International
Venezuela and St. Lucia sign cooperation agreement
October 8 |
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Philip J. Pierre, on an official visit to the South American country, signed on Friday three documents to strengthen strategic relations, which will allow progress in the construction of a new region.
The signing of the documents took place after the president received the Saint Lucian premier at the Miraflores Palace, who has had a busy work agenda since his arrival in Venezuela in the morning.
“I think it is important to explain to our people how we are moving forward in the construction of a new Latin America, a new Caribbean, a new region, based on a fundamental principle: mutual respect, love among peoples, active solidarity, cooperation for mutual benefit, win-win”, said the Venezuelan president.
In this sense, he explained that the documents signed on this day include a Road Map for the Development of Cooperation between both countries, in areas such as education, tourism, fishing, food sovereignty, air transportation, infrastructure, among others.
“In the conversation we had for more than an hour, we have reached great agreements on all these issues”, the Venezuelan President stressed, and assured that a concrete action plan has been established to promote the roadmap that will allow for shared food production in Saint Lucia and Venezuela and to increase trade.
Likewise, an agreement on air services and a Joint Declaration were signed between the Venezuelan president and the premier of Saint Lucia, ratifying the ties of brotherhood and cooperation between the countries they represent.
According to the Venezuelan dignitary, the Air Services Agreement, which will be active as from next November, will allow “opening air operations and connecting Saint Lucia with Venezuela, Venezuela with Saint Lucia”.
In this regard, the Head of State said he was “sure that these flights will be very successful and will increase the exchange of our peoples for tourism and to strengthen relations”.
With respect to the Joint Declaration, President Maduro indicated that with it both governments ratify “the principles of self-determination of the peoples, of Latin America and the Caribbean as a territory of the principles of cooperation, solidarity, brotherhood, mutual benefit, progressive and upward development of relations, the founding principles of our peoples”.
“We have proposed to turn the cooperative relationship of joint work and brotherhood of Saint Lucia and Venezuela into a model to follow for relations with the entire Caribbean and with other peoples, a relationship that is brilliant, that gives concrete results, that raises the quality of life of our people,” the Venezuelan dignitary emphasized.
For his part, the premier of Saint Lucia rejected and described as unjust the coercive and unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States (U.S.) against Venezuela.
“We consider that any sanction applied to a country, due to its political system, is unjust. We also believe that sanctions are very painful for countries, and as we have requested on several occasions, we have demanded that the sanctions applied to the people of Venezuela be lifted,” he said.
Philip J. Pierre assured that both governments will work to strengthen bilateral relations, and underlined his hope that “Venezuela will be liberated so that it can develop its people and, by extension, its friends within the Caribbean Community (Caricom)”.
The premier of Saint Lucia arrived in Caracas (capital of Venezuela) in the morning hours, and was received by Foreign Minister Yván Gil. Throughout the day he has had a busy work agenda, which has included meetings with senior leaders of the Venezuelan Government.
Bilateral relations between Venezuela and Saint Lucia began in 1979, and since then they have shared similar ideals regarding freedom and self-determination of the peoples.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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