International

Dozens of undocumented people, mostly from Latin America, are detained in Florida

Dozens of irregular migrants were arrested in Florida (USA) in recent days, including a member of the transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua, as part of the operations ordered by US President Donald Trump against illegal immigration, the federal immigration authorities reported on Monday.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) said on Monday that between January 27 and 28, agents of this government agency carried out raids in Palm Beach County, in southern Florida and where Mar-a-Lago, the president’s residence, is based.

The operations resulted in the arrest of 32 people from Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua.

Many of these “illegal foreigners,” the federal agency added in a statement, have criminal records that includes drug possession, theft, prostitution, illegal re-entry, resistance to an officer, violation of probation, fraud, among others.

All of them are detained pending their expulsion or a hearing before an Immigration judge, ICE added.

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Likewise, the Florida Highway Patrol reported this Monday in its X account of a joint operation with federal agents carried out in Tallahassee, capital of this southern state, which ended with the arrest of “alleged members of the Aragua Train” on suspicion of conspiracy to smuggle weapons, affiliation to criminal gangs and illegal entry into the United States.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said days ago that he signed an agreement for the state Highway Patrol to add its support to immigration operations carried out by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

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.