World
Argentina's Milei rallies Venezuelan opposition despite Maduro's 'ugly' attacks
Argentinian President Javier Milei has emerged as a powerful ally of the Venezuelan anti-government protests as international pressure mounts to award the recent presidential election to the opposition.
Leaders from around the world, including the U.S., have cast doubt on Nicolas Maduro’s claim that he won the election, and protesters have clashed with police in the streets of the embattled South American nation.
“He’s been very, very helpful, and he has been kind of like a rallying voice in South America to allow him, along with the left, the opposition of healing work and kind of pushing other democracies to recognize Edmundo as president,” Daniel Acosta Rivas, an OSINT Analyst, told Fox News Digital.
Rivas said that Milei’s vocal support has “been coming into Venezuela and especially in the diaspora.”
Milei was among the first world leaders to speak out after the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council handed victory to the incumbent with an alleged margin of 51%, compared to 44% support for the opposition. Pre-election polling (which is illegal in the country) indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received double the votes of Maduro.
BLINKEN SAYS VENEZUELA’S NICOLAS MADURO LOST ELECTION BEFORE CLAIMING VICTORY WITH ‘NO SUPPORTING EVIDENCE’
The U.S. eventually recognized Gonzalez as the winner after claiming to have reviewed tally sheets, but Milei had immediately blasted the election result as a “fraud carried out and perpetrated by the dictator Nicolás Maduro.”
“He may believe he has won a battle,” Milei said. “However, the most important thing is that the Venezuelan lions have awakened, and sooner or later socialism will come to an end.”
Argentina’s President Javier Milei addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
Milei stressed that Argentina “will not acknowledge a new fraud” and urged Venezuela’s armed forces to “defend democracy and popular will this time around.” He pointed to “data” that showed a “crushing victory for the opposition.”
Protesters took to the streets and met a violent crackdown from police as Maduro attempted to press his victory claim, drawing international condemnation. Milei continued to urge the protesters and support their fight against Maduro.
CHAVEZ STATUES TOPPLED ACROSS VENEZUELA AS ELECTION PROTESTS RAGE ON
Maduro lashed out at Milei earlier this week, taking several shots at the Argentinian. He referenced Milei’s “monster face” and called him “an ugly guy, too, and stupid.”
He also labeled Milei a “Nazi, fascist guy” who demanded to know how anyone could take a “guy like that seriously,” according to the Buenos Aires Herald. He also called Milei a “cowardly bug” and a “traitor to the homeland.”
Demonstrators clash with police close to an armored police car during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
“These people have said no to wild capitalism and fascism,” Maduro insisted during a rally outside his party headquarters. “From Caracas, Venezuela has said no to the Nazi fascist Milei. We are a country of warriors.”
But Maduro’s response only seemed to have galvanized the protesters and strengthened Milei’s popularity among the opposition. Rivas noted that Maduro keeps commenting on the likes of Milei and Elon Musk – both prominent critics following the election result – in an effort to shift the focus away from the election, but the efforts have only highlighted him and his politics in a region that is increasingly unhappy with politics as normal in the region.
BIDEN’S VENEZUELA POLICY FEEDS MADURO STRONGMAN IMAGE, EMBOLDENS DICTATOR IN ELECTION CONTROVERSY: RUBIO
“He has pushed a right-wing movement or classical liberal movement throughout Latin America,” Rivas said. “You see people being inspired by his message and his rise to the leadership … he was virtually unknown outside of libertarian circles before he ran for office, and he was dismissed by the other members of the opposition in Argentina during the Fernandez-Kirchner government. And look at him now.”
Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan foreign policy expert and President of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital that “young people in Venezuela are tired of communism, even the mildest form of socialism.”
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government protest in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
“What all of us want is a true change towards the idea of freedom,” Jraissati said. “This is why Javier Milei is … openly defending the ideas of freedom. He is tackling inflation. He is cutting wasteful government spending. And overall, he is pushing the notion that if people are allowed to be free, our countries will finally flourish.”
“The communists have been in power for 25 years in Venezuela,” he continued. “Their legacy has been one of extreme poverty and hunger: From being the wealthiest country in Latin America, we are now the poorest, and on the political front, they turn a functioning democracy into a Stalinist system in which all political freedoms have been taken away from us.”
