International
Maduro ‘100 % defeatable’ says head of Venezuela opposition
January 10 | By AFP | Patrick Fort / Esteban Rojas |
With the end of his symbolic interim government, which Juan Guaido hoped would push President Nicolas Maduro from power, the opposition leader is now proposing primary elections to reunify a fractured opposition, insisting that Maduro is “defeatable”.
“The problem we have today is to reunify the democratic alternative. Once the democratic alternative is reunited, Maduro is 100 percent defeatable,” the 39-year-old said Monday in an interview with AFP in Caracas, ahead of presidential elections slated for 2024.
Guaido, who is the target of numerous judicial processes in his country, hopes the primaries can take place in the first half of this year.
Riven by divisions, the opposition itself has recently eliminated the “interim government” that in January 2019 had been recognized by the United States and fifty other countries due to challenges to Maduro’s re-election a year earlier.
– Are you disappointed with the old allies who withdrew support for the “interim government”? –
“We are focused on what we have demanded from early on: free elections, a presidential election that we have been owed since 2018, and the pending task is to reunify the democratic alternative, which is the majority.”
“More than disappointed, I think that today as Venezuelans we feel disgust, not with our allies, but with everyone’s behavior … More than disappointed in one, two or three people, more than that, I share the feeling of disgust for what is currently happening in Venezuelan politics, which must transcend partisan interests and continue fighting for the common good… I assume my share of responsibility.”
“There is a process of restructuring, of reconstruction (…) and I believe that we also have the opportunity around the corner, which is the primary election (…) We must get ready immediately.”
– How did the progressive loss of international support, together with the shift to the left of several Latin American countries, affect you? –
“Getting close to Maduro is a mistake (…). Yes, certainly an Alberto Fernandez (president of Argentina) getting close to Venezuela clearly weakened the position of the interim government. Much better a country solidly denouncing a dictatorship than relativizing it, the same with the president (Gustavo) Petro (in Colombia), the same with (Andres Manuel) Lopez Obrador (in Mexico)…
“The international community has great weaknesses in holding dictators to account.”
– After all the divisions, can the opposition win the 2024 presidential elections? –
“If there is unity, without a doubt. The problem is not Maduro, or rather, the problem we have today is to reunify the democratic alternative. Once the democratic alternative is reunited, Maduro is 100 percent defeatable (…). Facing the possibility of a free and fair election, Maduro is absolutely weak, defeatable”.
– Is the opposition losing strength in the negotiations that resumed with Maduro delegates last November in Mexico? –
“(Eliminating the interim government) does not put us in a better position (…) but we are ready for an agreement that has to do with electoral conditions to make an election a political solution to the conflict we are experiencing in Venezuela.”
– Will you be a candidate in possible primaries? –
“My candidate is the union. My candidate, then, is the primary and when we have primaries, when we have a schedule, I will make a decision (…). Today all of us (the main opposition leaders) are incapacitated, imprisoned or in exile. So a lot will have to do with how Mexico evolves and how the possibility of a competitive primary and a free, fair and competitive (presidential) election evolves.”
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
International
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
Kash Patel did not provide further details, but police sources told CBS News that the potential attack was “inspired” by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“This morning, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested several individuals in Michigan who were allegedly planning a violent attack during the Halloween weekend,” Patel wrote on X.
“Thanks to swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a possible terrorist act was prevented before it could be carried out,” he added.
CBS reported that five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested on Friday. At least one of them was reportedly acquainted with a former member of the Michigan National Guard, who was arrested in May for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. military facility in the Detroit suburbs.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
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