International
Maria Corina Machado calls for nationwide protests ahead of presidential inauguration
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Opposition leader María Corina Machado called on Venezuelan opposition supporters on Thursday to gather across the country for protests ahead of the presidential inauguration, which both President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia have vowed to assume.
“Serenity and determination. Stay focused. See you now! Glory to the brave people!” Machado wrote on the social media platform X. The former congresswoman is expected to emerge from hiding today, making her first public appearance in more than four months.
Machado claimed that “people are gathering in the streets” all across Venezuela, even in “places where security forces had initially occupied the protest sites” designated by the country’s largest opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD). According to Machado, security forces later withdrew from those areas.
The opposition leader called on all citizens to protest for the “fight” and “conquest” of “freedom” with “serenity,” “determination,” and the “same energy” as on July 28. On that date, she and the PUD maintain that González Urrutia won the election by a wide margin, despite the National Electoral Council (CNE) declaring a contested re-election victory for Maduro.
International
Venezuelan official urges migrant youths to come back and build the “future we deserve”
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The President of Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN, Parliament), the chavista Jorge Rodríguez, invited all migrant youths to return to the country and, as he said, help build the “prosperous homeland” during a speech on Wednesday before hundreds of supporters who were commemorating Youth Day.
“We extend a hand to all the young people, anywhere in the world, and we tell them, come back sisters, come back brothers, this is your land, this is your homeland, we welcome you with open arms,” said Rodríguez in a speech outside the Legislative Palace in Caracas, where the demonstration concluded.
Rodríguez urged young people to return with their knowledge and strength to help build the “prosperous homeland” and the future they deserve.
“Here we want you, here we love you (…) come on, we are waiting for you to build together the homeland we deserve, the future we deserve,” he said, recalling that 190 migrants deported from the United States arrived in Venezuela on Monday, who, as he stated, came from “sadness, persecution, and shame.”
International
Colombian president appoints new minister of Labor amid government crisis
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro appointed a new Minister of Labor on Wednesday, following the resignation of the former head of the ministry amid the ongoing internal government crisis, which has seen the departure of seven ministers and high-ranking officials.
The appointed minister is Antonio Sanguino, a sociologist and former senator from the centrist Green Party, who will face the main challenge of advancing the labor reform through Congress. This reform is one of Petro’s key political initiatives, as he promised to support the most vulnerable after being elected as the country’s first left-wing president.
“Antonio takes on the responsibility of implementing the pension reform and advancing the labor reform for the dignity of Colombian workers,” Petro stated on X, previously known as Twitter.
With this appointment, Petro begins to restructure the cabinet, which was left weakened by a series of irrevocable resignations from five ministers and one senior official, following internal tensions that became public over a week ago during an unprecedented live broadcast of a private ministerial meeting, where Petro demanded accountability and received criticism in return.
International
Mexico’s president rejects DEA interference after Terry Dale’s nomination
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Wednesday that she “will not allow interference” from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) following the nomination of Terry Dale as the new director of the agency, with whom she has had prior interactions in Mexico.
“We will not allow interference or violations of sovereignty. What exists is coordination and collaboration with U.S. government agencies, the State Department, and all U.S. government Secretariats, with the White House and President Donald Trump himself,” she expressed.
The Mexican president responded in her morning conference to questions about the nomination of Dale, announced by Trump on Tuesday. Trump has labeled Mexico’s drug cartels as terrorists and warned of possible bombings on Mexican territory and covert operations with U.S. troops.
Dale worked for 21 years with the DEA, with missions in Colombia, Afghanistan, and Mexico, and now, as Secretary of Security for Virginia, he leads 11 state security agencies with over 19,000 employees, as outlined by the Republican leader on Truth Social.
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