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Venezuelan opposition meets US delegation visiting Caracas

AFP

The main bloc of Venezuelan opposition parties said Tuesday that their representatives had met with a visiting US delegation and that they were ready to restart negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

On Monday, Maduro announced the US delegation had arrived in the country to discuss a “bilateral agenda,” expanding on talks in March the White House had said were focused on American “energy security.”

The United States and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties in 2019 after Maduro was re-elected the year before to a second term in a ballot boycotted by the opposition.

Maduro said Monday that the US delegation was being hosted by National Assembly speaker Jorge Rodriguez — also the government lead in negotiations with the opposition, which have been at a standstill since last October.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Omar Barboza, coordinator of the largest opposition bloc, told reporters “we have not been summoned (to the talks), we do not know the agenda.”

But later in the evening, the bloc released a statement saying it had met with the US delegation “to coordinate efforts for the sake of reestablishing the negotiation process” with the Maduro government.

The bloc said it was “ready” to “immediately resume a serious negotiation process.”

In a bid to oust Maduro from power after his disputed re-election, Washington and dozens of other countries recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and imposed a battery of sanctions on Caracas. 

These prevent Venezuela from trading its crude oil — which represented 96 percent of the country’s income at the time — on the US market.

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Before Washington enacted sanctions against Venezuela, the South American country exported almost all of its oil production to the United States.

Since then, Maduro has received support from Russia to continue exporting oil despite the sanctions.

Washington sent a high-level delegation to Caracas in March, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Observers said the move sought to distance Caracas from ally Moscow, and to discuss an easing of US sanctions on Venezuelan oil after Russia’s invasion caused a spike in global fuel prices.

After the talks, Washington announced it would ease some sanctions against Venezuela, including one linked to the oil company Chevron, to promote dialogue between Maduro’s government and the opposition.

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Caracas also released two Americans detained in Venezuela in what was widely seen as a goodwill gesture.

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

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International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.

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