International
NATO summit highlights the discomfort with Orbán due to its proximity to Russia and China
Different NATO countries expressed on Thursday their discomfort over the recent trips of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, to Moscow and Beijing coinciding with the beginning of his country’s presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).
During the allied summit that concludes today in Washington, Orbán has been seen on different occasions isolated from the informal conversations between the leaders, or also during his participation in the gala dinner offered on Wednesday night at the White House by US President Joe Biden.
When asked about the possibility of Orbán traveling to Florida to meet with the Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that what he does should do as a Hungarian Prime Minister and not as a representative of the Council of the EU.
“It has to be clear that what Mr. Orbán does he does as Hungarian Prime Minister and not on behalf of the Council of the EU,” Scholz said when asked about it by a German journalist upon his arrival at the NATO summit.
In past days, Scholz had expressed himself in similar terms regarding Orbán’s trips to Beijing and Moscow.
The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, denied that there is division in the Atlantic Alliance over Ukraine and assured that Orbán is “in a frank minority.”
“But I fundamentally disagree with your approach and I will say it out loud. I don’t think it makes sense to have conversations with authoritarian regimes that violate international law,” he said.
He stressed that NATO is an alliance of values that believes in international law, fundamental rights, human rights, territorial integrity and the independence of States.
“We also believe in the prerogative of sovereign states to make their own political decisions in foreign affairs and security. What Russia is doing is promoting an imperial war. And Viktor Orbán does not have any mandate from the Alliance or the European Union to carry out any type of negotiation,” he said.
In Stubb’s opinion, Orbán can perform that task “on his own,” although he assured that he did not understand what purpose it would have.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who also participates in the allied summit as a guest, made it clear that the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU “does not represent the EU externally.”
He stressed that the rotating presidencies have to play a role of “honest intermediary to defend European unity and help us build compromises.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Affairs, Josep Borrell, said today in an interview with EFE in Washington that “there is a deep unease in the European Union about this behavior” of the Hungarian president.
A few days after assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council on July 1, Orbán, the member of the community club closest to the Kremlin, has visited Kiev, Moscow, Beijing and Washington in what he has described as a “peace mission” for the war in Ukraine.
These visits have generated, according to Borrell, “a regrettable confusion,” since Orbán has tried to give his trips an official air using, for example, the logo of his country as president of the Council of the EU on his trips to China and Russia, despite the fact that the community bloc has insisted that it has no competence or authority to negotiate on his behalf.
Faced with this situation, Borrell expressed his wish that the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven address this issue in the next Council, scheduled for July 22.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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