International
The US sees “little hope” of free elections in Venezuela, but “there is still time”
The Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States, Brian A. Nichols, acknowledged that “there is not much hope for a free election in Venezuela,” but “there is still time to change route.”
In an interview with EFE, the head of the United States for Latin America stressed that, “fortunately, the elections are not tomorrow, but on July 28” and “international observers are going to be key elements in the process.”
Nichols is in Madrid on an official trip, with the aim of strengthening US relations with Spain, “which are very good” and allows the two countries to “work together in favor of democracy,” he said.
After a conference entitled “USA, Spain and Latin America: Collaborating to fulfill our common commitment,” which he delivered at Casa de América, the president gave an interview to EFE and referred to the Venezuelan presidential elections.
In his opinion, the Government of Nicolás Maduro “has breached the Barbados Agreements and has undermined the possibility of free elections.”
“We are very concerned that he has refused to accept the candidacies of the opposition parties and we are concerned about the arrests that are taking place,” he added, “but we will continue to support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people.”
The Secretary of State recalled that Washington “changed its policy regarding Venezuela” and reduced the sanctions “in the hope that the democratic process would advance and the agreements would be complied with.”
Despite the fact that the opposition candidate María Corina Machado and her substitute Corina Yoris could not register in the elections, Nichols clarified that the margin established to rethink the return of the sanctions ends on April 18 and until then “no decision will be made.”
“Venezuela will have democracy if the candidates elected by the opposition can go to the polls, if there are international observers and if there is equity in access to the media,” he insisted.
Regarding the second point, he said that “Europe can play a key role” and, within Europe, Spain “is always a valuable country, because it has a lot of influence over Venezuela and because it has been a leader within the EU in favor of a transparent and democratic process” in the Caribbean country.
He also described as a “good sign” that prominent leaders of the Latin American left, such as the Colombian Gustavo Petro, have criticized the disqualification of María Corina Machado.
“The future of the Venezuelan people depends on more democracy and more international interconnection, but that the country takes that direction is not in the hands of the United States, but of the Government of Nicolás Maduro,” he concluded.
International
Geert Wilders reaches a provisional agreement to form a government in the Netherlands
The leader of the Dutch extreme right, Geert Wilders, reached a “provisional” agreement on Wednesday to form a government with three other center-right parties, which he will now send to the Dutch Parliament for debate, although they have not yet agreed on behalf of the candidate for prime minister.
As announced by Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), there is already a “provisional” agreement with the other three center-right parties: the liberal VVD, the Christian Democrat NSC and the BBB farmers’ party, although there are still disagreements about pensions and “the discussion about who will lead that government will be resumed at a later date” because they have not yet decided on this point.
Wilders won the general elections on November 22, but had to resign his aspiration to the position of prime minister to unblock the dialogue with the other parties.
International
Diana Boluarte goes to a new interrogation of the Attorney General for the ‘Rolex case’
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, arrived this Wednesday unexpectedly at the headquarters of the Public Ministry to be interrogated by the interim Attorney General, Juan Carlos Villena, as part of the preliminary investigation opened for the crimes of corruption and bribery by the so-called ‘Rolex case’.
Boluarte arrived at the tax headquarters, in the historic center of Lima, at 9:20 a.m. (14.20 GMT) sheltered by a large police security display and entered aboard an official van with dark moons.
As has happened on previous occasions, the ruler is not expected to offer subsequent statements about this interrogation.
International
The filmmaker Rasoulof will go to the Cannes Film Festival after fleeing Iran, according to his lawyer
Iranian filmmaker Mohamad Rasoulof, who fled his country after being sentenced to eight years in prison, will go to the Cannes Film Festival to present his film ‘The seed of the sacred fig’, his lawyer Babak Paknia told EFE.
“He (Rasoulof) will participate in Cannes,” Paknia said on Wednesday.
Rasoulof will present his film ‘The seed of the sacred fig’ at the French festival, which is about a judge who deals with the protests unleashed by the death of the young Iranian Mahsa Amini in 2022 after being arrested for not wearing the Islamic veil well.
Some actors of the film, however, will not be able to attend since the Iranian authorities do not allow them to leave the country, according to Paknia, who also stated that they have opened a new judicial case against the director for the film.
“They have opened a new case for this new film,” said Paknia, who did not explain the charges.
Rasoulof announced two days ago that he had fled his country to Europe after being sentenced to eight years in prison, lashes and the confiscation of property for the crime of “collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the security of the country.”
The filmmaker, winner of the Golden Bear of the Berlinale with ‘The Life of Others’ in 2020, a film that deals with the death penalty in the country, has had numerous problems with the country’s authorities and has been sentenced to prison on three occasions.
He was last arrested in July 2022 for criticizing the repression of protests unleashed by the collapse of a building that caused dozens of deaths two years ago and eight months later he was released.
In recent weeks, Iranian courts have multiplied convictions against artists and academics who are critical of the Islamic Republic.
In one of the most noted cases, a revolutionary court sentenced rapper Tomaj Salehi to death for sedition, propaganda against the system and incitement to riots for supporting the protests unleashed by Amini’s death.
In those protests, young Iranians and women called for the end of the Islamic Republic and only disappeared after a repression that caused 500 deaths and the arrest of at least 22,000 people and in which eight demonstrators were executed, one of them in public.
Geert Wilders reaches a provisional agreement to form a government in the Netherlands
Diana Boluarte goes to a new interrogation of the Attorney General for the ‘Rolex case’
The filmmaker Rasoulof will go to the Cannes Film Festival after fleeing Iran, according to his lawyer
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