If he wins, majority winner Petro, 62, would become Colombia’s first leftist leader. In his campaign, he has vowed to transform the country both socially and economically. As a teenager, Petro participated in the M-19 guerilla movement, a leftist urban militia that sought political power in the name of social justice during the 1970s. Since then, he served as mayor of Bogota from 2011 to 2015 and then senator. According to The New York Times, some critics fear Petro’s potential ascent to office, concerned that his policies, such as halting fuel exploration, could ruin the Colombian economy.

His unlikely contender is Rodolfo Hernández, 77. The wealthy businessman was mayor of Bucaramanga from 2016-2019 and has recently gained TikTok fame through videos of himself riding an electric scooter or spending time with his family on election day — some even call him the “king of TikTok.” Hernández in 2016 said he was a follower of Adolf Hitler, but later called this a lapse and explained that he meant Albert Einstein. He has vowed to dismantle corruption even if it means declaring a state of emergency, which could lead to the shutdown of Congress and the suspension of mayors. 

On Sunday evening, following the election results, he tweeted, “The country of politiquería and corruption lost today, those who thought they would eternally be our government lost today, citizenship won today, Colombia won today.”

Although Hernández has spoken out strongly against corruption, the Colombian attorney general’s office is currently investigating him: allegedly, during his time as mayor of Bucaramanga, Hernández intervened in a trash collection tender so that a company his son lobbied for would benefit financially, reported Reuters.

Before this first round, the assumption for the Colombian election was that citizens would choose Federico Gutiérrez over Hernández as their conservative candidate. Gutiérrez, 47, served as mayor of Medellín, the nation’s second largest city, from 2016 to 2019. In his presidential campaign, he promised to address corruption, poverty, and security. Following the first round of the election, Gutiérrez backed Hernández, saying that he will “safeguard democracy.”

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There are many ways to help mourning families and those who were injured during the shooting. Below are only a few suggestions. 

Here’s how you can help from afar:

GoFundMe is currently promoting 25 verified fundraisers for those affected by the shooting — most of which are for children’s families and for funeral expenses. In one of the first fundraisers that was set up, Xavier Lopez’s family asks for both monetary aid and prayers for “him and all the parents coping this tragedy and loss.”Los Verdes, a group of soccer fans and Austin FC supporters, is asking for $250,000 for all the families affected by the shooting. VictimsFirst (a network of families of the deceased and survivors from over two decades of previous mass shootings) has raised over $5 million to directly help the victims’ families. 

March For Our Lives is organizing a series of marches in D.C. and around the country on June 11th. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida started March for Our Lives after experiencing their own mass shooting on February 14th, 2018. Since then, these students have worked to demand lawmakers to take action and reform gun laws across the country. 

Here’s how you can help locally:

South Texas Blood and Tissue is a South Texas-based organization that supplies blood components to more than 100 hospitals. It also supports tissue and umbilical cord blood/birth tissue donations. In the wake of the Uvalde shooting, they sent 25 units of blood to the site of the shooting and local hospitals. They continue to accept donations and urge people to donate blood wherever they can to prepare for tragedies like this one. 

University Health, a national teaching hospital in San Antonio is also asking for blood donations. 

SALSA, The San Antonio Legal Services Association, is calling for local attorney volunteers to assist shooting victims and their families with unmet legal needs. They have set up a calendar where volunteers can sign up to provide counsel during different clinics.

The post Five Ways to Help after the Uvalde, Texas School Shooting appeared first on Latina.

“Mr. Depp Got you that role in Aquaman, didn’t he?”

“No Ms. Vasquez. I got myself that role by auditioning”

With over 2.1M likes on TikTok, this newly famous exchange between Amber Heard and one of Johnny Depp’s attorneys has gone viral in recent weeks. Camille Vasquez, one of nine members that made up Depp’s legal team in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, has risen to fame in the last few weeks following her sharp cross-examinations and persistent objections.

Since the trial’s commencement in mid-April, the 37-year-old lawyer has become the object of many fans’ attention. The hashtag #CamilleVasquez has over 1.3 Billion views on Tik Tok, the Instagram fan account @Camillevasquezofficial amassed over 111K followers following its first post on May 7th, and tweets of support for Ms. Vasquez are constantly inundating the platform. 

Born in San Francisco to parents from Cuba and Colombia, Vasquez is fluent in Spanish. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in communications and political Science. Vasquez then attended Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. 

Before working as an associate at Brown Rudnick LLP, the firm currently representing Depp, Vasquez worked for L.A. based national firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. From 2021 to 2022, Best Lawyers recognized Vasquez as “One to Watch” for her commercial litigation skills. 

Beyond the viral clips of Vasquez asking Heard whether Depp had gotten her the role of Mera in Aquaman, videos of Vasquez ceaselessly objecting to Heard’s attorney and of her other witty lines of questioning are flooding social media. Depp-turned-Camille fans are even selling t-shirts celebrating Vasquez.

In the face of her overnight fame, Vasquez has remained silent. Her Instagram account is private with only 625 followers. In videos of hopeful fans asking her whether she is romantically involved with Depp, Vasquez merely laughs off the comment and keeps walking.

Like the case she was working on, Vasquez’s popularity is controversial. According to the BBC, some have criticized Vasquez for not believing Ms. Heard, while others celebrate her as a champion for male victims of sexual harassment. 

The post TikTok Obsesses Over Johnny Depp’s Latina Lawyer appeared first on Latina.

19 children and two teachers were killed in a classroom before a member of law enforcement was able to shoot and kill the 18-year-old gunman. 

The shooting at Robb Elementary School — where Latinos make up approximately 90% of the student body — is the deadliest since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy in Newton, Connecticut, where a gunman shot and killed 26 people.

Among the victims are eight-year-old Uziyah Garcia and ten-year-old Xavier Lopez. Lopez had received a certificate during the school’s honor roll ceremony only hours before his death. Fourth-grade teachers Eva Mireles (44), and Irma Garcia were also killed. This marked Garcia’s 23rd year of teaching at Robb Elementary. Her husband of 23 years and four children survive her. 

Many individuals are being held in local hospitals. The Uvalde Memorial Hospital received 13 children for treatment––reports CBS. University Hospital in San Antonio is currently looking after a 66-year-old woman and a ten-year-old girl in serious condition as well as a ten-year-old girl and a nine-year-old girl who are both in good condition. 

The assailant, who has now been identified as Salvador Ramos, crashed his car into the school after having shot his grandmother. He then barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom and began to shoot. Ramos’s grandmother is still alive, hospitalized, and in critical condition.  

According to a law-enforcement officer who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press, a nearby Border Patrol officer who heard the commotion at Robb Elementary killed the gunman before backup arrived. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety reported that members of law-enforcement were able to shoot and kill the suspect after forcing their way into the classroom and dodging the shooter’s gunfire.  

Jason Owens, a top regional official with the Border Patrol, also told the AP that some area agents have children at Robb Elementary.

Uvalde, Texas lies about 85 miles west of San Antonio and 75 miles away from the Mexican border. It is home to 16,000 people, 72% of whom are Hispanic. Robb Elementary teaches approximately 570 children in second through fourth grade, and its student mission statement is “Live. Learn. Love. Lead.”

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