Venezuelans Stage Demonstrations as Questions Mount Over Election Count, and Other Headlines of the Day

Welcome to the Daily News Brief, CFR’s flagship morning newsletter summarizing the top global news and analysis of the day. Written by Catherine Osborn and edited by Mariel Ferragamo, with support from Diana Roy.

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Top of the Agenda

Thousands of people protested across Venezuela yesterday and the government ejected several diplomatic missions from the country as doubts soared over the results of Sunday’s presidential election. Electoral authorities said President Nicolás Maduro won the vote without releasing a detailed count as they have in previous years, while opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia said yesterday his team has evidence their victory was “mathematically irreversible.”

While friendly countries including Bolivia, China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and Serbia said they recognized Maduro’s victory, several other Latin American countries denounced his announced win. The Venezuelan government said yesterday it was cutting diplomatic ties with those neighbors, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. Meanwhile, Brazil and Colombia issued more cautious statements calling for more data to be released. U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby said Washington is monitoring events in Venezuela, and President Joe Biden is due to speak with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva about the matter today. (AP, NYT, Reuters) 

ANALYSIS

“A political transition in Venezuela can take place even after this tainted election with disputed results, and even as some people in power refuse to step aside. The regime needs international legitimacy, in part to have access to key markets, and these electoral results certainly do not provide it,” the Inter-American Dialogue’s Tamara Taraciuk Broner writes for Americas Quarterly. 

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“[If] Maduro clings to power by fraud and other illegitimate means, Venezuela will have missed perhaps its last best chance at change for a long time. Instability will persist and perhaps deepen, and Latin America and the United States will have no choice but to absorb the consequences,” CFR expert Will Freeman writes for the Los Angeles Times.

This Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham and CFR’s Diana Roy unpacks Venezuela’s descent into economic and political chaos. 

Pacific Rim

Washington Announces $500 Million in New Military Aid to Philippines

The new funding would go toward modernizing the Philippine military and coast guard, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today on a visit to Manila. He added that President Biden is proposing an additional $128 million this year for infrastructure projects on Philippine military bases where the United States has access. (Straits Times)

North Korea/South Korea: Kim Ju Ae, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is believed to be getting trained to succeed her father as the country’s leader, two lawmakers briefed by the South Korean spy agency said yesterday. Lately, she has been accompanying her father at many military and economic events; still, the agency said that Kim has not ruled out other possibilities for his successor. (Yonhap)  

South and Central Asia

India Calls EU Carbon Border Tax Unworkable

India’s economic affairs secretary said the European Union (EU) proposal for a tax on carbon-intensive imports “doesn’t work for a developing economy like India.” Disagreements over the planned EU border tax could hold up talks between India and the bloc on a free trade agreement. (Reuters)

Pakistan: Clashing tribal groups in the country’s northwest reached a cease-fire today after having killed at least forty-nine people and injured another more than two hundred over the past week, a local official said. (Dawn)

Middle East and North Africa

Lebanon Sees Some Flight Suspensions, Evacuation Warnings as Regional Tensions Rise

Several airlines, including Air France and Lufthansa, temporarily suspended certain flights in and out of Beirut yesterday as tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah escalated over the weekend. The stalled flights come as other countries including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom (UK) issued travel advisories for their nationals to avoid or leave Lebanon. (Reuters, Anadolu)

This In Brief by CFR’s Christina Bouri explains what rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions mean for Lebanon. 

Israel: Police detained at least nine military reservists yesterday for questioning in a probe over suspected sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee. Some demonstrators broke into the Israeli military base to protest the reservist detentions; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the break-in. (NYT)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ethiopia, IMF Agree on $3.4 Billion Loan

The deal was announced after Ethiopia allowed its currency to float freely yesterday, paving the way for the bailout along with pledges of other reforms. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to disburse around $1 billion immediately to Ethiopia as part of the new agreement and the rest of the funds over the next four years. (Bloomberg)

South Africa: The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party expelled former President Jacob Zuma for campaigning via his own breakaway party known as uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in an effort to dislodge the ANC from power, a party official announced yesterday. (Mail & Guardian)

For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR expert Michelle Gavin outlines ANC and MK turnout in South Africa’s May election. 

Europe

Armenia, Turkey Hold Round of Normalization Talks After Two-Year Pause

The two countries pledged to simplify visa procedures for diplomatic passport holders in talks on potential normalization today. Turkey has aimed to revive historically tense ties with Armenia since the end of Yerevan’s conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. No date was announced for the next round of talks. (Reuters)

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UK: The government will cut more than $7 billion in previously planned spending for this year after detecting what the Treasury called a “black hole” in the country’s finances left by the previous conservative government. Cuts include reductions in certain consumer benefits for fuel and stopping non-essential spending on consultants. (BBC)

Americas

El Chapo’s Son to Appear in Court Following Arrest Alongside Accused Kingpin

Joaquín Guzmán López, son of jailed Mexican kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is due to appear in a U.S. court today. He was indicted last year on U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges and turned himself into U.S. authorities last Thursday alongside accused top drug boss Ismael Zambada. Zambada’s lawyer said Guzmán López “forcibly kidnapped” Zambada in the incident that culminated in the arrest. (Reuters)

This Backgrounder details Mexico’s long-standing war against drugs, crime, and the cartels. 

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