INTERNACIONAL
Venezuelan opposition member details harrowing 400-day captivity at UN
Pedro Urruchurtu recounts life in Venezuela
Urruchurtu is one of five members of the Venezuelan opposition who took refuge in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas for more than 400 days. He was freed last month. (Credit: UN Web TV)
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Pedro Urruchurtu spoke to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday about what he had endured at the hands of Nicolás Maduro’s regime while being forced to shelter in place for over 400 days. Urruchurtu and four other members of Venezuela’s political opposition were freed in May in a successful U.S. rescue mission.
He and his colleagues were effectively trapped inside the Argentine Embassy in Caracas — where the opposition members fled to, and were sheltered due to the diplomatic status of the embassy.
The opposition figures were under siege by regime forces who made their lives extremely difficult due to their control of the utilities. Urruchurtu told the council he had endured «five months without electricity, three minutes of water every ten days, rifles pointed at the windows, and dogs trained to bite; only because those in power considered it a crime to direct the campaigns of Maria Corina Machado in the opposition primaries and Edmundo González in the presidential elections. Both won.»
Humberto Villalobos, Pedro Urruchurtu and Magallí Meda, five Venezuelan opposition figures, hold a press conference after spending a year of forced confinement in Argentina’s embassy in Caracas, on May 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
OPINION: AMERICA NEEDS A VENEZUELA DEAL THAT ONLY PRESIDENT TRUMP CAN DELIVER
«Today I am here despite the state, and not thanks to it, because if it were up to it, I would be missing or dead,» Urruchurtu said.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the council that since May 1, 2024, the human rights situation in Venezuela has only gotten worse. The people have experienced «arbitrary detentions, violations of due process and enforced disappearances, amid continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment.»
Türk revealed that his office had documented 32 people — 15 of them adolescents — who reported being tortured and ill-treated in detention. He also noted that 28 people had been subjected to enforced disappearance after the country’s parliamentary elections, which took place in May 2025. He said their whereabouts remain unknown and that at least 12 of them were foreign nationals who «do not have access to consular assistance.»
The Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2025. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)
VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION PROMISES REPARATIONS TO LAKEN RILEY’S FAMILY, OTHER VICTIMS OF TREN DE ARAGUA VIOLENCE
«The world must no longer look away from the brutal reality of what the once-beautiful Venezuela has become. Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression. Pedro’s voice today represents the cries of thousands of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned, persecuted or forced into exile, as slaves to the regime,» UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital.
Venezuelan opposition members Humberto Villalobos, Omar Gonzalez, Claudia Macero, Magalli Meda and Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli are pictured at the Argentine embassy, in Caracas, Venezuela, where they have sought asylum, after Argentine diplomats were expelled from Venezuela, Aug. 1, 2024. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria )
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a post on X on May 6 that the opposition members, including Urruchurtu, had been rescued in «a precise operation» and brought to the U.S. A few weeks later, Rubio met with the released opposition members. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Rubio had commended the Venezuelan opposition members for their «bravery in the face of Maduro’s relentless repression and tyranny.»
Neuer also expressed gratitude for the Trump administration and Rubio’s actions, which led to Urruchurtu’s release.
«Thank you to the Trump administration and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for their critical role in securing Pedro’s release and the release of his comrades. Once again, proving that strong, principled diplomacy saves lives and advances the cause of freedom for the world,» Neuer told Fox News Digital.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s book tour will take him early next month to New Hampshire, the state that’s traditionally held the nation’s first presidential primary for a century.
The Portsmouth Music Hall announced on Thursday that California’s two-term Democratic governor will present his new book, «Young Man in a Hurry,» on Thursday, at their theater on March 5.
It’s a sure bet that the stop along New Hampshire’s Seacoast will generate more buzz about Newsom’s national ambitions and the likelihood that he’ll launch a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump.
Newsom’s stature in his own party has soared over the past year, thanks to his very vocal and visual pushback against the president, including his viral social media trolling of Trump and his successful California push to counter the Republican congressional redistricting effort.
THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS ALREADY UNDERWAY
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
«Newsom has shown an ability to stand up to Trump in a bold and highly effective manner without shying away from core democratic values,» veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.
Newsom was treated like a VIP as he held meetings and mingled with party delegates during the opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter meeting, which was held in Los Angeles in December. And Newsom held meetings with the Democratic Party chairs from New Hampshire and Nevada, another crucial early voting state.
«We had a great discussion on a wide range of issues,» longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.
