International
United States: “Maduro has deprived the results they announced of credibility”
The U.S. Government said on Monday that the announcement of the results of Sunday’s elections in Venezuela, which were won by President Nicolás Maduro, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), had no credibility and called on local authorities to publish the minutes.
“By declaring a winner without the detailed minutes by district to support it, the representatives of (Nicolás) Maduro have deprived of any credibility the alleged election results they announced,” a senior US official said in a call with journalists.
“We have serious concerns that this result does not reflect the will or votes of the Venezuelan people,” he added.
The US representatives in the call did not want to address the possibility of imposing sanctions or other measures, although they said that they have “a number of options” and that it will depend on “what decisions the CNE takes in the coming days, in relation to the publication of the data.”
The White House announced earlier that it will postpone decision-making on Venezuela, including the possibility of imposing new sanctions, until all the voting minutes of the elections are published.
Joe Biden’s Administration has “serious concerns that the announced results do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said at a telephone press conference.
The spokesman considered that it is “absolutely essential that each vote is counted in a fair and transparent manner, that electoral officials immediately share the information with the opposition and independent observers, and that the electoral authorities publish the complete and detailed minutes of the votes.”
“We will hold on to our pronouncement until that happens. We and the rest of the international community are observing and will respond accordingly,” he said.
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), the Chavista leader obtained 51.20% of the votes (5,150,092 votes), compared to 44.2% of the votes of the majority opposition champion, Edmundo González Urrutia (4,445,978 votes), who denounced an electoral fraud.
The governments of China, Russia and Iran have congratulated the Venezuelan leader on the electoral victory while leaders of Europe and other Western countries have asked for transparency in the count.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on an official visit to Tokyo, was “seriously concerned” about the validity of the announced results and questioned that they reflect the “volunity” of the voters.
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.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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