International
Orbán will meet again with Trump at his Florida residence, after meeting Putin
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, will meet this Thursday with former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) in his private club in Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, after the NATO summit in Washington and just a week after the first met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US media report.
The meeting in Mar-a-Lago, the third they will hold, has not been officially confirmed, but specialized media such as Politico cite unidentified sources that confirm the possible meeting between the two leaders.
Trump has been a strong supporter of Orbán, and the meeting comes after others that the Hungarian leader has held this month, including one with Putin who took many by surprise.
Different NATO countries today expressed their dissagreement about Orbán’s recent trips to Moscow and Beijing, coinciding with the beginning of his country’s presidency in the Council of the European Union, trips in which he has tried to negotiate peace in the war in Ukraine.
During the allied summit that concludes in Washington, Orbán has been seen on different occasions isolated from the informal conversations between the leaders, or also during his participation in the gala dinner offered on Wednesday night at the White House by US President Joe Biden.
At the meeting last March in Mar-a-Lago, both leaders analyzed the mechanisms to restore peace in Europe and end the war in Ukraine, a military conflict that, according to Orbán in the past, would not have erupted if Trump had followed in the White House.
A few days after assuming the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1, Orbán, the member of the community club closest to the Kremlin Government, has visited Kiev, Moscow, Beijing and Washington in what he has described as a “peace mission” for the war in Ukraine.
Orbán and Trump have maintained a good relationship for years and the first time they met was in August 2022, at a Republican golf club in the state of New Jersey.
The Hungarian Prime Minister was the only head of government of the European Union who supported Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, as well as during the trials initiated against the now Republican presidential candidate last year.
The Republican pre-candidate for the presidential elections is an admirer of Orbán, whom he describes as “the toughest politician in Europe.”
In turn, the Hungarian Prime Minister criticizes that the trials against Trump apply a “communist method” while he considers the Republican candidate as the only person who can save the West and humanity in general.
On March 1, Orbán said in a forum in Turkey that Trump’s eventual return to power, after the presidential elections next November, is a necessary condition to end the war in Ukraine.
And he pointed out that former President Trump could also have avoided an escalation in the Gaza war, because “without the United States it is impossible to make peace in the Middle East.”
EFE has tried to confirm the alleged meeting with Orbán’s entourage, but has not obtained a response.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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
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