International
Venezuela opposition heavyweight calls for end to interim govt
AFP
One of Venezuela’s opposition heavyweights called Sunday for an end to the country’s interim government that was formed in 2019 to try to oust President Nicolas Maduro, two weeks after a crushing defeat in regional elections.
“The interim government should disappear completely,” said Julio Borges, speaking from exile in Colombia.
He offered his resignation as foreign policy chief under opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself acting president in January 2019 with the support of dozens of other countries, forming a parallel administration.
Borges slammed the record of Guaido’s government, saying, “We must take steps to reform everything that has been called interim government… the interim government has been deformed.”
His call comes just two weeks after Maduro’s forces won a landslide victory, routing the divided opposition, which had parties on the ballot for the first time since 2017.
Borges is due to present his proposals on Tuesday before a commission made up of lawmakers who were part of the National Assembly while it was controlled by the opposition from 2016-2020.
The opposition had boycotted legislative elections in 2020 as well as a presidential vote in 2018 in which Maduro was reelected, which was not recognized by part of the international community.
“We have lost legitimacy, international support, because there have been too many contradictions, there have been too many mistakes, there have been too many scandals and that has made the world put the Venezuelan case on ice,” Borges said.
He urged the opposition to “rebuild and accumulate the strength to regain legitimacy within Venezuela and outside Venezuela,” criticizing as well the opposition’s management, especially of Venezuelan assets abroad by the “party of Guaido.”
Washington has entrusted the management of assets in the United States of the oil-rich South American country to Guaido.
“The subject of assets (outside Venezuela) is a real scandal,” Borges said, calling for “more clarity and transparency.”
Guaido did not immediately react to Borges’ statements.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
International
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
Several U.S. strikes targeted areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to Iranian state media citing local authorities, as hostilities between the United States and Iran intensified.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan Province said the island of Qeshm was struck multiple times by what they described as U.S. missiles during the evening. The reports were carried by the Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim.
Iranian state television also reported that the Bandar Abbas region, located on the Iranian coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of what authorities described as an “enemy U.S. air attack.”
According to local officials quoted by state television, no casualties have been reported following the strikes.
The reported attacks come amid renewed military tensions between Washington and Tehran, although U.S. authorities had not immediately commented on the reported operations.
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
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