International
Putin closes the electoral campaign with the aim of perpetuating himself in the Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin closed the electoral campaign today with the clear objective of perpetuating another six years in the Kremlin, something more than likely, according to all the polls, while calls for the West not to recognize the results of the presidential elections increase.
“The world must assume once and for all that Putin is not who he appears. He is actually a usurper, a tyrant, a war criminal and a murderer,” said Yulia Naválnaya, widow of the late opposition leader, Alexéi Navalni, in an article published this week in The Washington Post.
The 112 million Russians called to the polls will be able to vote for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday -, an option introduced during the pandemic, which the opposition considers fraudulent, as well as electronic voting, which a third of the electorate will be able to exercise.
Putin addressed the Russians on Thursday on television to come and vote in elections that he described as a “step into the future” and stressed that the soldiers who fight in Ukraine “defending the homeland with courage and heroism and participating in the elections, give an example to all of us.”
Despite the fact that more than half of Russians advocate opening peace negotiations with Ukraine and the successes on the Ukrainian battlefield come with a eye-t-eater, Putin has a voting intention of more than 80%.
The presidential administration had informed the press that it was looking for a historic victory to support the Kremlin’s militaristic course and everything indicates that it will achieve it, since Putin had never won elections by more than 77% of the votes.
The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) only registered three candidates, none of them really opposition: the communist Nikolai Kharitonov and the candidate of the New People, Vladislav Davankov, who have a 6% voting intention, and the ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutski, who is listed as third in discord with 5%.
By reforming the clauses of the Constitution that prevented him from remaining in the Kremlin, Putin will be able to run for re-election again in 2030, by the time he will be 77 years old.
The president of the CEC, Ela Pamfílova, said today that “for the first time” the elections are held in “such a toxic international atmosphere” and accused Western countries of “an unprecedented cynical violation” of the right to vote of Russians residing abroad.
“This is not simply a president’s election, the destiny of Russia is at stake, what to do in the future. By the way, to a large extent (these elections) will determine how the world will develop. The transition from the unfair monopoly to equal relations between countries,” he proclaimed.
Pamfilova, who is accused by the opposition of manipulating the electoral results since she took office in 2016, said that these days the popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the Zaporiya and Kherson regions, will also vote, in reference to the four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia.
Up to 4.5 million residents in the areas occupied by the Russian Army will be able to exercise their right to vote, even if they lack Russian citizenship, many of them have already voted in advance.
The highest moment of the campaign was the death of Navalni in prison – and for which the family and the West hold Putin responsible – but the Kremlin hopes that this factor will not stain his victory.
“I think they killed him. It was a premeditated decision. I think they did it with poison,” Guennadi Gudkov, a former Russian deputy exiled in Bulgaria, told EFE.
Gudkov, who worked in the Federal Security Service (FSB), believes that the authorities decided to take revenge on the opponent for “all the humiliations” to which he subjected them over the years with his allegations of corruption.
“The organizer was Putin,” said Gudkov, who recalled that the initial plan was for Navalni to never leave prison, but they changed their minds after admitting as a “great mistake” the pardon granted to the tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2013.
For all these reasons, Navalnaya, the imprisoned opposition Vladimir Kara-Murzá and Gudkov address Western leaders, parliaments and societies with a single demand: that they do not recognize “totally falsified” elections, whose only objective is to “retain power.”
“The West should not recognize the results. Recognizing Putin as head of state after the elections will be a sign of weakness,” he said.
He assured that “there have never been such criminal elections in Russia,” since they take place when Russian troops violate international law and commit “war crimes” in Ukraine.
“We do not ask that the embassies be closed,” he said, adding that, at least, Western countries “should not recognize the elections as legitimate.”
International
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces have struck three suspected Venezuelan drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean so far, not two as previously reported.
“We took down boats. It was actually three boats, not two, but you only saw two,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a state visit to the United Kingdom.
The president was asked about remarks by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who accused Washington of plotting to invade his country.
