All posts by Luis Moreno

Moreno Luis - is a business and economics reporter based in Barcelona. Prior to joining the BNE24 he was economics editor of the BBC Spaine and worked as an economics and political reporter for Murcia Tuday.

Lampedusa declares a "state of emergency" after the arrival of 7,000 migrants in 48 hours

The Italian island of Lampedusa has not registered the arrival of any boat with migrants in the early hours of Thursday, an apparent truce after more than 7,000 people arrived in the two previous days to this small enclave of the Mediterranean.

On Tuesday alone, there were more than 5,000 arrivals and on Wednesday night around 7,000 migrants crowded into the reception center, saturated by this surge.. The figure had already dropped this Thursday morning to below 4,500, after a series of transfers.

The City Council has declared a “state of emergency” and the mayor, Filippo Mannino, has marked the evacuation of all migrants as a “priority”, a prior step to what should be “structural solutions”. “We do not have the structures and logistics to deal with all this,” Mannino said, reports the RAI channel.

More than 120,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy so far this year, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 2,000 have lost their lives along the way, including a five-month-old baby who drowned on Wednesday during a rescue operation.

For Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, what is happening in Lampedusa “is the symbol of a Europe that is not there”. The far-right politician has raised the tone and terms in several interviews to refer to this crisis: “When 120 ships disembark in a few hours, it is not a spontaneous episode, it is an act of war.”

Salvini considers that there is an “organized exodus” by the mafias, with the aim of “putting an uncomfortable Government in difficulties”. Giorgia Meloni's Executive has advocated toughening policies, as well as limiting the work of NGOs carrying out rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Brussels emphasizes that it provides support

For its part, the European Commission has responded to criticism by defending its presence in the area and emphasizing that it provides operational and financial support to Italy to manage the arrival and reception of migrants.. In this sense, the community spokesperson for the Interior, Anita Hipper, has stressed that the EU has deployed 450 agents from Europol, Frontex and the EU Asylum Agency in the area, in addition to paying 40 million for the management of reception and transportation of migrants.

“President Ursula von der Leyen is in close contact with Meloni and there will be a call this afternoon to see the situation and how we can provide further support from the Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johannson, and the Italian Minister, Matteo Piantedosi,” he explained. at a press conference from Brussels.

The trial date against Trump for the alleged electoral conspiracy in Georgia, in the air: he will not be tried in October

Donald Trump will not sit in the dock in October. A Georgia judge has determined that only two of the 19 people charged in the case of alleged electoral conspiracy involving the former president will be tried in October, which for now leaves in the air the date on which the magnate will sit in the dock.

Judge Scott McAfee, of Fulton County, has only given the green light to the trials against lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, who did request to expedite procedures. The prosecutor in the case, Fani Willis, had requested that the 19 defendants be tried jointly in October. “The court simply does not have a large enough space,” the judge stated among his arguments, who has even raised the possibility of separating the remaining 17 again, according to NBC News.

The judge's decision does not establish any precise date for Trump and the other 16 missing defendants, but the deadlines are already delayed at least until December. Trump has three other judicial fronts open, so the cases are expected to accumulate in 2024.

Trump and the rest of the defendants pleaded not guilty when they surrendered to the authorities in August. They are accused of being part of a criminal network that aspired to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential elections, in which Democrat Joe Biden won.

The ECB raises rates 0.25 points more despite the wear and tear of households, but opens the door for this increase to be the last

The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to bring down inflation in the eurozone at any cost; although the price to pay is to freeze the economy (perhaps even a recession) and suffocate households and companies in debt in the form of more expensive mortgages and loans in general. The body chaired by Christine Lagarde approved this Thursday raising the three main interest rates in the eurozone by another 0.25 percentage points, the tenth increase in just over a year.

According to a quick financial calculation, an increase like the one approved this Thursday by the ECB would imply an increase in the cost of an average mortgage of 31 euros per month. However, mortgage holders do not notice the impact of each rate increase in an isolated and instantaneous manner.. They notice it when they have to review the interest on their loan with the Euribor, something that usually happens every six months or once a year.. In such a way that, when the time comes to update the quota, households notice the effect of several rate increases at once.

