International
Chavismo proclaims Nicolás Maduro as a presidential candidate for a third term
The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) proclaimed this Saturday President Nicolás Maduro as its candidate for the elections of next July 28, in which he will seek his third term in power, which he arrived in 2013.
The first vice president of the PSUV, Diosdado Cabello, considered the number two of Chavismo, delivered the banner of the formation to Maduro, after the speeches of six supporters that resulted in praise for the president.
“Despite all the adversities, (Maduro) has managed to maintain peace in this country, doing politics, defeating the oligarchy, not once but many times,” said Cabello, who recalled that a total of 4,240,032 PSUV militants supported, in previous assemblies, that the head of state seek a second consecutive re-election.
The thousands of supporters who gathered in the Polyhedro of Caracas, the largest covered capacity in the country, responded in the affirmative when asked if they approved to nominate Maduro “as a candidate of the PSUV and the Bolivarian revolution” for the July elections.
After that, Cabello said that the president had been ratified by acclamation as the presidential candidate, so they will register him as such before the National Electoral Council (CNE), which opened a period, between March 21 and 25, to present these candidacies.
When he took the microphone, after flying the PSUV flag, Maduro thanked the support and promised to fight to win the elections.
“There is only one destination: the popular victory. Whatever they do, what they say, they have never been able and will never be able to with us,” he said.
The head of state – who won his first re-election in 2018 with 6.2 million votes, in elections questioned by the international community – will compete, now at the age of 61, without it being clear who his opponents will be.
On the part of the majority opposition, former deputy María Corina Machado, who won a primary last October, expects to compete despite being disqualified from holding public positions, by opinion of the Office of the Comptroller General, which will prevent her from registering her candidacy with the CNE.
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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Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
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