VOA Spanish: Maduro promotes constitutional reform in Venezuela, second attempted under Chavismo
Nicolas Maduro is promoting the second Venezuelan constitutional reform proposed by Chavismo since the president took power in 1999. The 2007 proposal was rejected in a referendum. This time, the plan is to modify at least one-fifth of the fundamental text.
Click here for the full story in Spanish.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
IS in Sahel expands terror threat beyond strongholds
On Feb. 24, the Moroccan counterterror agency broke up a terrorist cell calling itself "the Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al Aqsa." Authorities said the group was making remote-controlled bombs to carry out attacks in the North African country. In November, a similar terrorist cell was dismantled in the Spanish cities of Seville and Ceuta. The connection? Both Moroccan and Spanish authorities said the groups were aligned with Islamic State in The Sahel. The group is best known for wreaking a devastating wave of violence across Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, plunging these countries into chaos and fueling a spiraling humanitarian crisis. But analysts say the foiled terror cells farther afield are a worrying sign. "Because the counterinsurgency infrastructure in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has been compromised, then it allows them to make inroads into other countries that they perceive to be vulnerable," said Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at geopolitical risk consultancy Control Risks. Ochieng said IS Sahel's strategy appears increasingly focused on exploiting security gaps beyond their core Sahelian strongholds. "IS Sahel has seen that its expansion could be directed much further West and much further North, and Morocco would be one place which would be of strategic interest to it," she said. Andrew Lebovich of the Dutch international affairs think tank Clingendael said these disrupted plots are indicative of IS Sahel's broader ambitions. "It does suggest an ongoing effort to increase operations in different ways in other countries,' he said, adding that Algeria is facing an increasing threat. And it's not just North Africa that's at risk. Ochieng warns that countries traditionally seen as stable, such as Guinea or even Senegal, could become future targets for IS Sahel militants too. In March, the Global Terrorism Index named the Sahel the epicenter of global terrorism for the second year running.
Voice of America
12-03-2025
- Voice of America
US clears out remaining migrants from Guantanamo Bay
The United States has cleared out the last migrants being held at its naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sending them back to the U.S. mainland as they await deportation. Two U.S. defense officials told VOA on Wednesday that 40 detainees, including 23 'high-threat illegal aliens' incarcerated at the base's detention center, were flown to Louisiana on Tuesday. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operation, said the detainees were flown aboard a nonmilitary aircraft at the direction of officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Neither ICE nor its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, have responded to requests for comment. Last week, in response to a request for updates on the detainees being held at Guantanamo, an ICE spokesperson declined comment 'due to pending litigation.' ICE and DHS, which has been spearheading the U.S. deportation efforts under President Donald Trump, have repeatedly declined to respond to questions about the identities of the detainees, their countries of origin or the crimes with which they are charged. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media that many of the 'high-threat illegal aliens' sent to Guantanamo are members of the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua and have confessed to or been charged with murder, attempted murder, assault, weapons trafficking and drug crimes. The Trump administration announced plans to use the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay to hold migrants slated for deportation in late January. At the time, Noem told reporters that the facilities would be used to house 'the worst of the worst.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, also speaking in late January, called the detention center at Guantanamo Bay 'the prefect place' to hold criminals slated for removal, but also said the base's migrant operations center, first built in the 1990s, would also be opened for nonviolent migrants awaiting deportation. The first detainees began arriving at Guantanamo Bay in February aboard U.S. military cargo jets, some staying for days or weeks before being deported. At times, the base held nearly 200 detainees between its prison and migrant facilities. Last month, ICE at one point deported 177 detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras, from which they were to be taken to Venezuela for repatriation, before bringing in more detainees. Immigration rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed multiple lawsuits against the U.S. government over its use of Guantanamo Bay. One suit, filed earlier this month, seeks to stop U.S. officials from transferring migrants to the base, alleging the moves violate U.S. law. An earlier lawsuit filed in February alleged the U.S. government had prevented family members and lawyers from contacting the detainees. DHS has dismissed the allegations in the lawsuits. 'The American Civil Liberties Union appears far more interested in promoting open borders and disrupting public safety missions than in protecting the civil liberties of Americans — they should consider changing their name,' a DHS spokesperson told VOA in a statement earlier this month. 'In the meantime, we will continue working with DOJ (Department of Justice) to fend off these baseless legal challenges.'
Voice of America
10-03-2025
- Voice of America
Greek lawmaker attacks paintings he said were offensive to Christians
A far-right Greek lawmaker attacked four paintings in an exhibition at the country's National Gallery on Monday, the gallery said, after he had described one as offensive because of its distorted depictions of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The lawmaker, named by the gallery as Nikolaos Papadopoulos, from the ultra-religious Niki party, was temporarily detained, and the gallery said it had had to close for the day due to the incident. The gallery said that with assistance from another person he had violently taken down four paintings included in the exhibition inspired by Spanish master Francisco de Goya. "The above violently detached them from the wall and threw them on the floor, which resulted in their damage," the gallery said in a statement. Papadopoulos' lawyer Constantinos Vathiotis told Reuters that he was illegally detained for five hours. Lawmakers are protected from arrest under the constitution and only parliament can lift their immunity. The exhibition, "The allure of the bizarre," is by a group of Greek artists, with works corresponding with 80 etchings from Goya's late 18th century Los Caprichos series. It has been on display in Athens since January at the country's main gallery, which is a major draw for Greeks and tourists alike. In a question to the culture ministry submitted to parliament in January, the lawmaker said that one painting, among the group of four he is accused of damaging, was "clearly offending the Orthodox Christian faith, directly insulting the holy faces of Virgin Mary and Christ, which are depicted distorted." The culture ministry responded at the time that it "never engages in censorship." The Hellenic League for Human Rights condemned the lawmaker's action, saying "freedom of art and freedom of expression are protected by the constitution and are not subject to the personal taste and religious and ideological beliefs of self-appointed judges and ultimately punishers."