For example, a household with an average variable mortgage —150,000 euros for 25 years with a differential of one point over the Euribor— that has to review its loan in August is exposed to an increase in its monthly payment of up to 229 euros (35 %). A figure that reflects all the rate increases that have been registered in the last twelve months. On average, the 1-year Euribor so far in September stands at 4.076%.

The rise leaves the main funding rate – which determines the interest at which commercial banks can borrow from the ECB – at 4.5%, again the highest level since the single currency came into circulation in 2002.. This interest rate is the one that most influences the Euribor and, therefore, those mortgaged at a variable rate.. In addition, the deposit facility—the interest that the central bank requires from entities for depositing funds in their balance sheets—stands at 4%, another unprecedented record.

The ECB justifies its decision by saying that, although inflation has been reduced in recent months, its forecasts still indicate that it will remain “too high for too long.”. And although they recognize that past rate increases continue to be forcibly transmitted to the economy, they see it necessary to “reinforce progress” towards the medium-term objective of 2% pursued by the ECB.

However, the statement containing the ECB's decision includes an important twist.. And it opens the door for this tenth increase to be the last in this frenetic cycle without precedent in the history of the euro.. “The Governing Council considers that the ECB's official interest rates have reached levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long period, will contribute substantially to bringing inflation back to the target in due time,” the text reads.

A somewhat ambiguous phrase that Lagarde has read twice at a press conference and that she has tried to explain without clarifying with much success.. The president of the ECB has rejected that we have reached the highest point of the rise, but she has not stated the opposite either.. Of course, he has conceded that the debate now becomes not the level, but the length of time that interest rates remain so high.. “It is obvious that the focus is probably going to move a little more towards duration,” he said.

Analysts such as ING bank interpret the ECB's message as a sign of the beginning of the end. “The statement is clear: today was the last increase in the current cycle,” says Carsten Brzeski, head of Macro at ING.. “The ECB has implicitly said that rates are now at or very close to their maximum level,” notes Patrice Gautry, chief economist at Union Bancaire Privée.. “The market believes that the cycle of interest rate increases could have ended and, therefore, its reaction has been positive,” they add from the Spanish Institute of Analysts.. However, not everyone sees it that way.. For Deutsche Bank's chief European economist, Mark Wall, “the ECB has reserved the option to raise more if necessary”. “There is no declaration of victory over inflation,” he adds.

And now that?

The decision, as always happens when the ECB raises rates, will have multiple effects, over different periods of time and difficult to anticipate. But the most direct and well-known is that it will imply even more tension for the around 4 million Spanish families mortgaged at a variable rate. It will also contribute to further cooling the economy of the euro countries, a step probably necessary for prices to fall.

What is behind the green 'gold' crisis: record oil prices, faithful demand, two bad harvests, exports… and speculation?

As a dressing, for frying and stewing, olive oil is a product that Spanish households want to remain faithful to. For culinary tradition and for its proven health benefits. However, a liter of oil that a year ago cost 5 euros is now sold for more than 9 euros, and going up. In the last year the price has shot up 52%, and doubled since 2021. They do not understand the disparity in oil prices according to supermarkets, nor that Spain being the world leader in production is more expensive here than in Portugal, France or Ireland.. And they wonder who is benefiting from the green 'gold' crisis.

What is happening with the price of olive oil?

The price of olive oil has accumulated 28 consecutive months of year-on-year increases until August, with double-digit growth in the last 27 months. Manuel Parras, professor at the University of Jaén and director of the olive oil chair in the largest producing region in the world, considers that the price of oil is a sensitive matter mainly “because there is demand from Spanish households for this product due to culture.” and tradition and a very small offer of olive oil. If a faithful demand is combined with a huge lack of production, what happens is that prices increase,” he explains.

Why is there a shortage of olive oil?

Olive growers have been explaining that the average olive oil harvest in Spain, the world's leading producer, is 1.4 million tons, but in the last campaign (2022/2023) only 663,000 tons were collected.

Elena Sánchez, premium oil producer in La Alcarria, Guadalajara, goes further and points out that the Spanish olive grove has been suffering the effects of climate change for three consecutive years.. “In these three years we have had Filomena, which destroyed the field, and then two years with horrible heat in May that ruins the flowering, and it remains to be seen what the next campaign will be like, since if it doesn't rain it will also be bad. “.

