jérusalem, où la police israélienne avait empêché le cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa de célébrer la messe du Dimanche des Rameaux au Saint-Sépulcre.
Le lendemain, le secrétaire d’État du Vatican, Pietro Parolin, avait convoqué l’ambassadeur israélien auprès du Saint-Siège, Yaron Sideman, pour exprimer le mécontentement du Vatican face à cet incident qualifié de « regrettable ».
Cette situation avait suscité une vive réaction internationale, poussant le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu à intervenir pour assurer que le cardinal pourrait accéder au lieu saint.
De son côté, Herzog a confirmé l’échange sur son compte X, indiquant que les discussions ont également porté sur des sujets régionaux, notamment la guerre en Iran et la situation au Liban.
Le pape, d’origine américaine, participe actuellement à sa première Semaine sainte depuis son élection et doit présider ce soir le chemin de croix au Vatican.
International
Devotees in Philippines mark Holy Week with extreme rituals despite rising costs
Despite rising fuel prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East, thousands of devotees in Philippines took part this year in one of the country’s most intense Holy Week traditions.
In the city of San Fernando, located in Pampanga province, dozens of bare-chested penitents with covered faces walked barefoot along dusty streets, whipping their backs with bamboo lashes as part of a ritual that can draw up to 12,000 local and foreign visitors.
Journalists from Agence France-Presse reported seeing participants piercing their skin with glass shards attached to small wooden paddles to ensure bleeding during the ceremony — an act believed to atone for sins and seek divine intervention.
“I do this to pray for the healing of my seven-month-old baby, who is suffering from pneumonia,” said a devotee identified as John David at the start of the procession.
The 49-year-old participant explained that the practice runs in his family. “My grandfather started this, then my father, and now it’s my turn. I have witnessed healing miracles over the years through this act of faith,” he said.
Many attendees traveled for hours to witness the climax of the ritual, in which some penitents allow nails, measuring about seven centimeters, to be driven into their hands before being raised on crosses in a reenactment of crucifixion.
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
Le pape Léon XIV appelle à relancer le dialogue pour une paix au Moyen-Orient
Devotees in Philippines mark Holy Week with extreme rituals despite rising costs
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoSpain rebukes U.S. over euthanasia case as minister defends legal framework
-
International4 days agoRubio signals possible engagement with Iranian factions amid internal divisions
-
International3 days agoNew York City lifts TikTok ban on government devices under new security rules
-
International5 days agoWhite House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
-
International4 days agoKing Charles III to visit the U.S. on first state trip since taking the throne
-
International4 days agoLeopoldo López thanks Spain for fast-track citizenship but says “I am still Venezuelan”
-
Central America4 days agoEl Salvador sees 45% surge in international tourists during holiday period
-
International1 day agoDevotees in Philippines mark Holy Week with extreme rituals despite rising costs
-
International1 day agoLe pape Léon XIV appelle à relancer le dialogue pour une paix au Moyen-Orient
-
Internacionales1 day agoEcuador extends state of emergency amid escalating violence and crime crackdown
-
International1 day agoMexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
-
International5 days ago
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López