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Friday, October 3, 2025
Latin America Rising? > UN to examine increasing disappearances in Narco State Mexico; Colombia sends Israeli diplomats home; Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela not invited to Summit; GenZ protests spread across South America
U.N. committee to examine disappearances in Mexico
Relatives and friends of 43 missing students hold pictures during a protest in Mexico City on Wednesday in front of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand the extradition from Israel of two alleged perpetrators of the forced disappearances from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College in the state of Guerrero in 2014. Photo by Mario Guzman/EPA
Sept. 25 (UPI) --The crisis of enforced disappearances in Mexico reached the United Nations headquarters in Geneva this week as the U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances began to reviewing the issue after receiving reports that it has become widespread and systematic.
The review includes information provided by the Mexican government and civil society organizations, as well as relatives of the victims.
U.N. experts are seeking to determine the extent of impunity, lack of institutional coordination, and violence against those searching for their missing loved ones - all factors cited as contributing to ineffective search and investigation policies.
Of all urgent action requests issued by the committee its 15 years of operation, 37% have involved cases in Mexico.
Against that backdrop, the committee's 10 members began to review available information on Monday in Geneva after Article 34 of the International Convention on the crisis was invoked for the first time, reflecting its magnitude and urgency.
Article 34 states that if the committee receives credible information indicating that enforced disappearance is being carried out in a "widespread or systematic" manner in the territory of a state party, it "may, on an urgent basis, bring the matter to the attention of the General Assembly" to support victims and advise the country on measures to be adopted.
The review of information submitted by the Mexican government and other stakeholders -- including human rights defenders and groups of "searching mothers" -- will continue through Oct. 2 as part of the committee's 29th session, chaired by Ecuadorian lawyer Juan Pablo Albán.
The committee has monitored the situation in Mexico since at least 2012. In 2015, it reported that disappearances were widespread across several regions and that impunity was nearly absolute.
The situation regarding disappearances in the country worsens every year. While in 2024 an average of 27 people went missing per day, that number rose to more than 45 in the first quarter this year.
More than 133,000 people have disappeared in Mexico between 2006 and September, according to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons. Authorities are holding more than 72,000 unidentified bodies in government facilities, along with hundreds of thousands of bone fragments.
Only 373 convictions for enforced disappearance or disappearance committed by private individuals were issued between 2017 and January.
"The Mexican state must respond to the committee with a proposal to address the root causes of disappearances, guaranteeing truth, justice, reparations, an end to impunity, prompt and proper identification, and the dignified return of missing people to their homes, with effective and transparent mechanisms for measurement and accountability," civil society groups, collectives and families of the disappeared said in a joint statement.
Since 2012, the committee has issued 1,931 urgent requests to investigate alleged disappearances and to assist victims with searches and access to information.
Of those, 729 were directed to Mexico -- the highest number among 31 countries. Iraq followed with 692 requests, Colombia with 241 and Cuba with 194.
Mexico has amended laws and created institutions for investigation, identification and search efforts. But a lack of human and financial resources, persistent impunity and failure to address the problem at a structural level, as the CED has recommended, have produced poor results.
This is almost a compliment, considering the source.
Colombia expels all Israeli diplomats
President Gustavo Petro announced the measure after the Gaza flotilla seizure
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced the expulsion of all remaining Israeli diplomats following the interception of the Gaza flotilla by the Israeli Navy.
Petro’s office said two Colombian nationals were among those aboard the seized boats and demanded their immediate release.
The Colombians were “engaged in humanitarian activities in solidarity with Palestine,” Petro wrote on X on Wednesday, adding that a free trade agreement with Israel is also being suspended.
The flotilla, which departed from Spain last month, carried activists from more than 40 countries, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who was among those detained after Israel intercepted several boats on Wednesday evening.
Israeli officials described the flotilla as a “provocation” aimed not at delivering aid but assisting Hamas.
The operation drew international condemnation and sparked protests in several countries.
Last week, the US revoked Petro’s visa after he called on American soldiers to “disobey” President Donald Trump’s orders. He made the remarks while attending the UN General Assembly session in New York.
Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela not invited to Summit of the Americas
By Osvaldo Silva
U.S. President Joe Biden (C), and other world leaders of the Americas take a "Family Photo" at the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June 2022. File Photo by David Swanson/EPA/Pool
Oct. 2 (UPI) --The Dominican Republic is preparing to welcome hemispheric leaders to the 10th Summit of the Americas on Dec. 4 to 5 in Punta Cana. But the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan governments have been excluded.
The Dominican Foreign Ministry confirmed the decision in an official statement. The Caribbean nation holds the rotating presidency of the regional forum, and it invited 32 countries to participate.
According to Dominican officials, the exclusions were made because those three countries are not active members of the Organization of American States and did not participate in the previous summit. The measure is aimed at avoiding ideological tensions and ensuring effective participation by member states.
