International
The FBI director announces that he will resign before Trump takes power
FBI director Christopher Wray announced that he will leave office before the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, takes power on January 20, 2025.
Wray was appointed by Trump in 2017 during his first term and has only seven years of a ten-year term.
However, the president-elect, who has been very critical of the FBI, has already announced that he will appoint Kash Patel as the new director of the organization, so Wray was going to be fired.
Trump, upset with the FBI
Trump is upset, for example, by the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago, his Florida mansion, in search of the classified documents he took from the White House after his first term.
Difficult decision
Wray made the announcement during an event with FBI agents.
“It should be obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: this is not easy for me,” Wray said, referring to his decision to resign.
“In my opinion, this is the best way to prevent the FBI from being dragged further into this dispute,” he added.
“I love this place, I love our mission and I love our people, but my focus is, and has always been, on us and on doing the right thing for the FBI,” Wray said.
Trump celebrates the resignation of the FBI director as “a great day” for the United States.
For his part, Trump celebrated the announcement of Wray’s resignation as “a great day” for the country and urged the Senate to ratify the substitute he has proposed for the position, Kash Patel.
Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 during his first term, confirmed that he will not complete his ten-year term and leave the direction of the FBI before the Republican returns to power on January 20.
“Christopher Wray’s resignation is a great day for the United States,” said Trump, who has been very critical of the FBI since the police force raided his mansion in Mar-a-Lago (Florida) in 2022 in search of the classified documents that the Republican took from the White House.
Trump promised to “restore the rule of law” and said he did not understand “what happened” to Wray, whom he accused of having “illegally” raided his house and of “instrumentalizing” justice against him.
The next president took advantage of his message on the Truth Social network to urge the Senate to ratify the appointment as new director of Kash Patel, a fervent Trumpist very critical of the FBI.
“Kash Patel is the most qualified candidate to lead the FBI in the history of the agency and is committed to helping ensure that law, order and justice return to our country again, and soon,” Trump said.
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.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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