International
Trump elects Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, elected this Thursday the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his conspiracy theories about vaccines, as the new Secretary of Health.
Trump stressed on his social network, Truth Social, that ensuring the health of citizens is the most important position of the Administration and stressed that “for too long Americans have been crushed by the industrial food system and pharmaceutical companies that have been involved in deception and misinformation with regard to public health.”
Elected Robert Kennedy Jr. to guarantee health rights
The future president promised that the Ministry of Health will play an important role in ensuring that the population is protected “from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis” in the country.
Kennedy Jr., in his opinion, will ensure that those agencies return to the mandates of science “to end the epidemic of chronic diseases and make the United States great and healthy again.”
At a rally in New York at the end of the election campaign, Trump had already advanced that if he won on November 5 to the vice president and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, he would allow Kennedy Jr. to “go crazy” with health.
The son of the former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, both murdered in the sixties, is in Trump’s opinion “a fantastic guy” and with good knowledge about pesticides and the environment.
Alternative in the US elections.
Before giving his support to Trump, Kennedy Jr. began his failed presidential career on the Democratic side.
In April of last year he presented himself as the alternative to President, Joe Biden, and announced his aspirations to be the candidate of that party, but in October he pointed out that he was leaving that formation to run as an independent, something that he finally ended up failing.
Much of the Kennedy clan had turned its back on him for the conspiracy theories he began to spread during the pandemic about vaccines and COVID-19, such as that this virus aimed to attack Caucasians and blacks and that the most immune people are the Chinese and the Askenazi Jews.
Kennedy Jr. has also linked mass shootings in schools with antidepressants such as Prozac, has denounced that Democrats receive much more money from pharmaceutical companies than Republicans and is convinced that vaccines cause autism.
Trump had assured him that he would have a position related to Health in his future Executive: “Promise fulfilled,” said this Thursday in X the eldest son of the former president (2017-2021) and New York tycoon, Donald Trump Jr.
His appointment joins the controversial list with which Trump is supporting his second term, which includes as attorney general the far-right legislator Matt Gaetz, accused of sexual trafficking of a minor, the owner of X, Elon Musk, as head of government efficiency or Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth as head of the Pentagon.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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