La consellera de Interior, Núria Parlon, aseguró ayer que los Mossos d’Esquadra están “preparados” para afrontar la nueva convocatoria de Blocus, prevista para el próximo sábado en Barcelona, y apeló a la responsabilidad de las familias para evitar que sus hijos menores de edad caigan en este tipo de “trampas”.
Da molti anni, la cocaina latinoamericana ha viaggiato attraverso alcuni Paesi africani per arrivare ai mercati internazionali, come quelli dell’Europa. Ora però l’aumento della richiesta di consumo di cocaina e altre droghe sintetiche, tra cui la metanfetamina, ha costretto i narcos a spostare la logistica. E l’Africa si presenta come un epicentro vantaggioso per alcune tappe della produzione e commercializzazioni delle sostanze illegali.
Così, le autorità hanno individuato un aumento significativo nelle attività dei cartelli latinoamericani nel continente africano. Come sostiene un report dell’Africa Center for Strategic Studies, un’istituzione del Dipartimento della Difesa americano finanziata dal Congresso per lo studio delle questioni di sicurezza globale.
I dati parlano anche di operazioni per contrastare questo fenomeno. Lo studio svela che l’Agenzia nazionale per l’applicazione della legge sugli stupefacenti (NDLEA) della Nigeria, ad esempio, ha sequestrato 2025 circa 5.000 tonnellate di droga e arrestato quasi 20.000 persone. “Si tratta di un incremento di 17 volte rispetto alle 273 tonnellate sequestrate nel 2020. Dal 2011, la NDLEA ha individuato e smantellato circa 25 laboratori di metanfetamina”, si legge nello studio.
La crescente influenza delle organizzazioni criminali latinoamericane in Africa si traduce in ripercussioni profonde sulla sicurezza. Questo a causa di un aumento nella richiesta di consumo della cocaina. Quasi tutta la cocaina prodotta a livello mondiale proviene da Colombia, Perù e Bolivia. “Dato che l’Europa assorbe circa un quarto dell’offerta globale di cocaina – spiega l’Africa Center for Strategic Studies -, l’Africa funge da tempo da snodo per questo commercio illecito. I carichi di cocaina attraversano solitamente l’Atlantico partendo dalle coste del Brasile – occultati all’interno di container diretti verso i porti dell’Africa occidentale, lungo il Golfo di Guinea – per poi proseguire verso l’Europa”.
I narcos hanno dunque dimostrato una grande capacità di adattamento e di essere molto sofisticati. Disegnano carichi più piccoli su imbarcazioni di ridotte dimensioni (dagli yacht privati ai sommergibili senza equipaggio) e cercano di farli partire da porti meno sorvegliati in Brasile, Guyana e Suriname.
Anche la produzione di metanfetamina è aumentata come mai nella storia. “Il mercato globale degli stimolanti di tipo anfetaminico ha un valore stimato tra i 17 e i 29 miliardi di dollari, con un tasso di crescita del 13% annuo” […] L’Africa è diventata un nodo sempre più centrale per questa droga sintetica illecita, poiché i cartelli cercano di sfruttare contesti favorevoli alla produzione e al traffico. I cartelli della droga latinoamericani hanno stretto accordi con gruppi criminali africani per ottenere supporto logistico, terreni e protezione, stabilendo così laboratori per la produzione di metanfetamina nel continente”.
In questo nuovo scenario, l’Africa si presenta come un luogo strategico per i cartelli della droga latinoamericani perché ci sono “reti di traffico illecito già consolidate, rotte di contrabbando secolari, scarsa capacità di interdizione marittima e costiera, nonché la presenza di numerosi pescherecci – cinesi e non solo – impegnati in attività di pesca illegale al largo delle coste dell’Africa occidentale, che offrono una copertura ideale per le operazioni di trasbordo di stupefacenti”.
E quali organizzazioni sono presenti? Dal famoso cartello di Sinaloa a quello di “Jalisco Nueva Generación”, entrambi del Messico. Ma anche “Primeiro Comando da Capital”, il più grande del Brasile e il Clan del Golfo della Colombia. Il report indica anche la presenta dell’Ndrangheta dell’Italia.