The Minister of Agriculture himself, Luis Planas, explained this Tuesday after the Council of Ministers that the Spanish olive grove usually alternates abundant and scarce harvests annually, a phenomenon known as greenery, although with climate change it has become recurrent to suffer low harvests. consecutive. Planas has entrusted the moderation of prices to the coming rains, with a harvest this winter better than the previous one, although still below one million tons.

Who benefits from such high prices?

The current price of olive oil, at 9 euros per liter, “does not benefit farmers, because it does not directly impact their income statement as they do not have a significant harvest to be able to sell,” acknowledges Cristóbal Cano, general secretary of UPA in Andalusia. Cano considers that the current price is “anecdotal and fictitious”, so he believes that the sector needs “stability in prices to be profitable.”

Extra virgin olive oil has gone from 4 euros per liter to 9.24 in a year and a half. Peter's Henar

If anything, those who benefit from the increase in the price of oil in the countryside are those who have the lowest production costs, according to Manuel Parras.. And he cites the super-intensive production of olive oil. “Its production cost is 1.3 euros per kilo and, with current prices, that is very profitable”. However, it points out that there are few that meet the requirements of this way of producing (optimal land for mechanization and great availability of water).. Asked if the investment funds that bet on this business could be behind the rise in prices, Parras defends that “they are very short-term profitable businesses, which benefit from the situation, but do not influence the escalation of prices.” . Farmers recognize that there are few who may be taking advantage of this scenario of high prices, and they defend that no one in the sector is interested in the drop in consumption due to rising prices, which will then be difficult to reverse.

Consumer tricks to save with olive oil
Consumers, about olive oil

Is there speculation with the price of oil?

Given that the majority of producers do not benefit from the rise in prices and consumers less so, the organizations that represent the latter in Spain, OCU and Facua, wonder what is happening and have asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to Investigate whether there is “speculation” on the part of large distribution chains or other intermediaries when applying profit margins to olive oil.

The associations demand that the Ministry of Agriculture take advantage of this crisis to carry out greater control of the production chain of virgin and extra virgin olive oil up to the shelves of commercial surfaces. As explained in COAG, the current food chain law guarantees that the lower links do not lose money and are profitable, but it does not control speculation.. It does not control whether a product triggers and why that impact occurs.

For Cristóbal Cano, from UPA, what is necessary would be to create official observatories of agile production costs, which mark costs in real time, or an observatory of commercial margins that ensures that large distribution does not fall into the temptation of maximizing its profits at moments of great difficulty like the current one”.

What is the difference in prices per supermarket?

The consumer association Facua has revealed that the same one-liter bottle of extra virgin olive oil can cost up to 45% more depending on the establishment where it is purchased, which represents a difference of about four euros per liter. Facua has analyzed 50 brands of virgin and extra virgin olive oils in eight of the main supermarket and hypermarket chains in Spain -Alcampo, Carrefour, Dia, Hipercor, Eroski, Mercadona, Aldi and Lidl-. According to its report, the average price of a liter of extra virgin oil in a liter plastic container is 9.67 euros.

The greatest variation in prices between the same brand according to the supermarket is found in the one-liter plastic bottle of Carbonell extra virgin picual variety, whose price ranges from 8.86 euros in Alcampo to 12.85 euros in Carrefour, almost four euros.

Why is oil cheaper outside of Spain?

Another study, this time carried out by the OCU, has compared the average price of white label extra virgin olive oil in Spain, when this August it was 8.72 euros/liter, with that in Italy, which was 8.21 euros/liter, with that of France, at 7.95 euros/liter, and that of Portugal, at 6.86 euros/liter. That is, in Spain, the world's main producer of oil, this product is 6% more expensive than in Italy, 16% more expensive than in France and 27% more expensive than in Portugal.

The experts consulted about this difference point out that, firstly, the demand for olive oil is much lower in surrounding countries and the price must therefore be more competitive.. They also ask to consider that export distribution agreements are not as up to date as those for internal distribution.. Finally, and given the appearance of tweets denouncing that the same brand is cheaper in Portugal or Ireland, they assure that said oil could be from past campaigns, cheaper than the current one.

Can the Government do anything to stop the escalation?

Consumer associations defend that “the Government can set maximum prices or limit profit margins as permitted by commercial law.”

