International
María Corina Machado: González Urrutia will be sworn in as president in January 2025
The opposition leader of Venezuela María Corina Machado is convinced that Edmundo González Urrutia will take the oath as the new head of state on January 10, 2025, when the new period of government begins, despite the official proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the July 28 elections, a triumph questioned inside and outside the country.
In an interview with EFE, the former liberal deputy reiterated that the standard-bearer of the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) won “in an overwhelming way” the elections, the official result of which has been rejected by numerous countries, while the Carter Center, which participated as an observer in the contest, pointed out that the electoral process “cannot be considered as democratic.”
“Edmundo González will be the new head of state and the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and that depends on what we all do, all Venezuelans inside and outside the country (…) I trust the people of Venezuela and that’s why I know that on January 10 we will have a new president,” he said.
While it remains under guard due to threats against it, the anti-Chavista reproaches that the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet published the disaggregated results of the elections – contrary to its own schedule -, despite the numerous requests for transparency by the international community.
Taking the electoral minutes that the PUD published on a website as true, Machado assuresthat the “whole world knows” that Maduro, in power since 2013, lost the elections and tries to concretize “the greatest fraud in history” by insisting on his victory, with the help of the institutions and the military leadership.
Maduro “today has zero legitimacy, no legitimacy and, therefore, it is a time when the international community has to leave a very clear red line linked to respect for popular sovereignty,” he continued.
He also hopes that foreign governments, “firmly and unequivocally, make Maduro understand that what he is doing is unacceptable, using repressive forces against innocent citizens,” alluding to the balance left by the post-election crisis, with more than 2,400 arrested and 24 deaths, – according to several NGOs – some of them in citizen protests.
The former deputy also predicts that, in the coming days, critical voices against Chavismo will continue to grow because, as she said, it is about applying “all the necessary pressure for Maduro to understand that his best option is to accept the terms of a negotiation,” something that the president has already publicly rejected, since he insists on having won the elections.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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