International
Lula reiterates to Maduro his support for the Barbados Agreements for the next elections

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke on Wednesday with his counterpart from Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, reiterated his support for the Barbados Agreements and stressed the “importance” of a broad international observation in the elections that are planned in that country on July 28.
The Brazilian Presidency reported on that conversation in an official note, in which Lula also “expressed his expectation that the sanctions in force against Venezuela can be lifted, in order to contribute so that the electoral process can continue in a climate of trust and understanding.”
He also reiterated Brazil’s support for the Barbados Agreements, which last year laid the foundations for transparent and free elections but which, according to the Venezuelan opposition, have had violations by the Maduro Government, which aspires to re-election in the next elections.
At the bilateral level, Lula informed Maduro about the interest of Brazilian businessmen in reinvesting and reactivating trade with Venezuela, and asked to strengthen cooperation to improve the protection of Yanomami indigenous people at the common border.
Although Lula emphasized the need for a wide participation of international observers in the July elections, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brazil announced this week that it will not send any mission to Venezuela.
The electoral body did not explain the reasons for the decision or clarify whether it will participate in a possible mission of the BRICS forum, founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which like the TSE was invited by Venezuela.
Last week, Colombia also announced that it will not send any mission, because as explained by the Foreign Minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, there would be no “time” to “structure” it with the technical characteristics required by the Venezuelan authorities.
Likewise, last week the Venezuelan National Electoral Council withdrew the invitation it had made to the European Union (EU) to send observers, after the bloc ratified the sanctions on members of the Government and the ruling party.
The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, both of the progressive arc, have expressed “concern” about the obstacles imposed on the registration of opposition candidates for those elections.
In both cases they received a harsh response from the Government of Venezuela, although the matter seemed overcome with the registration of the presidential candidacy of former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, standard-bearer of the main opposition coalition.
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”

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.”
International
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?

This week, you may have noticed that everything—from historical photos and classic movie scenes to internet memes and recent political moments—has been reimagined on social media as Studio Ghibli-style portraits. The trend quickly went viral thanks to ChatGPT and the latest update of OpenAI’s chatbot, released on Tuesday, March 25.
The newest addition to GPT-4o has allowed users to replicate the distinctive artistic style of the legendary Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). “Today is a great day on the internet,” one user declared while sharing popular memes in Ghibli format.
While the trend has captivated users worldwide, it has also highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works—and what this means for the livelihoods of human artists.
Not that this concerns OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has actively encouraged the “Ghiblification”experiments. Its CEO, Sam Altman, even changed his profile picture on the social media platform X to a Ghibli-style portrait.
Miyazaki, now 84 years old, is known for his hand-drawn animation approach and whimsical storytelling. He has long expressed skepticism about AI’s role in animation. His past remarks on AI-generated animation have resurfaced and gone viral again, particularly when he once said he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demonstration.
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