“La crescente influenza dei cartelli latinoamericani in Africa accresce i rischi per la sicurezza nel continente, includendo la possibile introduzione di tecnologie basate su droni tra i gruppi criminali locali e la collaborazione con formazioni estremiste violente. Analogamente a quanto accade in America Latina, una volta che questi cartelli riescono a radicarsi, diventano una minaccia per le attività economiche lecite, per interi settori produttivi, nonché per le amministrazioni locali e le forze dell’ordine”, avverte lo studio.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) reported that no presidential ticket has yet completed formal registration, a step the Electoral Code requires to be done in person. Voters will fill 582 public posts, including the presidency, 60 Legislative Assembly seats, and 44 municipal councils, with mayoralties, municipal trustee offices and council seats also on the ballot.
RELATED: El Salvador Sets Feb. 28, 2027 Date For General Elections
Nuevas Ideas party (New Ideas) has put forward Nayib Bukele and Félix Ulloa for reelection as president and vice president. On the other hand, the FMLN party ticket would pair physician and union leader Rafael Aguirre with nurse Madaí Santos. According to media reports, Arena party would run lawyer Mayteé Iraheta for head of state and agricultural engineer Verónica Henríquez for vice president. Meanwhile, the PCN internally chose General Alirio García Flamenco and former San José Guayabal mayor Mauricio Vilanova, pending formal ratification.
Six other parties will not field presidential tickets: Fuerza Solidaria, Democracia Salvadoreña and PAÍS opted against nominating a ticket; PDC and GANA backed Bukele’s reelection project; and Vamos withdrew, arguing that the current officeholder’s continuity violates the Constitution.
Bukele and Ulloa ran for reelection in July 2023 despite its unconstitutionality. In August 2025, with full control of Parliament, Nuevas Ideas approved indefinite presidential reelection.
El Tribunal Supremo Electoral de El Salvador convocó oficialmente las elecciones generales para el 28 de febrero de 2027, en una jornada donde más de 6,5 millones de salvadoreños están llamados a votar. ¿Qué está en juego en estos comicios?
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) October 1, 2026
Entra al enlace y conoce los detalles… pic.twitter.com/eHs72zX3oE
The 2027 process will for the first time apply the constitutional amendment removing presidential term limits, opening the way for unlimited consecutive candidacies. The measure was approved in 2025 through an expedited procedure pushed by the ruling Nuevas Ideas bench in the Legislative Assembly, without public consultations. The amendment removed provisions barring consecutive terms, extended the presidential term to six years, eliminated the runoff election and reorganized the institutional calendar to shorten the current term so that presidential, legislative and municipal elections coincide on a single general election day.
Opposition sectors and social organizations rejected it, saying the amendment alters the Constitution’s 1983 principles of alternation in power.
The NEC reported that it had completed dispatching electoral material to 37 countries and that distribution of 41,702 electoral packets nationwide would begin Nov. 16, according to the electoral body. Shipments were set to start in the Amazon provinces and Galápagos and finish Nov. 28 in Pichincha, which said 20 provinces had completed 100% of candidate qualification and expected to close the process in the remaining four during the week.
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Social movements and political groups denounced the exclusion of opposition organizations and leaders as logistics advanced, according to the report. With the elections moved up from their original date of Feb. 14, 2027, political leaders pointed to the use of the state apparatus to block popular options in favor of dominant elites and the government of Daniel Noboa.
⭕️ #ATENCIÓN | El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, @robertokuryec, informó que no se realizarán las votaciones para las elecciones seccionales y del Cpccs del 29 de noviembre en #Cuba y #Venezuela, debido a la falta de representación diplomática ecuatoriana en esos países.… pic.twitter.com/bNo2DrKlxD
— Radio Pichincha (@radio_pichincha) October 21, 2026
Geovanni Atarihuana, president of the Unidad Popular party, said authorities sought to cancel Unidad Popular in March, suspended Citizen Revolution (RC) and in July targeted the Movimiento Amigo. He said several winning candidates had been pursued through the justice system and the electoral function and that the elections had been moved up because the government knew it lacked popular support.
