International

Petro threatens to break relations with Israel if it does not comply with the UN resolution

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, threatened on Tuesday to break diplomatic relations with Israel if that country does not comply with the resolution to cease-fire in Gaza requested on Monday by the UN Security Council.

“If Israel does not comply with the United Nations resolution of a ceasefire, we will break diplomatic relations with Israel,” the president, a defender of the cause of Palestine, said in his account of X.

This message comes a day after the president called on the international community to break off relations with Israel if the truce that, for the first time, demanded by the UN Security Council for the Gaza war, in which more than 32,000 people have already died in almost six months, is not established.

“A ceasefire resolution in Gaza is finally coming out of the United Nations Council unanimously (sic)” – despite the abstention of the United States in the vote on the resolution -, Petro said on Monday.

It is not the first time that the president has spoken of freezing Colombia’s relations with Israel since the outst of the war, about which the head of state regularly opines publicly. Already in October of last year he threatened to suspend them although for the moment these warnings have not materialized.

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These threats have raised the tension between the two countries, which have even summoned their diplomatic representatives and led several disagreements over the position of President Petro who has accused the Israeli State of “genocide.”

In fact, last February Petro announced that Colombia suspended “all purchases of weapons from Israel” in response to the attack it launched during the distribution of food and humanitarian aid in Gaza City, where more than a hundred people died and another 700 were injured.

International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.