International
Venezuelan government promotes development of the state of La Guaira
August 24|
The Venezuelan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Europe, Franklin Ramírez, led this Wednesday at the Foreign Ministry headquarters the inter-ministerial meeting in which the tourism potential of the state of La Guaira was evaluated and sectors such as the local Chamber of Construction proposed initiatives to expand it.
Among the proposals collected by the Ministry of Tourism, the investment in infrastructure and services for the attention of foreign tourists and an international cooperation project to twin La Guaira with European cities stand out.
La Guaira plans the construction of works of cultural interest such as the Marine Museum and the new headquarters of the nucleus of the System of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs. On the other hand, it has already inaugurated the Jorge Luis García Carneiro baseball stadium, also known as the Forum of La Guaira, with a capacity of 14,300 spectators.
Additionally, the possibility of exhibiting the tourist and port benefits of La Guaira during the Hamburg Fair, scheduled for September of this year in Germany, was discussed.
The Ministry of Tourism informed that new air connections have been agreed with multiple operators, which will take international tourists directly from Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Poland to La Guaira, Barquisimeto and Margarita.
The Venezuelan Minister of Tourism, Alí Padrón, explained that thanks to the signing of new agreements, Venezuela will increase the number of foreign visitors to the levels it had ten years ago.
La Guaira is a coastal entity, located 30 minutes from the capital, Caracas, and is home to the main international airport and the second largest port in the country, for which reason the initiative contemplates turning it into an entry locality for tourist cruises and international cargo. According to estimates, this proposal would create some 8,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect.
Padrón stated last August 16 that he estimates an increase of more than 50 percent in the entry of international tourists with respect to 2022, when the figure exceeded 656,000 people. He detailed that an average of 2,740 people enter the country daily so far in 2023.
Despite the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union on the Venezuelan economy, the country is making progress in the recovery of its infrastructure and its connectivity with the world.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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