International

Biden and Trump win the primaries of their parties in Ohio, Illinois and Kansas

The president of the United States, Democrat Joe Biden, and former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021) won as planned on Tuesday the primaries of their parties in the states of Ohio, Illinois and Kansas, according to projections by NBC, Fox and CBS channels.

It has been a week since Biden and Trump have been virtually the Democratic and Republican nominees for the November presidential elections, since they have already achieved the minimum of the necessary delegates: 1,968 in the case of the first and 1,215 in the case of the second.

The media projected the victory of both candidates shortly after closing the schools, and already awarded all the Republican delegates who were at stake to Trump in Ohio (79) and Kansas (39), while the count continues in Illinois, where he opts for 64.

Trump scored a victory in the Republican primary today for the candidate for the Senate in Ohio, since the candidate he supported, Bernie Moreno, prevailed over the other two more moderates. Moreno will be the rival in the elections to the Upper House of Democrat Sherrod Brown, a contest in which the Democrats risk control of the chamber.

Biden opts for 167 delegates in Ohio, 127 in Illinois and 33 in Kansas, and won saggy victories of between 87 and 90%.

However, in Kansas, the discontent vote approached 10%, reflecting the unease with the president’s policy towards the conflict in Gaza, unlike other states in the Midwest.

The results of Florida are pending, which nevertheless give Biden and Trump as the projected winners of their respective parties, while the polling stations in Arizona will be the last to close tonight.

To officially proclaim themselves candidates, both politicians must wait for the conventions of their parties: first it will be the Republican, from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), and then the Democratic, from August 19 to 22 in Chicago (Illinois).

International

Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.

“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.

“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.

Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”