International
Trump trolls Trudeau again by calling him “governor of the great state of Canada”
The US president-elect, Donald Trump, once again made a chance of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, whom he called this Tuesday in a message on the social network Truth “Governor Justin Trudeau of the great state of Canada.”
Trump has continued to repeat that joke since it became known that at his dinner in Mar-a-Lago, on November 29, the president-elect told him that if the Canadian economy would collapse with the 25% tariffs he proposes to end the Canadian trade surplus, the best thing that could happen is that Canada become the 51st state of the United States.
Trump’s joke to Trudeau doesn’t stop
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the great state of Canada. I am waiting to meet again soon with the governor and thus continue our detailed conversations on Tariffs and Trade, whose results will be spectacular for everyone,” Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth signed with his initials.
According to sources present at the Mar-a-Lago meeting, Trudeau was concerned when he heard Trump’s suggestion to turn Canada into another state if the US trade deficit, which is around 75 billion dollars a year, is not addressed, as requested by the president-elect.
The same sources indicated that when they told Trump that it might not be a good idea to incorporate Canada because it would be a liberal state within the country, the Republican leader suggested dividing it into two: a liberal state and a conservative one.
“We are subsidizing Canada with around 100 billion dollars a year. We are subsidizing Mexico with almost 300 billion dollars. We shouldn’t do it. Why do we do it? If we are going to subsidize them, let’s let them become states,” Trump argued in an interview broadcast on Sunday on NBC News.
Tariffs and immigration
Most of the deficit with Canada is due to imports of hydrocarbons, whose prices have been rising, and which the United States would hardly tax with new tariffs. Trump has promised to encourage national production.
Another issue that has led Trump to threaten his two American neighbors with tariffs is his demand to control and end the flow of undocumented immigrants.
Trump’s trolling comes shortly after Trudeau declared on Monday that the tariffs suggested by the Republican would also harm US consumers and that Canada would impose customs duties on strategically chosen products to politically “impact” the Republicans.
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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