International
Venezuelan President orders joint defensive action against UK military threat
December 30 |
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros ordered Thursday the deployment of the joint action military exercise General Domingo Antonio Sifontes 2023 to protect its territorial integrity, in response to the threat from the United Kingdom with the arrival of the ship HMS Trent off the coast of Guyana.
During the 2023 New Year’s Eve Salutation to officers of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), the Venezuelan head of state strongly rejected the arrival of the British Navy ship HMS Trent to the area.
He stated that it constitutes a military threat and a provocation by the United Kingdom against a peaceful and noble, but also warrior people, such as the Venezuelan people. We are the people of the liberators, he added.
He denounced that the dispatch of the ship and its acceptance by Guyana “is a breach of the Argyle Agreements”, signed with that nation last December 14, and assumed as a road map to solve the territorial dispute over the Essequibo.
He pointed out that since the Venezuelan government knew of London’s intention, it activated all the political-diplomatic mechanisms for Guyana to stop the arrival of the HMS Trent, but his government decided to receive the said naval vessel.
The Bolivarian leader stressed that Venezuela will not stand idly by in the face of any threat, wherever it may come from. We do not accept provocations. Venezuela has the right to defend its integrity, he made clear.
He stressed that Venezuela has respected the Argyle Agreements, but it will not stand idly by in the face of this threat, wherever it comes from. He warned that this time it comes precisely from the power that stripped Venezuela of Essequiba Guyana.
He recalled that in that locality of St. Vincent and the Grenadines a path was sought, the path of political dialogue, after close coordination with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
He pointed out that “we are responding proportionally to the threats: today we have issued a communiqué and we reserve all actions” to defend the sovereign zones of Venezuela.
He explained that he called the military exercise joint action General Domingo Antonio Sifontes 2023 in honor of this military chief (1834-1912), hero of Venezuela, whose remains will be taken next January to the National Pantheon. The military exercise was deployed in areas of the Venezuelan Atlantic coast and several forces are participating in it.
Venezuelan Vice-President rejects interference of the United Kingdom
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez also rejected on Thursday the interference of the United Kingdom in the territorial dispute over the Essequiba Guiana.
Delcy Rodriguez recalled that London forged the 1899 award to illegally appropriate the territory of the Essequibo.
The high official of the Venezuelan Government reiterated that the only historical owner has been and will continue to be Venezuela.
“The United Kingdom has the obligation to abide by what was agreed in the Argyle Declaration which expressly excludes external threats that seek to sow or escalate a conflict between Venezuela and Guyana. Its threatening behavior against our country and the peace of our Region will have the timely and legitimate response of Venezuela. More than two centuries ago we decided for independence. We will not accept any kind of neocolonialism” wrote the Vice President in her X account.
Delcy Rodríguez indicated that the United Kingdom must recognize that they are part of the Geneva Agreement of 1966.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
Mulino warns Trump: Darién is U.S.’s ‘other border’ in call for bilateral solutions to migration
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
Central America4 days agoBukele begins official visit to Costa Rica based on security, cooperation and trade
-
Central America3 days agoNicaraguan Naval Force seizes cocaine on Pacific Coast, suspects escape
-
Central America3 days agoEl Salvador delivers aid to Costa Rica amid severe flooding and red alerts
-
Central America3 days agoBukele urges Costa Rica to reform prison system amid rising crime rates
-
International3 days agoMarco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say
-
International3 days agoSheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
-
International4 days agoDaniel Ortega turns 79: 29 in power, 17 “governing from below”, and 7 in prison
-
International4 days agoLe procureur vénézuélien dénonce une campagne visant à présenter les “criminels” comme prisonniers politiques
-
International4 days agoLes migrants qui ont été retenus en Albanie par le gouvernement de Meloni arriveront ce soir en Italie
-
International5 days agoShooting at Tuskegee University leaves one dead and several injured
-
International3 days agoElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency
-
International2 days agoMálaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
-
International4 days agoA US flight to Haiti is deflected after being shot when approaching Port-au-Prince
-
International3 days agoPresident-elect Trump chooses Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense
-
International2 days agoSeven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
-
International2 days agoHezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
-
International4 days agoIrish mobster Hutch is rending for general elections after arrest in Spain
-
International2 days agoEcuadorian judge orders preventive detention for nine inmates after deadly prison clashes
-
Internacionales3 days ago
Mexico deploys 12,000 security agents to Guerrero amid escalating violence
-
Internacionales5 days agoTropical storm Rafael weakens over gulf of Mexico after devastating Cuba
-
International2 days agoSantiago Uribe cleared of homicide and paramilitary charges
-
International4 days agoTrump appoints an ally without experience in the sector to the environmental agency
-
International2 days agoTrump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general
-
International2 days agoMarco Rubio to become first latino U.S. diplomacy chief under Trump
-
Central America17 hours agoMulino warns Trump: Darién is U.S.’s ‘other border’ in call for bilateral solutions to migration
-
International4 days agoThe court of El Salvador postpones the preliminary hearing for the massacre of Jesuit parents in 1989
-
International17 hours agoVenezuelan opposition activist dies in custody amid allegations of repressive crisis
-
International17 hours agoDrug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
-
International17 hours ago
Aemet downgrades rainfall alert as heavy rains ease in Spain
-
International17 hours agoIsraeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
-
Central America17 hours agoTen dead in Panama due to storms causing over $100 million in damages
-
International17 hours agoMaria Corina Machado sees clear signs for Venezuela after Trump’s victory
-
International17 hours agoPope Francis meets former Gaza hostages