International
The Venezuelan Supreme Court refuses to review the sentence that validated Maduro’s re-election
The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela rejected this Friday a request for constitutional review of the sentence that validated the controversial re-election of Nicolás Maduro in the elections of July 28, whose result was reported as fraudulent and many countries have not recognized it.
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court declared inadmissible the request, which was introduced on September 25 by former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez, in an action that had the support of about twenty dissident leaders of Chavismo and the traditional leadership of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV).
The decision assures that the expert opinion made by the Electoral Chamber of the TSJ to validate the re-election of Maduro – which could not be followed and verified by representatives of the majority opposition – was carried out “impeccably with due guarantees, through which the unobjectible integrity” of the bulletin announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) was verified, according to the institution.
“All of which was verified by this Constitutional Chamber, thus reaffirming that, through the electoral process carried out on July 28, 2024, the will of the Venezuelan people was expressed,” underlines the sentence.
Ratifies Maduro’s re-election
Likewise, the new decision of the TSJ – composed almost entirely of magistrates related to Chavismo – ratifies that the re-election of the president was certified “categorically.”
In addition, it is recalled that all the electoral material consigned by the CNE “is under the protection” of the TSJ, which maintains the impossibility of accessing the voting records of each center, something that the international community has asked to review to certify or not the announced result.
The majority opposition – grouped in the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – maintains that its standard bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, is the winner of the elections based on the “83.5% of the electoral records” collected by witnesses and board members on the day of the elections, documents recognized as valid by several countries, and qualified as “false” by the ruling party.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
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
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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