International

US and UK Foreign Affairs officials arrive in Kiev to meet with Zelenski

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, arrived this Wednesday at the Kiev train station to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and other Ukrainian leaders such as the new Foreign Minister, Andrí Sibiga.

The visit comes in the middle of a debate about the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles from its main allies to attack military targets within the Russian Federation as Kiev insistently requests.

This is the first joint trip made by the heads of US and United Kingdom diplomacy to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. It is also the first visit of the British Foreign Minister to Ukraine since he took office in July.

Before Blinken and Lammy traveled to Kiev, a group of 17 American soldiers, diplomats and other personalities asked both presidents to lift the restrictions that continue to impose on Ukraine to hit military targets located inside Russia with long-range weapons sent by Washington and London.

The visit of Blinken and Lammy coincides with the celebration in Kiev of the fourth summit of the International Platform for Crimea, an initiative of the Ukrainian presidency to join efforts for the return of this peninsula occupied by Russia under Ukrainian control.

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In addition to Blinken and Lammy, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, and the Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Silina, have already arrived in the Ukrainian capital this Wednesday.

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.