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
DOJ and FBI officially deny Jeffrey Epstein ‘client list’ conspiracy theories
A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI investigation concluded that financier Jeffrey Epstein, accused of sex trafficking minors, did not maintain a “client list” for blackmail purposes and confirmed his death by suicide in a New York prison in 2019, according to reports from U.S. media on Monday.
The findings, detailed in a memo reviewed by Axios and ABC News, mark the first official denial of conspiracy theories alleging a list of influential personalities connected to Epstein and a possible murder to silence him.
The DOJ and FBI also reviewed several hours of video footage confirming that no one entered the area of the Manhattan jail where the 66-year-old billionaire took his own life while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors, aided by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was prosecuted and convicted of similar crimes.
The evidence review was ordered by the Trump administration after officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to release files related to the federal government’s investigations into the case.
Epstein’s death prevented the trial from taking place, leading some in American society to demand that the Department of Justice make public the list of accomplices and clients, as well as flight logs of his private plane to the island he owned in the Virgin Islands, where some abuses reportedly occurred.
The new memo from the U.S. Justice Department warned that it will not release more investigation records and emphasized that one of its main “priorities” is “combating child exploitation and delivering justice to victims.”
“Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves none of these purposes,” the document states, according to ABC News.
International
Iranian president says Israel tried to assassinate him, warns U.S. against war
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claims Israel attempted to assassinate him during a high-level meeting, but Iranian intelligence thwarted the plan, he revealed in an exclusive interview — not to a traditional news outlet, but to far-right journalist Tucker Carlson, a close ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The interview was published last night on Carlson’s X account. Carlson anticipates criticism for conducting the interview but defends it by saying Americans need to understand the perspective of a country “we went to war with ten days ago, and maybe will again.”
When Carlson asks if Israel tried to kill him, Pezeshkian replies: “Yes, they tried, and acted accordingly, but they failed.” Asked for details, Pezeshkian explained: “It was during a meeting. We were discussing ways to move forward, but thanks to intelligence services and their clues, we knew they tried to bomb the area where we were gathered.”
He quickly clarified: “Of course, it was not the United States trying to end my life, it was Israel (…) I ask the U.S. not to be deceived by Netanyahu, not to be dragged into this kind of war,” a warning he repeats throughout the half-hour interview.
Relaxed in a chair, Pezeshkian answered all questions. On whether he will allow the return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors — after suspending cooperation last week — he said it is not ruled out but currently technically impossible.
“We have never been the ones to withdraw from inspections. We are ready to undergo those verifications, but unfortunately, due to illegal U.S. attacks on our nuclear sites and facilities, many parts and equipment have been severely damaged. So now we don’t have access to them,” he explained.
It is notable that Iran granted this interview to Carlson, a well-known isolationist within the Trump sphere, who, alongside ideologue Steve Bannon, opposes U.S. involvement in foreign wars that come at high economic, political, and human costs.
Carlson asked if Iran planned to assassinate Donald Trump or if it has “sleeper cells” ready to attack on U.S. soil. Pezeshkian dismissed both claims lightly: “That’s what Netanyahu wants you, the president of your country, to believe, but it’s false because Netanyahu has his own agenda—to push the U.S. into an endless war.”
International
Sheinbaum urges unity and respect after clashes over gentrification in Mexico City
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the protests in Mexico City on Monday, which erupted over the weekend amid complaints of gentrification and urban inequality.
The demonstrations took place in the Condesa neighborhood, where protesters claim rising rents driven by an influx of foreigners have altered the daily lives of longtime local residents.
However, the protests escalated into clashes with local police and included discriminatory remarks toward officers and citizens.
In a strong message, Sheinbaum condemned hate speech and urged citizens to reject all forms of discrimination. “All Mexicans must clearly reject discrimination — no to racism, no to classism, no to xenophobia, no to machismo, no to discrimination. All human beings are equal and no one should be treated as less. (…) Discrimination is also a criminal offense.”
“Any man or woman who wants to live in Mexico City or anywhere in our country must respect us just as we must respect them. But these attitudes are not exclusive to foreigners living in Mexico, we also saw them in many marches last year,” the president added.
Regarding the violent incidents shared on social media, Sheinbaum said: “Gentrification is a phenomenon that must be addressed, but xenophobic behavior cannot be justified. That’s unacceptable. Anyone who comes to live in our country will be welcomed as long as they respect the laws, the rules, and appreciate the wonderful people of Mexico.”
She also highlighted Mexico’s long-standing tradition as an open and supportive country that has welcomed refugees and migrants from various nationalities during critical moments in the 20th century.
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