International

Anti-chavista Enrique Capriles resigns from his party’s board for “lack” of transparency

The opposition leader of Venezuela Henrique Capriles announced on Monday his resignation from the national board of directors of the First Justice (PJ) party for “lack of internal unity”, “irreconcilable” differences and “lack of transparency and accountability of the administrators.”

These and other factors, which he detailed in a letter he published today on his Instagram account, “all they do is weaken the party, make the militancy feel the loss of it and, therefore, every day increase the disconnection with the feeling and longings for change of Venezuelans.”

The two-time presidential candidate also pointed out that “some militants” have been “exposed” to “lowness” by former deputy Julio Borges -exiled in Spain-, vice president of Communication and International Relations of PJ, who, according to Capriles, prioritizes “his particular interests” and has a “long history in the paid use of networks and portals to attack and discredit” opponents, “even members of this party.”

He assured that the board “does not have a clear plan or a proposal” in “times of so much turbulence and uncertainty,” especially after the elections of July 28 and “the theft of popular sovereignty by those in power,” in reference to the proclaimed re-election of Nicolás Maduro, pointed out as “fraudulent” by the majority opposition, which claims the “victory” of Edmundo González Urrutia.

Capriles explained that the board of directors, with “some exceptions, decides everything without respecting the vast majority of the members” of the board and that “huge majority of grassroots militants who are in the country fighting for a change.”

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“We have unfortunately fallen into a practice in which a small bud in some positions wants to impose their interests, interests that, in addition, are not clear with the reason for being of this political organization. It is already customary that the message that is transmitted on behalf of the party does not respond to collective values, but to the ‘agenda’ of a kind of caudillo, who, with his collaborators, believes himself as a master and lord,” he said.

He clarified that he will continue to “fight” in Venezuela along with the regional and local “militancy and leadership” of PJ, and added that he hopes that “the decomposition and decadence in which it fell” the national junta “will not end up destroying” the party in “the states, municipalities and parishes” of the Caribbean country.

International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.