Latin America in Short: Colombia Changes Police Chief | Debate on the Health Reform is Postponed

This week, the Government of Gustavo Petro changed the director of the Police, Henry Sanabria. In addition, the debate on the Health Reform was postponed in Congress. In other news from the region, Guatemala received its Ciudad Juárez fire victims. In the environment, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States has reported that the average temperature of the seas and oceans broke its record in April of this year. Finally, in sports, a Mexican enters the WNBA for the first time while the MBL became the most Latino league in the world. The most relevant of the week summarized here.

Colombia Removes Ultra-Conservative Police Chief

A couple of weeks ago, several statements by General Henry Sanabria, head of the Colombian National Police, went viral. His ultra-Catholic position that daily influenced his decisions within the organization generated rejection within public opinion.

Several media denounced that members of the institution had to attend spiritual retreats and participate in Catholic celebrations to maintain their aspirations to grow professionally. Additionally, in an interview for Semana Magazine, Sanabria said that exorcisms were performed at the institution to catch drug lords or guerrilla leaders. In addition, it aroused the rejection of human rights groups, after insinuating that there is an HIV epidemic in the institution because of the LGBTQ + community.

Despite the complaints, the Petro government officially announced that the general's departure is not related to his religious expressions. According to the Colombian interior minister, Alfonso Prada, the change is due to a new cycle in the police. With the departure of Sanabria, the retired general William Salamanca arrives, who had been serving as Colombian consul in Miami.

Guatemala receives its dead in the fire of Ciudad Juárez

Five of the fatalities from the fire at a migrant center in Ciudad Juarez arrived in Guatemala to be watched over by their loved ones. In total, there were 18 Guatemalan fatalities left by the fire on the border between Mexico and the United States. The event in Ciudad Juarez left 39 people of different nationalities dead due to the fire. In addition to the 18 Guatemalans, 7 deceased were identified as being from El Salvador, 7 from Venezuela, 6 from Honduras and 1 from Colombia. All men, between the ages of 18 and 51. Additionally, the Mexican authorities have reported that the incident also left 28 injured (10 Guatemalans, 8 Hondurans, 5 Salvadorans and 5 Venezuelans). The fire is still under investigation. However, it is known that 6 arrest warrants were issued against the center's security guards and a migrant, suspected of having started the fire.

The oceans are warmer than ever

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States has reported that the average temperature of the seas and oceans broke its record in April of this year, at least since records have been kept for 40 years. The measurements carried out by this organization indicate that the seas exceeded the average of 21 degrees Celsius throughout the planet, except at the poles. Although phenomena such as La Niña and El Niño have historically influenced cyclical changes in sea temperature, the temperatures recorded today are unusual. For this reason, scientists are concerned about the impact this will have on life, as it will surely have effects on global weather phenomena and marine biodiversity.

The first debate on the Health Reform in Colombia was postponed

The first debate in the Colombian House of Representatives against the Health Reform was scheduled to take place this Thursday, April 13. However, the debate was postponed to the week of April 17-21. The reasons for postponing this controversial debate are manifold. In the first place, the president of the Seventh Commission of the Chamber, Agmeth Escaf, argued that it is a matter of time: "The speakers will have more time to prepare and work on the proposals that were filed," he said. However, it is also due to the fact that the opposition, with the Cambio Radical and Centro Democrático parties, filed a paper that intends to archive the project. Likewise, the Liberal, Conservative and La U parties added comments to the project, which would not have been included.

Read also: Colombia: ABC of Gustavo Petro's Health Care System

History for Mexican basketball

Women's basketball in Mexico made history, confirming the participation of the first player born in Mexico to be signed by a WNBA team. The Mexican Lou López-Sénéchal will be the first one to reach a team of the best women's basketball league in the world. In the 2023 Draft, the Dallas Wings selected the 25-year-old guard with the fifth overall pick. López, of a Mexican father and a French mother, will take the most important leap in his career as a professional athlete when he arrives at this competition in the United States.

MLB: The most Latino league in the world

A few weeks ago, a new season of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States began, a competition that is the highest level in the world. For the 2023-2024 campaign, it was confirmed that this will be one of the ones with the largest number of Latin American players in all the teams. In total there are 236 Latin American baseball players who were written for this tournament, the Dominican Republic contributes 104 baseball players, Venezuela 62, Cuba 21, Mexico 15, Colombia 7, Panama 4, Nicaragua 2 and, finally, Brazil and Honduras report the participation of a baseball player .