International
Spain is optimistic about the future of Guatemala with the Government of Arévalo de León
Spain sees with optimism the future of Guatemala after the arrival of Bernardo Arévalo de León, inaugurated on January 15, due to his government plan and his social projects.
This was stated by the now former ambassador of Spain to Guatemala, José María Laviña, who was at the head of the diplomatic delegation from September 2020 until the end of his mandate this week.
“It has been three and a half intense years,” Laviña recalled in an interview with EFE, referring to his arrival in Guatemala in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Undoubtedly, the passage of Laviña in Guatemala was also marked by the support of Spain and the European Union for the Guatemalan electoral process, at risk for much of 2023 due to the attempts of the Public Ministry (Fiscalía) to reverse the triumph at the polls of Arévalo de León.
According to the Spanish official, the Guatemala he met in 2020, when landing in the country, is not the same as the current one: “Politically, there are indeed differences to the last stage of the Government of (Alejandro) Giammattei, with the attempts made from different institutions and powers to prevent the investiture of Bernardo Arévalo.”
However, in his vision, the new president was able to take office thanks to the effort of the Guatemalans to maintain democracy, and “in the second term,” due to international support.
“I was surprised by the virulence of those attacks, of those judicialization, of politics, that there was the final stage of last year against the president and the political party Semilla,” he added.
Laviña asserted that he had never lived an investiture like the one scheduled for last January 14, where, according to experts, the inauguration of Arévalo de León was at risk and that is why it was delayed until January 15.
“Everyone who has attended the inauguration in Latin America has seen very unique things, but I think that what happened here with those 12 hours of delay, about the scheduled schedules, I think no one expected it,” he said.
In the same sense, Laviña considers that it was “a little sad” what happened by the “image” that Guatemala was providing “live” to the world.
Regarding the new Government, the now former ambassador says that there are “many opportunities” for the country because Arévalo “has a very evident social content in his political program” in search of the “welfare state” for the most disadvantaged.
“The triumph of democracy in Guatemala can and should be an example for many countries that have experienced complicated situations,” he said, with “optimism” about the future of the Central American nation.
The 60-year-old diplomat, born in Oviedo (in northwestern Spain) assured that it has been a “privilege” to occupy the position in Guatemala, a country that has left his mark and where he has been practically “five percent of my life.”
From September 2020 to date, he visited 20 of the 22 departments (provinces) of the country and the “most remote” places in the territory, hand in hand with Spanish cooperation.
“I think Guatemalan gastronomy has a lot of future, based on traditional dishes, and its places are wonderful,” Laviña stressed, always trying to get out of the “bubble” that is Guatemala City, which “does not represent the country.”
Regarding Spain’s relationship with Guatemala, Laviña described it as “very good” both in the past and at present.
In place of Laviña, the Spanish Government appointed the diplomat Clara Girbau, who served as permanent representative of Spain to the European Union as coordinator in charge of the working groups on relations with Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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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U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
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