International
Venezuelan President welcomes support from leaders calling for lifting of coercive measures

October 24 |
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, thanked on Monday the support that Latin American and Caribbean leaders gave to the demands for the lifting of the unilateral coercive measures of the United States against his country, at the Palenque Meeting, in Mexico.
During his intervention in the television program Con Maduro Más, the dignitary highlighted that he shared with presidents and prime ministers and heads of delegation of 10 nations that met to dialogue on vital issues for the development of the nations involved.
“We are deeply grateful to the Government of Mexico, to the people of Mexico, for all the attentions, all the affection we have received in this summit of good neighborliness and for the well-being of our America”, he said.
In this sense, the dignitary assured that the Palenque Meeting was impregnated with the history of the ancestral Mayan culture, which invites us to think about the accumulated struggles and the current generations as a result.
“From all the cosmovision of these centuries of struggle, of life, of resistance, we are here. We are the result of those causes, of that life, of a whole grandiose history,” he said.
The Venezuelan president assured that the Palenque Meeting: For a fraternal neighborhood with well-being ratifies that the Venezuelan people are on the right side of history.
Nicolás Maduro refers to the agreements signed with the opposition in Barbados
The head of state specified that with the signing of the agreements with the opposition in Barbados, his government is once again betting on peace, respect and tolerance , following the postulates of the Venezuelan Constitution and laws.
“If it is necessary to sign with the devils for the peace and progress of Venezuela, we sign, in the name of God, the people and our homeland”, he stressed.
The President urged the opposition to enter the lane of respect and tolerance within the framework of the Constitution, and stop conspiring and asking for sanctions against the country.
He assured that the Barbados agreements are expected to have good results, and specified that, on the part of the Government, nothing will be done to damage it.
“This agreement allowed the activation of a set of agreements that have been discussed with the Government of the United States, as it is already known. A Return to the Homeland plan was then activated with two airplanes”, he said.
Maduro detailed that last Wednesday and Monday two planes arrived in Venezuela with nationals from the United States, who were mistreated in prisons of that country as if they were criminals or terrorists.
He denounced the networks of coyotes led by some members of the Venezuelan opposition, who incite people to emigrate to the U.S. and, when they arrive, they are imprisoned in subhuman conditions.
“Do not believe in false tales of the American dream. How many compatriots are enslaved abroad? The first Return to the Homeland flight urgently requested by the U.S. Government was activated”, he said.
He commented that in the context of the dialogues with the opposition in Barbados, the United States announced the beginning of a path that must be permanent and sustained that must lead to the total lifting of the unilateral coercive sanctions on Venezuela.
President Maduro welcomes the approval of the questions of the referendum on the Essequibo
The Venezuelan president also welcomed the questions to be included in the referendum on the Essequibo, after they were unanimously approved this Monday by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Maduro emphasized that in the South American country, major issues of national interest are consulted to the people, and affirmed that Venezuela is the protagonist of true participative democracy.
Previously, in his social network account X, he had called Venezuelans to vote five times yes next December 3.
“We greet with great satisfaction the authorities of the National Electoral Council for the approval of the five questions that will be asked to Venezuelans in the Consultative Referendum in defense of Essequiba Guyana,” he wrote.
Head of State sends solidarity to the Palestinian people
Nicolás Maduro also sent his solidarity to the Palestinian people and called for a halt to Israel’s genocide against the population of Gaza.
Likewise, he insisted on the need to establish a world conference that would allow the establishment of a negotiation to return the rights to peace, territory, independence and a state of their own to the Palestinian people.
“From Venezuela we demand that, and we are going to achieve it with the peoples of the world”, he assured.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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