Los diputados de la Comisión de Seguridad Alimentaria del Congreso de la República cuestionaron al Gobierno de Guatemala por la demora en responder a la emergencia alimentaria causada por la sequía, mientras las pérdidas de cultivos y el déficit de lluvias anticipan una mayor demanda de asistencia para los hogares rurales.

Durante una citación en el Congreso de la República, los legisladores señalaron que las instituciones conocían las previsiones de escasez de precipitaciones asociadas al fenómeno El Niño y sus posibles efectos sobre la producción agrícola. También advirtieron que los recursos previstos no alcanzarían para asistir a todas las familias afectadas.

El Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (MAGA) registraba hasta ese momento 571.000 familias con cultivos perdidos. La secretaria ejecutiva de la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED), Claudinne Ogaldes, calculó que la cantidad de hogares perjudicados podría ascender a 1,2 millones.

Un presupuesto insuficiente frente a la pérdida de cosechas

Los diputados alertaron que los 500 millones de quetzales asignados para comprar alimentos serían insuficientes, dado que el plan contempla una ración mensual para las familias que perdieron sus cosechas. La cifra de posibles beneficiarios continúa creciendo a medida que se profundizan las consecuencias de la sequía prolongada.

Ogaldes indicó que serían necesarios cerca de 3.000 millones de quetzales para proporcionar raciones durante seis meses a 670.000 familias. Esa proyección podría requerir una ampliación presupuestaria si se confirma el aumento de hogares afectados.

La funcionaria explicó que los ministerios revisan los fondos no ejecutados para destinarlos a la adquisición de más alimentos. “De acuerdo con las instrucciones que se giraron, los ministerios están viendo lo no ejecutado para poder utilizar esos fondos en compra de más alimento”, afirmó ante los legisladores.

Los cuestionamientos también alcanzaron el proyecto de presupuesto de 2027. Según los diputados, la propuesta no incluye recursos específicos para atender la emergencia alimentaria vinculada con El Niño, pese a que los pronósticos oficiales prevén que sus efectos se extiendan hasta mayo del año siguiente.

La titular de la CONRED sostuvo que todavía falta un período móvil para que el fenómeno se consolide y que el Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología (INSIVUMEH) prevé oficializarlo en octubre. La expectativa es de un déficit de precipitaciones durante el resto del período y los primeros meses del año.

“Vamos a tener realmente un déficit de lluvias para el resto del periodo y los primeros meses del año. Las lluvias que estamos viendo en septiembre son convectivas; llueve mucho en muy poco tiempo y no sirven para la cosecha”, expresó Ogaldes ante la sala legislativa.

La CONRED ya dispone de los 500 millones de quetzales para adquirir las raciones, pero todavía no cuenta con un listado definido de las familias que recibirán la ayuda. La institución propuso utilizar los registros de inseguridad alimentaria validados por la Secretaría de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (SESAN).

Los diputados objetaron ese mecanismo porque los registros de la SESAN no identifican necesariamente a agricultores que hayan perdido sus cultivos por la falta de lluvias. La preocupación se concentra en que la asistencia alcance a hogares cuyo sustento dependía directamente de la producción agrícola.

“Los listados de SESAN no necesariamente tienen identificados a los agricultores que perdieron su sustento, el problema es que no hay un listado de familias agricultoras, no existen. Estamos buscando el mejor mecanismo para identificar a estas familias. Todavía no están definidas”, reconoció la secretaria ejecutiva.

Las entregas previstas entre octubre y noviembre

Con los recursos disponibles, la CONRED comprará 671.000 raciones mediante un convenio firmado el 24 de septiembre con el Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA). Cada entrega incluirá unos 45 kg de maíz (100 libras), 13,6 kg de frijol (30 libras) y 4,5 kg de arroz (10 libras).

La asistencia está pensada para distribuirse durante seis meses. Ogaldes explicó que la emergencia impedía realizar una licitación, por lo que se recurrió a un convenio directo con el organismo de Naciones Unidas para asegurar la provisión de alimentos.

