International
María Corina Machado denies Maduro and denies that he has fled to Spain: “I’m here in Venezuela”
The anti-Chavista leader María Corina Machado assured, in an interview with EVTV, that she is “in Venezuela,” with which she denies the Government of Nicolás Maduro, who had said shortly before that the former deputy “fled the country to Spain,” where the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia is exiled.
“Venezuelans know that I am here in Venezuela, people know it and Nicolás Maduro also knows it. What happens is that they are desperate to know where I am, and I am not going to give them that pleasure,” said Machado, who maintained that she and the citizens of the country are “here fighting and determined to advance to the end.”
On the other hand, the head of state, according to Machado, is in a “parallel universe surrounded by bodyguards” because “he knows that the people defeated him” in the presidential elections of July 28, in which the opponent asserts that González Urrutia was the “elected” candidate, despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Maduro the winner.
“María Corina Machado fled to Spain,” says the Government
Shortly before, the Government of Venezuela had assured that Machado “fled the country to Spain,” where the standard-bearer of the opposition coalition, Edmundo González Urrutia, considered the winner of the last presidential elections of July 28 by the Spanish Congress of Deputies, is exiled.
In a televised event, President Nicolás Maduro – proclaimed re-elected by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) – said that “the sayona” – as he usually refers to in a derogatory way to Machado – “also left” the country and “fled” to “a very good tavern there somewhere in Spain.”
Although the head of state did not mention the name of the opponent, the Minister of Communication, Freddy Ñáñez, collected these statements and assured on Telegram that, according to the president, “María Corina Machado fled the country to Spain.”
Specifically, Maduro said: “I have a secret from you, but I don’t know, do you know how to keep a secret? (…) Who likes gossip? (…) It turns out that the old man (in reference to González Urrutia) left a month ago, (…) and the sayona also left, fled, fled, (…) left until the end, a very good tavern there in a place in Spain, (…) that’s where he got. Please don’t tell this to anyone.”
The ‘Sayona’ is a character who, according to Venezuelan oral literature, appears in the form of a specter and punishes unfaithful men.
Machado and González Urrutia
Last Monday, the president, without giving names or direct references, said that “she” had left the country, despite the fact that she has been banned from leaving the national territory since June 2014.
“Don’t tell anyone, he left the country, my sources tell me that he fled (…) they are cowards, they are good at sending messages of hatred and intolerance, but he left, his Gucci suitcases arrived and he left,” he said then, once again, without giving any name.
González Urrutia, leader of the main opposition coalition – the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – arrived in Madrid on September 8, after requesting asylum due to the political and judicial “persecution” that he denounced having suffered in his country after the elections.
After the departure of the opponent, Machado, who claims to be in “the clandestinity”, fearing for his “life” and “freedom”, reiterated that he will continue to fight from Venezuela, while González Urrutia will do so “from the outside.”
Likewise, on September 30, the former deputy, in her speech of gratitude by videoconference after having won the Václav Havel Human Rights Award, reiterated that she will “continue to fight alongside the Venezuelan people.”
International
Mexico Arrests CJNG Leader “El Jardinero” in Nayarit
Mexican authorities arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero,” on Monday during a naval operation in the western state of Nayarit, delivering another major blow to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Flores was considered one of the top regional leaders within the cartel and had reportedly overseen criminal operations along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Security analysts viewed him as a potential successor to slain drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera.
The arrest was carried out by Mexico’s Navy Special Forces in a planned operation, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.
The United States Department of the Treasury had previously identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker,” while U.S. authorities offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and extradition.
A U.S. grand jury indicted Flores in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin.
His capture comes months after the reported death of “El Mencho,” an operation that Mexican authorities considered a priority due to the cartel leader’s alleged involvement in a 2020 assassination attempt against García Harfuch.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
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