International
María Corina Machado says that Nicolás Maduro is “cornered” inside and outside Venezuela
Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Sunday that the president, Nicolás Maduro, is “cornered” inside and outside the country, and expressed that “the end” of the Chavista government is “much closer than many imagine,” despite the fact that the president insists that he will be sworn in as head of state in January, after his controversial re-election.
“Maduro is totally cornered. However, it still seems that there are some men of little faith who, in addition, believe they can convince Venezuelans that we are a defeated people, a people that must settle for humiliation, with the indignity of what those leftovers are left by that feast of the corrupt,” said the former deputy in an audio shared on social networks.
Machado assured that Chavismo “collapsed” in the presidential elections of July 28, with the “victory” – as he reiterated – of the candidate of the largest opposition alliance, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Edmundo González Urrutia, after which the Maduro government reacted with “violence.”
“But what he reaffirmed was the will to change of us Venezuelans and isolated Maduro inside and outside the country,” said the opponent, the main endorse of the leader of the PUD.
The presidential inauguration
In his opinion, the Government “is aware of its weakness” and understands “the implications of the collapse of tyranny” in Syria, where President Bashar al Asad fell exactly a week ago due to an offensive by an insurgent coalition, after decades of a “regime of strength that sowed terror in the people,” Machado said.
“However, in a matter of days, that regime fell apart, it fell because it was hollow inside, isolated internationally, (…) and because many things were happening under the table without anyone noticing, but, above all, it fell because the vast majority of the population did not want them,” he said.
In Venezuela, Machado continued, we are “one step away from that long-awaited change,” so he called on citizens to be alert to “the signs” and to prepare “the heart, mind and body to do what needs to be done at the right time.”
“We have never been so close to the final triumph and that there is nothing that is impossible for those who put their heart, mind, will in that goal that we have set ourselves, and that is what we have shown,” he added.
Both Maduro and González Urrutia assure that they will take office as president on January 10.
Although Maduro’s re-election has received criticism from the international community, mainly for the lack of evidence to confirm his triumph at the polls, all the institutions of the Caribbean country – including the Armed Forces – support the Chavista leader and see the PUD as coup plotters who intend to take power by force.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
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