International
The EU warns of “a serious crisis” in Venezuela if the results are not verified
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has again demanded the publication of Venezuela’s electoral records and has warned that, in case Nicolás Maduro insists on saying that he has won without being able to verify it, this country “may enter a serious crisis.”
“If Maduro insists on saying that he has won and does not want to understand that, for the international community, without verification there is no assumption of results, Venezuela can enter a serious crisis. We are all trying to prevent this from happening,” said Borrell, who appeared before the media on Monday on the occasion of the course ‘Quo Vadis Europa?’ that he directs this week at the Menéndez Pelayo International University in Santander.
The head of European diplomacy sees “clear” that Maduro “refuses to show the minutes.” “I should have done it, it’s had time,” he added.
And he has abounded in the fact that “if there is no verification of the results, the results cannot be accepted.”
“I know that Maduro has dedicated very affectionate words to me, it is not the first time, but I have to insist on the same thing: If the results cannot be verified, they cannot be accepted and, at the moment, they are not verifiable. Well, rather, they are through the information provided by the opposition,” he said, alluding to the fact that the Venezuelan opposition has managed to gather “80% or more” of the minutes and give a result “radically different from the one that Maduro proclaims.”
In addition, Borrell has called the “pin of sarcasm” that Maduro has appealed to the Supreme Court of Venezuela to “defend him.” “I don’t know what he is going to issue as a sentence because his function is not to count the electoral results,” he said.
The high representative has called to wait to see what happens in the coming days, although he has added that there are more than 2,000 people arrested and “the repression is accentuated,” and he trusts that the international community will maintain its demand to verify the results.
Asked about the negotiations, he explained that they are still ongoing and, “even some Latin American country has proposed repeating elections and sharing power between the Government and the opposition.” “I don’t know how to do that, but nothing will be done, surely, until the Court speaks,” he said.
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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