International

Edmundo González Urrutia’s team says that the anti-chavista will attend Trump’s investiture

The team of Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claims his victory in his country’s presidential elections last July, reported this Thursday that the anti-Chavista will attend the investiture of the elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 20.

In a statement, the opposition team said that the US Government, which it considers a “great ally of the Venezuelan democratic cause,” has invited “the legitimate president of Venezuela, Edmundo González Urrutia, to the inauguration” of the Republican.

In that sense, the former anti-Chavista ambassador, recognized by Washington as the winner of the Venezuelan presidential elections, “has confirmed his attendance, and will move this weekend” to the US capital, where he plans to “meet with other members of the new Administration.”

González Urrutia, quoted in the text, assures that he will take advantage of “all spaces to defend the will of Venezuelans,” and celebrated that “every day” there are “more international allies who join this fight” in his country.

Trump, who last week called González Urrutia “president-elect” and described him and former anti-Chavista deputy María Corina Machado as “freedom fighters”, will begin the investiture acts with a reception, on January 18, on his golf course on the outskirts of Washington that will feature the launch of fireworks, his team reported on Monday.

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The inauguration will take place, as set by the Constitution, on January 20, the day on which the Republican will star in several events.

The Republican, who already ruled the United States between 2017 and 2021, will swear in at noon on the stairs of the Capitol and, later, sign the first presidential decrees in the same building.

According to The New York Times, Trump has raised more than 170 million dollars for the events of his inauguration, a record amount driven by donations from large companies such as Amazon and Meta.

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.

Central America

Kristi Noem in Latin America: Talks with Bukele on expulsions and security policies

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. In a post on the social media platform X, she stated that her goal is to increase deportation flights and expel foreign nationals who have committed crimes in the United States.

El Salvador is the first stop on Noem’s three-nation tour of Latin America this week. On Thursday, she will travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, and on Friday, she will visit Mexico, where she is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

After arriving in El Salvador, Noem, along with Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Security, visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)—the megaprison built under Bukele’s administration, designed to house 40,000 inmates. Noem said she wanted to “see firsthand the detention center where the worst criminals are held.”

Cecot is considered the largest prison in the Americas and a key symbol of Bukele’s controversial crackdown on crime.

According to the Salvadoran government, the prison—located about 70 kilometers from San Salvador—houses members of gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, who have been convicted of serious crimes. The facility also holds the 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States on March 15, in an unprecedented transfer that has drawn criticism from Venezuela’s government and international human rights organizations.