IMF cuts global growth estimate due to Iran conflict

Water and sanitation crisis in La Guaira

Thousands of people affected by last month’s earthquakes in Venezuela face increasing difficulties in accessing drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. In La Guaira, the hardest hit state, entire families use the beaches to bathe and relieve themselves. Feces are now visible in areas that were previously busy.

Other people use the water left in broken water tanks to wash dishes and clean themselves. According to Venezuelan authorities, 190 buildings collapsed and 856 were damaged in the consecutive earthquakes on June 24, which left 3,811 dead. Some 18,000 victims now live in temporary shelters, sidewalks, parks and squares.

“We always have water in the tank, but with the earthquake most of the tanks broke,” said Juliani Herrera, 20 years old. “Now we wait for a cistern to arrive to fill buckets.”

Before the earthquakes, some communities only received drinking water once or twice a month. In Maiquetía, people lined up to receive boxes with food, water and hygiene kits. Herrera received one of those boxes; He carried her several blocks with scratches on her arms and hands, the result of a motorcycle fall during the earthquake.

Government response and UN call

The acting president Delcy Rodríguez announced that they are working with experts to identify areas suitable for “building new homes and anti-seismic cities.” He also said that local and international companies were summoned for the accelerated construction of homes. Rodríguez indicated that he sent a letter to the King of England to request the release of Venezuelan gold reserves frozen in the Bank of England.

Beatriz Ochoa of the Norwegian Refugee Council said better conditions are needed to prevent disease, given overcrowding, high temperatures and seasonal rains. “I have seen families doing everything they can to maintain dignity,” he said.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimated direct physical damage at about $37 billion. UN humanitarian aid chief Tom Fletcher met with Rodríguez and survivors; His office issued an appeal for $300 million to assist 1.3 million Venezuelans in urgent need.

Condemnation for the sinking of the ARA San Juan

A federal court sentenced Claudio Villamide, former ship captain and former commander of the Argentine Submarine Force, to three years of suspended prison. The sentence, issued on Tuesday in Santa Cruz, found him responsible for breach of duties as a public official and negligent damage aggravated by the disappearance of the submarine ARA San Juan in 2017, which caused the death of its 44 crew members.

Villamide stated before the verdict:

“I am innocent. To this day I do not clearly understand why they have accused me of the sinking of the submarine.”

The judges imposed rules of conduct for three years: establish address and telephone number, notify changes, not commit new crimes and submit to criminal control. The ex-marine will not go to prison.

Acquitted and appeal

The court unanimously acquitted Luis Enrique López Mazzeo, Héctor Alonso and Hugo Correa, three other accused officers. Luis Tagliapietra, father of a deceased crew member and representative of the plaintiffs, announced that they will appeal the sentence.

“The sentences imposed are far from what we had requested,” he told The Associated Press. Tagliapietra had requested between seven and eight years in prison for the four sailors.

Chronology of the tragedy

The ARA San Juan disappeared on November 15, 2017 in the South Atlantic, while returning from Ushuaia to Mar del Plata. That day he reported a fault due to water entering the batteries, but he claimed to have solved it. Hours later an explosion occurred.

The judicial investigation determined that the German-made submarine had operational deficiencies reported to Villamide before setting sail on October 25. The water entered through the ventilation system, causing a short circuit and an uncontrolled descent. After exceeding 600 meters of depth, the hull imploded.

A year later, the company Ocean Infinity found the remains 600 km east of Comodoro Rivadavia, in the province of Chubut.

An old acquaintance returns to court

The United States Attorney’s Office bases much of its accusation against oil magnate James Jensen and his family on the testimony of a confidential informant who had already collaborated with justice more than a decade ago. This is Luis Ariel Rivera Rodríguez, a 53-year-old naturalized Mexican-American, owner of the company Luxemborg Trading LLC.

Rivera, identified as CI-1 in court documents, met secretly with prosecutors and agents from the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security in Texas since mid-2024. He recounted how the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) participated in the theft of oil from Pemex and its smuggling into the United States.

300 million dollar business

According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2025, around 4,000 shipments of crude oil worth $300 million were trafficked. The fuel was brought into the US disguised as “petroleum distillate” or “used lubricating oil.”

Rivera stated that the CJNG controlled the roads in Mexico and collected extortions. He said he paid $2,000 per tank to operate. He also mentioned that he bribed federal, state and local officials, and that customs intermediaries falsified documents to export crude oil.

A history that repeats itself

Rivera is not new to this type of case. In 2008 he was arrested in an operation against the Gulf Cartel, which then controlled the theft of hydrocarbons in the Burgos Basin. Pemex reported losses of 300 million dollars. Rivera collaborated with the authorities and spent some years in prison until 2013.

At that time, James Jensen was already listed as a buyer of the stolen fuel, linked to companies such as Big Star Gathering LTD. However, Jensen avoided the accusations at the time.

The restaurant trap

In April 2025, Rivera arranged a meeting with James and Maxwell Jensen at a restaurant in Dallas. He had hidden microphones. He spoke about his relationship with the CJNG, mentioned leaders such as El Mencho (who died this year in a Mexican Army operation), El Tanque and Chuy 7, and recalled that President Trump had classified the cartel as a terrorist organization. That conversation supports the accusation that the Jensens knew they were dealing with organized crime.

The Jensens’ defense maintains that Rivera set a trap for them and that they were unaware of the illicit origin of the fuel. But the fact that both were involved in the same criminal plot twenty years ago complicates their version.

James Jensen, his wife Kelly Anne, and their children Maxwell and Zachary were arrested on April 23, 2025. They face charges of smuggling, money laundering, and financing a terrorist organization. The case is being litigated in the Southern District Court of Texas.