International

Bolivia rejects “interfering” US statements

March 13 |

Representatives of Bolivian social movements support today on Twitter the public rejection by the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, of the interfering statements made by the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Laura Richardson.

“We do not admit any interference, from any State in the world. Bolivia has a definition regarding the industrialization of natural resources, something we started to do since 2006”, assured Molina in an interview to the state channel Bolivia Tv.

Referring to four-star general Richardson’s statements before U.S. congressmen that “we have ignored our backyard”, Molina was categorical.

“There is no consultation here, neither to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), nor to the World Bank, nor to any northern country to develop our own destiny. Therefore, as a sovereign country, we have decided and we are sovereign to choose and work with the one that brings us the best conditions for the country”, he reaffirmed.

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He considered that the assertions of the military hierarch show little capacity for analysis and at the same time little respect for the countries of the lithium triangle (Argentina, Bolivia and Chile).

The minister added that these expressions denote not only desperation, but also a lack of global vision of what is happening in the world.

Last Wednesday Richardson said that China “expands its influence” in Latin America and the Caribbean and “manipulates” its governments through “predatory investment practices”.

He added that “this region is full of (natural) resources and I am concerned about the malign activity of our adversaries, who are taking advantage of it, pretending they are investing, when in reality (they) are extracting them.”

The representative in the region of the Pentagon high command highlighted that the so-called triangle accumulates 60 percent of the world’s lithium and negotiates with China, Russia and Iran, nations she described as adversaries that “are taking resources from these countries and their people.”

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Internet users from the Comité Impulsor de la Justicia en Bolivia praised the direct criticism expressed in a thread of three tweets by former President Evo Morales to those interfering views. “Latin America is not a colony of the United States,” wrote the former president and leader of the Movement Towards Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples.

Morales repudiated the threats of the general “who repeats his country’s predatory interest in the lithium triangle in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, the water and oxygen of the Amazon and the gold of Venezuela”.

Warning that China is a strategic ally that offers cooperation without conditions, Morales pointed out that “Latin America will never again be the backyard of interventionism”.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.

International

Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.

Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”

International

Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.

The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”

The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”

Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.

The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.