International
Aznar and Quiroga defend Israel’s “peace” and “surness” in a world congress in Argentina
The former head of the Spanish Government José María Aznar (1996-2004) and the former president of Bolivia Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) defended this Thursday, at the VII World Congress of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, the “peace” and “sus” of Israel in the war it is going on against the Islamist group Hamas in Palestine.
“Israel has to finish the military operation in the Gaza Strip, because a triumph of Hamas and Hezbollah will mark the fate of the Middle East,” Aznar said during his exhibition at the University of the Center for Macroeconomic Studies of Argentina (CEMA) in Buenos Aires, which functions as a laboratory of ideas from the right.
For Aznar, a recognition of the Palestinian State is an “irreality” because Hamas “is out of reality.” “Israel is the only democracy there, they are our allies and we must support them. Anti-Semitism has been reborn in the world,” said the former head of the Spanish government.
After 200 days of war, more than 34,260 people have died in the Gaza Strip and the number of injuries already exceeds 77,000, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health of the enclave, governed by Hamas.
For his part, former president Jorge Quiroga recalled and named by his surnames the six Bolivian citizens who died during the attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in 1994, one of the largest terrorist attacks committed on Argentine soil, which left a total of 85 dead and more than 300 injured.
“We are going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the savage attack on the AMIA. In the discussion it would seem that it is an Argentine issue, since here are Barriga, García, Salazar, Vela Ramos Eugenio and Juan and Zárate Loayza. Six Bolivians died in AMIA,” Quiroga listed.
“That’s why it hurt me to see that (Hugo) Chávez cultivated friendship with (Mahmud) Ahmadinejad, when there is no cultural link except that Venezuela-Iran relationship characterized by a rabid anti-Americanism, which led to Mr. (Ahmad) Vahidi being in my country inaugurating the military school of the Bolivarian alliance in Bolivia. That’s why Israel’s peace and success concern us all,” he concluded.
Iran is seen by Argentina as responsible for the attack and they have issued red circulars to arrest the Minister of the Interior, Vahidi for his participation in the attack.
Finally, he highlighted the figure of the former deputy and former candidate for the presidency of Venezuela, María Corina Machado, to “evict” the authoritarian regime with which Nicolás Maduro governs. “We do not ask the Western world to help us, but to stop helping Maduro’s tyranny,” Quiroga concluded.
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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