El PMA debía entregar los productos en octubre para que la distribución escalonada comenzara en noviembre. Mientras el Congreso examinaba el manejo de los fondos, el Ejecutivo avanzaba con la planificación operativa de las entregas.

El 30 de septiembre, durante la tercera reunión ordinaria del Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (CONASAN), presidida por la vicepresidenta de la República, Karin Herrera, se definió un cronograma inicial. La primera fase contempla 38.141 raciones desde el 6 de octubre.

Una segunda tanda de 82.879 unidades comenzará a distribuirse a partir de noviembre, según los insumos que el PMA prevé aportar entre la segunda y la tercera semana de octubre. Las municipalidades deberán activar sus Centros de Operaciones de Emergencia y trasladar las solicitudes al nivel departamental correspondiente.

Los requerimientos que no puedan resolverse en los departamentos pasarán al Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia Nacional. La ministra de Agricultura, María Fernanda Rivera, sostuvo durante la reunión del CONASAN que la respuesta había sido solicitada con anticipación ante las proyecciones para el cierre del año.

“Esto no es lo que debía estar ahorita respondiendo, sino que es lo que previmos, proyectamos que va a pasar en noviembre, final de noviembre y diciembre”, afirmó Rivera.

El CONASAN también aprobó la actualización del Protocolo Interinstitucional para el Abordaje Municipal de la Desnutrición Aguda. Además, evaluó imponer condiciones al Bono Nutrición para los hogares con menores que padecen ese diagnóstico.

El Plan Operativo Anual de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional 2026 alcanzaba una ejecución de 62,09% al 31 de agosto. Herrera pidió a las instituciones con avances inferiores a los esperados que hicieran más eficiente el gasto.

Durante la misma reunión se informó la compra de 800.000 bolsas de Incaparina y de 27.272 raciones adicionales con fondos por 20 millones de quetzales. El MAGA realizará nuevas mediciones del déficit de lluvias en noviembre, enero y abril para ajustar la asistencia destinada al sector agrícola.

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It’s June 2026 and the summer’s intense heat is slowly creeping across the East Coast. In Florida, a different kind of heat is threatening to burn Republicans — a firestorm of political backlash that could at best force the GOP to spend millions more in the midterms, and at worst cost the party what should be a safely red House seat.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., was one of the first to sound the alarm publicly about embattled Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and the scandals that could have sandbagged his re-election chances. It’s an unusually bold move for a first-term congressman, particularly when all of the House GOP leadership and the White House were still publicly backing Mills.

But Haridopolos’ plan was well-executed — and with the help of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Mills went down as one of only four Republican incumbents to lose a primary in the 2026 midterm cycle. Republican election watchers saw the loss with some relief, privately feeling better about their chances with former journalist Ryan Elijah, who Haridopolos recruited to run, against Democratic former NASA official Bale Dalton.

And Haridopolos was there with Elijah both figuratively and literally. The former local news anchor said he was «right there in the front row» during the primary debate.

REPUBLICANS MOVE TO OUST EMBATTLED FLORIDA GOP LAWMAKER IN BITTER PRIMARY FIGHT

«Not only was he there, he was kind of like the spin room. He did a lot of the media interviews, and that was huge for us,» Elijah told Digital.

TRUMP’S SUPPORT DOESN’T SAVE SCANDAL-PLAGUED LAWMAKER IN PRIMARY

Haridopolos told Digital, «I recognized that Cory Mills was absolutely going to lose a general election against a solid Democrat candidate. And so I went to the leadership and, of course, the president’s team and said, look, we need to find a way for Mills to step aside.»

«Unfortunately, Mr. Mills was not willing to step aside. And so I let the leadership and the president know that I’d be helping someone else in the primary,» he continued. «It was not the easiest thing to do, taking on a colleague. But … this is a team sport and all of us need to work together.»

WATCH: CORY MILLS BLASTS DOJ PROBE AS ‘POLITICAL OP’ AHEAD OF FLORIDA PRIMARY

«Team sport» is an analogy that the Florida Republican has used frequently, and one that he’s used to try and define his tenure in the House.

