International

Maduro vows to hold venezuelan elections by second semester, following commitment to Lula

During a meeting in Kingstown, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pledged on Friday to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to call for elections in Venezuela in the second half of the year.

Maduro’s comments on the elections came during a meeting between the two presidents on Friday, on the sidelines of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit, as reported by the Brazilian Presidency.

The date for the elections has not yet been set by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, although the government and the opposition reached an agreement to hold them in the second semester of 2024.

Maduro and Lula Discuss Debt Issues

During their meeting, according to the Brazilian Presidency, the leaders also discussed the multimillion-dollar debt that Venezuela owes to Brazil, as well as the intensification of trade between the two countries.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

After the meeting, Maduro briefly spoke to Brazilian television station Globonews about the meeting being “very good” and focusing on economic issues.

“Strengthening cooperation, meeting businessmen, advancing investment,” said Maduro, speaking in broken Portuguese.

Illegal Mining

Additionally, Maduro and Lula discussed the joint fight against illegal miners in the indigenous territory of the Yanomamis, who live on both sides of the border, according to the Brazilian Presidency.

The meeting between Lula and Maduro comes a day after the Brazilian leader’s official visit to Guyana, a country that maintains diplomatic tensions with Venezuela over the Essequibo region.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

In Guyana, Lula da Silva reiterated his desire to maintain Latin America as a region of peace.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.