International
Venezuela’s Maduro to resume talks with opposition Friday
| By AFP | Esteban Rojas with Lina Vanegas en Bogota |
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government will resume talks with the opposition Friday after more than a year in a bid to resolve a political crisis that has gripped the country since a contested 2018 election.
Formal negotiations between the two sides last took place in October 2021 in Mexico, and international efforts have mounted in recent months to get the talks back on track.
The opposition is seeking free and fair presidential elections, next due in 2024, while Caracas wants the international community to recognize Maduro as the rightful president and lift sanctions.
“Dialogue between Maduro’s government and the Venezuelan opposition will resume on the 25th and 26th of November,” Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter.
Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido’s office, however, tweeted that “information about a possible agreement and restart of the negotiations will be announced by official sources,” or by “the facilitating country, Norway.”
“Speculation hinders the possibility of a deal,” the office said.
While Colombia’s Petro did not specify where the talks would take place, a Venezuelan opposition source close to the negotiations told AFP the delegations would meet in Mexico City on Friday.
Venezuela was already facing a severe economic crisis and a brutal government crackdown on protests when a contested presidential election in 2018 plunged it into a political impasse.
Maduro declared himself the victor of the poll, which was widely seen as fraudulent, prompting massive protests.
Meanwhile, almost 60 countries, including the United States, recognized opposition leader Guaido as Venezuela’s acting president.
The US and the European Union imposed painful sanctions on Venezuela, worsening an economy that has seen roaring inflation in recent years, prompting millions to flee the country.
One measure prevented Venezuela from trading its crude oil — which accounted for 96 percent of the country’s revenues — on the US market.
Ukraine war sparks new impetus
After two prior negotiation efforts failed, the most recent round of talks between the government and opposition started in August 2021 in Mexico.
However, Maduro suspended the negotiations two months later in retaliation for the extradition to the United States by Cape Verde of Alex Saab, a Colombian national accused of acting as a money launderer for the Venezuelan socialist leader.
Earlier this month, negotiators for both sides met in Paris under the mediation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
International efforts to resolve the Venezuelan crisis have gained strength since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pressure it has placed on global energy supplies.
US President Joe Biden’s administration announced in May it would ease some sanctions as energy prices surged due to the war.
At the same time, Guaido’s influence has ebbed, and he has lost key allies both at home and in the region, where many countries have since elected leftist presidents.
Colombia’s Petro has become a new actor in the talks since becoming his country’s first leftist president in August.
He has worked to improve his country’s relationship with Venezuela, resuming diplomatic ties for the first time since 2019, when former president Ivan Duque refused to recognize Maduro’s election.
Venezuela is now also hosting peace talks between the Colombian government and the last official rebel group in the country, the National Liberation Army.
International
At least 10 dead and 20 injured in highway crash near Morelia
The accident occurred on the highway connecting Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, with the town of Pátzcuaro, the Morelia police reported in a statement.
“Preliminary information indicates there are around 10 fatalities and nearly 20 people injured. Emergency teams are carrying out extraction efforts and providing medical assistance at the scene,” the department said. It added that traffic on the roadway remains closed while rescue crews continue their work.
So far, authorities have not specified the cause of the crash.
Road accidents are common in Mexico, often caused by excessive speed or poor vehicle maintenance, particularly involving buses or cargo trucks.
In September, a truck carrying nearly 50,000 liters of gas exploded at an intersection in Mexico City, resulting in 32 deaths.
International
Democrats press prince Andrew for testimony as Epstein probe intensifies
Sixteen Democratic lawmakers have signed a letter urging Prince Andrew to participate in a “transcribed interview” with the U.S. House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the Epstein case. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while jailed and awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The letter asked Andrew — the younger brother of King Charles III and now referred to as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after being stripped of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein — to respond by November 20.
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s silence in response to the Oversight Committee Democrats’ request for testimony speaks volumes,” said Representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyan, both members of the committee, in a statement released on Friday.
“The documents we have reviewed, along with public records and the testimony of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.”
Giuffre, a U.S.-Australian citizen who died by suicide in April, wrote in posthumous memoirs that she had been forced into sexual encounters with Andrew on three occasions — the first two when she was 17.
International
President Sheinbaum Hails Fátima Bosch’s Miss Universe Win as a Victory for Women’s Voices
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised Fátima Bosch on Friday for winning the Miss Universe 2025 title, recognizing her as a symbol of courage for Mexican women and highlighting her stance against an act of injustice during the international pageant.
Bosch, a native of Tabasco, claimed the crown at the competition held in Thailand. Her participation drew significant attention following an incident involving the director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, who told her to remain silent for not sharing event-related content on her social media platforms. The remark prompted Bosch to walk out of the room in protest, an action supported by several other contestants.
President Sheinbaum denounced expressions like “you look prettier when you’re quiet,” asserting: “Women look more beautiful when we speak up and participate. And she raised her voice, saying, ‘This is unjust, I don’t agree.’”
Fátima Bosch, 25, became the fourth Mexican woman to win the Miss Universe crown, joining Lupita Jones (1991), Ximena Navarrete (2010), and Andrea Meza (2020).
Bosch triumphed over Thailand’s Veena Praveenar, who placed as first runner-up, and Venezuela’s Stephany Abasaly, who took third place. This year’s pageant featured contestants from 120 countries and territories, including nine mothers, one transgender woman, a genocide survivor, and the first-ever Palestinian contestant in the competition’s history.
At least 10 dead and 20 injured in highway crash near Morelia
Democrats press prince Andrew for testimony as Epstein probe intensifies
President Sheinbaum Hails Fátima Bosch’s Miss Universe Win as a Victory for Women’s Voices
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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