There are also those who are committed to limiting exports to expand the availability of the domestic market.. In 2023, exports have decreased by 32%, a smaller decrease than that suffered by production, of 55%. However, the sector revolts against protectionism. “We have criticized the tariffs on US olive oil. You cannot tell a distributor that he cannot sell abroad, if he has opened a market abroad with sweat and tears,” they defend.. In addition, they rule out any shortages, thanks to a reserve of close to 200,000 tons to cover the time remaining until the harvest, which begins in October/November and ends in February/March.

Recently, specifically the ASAJA organization, they have denounced the Government's decision to inject 115 million euros into Moroccan agriculture to promote its development, money that is used to plant 600,000 new olive trees.

What producers have been asking for for years is, precisely, that they be allowed to store more quantity to put it on sale when there is little oil and maintain average prices.

However, none of these measures seem to be among the Ministry's immediate plans.. Minister Luis Planas has recognized the effect of the drought and high temperatures on the Spanish olive grove, but limits the rise in prices to its correlation of supply and demand. He sees sufficient support for the aid to the primary sector, the reduction of VAT on the basic shopping basket, while he trusts that the rains will improve the next harvest and, in the medium term, in the modernization of the sector with varieties and productions adapted to change. climate.

How do prices affect the decline in consumption?

According to official data, in 2022 there were price increases in olive oil that caused demand to drop by 8%. Between January and April 2023, the decrease in consumption is already 20%. Current sales are about 340,000 tons compared to more than 550,000 tons in past years.. However, the fall does not seem to be benefiting in the same proportion the increase in the consumption of sunflower or pomace oil, the first alternatives.. According to Professor Manuel Parras, “consumers of olive oil continue to be faithful to this essential product of the Mediterranean diet, but now they use less quantity.”

The OECD warns that poor design of banking and energy taxes can weaken investment and certainty

The response of many governments to rising prices has been to create and adjust taxes to relieve pressure on families and, at the same time, guarantee the financing of public measures.. With this objective, twenty countries, including Spain, have implemented taxes on the extraordinary profits of companies, according to the annual report on tax policy reforms published this Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).. The Paris-based organization recognizes the logic of this fiscal measure, but warns that a poor design can weaken investment and generate uncertainty.

Over the last two years, half of the OECD countries have created new taxes on the extraordinary profits that some companies have generated as a result of the price crisis.. Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are among the countries that have launched this type of initiative.. And, of course, also Spain, which has introduced temporary taxes on banking and energy companies.. The first taxes the interests and commissions of financial entities that invoiced more than 800 million euros in 2019 at 4.8%, while the second is 1.2% and applies to energy companies that invoiced more than 1,000 million. in 2019.

The objective is, as the report states, “to increase income to meet additional fiscal expenses and limit inequalities”. And the OECD maintains that tax aid has played a “central role” in cushioning the impact of prices on families and companies, despite the consequent general increase in tax pressure. After the outbreak of Covid-19, the average tax pressure in the OECD as a whole rose six tenths to reach 34.1% in 2021. Spain registered a figure above the average, reaching 38.4%.

Specifically, the OECD report points out that taxes on corporate profits “in theory” should have “no detrimental effect on investment” if well designed.. However, he recognizes that there are “challenges” in their implementation when it comes to guaranteeing their effectiveness and points out that they can dissuade investment and generate uncertainty, “especially if they are poorly designed.”

Although the Paris-based organization does not specifically assess the characteristics of the taxes created in different countries, it does show the plurality of existing designs. Most focus on energy companies, given that, according to the report, they are the ones that have experienced large increases in profits since the end of 2021 and throughout 2022.. However, the Spanish banking tax is not an exception in Europe. The Czech Republic has also implemented a tax for financial entities, although in its case it taxes 60% of the profits that exceed 120% of the average profits obtained between 2018 and 2021.

In the case of taxes on energy companies, the OECD report broadly outlines three designs. On the one hand, there are countries such as Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden that have chosen to tax income obtained from a certain price limit.. In the case of Austria, the Czech Republic and Sweden, it applies only to electricity companies and the price threshold ranges between 180 and 194 euros per megawatt hour, while in the Netherlands, for example, only natural gas is subject to the tax.

Another option is the one used, among others, in Germany, Austria, France and Italy for fossil fuel producing companies, taxing profits that exceed 120% of the average profits obtained between 2018 and 2021.. The third alternative has been to impose a tax on the total income of the companies, as has happened in Argentina and Colombia.