It’s paid off for him so far, with Haridopolos having forged close relationships with both House GOP leaders and his peers.

«He’s a trusted ally and somebody you can count on. He delivers. You never have to worry about where he’s going to be,» House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who has known Haridopolos for roughly two decades, told Digital.

The two politicos first forged a relationship in their respective state houses. When Haridopolos said he would launch a campaign for Congress, Scalise said he told him, «I want to be your first check … I want to support you.»

And in his short time so far, he’s already been entrusted to lead a House panel. Haridopolos is chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s space subcommittee, a fitting position for someone whose district is home to the Kennedy Space Center despite his junior status.

The Florida freshman said space has long been a passion of his, dating back to his efforts as a state lawmaker to bring the shuttle program back to his backyard.

NASA’S ARTEMIS FOLLOW-UP MISSION ‘RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER’ AFTER SUCCESSFUL LUNAR FLIGHT

«So many people were concerned that we’d go back to the post-Apollo days, which are very detrimental to the economy of Central Florida. And so at that time, Rick Scott was governor … We decided that we needed to not just rely on NASA but start pushing for public-private partnerships,» Haridopolos said.

The U.S. has seen an unprecedented resurgence of success in space in the last two years, partly propelled by the public-private partnerships that Haridopolos is pushing. NASA completed its historic Artemis II mission just this year, sending four astronauts around the moon and back in the first such mission in decades.

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«I’m really confident that in two years we’ll be landing back on the moon,» Haridopolos said.

That’s also due in no small part to the federal government investing in the new space race, after the Trump administration initially proposed a roughly 24% cut to NASA’s budget in May 2025.

Haridopolos, seeing space as another frontier for national security, was alarmed. He told Digital at the time that he would seek a «constructive conversation with the White House» about a higher figure.

«I’m not sure what that number will be in the end, but in my conversations with the president about space, he’s absolutely committed to it,» he said in May 2025.

Eventually, President Donald Trump signed into law a spending bill that included $24.4 billion for NASA — rather than the initial $18.8 billion proposal — and approved an additional $9.9 billion in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told Digital that Haridopolos «understands that so much of America’s future in space runs through Florida and Kennedy Space Center.»

«He is serious about the mission, willing to engage on the hard issues, and always focused on how we can move the ball forward,» Isaacman said.

Before his political career began, Haridopolos was a history professor at what is now Eastern Florida State College. He was born to an American mother and Greek immigrant father, and is currently married to Stephanie Haridopolos — a physician by profession who has spent the last several months as acting surgeon general.

But despite his accomplishments and connections, Haridopolos’ name is not one that has garnered headlines in the way that more bombastic House Republicans have in their public defiance of GOP leaders or criticism of Trump.

That’s because he prefers to settle disputes behind closed doors, a hallmark of politics that has largely been abandoned in an age where attention is seen as political currency.

«When you hear members of Congress saying, like, ‘Oh, I want you to get me on TV,’ it’s usually like, ‘Uh-oh, someone’s about to do something crazy here to get on TV.’ He was like … I’m going to earn my spot on there legitimately by being a good, reliable messenger for the party,» a Republican aide familiar with Haridopolos’ operation told Digital.

The aide said that could pose a challenge in times when television networks were looking for dramatic tales of discord, but that his communication skills still got him a «high volume» of press.

That aide said they also witnessed Haridopolos turn down media interviews that did not fit his schedule, but offer to help fellow House Republicans secure that spot instead.

«He was just finding ways to help out leadership, but also just his fellow members, especially his fellow freshman members,» the aide said.

Haridopolos told Digital of the chaos that’s become a regular facet of Republicans’ majority, «One of my goals is to tell those folks who always stand [in front of cameras] after we finish the session, you know, what we need to do more is spend time in the caucus having these knock-down, drag-outs. Not through the press, but as a family, and come out there unified. I think it’s the best way to solve problems.»

He’s also been known to offer help on the fundraising side — as Scalise put it, «He raises a lot of money.»