After the suspension of the Revolución Ciudadana movement, its aspirants had to seek affiliation with other political platforms. Concern deepened after the Prosecutor’s Office and National Police raided Quito City Hall, an action the opposition interpreted as an attempt to disqualify Pabel Muñoz in his reelection bid.
Former presidential candidate Luisa González remains in pretrial detention as part of the Labyrinth case, an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to the financing of the 2023 presidential campaign of the Citizen Revolution (RC) movement.
Among highlighted projects is the North-South transport corridor, intended to connect Russia with India through Iran; its completion and launch would also expand Russia’s direct trade access routes toward East Africa.
Russian authorities said the nation had established itself as a security provider for African governments facing complex problems. Cooperation through advisers and military specialists extends to West African countries in the Alliance of Sahel States — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — as well as the Central African Republic, according to officials.
Officials stressed that Russia had no history as a colonial power on the African continent and had never participated in plundering its wealth, according to the report.
Russia-Africa trade topped $27 billion in 2025 — FM spox Zakharova
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) October 27, 2026
'One of our most important avenues is still food security — Russia shipped around 18 million tons of grain to African countries in 2025'
'In the first nine months of 2026, another 13 million tons were shipped' pic.twitter.com/KHNTE3Qjub
Russian diplomats gave the highest priority to holding the third Russia-Africa Summit to consolidate and deepen mutual ties, under the premise of recognizing African civilization on the emerging international stage.
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Moscow supports bilateral cooperation based on sovereign respect, without ideological impositions or claims to plunder resources, according to Russian authorities. Foreign Ministry specialists said Africa was a key component of the multipolar world order and that Russia lacked an ideology intended for export and had sufficient natural resources within its own territory.
🇷🇺🌍 The Third #RussiaAfrica Summit kicks off in Moscow today!
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) October 28, 2026
Delegations are arriving for two days of talks on October 28-29.
🎬 Watch our recap of the 2019 & 2023 Summits, which opened a new chapter in Russia-Africa cooperation. pic.twitter.com/EwmSFatcga
Russia’s trade strategy and connectivity differ from isolation policies promoted by Western powers because it prioritizes collaboration with members of the global majority.
A evolução da indústria têxtil portuguesa coloca-a entre as mais completas e sustentáveis da Europa, garante António Braz Costa, diretor-geral do CITEVE, o centro tecnológico que desde 1989 apoia o sector têxtil e de vestuário em Portugal, de passagem pelo podcast do Expresso 'Liga dos Inovadores'
Argentinian migration authorities later said he had crossed Brazil’s land border with Argentina at 22:50 local time on Tuesday (01:50 GMT on Wednesday). In a tweet, the migration authorities said he, his wife and two daughters had boarded a private flight headed towards the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador at 23:30 (02:30 GMT on Wednesday). It is not clear whether Ecuador would be his final destination.
According to Metropoles, which had reported on his alleged arrival in the U.S. hours before, the legislator plans to hold a press conference in the United States this week, possibly in Washington.
RELATED: Brazil’s Court Probes Foreign Funds in Flávio Bolsonaro’s Campaign
Flavio Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil occurred after Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports within 24 hours and barred him from leaving Brazil. After the deadline expired this Tuesday without him complying with the order, the Federal Police canceled the documents.
Amid the controversy, the U.S. Department of State confirmed to the outlet UOL that it will grant visas to Flávio and his family members, although it did not specify the category of the documents or the conditions of stay.
Democratic congressman Joaquín Castro said losing an election is not grounds for receiving asylum, and demanded explanations from President Donald Trump’s Government about its possible help to Flávio in leaving Brazil, noting that the lawmaker is under investigation in the South American nation for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion. “The Trump administration owes Congress answers on its role helping Bolsonaro flee Brazil in contravention of Brazilian law,” he said.
Losing an election is not grounds for asylum.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) October 27, 2026
Yet the Trump Administration is giving Flávio Bolsonaro safe haven in the United States. In Brazil, he is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion, and was ordered to surrender his passports.…
Brazilian media reported that the lawmaker’s flight also surprised leaders of his Liberal Party and raised questions about his next political steps. Flávio had previously stated that he would remain in Brazil to organize the opposition to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Government.
