International
Colombia will not send an observation mission for the presidential elections in Venezuela
The Colombian Government will not send an electoral observation mission to the presidential elections of Venezuela on July 28, as it does not have enough time to structure it, the Foreign Minister of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo, reported on Thursday.
“We obviously intended to be able to send some technical observers. We had conversations with the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) to do so; however, due to the time, it was not possible to structure an observation with the technical characteristics required by the MOE,” Murillo explained to journalists.
Venezuelans are called to elect president in the elections to be held on July 28, for which they must be registered in the Electoral Registry.
Foreign Minister Murillo explained that “some Colombian personalities will be in that observation (…) in this we want to keep a lot of prudence, zero protagonism and also be able to contribute to what is within our reach on the part of the Government, the authorities and the Venezuelan people.”
He also said that the Colombian Government wants “this process to go well for the benefit of Venezuelans and also for the region where Colombia has a brotherhood with Venezuela and a closeness that is important to maintain it in good health.”
Regarding the elections in Venezuela, Murillo indicated that he has been talking with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil, as well as with other countries in the region.
“We had talks with Foreign Minister Mauro Viera of Brazil yesterday (Wednesday) on the subject, also with Minister (Josep) Borrell” of the European Union (EU), he said.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela annulled last Tuesday the invitation to the EU to send an observation mission for the presidential elections due to the ratification of sanctions by the community bloc to members of the Government and the ruling party.
The presidential race in Venezuela has accelerated, less than two months before the elections, with Chavismo and opposition in the streets, making a proselytizing that does not stop, despite the changing reality that is conditioning the political environment and the confidence of the electorate.
President Nicolás Maduro and former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia are the clear contenders of this battle, in which eight other candidates compete who do not stand out in the voting intentions collected by the pollsters.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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