International
López Obrador asks in a letter to Joe Biden to stop the “interference attitude” of the United States.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, revealed on Monday the content of the letter he sent on Friday to his American counterpart, Joe Biden, in which he asked to stop the “clearly intervening attitude” of the United States Government when financing Mexican civil organizations.
“I hope I can do something to stop this grievance that violates our constitutional principle of non-intervention and self-determination of peoples,” the president revealed when reading the letter during his press conference.
In the text, the ruler reminded Biden that he has long denounced “publicly” those from Washington who have had an “interrencist” attitude when financing organizations such as Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), whose main purpose, he argued, has been to attack his Administration.
López Obrador assured that between 2018 and 2023, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated 111 million pesos (5.91 million dollars) to MCCI.
Although he recognized that the amount is “relatively lower,” López Obrador described the procedure as “completely offensive.”
“Even when it is a relatively smaller amount, this procedure is completely offensive and contrary to the relations of respect for our sovereignties that both you and I have been cultivating for the good of our nations,” he stressed.
López Obrador ended the writing by emphasizing his hope that Biden will take measures to stop this “aggravation” and pointed out that, although he values the personal relationship between the two, the issues of freedom and independence of the peoples are paramount.
“I hope you can do something to stop this grievance that violates our constitutional principle of non-intervention and self-determination of the peoples,” he said.
“Excuse me for dealing with this issue directly, believe me, I ear you and I don’t want to bother you at all, but as you will understand, the issues linked to the freedom and independence of peoples go beyond personal feelings,” he concluded.
Last week, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) revealed that the civilian organization MCCI, which has denounced corruption scandals of the current Government, which include officials and children of López Obrador, allegedly receives money from the United States.
According to the agency, revenues for MCCI began to be recorded from 2016, and until 2023 they totaled an amount of just over 502.58 million pesos (26.7 million dollars), while from 2017 to 2023 it received just over 13 million pesos (690,000 dollars) of accounts from the United States.
In 2023, the Usaid of the US Government admitted the financing of more than six million dollars to MCCI, an organization founded by businessman Claudio X. González, an open opponent of the Government of López Obrador.
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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