International

Coronavirus hits Venezuelan baseball

The deadly virus hit Venezuela hard, and took away one of the hotbeds of the most popular sport in the South American country.

Margarita island, a small fishing village reported more than 90 cases of COVID-19, which set off the authorities’ alarms, since all of the cases where in the baseball academy.

All the attention turned to the Roberto Vahlis Baseball Academy, identified as the spreading point of the virus through a manager and others related to the sports academy, who recently traveled to the Dominican Republic.

International

Driver detained after suspicious vehicle incident near the White House

The driver was detained and no injuries were reported after an incident that occurred before dawn in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, said in a statement that it was “investigating a suspicious vehicle.” The driver of the car was taken into custody and is currently being questioned.

Washington remains under heightened security measures amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel against Iran.

Police closed several major streets around the White House. However, by about 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT), government employees and staff from nearby institutions were allowed to pass through the area with proper identification, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Dozens of emergency vehicles with flashing lights responded to the location, while tourists and residents waited for authorities to reopen the streets.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.

Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.

Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.

“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.

The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.

“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.

International

Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit

Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.

In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.

During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.

“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”