International

Javier Milei: “Argentina will not recognize another fraud” in Venezuela

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, announced in the early hours of Monday that his country “will not recognize another fraud” in Venezuela and added that the citizens of that country “chose to end the communist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.”

“The data announce a crushing victory for the opposition and the world waits for it to recognize the defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence and death,” the ultraliberal ruler said in a message published on his social network account X.

“Argentina will not recognize another fraud, and hopes that the Armed Forces (of Venezuela) this time will defend democracy and popular will,” the president posted without the official results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) being known.

Also the Argentine chancellor, Diana Mondino, used that social network to ask the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to “RECOGNIZE THE DEFEAT (sic).”

“The difference in votes against the Chavista dictatorship is overwhelming. They lost in all states by more than 35%. There is no fraud or violence that hides reality,” posted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.

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Mondino and other members of the Milei Executive, such as the Ministers of Defense, Luis Petri, and Security, Patricia Bullrich, went during election day to accompany the Venezuelans residing in Argentina who concentrated around the embassy of that country in Buenos Aires.

Argentina is one of the countries that, according to the Government of Venezuela, would integrate an “intervention operation” of several Latin American countries against their presidential elections.

“Venezuela denounces and warns the world about an intervention operation against the electoral process, our right to free self-determination and the sovereignty of our homeland, on the part of a group of foreign governments and powers,” according to a statement, which also points to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic.

Likewise, the Venezuelan Executive accused former governors Iván Duque and Andrés Pastrana of Colombia, Mauricio Macri, of Argentina; and Óscar Arias, of Costa Rica, as well as US senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, whom he called “far-right hitmen politicians specialized in destabilizing governments in Latin America,” of being part of this alleged operation.

According to Nicolás Maduro’s Administration, “they intend to distort what has been expressed” this Sunday “in peace and with a civic spirit” in the Caribbean country, when millions of Venezuelans went out to vote for one of the ten candidates for the Presidency, including the current head of state, who is looking for a second re-election.

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Venezuela awaits a statement from the National Electoral Council (CNE) on the results of the elections, in which Maduro seeks his re-election and in which the standard-bearer of the main opposition coalition – the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) -, Edmundo González Urrutia, also competed.

Nicolás Maduro said today to his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei: “Cowardly big, you can’t stand me a round!”

“No to the fascist Nazi of Milei!” proclaimed Maduro, to whom the CNE granted 51.2% of the votes compared to 44.2% of the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia.

While Maduro, re-releaded for a third six-year presidential killing, called the Argentine president a “vendepatrias”, the hundreds of Chavista followers who acclaimed the Bolivarian leader shouted “Milei, garbage, you are the dictatorship!”

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International

Mexico and Guatemala Agree on Five-Point Binational Plan for 2027

Mexico and Guatemala agreed Tuesday on a 2027 Binational Plan built around five areas of cooperation, along with a schedule of meetings and initiatives aimed at making progress by the end of 2026 on security, border infrastructure, human mobility, development and technical and social cooperation.

The agreement was announced by the foreign ministers of both countries following a meeting in Mexico City.

Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said the plan will establish the “direction and priorities” of bilateral relations for next year. His Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, said the meeting allowed both governments to make decisions, schedule activities and revitalize bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Security and border infrastructure

In the area of security, the two governments have nearly completed negotiations on a new memorandum of understanding for the Mexico-Guatemala High-Level Security Group (Ganseg), which was reactivated in 2025.

The countries expect to sign the agreement in the coming months to strengthen coordination and their ability to respond to shared security threats.

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Regarding their nearly 1,000-kilometer shared border, Mexico and Guatemala agreed to advance infrastructure improvements at border crossings and continue work on a joint cargo clearance program between Ciudad Hidalgo and Tecún Umán, two border areas separated by the Suchiate River.

The measures are intended to facilitate bilateral trade while making cross-border exchanges safer and more efficient.

The two governments will also continue defining a route toward a railway connection between their countries through Line K of Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), with the aim of strengthening economic and community ties.

Migration and development

On human mobility, Mexico and Guatemala will maintain coordination to ensure safe, orderly and dignified returns, while strengthening protection for people in transit.

The bilateral agenda also includes a second phase of the Sembrando Vida program in Guatemala, which is expected to benefit 10,000 people across 15 departments.

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Both countries will also advance initiatives under Juntos para el Bienestar, as well as six technical, scientific and energy cooperation projects approved by the Joint Commission.

The agreements seek to strengthen bilateral ties and establish concrete priorities for cooperation between Mexico and Guatemala during 2027.

International

France to Expel Two Iranian Diplomats Over Alleged Attack on French Officials

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that France will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to what Paris described as an attack on two French representatives in Iran last month.

“Two French diplomats were scandalously and deliberately assaulted on July 19. I had announced that this intolerable act would have consequences. It has now happened. Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days,” Barrot said in a message posted on X.

The two Iranian diplomats have been declared persona non grata and will be required to leave France within the coming days, according to the French foreign minister.

About a month ago, Barrot said that two members of the French diplomatic staff had been detained by Iranian security forces for several hours. One of them was also subjected to harassment, he said.

The French government described the incident as an “extremely serious act of intimidation” that violated diplomatic immunity.

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The two French embassy staff members were working on programs supporting Iranian civil society, particularly initiatives involving artists and researchers.

Iran has denied France’s allegations regarding the incident. The diplomatic dispute comes amid already strained relations between Paris and Tehran.

International

Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C

36 deaths reported due to heat wave in Nuevo Leon, Mexico

More than 70 million people remained under heat alerts Monday as an intense heat wave continued across the southern United States, particularly Florida and states along the Mexican border, where temperatures and heat indexes could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Several cities recorded or tied temperature records over the weekend and into Monday, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; Laredo, Borger and Austin’s airport in Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.

The NWS warned that the heat wave will continue affecting the southern and southeastern United States, with maximum temperatures expected to remain near 38°C to 40°C for several days. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to estimate how hot conditions feel, could reach 46°C.

The extreme heat is also spreading into the Southwest, where temperatures began rising again between Monday and Tuesday. Forecast highs in the region range from about 38°C to 43°C.

Heat alerts remain in effect across Nevada, Arizona and California, including areas in southern Arizona and California near the Mexican border, as authorities warn of the risks posed by prolonged extreme temperatures.

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The NWS urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centers, and check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members.

The United States is experiencing a summer marked by above-average temperatures and repeated heat waves. One of the most intense episodes occurred during the July 4 weekend, when extreme heat was blamed for roughly 30 deaths.

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States since measurements began, with the average temperature across the contiguous country approaching 25°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The combination of extreme heat and drought conditions has also fueled wildfires. Nearly 3 million hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, making it the largest area affected by wildfires in a decade.