What all these taxes have in common is their temporary nature.. In fact, some of them have already expired or will do so at the end of 2023. In the case of Spain, the application of taxes on banking and energy companies is expected to be extended until December 2024, although an evaluation will be carried out at the end of the period to decide whether to make them permanent.. In this sense, the OECD precisely warns against the withdrawal of fiscal measures and warns that their indiscriminate use can be counterproductive, which is why, as inflationary pressures subside, it recommends that governments better direct their fiscal efforts toward those they need it more.

This was the spectacular arrest of the prisoner who escaped from a prison using the 'crab maneuver': an operation of 500 police officers

The Brazilian prisoner who escaped from a Pennsylvania (USA) prison at the end of August, Danelo Cavalcante, who had Chester County in suspense, was captured this Wednesday in an operation in which the use of firearms was not necessary. fire.

Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens, of the Pennsylvania State Police, detailed in a press conference that the fugitive was apprehended this Wednesday morning, around 8:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. Spanish time), after being surrounded by police officers, in an operation of more than 500 agents.

The capture of the fugitive began on Tuesday night, after the burglar alarm at a house near Priser Road allowed agents to narrow the search perimeter.. A helicopter detected the presence of a heat source, but due to a storm it could not continue operating.

Cavalcante will be transferred this Wednesday to a prison where he will have to serve the life sentence to which he was sentenced for killing his girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in April 2021 in the house they shared.

In the images offered by the media he could be seen handcuffed, with his hands behind his back before being placed in a police van.

In the images offered by the media he could be seen handcuffed, with his hands behind his back before being placed in a police van.

United States police search for a 34-year-old prisoner who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison. He was serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.. He prepared thoroughly to execute a movie escape: he climbed the prison walls like Spiderman.
Danelo Cavalcante climbs the prison walls as if he were a crab. (ATLAS)

Danelo, 34, escaped on August 31 from the Chester County Prison, in Pocopson Township, using the curious 'crab method' to climb the walls, images that went viral.

Morocco registers a powerful aftershock of magnitude 4.6 that shakes Marrakech and the Atlas area again

A magnitude 4.6 tremor, the first aftershock that exceeds 4.5 since the earthquake on the 8th that left almost 3,000 dead, shook the affected Atlas area at 6:53 local time (5:53 GMT time) and was felt in the city of Marrakech.

Since the earthquake of magnitude between 6.8 and 7 (depending on the organization that measures it) occurred six days ago, there have been many aftershocks in the area and some have been felt, such as one of 3.9 this Wednesday, which in The village of Imi N'Tala led rescue services to ask journalists to leave the area due to the danger of landslides.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor felt this Thursday was of magnitude 4.6 and occurred at a depth of 9.7 kilometers near Ighil, the same village in the Atlas Mountains. which was the epicenter of the deadly earthquake.

This is the most important aftershock recorded by Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) since the deadly earthquake.. In this time, there have been about thirty small earthquakes of more than 3.4 magnitude and the highest so far, 4.3, occurred last Tuesday morning.

Victim balance

The death toll from the September 8 earthquake has risen to around 2,950, as confirmed by the authorities, who point out that more than 5,600 people have been injured.

The Moroccan Ministry of the Interior has specified that to date 2,946 deaths and 5,674 injuries have been confirmed, while pointing out that the most affected province is Al Haouz, where the epicenter was located, where 1,684 fatalities have been recorded.

Behind them are the provinces of Taroudant, with 980 deaths; Chichaua, with 202 deaths; Ouarzazate, with 41 victims; and Marrakech, with 18. On the other hand, eleven deaths have been confirmed in Azilal, five in Agadir, three in Casablanca and one in Yusufia and Essaouira.

Likewise, it has stated that 2,944 total victims, practically all of them, have already been buried, before pointing out that the authorities continue their search and rescue efforts, as well as those aimed at dealing with the repercussions of the earthquake, as reported by the agency. Moroccan state news agency, MAP.

On hunger strike to recognize gender apartheid in Afghanistan

Tamana Paryani, who is on her way to a two-week hunger strike, has seen her health deteriorate. She has been transferred from the place where she was protesting to a hospital. Paryani urges the international community, especially Germany, to recognize the gender apartheid applied by the Taliban against women in Afghanistan.

