Headline

Trump Slaps Sanctions On Colombia For Defying Deportation Push

Published

5 months ago

January 26, 2025

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.

Trump, back into the office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 per cent in a week.

His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.

Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and “supporters” of President Gustavo Petro — and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.

“These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.

“The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote on X.

In a later post, he said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.

The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport “with dignity” the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.

Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those on board were not treated “like criminals.”

The Colombian leader later said more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.

The trip comes days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Latin America — but not Colombia — on his first trip as top US diplomat as he seeks support for Trump’s policies.

He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.

– ‘Tied hands and feet’ –

Trump’s threats to deport millions of migrants has put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.

Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over the treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday.

The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return to the White House, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.

Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.”

“It was very hot, some people fainted.”

TV footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.

Several deportation flights since Trump’s return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.

In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.

The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.

Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled “Brother, come home,” which would include a “solidarity” payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

AFP

Headline

Family Of Five Killed In Iranian Missile Strike After Fleeing Ukraine For Safety In Israel

Published

1 hour ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

A Ukrainian family of five who fled Russia’s war in search of safety were killed in Israel by an Iranian missile — the very conflict they thought they had escaped.

Mariia Pieshkurova had brought her 7-year-old daughter, Anastasiia, to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, hoping to get lifesaving cancer treatment and refuge from the violence at home.

Along with Anastasiia’s grandmother, Olena Sokolova, and two young cousins, Illia and Kostiantyn, they had started over — believing they were finally safe.

But on June 15, an Iranian missile tore through their apartment building during a retaliatory strike on Israel, killing them all.

“I really thought they’d be safe,” said Artem Buryk, Anastasiia’s father and Mariia’s former partner. “I never thought they’d go to Israel to escape war — and find it there.”

The missile attack, part of Iran’s response to Israeli airstrikes on its territory, collapsed much of the building in Bat Yam.

It took four days to recover Mariia’s body from the rubble.

Their deaths marked a heartbreaking intersection of two wars — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s conflict with Israel — both of which had already tested the family’s will to survive.

Mariia had moved to Israel in late 2022 after Anastasiia was diagnosed with leukemia.

Ukraine’s hospitals were overwhelmed, and its largest children’s hospital was later destroyed in a missile strike.

In Israel, treatment began immediately. It was effective but costly. Mariia turned to Instagram, sharing photos of her daughter in treatment and videos of Artem pleading for help while serving on Ukraine’s front lines.

“Masha did everything for her little girl,” said Anastasiia’s godmother, Khrytsyna Chanysheva. “She dedicated her life to her, moved to Israel to get her full treatment.”

Despite the pain, Anastasiia always smiled at visitors.

“She was in pain, and she would close her eyes for a second,” said charity worker Lada Fichkovsi. “But every time I walked into her room, she would smile.”

Her cousins joined the family in May 2024 as the situation in Odesa deteriorated.

“The shelling made my children cry,” said Hanna Pieshkurova, Mariia’s sister. “I decided to let them go.”

Though Israel was at war with Hamas, Mariia had assured her sister that Bat Yam was calm. Air raid sirens were rare, and the Iron Dome defense system offered hope.

“Ukrainians often say, ‘This is not Ukraine, it’s not as scary,’” said Inna Bakhareva of Chance4Life, a charity helping sick children in Israel. “They felt secure due to the Iron Dome.”

That sense of security evaporated after Israel struck Iranian targets on June 12. Iran retaliated with missile attacks across Israeli cities.

“Dad, at night I saw how the missiles were falling,” Anastasiia told her father in a voice message the night before she died.

She and her mother had been scheduled to visit the hospital the next morning. The missile struck before dawn.

Mr. Buryk, who had just returned from the front lines near Sumy, received the news that same day.

“I still don’t understand what’s happening,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”

He used to promise Anastasiia they’d go fishing together when peace returned.

“Every time I talked to her, I’d say, ‘Sweetheart, we’ll go fishing. Just us,’” he said. “And now I just don’t understand. I still don’t even grasp that she’s gone.”

“Last night,” he added quietly, “I sent her voice messages.”

(New York Times)

Headline

Militia Attack On DRC IDP Camp, Kills 10, Mostly Women, Children

Published

12 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

An armed group at the centre of a long-running ethnic conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast attacked a camp for displaced people on Friday, killing 10, local sources told AFP.

Bordering Uganda, Ituri province has for years been the scene of pitched battles between the Lendu, a group mainly made up of settled farmers, and the Hema people, typically nomadic herders.

The fighting has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and the mass displacement of many more.

Friday’s assault on the Djangi displaced persons camp was carried out by the self-proclaimed Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco), a Lendu-aligned militia responsible for previous civilian massacres, the camp’s head told AFP.

“They were many and armed with firearms and machetes. They surprised us, they killed 10 displaced people, most of them women and children,” said Richard Likana.

An employee of the Red Cross, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the attack, which took place around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Bunia.

“They were cut up with machetes while others were shot,” the humanitarian worker added.

Congolese army Colonel Ruffin Mapela, the local administrator for Djugu territory where the camp is located, gave the same toll of 10 dead and put the number of injured at 15.

According to local and humanitarian sources, Codeco was responsible for an attack on February 10 which killed 51 people in Ituri province. Most of the victims were also displaced persons.

That raid was said to be a response to a strike by the rival Hema-led Zaire militia in the same area.

Violence between the Hema and Lendu killed thousands in gold-rich Ituri from 1999-2003, which only ended after European forces intervened.

The conflict erupted again in 2017, killing thousands more.

The violence has led to more than 1.5 million people leaving their homes, according to the UN.

AFP

Headline

Israel Wants Global Action Against Iran’s Nuclear Plans

Published

13 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

Israel’s foreign minister said on Friday that the world was obliged to stop Iran from developing an atomic bomb, days after Israel claimed it had “thwarted Iran’s nuclear project” in a 12-day war.

“Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat to itself, the region, and the international community,” Gideon Saar wrote on X.

“The international community must now prevent, by any effective means, the world’s most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon.”

Israel and Iran each claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign, stating it aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon—an ambition Iran has consistently denied.

Following waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites, the United States bombed three key facilities, with President Donald Trump insisting it had set Iran’s nuclear programme back by “decades”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that “we have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project”.

However, there is no consensus as to how effective the strikes were.
On Friday, Iran rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit the bombed facilities, saying it suggested “malign intent”.

The comments from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after parliament approved a bill suspending cooperation with the UN watchdog.

In a post on X following the move, Saar said Iran “continues to mislead the international community and actively works to prevent effective oversight of its nuclear programme”.