International
Maduro denounces an attempted coup d’état before the voices that question his victory
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, denounced on Monday that an attempted coup d’état “of a fascist nature” is underway, in view of the questions of his re-election – announced on Sunday by the electoral body -, rejected by the majority opposition and a good part of the international community.
“An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état, again, of a fascist and counter-revolutionary nature in Venezuela,” Maduro said during the proclamation as re-elected president, at the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Caracas.
Maduro assured that this is “the same movie” and “with a similar script” that lived – he assured – in 2019, in which “the protagonists” are “the same”, on the one hand “the people who want peace” and on the other hand “elites full of a counterrevolutionary, fascist project, tied to the American empire.”
He pointed out that “the first failed steps are being rehearsed to destabilize Venezuela” and to impose “again” a “mantle of aggressions and damage,” a “kind of film (Juan) Guaidó 2.0”, in reference to the period in which the opponent proclaimed himself “president in charge” of the country, a “mandato” – recognized by half a hundred countries – that he could never exercise, lacking institutions and real power.
“I tell the plotters, those involved and those who endorse this operation against Venezuelan democracy that we already know the film and this time there will not be any kind of weakness. This time in Venezuela the Constitution will be respected, the law will be respected and neither hatred, nor fascism, nor lies nor manipulation will be imposed,” he stressed.
According to the president, “the same ultra-right, the same groups led by American imperialism, the same countries” are behind this coup plan.
Maduro celebrated, in his act of proclamation as re-elected president, the “feat” of having defeated fascism in Sunday’s elections, in which, according to data released by the National Electoral Council (CNE), he obtained the victory – with 51.2% of the votes -, a result questioned by several countries.
“Overcoming fascism, demons, demons, is a historical feat and our people have done it, once again our people did it again,” said the Chavista leader after receiving the credential, which will allow him to govern the country until 2031, from the hands of the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso.
Maduro considered that the votes, in which there was a participation of 59%, represented a historic day that concluded with the opinion of the CNE, a result that, he assured, he receives with humility and as a “man of the way.”
“The definitive battle against fascism took place in this land and we beat him,” he insisted.
Even though opponents assure that some audits are missing from the result of the elections, the CNE formally declared Maduro president despite the allegations of the largest anti-Chavista coalition, the Democratic United Platform (PUD), which believes that its standard-bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the elections with a wide margin.
González Urrutia denounced that “all electoral rules” have been violated, due, among other things, to the refusal of the CNE to deliver to the PUD the minutes of totalization of the votes in more than 50% of the electoral centers.
On the other hand, the Government of Venezuela expressed that it has no interest in relating “with a criminal like” the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, whom he called “fascist and corrupt” after he questioned the results of the presidential elections in the Caribbean country, which give as a winner, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), President Nicolás Maduro for a third consecutive term, and that the vast majority of countries in the region also question.
“Fascist and corrupt president, we don’t want to relate to a criminal like you, who only sought Venezuela to try to enrich himself with our oil,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean nation, Yván Gil, in X.
In response to Bukele’s publication on this social network, the chancellor added: “The lies and ridicules that you promote on social networks here will not happen, as your rated criminals will not pass.”
The Salvadoran president, who never showed interest in interacting with the Maduro Executive, said that there was “fraud” in the presidential elections of Venezuela and added that he will not re-establish relations until that country has “real elections.”
For her part, the Minister of the Interior of Chile, Carolina Tohá, said that the decision of the Venezuelan Government to expel Chilean diplomats and six other countries in the region is “shameful” and “incomprehensible” and assured that the measure “leaves in abandonment” the more than 700,000 Venezuelans who live in Chile.
“The decision (of the Venezuelan Government) is worrying for many reasons. It is one more symptom of the delicate situation that is being experienced in that country, especially because it leaves in the abandonment of the more than 700,000 Venezuelans who currently live in Chile,” Tohá said in a public statement from the La Moneda presidential palace.
The Government of Venezuela demanded on Monday from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay “the immediate withdrawal of their representatives in Venezuelan territory,” in rejection of their “interrenistic actions and statements” about this Sunday’s presidential elections and also decided to “withdraw all diplomatic personnel from the missions” in these seven Latin American countries.
Minister Tohá explained that the decision does not imply a total breakdown of diplomatic relations, but “in practice it means that there are no diplomatic delegations in either of the two countries.”
The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, was one of the first leaders to demand transparency in the counting of votes in the elections early Monday morning, a request that was joined by multiple leaders from the region.
The progressive president warned that the results offered by the CNE “are difficult to believe” and that his country will not recognize “any result that is not verifiable.”
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
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