International
López Obrador challenges Mexican Supreme Court ruling on infrastructure megaprojects
May 19 |
Hours after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a government agreement declaring large infrastructure projects as “national security” works is unconstitutional, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador published a similar order in the Official Journal of the Federation in clear defiance of the high court’s ruling.
The Court made clear that the federal government cannot simply decree that tourist trains or other public works projects are matters of “national security” because that violates the public’s right to information about such infrastructure.
However, on Thursday afternoon, a similar agreement went into effect giving that label to several projects, among them the Mayan Train, a controversial mega-project in the Mexican southeast that the president wants to finish before the end of his term in 2024.
López Obrador has tried to speed it up by exempting it from normal permits and public reporting on the grounds that it is vital for the country’s security.
The ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for the president, who has sought to expand the discretionary powers of the executive.
At the moment it is unclear whether Thursday’s court ruling only affects the public’s right to access information on spending, costs and other data on such projects, or whether it also repeals the fast-track permitting procedure. The court is scheduled to discuss and vote Monday on the overreach and implications of the ruling.
Unlike the 2021 ruling, which did not mention specific projects by name but referred to infrastructure in general, Thursday’s ruling decreed that the Mayan Train and the economic corridor that will cross the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest part of the country, as well as three airports in that area of the southeast, were of national security.
López Obrador is upset with the highest court for dismissing some of his electoral reform initiatives, and has called for a change to make the Supreme Court an elected body. Currently, the president suggests the shortlists of potential justices, but the Senate chooses them.
In July, the government invoked national security powers to advance the Mayan Train construction project, a tourist railroad along Mexico’s Caribbean coast that threatens an area of caves where some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered.
The government had paused the project in 2022 after activists won an injunction against the route because it opened a strip of jungle for the tracks without first submitting an environmental impact statement.
But the government invoked national security powers to resume construction. The measure also makes it easier for the government to withhold information on such projects.
International
Top U.S. Military Commander Meets Interim Venezuelan Leaders After Maduro’s Capture
The commander of the United States Southern Command, Marine Francis L. Donovan, visited Venezuela on Wednesday, holding meetings with interim leaders following the recent capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces. The visit, confirmed by both U.S. and Venezuelan officials, marked a significant diplomatic and security engagement in Caracas.
Donovan, accompanied by senior U.S. officials including acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph M. Humire and top diplomat Laura Dogu, met with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and key members of her cabinet, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
According to official statements, discussions focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation on regional security issues, including efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration. Both sides reiterated a commitment to pursuing diplomatic engagement and shared security goals for Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere.
The meetings also discussed progress on a three-phase plan supported by the United States to help stabilize Venezuela, following Maduro’s removal from power and subsequent detention in the U.S. on drug-related charges. This agenda reflects expanding U.S. engagement with Venezuela’s interim government amid broader efforts to restore diplomatic relations and address regional challenges.
The visit concluded on Wednesday, underscoring a growing U.S. focus on cooperation with Venezuelan authorities in the aftermath of major political developments earlier this year.
International
Bayly Says Trump ‘Gets Along Better With Dictators’ and Criticizes U.S.–Venezuela Policy
Peruvian author and journalist Jaime Bayly said Tuesday in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump “gets along better with dictators than he does with democrats” and that his administration is experiencing “a honeymoon with the Venezuelan dictatorship,” according to a report on his remarks during the launch of his new novel Los golpistas (Galaxia Gutenberg).
Bayly made the comments while presenting the book, which reconstructs the turbulent three days in April 2002 when Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez briefly lost power. He also sharply criticized the current Venezuelan leadership, saying that Delcy Rodríguez should be recognized as a dictator and “a continuation of Maduro’s dictatorship.”
The writer lamented that the failed 2002 coup — which he described as carried out by “amateurs” — did not lead to free elections that might have restored democracy to Venezuela. He argued that, even now, U.S. policy under Trump seems more focused on securing access to Venezuelan oil than on supporting Venezuelans’ freedom. “Venezuela could have chosen a free, clean and legitimate government — which we still impatiently await despite Trump, who only seems interested in freeing Venezuelan oil, not Venezuelans,” Bayly said.
Bayly also claimed that “every day that passes, Trump seems more enchanted with Delcy,” suggesting that Washington might leave Venezuelan leaders in power so long as they cooperate on economic interests.
A U.S. citizen who has lived in Miami for decades, Bayly said he is proud never to have voted for Trump, whom he described as “servile with the powerful and cruel with the weak.” He also criticized U.S. immigration enforcement as abusive.
Regarding the book’s creative process, Bayly said he combined extensive documentation and interviews with historical events, weaving fictional dialogue and narrative into real episodes without altering core facts. Los golpistas explores why the April 2002 coup attempt against Chávez failed and how key figures such as Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castroshaped modern Venezuelan history.
International
Maduro and Cilia Flores Receive Consular Visit in U.S. Jail Ahead of March 26 Hearing
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is detained in the United States, and his wife, Cilia Flores, received a consular visit from a Venezuelan government official on January 30 while they remain in a New York jail awaiting their next court appearance, scheduled for March 26, 2026, according to a court filing.
The notification, submitted to the judge by prosecutors and the defense and now part of the digital case file, states that Maduro and Flores were visited by “an official representing the Republic of Venezuela to help facilitate any services the accused needed.”
The document also notes that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the U.S. prosecutor’s office at the couple’s first court appearance on January 5 to ensure they had access to consular services and to inform the court when such access was provided.
Their next hearing was postponed by the court from an original date of March 17 to March 26 at 11:00 a.m., after prosecutors, with the consent of the defense, requested extra time to gather evidence, allow the defense to review it, and determine which pretrial motions they will file, the filing says.
Maduro has denied wrongdoing, calling himself “innocent” of the narcotics charges authorities have brought in federal court.
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