International
U.S. and Mexico intensify border security measures amid ongoing migration crisis
On the U.S. side of the border, soldiers are placing barbed wire along the massive border wall, while on the Mexican side, troops have set up a camp on the edge of a mountain. In both cases, the goal is the same: to close off any gaps for irregular migration.
The military presence on this 3,100 km border was strengthened after Donald Trump returned to power, declaring the region a “state of emergency” and pressuring Mexico to deploy an additional 10,000 soldiers.
These efforts seem to be yielding results, according to figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which reported a 65% decrease in migrant interceptions in January compared to the same month in 2024.
“If there were a hundred crossings a day before, now it’s no more than five. Yesterday, there were none,” says a Mexican National Guard officer during a patrol in the impoverished mountainous area of Nido de las Águilas, where the metal fence weaves through much of Tijuana.
The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, attributes these results to the “coordination” between CBP and the Mexican National Guard, including a WhatsApp group where both forces share data, photos, and videos from their operations.
For Mexico, containing migration and the trafficking of fentanyl to the U.S. is crucial—issues Trump uses to justify the 25% tariff on exports from both Mexico and Canada, its partners in the USMCA trade agreement.
However, the offensive against migrants, which includes the deportation of individuals who fled poverty, violence, and authoritarian governments to reach the U.S., was not enough to prevent the tariff from taking effect this week.
Even worse, Trump has declared a “war” on drug cartels, which he labels as “terrorists,” and whose crackdown was intensified by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
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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