U.N. receives Haiti gang's request for talks amid Salvadoran offensive
U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement Monday that the organization had received a letter bearing the signature of Wilson Joseph, also known as "Lanmò Sanjou," leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, addressed to Secretary-General António Guterres.
The 400 Mawozo gang operates primarily in Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune northeast of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
Joseph has been on the United Nations Security Council's sanctions list since December 2023. The council holds him responsible for serious human rights abuses, including killings, kidnappings, sexual violence and the recruitment of children.
U.S. authorities are seeking Joseph for his alleged involvement in the October 2021 kidnapping of 17 Christian missionaries, including five children, and have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.
In its statement, the United Nations clarified that receiving the letter did not mean the organization endorsed its contents, recognized its author or had taken an official position on the request.
In the letter, Joseph called for an international delegation to begin talks aimed at finding a peaceful solution to Haiti's security crisis. He also expressed concern about a possible escalation of violence following the military deployment ordered by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
The United Nations expressed concern about the impact of violence on Haiti's population and reiterated the importance of protecting civilians, complying with international law and prioritizing peaceful solutions.
Dujarric also addressed the presence of Salvadoran troops, saying the vast majority of military personnel recently deployed to Haiti are not part of the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force, or GSF.
As a result, their operations fall outside the mandate and reporting framework of the U.N. Support Office in Haiti, which provides logistical and operational assistance to the international force.
The United Nations emphasized that all security operations, including those conducted by Haitian authorities and their partners, must comply with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The statement came as a new military offensive began Monday in the Cul-de-Sac Plain, northeast of Port-au-Prince, where Salvadoran troops advanced in armored vehicles toward areas controlled by the Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo gangs.
El Salvador's presidential press office shared footage Monday of what it described as a rescue operation in Haiti, following images released by Bukele.
Haiti's National Police confirmed operations in Carrefour Shada, Croix-des-Missions and Santo 17, supported by the GSF, aimed at dismantling illegal checkpoints, preventing kidnappings and reclaiming territory controlled by armed groups.
The Salvadoran deployment followed the disappearance of four members of the country's contingent during an ambush Oct. 18. Bukele ordered more than 2,000 troops to Haiti to locate and rescue them.
Peru declares emergency across much of country over
El Niño
Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Peru's government declared a 60-day state of emergency across much of the country on Tuesday, placing nearly three-quarters of its districts under emergency measures amid the threat of severe rainfall and flooding linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
The emergency declaration affects provinces across Peru's 25 administrative regions.
President Keiko Fujimori's administration said the measure was necessary because regional governments lacked sufficient capacity to respond to the imminent threat, requiring technical and operational assistance from national government agencies, according to a decree published in the country's official gazette.
During the emergency period, regional and local governments will implement immediate measures to reduce the extremely high risk, along with emergency response and recovery operations.
The government based its decision on technical studies and reports from several agencies warning of a critical situation caused by the continuing coastal El Niño phenomenon and the development of El Niño conditions in the central equatorial Pacific.
These conditions increase the likelihood of severe rainfall, flooding, overflowing rivers and destructive mudslides known locally as "huaicos."
Huaicos are fast-moving flows of mud, rocks and water triggered by intense rainfall in mountainous areas. They can sweep through valleys and ravines, destroying infrastructure and homes in their path.
The effects of El Niño have created two sharply contrasting climate emergencies across Peru.
In northern coastal regions such as Tumbes and Piura, extreme rainfall has arrived earlier than expected, pushing major rivers beyond critical warning thresholds, flooding communities such as Aguas Verdes and triggering dangerous mudslides.
In Aguas Verdes, nearly 30 families displaced by flooding from the Zarumilla River were moved to temporary shelter, according to local media reports.
Peru's ombudsman's office found that the temporary accommodation, set up by municipal authorities on a sports court in Villa Primavera, lacked toilets and protective roofing despite forecasts of additional heavy rainfall.
The displaced residents include children and older adults. In the nearby community of Puerto Perú, more than 300 families were reportedly affected when floodwaters entered their homes.
The ombudsman's office urged authorities to provide adequate shelter and warned that the risk of the Zarumilla River overflowing had been identified weeks earlier.
The extreme weather is being fueled by unusually warm ocean temperatures, which are also causing abnormal heat waves along Peru's central and northern coasts.
Temperatures have reached 99 degrees Fahrenheit in Piura and nearly 84 degrees Farenhheit in Lima.
The warming waters have also disrupted the fishing industry by driving commercially important species, including anchovies, toward cooler waters.
Meanwhile, Peru's southern highlands and Amazon basin are experiencing severe moisture shortages, prompting authorities to declare water scarcity emergencies in more than 700 Andean districts.
Reservoirs have fallen to dangerously low levels, threatening local agriculture and livestock production after prolonged periods without sufficient rainfall.
The combination of extreme heat and dry conditions has also heightened concerns about wildfires and ground instability.
Landslides have blocked major transportation routes, including highways in the Amazonian region of Ucayali, further complicating emergency response efforts.
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Regulators step in as Paraguay's Ueno Bank falters
Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Paraguay shut down Ueno Bank following months of scrutiny over loans to affiliated companies and accounting adjustments that exposed a capital shortfall, leaving customers unable to access their accounts and about $380 million in public social security investments awaiting recovery.
The Central Bank of Paraguay, the country's financial regulator, announced Tuesday a decision adopted on Monday. Ueno's capital adequacy ratio, which measures its capital against the risks it carries, had fallen below half the regulatory minimum.
Central bank President Carlos Carvallo told a news conference that supervisors initially identified loans to companies connected to the bank's controlling group.