DEMOCRATIC HEAVYWEIGHTS TURN HEADS, SPARK 2028 SPECULATION
Newsom has acknowledged that he’s mulling a presidential bid, telling CBS News last year he would «seriously consider» following the 2026 midterms and that he’d be «lying» if he said otherwise.
Newsom is one of more than a dozen Democrats viewed as potential 2028 White House contenders. And many of them have been paying visits to New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, which held the first sanctioned Democratic presidential primary in the 2024 election cycle. Newsom stopped in South Carolina last summer.
A New Hampshire-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that he and other activists in the state for months have been receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the White House hopefuls.
«Every week I receive a dozen,» the strategist said.
VANCE AMPLIFIES HIS 2026 MESSAGE WHILE LANDING KEY 2028 BACKING
Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair and former DNC committee member, told Fox News Digital that «successful candidates in New Hampshire start early here and get to know the activists. They find out what issues are important to people in New Hampshire.»
Sullivan said the early trips to New Hampshire by the potential contenders «show that they’re putting the work in to take the whole process seriously and know they need to do the hard work to win the primary.»
The California governor was last in New Hampshire in July 2024, to support then-President Joe Biden in the days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump. Newsom was a top surrogate for Biden, and later for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the party’s standard-bearer after Biden dropped his re-election run amid questions about his physical and mental durability.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a top surrogate for then-President Joe Biden, speaks with voters during a stop at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )
Harris, a fellow Californian who is also currently on a book tour, is also mulling a potential 2028 presidential run.
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Among the other Democrats seen as possible presidential candidates are Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut; progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another leading progressive; and two moderate Democrats, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former White House chief of staff and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
democratic party,democrats elections,gavin newsom,kamala harris,presidential primaries,new hampshire
INTERNACIONAL
Delcy Rodríguez aseguró que se realizarán elecciones “justas y libres” en Venezuela pero no fijó una fecha
La jefa del régimen de Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, aseguró en una entrevista con NBC News que está “absolutamente” comprometida a organizar “elecciones libres y justas” en el país, aunque precisó que la fecha de los comicios dependerá del diálogo político nacional.
En entrevista con la cadena estadounidense, Rodríguez respondió afirmativamente cuando la periodista Kristen Welker le preguntó si está dispuesta a celebrar elecciones.
“Absolutamente, sí”, declaró Rodríguez, según la traducción difundida por NBC News.
“Tendremos elecciones en este país justas y libres, por supuesto, como lo establece la Constitución”, añadió. Sin embargo, aclaró que el calendario electoral será decidido “por el diálogo político en este país”.
En la misma entrevista, Rodríguez confirmó que ha recibido una invitación formal para visitar Washington y que está dispuesta a concretar el viaje “una vez que establezcamos esta cooperación y podamos avanzar con todo”.
“Me han invitado a Estados Unidos. Estamos considerando ir allí una vez que establezcamos esta cooperación y podamos avanzar con todo”, señaló Rodríguez a NBC News.
La transición política venezolana ha estado marcada por la intervención de Estados Unidos, que ahora tutela la gestión de Rodríguez y exige la apertura del sector petrolero y la normalización institucional. El secretario de Energía de EEUU, Chris Wright, visitó Caracas esta semana y mantuvo una reunión con la líder chavista para abordar los próximos pasos del acuerdo energético y la hoja de ruta hacia la recuperación económica.
En declaraciones recogidas por The Wall Street Journal, Wright enfatizó que Venezuela atraviesa el inicio de una etapa de transición y que Delcy Rodríguez es consciente de que el proceso electoral es una condición necesaria para consolidar la cooperación.
“Estamos en las primeras semanas de un período de transición”, explicó Wright al periódico. Al ser consultado sobre la posibilidad de que Rodríguez acepte elecciones en un plazo de año y medio, Wright dijo: “Creo que sí. Ella es muy consciente de eso… Creo que reconoce que es una condición necesaria. Tenemos un plan. Ella conoce el plan”.
Delcy Rodríguez visitó junto a Chris Wright las instalaciones de una de las plantas que opera Chevron en la Faja Petrolífera del Orinoco, región que concentra las mayores reservas probadas de crudo en el mundo. Desde allí abogó por la eliminación de cualquier obstáculo en el acuerdo petrolero entre Venezuela y Estados Unidos.
“Chevron tiene más de 100 años en Venezuela y estamos haciendo un trabajo extraordinario, como socios que somos, mejorando producción, mejorando las instalaciones, la infraestructura y el mantenimiento y este es el camino de la cooperación”, afirmó.
