International
Leaders of the Latin American left warn Maduro on the eve of the elections
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has received on the eve of this Sunday’s elections a series of warnings from prominent Latin American left-wing rulers, such as the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Colombian Gustavo Petro and the Chilean Gabriel Boric, in addition to the Honduran Xiomara Castro, while the Bolivian Luis Arce has been more lukewarm, and the Cuban Miguel Díaz-Canel and the Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega have shown their full support.
Maduro, for his part, described these elections as a decisive moment for Venezuela, in which the choice will be between “war or peace, democracy or fascism.” During his campaign, he emphasized that the future of the country for the next 50 years depends on these elections.
“On July 28, if they do not want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, in a fratricidal civil war produced by the fascists, let’s guarantee the greatest success, the greatest victory in the electoral history of our people,” the Chavista leader proclaimed on July 17 during an electoral event in Caracas.
However, the Venezuelan president received criticism from various sectors of the Latin American left that reflect a shared concern about the direction and policies implemented by his Government.
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, expressed his concern about the statements of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, about the possibility of violence if he loses the presidential elections of July 28, 2024.
Lula considered these statements as dangerous and unacceptable, stressing that “democratic processes require those who lose the elections to accept the results peacefully” and insisted on the need for international observers to guarantee the transparency of the electoral process.
“I was frightened by Maduro’s statements that if he loses the elections there will be a bloodbath,” he said; “who loses the elections takes a bath of votes, not blood,” said Lula, who added that “Maduro has to learn: when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave.”
This position represents a change in Lula’s attitude towards Maduro, since historically he was more cautious in his criticisms.
Meanwhile, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, criticized the disqualification of María Corina Machado as a candidate for the presidency of Venezuela, a measure he described as an “anti-democratic coup.”
Petro expressed his concern about the affectation of political rights, making a parallel with his own experience of disqualification when he was mayor of Bogotá, and warned that administrative sanctions, such as the one applied to Machado, are a violation of political rights and emphasized the importance of protecting these rights in all their fullness, both in Venezuela and in Colombia.
“The right to choose is not only individual. It is from society and today this discussion is very well evident in the events of Venezuela to Mrs. María Corina (Machado) and others previously: they were disqualified from participating in electoral campaigns by administrative authorities,” he said.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, supported Lula’s statements: “You can’t threaten from any point of view with blood baths. What the leaders and the candidates receive are baths of votes and those baths of votes represent popular sovereignty, which must be respected,” he emphasized.
The Boric Administration also expressed concerns about the conditions for free and fair elections in Venezuela. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Alberto van Klaveren, said that the conditions for a free election are currently not met, highlighting the importance of democratic principles and human rights in electoral processes.
In the midst of the international scrutiny of the electoral process and concerns about the deprivation of the right to vote, especially among Venezuelans abroad, Van Klaveren emphasized the need for the international community to facilitate democratic conditions in Venezuela.
For her part, the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, expressed her support for the presidential elections in Venezuela by sending a mission of observers to ensure that the process is “free, fair, independent and transparent.”
In this same line of moderation regarding the situation in Venezuela, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, also showed his support for Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan electoral process, underlining the importance of the self-determination of Latin American peoples and rejecting foreign intervention.
“We support the right of the Venezuelan people to decide their future without external interference. The elections of July 28 are an opportunity to reaffirm their sovereignty and move towards stability.” In addition, he emphasized the need for the elections to take place in an atmosphere of peace and respect.
For his part, Miguel Díaz-Canel, president of Cuba, expressed his full support for Nicolás Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution, underlining the historic friendship and joint struggle between Cuba and Venezuela.
“We feel… that this is also a special occasion to express the full support and invariable solidarity of our people, State and Government to the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution, the civic-military union of its people and the leadership of President Nicolás Maduro,” he proclaimed.
In the same vein, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, gave his support to Nicolás Maduro and criticized foreign interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs, qualifying them as attempts at destabilization.
“Maduro has shown exemplary courage and resistance in the face of external aggressions. The elections of July 28 are a crucial step for Venezuela’s sovereignty and must be respected by the international community.”
International
Uruguay’s Lower House votes to legalize euthanasia amid broad public support
The Uruguayan Lower House voted Wednesday to legalize euthanasia, following the examples of Cuba, Colombia, and Ecuador, marking a significant social shift in a predominantly Catholic region.
The bill to decriminalize assisted death was approved 64-35 in the 99-seat Chamber of Representatives after an emotional night-long debate. The legislation will now move to the Senate, which is expected to pass it into law before the end of the year.
Under the new law, mentally competent adults suffering from terminal or incurable illnesses will be able to request euthanasia.
A key amendment appeared to help convince lawmakers who opposed the original 2022 proposal, requiring that a medical board review a case if the two attending doctors disagree.
Representative Luis Gallo, who opened the debate, recalled patients whose struggles inspired the bill.
“Let us not forget that the request is strictly personal: it respects the patient’s free and individual will, without interference, because it concerns their life, their suffering, and their decision not to continue living,” said Gallo of the center-left governing coalition, Frente Amplio.
Public opinion polls indicate broad support for euthanasia, from President Yamandú Orsi downward. Uruguay has also been a pioneer in legalizing same-sex marriage, abortion, and cannabis use.
International
Trump deploys National Guard as Pentagon plans quick-reaction force for civil disturbances
The Pentagon is considering creating a task force of hundreds of soldiers to be rapidly deployed anywhere in the country in the event of domestic civil unrest, according to The Washington Post, which reviewed Defense Department documents on Tuesday.
The proposed unit, tentatively named the “Rapid Civil Disturbance Response Force,” would consist of 600 soldiers on “constant alert”, capable of responding to incidents within just one hour.
According to the report, the force would be split into two equally sized units: one stationed at a military base in Alabama in the eastern U.S., and the other in Arizona in the west.
Internal documents indicate that if approved, the initiative could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly if troops are kept on 24-hour readiness and transported via military aircraft.
While the National Guard already maintains a rapid response unit, this new military formation would go further, potentially moving soldiers between states whenever necessary.
The plans remain preliminary, with funding potentially starting in fiscal year 2027 at the earliest.
This report emerges just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard for the second time since returning to the White House in January. On Monday, Trump instructed this volunteer force, which supports the Army and Air Force in emergencies, to move to Washington D.C. to combat crime and remove homeless individuals from the streets—a third deployment to the capital.
International
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. administration labeled him as the leader of the “Cartel of the Suns” and authorized the Pentagon to use military force against drug cartels, which could lead to an intervention on Venezuelan soil to combat these criminal groups. Petro stated that any military operation without the approval of Colombia or Venezuela would represent an “aggression.”
Petro responded over the weekend following reports on Friday from U.S. media about President Donald Trump’s order to confront designated global terrorist organizations such as the Cartel of the Suns, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Tren de Aragua, including operations on foreign soil. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $25 million to $50 million.
“I publicly convey my order given as commander of the Colombian armed forces. Colombia and Venezuela are one people, one flag, one history. Any military operation without the approval of the brother countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean. It is fundamentally contradictory to our principle of freedom. ‘Freedom or death,’ Bolívar shouted, and the people revolted,” Petro posted on his social media, clearly expressing his disagreement with potential U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on The World Over program on Friday that controlling these terrorist groups is decisive. He added that, for the U.S., these gangs are no longer just local street gangs but well-organized criminal enterprises spreading from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
“We cannot continue treating these guys as local street gangs. They have weapons like terrorists, in some cases they have armies. They control territories in many cases. These cartels extend from Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, which is not a legitimate government,” Rubio told the audience.
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