Red Cross clinics in some parts of Mexico are refusing to treat people wounded by gunshots after finding themselves caught in the drug war, with cartel hitmen intercepting ambulances to seize patients and even killing a Red Cross worker this week.
Miguel Angel Valdez, director of operations for the Red Cross in the Gulf coast city of Tampico, said he implemented the policy after gunmen this week forced an ambulance over at gunpoint just two blocks from a Red Cross clinic and dragged off a man wounded in a gunbattle.
“We have made the decision at the [local] Red Cross not to accept patients from prisons or wounded in armed clashes, because that puts the safety of our personnel at risk,” he said.
In drug-plagued Sinaloa state on the Pacific coast, police started escorting ambulances and guarding Red Cross clinics after a Red Cross dispatcher was killed on Sunday in crossfire by assailants who followed a wounded man to a clinic to finish him off.
Maria Genoveva Rogers is believed to be the first Red Cross worker killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched his drug war in 2006.
Hundreds of emergency personnel, medical technicians and ambulance crews took to the streets in the Sinaloa capital of Culiacan, some holding a banner that read “Service Suspended ... We Demand Safety” as ambulances accompanying the march blared their sirens.
“We are just calling on everyone to respect the symbol of the Red Cross, but there has been a loss of values,” said the state’s Red Cross director, Arnoldo Montano. “It is like people have forgotten what the Red Cross is.”
Culiacan’s Red Cross clinics closed for two days following Rogers’ death. And in the violent city of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, doctors and other personnel at two government-run clinics stayed off the job on Tuesday to protest gunmen barging into emergency rooms to either rescue wounded comrades or execute rivals.
Gangs have also targeted doctors for extortion.
“We are one of the sectors that has been most affected by the situation of violence,” said Dr Leticia Chavarria Villa, president of the Medical-Civic Committee, a nonprofit group founded in the wake of the wave of violence that has swept the city.
Some doctors now refuse to admit patients at private clinics after 6pm, or they see only people who have been referred to them by their other patients, she said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS