International
The director of the RAE asks to take care of Spanish in AI so that they do not create their own dialects
The director of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and president of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (Asale), Santiago Muñoz Machado, called for taking care of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) so that machines speak Spanish in the most correct way possible and at the same time prevent their algorithms from creating digital dialects that would constitute “a great break for the unity of the language”.
“It is important that machines, which are a growing number of non-human individuals who use our language, do so in the best possible way,” Muñoz Machado said in an interview with EFE during the celebration in Quito of the XVII Congress of the Asale, in which issues such as the challenges and opportunities of Spanish in the face of new technologies and the digital world will be discussed.
The Spanish jurist considered that for this there is “a competitive advantage: none of the technology companies that have machines that speak is interested in speaking badly, in the same way that no school or university is interested in having students who do not handle the language well.”
“Large technology companies are not interested in having illiterate people. To help them not have them, what we tell them is that, when they teach the machines to speak Spanish, they use the tools of the language academies, and in that way the machines will speak a language just like that of humans,” explained Muñoz Machado.
Spanish and AI
The director of the RAE admitted that, for the moment, they have not detected major deviations in artificial intelligence, with respect to the canon that the academies establish.
“(But) we must take care of this and that it remains so, because it would be feasible for the algorithms that handle artificial intelligence to determine variations of the language that would ultimately create digital dialects of artificial intelligence, not unintelligible from the common Spanish language,” warned Muñoz Machado.
“That would be a great breakdown of the unity of the language and an unbearable injury to a language that they speak now and with which 600 million people understand. It would be very serious if it happened, but I think there is no will or interest in it happening, not even economically,” he concluded.
In that sense, he emphasized that the scenario that these machines could create languages derived from Spanish, as well as other languages, that only they understood is not science fiction, because “everything that comes out in this matter is happening now.”
AI to detect new words
The jurist, who has directed the RAE since 2018, recalled that in the previous Asale congress, held in 2019 in Seville (Spain), the Spanish Language and Artificial Intelligence (LEIA) project was already created.
“In recent years we have had great revolutions that can affect the tools we use for the general regulation of the language, especially the digital revolution and artificial intelligence. We have opened up to them immediately,” he said.
Thus, they have also seen with AI an opportunity to use this technology to detect new terms and forms of expression that arise and that do not reach them through traditional channels.
The digital revolution has also led to the appearance of new words to name elements or phenomena that did not exist before, most Anglo-Saxon terms that do not generate fear in the academies of the Spanish language.
A mixed language
“It is not a great tragedy because Spanish has always been mestizo, a language very given to incorporating terms from other languages from its origins. He already incorporated many Arabic words and other neighboring languages. And in countries like the Americans it has terms of their original languages,” Muñoz Machado said.
“We’re not too worried. The ‘Dictionary of the Spanish Language’ has 94,000 entries and 189,000 meanings. Every year we incorporate a maximum of a dozen new terms from English, and we also incorporate them raw, without Castilianizing or Spanishizing them, in the same way they mean in English. We enrich the language in that way and nothing happens,” he added.
However, the director of the RAE emphasized that “a different thing is to use English expressions that have equivalent in Spanish only for snobbery or to show a certain knowledge of that culture in an unnecessary and harmful way for the quality and integrity of our language”
At the Asale congress, among other novelties, a ‘Pan-Hispanic Guide to Clear Language’ will also be presented, with the aim that the official communications of the institutions can be understood by any citizen and that they can thus exercise “the right to understand,” as Muñoz Machado defined it, “which is the basis of the exercise of other rights.”
International
HRW Warns Trump’s Influence Has Weakened Human Rights in Latin America
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the political influence and rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump have contributed to a deterioration of human rights conditions across Latin America and the Caribbean. In its World Report 2026, the organization stated that several governments in the region have committed abuses against migrants and citizens, or have used U.S. policies as justification to impose harsher repressive measures.
