International
Boluarte calls for “international strength” to respect the vote in Venezuela and decorates González Urrutia
The Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, demanded that multinational organizations and democratic countries generate “international force so that the will of the Venezuelan vote is respected,” after meeting in Lima with the opposition leader of Venezuela Edmundo González Urrutia, to whom she reiterated his recognition as elected president.
“It is time for the countries that we are living in democracy, such as Peru, to be next to Edmundo to give him strength, strength, and tell the elected president of Venezuela that he is not alone,” Boluarte said in the Government Palace.
And he added: “To international organizations such as the (Organization of American States) OAS, (I ask you) to make the international force so that the will of the Venezuelan vote is respected and Edmundo will soon be in Caracas directing the destinies of his homeland.”
Given this situation, he reiterated that the Government of Peru is with González Urrutia “in that struggle, which hopefully and soon” will lead him to be in Venezuela “directing the destinies, in peace, in democracy, of a rule of law.”
The president repeated that she recognizes González Urrutia as the winner of the July 2024 elections “so that the whole world is heard free and the tyrannies tremble.”
He stressed that on July 28, 2024, Venezuelans chose him “democratically to take the reins of their country.”
“We trust that the legitimate will of Venezuelan citizens will prevail, because this is how it is expressed at the polls and because we are facing a legal and legitimate cause,” he stressed.
González Urrutia went to the Government Palace of Lima accompanied by his wife, Mercedes López, as well as the former metropolitan mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma, and was received by Boluarte, the prime minister, Gustavo Adrianzén, and the foreign minister, Elmer Schialer.
Boluarte awarded the highest decoration of the Peruvian State to the opposition leader. The decoration with the order of The Sun of Peru, in the rank of Grand Cross, was held in a ceremony held at the Government Palace of Lima.
The official resolution stated that it was decided to decorate González Urrutia for his defense of democratic values, respect for human rights and the leadership and defense of the fundamental freedoms of the Venezuelan people “who have been recognized internationally.”
He added that, “despite the adverse circumstances in the Venezuelan political context,” González Urrutia has carried out “significant initiatives aimed at restoring constitutional order in his country.”
After receiving the decoration from the hands of Boluarte, the Venezuelan leader assured that it is a recognition that “honors” him and that he values “on behalf of all the Venezuelan people.”
This tour began after he received asylum in Spain last September, considering that he was at risk of detention by the authorities of his country for not accepting the results of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), which proclaimed the victory of Nicolás Maduro without publishing the detailed data, as his own schedule demanded.
For its part, the largest anti-Chavista bloc, Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD), has insisted that González Urrutia was the winner of the elections, something he says he proves with 85.18% of the electoral records that, he says, he gathered through witnesses and table members, documents that Chavismo calls “false”.
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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