Authorities in Bogotá and Mexico City admitted this week that their governments will be represented in Caracas on Jan. 10 when President Nicolás Maduro takes his oath of office for a new six-year term (2025-2031)for which he was chosen in the controversial July 28 elections which the opposition also claims to have won.
US President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday he had chosen former Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Mauricio Claver-Carone as his future State Department's Envoy to Latin America. The Cuban-born Claver-Carone was appointed to the IDB at Trump's request in 2020 but was dismissed amid an affair with a subordinate whom he had given a pay raise.
Venezuela's Bolivarian regime has built a bridge reaffirming its sovereignty claims over Guyana Essequiba. The provisional structure will allow the arrival of heavier machinery for the definitive bridge, it was explained. Last Thursday, a fixed bridge over the Cuyuní River on the island of Anacoco was inaugurated as part of the Venezuelan government's efforts to reaffirm its sovereignty over that disputed region. Attending the ceremony were Defense Minister Vladímir Padrino López and Transport Minister Ramón Velásquez Araguayán, among other high-ranking officials and military commanders.
Following the detention of Border Guard (Gerndarmería Nacional) First Corporal Nahuel Gallo in Venezuela on spying charges, the Argentine Government of President Javier Milei issued a travel advisory Tuesday recommending to avoid all travel to that country where “A dictatorship prevails,” according to Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Monday confirmed that Argentine Border Guard (Gendarmería Nacional) First Corporal Nahuel Gallo had been arrested by the Chavista regime because “he came to fulfill a mission.” Cabello added that Gallo's social media activity showed a lifestyle unfitting his salary, which raised doubts about his ultimate intentions.
At least 119 deaths have been recorded in Bolivia in 2024 as a result of illegal mining. This figure represents an alarming increase over previous years. Most of these deaths have occurred in illegal or unregulated operations, where working conditions are hazardous, Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc) Potosí Director Marco Antonio Dávalos explained, in whose jurisdiction 113 deaths were reported.
Presidents Daniel Noboa of Ecuador and Gustavo Petro of Colombia met Sunday at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands to discuss environmental protection initiatives, border cooperation, and other matters of mutual interest, such as drug trafficking and energy integration.
Defense Minister Lord Coaker's recent visit to Chile and Brazil focused on supporting global security and tackling increasing threats. There, he held talks with his counterparts and industry as the UK strengthens relations with partners around the world.
A report by the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicates strong concern with the increasing number of Chinese-operated ports in Latin America, fearing an increase in criminal networks and the trafficking of illicit goods and smuggling.
The leftwing governments of Chile and Colombia signed Thursday in Santiago two memorandums of understanding to expand their bilateral cooperation. Hosting Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren and his Colombian counterpart Luis Gilberto Murillo updated the so-called Strategic Partnership Council to promote a broader joint agenda, in addition to an agreement on Feminist Foreign Policy to promote gender equality by establishing a bilateral alliance aimed at projecting shared values.