He believes that Germany should ask the rest of the world to stop providing financial support to the Taliban and, in accordance with the decision of the United Nations Security Council, also to ban travel by officials of the Taliban terrorist group. Among their demands is also the release of political prisoners in Afghanistan.

The world must ensure women's freedom, human rights in Afghanistan and remove existing cruel restrictions, especially on girls' education and women's work.

Tamana Paryani was previously imprisoned and tortured in Afghanistan by the Taliban for forty-five days; Last year she was transferred to Germany after being released from the feared prison, but she still does not stop fighting for the liberation of children and women.. She is not alone in her hunger strike, other women fighters in Germany and other countries support and accompany her.

Several female fighters from Afghanistan have started a hunger strike in Germany, the United States, Norway and Pakistan as a continuation of their political-civilian protests against the Taliban emirate. The policy of ignoring the legitimate demands of the Afghan people not only contradicts the obligations of the mentioned countries with respect to international human rights standards, but is also considered cooperation with the Taliban criminal group.

The Azadi (Liberation) Front of Afghanistan is a strong supporter of the civic-political struggles of Afghan women during the armed struggle against the Taliban emirate. The Afghan Liberation Front believes that the struggle of Afghan women complements the patriotic holy war against the illegitimate Taliban regime, and since the entirety of these struggles aims to guarantee the freedoms contained in international human rights documents, it is appropriate especially countries that support human rights and should provide them with unparalleled support.

The Afghan Liberation Front wants countries and international media to pay immediate attention to the legitimate demands of the strikers. Ignoring the strikers is not only contrary to human values, but also poses a serious challenge to the strikers' right to life and health.. Considering the fundamental importance of the right to life as the main pillar of human rights, ignoring the legitimate demands of the strikers increases the responsibility of countries regarding human rights.

Heda Khomeosh and Mina Rafiq began a hunger strike in front of the Norwegian Parliament on September 7 to recognize the gender apartheid of the Taliban in Afghanistan. These two women's rights activists say they received permission from the Norwegian police to carry out this civil protest.

Sabra Akbari, an Afghan women's rights activist from Islamabad, told Afghanistan International last Thursday that at least 10 Afghan women's rights activists have been on hunger strike in Pakistan for the past few days.. Masooda Kohistani in Barcelona, Spain, also started a hunger strike in support of Tamana and other women in Germany, and a large number of girls and women protested in support with a sit-in in Cologne.

These women demand from the countries of the world that Afghanistan should be recognized as a country where the Taliban terrorist regime practices gender apartheid.

Monta Faby Uno, a member of the Afghan LGBTI collective, has also started a hunger strike in Melmo, Sweden. He, who has been insulted many times for his gender and was forced to leave Afghanistan, is now calling on the international community and the Swedish government to recognize gender apartheid against LGBTI people and women in his country.

These protests have increased due to the Taliban's restrictions on women. As the protesters say, the Taliban have expelled women and girls from all camps and are subject to increasing restrictions.

They deliver in Colombia the body of a person who disappeared 30 years ago in the armed conflict

The Search Unit for Persons Reported as Missing (UBPD) handed over this Wednesday the body of a man who disappeared in the context of the Colombian armed conflict and whom his family had been searching for for 30 years.

With the information that the family provided and thanks to the support of a civil organization, the UBPD developed a humanitarian and extrajudicial investigation that allowed the recovery of a body; and after the genetic analysis of Forensic Medicine, it was established that it corresponds to the person who was wanted.

Antonio, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, joined the ranks of an armed group at a very young age, although in the midst of the intensity of the conflict he never lost contact with his family, he even managed to be the father of two children.

One day in May 1993, they told his grandmother, his mother and his brothers that apparently Antonio, who was 40 years old at the time, had died in a combat with the Army and that his body had been taken to a municipality in the Casanare. They did not receive this information officially but through a merchant they knew.

Due to the deterioration of the cemetery where Antonio's body could be found and the security risks posed by its search and recovery, the family received support in this process from the Norman Pérez Bello Claretian Corporation.

In 2021, hoping that the 2016 Peace Agreement would make it easier to find his father, his son initially went to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and then to the Bogotá office of UBPD.

