International
Bolivia’s ruling party meets to choose candidates without the participation of Evo Morales
Thousands of followers of the ruling Movement to Socialism (MAS) met this Friday to define the election of the presidential binomial for the August 17 elections in Bolivia, without the former historical leader, former President Evo Morales (2006-2019), who after losing leadership will present his candidacy for the first time with another political group.
The president of the MAS, Grover García, said in his speech that this congress is to “seek the unity” of the popular bloc and establish an “organic” way to elect the departmental and national leaders of the ruling party.
García pointed out that the election of representatives and candidates will not be done “by finger” or with “imposition” as, he said, happened in the time of Evo Morales, whom he indicated to be the one who defined the MAS candidacies.
The meeting is held in the city of El Alto, neighboring La Paz, with delegations from organizations related to the Government and with the presence of President Luis Arce and Vice President David Choquehuanca.
On Thursday, Morales and his supporters announced that they will step away from the MAS and run for election with a new party, the Front for Victory (FPV), which means a distance between the “evista” bloc, as those loyal to the former president with the faction that supports Arce, known as ‘arcistas’.
In this regard, García said that “those who go to other parties” are the “true traitors” and that this will become clear at the conclusion of the official meeting.
Although President Arce has not confirmed that he will go to re-election, he is emerging as the main option of the MAS to the Presidency, since some sectors began to propose his name in the recent public events and delivery of public works to which the Head of State has attended.
For his part, Arce warned the crowd that attended the event that in the next elections they will face “two visions of the country”, among which the MAS promotes, oriented to deepen the Plurinational State, the plural economy and industrialization, with the opposition that seeks to return to the “old Republic”, privatization and economic dependence.
“Our political instrument has the challenge of facing these new elections with all the arsenal we have (…) and with the unity of our social organizations,” said the president.
Luis Arce has increased his travels throughout the country this year, an average of two daily since January, for the delivery of works and to offer speeches about his Administration.
While Morales does not leave the Tropic of Cochabamba (center), his main political and union stronghold, since October 2024, where he is surrounded by his followers who protect him against an arrest warrant.
The former governor was declared in “rebellion” for not appearing twice before a court to answer for an accusation of aggravated human trafficking, for allegedly maintaining a relationship with a minor with whom he had a child in 2016, when he was president of Bolivia.
In November, the former president ceased to be head of the MAS after the Judicial and Electoral bodies validated a congress held in May 2024 by the ‘arcista’ wing that elected leader Grover García as the new leader of the government party.
Morales insists that he is qualified to be a candidate despite a constitutional ruling that establishes that re-election in Bolivia is for “a single time” continuously or discontinuously, which would prevent him from participating, since he ruled the country for three consecutive periods (2006-2009, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019).
The division in the ruling party in Bolivia began to be noticed since the political crisis of 2019, when Morales resigned the presidency of the country alleging an alleged “coup d’état” and then took refuge in Argentina.
Arce and Morales have been distanced since the end of 2021 due to differences in the administration of the Executive and the election of the MAS presidential candidate.
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
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