In the spotlight: in Canada, the police arrest two leaders of the anti-sanitary measures movement

Canadian police during the evacuation of the Ambassador Bridge, connecting Canada to the United States, after five days of blockage, February 13, 2022. © AP / Nathan Denette

Text by: Christophe Paget Follow

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“ 

Endgame in Ottawa

 ” is the headline of the

National Post

, above the photo of a protester grabbed by the police.

“ 

At the end of the day, the police first grabbed Chris Barber.

Subsequently, they arrested Tamara Lich (…) Other demonstrators were then arrested 

”, details

La Presse

, which specifies that the police plan is much broader: “ 

In the streets of the capital, we erected metal barriers to protect parliamentary buildings (…) A perimeter has also been erected around the city center, over several kilometres, with more than a hundred checkpoints.

 »

“ 

This weekend is going to be very different from the last three 

,” insisted the acting chief of the Ottawa police.

The National Post

columnist

thinks politicians and police may be acting now because they were alarmed “ 

by the counter-protests that started last weekend.

Two angry groups facing each other, that's how tragic accidents happen.

 »

More broadly, the journalist believes that the Canadian people “ 

deserve a reflection on the shocking failures that allowed this situation to occur.

We are not a people used to worrying so much about our internal security.

 »

Debate in the House of Commons 

A reflection, there is one currently being conducted in the House of Commons in Ottawa, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been defending his government's decision to invoke the Emergency Measures Act since Thursday.

This is a first, recalls the

Globe and Mail

, since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. The

National Post

echoes the intervention of the Leader of the Opposition, Candice Bergen, according to which "

 the Trudeau's draconian measures to deal with the protests must be rejected

 ."

In an editorial,

Le Devoir

said that “

 the Emergency Measures Act is a source of concern for Canadians, especially those old enough to remember the War Measures Act in October 1970 

”.

But the newspaper believes that this “ 

turn can be beneficial if the new democratic protections and the transparency measures conferred by the law make it possible to put an end to an authoritarian drift

 ”.

In any case, the debate must continue all weekend until Monday, specifies the

Globe and Mail

.

On the other hand, this Friday, the House is not sitting,

Le Devoir

announced this morning , “ 

due to a police operation expected to take place on Parliament Hill and other locations in downtown Ottawa

 . 

In Colombia, the police interrupt a hearing of the most powerful drug trafficker in the country

Otonial had been arrested at the end of last year.

The Clan del Golfo, which is one of the armed groups that committed the most violations of international humanitarian law last year, along with the dissidence of Farc and the ELN, can be read in

El Tiempo

.

Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias Otoniel, was being heard before the truth commission when,

the newspaper

explains , the police interrupted the hearing.

His explanation: the group of drug traffickers was about to break out its leader, and the exact description of where he was being held had leaked.

In

Vanguardia

, Otoniel's defense asserts that, since the start of the hearings, the attitude of members of the security forces has been " 

hostile

 ".

But

Semana

recalls that the drug trafficker's revelations have so far been " 

explosive

 ": he " 

openly affirmed that during his long criminal career, he acted on several occasions with the support of the security forces

 ".  

In Honduras, vigil for Juan Orlando Hernandez 

The ex-president was arrested on Tuesday, accused of drug trafficking three weeks after the end of his second term, and the United States is asking for his extradition, recalls

La Prensa

.

Yesterday, during the rally which brought together several hundred people in Tegucigalpa, the wife of Juan Orlando Hernandez, Ana Garcia, spoke, saying “ 

her confidence in the fact that divine justice is always the strongest 

”.

Once Noticias

reproduces for its part the testimony of the son, who affirms that from the first days of his first mandate his father " 

started a frontal fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and corruption

 ".

But

El Heraldo

goes back to what it calls " 

the network of drug traffickers and politicians behind Juan Orlando Hernandez

 ": " 

His political career was conducted at full speed, but more than a dozen politicians and drug traffickers have confessed that this is partly thanks to the bribes he received.

 »

Demonstration in Haiti 

“ 

The workers demonstrated for the third time this Wednesday

 ”, is the headline of the 

National

, which continues: “ 

These workers in the textile sector are asking for an increase of

1,500 gourdes and better working conditions.

 According to the demonstrators interviewed by the newspaper, the authorities " 

would show total disregard for their increasingly complicated living conditions, with inflation flirting with the 30% mark

 ".

Alterpresse

recalls that for three years, the State has made no adjustment to the daily minimum wage.

The online news agency interviewed an economist, Enomy Germain, for whom in view of inflation " 

the demands of workers and workers are just

 ", recalling that " 

the labor code provides for minimum wage adjustments

 ".

The Superior Council of Wages indicated that “ 

arrangements are being made

 ”, indicates

Alterpresse

, which also recalls that the competence of the CSS “ 

is not recognized by the workers and workers 

”. 

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