He presented the search request, provided the data he collected about his father's disappearance and the UBPD began the humanitarian and extrajudicial investigation.. In 2022, relatives and a forensic team from the UBPD traveled to a Casanare cemetery where Antonio's body would be.

delivery of the body

In a symbolic act held this Wednesday, his family received the body after a long search process in which they never gave up.. From the floor of the room where it was held, a large tree-shaped mandala sprouted that could be seen from the roots to the last leaves of the crown.

And scattered, as if they were branches and fruits, were some objects that remembered Antonio and his sister María, who fervently led the search and who died without being able to confirm that the body they had found was that of her brother.

Items of clothing such as the hats that Antonio liked and some yellow rose petals, María's favorite color, are part of the memory and hope.

After the tribute in the hall and after a heartfelt Catholic mass presided over by Jesuit Father Javier Giraldo, who has promoted the search for people reported missing in Colombia, Antonio's body was taken to a cemetery in Bogotá where this time, In a dignified manner, he was buried in an ossuary.

Thus the search for the body ends, but the search for the truth survives.

Foreign bodies, intact and not mummified: the reasons why a ufologist defends having found aliens

Small, fossilized and found near the famous and mysterious Nazca lines. The bodies of two alleged extraterrestrials that were shown this Wednesday at a public hearing before the Congress of Mexico, where Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (FANI) were addressed, were again seen around the world in the afternoon at a conference in which Its discoverer, the ufologist and journalist Jaime Maussan, assured that there is “scientific evidence to study beyond rejection.”

Maussan caused a revolution after appearing in the Mexican Upper House with the two alien bodies. “They are non-human beings, who are not part of our terrestrial evolution and who, after disappearing, have not had a subsequent evolution,” he stated.

Before the surprised gaze of everyone present, the ufologist showed images of scientific analysis in which he assured that one of the specimens contained eggs inside. “These are not beings that were recovered in ships, but rather they are beings that were buried in diatom mines, a fossilized algae with 17 million and phytoplankton that was abundant at that time,” he concluded.

In his presentation in the Mexican Congress, photographs of sightings of extraterrestrial ships were also shown and one of the US military personnel, Ryan Graves, a combat pilot and former director of the Navy, declared that last July he assured that the United States had “biological remains” of aliens.

The state of the bodies

The ufologist, during his two interventions, reiterated at all times that the two supposed mummies have no genetic correlation with anything that exists on Earth.. Of non-human appearance, they were not mummified, but buried. “They are whole, complete bodies that have not been manipulated,” he commented and added that “according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which carried out the carbon-14 analyses, they are around 1,000 years old.”

In the images you can see how, thanks to the apparent state of fossilization, the facial features and body shape can be perfectly distinguished, as well as the disproportionate size of the skull compared to what is usual. For this reason, Maussan asked his country to recognize extraterrestrial life, since, in his opinion, this discovery is sufficient reason to do so and to create a commission of investigation on the subject.

Nazca and the so-called “mummy fraud”

The two mummies were found in Peru, very close to the well-known Nazca lines, enigmatic drawings that cover the desert.. Although the media in Mexico and Peru call the case “the fraud of the Nazca alien mummies” since its alleged discovery.

The bodies have been the subject of a heated debate in Peru. According to the country's press, in August 2020, forensic archaeologist Flavio Estrada, who studied the bodies for the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Peru, gave an extensive conference where he stated that the aliens were, in reality, pre-Hispanic human bodies. to which modifications had been made

Recognize extraterrestrial life

For the ufologist, the new bodies are, however, sufficient evidence to prove that extraterrestrial life exists,” which is why several experts from different countries attended his conference on Wednesday afternoon, including a military pilot who pointed out that in the air “you see these phenomena” (in reference to extraterrestrial ships). “There are things that exist that we don't know what they are and it would be excellent if they were added to the airspace law,” he added.

Other experts focused on people's fear of recognizing alien existence and exposed cases of ship sightings.. “Bodies have to have an anthropological approach. “For science to be encouraged to express itself, to proclaim an anomaly there must be a consensus,” said an Argentine expert.

In short, the journalist wanted to reiterate that the true origin of the mummies is extraterrestrial. “We must have the courage to accept that we are being visited by non-human intelligences that come to Earth from the depths of the universe, we could even travel to other universes,” he said.