In this press conference, González Urrutía and Machado, in addition to the parties that make up the PUD, signed a document in which they pledged to begin a process of “democratization” of the country in case the elections win.
International
Edmundo González Urrutia, convinced of his “triumph” in the presidential elections of Venezuela
The candidate for the Presidency of Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, Edmundo González Urrutia, said on Thursday, when the electoral campaign closes, that he is convinced of his “triumph” in Sunday’s elections, in which he will compete against President Nicolás Maduro and eight other candidates.
“We are convinced of our triumph (…) all the measures of opinion that we know give us a comfortable and broad victory, and not even that they make some triws until July 27 will be able to reach the gap, the gap that exists between our candidacy and the ruling party candidacy. It is not possible for them to take away that triumph from us,” González Urrutia said at a press conference.
He also expressed his confidence that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) – which will deploy thousands of soldiers for a security and custody operation in the voting centers – “will remain attached” to the Constitution, which defines it as an institution “without political militancy” that is “at the exclusive service of the nation and in no case that of any political person or bias.”
For her part, the anti-chavista leader María Corina Machado, who supports the candidacy of the former ambassador, assured that “the regime (of Nicolás Maduro) has never been as weak as it is today,” since “they lost their entire social base.”
“We are here with open arms and open hearts because, in this transition process, we are all necessary to push this country (for) forward, and because fear was lost, the threat of violence, the threat of persecution no longer works,” he said.
According to Machado, “everyone knows that the next president is Edmundo González,” in whose government,” he said, “there will be no persecution.”
In this sense, he expressed the willingness of this opposition sector to begin “immediately” a negotiation “once Edmundo González’s victory takes place, to advance in a transition process” that, in his opinion, will be “ordered,” but also “complex and delicate.”
“We are confident that the regime itself will understand, Nicolás Maduro himself, that it is in his own interest to facilitate an orderly transition process,” Machado added.
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International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
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