International
Bukele offers his mega-prison in El Salvador for US prisoners, both migrants and Americans
The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, and the Salvadoran President, Nayib Bukele, closed an agreement on Monday to deport to El Salvador undocumented migrants of any nationality who have committed crimes in US territory.
According to the head of US diplomacy, at the meeting they agreed that El Salvador accepts “the deportation of illegal foreigners in the United States who are criminals of any nationality, whether from the M-13 or the Aragua Train, and house them in their prisons.”
But Rubio also surprised by explaining that Bukele even offered to “host in his prisons dangerous American criminals” who are imprisoned in the North American country, both those who have citizenship and those who have legal residence in the United States.
“No country has ever made an offer of friendship like this,” Rubio told the press at the hotel in the Salvadoran capital where he is staying.
Rubio explained that this same Monday he spoke about this matter with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and said that Bukele’s offer is “just a sign of the incredible friend” that he is for the United States.
Bukele is one of Trump’s closest allies in Latin America and the first president of the region whom the Republican called after his return to the White House.
The Salvadoran president declared to the press that the United States is the “most important partner” of El Salvador and claimed that “being in the box of allies of the United States is better” for the country.
Bukele also highlighted his close harmony with the US president: “We do not hide our sympathy (with Trump),” he said.
The Salvadoran president made these statements with Rubio in a brief greeting to the press from a balcony of his residence overlooking Lake Coatepeque, in the Salvadoran town of El Congo (west).
Then, Bukele and Rubio continued with a private meeting that in a first part accompanied the Salvadoran foreign minister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco.
The head of US diplomacy, who is on an international tour of Central America, did not make statements.
The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, arrived in El Salvador on Monday to meet with the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, one of the main allies in Latin America of the new Administration of Donald Trump.
The head of US diplomacy landed aboard an Air Force plane at 10:18 local time (16:18 GMT) at El Salvador International Airport, coming from Panama.
El Salvador is the second stop of Rubio’s tour of Central America, focused mainly on containing migration to the United States and counteracting China’s influence in the region.
At the reception to Rubio was his Salvadoran counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandra Hill Tinojo, with whom he melted into a hug and chatted briefly in a relaxed way, and then got into a vehicle to leave the airport.
The Secretary of State will start his agenda with a visit to the Aeroman aircraft maintenance company, then go to the US Embassy in San Salvador and finally meet with President Bukele.
The Salvadoran president was, in fact, the first in Latin America and the second in the world with whom Trump spoke by phone after being invested as president of the United States.
The Trump Administration sees as an example the security strategy of the Bukele government, which has drastically reduced insecurity in the country with a police hard-handed policy criticized by human rights organizations.
After his stay in Panama and El Salvador, Rubio will visit Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
Marco Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants, is the first Hispanic Secretary of State in the history of the United States and speaks fluent Spanish.
International
Cardinals seek a “unifier” as they prepare for conclave to elect new pope
Several cardinals who will participate in the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor said they are approaching the mission with “apprehension,” “responsibility,” and “hope,” while also beginning to outline the profile of the next pope: a “unifier.”
The 12-year pontificate of the first Latin American pope was marked by reforms and a simple style, which earned him strong opposition from the Church’s most conservative sectors, with his predecessor Benedict XVI as a symbol of that resistance.
“The task before us these days is greater than us, and yet it is a duty we must fulfill,” summarized French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline during a mass in Rome on Thursday evening.
A few meters away, Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich admitted to journalists that he approaches the conclave “with a certain apprehension,” but also with “great hope.”
“We feel very small. We must make decisions for the entire Church, so please pray for us,” added the Jesuit cardinal, who was a close advisor to the Argentine pontiff.
He estimated that the conclave would “probably” begin on May 5 or 6, after the nine-day mourning period at the Vatican known as the Novendiales.
International
Trump and Zelensky hold “very productive” meeting in Rome during Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held a “very productive” meeting, according to the White House, this Saturday in Rome on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral.
No specific details about their conversation were disclosed, but the White House promised to release more information later. Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, described the 15-minute discussion at St. Peter’s Basilica as “constructive.”
This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents since their heated exchange in Washington on February 28, when Trump and his Vice President JD Vance verbally confronted Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Dozens of heads of state, government leaders, and senior officials gathered in Rome on Saturday for Pope Francis’ funeral, creating opportunities for multiple diplomatic meetings.
The Ukrainian presidency stated that Trump and Zelensky “agreed to continue” their talks later Saturday in the Italian capital and shared photos of both leaders seated face-to-face, also engaging in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The U.S. president said on Friday that a deal between Ukraine and Russia is “very close,” without providing details, following discussions between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin in Moscow about the possibility of launching “direct negotiations” between the two sides.
International
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
A magnitude 6 earthquake was recorded this Friday in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia, causing damage to several infrastructures and leaving, so far, 20 people injured.
According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 06:44 local time (11:44 GMT) at 1.03 degrees south latitude and 79.69 degrees west longitude.
According to the source, the tremor occurred at a depth of 30 kilometers and 9.31 kilometers from Esmeraldas, capital of the homonymous province.
According to the National Secretariat of Risk Management (SNGR), the affected people had head injuries and bruises.
While the SNGR continues with the verification of affectations, it indicated that 80% of the electricity service and 80% of the telecommunications that were affected, are gradually restored.
Among the affected public buildings are the ECU 911 due to a fall of masonry; the Vargas Torres University, which has cracks; the Los Militares building where the front collapsed and the Prefecture building, among others.
The SNGR reported that the earthquake was felt with strong intensity in seven municipalities of the province of Esmeraldas and moderately in the provinces of Guayas and Manabí, while mildly in Carchi, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Los Ríos, Pichincha, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Tungurahua.
About twenty minutes after the earthquake in Esmeraldas, one of magnitude 4.1 was reported in the coastal province of Guayas, located in the southeast of the country, without damage or victims having been reported so far.
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the displacement of all his ministers to Esmeraldas, in order to coordinate actions after the magnitude 6 earthquake recorded this Friday.
“I have arranged for the immediate deployment of all ministers in the province of Esmeraldas to coordinate the installation of shelters, delivery of humanitarian aid kits and assistance in everything our people need,” Noboa wrote on his social network account X.
The province of Esmeraldas was one of the most affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake recorded on April 16, 2016, which left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as millions of material losses.
This earthquake also hit the province of Manabí, located, like Esmeraldas, on the coast of the Andean country, but also affected other areas and was felt strongly, even in the Ecuadorian capital.
Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire or Belt, which concentrates some of the most important subduction areas (sinking of tectonic plates) in the world and is the scene of strong seismic activity.
In addition to Ecuador, the Horseshoe-shaped Belt comprises a large number of countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Cardinals seek a “unifier” as they prepare for conclave to elect new pope
Trump and Zelensky hold “very productive” meeting in Rome during Pope’s funeral
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
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