International
Machado thanks seven EU countries for their Venezuelan “commitment to democracy”
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado thanked Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal on Sunday for their “commitment to Venezuelan democracy,” after they signed a joint statement asking the electoral authorities to publish all the voting minutes of last Sunday’s presidential elections.
“On behalf of the Venezuelans, I thank you for this important joint statement from the governments of Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Portugal, reaffirming their commitment to democracy in Venezuela,” Machado wrote on social network X.
The former deputy supported the demand that the minutes” presented by the largest anti-chavist coalition, the Democratic United Platform (PUD), be verified as soon as possible, “at the international and independent level, in view of the fact that “the regime did not do so within the deadlines established by law.”
“Likewise, we appreciate the call for an end to the persecution and repression that in recent hours has been cruelly deployed against innocents who are only demanding that the popular sovereignty they exercised last Sunday be respected,” he added.
Machado insisted on the minutes of the voting witnesses in “more than 80% of the tables and available at resultadosconvzla.com, leave no room for doubt. Edmundo González Urrutia is the elected president of Venezuela,” despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro as the winner.
Chavismo dismisses these documents and does not consider them valid.
On Saturday, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal signed the joint declaration in which they ask “the Venezuelan authorities to publish without delay all the voting minutes in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”
In this initiative, promoted by Italy and France, they expressed “deep concern about the situation in Venezuela after last Sunday’s presidential elections.”
“We call on the Venezuelan authorities to publish all the voting minutes without delay in order to guarantee the full transparency and integrity of the electoral process,” it reads.
On Friday, the CNE offered a second balance of results in which it ratified Maduro’s triumph with 51.95% of the votes, while González Urrutia obtained 43.18% of the support, with the count of 96.87% of the minutes transmitted, which have not yet been published.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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