International

Trump chooses the members of his government in charge of health and epidemics in the US

The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Friday the main figures who will become part of his Government and will be in charge of health issues, including the director of the agency that was in charge of the government strategy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, Trump announced the appointment of former Congressman Dave Weldon as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a doctor with more than four decades of experience and an army veteran.

In his political career, he worked in the Labor Allocations subcommittee in the preparation of budgets for organizations such as the CDC and also to promulgate a ban on human embryo patents.

In a statement, the president-elect said that Weldon stands out as “a respected conservative leader in fiscal and social issues.”

Trump seeks trust in health institutions

With his arrival in the Government, Trump will seek to get Americans to regain “confidence” in the CDC and federal health authorities, “who have participated in censorship, data manipulation and misinformation,” said the former president (2017-2021).

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The future president also announced today that Janette Nesheiwat will be the Surgeon General of the United States, a position that is responsible for being the main spokesperson for public health issues in the country.

Nesheiwat, he said, “is a fierce defender and a strong communicator of preventive medicine and public health.”

“She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable and quality health care, and believes in empowering people to take charge of their health to live longer and healthier lives,” he said.

During the covid-19 pandemic, Trump recalled, he worked on the front line in New York City treating thousands of Americans. He also provided medical treatment in the field after Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes and has participated in international crises in Morocco, Haiti and Poland.

“His experience and leadership have been fundamental during some of the most challenging health care crises of our time,” he said.

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Nominated for the FDA

The Republican leader also nominated surgeon Marty Makary as FDA commissioner on Friday, an organization that, in his opinion, has also “lost the trust of Americans and has lost sight of its main objective as a regulator.”

Makary will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s controversial election as Secretary of Health.

Among other things, he will be in charge of “adequately evaluating harmful chemicals that poison the food supply” and medicines and biological products that are supplied to young people, in order to “address the epidemic of chronic childhood diseases.”

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.