International

Venezuela rejects genocide against Palestine and U.S. blockades.

Photo: EFE

October 12 |

Venezuela’s Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, rejected Wednesday in Russia, as part of her tour in that country, the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people and the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States (U.S.) and Western nations against nations with a sovereign vocation.

From Moscow, where he is participating in the sixth international forum Russian Energy Week, Rodriguez reiterated Venezuela’s position to call for a ceasefire against the people of Palestine and advocated for peace.

He stressed that “there have been decades of oppression and humiliation of a people who have the right to development and peace. We must unite in favor of Palestine,” he said.

He said that in Gaza and the West Bank a genocide is taking place before the eyes of the world. He said that the Palestinian resistance to Israel’s hostility “derives from decades of frustration of a people that did not find in multilateral spaces to have their rights respected”.

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He added that there have been decades of oppression, humiliation, assassinations, massacres and Palestinian children imprisoned and caged. “We call for an end to violence,” he demanded, and stressed that Zionism violates the rights of the Palestinian people.

She demanded respect for the United Nations resolutions to resolve the conflict, for the implementation of the two-state solution and for the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Venezuelan Vice President also repudiated the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the White House and satellite countries against nations such as Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Cuba and Nicaragua. She recalled that such measures cause significant hardships to the peoples and considered that, beyond these obstacles, they have served as an incentive for nations to seek alternatives so as not to halt their development.

Referring to the experiences of Venezuela, he said: “We have been summoned to the productive national union. In union we can move forward and overcome difficulties. These are lessons learned from these illegitimate, criminal, western blockades”.

Rodriguez commented that his country is represented in the Russian Energy Week in order to make contributions to contribute to the stability and fruitful development of the world energy market. He said that on Thursday he will speak at the forum and will address energy issues, transitional energy and other aspects related to industrial developments and the implementation of technological advances.

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The Russian Energy Week forum was inaugurated on Wednesday by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, who invited the participating States to guarantee the sustainability of the international energy market with price stability in energy, raw materials, fuel and gas as priorities.

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.