The trip took place after the electoral defeat he suffered against Lula in the presidential runoff on October 25.
“I know there are those who are hungry for power. I know there are those who juggle, put on all kinds of shows for power. We are not here for power; we are here to serve the people. We are here to build alongside the people, we are here to accompany Venezuela in its growth and in its prosperity,” she said.
RELATED: Venezuelan Acting President Welcomes Lula’s Victory in Brazil
Acting president Rodriguez recalled the national Government’s call for peace through the amnesty law. “Because I aspire for the radical sector to abandon violence forever […]; I invite them to work to recover the electric system, where we do so without rest,” she said.
She further reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding sovereignty against any external interference. “The most sacred thing is that no one meddles, nothing and no one, in this process, for the tranquility, stability, prosperity and economic growth of our homeland,” she emphasized.
#EnVideo📹| Presidenta Delcy Rodríguez, inauguró la Escuela Nacional de Liderazgo Campesino General del Pueblo Ezequiel Zamora, ubicada en el estado Aragua. pic.twitter.com/RwwblFKHTJ
— Ministerio de Comunicación e Información (@mippci_ven) October 27, 2026
The official addressed the situation of the National Power Grid and the efforts of Corpoelec workers in the face of international pressure. “I have not seen a single megawatt added to the national power grid that was achieved without working without rest,” she stressed while explaining the impact that unilateral coercive measures have had on national infrastructure.
During the debate on the draft resolution presented by the Caribbean island, participating delegations denounced the humanitarian consequences and socioeconomic impact of these unilateral coercive measures, while urging respect for sovereignty and the principles of international law.
RELATED: Cuba Refutes Accusations by the U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on X that “During the debate, the U.S. representative, in evident isolation, did not have the courage to explain to the world the reason for the criminal energy siege to which they subject the Cuban people, nor for the strengthening of the extraterritoriality of the Blockade.”
Hoy en ONU se evidenció el respaldo mayoritario de la comunidad internacional a #Cuba en la condena al bloqueo y contra la política de máxima asfixia del gob. de EE.UU. La mayoría de los oradores, algunos en representación de bloques regionales, fueron claros en su denuncia.
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) October 28, 2026
1/3
As usually happens since 1992, the 193 UN General Assembly member states are convened between Tuesday and Wednesday, to debate the draft resolution demanding that Washington end the blockade against Cuba.
The document, titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba,” has historically had near-unanimous support, at times reaching up to 189 votes in favor.
In last year’s vote, the text was backed by 165 countries, while 12 abstained and only 7 voted against: the United States, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Hungary.
Former CNE member Marlon Ochoa and the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) say the 2025 process was left unfinished, with 306 presidential tally sheets, 2,620 deputy tally sheets and 1,848 municipal corporation tally sheets uncounted; they denounce this as electoral fraud and a rupture of institutional order.
Their account links president Nasry Asfura’s arrival in the Executive to fraud organized by the far right and interference by the Trump administration, describing him as illegitimate.
RELATED: Honduras Congress Approves Funds for Maximum-Security Prison
Ronald Panchamé, Libre’s caucus leader, argued that demanding the vote count falls within legislators’ attributions and recalled that Article 205, numeral 7, of the Honduran Constitution empowers the National Congress to declare the election if the electoral body does not do so in a timely and proper manner, according to the defense.
— LUIS REDONDO 🇭🇳 (@Lredondo) October 23, 2026
The full bench of the Supreme Court of Justice scheduled the designation of the natural judge to take charge of the case against Redondo and other members of the extinct Permanent Commission, consolidating the criminal proceedings. Prosecutors and courts question the legality of the former legislators’ actions and impute crimes including abuse of authority and violation of the duties of officials.
The Prosecutor’s Office’s actions against those who tried to prevent what Libre and Ochoa denounce as an electoral coup and betrayal of popular will generated complaints of lawfare, political persecution and a deep crisis of judicial independence in the country, according to the denunciations.
Libre leader Wilmer Fernández stated that while legislators are prosecuted for defending democracy, freedoms are granted to those implicated in historic embezzlements such as the Social Security case or the mobile hospitals case, which he said evidences the use of criminal law by the political right as a tool of confrontation.
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