International
President Maduro highlights strengthening of relations with China
September 19 |
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro described his recent tour of China on Monday as historic, intense, extensive and productive, while highlighting the strengthening of relations between the two countries, during the broadcast of the Con Maduro Más program.
The president indicated that during his visit, he and the Venezuelan delegation that accompanied him traveled 24,000 kilometers during seven days.
“We went with a well-established plan. We were there for seven days, fulfilling a plan and attending to the very special invitation to make a state visit to China, which President Xi Jinping made to me”, he said.
The President explained that the visit to the Asian country was constitutionally authorized by the National Assembly, a fact that was used by the right wing based in Miami, United States, to speak ill of the Venezuelan government.
During his program, the President referred to the value of the work team that accompanied him, as well as the twinning agreement between the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the second largest in the world, and the Venezuelan state of La Guaira.
“We went to seal deep friendships for the work of the future”, he said, while expressing the great achievements of this Chinese region.
Likewise, he commented that he decided to create an office of Economic and Commercial Development of Venezuela in Shanghai and to install an office of Development and Relations of the Venezuelan Petroleum Company (PDVSA) in that Chinese region, to work on the projects, together with the Venezuelan Consulate in Shanghai.
“We must prepare to make the relationship a twinning of Shanghai investors in Venezuela, of importers from Shanghai for Carabobo”, he indicated.
President Xi Jinping also expressed his admiration for the heroic struggle of the Venezuelan people and told me: “Venezuela is not alone, it has China by its side”, said the president.
In this sense, the governor of Carabobo, Rafael Lacava, and the president of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Pdvsa), Pedro Tellechea, exchanged on future development projects for Venezuelans together with China.
The Venezuelan leader acknowledged that in the context of the G-77 and China Summit in Havana, the support for the nation and the Cuban Revolution was demonstrated, he also commented on the meetings with counterparts from different nations and heads of different delegations.
In this regard, he highlighted the exchange with the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres, to whom he requested support to demand that the United States lift all actions against Venezuela.
He also met with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Alicia Bárcena, with whom he shared future projects between both Latin American nations, and with the President of Angola, João Lourenço, as well as the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, and the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, with whom he held talks of interest.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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