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
Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident
Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.
Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.
Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.
The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.
“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.
According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.
The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.
International
Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador
A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.
Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.
The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.
As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.
“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”
Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.
Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.
International
Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge
Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.
Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.
Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.
To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.
Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.
“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.
“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.
During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.
The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.
Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.
“I am an artist who has taken a step into politics to bring peace to my country,” Álvarez told reporters while surrounded by supporters.
Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident
Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador
Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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