“Stop sending members of the Tren de Aragua to the United States. Stop sending drugs to the United States,” Trump responded.
The Republican leader mentioned this third vessel a day after announcing that U.S. forces had struck a speedboat in which, according to him, three “terrorists” were killed. Later, from the Oval Office, he claimed the boat had been carrying cocaine and fentanyl.
The attacks come amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the U.S. military maintains a Caribbean deployment under the banner of counter-narcotics operations.
The Trump administration accuses Maduro of heading the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which the Venezuelan government denies. Washington has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture.
On Monday, Maduro said communications with the U.S. were “broken” in the face of what he called an “aggression” and declared that Venezuela is now “better prepared” in case of an “armed struggle.”
International
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in seven provinces due to what he described as “serious internal unrest,” as road blockades and demonstrations erupted in response to the elimination of the diesel subsidy and growing concerns over insecurity.
The 60-day measure applies to the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Azuay, Bolívar, Cotopaxi, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas.
Since Monday, partial protests have been reported in Pichincha, Carchi, Azuay, and Imbabura. On Tuesday, road blockades extended to northern Pichincha and routes in Carchi, near the Colombian border. In response, the Executive headquarters was temporarily relocated to Cotopaxi and the Vice Presidency to Imbabura.
The presidential decree states that the measure comes amid “strikes that have disrupted public order and provoked acts of violence, endangering the safety of citizens and their rights to free movement, work, and economic activity.”
According to the decree, the goal is to “prevent the radicalization of disruptive actions” in the affected provinces and to limit the impact on the population. It further emphasizes that the situation requires an “exceptional intervention by state institutions to safeguard security, guarantee citizens’ rights, maintain public order, and preserve social peace.”
Social organizations and labor groups, including the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), have strongly rejected the diesel price increase following the subsidy’s elimination.
The decree justifies the two-month duration as necessary “to ensure a strengthened state presence in the affected territories, restore order, and prevent further acts of violence against people, public, and private property.”
International
Colombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders
Seven former rebel leaders, including their last known commander Rodrigo Londoño, alias “Timochenko,” have been handed the maximum penalty established in the 2016 peace agreement.
Under the ruling, they will face mobility restrictions and be required to carry out activities aimed at restoring the dignity of victims, such as helping locate missing persons and participating in landmine clearance in territories where they once operated. These alternative sentences to prison were part of the historic deal signed in 2016 between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) —once the most powerful guerrilla group in Latin America— and then-President Juan Manuel Santos, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) found the ex-commanders guilty of being responsible for the kidnapping of 21,396 people before laying down their arms and transitioning into a political party. “Investigations showed that kidnapping became a systematic practice. These crimes not only broke the law but also left open wounds that persist in families, communities, and the daily life of the country,” a magistrate told reporters in Bogotá, in the absence of the former commanders, who had accepted responsibility for their crimes back in 2022.
It took the tribunal more than seven years to deliver its first ruling, amid criticism from opponents of the peace deal who argue it is too lenient on the rebels. The former commanders still face charges for other crimes against humanity, including the recruitment of minors.
During their decades-long conflict, the FARC held hostage soldiers, police officers, businesspeople, and political leaders, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt. Images of emaciated captives chained in jungle camps shocked the world and became symbols of the conflict.
Trump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
Ecuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International5 days agoJair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss
-
International5 days agoAuthorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation
-
International2 days ago20th Festival Salvadoreñísimo brings together thousands of salvadorans in Houston
-
International3 days ago22-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After 33-Hour Manhunt in Small Western U.S. Town
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador unveils 2025-2029 National Reintegration Plan for returned migrants
-
International14 hours agoEcuador’s Noboa declares State of Emergency in seven provinces amid fuel price protests
-
Sin categoría14 hours agoTrump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
-
International14 hours agoTrump: U.S. has hit three venezuelan narco boats in Caribbean
-
International14 hours agoColombia’s special peace tribunal hands down first sentence against former FARC leaders