The event, convened by the Dominican government, will seek to build a common agenda on democracy, sustainable development and regional cooperation in a context marked by diplomatic exclusions and high-stakes political gestures.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the exclusion as a "decision imposed by the United States government" and said the summit "is doomed to fail."
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuba was willing to engage in a "respectful and constructive dialogue," but argued that the exclusion reveals a policy of hemispheric coercion.
One of the most discussed moves has been Dominican President Luis Abinader's push to invite U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, whose attendance has not yet been confirmed. Trump's participation could set the political tone of the summit and reshape regional priorities.
Key issues expected on the agenda include post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change with an emphasis on joint strategies to address natural disasters and energy transitions. Other issues at the meeting could include migration, the rise of authoritarian regimes and digital disinformation.
The Summit of the Americas is a multilateral forum that brings together heads of state and government from across the continent to debate and coordinate policies on democracy, human rights, trade, migration, the environment and security.
Since its first gathering in 1994, it has been led by the Organization of American States as an opportunity for hemispheric dialogue.
Demonstrators pay tribute on September 16 to those who died during the Gen-Z protest in Kathmandu, Nepal. The protest, which began September 8 and was led by youths identifying as Generation Z against corruption and a government-imposed social media ban, turned violent and left at least 72 people dead, including police officers. Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA
Oct. 1 (UPI) --Thousands of Generation Z youths mobilized in recent days in Peru and Paraguay, organized through social media and without traditional hierarchies, to demand transparency, justice and an end to corruption.
The movement, which began in Nepal with the resignation of the prime minister after a wave of protests in September in which 72 people died, has spread from Asia to Latin America.
Gen Z -- people born between the late 1990s and 2010 -- is the first generation to grow up with the Internet.
Their organizing is decentralized and viral, often marked by the use of global cultural symbols such as the skull-and-crossbones flag from the 1997 Japanese animated series One Piece, which has become a worldwide emblem of the fight for dreams, the liberation of the oppressed and resistance to autocratic governments.
In Lima and Asunción, protest calls spread on digital platforms with a shared message: young people do not trust political parties or traditional institutions to channel their demands.
In Peru, demonstrations began over a pension reform and grew into broader criticism of President Dina Boluarte and Congress. Clashes with police led to dozens of arrests and accusations of excessive force. In the city of Huánuco, a peaceful march echoed the slogans from Lima and called for Boluarte's resignation.
"I am a democratic woman and we will strengthen our democracy, and that is why I am not going to resign because some voices are used to living in anarchy, disorder, violence and that culture of hate that not all Peruvians embrace," she said.
In Paraguay, the first demonstration rallied under the slogan "We are the 99.9%. We don't want corruption." Hundreds of young people marched toward Congress denouncing nepotism, poor public services and a lack of jobs for youth.
The demonstration ended with more than 30 arrests after a police operation that involved 3,000 officers.
The Senate announced it will question Interior Minister Enrique Riera and Police Commander Carlos Benítez over allegations of repression and arbitrary detentions.
"In a country where corruption has deeply undermined institutions and the social fabric, a new generation of young people has begun to raise its voice," said the Rev. Máximo Mendoza, provincial of the Jesuits in Paraguay.
Gen Z protests continue to spread across continents, with demonstrations in Madagascar sparked by daily water reduction and power cuts, but quickly escalating into a political crisis.
After a week of unrest that left 22 people dead, President Andry Rajoelina announced the dissolution of the government. The protests have continued despite the president's action.
On social media, Malagasy citizen Lalaina Minah Ranaivomanana wrote: "I am part of this Gen Z of Madagascar. We have struggled to find work and pay taxes ... but we only have 3 hours of electricity a day and must wait until dawn to get water.
"We didn't want to provoke the security forces; we just want water and electricity. We are only defending our rights."
The movement is not limited to these countries. Similar protests have taken place in Morocco, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Kenya. The example of Nepal, where young people set fire to Parliament and forced the prime minister's resignation after a social media ban, continues to inspire other movements.
Despite facing unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness worsened by the pandemic, this generation has shown resilience by turning its discontent into political action.
Experts say Gen Z shares progressive social values with millennials, but is more likely to support radical policies and call for a stronger role for the state in reducing inequality and protecting the most vulnerable.
The outcome of these mobilizations remains uncertain. Some analysts warn that their decentralized nature could limit concrete results, while others argue Gen Z is already reshaping global political culture by linking local causes through a digital and symbolic language that crosses borders.
"These are internet-driven phenomena that resonate with urban youth. It is an important development, but we still need to see whether it will help address the problems fueling discontent," political scientist Luisana Sánchez told CNN.
She added that the lack of opposition leadership makes it difficult to predict how long the movement can last.
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