International
Colombia leader in rift-healing visit to Caracas after 9-year pause
| By AFP | Javier Tovar and Barbara Agelvis |
Colombia’s Gustavo Petro met on Tuesday with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in the first talks at presidential level since the neighbors reestablished diplomatic ties after a three-year break.
The meeting in Caracas of the two leftist leaders marked a watershed warming between the once-estranged neighbors.
Petro, a former M-19 leftist insurgent who was sworn in as Colombia’s first leftist president in August, called for Venezuela to be brought back into a regional trade alliance and a human rights system.
“We want to invite Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru to accept the reintegration of Venezuela in the Andean Community as a member with full powers,” Petro said after meeting Maduro at the Miraflores Palace.
Venezuela left the regional trade bloc in 2006.
Petro also called for Venezuela to be pulled back into the human rights convention of the Organization of American States, a hemispheric alliance.
Maduro said he was “very receptive” to the idea.
Venezuela severed diplomatic relations in 2019 after increasingly strained ties with Petro’s predecessors Juan Manuel Santos and conservative Ivan Duque — who Maduro even accused of orchestrating plans to assassinate him.
The final straw came when Duque backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido — recognized by dozens of countries as the victor in 2018 elections claimed by Maduro.
It was the first visit by a Colombian president to Venezuela’s capital since 2013.
Visit could ‘normalize’ violations
Since Petro succeeded Duque in August, Colombia’s first ever left-wing president has moved to mend relations with Venezuela’s populist leftist government.
Caracas and Bogota formally reestablished diplomatic relations on August 29 by sending ambassadors to each other’s capitals.
Guaido on Tuesday criticized Petro’s decision “to visit the dictator Maduro… and to call him ‘president’.”
It was an “action that could dangerously normalize human rights violations… and the worst migration crisis in the world,” he wrote on Twitter.
More than seven million Venezuelans have left their country since 2014, according to the United Nations.
Some 2.5 million find themselves in Colombia, as part of an open-door policy followed under Duque, in support of Guaido.
Maduro, after the talks, called for “new steps toward a total opening” of the two neighbors’ shared 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border, a frontier that has been infested with armed groups fighting over lucrative drug resources and routes.
In September, Colombia and Venezuela reopened the border to vehicles transporting goods — considered the first step toward resuming commercial relations worth about $7.2 billion in 2008 but only $400 million last year.
A string of recent leftist victories in South America meanwhile appear to have placed Maduro in a stronger position.
On Monday he said he had spoken to Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to “resume the binational agenda of cooperation” all but paralyzed under the government of far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and the pressure it placed on global energy supplies — also brought about behind-the-scenes efforts by the United States to engineer at least a minimal warming with Venezuela, a major oil producer.
International
Texas Floods: Death toll rises to 68, dozens still missing
The death toll from the devastating floods in central-south Texas rose to 68 on Sunday, according to local authorities, as hundreds of emergency personnel and volunteers continue intensive search efforts.
Larry Leitha Jr., sheriff of Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas, confirmed that 59 of the victims were found in that county alone — 38 adults and 21 minors.
“We will continue the search until we find everyone,” Leitha told reporters Sunday morning, adding that the death toll is expected to rise.
Authorities in neighboring counties have also reported 9 additional deaths:
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3 in Burnet County
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1 in Kendall County
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1 in Tom Green County
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4 in Travis County
Leitha also reported that 11 children and teenagers from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp near the town of Hunt, remain missing.
In Kerr County, over 400 rescue workers from 20 different federal and state agencies are involved in the ongoing search and rescue operations.
Local officials have avoided giving a precise number of missing persons, as many visitors were camping in the area for Fourth of July celebrations and may not be accounted for.
More than 850 people have been safely evacuated, and eight were injured. Authorities reported over 160 air rescues.
Dalton Rice, city manager of Kerrville, noted that these are the worst floods the region has seen since 1987, when 10 teenagers died.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested a federal disaster declaration from the Trump administration and declared Sunday a national day of prayer.
According to the National Weather Service, more than 12 inches (30 cm) of rainfall were recorded in just 12 hours on Friday, causing the Guadalupe River near Hunt to rise to 32.5 feet (9.9 meters) — its second-highest level on record.
International
Salvadoran Day USA 2025 canceled amid fears of immigration raids
The Salvadoran Day USA 2025 celebration, originally scheduled for Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3, has been officially canceled due to security concerns related to ongoing immigration raids targeting the Latino community in the United States.
The Salvadoran Communities Unit in the United States (UNICOMDES) made the announcement through an official statement on its social media platforms, expressing deep regret over the decision.
“With great sadness, we announce the cancellation of the Salvadoran Day USA Festival 2025,” the organization stated.
According to UNICOMDES, the cancellation came after a thorough assessment of the current immigration climateand extensive consultations with immigration experts, local and Salvadoran authorities, media outlets, sponsors, and community members.
“Holding the festival would be irresponsible, as it is an open-air event where it is impossible to fully control who enters,” the statement added.
UNICOMDES also confirmed that the refund process for all funds collected for the event has already begun. The festival typically attracts thousands of Salvadorans across various cities in the U.S.
International
Mexico’s president blasts ‘Inhumane’ U.S. migration law
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Friday that any Mexican detained in the United States should be “immediately” returned to Mexico. Her remarks come in the wake of the opening of a new migrant detention center in Florida earlier this week.
Speaking during her daily press conference, known as La Mañanera del Pueblo, Sheinbaum emphasized that so far, no Mexican national has been held in the facility, which has already sparked controversy and has been nicknamed “the Alcatraz of the Alligators.”
She also criticized the new fiscal law signed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, passed by Congress just a day earlier. The law, which Trump dubbed the “great and beautiful tax reform,” includes significant tax cuts and sweeping reductions in public policies, reallocating billions toward national security and defense—including $170 billion to enhance border security, deportations, and the expansion of detention centers.
“We do not agree with a punitive approach to migration. Migration must be addressed through its structural causes, with cooperation for development,” Sheinbaum asserted.
The Mexican president labeled the Trump administration’s view of migrants as criminals as “inhumane,” and warned that such policies ultimately harm the U.S. economy. She pointed to the mass deportation of agricultural workers as an example of how these actions are already backfiring.
“These are hardworking people—people of good will—who contribute more to the U.S. economy than they do to Mexico’s,” Sheinbaum said, announcing that her government will strengthen support programs to ensure that affected migrants can return home safely and reintegrate into the workforce.
Texas Floods: Death toll rises to 68, dozens still missing
Salvadoran Day USA 2025 canceled amid fears of immigration raids
Mexico’s president blasts ‘Inhumane’ U.S. migration law
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