International
Bolivia and Argentina promote energy integration
June 1 |
The presidents of Bolivia and Argentina, Luis Arce and Alberto Fernández, respectively, lead today in the department of Tarija the inauguration of the 132 kV Juana Azurduy de Padilla international interconnection power line.
Fernandez arrived this Thursday at the Tarija airport of Yacuiba and went to the town of Yaguacua, where he held a meeting with his peer and host, and later both proceeded to inaugurate the electricity transmission line.
The energy supplier has a length of 120 kilometers (46.49 in Bolivia and 73.88 in Argentina) and connects the Yaguacua substation in Bolivia with the Tartagal substation in Argentina.)
This project will allow the transportation of electric energy from the Andean-Amazonian nation to the neighboring country with an estimated power of 120 megawatts (MW).
The work required an investment of 364 million Bolivianos (US$364 million), concluded in March 2018 in Bolivia and in May 2019 on the Argentine side.
“It is an honor and a joy to receive in Yacuiba, Tarija, our brother president, Alberto Fernández, to deliver a work of great importance for our peoples,” Arce wrote on his Twitter account.
According to the news agency Télam, for Argentina “the import of energy from Bolivia results in an improvement in the voltage levels in the northern area (…), especially at hours of high demand”.
This exporting operation should have started in October 2019, and the works were interrupted in 2020, during the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez.
After the rescue of democracy with the electoral triumph of Arce that same year, in 2021, Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE) through its subsidiary ENDE Transmisión Argentina S.A. (ETASA), resumed the construction of the section in Argentine territory.
The work was completed in October 2022, after which the line and generation testing stages were carried out.
On March 13 of this year, Bolivia began exporting, for the first time in bilateral history, 60 MW to Argentina with the possibility of reaching up to 120 MW.
Arce and Fernández are currently leading the inauguration ceremony in an evening attended by ministers of both nations, legislators, leaders of social organizations and neighbors of the Chaco region of Yaguacua.
International
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
International
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.
In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.
During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.
“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”
The remarks highlighted ongoing differences between Washington and Mexico over how to confront drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
International
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the creation of a 17-nation alliance across the Americas aimed at dismantling drug cartels, during a regional summit held at his golf club in Doral.
Speaking to a group of allied leaders at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the initiative would rely on military force to eliminate powerful criminal networks operating throughout the hemisphere.
“The heart of our agreement is the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy these sinister cartels and terrorist networks. Once and for all, we will put an end to them,” Trump told the assembled heads of state.
The Republican leader argued that large portions of territory in the Western Hemisphere have fallen under the control of transnational gangs and pledged U.S. support to governments seeking to confront them. He even suggested the potential use of highly precise missiles against cartel leaders.
Before making the announcement, Trump greeted the roughly twelve leaders attending the summit, including close allies such as Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa and Nayib Bukele, whom he described as a “great president.”
The meeting forms part of Trump’s broader regional strategy inspired by his reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reinforce Washington’s influence in the Americas, strengthen security cooperation and counter the growing presence of powers such as China.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. actions in the region as examples of his administration’s approach, including the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
The summit also takes place amid escalating international tensions following the conflict launched last week by the United States and Israel against Iran.
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