The political maneuvering has raised questions for some about where Haridopolos sees his future and what he’s looking to get out of the relationships he is building in a largely transactional world.

«He knows how to work with people and how to advance what he wants,» the Republican aide said. «I could see him in senior leadership … and sooner than people expect.»

Scalise said, «Mike has a bright future, because he’s a natural leader.»

But Haridopolos has insisted that his efforts are all dedicated to the greater good of the Republican Party.

«A lot of people have asked me if I’m going to pursue a leadership position after the elections this year. I’m absolutely not going to pursue one of those leadership positions,» he said. «There’s people who have been in Congress for three, four, or five terms who I think have really put that effort in.»

He named members like fellow freshman Rep. Brian Jack, R-Ga., Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind.

«If I’m focused on the team, I think great things could happen in the future,» Haridopolos said.

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JOHANNESBURG: The U.S. ambassador to South Africa has hit out at the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, telling Fox News Digital, «You’ve got a president of South Africa who refuses to condemn an incitement to kill.» 

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Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III was responding strongly, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, to being summoned this past week to South Africa’s foreign ministry and criticized for ‘undiplomatic conduct.» 

This is the third time the ambassador has received a démarche — a diplomatic rebuke — from Pretoria in the nine months since he arrived here. The ambassador has been slammed by South Africa for relaying President Trump’s condemnation of South African policies and statements. Bozell is a former Fox News contributor and founder of the largest conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center.

TRUMP ADMIN IMPOSES NEW VISA RESTRICTIONS OVER ALLEGED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, LAND SEIZURES IN SOUTH AFRICA

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The Peaceful Boere march from the Castle of Cape Town to Parliament attended by over 300 individuals to pay tribute to murdered farmers on October 25, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. According to media reports, a monument was erected in Paarl in remembrance of those killed on farms. (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

He has repeatedly pushed for issues brought up by President Trump in a testy confrontation in the Oval Office with South Africa’s President Ramaphosa 16 months ago to be addressed. Among other points, these include alleged race-based discrimination, allegations of murder and torture of farmers, plans for uncompensated land seizures and the incitement of violence against minority groups.

The ambassador said three of the five specific ‘asks’ the Trump administration wants have been ignored by South Africa.

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High up the list of ‘asks’ is President Trump’s demand that President Ramaphosa stops people in South Africa from shouting «Kill the Boer! Kill the farmer!» A Boer is a white man, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. It defines it as «a South African of Dutch or Huguenot descent». Ramaphosa has claimed he can’t stop people chanting this slogan because it’s been cleared for use by the country’s supreme court.

Bozell told Fox News Digital, «You’ve got a president of South Africa who refuses to condemn an incitement to kill.»

SOUTH AFRICA’S ILLEGAL MIGRATION BACKLASH MIRRORS POLITICAL BATTLES ACROSS THE WEST

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U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Brent Bozell III (L) poses for a photograph after presenting letters of credence to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on April 8, 2026. (Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images)

He added, «You’ve got a government that has said it’s not going to do any more for the Afrikaner rural community, and it’s got a government that’s saying no, your mining has to go through race-based programs. We’re not going to allow your investments to go the way everyone else has been allowed to go».

«Those were three strikes and you’re out as far as we were concerned,» Bozell said.

«Ask 100% of the world if «kill the farmer!, kill the Boer» isn’t hate speech,» he continued. «If that isn’t hate speech, I don’t know what hate speech is: inciting people to commit murder. So the answer we’ve gotten is, well, the court said it isn’t. To which our response is look, in the United States, the president can disagree with the court and does about every five minutes because that’s what you do in a democracy when you disagree with something.»

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TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN AGAINST CHINA IN AFRICAN RARE EARTH MINERALS RACE

President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, on Wednesday, May 21, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Bozell added, «So, to say, well, you can’t do it because the court said it’s not, you know, that’s poppycock. If President Ramaphosa, if he wants to, he can do it. It’s just as simple as that.»

