International
Maduro ‘100 % defeatable’ says head of Venezuela opposition

January 10 | By AFP | Patrick Fort / Esteban Rojas |
With the end of his symbolic interim government, which Juan Guaido hoped would push President Nicolas Maduro from power, the opposition leader is now proposing primary elections to reunify a fractured opposition, insisting that Maduro is “defeatable”.
“The problem we have today is to reunify the democratic alternative. Once the democratic alternative is reunited, Maduro is 100 percent defeatable,” the 39-year-old said Monday in an interview with AFP in Caracas, ahead of presidential elections slated for 2024.
Guaido, who is the target of numerous judicial processes in his country, hopes the primaries can take place in the first half of this year.
Riven by divisions, the opposition itself has recently eliminated the “interim government” that in January 2019 had been recognized by the United States and fifty other countries due to challenges to Maduro’s re-election a year earlier.
– Are you disappointed with the old allies who withdrew support for the “interim government”? –
“We are focused on what we have demanded from early on: free elections, a presidential election that we have been owed since 2018, and the pending task is to reunify the democratic alternative, which is the majority.”
“More than disappointed, I think that today as Venezuelans we feel disgust, not with our allies, but with everyone’s behavior … More than disappointed in one, two or three people, more than that, I share the feeling of disgust for what is currently happening in Venezuelan politics, which must transcend partisan interests and continue fighting for the common good… I assume my share of responsibility.”
“There is a process of restructuring, of reconstruction (…) and I believe that we also have the opportunity around the corner, which is the primary election (…) We must get ready immediately.”
– How did the progressive loss of international support, together with the shift to the left of several Latin American countries, affect you? –
“Getting close to Maduro is a mistake (…). Yes, certainly an Alberto Fernandez (president of Argentina) getting close to Venezuela clearly weakened the position of the interim government. Much better a country solidly denouncing a dictatorship than relativizing it, the same with the president (Gustavo) Petro (in Colombia), the same with (Andres Manuel) Lopez Obrador (in Mexico)…
“The international community has great weaknesses in holding dictators to account.”
– After all the divisions, can the opposition win the 2024 presidential elections? –
“If there is unity, without a doubt. The problem is not Maduro, or rather, the problem we have today is to reunify the democratic alternative. Once the democratic alternative is reunited, Maduro is 100 percent defeatable (…). Facing the possibility of a free and fair election, Maduro is absolutely weak, defeatable”.
– Is the opposition losing strength in the negotiations that resumed with Maduro delegates last November in Mexico? –
“(Eliminating the interim government) does not put us in a better position (…) but we are ready for an agreement that has to do with electoral conditions to make an election a political solution to the conflict we are experiencing in Venezuela.”
– Will you be a candidate in possible primaries? –
“My candidate is the union. My candidate, then, is the primary and when we have primaries, when we have a schedule, I will make a decision (…). Today all of us (the main opposition leaders) are incapacitated, imprisoned or in exile. So a lot will have to do with how Mexico evolves and how the possibility of a competitive primary and a free, fair and competitive (presidential) election evolves.”
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.”
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.
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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