International
Leslie Voltaire assumes the presidency of the Council of Haiti and promises transparency
Leslie Voltaire took office as president of the Transitional Council (CPT) of Haiti and will succeed Edgard Leblanc Fils, in a ceremony held in Port-au-Prince in which the new leader promised to work with transparency, dedication and efficiency to change the living conditions of the Haitian people.
“The moment is serious. The time has come to reconcile the great nation of Haiti with itself so that future generations can escape the horrors of this inconceivable brutality, the time has come to unite. We have to govern in another way. The Haitian people are fed up with violence, lies and corruption,” Voltaire said at the act of transfer of power in the Villa d’Accueil.
The ceremony took place in the absence of Leblanc Fils, who left the Villa d’Accueil hours before the inauguration of Voltaire, appointed to be part of the Presidential Council of Transition (CPT) by the Fanmi Lavalas party.
Call to solve the challenges of Haiti
In his speech, Voltaire pledged to work in common agreement with the other members of the CPT and called for the unity of all to solve the challenges that the country has, especially the restoration of security because the “great change” that Haiti needs “cannot be achieved through violence and conflict.”
“We are mobilizing to ensure the success of the transition. We will move forward to restore security, strengthen the police and the prison system, create the conditions for (the holding of) elections, organize the national conference and the referendum on constitutional reform,” he added.
Modification of the rotating presidency
On that date, the official newspaper Le Moniteur published a resolution on the changes in the rotating presidency of the CPT that modifies the document of last May 7 in this regard.
This resolution is released days after the official Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) asked for action to be taken against three members of the Council – Louis Gérald Gilles, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Smith Augustin – for abuse of functions, payment of bribes and passive corruption.
In principle, it was Smith Augustin who was to succeed Leblanc Fils, but the three defendants have been removed from the rotating presidency of the Council, although they remain in the institution.
Under the new agreement, from October 7 to March 7, 2025 the presidency of the CPT will be occupied by Voltaire, from March 7 to August 7, 2025 it will be exercised by Fritz Alphonse Jean and from then to February 7, 2026 (date on which a president of Haiti elected at the polls should take office) it will be Laurent Saint-Cyr’s turn.
Haiti has not had a president since on July 7, 2021, he was murdered in his Jovenel Moise residence by a group of mercenaries, mostly Colombians.
Crisis in the Council
In his last speech to the nation published a few hours ago, Leblanc Fils said that he hoped that the three involved in the alleged corruption would agree to move away from the CPT until justice clarified the matter, but this did not occur: “unfortunately they did not understand that it was the right decision, this scandal affects the image of the entire Presidential Transition Council.”
“I cannot accept to participate in any process that weakens and further devalues the country’s justice system,” Leblanc said, explaining why he was the only one of the nine members of the CPT who did not sign the new resolution on the rotating presidency.
In his opinion, “the majority of the Council is taking the wrong path. He runs the risk of plunding the country into instability. It will worsen the situation and prolong the transition period.”
The change in the presidency of the CPT occurs when Haiti is still shocked by the massacre last week at the hands of the armed group Gran Grif in Pont Sondé (artibonite department) of more than 70 people, despite the fact that part of the Multinational Security Support Mission led by Kenya is on the ground to try to curb the violence.
In 2023, the violence caused, between deaths and injuries, 8,000 victims in Haiti and in the first half of this year alone it already rose to about 3,900, according to UN data.
International
U.S. strike in Caracas killed 32 cuban security officers, experts say surprise was crucial
Two days after a U.S. military attack on a military complex in Caracas, Havana confirmed that 32 members of its security forces were killed in the operation, some of whom were likely responsible for protecting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan government also reported that 23 of its own military personnel died during the assault.
Of the Cuban dead, 21 belonged to the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees intelligence services, and 11 were from the Revolutionary Armed Forces. No official information has been released regarding potential injuries.
Experts consulted by AFP agreed that the element of surprise was the key to the success of the U.S. military operation, which was meticulously prepared over months and kept entirely secret. “Cuban intelligence … convinced the Maduro regime and its security agencies that the United States would never attack Venezuelan territory,” explained José Gustavo Arocha, a former Venezuelan army officer and expert at the Center for a Secure Free Society, a U.S. defense think tank.
Fulton Armstrong, a former U.S. intelligence officer and Latin America researcher at American University in Washington, also highlighted the failure to anticipate the attack and to detect U.S. helicopters entering Venezuelan airspace, noting that even a five- to ten-minute warning could have made a significant difference for the guards and for Maduro.
U.S. forces additionally benefited from “incredible” real-time intelligence provided by stealth drones to monitor movements of the Venezuelan leader, according to experts. A highly sophisticated combat team was deployed, and analysts believe the order to “fire to kill” was likely given.
Paul Hare, former British ambassador to Cuba and Venezuela, added that Cuban intelligence also underestimated the extent of U.S. access to internal cooperation within Venezuela’s security apparatus, contributing to the operation’s success.
International
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
The Vatican reportedly attempted to negotiate an offer of asylum in Russia for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro before his capture by U.S. forces last Saturday, according to The Washington Post.
The U.S. newspaper reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch about a supposed Russian proposal to grant Maduro asylum. A source familiar with the offer said that what was proposed “was that he would leave and be able to enjoy his money,” and that part of the plan involved Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteeing Maduro’s security.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the United States carried out a military operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture and detention, along with his wife Cilia Flores, who are now being held in New York on narcoterrorism charges.
The Washington Post also noted that U.S. President Donald Trump may have invited Maduro to Washington for in-person discussions about safe conduct, an offer that Maduro reportedly declined.
International
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
“War is becoming fashionable again, and war enthusiasm is spreading.” Pope Leo XIV delivered a somber assessment of international politics on Friday, sharply criticizing the growing reliance on force by nations at a time when his country of birth is increasing military displays.
While offering New Year’s greetings to the diplomatic corps, the U.S.-born pope — who also holds Peruvian nationality — delivered one of his strongest speeches to date, denouncing the “worrying weakening of multilateralism” and the emergence of what he described as “war enthusiasm.”
From the outset of his address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, delivered in English, the pontiff lamented the rise of a “diplomacy of force, by individuals or groups of allied states,” at the expense of dialogue, warning that such trends threaten the global order established after World War II.
“Peace is no longer sought as a gift or as a good desirable in itself, or as the pursuit of ‘the establishment of an order willed by God, one that entails greater justice among human beings.’ Instead, it is pursued through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominance,” the head of the Catholic Church said, without directly naming any country.
His remarks come amid ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and in the Gaza Strip, and against a broader international backdrop marked by European concerns over a potential U.S. takeover of Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory, a scenario that could threaten the cohesion of NATO.
U.S. strike in Caracas killed 32 cuban security officers, experts say surprise was crucial
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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