International

The US Supreme Court will address the reduction of spending limits of parties in campaigns

The US Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will address a challenge presented by the Republican Party and supported by the Government of President Donald Trump to reduce the limits that have been imposed for decades on the expenses that political parties can make in a coordinated manner with individual campaigns.

The challenge was filed by the Republican national committees of the two Houses of Congress and two campaigns for the 2022 legislative elections, that of the current vice president, JD Vance, who ran as a senator for Ohio, and former congressman Steve Chabot, who lost the re-election of his seat, also for Ohio, in the House of Representatives.

In turn, the initiative has the support of the Federal Electoral Commission, currently under the direction of the Trump Administration, which has refused to defend the current legislative framework indicated that the restrictions in force violate the first amendment of the Constitution, which affects, among others, religious freedoms, of expression, press or assembly.

This leaves the Democratic National Committee and other related committees as the only advocates of these restrictions.

According to the current law, approved in 1971 and modified over the years by the Supreme Court and Congress, parties can invest money unlimitedly if they do so independently to support a candidate, but instead there are limits to the amounts if those expenses are made in a coordinated manner with the candidate’s campaign.

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The challenge is the latest in a long series of cases that have sought to dynamite the restrictions on campaign financing agreed by Congress almost 55 years ago.

Already in 2010 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of not putting limits on expenses implemented independently by external entities.

The highest US court will attend to the oral arguments and issue a ruling in its next session, which begins in October.

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.

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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.