During the first year of Trump’s new term, HRW observed that multiple countries violated the rights of foreign nationals under direct pressure from Washington. Other governments deepened security strategies based on militarization, mass detentions and excessive use of force, according to the report.
“The impact of the Trump administration has undoubtedly been negative in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director. However, she emphasized that “governments in the region remain responsible for defending democracy and fundamental rights, regardless of who is in power in Washington.”
HRW also reported that the United States significantly reduced cooperation funding for human rights organizations and independent media. At the same time, countries such as El Salvador, Peru and Ecuador passed laws allowing the arbitrary closure of civil society organizations and media outlets, weakening democratic systems and institutional checks and balances.
The organization further criticized what it described as a “double standard” in U.S. foreign policy, which condemns human rights violations in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua while overlooking serious abuses committed by allies such as El Salvador, Peru and Ecuador. The report also included criticism of the U.S. military attack against Venezuela in early 2026, warning that it could strengthen Nicolás Maduro’s regime and respond primarily to U.S. political and commercial interests.
International
Delcy Rodríguez Takes Control of Chavismo as Venezuela Enters a U.S.-Supervised Transition
With short speeches and an academic image, Delcy Rodríguez—the woman sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president—has taken the helm of Chavismo at a critical moment, as the movement seeks to ensure its survival while the country enters a phase of change overseen by the United States, putting the foundations of the revolution to the test.
Following the military operation on January 3 that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the Chavista leadership moved quickly to fill the power vacuum and confront the new political dynamic from within the state apparatus. In this context, Rodríguez has emerged as the central figure tasked with steering the ruling movement through an uncertain transition.
Although she has held telephone conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rodríguez has publicly insisted on Venezuela’s independence and has sharply criticized an opposition that currently lacks meaningful influence within the political landscape.
“Enough of Washington’s orders over Venezuelan politicians. Venezuelan politics must be the one to resolve our differences and internal conflicts,” Rodríguez said on January 25, while defending her proposal for a “political dialogue” with both “like-minded” and “divergent” sectors, which she had presented two days earlier.
International
Epstein Denies Being ‘the Devil’ in Newly Released Video Interview
Jeffrey Epstein claims he was the least dangerous type of sex offender and denied being “the devil” in a video interview included in the latest batch of documents released over the weekend by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The roughly two-hour interview was conducted by Steve Bannon, a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, and appears to have been recorded at the late financier’s New York residence on an unknown date.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors. Since December, the U.S. government has released millions of documents related to the case under transparency laws.
“Do you think you’re the devil incarnate?” Bannon asks Epstein in the video interview revealed in the latest release.
“No, but I do have a good mirror,” Epstein replies with a smile, wearing a black shirt and glasses. When pressed again, he adds, “I don’t know. Why would you say that?”
Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution, also appears to downplay the seriousness of his conviction.
He objects when Bannon refers to him as a “Level Three sexual predator,” a classification in the United States indicating a very serious threat to public safety.
“No, I’m the lowest,” Epstein says.
“But still an offender,” Bannon responds.
“Yes,” Epstein replies.
The exchange comes after Bannon asks Epstein whether he considers his wealth to be “dirty,” suggesting it was earned by advising “the worst people in the world.”
Epstein insists that he made his money legally, while acknowledging that “ethics is always a complicated issue.”
He claims he donated money to help eradicate polio in Pakistan and India, apparently in an attempt to justify the origins of his fortune.
The documents also show that Bannon maintained regular correspondence with Epstein, who offered to help the far-right political figure spread his conservative ideology in Europe.
Since Trump took office in January 2025, U.S. authorities have released millions of pages related to Epstein, along with photos and videos.
These materials have shed new light on Epstein’s ties to high-profile business executives such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, celebrities including filmmaker Woody Allen, and academics and political figures, among them Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
HRW Warns Trump’s Influence Has Weakened Human Rights in Latin America
Delcy Rodríguez Takes Control of Chavismo as Venezuela Enters a U.S.-Supervised Transition
Epstein Denies Being ‘the Devil’ in Newly Released Video Interview
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