International
Operation against the bastion of ‘Barbecue’ ends with alleged criminals killed in Haiti
The police operation carried out these days in the bastion of gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, alias ‘Barbecue’, in Haiti ended in the death of several members of the coalition of armed groups Vivre Ensemble (Live Together) and allowed the seizure of firearms, drones, cars, motorcycles and drugs.
According to the Haitian National Police (PNH), specialized units intensified efforts in the operation in the capital area of Bas Delmas, where the ‘Barbecue’ headquarters is located, in order to dismantle the Vivre Ensemble coalition.
Law enforcement killed several criminals in the exchange of gunfire and arrested an unspecified number of gang members.
Impact for the criminal gang
As for the seizures, the deputy spokesman of the PNH, Lionel Lazarre, said that they confiscated 13 firearms (including a Kalashnikov rifle), three drones, seven cars, three motorcycles and substances that seem to correspond to marijuana.
Lazarre said that, “as part of a series of operations carried out in the West department (where Port-au-Prince is located), significant progress has already been made” and said that a series of measures have been adopted to dismantle the armed gangs that terrorize Haiti and that control around 85% of the capital.
In presenting the operations carried out throughout Haiti – including the West department, where the ‘Barbecue’ headquarters is located, in Delmas 2 and Delmas – the deputy spokesman assured that joint actions with the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) continued.
Increased police operations against organized crime in Haiti
The Police are intensifying operations in the West department (specifically in several areas of the Puerto Príncipe metropolitan region) and in others such as Artibonito, North, Center and Southeast, with the aim of dismantling powerful armed groups.
As part of these actions in the country, the police arrested alleged gang members and people involved in self-exass, shot about twenty alleged gang members, took control of police buildings, dismantled a car theft network, issued arrest warrants and seized thousands of ammunition cartridges.
For its part, the multinational mission announced that it has established its third advanced operational base in the building that housed the General Inspectorate of the Haitian National Police in Bas Delmas, in order to “secure the coast and the surrounding areas.”
In a statement, the MSS stressed that “the police quickly and firmly repelled the gangs’ attempts to disrupt the installation of the base, ending the resistance as soon as it began.”
Call to the international community
This operational base, he said, is “an essential resource in the fight against the activity of the gangs in the region” and will serve as a center of strategic support, improving response times in key areas such as the national port, the Delmas district or vulnerable coasts.
These are areas exploited by the gangs for arms and drug trafficking, activities that finance their violent operations, he said.
With this base (the third established by the multinational mission after those installed in the Police Academy and in Pont-Sondé, in Artibonito), the MSS wants to “bring security closer to citizens”, determined to “return Haiti to its former splendor and to guarantee the security and well-being” of Haitians.
International
Italian tourist dies after jet ski collision in Colombian caribbean waters
The Colombian Navy recovered the lifeless body of an Italian national on Tuesday who had gone missing in the waters of Colombia’s Caribbean on Monday afternoon after a suspected maritime incident.
Nicholas Cudini, 26, was riding a jet ski near Cholón Island, located in Cartagena, when he collided with another artisanal vessel operating in the area. The collision reportedly caused him to fall off the jet ski, according to information gathered by the Colombian Navy.
“Apparently, the person accompanying the foreigner noticed that his companion did not resurface, so he called for help from other nearby boaters, who alerted authorities to the emergency,” stated the Navy in a press release.
According to Frigate Captain Juan Felipe Portilla, commander of the Cartagena Coast Guard Station, Cudini was driving the jet ski when the incident occurred.
The search for Cudini lasted 22 hours, even continuing overnight, with specialized divers and sailors from the Caribbean Naval Force combing the area where he was last seen.
The body was recovered and later transported to a dock in Cartagena for an autopsy, conducted by judicial police.
International
Liga de Quito expresses concern over former player’s alleged kidnapping in Esmeraldas
Ecuador’s police reported on Tuesday that they are investigating the involuntary disappearance of player Pedro Pablo Perlaza.
Meanwhile, the popular club Liga de Quito, where he played four years ago, expressed concern about what it referred to as the news of the athlete’s kidnapping.
On its X account (formerly known as Twitter), the police stated that “due to the alleged involuntary disappearance” of Perlaza and Juan M. in the city of Esmeraldas, and following the formal complaint filed by their families, authorities immediately began “investigative and operational work around the incident.”
The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Police is handling the investigation, according to the statement.
Last weekend, 33-year-old Perlaza had finished the Ecuadorian first-division season with the Delfín club and traveled to the city of Esmeraldas, located 182 kilometers northwest of the capital. His whereabouts have been unknown since Sunday. He had been part of Delfín’s 2019 Ecuadorian Championship-winning team.
Liga de Quito, in a statement on X, expressed its “deep concern and solidarity over the news of the kidnapping of our former player” and extended its solidarity to the athlete’s family and friends. Perlaza played for Liga de Quito in 2020 and the team is set to play the first of two championship matches this weekend.
Esmeraldas province, whose capital bears the same name, is considered one of the regions where criminal groups have extended their control, engaging in activities such as extortion and kidnapping. Other provinces facing similar situations include Guayas and Manabí.
Since 2021, Ecuador has been experiencing a spiral of criminal violence driven by local groups linked to drug cartels from Colombia and Mexico, seeking to control trafficking routes and territories. One of the signs of conflict between local gangs is the frequent massacres in the country’s prisons.
International
Over 1,500 migrants face blockade by mexican authorities in Chiapas
A caravan of over 1,500 migrants that set out this week from Mexico’s southern border is facing a blockade by Mexican authorities, who are preventing them from leaving the state of Chiapas, which borders Central America.
Amid pressures from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for Mexico to control the flow of migration, the group departed at 5:00 a.m. (11:00 GMT) from the municipality of Huixtla, moving slowly, with some migrants on bicycles and tricycles, flanked by the National Guard and municipal police.
The undocumented migrants, mostly from Venezuela, told EFE that officials from the National Institute of Migration (INM) have been monitoring their movements since their arrival in Huixtla, following them along the road. On Tuesday, the authorities attempted to detain a family, but the migrants prevented it.
The migrants are calling for understanding from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who last week assured Trump in a phone call that caravans “no longer reach” the U.S. border. Meanwhile, Trump has promised to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican products if the country fails to stop the “invasion” of migrants and drugs.
“President Sheinbaum should support us in reaching Mexico City, where there are more job opportunities, so we can wait for our ‘CBP One’ appointment (to apply for asylum in the U.S.) peacefully, because other states are more dangerous,” explained Venezuelan Genaro Cárdenas.
Cárdenas, who is traveling by bicycle with a group of fellow Venezuelans, remains hopeful of reaching their destination despite the obstacles and the pressure from immigration officials to convince them to return to the southern border.
“We fear that we will be disbanded and sent back to Tapachula, but we will continue forward,” Cárdenas warned.
Italian tourist dies after jet ski collision in Colombian caribbean waters
Liga de Quito expresses concern over former player’s alleged kidnapping in Esmeraldas
Over 1,500 migrants face blockade by mexican authorities in Chiapas
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
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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