International
The Parliament of Venezuela approves a law that provides for the regulation of NGOs by judicial means
The National Assembly (AN, Parliament) of Venezuela, controlled by Chavismo, unanimously approved on Tuesday, the Law of Supervision, Regularization, Action and Financing of NGOs and Social Organizations that provides for the judicial dissolution of these groups that violate the provisions established in the regulations.
During the session, the Legislature agreed to include in the text, at the request of the Chavista deputy Diosdado Cabello, that NGOs be prohibited from receiving contributions for the financing of “terrorism” because, he assured, there are organizations that receive funds and then sponsor “guarimbas” (violent protests).
“These NGOs receive funds and we see them financing guarimbas, financing acts of terrorism in the national territory and this would serve to put a stop to that possibility,” the legislator explained.
NGOs, according to the new law, are prohibited from receiving economic contributions destined for political organizations or making economic contributions to such formations, as well as promoting “fascism, intolerance or hatred.”
Likewise, it establishes as grounds for the dissolution of these associations the non-compliance with these prohibitions, declared by judicial decision, as well as the non-payment of any fine imposed “in accordance with this law, once the available judicial remedies have been exhausted.”
The text indicates that the courts of first instance in civil matters will be competent to agree on the “dissolution of a non-profit social organization,” to which “the right to defense and due process must be guaranteed.”
NGOs must, by law, notify “the financing or donations” they receive, in order to “ensure the legality of the funds,” in addition to declaring the “donations received with full identification of the donors, indicating whether they are national or foreign, accidental or permanent.”
On the other hand, according to the text, the Executive is responsible for “following and controlling compliance” with the “duties and prohibitions” established in the new legislation, for which, among other measures, it will implement and evaluate mechanisms that serve these purposes.
The NA resumed the discussion of this law three months after its last debate on it, last May, despite the warnings of numerous NGOs, which warn of a “suppression of civic space and the right of association.”
On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, asked the Government of Venezuela to reject this legislative text, as well as that of a bill to regulate social networks, due to the negative impact they would have on human rights and democracy in general.
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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