Internacionales

Argentine opposition requests explanation from Chancellor Cafiero after Ecuadorian ex-official’s escape

Photo: COMMUNICATION ARGENTINA SENATE

March 16 |

Opposition parties in Argentina are demanding that Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero give explanations to Congress for the escape of a former Ecuadorian minister convicted of corruption from the embassy in Quito where she was in asylum, which has provoked a diplomatic crisis with Ecuador.

The former minister of the government of former president Rafael Correa requested asylum in the Argentine embassy in Quito in August 2020, but the government of Ecuador denied the safe conduct because it considered that it was not a case of political persecution.

Duarte disappeared on Sunday, March 12 from the Argentine embassy in Quito and reappeared the following day at the Argentine embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.

The senator of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) for Mendoza Alfredo Cornejo said that the fact shows once again the terrible foreign policy of the government of President Alberto Fernandez.

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“It is a new blunder of our foreign policy, our president and our Foreign Ministry have erred in their links with the world and are always entangled with corrupt people who dress up as political prisoners, when in fact they are condemned by judicial systems that live in democracy”, said Cornejo.

According to the senator, the president’s policy is tied “100% to the decisions of (Vice President) Cristina Fernández and makes him make these tremendous mistakes that isolate us from the world”.

Others are also concerned that the episode may affect the ties between the two countries.

“It is very serious everything that happened and damaged diplomatic relations with Ecuador. It is very serious that the Argentine government has given political asylum to a woman convicted of corruption, seeking to cover up these crimes in some way. It is serious that both governments have expelled the diplomats. But we advocate for dialogue to solve this conflict”, expressed the deputy of the PRO, for La Pampa, Martín Maqueyra.

The former Argentine ambassador to the US, China, Brazil and the European Union, Dr. Diego Guelar, expressed concern about the gestures that damage Argentina’s diplomatic tradition.

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“The logic is to think that after two years of asylum, there was complicity, that he did not slip away and his exit was facilitated. It is also an irregular situation that the vice-president of Argentina maintains that the justice system cannot evaluate the responsibilities of political officials. This does not show independence of powers and violates the function of the judiciary”, said Guelar.

On the other hand, the Argentine ambassador in Venezuela, Oscar Laborde, denied that the former official was a refugee in the Embassy in Caracas, and clarified that she only went there for a meeting to find out how the immigration procedures would be in order to be able to live with her son in Buenos Aires.

“I don’t know where she is and there was never any talk of an escape”, declared the diplomat.

Internacionales

Cuban Supreme Court Confirms Successful Completion of Prisoner Release

The People’s Supreme Court of Cuba announced on Monday that it has successfully completed the release of 553 prisoners, a process first announced on January 14. Among those freed were political prisoners, including opposition figures José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro.

The announcement came shortly after Washington, in the final days of the Biden administration, decided to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

While Havana has insisted that the releases were a unilateral and sovereign decision, the United States maintains that the measure was part of an agreement mediated by the Vatican. According to U.S. sources, many of those released were participants in the July 11, 2021, anti-government protests, the largest demonstrations Cuba has seen in decades.

Cuban authorities have not provided a list of the released prisoners or a timeline for the implementation of the measure, despite multiple requests for information from EFE.

Internacionales

Russia calls Zelensky’s Washington visit a “complete failure” after altercation with Trump

Russia stated on Saturday that Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington was a “complete failure” following the altercation with Donald Trump, accusing the Ukrainian leader of being “obsessed with continuing the war” with Moscow.

The visit “was a complete political and diplomatic failure of the Kiev regime,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova in a statement. Zakharova accused Zelensky of being “incapable of demonstrating a sense of responsibility,” of “rejecting peace,” and of using “lies and manipulations to justify the continuation of hostilities and the reception of military and financial aid from the West.”

Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Friday turned into a verbal brawl before cameras worldwide, when his counterpart, Donald Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being ungrateful for U.S. aid and rejecting peace talks. Zelensky was prematurely escorted out of the White House without signing the agreement he had gone to Washington for, which involved giving up the exploitation of Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for security guarantees.

“With his excessively rude behavior during his visit to Washington, Zelensky confirmed that he is the most dangerous threat to the international community as an irresponsible warmonger,” Zakharova stated.

She also accused European leaders of “political weakness” and “baseness” for backing Zelensky after the “moral lesson” he received in Washington.

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Internacionales

Lula criticizes Trump-Zelensky meeting: “Grotesque and disrespectful”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated on Saturday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was humiliated during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the scenes broadcast live by the media “grotesque.”

“I’m not a diplomat, but since diplomacy was created, there has never been such a grotesque and disrespectful scene as the one that took place in the Oval Office of the White House,” Lula told reporters in Montevideo, where he was attending the inauguration of Uruguay’s president-elect, Yamandú Orsi.

“Honestly, I believe that part of society thrives on disrespecting others, and it is impossible to talk about democracy without respecting other human beings. I think Zelensky was humiliated, and I believe that in Trump’s mind, Zelensky deserved it,” he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Lula met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a bilateral discussion. During their meeting, Lula stated that Europe would likely bear the responsibility for rebuilding Ukraine and maintaining NATO.

“It is very likely that Europe will be blamed for the disaster happening now, when in reality, it is not the fault of any specific country. It is a matter of irresponsible leaders who refuse to discuss peace and instead prefer to talk about war,” he argued.

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Lula also reiterated Brazil and China’s proposal for a negotiated peace process, which would bring Ukraine and Russia to the table with other countries acting as mediators.