International
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN believes that Spain “opened a door that others will follow”
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Ryad Mansour, believes that Spain is in the group of “brave countries that opened a door that others will follow,” in reference to the recognition of the State of Palestine, which materializes on Tuesday.
In an interview with EFE at the UN headquarters, Mansour, 77, emphasizes that Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, has exercised “a sovereign right,” and is therefore a decision that “competes with Spain, its institutions and its people,” so he does not understand “the hysterical reaction of Israel.”
Mansour has been at the head of the Palestinian mission at the UN for 19 years and has become famous in recent months for starring in emotional speeches in the General Assembly or the Security Council in which he has been about to cry in the hardest days of the war.
Since last October 7, when the war began in Gaza with the attack in Hamas, he has deployed tireless activity in the corridors of the UN and has managed, for example, to unite the Arab Group of ambassadors and make them appear together regularly before the media, thus overcoming their differences present in almost all other conflicts.
Mansour believes that Israel has an “elitist and racist” attitude when he arrogates the right to tell countries whether or not they should recognize Palestine, or when he describes that recognition as “hostile”, to which he replies: “Is Spain an enemy of Israel because it believes in peace and invests in it? Please, it’s crazy!” he says, emphasizing that Spain has “a long historical relationship with Israel” (it recognized the Hebrew State in 1986) that no one doubts.
And although Israel has despised that recognition of Palestine as insignificant, Mansour questions it: “Don’t you care? Don’t they care about the bilateral relationship, the military assistance, the economic relationship? The hysteria with which they have accepted the decision (of recognition) is eloquent, otherwise why this fury? Why those measures against Spain, against Palestine?” he says, in relation to Israel’s announcement to prohibit the Spanish Consulate from providing services in the West Bank.
For the ambassador, there is no doubt that the decision of recognition has paved the way for others to do soon – he cites Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg or Slovenia – and he says that this “door they have opened” works in two ways: it makes the decision of those already favorable easier and hinders resistance between those who oppose.
He has no doubt that it is a decision with echoes beyond Europe, since it can encourage other countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or Korea. “The brave ones who started by opening that door will help them take the extra step in the right direction,” he says.
Mansour also believes that the admission of Palestine as a full member of the UN – vetoed alone by the United States on April 18 – is a matter of time, and recalls that other countries subject to vetoes, such as Italy itself before 1955, or the two Koreas, ended up accessing the UN through the big door. Palestine is now just an “observer state.”
“Why do we have to be at the mercy of what the occupier (Israel) says?, that violates our right to self-determination,” he explains, alluding to the reasoning that the United States – and others such as the United Kingdom or France – always repeats that a Palestinian State and its entry into the UN is something that must be the result of a negotiated resolution with Israel.
The ambassador is careful to openly criticize the United States for its unwakeable support for Israel, but says that when President Joe Biden talks about the solution of the States, he must specify it: “Are you going to ask for the settlements to stop? Land annexations in East Jerusalem? Are you going to reconsider the transfer of the Embassy? Tell me, what steps are you going to take?”
Regarding whether he prefers a Democratic government or a return of Donald Trump – president who multiplied more of the gestures towards Israel – the ambassador says he does not plan to make comments on national policy, but he recalls one detail: that in the Trump administration, after nine months of relative “honeymoon”, the United States changed its position and “the relationship became very bad.”
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.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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