International

Evo Morales will participate as a candidate with a new party after losing the leadership of the MAS

The social organizations loyal to former Bolivian president Evo Morales (2006-2019) confirmed on Wednesday that he will run in the national elections in August with a new political party, after losing the leadership of the ruling Movement to Socialism (MAS), and indicated that at the end of March the “relaunch” of a new political option will be made.

The peasant leader Pedro Llanque explained at a press conference that the sectors related to Morales will meet in a congress on March 29, 30 and 31, in the central department of Cochabamba, to “publicize the refoundation of the political instrument.”

This after Morales lost the leadership of almost three decades of the governmental MAS, the party that led him to the presidency, due to a constitutional ruling that ordered the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) to recognize as the new president of the party the leader Grover García, who is close to the Government of Luis Arce.

This constitutional ruling gave for valid the congress of the government party that the “Arcista” or related sectors held at the beginning of May last year.

That congress was held after another one held by the ‘evista’ faction, so called the loyalists to Evo Morales, in October 2023 in the Tropic of Cochabamba (center), the political and union bastion of the former president and in which they proclaimed him as the “sole candidate” of the MAS.

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“We are making the alliance at the national level to see with which acronym we are going to participate, once we have the acronym defined we are going to launch at the national level so that we can start a socialization of all sectors,” said Llanque.

The determination arose in an “emergency” meeting held on Monday that “unanimously” resolved that the “only legal and legitimate candidate for the left-wing political instrument of the popular bloc for Bolivia is brother Evo Morales Ayma.”

Llanque also mentioned that this bloc will bet on forming a political alliance since there is no time to create a new party to replace the MAS, now led by Grover García.

On this day, organizations loyal to Morales reiterated that the former president is qualified to be a candidate again despite the fact that there is a constitutional sentence of December 2023 that establishes that the re-election in Bolivia is for “a single time” is continuous and discontinuous.

This would prevent Morales from being a candidate since he ruled Bolivia on three consecutive occasions (2006-2009, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019).

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For their part, the sectors that respond to President Arce announced for March 21 and 22 the holding of a congress of the official MAS, in El Alto, neighboring city of La Paz, which aims to reform the statutes of the party to give way to the “renewal” of it.

Some leaders said that in that meeting the lines will be set to choose the candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of Bolivia for the MAS, to later in a “cabildo” or assembly announce the binomial that will be presented in the presidential elections that will take place in August.

One possibility is that President Luis Arce will compete for his re-election and be the MAS candidate, although so far the president has not confirmed it.

The differences over the control of the MAS and the presidential candidacy for this year’s elections have distanced President Arce from former President Morales, a situation that divides the ruling party in the midst of an economic crisis in Bolivia due to lack of dollars.

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International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”