Durante la entrevista con NBC News, Rodríguez reiteró que Maduro sigue siendo, a su juicio, el “presidente legítimo” de Venezuela. “Tanto el presidente Maduro como Cilia Flores, la primera dama, son inocentes”, afirmó.
La jefa del régimen chavista también respondió sobre la situación de la líder opositora María Corina Machado, premio Nobel de la Paz, quien se encuentra fuera del país.
Rodríguez advirtió que Machado “tendrá que responder ante Venezuela” si regresa y deberá explicar “por qué pidió una intervención militar, por qué pidió sanciones contra Venezuela y por qué celebró las acciones que tuvieron lugar a comienzos de enero”.
Enfatizó que, respecto a la seguridad de la opositora, no entiende “por qué hay tanto revuelo”, pero insistió en que deberá rendir cuentas ante la justicia venezolana.
El proceso de transición política ocurre junto a una serie de reformas económicas y legales. La Asamblea Nacional aprobó recientemente cambios en la Ley Orgánica de Hidrocarburos para facilitar la inversión extranjera y la participación de empresas estadounidenses en el sector energético, en línea con las exigencias de Washington para la recuperación económica del país.
(Con información de EFE y AFP)
Corporate Events,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,South America / Central America
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Alleged members of «foreign terrorist cartel» Tren de Aragua are set to be brought back to the U.S. after their deportations in 2025 — and it could come at taxpayers’ expense.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has repeatedly butted heads with the Trump administration, ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to facilitate the return of 137 migrants deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador in 2025, called CECOT.
Boasberg stipulated in his ruling that the government pay for the migrants’ airfare back to the U.S., meaning taxpayers are likely footing the bill.
Boasberg argued that it’s «unclear why Plaintiffs should bear the financial cost of their return in such an instance,» noting that, «this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them.»
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS DEPORTED VENEZUELANS TO BE RETURNED TO US
Courts rejected a misconduct accusation against Judge James Boasberg. (Associated Press)
The ruling comes as part of a nearly year-long saga, when the federal judge attempted to halt the Trump administration’s deportations of migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act in March 2025.
The Supreme Court ultimately allowed the Trump administration to continue using the Alien Enemies Act to carry out deportations in April, but ordered that detainees receive notice and an opportunity to challenge allegations.
Boasberg has since been wading through legal avenues with the men in El Salvador, issuing a ruling in December that the Trump administration denied them their due process.
It is unclear how many of the men will actually take the offer and return to the U.S., with Boasberg noting that the noncitizens «would be detained upon arrival» back to the U.S.
Similar to Boasberg’s ruling, another federal judge this month ordered the Trump administration to pay for the return of three migrant families that the judge ruled ICE unlawfully deported by a 2023 humanitarian-parole settlement.
TRUMP ADMIN ASKS BOASBERG FOR MORE TIME TO DETAIL CECOT PLANS AFTER MADURO OUSTER
A prisoner is moved as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) on March 26, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital on Thursday in response to the ruling that the illegal aliens in El Salvador were removed under proper legal authority, before taking a shot as Boasberg.
«Nothing has changed; in addition to being in our country illegally, these aliens are foreign terrorists designated as alien enemies by the President,» DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital when asked about the ruling.
TRUMP ADMIN SAYS MADURO CAPTURE REINFORCES ALIEN ENEMIES ACT REMOVALS
«They were removed under the proper legal authorities. This case is no longer about the facts or law, but about Judge Boasberg’s crusade to stop President Trump from doing the will of the American People. He has been shut down by appellate courts again and again on this case,» she continued.
Boasberg has become a prime target for Republicans over a string of rulings tied to Trump-era policies — including the Trump administration backing a potential judicial impeachment of the judge, and other «rogue» judges, in January.
DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin (dhs.gov)
The migrants in El Salvador were removed under The Alien Enemies Act, which is a 1798 wartime immigration law that the Trump administration invoked to deport violent gang members with alleged ties to criminal organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA).
TdA, as well as MS-13, were additionally designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration’s State Department in February 2025.
The administration has described those deported to the notoriously secure prison in El Salvador as «violent savages» and terrorists who pose a threat to U.S. security.
A prisoner is moved as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) on March 26, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
A previous analysis of 238 migrants deported to El Salvador found six faced attempted murder, assault, armed robbery, gun possession or domestic battery charges in the U.S., the Texas Tribune reported in May 2025, while 32 other deportees had been convicted in the U.S. of crimes, many of which were nonviolent, according to the outlet.
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DHS has defended that deportees labeled «‘non-criminals» by the media are «terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.»
immigration,illegal immigrants,homeland security,donald trump,politics
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