U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo characterized as “unacceptable” the presence in Venezuela of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group and Iran’s proxy, The head of U.S. diplomacy made the statement January 20 at the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial Summit, which brought together ministers from more [ … ]
Perhaps Chilean Army Captain Gabriela Valdivia had an atypical military career path: she said she didn’t have any close relatives in the Armed Forces, and her first vocation was astronomy. But her interest in judo, a sport she chose during her studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in [ … ]
Colombian and Venezuelan armed groups exercise “abusive social control” on both sides of the border, in Colombia’s Arauca department and Venezuela’s Apure state, in collusion with Venezuelan authorities, said nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) on January 22. José Miguel Vivanco, HRW director for the Americas, denounced operations carried out [ … ]
As the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro continues to starve the Venezuelan people and destroy their health care system, the mental health of Venezuelans continues to deteriorate. For those suffering from chronic and severe mental health disorders — such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder — access [ … ]
Bolivia’s interim government “suspended” diplomatic relations with Cuba on January 24, in yet another move from Bolivian right-wing President Jeanine Áñez to distance herself from the foreign policy of her predecessor, Evo Morales. “The Plurinational State of Bolivia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces to the national and international public that [ … ]
U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), spoke before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on January 30, 2020, to provide lawmakers an assessment of SOUTHCOM’s concerns and initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Stressing that the Western Hemisphere is a shared home, Adm. [ … ]
In late December 2019, the Uruguayan Navy seized about 6 tons of cocaine, striking what it called "the largest blow to narcotrafficking in the country's history." Authorities arrested four people following an operation that brought elements of the Navy from Montevideo Port, on the south coast, to the city of [ … ]
On January 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned seven former opposition lawmakers, among them Luis Parra, who was sworn in as president of the National Assembly (AN, in Spanish) after the Nicolás Maduro regime blocked entry to Venezuela’s congress to Interim President Juan Guaidó and other lawmakers. In [ … ]
On December 12, 2019, Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate torture in Venezuela inflicted on adversaries with the support of Cuban agents. Almagro’s statements followed the presentation at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. of the annual [ … ]
First Lieutenants Jazmín Pérez Cobos and María José Cuevas changed the history of aviation in Ecuador, as they became the first female fighter pilots in the Ecuadorean Air Force (FAE, in Spanish). After a year of academic training at Manta Air Base on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, 40 hours in a [ … ]
Víctor Quintero works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Caracas, but says work has now become difficult because of long lines to buy fuel. “I’ve been to more than five gas stations, and there are lines everywhere. This is not normal in Caracas [...]. It shouldn’t be like this. We [ … ]
In 2019, the food distributed through the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP, in Spanish) of the Nicolás Maduro regime, reached fewer families, while delivery time increased. In addition, some products, such as canned tuna and wheat flour, were excluded from the subsidized food program, said a report from Venezuelan [ … ]
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