International

The United States demands that Iran stop its “destabilizing activities” before a nuclear pact

The United States demanded that Iran stop its “destabilizing activities” around the world, as a precondition for both countries to resume negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear pact.

This is how the Joe Biden Administration reacted after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchí said that his country is ready to restart talks this week, during the UN General Assembly in New York, if “the other parties are willing.”

In statements to EFE, a State Department spokesman said that the United States considers diplomacy is “the best way” to achieve a solution, but right now it is a “very distant” possibility due to Iran’s behavior.

“The path that Iran must follow is, to a large extent, to put an end to its destabilizing activities around the world. That is something that Iran must show us with actions, not with words,” said this source.

The spokesman explained that if the Iranian government wants to demonstrate “its good faith,” it must first adopt a series of immediate measures that involve “stop arming terrorist groups” and “stop their nuclear escalation and lift their blockade on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)”.

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Also stop “killing opponents”, stop the “unjust executions of Iranians” and stop “the transfer of missiles and drones to Russia” that are used in the war in Ukraine.

“We will continue to judge the regime by its actions, not by its words,” he said.

In 2015, Iran signed a nuclear agreement that limited its atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions with six major powers, including the United States.

The Administration of Donald Trump (2017-2021) left the agreement unilaterally in 2018 and, since then, Iran has considerably increased its nuclear program, without it being possible to reach another pact.

The Biden government tried to revive the agreement, but negotiations with Iran broke down in 2022.

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Last July, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that Iran was “one or two weeks” away from having enough enriched uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.

The OEIA recently estimated that Iran’s total stocks of enriched uranium, which according to the nuclear agreement should not exceed 300 kilos, totaled 5,751 kilos in mid-August.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian has been willing to try to improve relations with Western countries since taking office at the end of July, but has always stressed that he will not “tolerate

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.