On June 5, supervisors ordered the bank to bring those loans within legal limits. Because corporate records did not directly establish those connections, investigators had to examine the transactions and follow "the money trail," according to his remarks, reported by La Nación.
Paraguayan banking law caps such lending at 20% of regulatory capital. In October, the central bank acknowledged that Ueno had exceeded the limit but said it corrected the excess within the statutory deadline. The sale of loans used to address the breach remained under investigation for potentially prohibited indirect financing, according to La Nación.
Carvallo said liquidity, the funds available to meet payment obligations, subsequently deteriorated, requiring additional provisions for potential losses. Those provisions reflected deficiencies in loan documentation and IT services recorded as assets without sufficient supporting documentation.
The resolution process places the bank under regulatory control to review its assets and liabilities and arrange the repayment or transfer of deposits.
Its banking app, cards and other services were deactivated, central bank board member Liana Caballero confirmed, according to ABC Color.
The social security funds belong to the Instituto de Previsión Social, or IPS, a public agency that provides pensions and healthcare funded by employee and employer contributions. The money is invested in Ueno bonds and term deposits, ABC Color reported.
About 32,000 retirees and pension beneficiaries will receive their payments through other banks, IPS finance manager Gladys Vera announced. Both Vera and Carvallo said benefit payments would continue, funded by ongoing contributions.
Deposit insurance covers approximately $37,500 per depositor, per institution. The law requires covered deposits to be repaid within 15 calendar days, with a possible 15-day extension. Recovery of amounts above that limit will depend on the resolution measures implemented.
In March 2026, Ueno completed its first international bond offering, raising $350 million through notes carrying a 6.7% annual coupon and maturing in 2031. BofA Securities, part of Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Securities, part of JPMorgan Chase, served as initial purchasers and joint bookrunners. The transaction closed March 6, according to Ferrere, the law firm that advised the bank.
On Monday evening, Ueno said in a statement that it was "operating normally" and had received no notification concerning the activation of the deposit guarantee fund. A September advertising campaign claimed that "two out of three Paraguayans" chose its services.
The case also involves past ties to two senior officials. Carvallo chaired Financiera Ueno from June 2021 to July 2023, before its conversion into a bank.
President Santiago Peña was a shareholder in Ueno Holding and announced his departure in April 2025, when he denied holding a stake in the bank.
Carvallo confirmed that he had signed his resignation as central bank president but would remain temporarily to oversee the resolution process. The regulator announced investigations into potential responsibility and said Ueno's situation did not reflect broader conditions in the financial system.
The crisis also prompted opposition efforts to impeach Peña. Sen. Rafael Filizzola confirmed that a draft impeachment motion was being prepared, while Sen. Yolanda Paredes also called for criminal proceedings and restrictions on leaving the country.
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Belize declares state of emergency over deadly gang violence
The emergency took effect Sunday in parts of Belize City, Ladyville, Cotton Tree and Unitedville, according to Breaking Belize News.
Police Commissioner Richard Rosado said authorities had identified some 60 people for possible detention, although not all had been arrested. Police have not released a confirmed total of arrests under the new measures.
The declaration came after several killings, including four men slain along the Coastal Plain Highway on Oct. 30. Rosado attributed the shooting to an internal gang dispute and rejected allegations that police officers were responsible.
National Security Minister Michel Chebat said Belizean officials plan to visit El Salvador to examine President Nayib Bukele's approach to fighting gangs, according to Breaking Belize News.
Chebat acknowledged human rights concerns surrounding the Salvadoran model, but said Belize would assess which measures might be suitable for the country.
El Salvador has maintained a state of emergency since March 2022, arresting more than 90,000 people in its crackdown on gangs. In a July report, Amnesty International documented allegations of arbitrary detention, torture and deaths of those in custody.
But they didn't document the torture, rapes, and murders of innocent people when those in custody were not in custody.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also raised concerns about Belize's repeated use of emergency powers, warning in June that such measures must respect fundamental rights and remain necessary, proportionate and temporary.
Human Rights commissions seem more interested in protecting the rights of murderers and rapists than their innocent victims.
Explosives attack in Colombia kills four, including infant
Nov. 2 (UPI) -- An explosives attack targeting a military base in southern Colombia killed at least four civilians, including a 2-month-old baby, and injured 17 others.
It was an escalation of violence that local authorities blamed on dissidents from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrilla group.
The attack, carried out Sunday using a truck loaded with explosive-filled cylinders and drones, destroyed several homes and prompted authorities in the municipality of Planadas to impose a total curfew.
According to reports by Colombian newspapers Semana and El Tiempo, the attack occurred late at night in Tolima department, a mountainous region in southwestern Colombia that has historically served as a strategic corridor for illegal armed groups.
Security forces said the attackers detonated a dump truck packed with explosives near the 17th Infantry Battalion in Planadas, directly damaging surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Images taken after the explosion showed collapsed building facades, debris scattered across streets and residents searching for family members, Caracol Noticias reported.
The attack severely damaged local healthcare facilities, forcing medical personnel in Planadas to set up an emergency treatment area at a public school to stabilize the wounded.
Regional authorities identified the Ismael Ruiz Front, a faction belonging to the main dissident bloc of the former FARC, as the suspected perpetrator.
The FARC guerrilla organization signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016, ending decades of armed conflict. However, dissident factions rejected the agreement and continue to fight for territorial control and profits from drug trafficking and extortion in southern Colombia.
Tolima Gov. Adriana Magali Matiz condemned the attack as a "vile and criminal act" against civilians.
The Colombian government ordered the immediate deployment of additional troops to secure the town's urban area and advance the investigation.
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