The ambassador pushed hard on the point, saying «How hard is it to say this chant, where some, where people do it, 50,000 people in the stadium jump up and down, pantomiming guns, shooting people, how hard is it to say, stop it? This is awful that anybody would be inciting people to kill.»

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President Donald Trump shows documents as he meets South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Thursday, May 21, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

South Africa, analysts say, is drawing ever closer to Iran, Russia, China even Cuba. The African National Congress, the ANC, the party which rules the country in the so-called ‘government of national unity’, has hosted the terror group Hamas.

This is very much on the administration’s radar. President Trump met with Bozell in Washington again recently, with the ambassador telling Fox News Digital the president’s thinking «perhaps most of all, he’s concerned about how South Africa has been systematically leaving the non-alignment space and moving closer and closer to our adversaries.»

Referring to South Africa, the ambassador added, «There are people who are living in the glory days of the Soviet Union, and they want to go back to the good old days of communism. Why are they still working with Cuba?»

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on Oct. 22, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Digging deeper, Bozell asked, «Why are they working with Iran and Hamas terror organizations? What’s Russia doing for them? What’s China doing for them? This is bad news when they’re going in that direction. What we’re saying is simply do what you’ve always done. Have a non-aligned with both sides. We’ll live with that.»

US COUNTERS CHINA AS BEIJING’S ‘SHOCK WAVE’ HITS AFRICAN ECONOMIES

The ambassador stressed that the U.S. wants to make dynamic business with South Africa on mining, particularly on critical or rare earth minerals. He stated, «We’re not going to do what the Chinese do. They come in, they take the ore, they take it to China, they benefit [from] it and they make a pile of money. We’re saying to South Africa, we’ll come in, we’ll do the mining, we’ll do it right there in South Africa.»

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He continued,»South Africa gets the money, not the Chinese. We bring in the technology that they could never have. We’ve created hundreds of thousands of jobs. We’re saying we could create more and more and more at a time when they desperately need it, but it will be good for us as well. This is the partnership we want.»

South African shoppers in Pretoria’s Central Business District. (Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Elon Musk and his Starlink satellite internet company are one of many U.S. companies which want to enter South Africa. But in the telecommunications and mining fields, the government insists that 30% of foreign company ownership must be given to black local entrepreneurs.

Bozell says this is problematical for the U.S. «There are literally billions of dollars from American firms and American government investments ready to go into mining, but it’s not going to go there so long as you have these race-based avenues they must go through. In telecom, Elon Musk has said he will put Starlink in 500 schools and pay for it in perpetuity if he’s allowed to go this way. And they said, «No, we want 30% of your company. So yeah, of course it’s hurting.»

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Mined platinum rich rock sits inside a freight wagon in the mine shaft during a media tour of the Sibanye-Stillwater Khuseleka platinum mine, operated by Sibanye Gold Ltd., outside Rustenburg, South Africa on Wednesday, Oct. 16 2019. Sibanye said its on track to resume paying dividends next year, should the company settle a wage dispute with platinum-mine workers without too much disruption.  (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

On Friday, a senior official at South Africa’s Department of International Relations – the country’s foreign ministry – confirmed to Fox News Digital that they demarched Ambassador Bozell for a third time, adding, «This is a record. He was called in to explain his undiplomatic conduct. The issues related to the bilateral relations between the two countries are a subject of ongoing discussions. There is commitment from both sides to resolve the outstanding matters. South Africa values the relationship with the USA. It is a mutually beneficial partnership».

Also, Friday, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «We are not interested in diplomatic maneuvering, procedural delays, or dialogue for dialogue’s sake. The ball is now squarely in the Government of South Africa’s court to outline the relationship it wants with the United States and respond accordingly to President Trump’s executive order.»

Still, Bozell looks to the future of the U.S. – South Africa relationship with guarded optimism. «Look, temperatures can go up, but I want their temperature to go down too. You know, we want this partnership. We want to figure this out. It’s good for South Africa. It’s good for the United States of America. Temperatures need to go down, and we got to figure it out.»

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Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.

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