International
Thousands of Mexicans are unable to vote in the United States in front of an overflowing electoral body
Thousands of Mexicans living in the United States were left without being able to vote, despite long lines at the consulates throughout the day, due to the deficiencies of a slow electronic system and the lack of enough boxes to be able to vote, which evidenced the failures of an overflowing National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico.
The twenty operating consulates in the country, in which it has been possible to vote in person for the first time on the same day of the elections, have been overtalken by the thousands of citizens who wanted to exercise their right to vote in the largest elections in history, with 97 million people called to the polls.
According to the INE, 258,461 people will be able to exercise their vote from abroad in these elections, the majority residing in the United States. Outside the country, there are only three operational consulates in which it has been possible to vote today: Madrid, Paris and Montreal.
Despite the fact that it was possible to vote by mail and electronically in the previous weeks, there have been many who have preferred to approach the consulates of cities such as Los Angeles, New York or Washington, which have been completely overwhelmed, as EFE found.
In the US capital, the doors closed at 8:00 p.m. local time, 6:00 p.m. Mexican time, the same time they closed in the Latin American country, among the booing of people who demanded that voting hours be extended.
A request that did not materialize. “By INE regulations we can’t extend ourselves any longer,” explained the president of the box, Daniel Álvarez, in front of a row of people who could not vote and who were going around the block.
The problems have been several. The main one, explained this morning to EFE the representative of the INE in the US capital, Ricardo Sánchez, the slowness and difficulty of some people to use the recently released electronic system, with tablets as the only option to vote.
With half an hour to go before the closure of this consulate, which only had five tables installed, 640 people had voted, 255 who had already registered and 385 not registered.
That has been another of the problems, which the population was encouraged to go to vote despite not being registered and the influx has been much greater than expected.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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