Politics

Recordings obtained by El País reveal that Álvaro Leyva, Colombia’s former chancellor and a former close confidant of Gustavo Petro, attempted to push a plan to depose the president with the backing of Republican congress members in the United States. In the audio recordings, Leyva suggests a strategy to generate “international pressure” to facilitate a change of government, with Vice President Francia Márquez as a possible successor. The White House dismissed the attempt, while the revelation has intensified the internal crisis within Colombia’s top government.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, presented his annual report this Friday in Geneva, expressing concern about the human rights situation in Venezuela, highlighting arbitrary detentions and restrictions on fundamental freedoms. The Venezuelan government labeled the report “selective” and questioned the lack of a statement regarding the situation of more than 250 Venezuelan citizens detained in El Salvador.

Albert Ramdin, the new Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), is betting on dialogue in Venezuela. Just a few months after taking office, he has made it clear that he wants to establish a channel of communication with both the Government and the opposition of the country. His approach is a priority: he seeks political stability and does not want to get bogged down in debates over whether Venezuela can be considered a dictatorship or not. This approach recalls what the OAS did during difficult moments in Venezuela’s history, particularly after the 2002 institutional crisis caused by a confrontation between the government of Hugo Chávez and various sectors of Venezuelan society, which resulted in a coup d’état and an oil industry strike within the context of a deeply polarized society.

The foreign ministries of Panama and Venezuela announced this Thursday that they will soon reactivate their consular services in Caracas and Panama City. This measure aims to provide assistance and protection to citizens of both countries residing abroad.