International
Presidents of Venezuela and Guyana to address face-to-face Esequibo issue
December 11 |
Under the efforts of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Guyana, Irfaan Alí, will meet next Thursday, December 14, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In a letter, signed by the president pro tempore of Celac and prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, the leaders were urged to “the urgent need to de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue, face to face, between the presidents of Guyana and Venezuela”.
For this purpose, the aforementioned meeting, sponsored by Celac and Caricom, whose current president is the Commonwealth of Dominica, was scheduled to be held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
At the request of both dignitaries, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will also be present at this meeting.
Regarding the position of the heads of state, the letter states that “Both have agreed with this assessment in the search for peaceful coexistence, the application and respect for international law and the avoidance of the use or threat of force”.
“Both are publicly on record of their commitment to the Caribbean as a zone of peace and the maintenance of international law.”
The letter also proposes that the presidents suggest the modality of the dialogue and interlocutor, stating that both Gonsalves and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, president of Caricom, are willing to provide constructive support for this meeting.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, thanked Celac and Caricom for the efforts made to promote the dialogue between Venezuela and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the first fruit of which will be the high level meeting to be held between Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali.
In a message disseminated through his account on the social network X, Foreign Minister Gil thanked the diplomatic good offices.
“Venezuela appreciates the efforts on the part of Celac and Caricom to promote direct high-level dialogue with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana through the presidential meeting to be held next December 14.”
“The Government of President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan people are fully certain that the territorial dispute will only be resolved through dialogue, mutual respect and the commitment to preserve the region as a zone of peace and free of interference,” Gil wrote on the social network.
The meeting on Thursday, December 14 was announced on Saturday by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, through a letter addressed to Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali.
Previously, President Nicolás Maduro activated to the maximum the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace to defend Venezuela’s historical rights in the dispute over the territory of Guayana Esequiba.
This was ratified through a message on the social network X addressed to the people of Venezuela: “Happy Saturday with the Venezuelan Family! I am activating to the maximum the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace, always in defense of the historical rights of Venezuela. Once again we will defeat lies, provocations and threats against our people. Our Homeland will win!”.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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.
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