International

Trump visits the city he used to stigmatize Venezuelans and promises to “clean” the US

The former president of the United States (2017-2021) and Republican candidate, Donald Trump, sokened this Friday fears of migration in Aurora (Colorado), a city that he himself put at the center of national attention to criticize the policies of the Democratic government and promote false narratives about Venezuelan immigrants.

In a massive rally, Trump raised the tone of the xenophobic ideas that set the pace of his campaign, said that Venezuelan migrants have “infected” Aurora and promised to “clean” the country if he reaches the Presidency.

“On November 5, I will rescue all the cities that have been invaded and conquered,” stressed the former president, among cheers from the attendees.

Trump spoke in front of a false wall, decorated with the words ‘deport all illegals now’ and stood in the middle of the photos of two migrants, pointed out by local authorities as members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua.

Trump and the myth

Aurora, a suburb of Denver – the capital of Colorado – jumped to the national sphere in Trump’s mouth and through the right-wing media ecosystem, as did social networks such as X or TikTok.

The area has become a kind of myth for the Republicans, who have drawn the image of a city “taken” by Venezuelan gangs.

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In particular, they mention the Aragua Train, an organization born in a prison near Caracas and pointed out for crimes such as extortion and sexual exploitation of migrants in South America.

Local authorities deny this narrative, including the Republican mayor of Aurora, Mike Coffman, who said this week that “concerns about the activity of Venezuelan gangs are gross exaggeration.”

The Denver Metropolitan Area Police has acknowledged having identified the presence of members of the Aragua Train in the area and have pointed to 10 people, several of them already arrested.

The statistics

Multiple studies have shown that the migrant population commits fewer crimes than people born in the US and in Aurora, in particular, crime has decreased by 17% in the last five years, according to data compiled by the local network Denver 7.

Throughout the election campaign, the president has extrapolated individual cases of crimes committed by migrants in the country to stir up fears among foreigners and accuse the government of Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in November, of promoting a policy of “open borders.”

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“She has committed crimes by allowing these migrants to enter the United States. They are ruining our country,” Trump said.

The Democratic government, contrary to what Trump assures, has imposed harsh restrictions on asylum on the border that have been criticized by international organizations such as the UN agency for refugees.

As a result, the number of irregular crossings on the border with Mexico has reached its lowest point in four years and the number of deportations under this Government – including hot expulsions at the border – are on their way to surpassing those carried out during the four years that Trump was in power.

International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.