International

Brazil and Venezuela consolidate alliances with the signing of agreements

Photo: @NicolasMaduro

May 31 |

The presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, witnessed on Tuesday the signing of several agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the diplomatic and agri-food fields, official sources reported.

In a ceremony held at the Itamaraty Palace, Brasilia, capital of Brazil, where the presidents participated in a meeting of South American presidents, the Memorandum of Understanding on agri-food matters was signed.

The text was signed by the Venezuelan Minister of Productive Agriculture and Lands, Wilmar Castro Soteldo, and the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, according to the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and Information in a press release.

This memorandum is aimed at “exploring opportunities and deepening exchanges in the areas of agriculture, livestock, sovereignty and food and nutritional security”, the press release added.

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Likewise, Foreign Minister Vieira signed with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of the Supervision and Follow-up Mechanism of the Brazil-Venezuela Bilateral Cooperation Program.

This agreement seeks to promote South-South technical cooperation based on the exchange of knowledge and experiences to face similar socio-economic development challenges.

The communiqué specified that with these alliances, Caracas and Brasilia reaffirm cooperation and the intention to deepen economic and commercial exchange, which reached US$6,000,000,000 in 2013.

Venezuela and Colombia create a Neighborhood Commission
During the same day, Foreign Minister Gil and his Colombian counterpart, Álvaro Leyva, signed the Agreement for the Creation of the Neighborhood and Integration Commission, a ceremony attended by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

The new commission will focus on promoting and coordinating cooperation in common border areas, as well as business and productive complementarity.

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The leaders underlined the existing commitment to consolidate diplomatic relations, which were reestablished last August, with the beginning of Petro’s mandate.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.