International

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump rush the last few hours courting the decisive Latin vote of Pennsylvania

The Democratic candidate for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, visited this Monday two Latin-majority cities in the decisive state of Pennsylvania, in search of the Hispanic vote that can decant tomorrow’s elections.

The same-day visit of Harris in Allentown and Trump in Reading, two neighboring municipalities, comes after the controversy over the racist joke of a comedian at a Republican rally in New York who described Puerto Rico as a “garbage island.”

“The United States is ready for a new beginning and is ready for a new path to follow in which we see our fellow citizens not as an enemy but as a neighbor,” said the vice president during her rally.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris seek the Latin vote

Harris was accompanied by the Puerto Rican-born rapper Fat Joe, who criticized Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and recalled the controversy that the Republican unleashed during his first term when he went to Puerto Rico to throw handkerchiefs at the victims of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“I’m talking to some undecided Puerto Ricans, especially in Pennsylvania. What else do (the Republicans) have to do to show them who they are?” Fat Joe said.

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For his part, after passing through North Carolina, Trump gave an electoral rally in Reading, with a half-full capacity, where he reiterated that if he wins tomorrow he will launch “the largest deportation of criminals in the entire history of the United States.”

The New York tycoon was preceded by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who addressed the public in Spanish. “I didn’t understand a damn word of what I was saying. But it’s great,” Trump said about his partner.

Key state

The 19 electoral votes provided by Pennsylvania, the largest of the seven hinge states, are the jewel in the crown of Tuesday’s elections, in which the polls draw such a tight scenario that making predictions is impossible.

This state of the country’s former industrial belt traditionally voted Democratic until Trump turned it around in 2016 and, four years later, Joe Biden won the Republican by a narrow margin of 80,000 votes.

All eyes are on the Hispanic vote since Pennsylvania has doubled in two decades the Latino population to 620,000 registered to vote. More than half of the population of Allentown and Reading is Latino, mostly Puerto Rican, followed by Dominicans.

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Controversy over joke against Puerto Rico

Although Trump has not apologized for the joke of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at his New York rally, a few days later he visited Allentown and promised: “I will bring the best future to Puerto Ricans and Hispanics.”

The controversy grew even more when Biden responded to the joke by describing Trump’s followers as “trash,” words that the White House qualified and from which Kamala Harris discacated herself.

The Democratic candidate will close her campaign tonight with a big concert in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), accompanied by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Trump will put an end to the campaign from Gran Rapids, in the also decisive state of Michigan.

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.

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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.

International

Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”

International

Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains

Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.

“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”

Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.