HARRIS FAILED TO COMBAT ‘ROOT CAUSES’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, FORMER BORDER PATROL CHIEF SAYS
Venezuelan activists living in exile spoke glowingly of Milei and his potential impact on the country as protesters continue seeking an end to the Maduro-Chavez system and a new way of life, possibly one that aligns more with the politics of Milei. Since taking office earlier this year, Milei, an economist, has tamed Argentina’s runaway inflation, balanced the budget and pared the size of government.
“Young people tend to embrace socialist ideas; however, those who have lived under these political systems become their biggest adversaries,” Esteban Hernández, a Venezuelan journalist in exile in Miami, told Fox News Digital.
“The Venezuelan youth, unlike in other countries, doesn’t support these ideas,” he said. “As a matter of fact, we have seen that in nations like the U.S. or even Argentina, they make efforts to get elected those who oppose socialism.”
“During the last election cycle in Argentina, for example, we saw many Venezuelans warning locals about voting for Sergio Massa, and many even volunteered to get Javier Milei elected,” Hernández added.
Franklin Camargo, a Venezuelan activist in exile, told Fox News Digital that “Javier Milei is the best right-wing leader of our generation, since he refutes the socialists and the left with philosophical and moral arguments while continually offering the best defense of Individualism, Capitalism and Freedom.”
Pope Francis on Monday placed Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan modernist once called “God’s architect” for his work on the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s world-famous basilica, on the path to sainthood.
Francis recognized his “heroic virtues” and authorized a decree declaring him “venerable,” a move toward sainthood, the Vatican said in a statement. For the next step, beatification, a miracle attributed to him would have to be verified. After that, a confirmation of yet another miracle would be required for Gaudí to be declared a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. The process can take years, even centuries.
The basilica marked the pope’s decision by noting on its website that after Gaudí died at 73, a leading prelate at the time called him God’s architect, and that the Sagrada Familia “opens hearts to beauty with its beauty.”
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852, most likely in Reus, Spain. He moved years later to Barcelona, where he studied architecture, earning his degree in 1878. After working on some small projects, according to the basilica’s website, “he soon became one of the most sought-after architects and began taking on larger commissions.”
The Gaudi Foundation notes that his association with the architect Joan Martorell i Montells brought Gaudí into contact with the rich industrialist and prominent Barcelona figure Eusebio Güell, which “helped to engender many of the imperishable works” still admired today.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and Gaudí took over the project a year later, when he was 31. He worked on the basilica for more than four decades, the last 12 years of his life exclusively. It remains unfinished.
Gaudí was hit by a tram in Barcelona on June 7, 1926, and taken to the city’s hospital for the poor because he was not recognized. He died three days later.
In 2010, the basilica was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI, who described Gaudí as “a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity.”
“Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope, which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself,” Benedict said in 2010.
In announcing the decree, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which oversees the canonization process, described Gaudí as a faithful layman who, “moved by the yearning for union with the Lord,” led a “good spiritual and moral life above the ordinary.”
It added that Gaudí “offered to God the fruits of his own labor understood as a mission to make the people know and draw them closer to God, and made art a hymn of praise to the Lord.”
Cardinal Juan José Omella, the archbishop of Barcelona, said in a video statement on Monday that “it was a joy to receive the news” that Gaudí had been declared “venerable.” It was a recognition, he said, “not only of his architectural work, but of something more important than his holiness, that he is a man who was good.”
An association to promote Gaudí’s beatification was established in 1992, with the aim of achieving that goal “through the organization of lectures, exhibitions and publications; and to collect testimonies of favors granted by his intercession,” according to a book published by the association.
In 2023, the cause was submitted to the Vatican, and the Archdiocese of Barcelona became officially involved.
Not many artists have achieved saintly status. Some are prelates who also wrote poetry. One is an abbess who wrote musical compositions.
Fra Angelico, the Renaissance artist and Dominican friar who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982, may be the best known. A major Fra Angelico exhibition opens in Florence, Italy, on Sept. 26 and looks set to be one of the major European art shows of the fall.
As Gaudí inches toward sainthood, so, too, is the Sagrada Familia creeping toward completion. Two towers were finished in 2023, and the Sagrada Familia Foundation has said it hopes that the central, and tallest, tower will be finished by 2026 — the centennial of Gaudí’s death.
“He was a visionary, and a Christian visionary, so the cause for beatification is more than merited,” said the Italian historian Giovanni Maria Vian, who called the Sagrada Familia “the last great church” in the long history of ecclesiastical architecture in Europe.
Gaudí had conceived the basilica “as a religious monument to give praise and praise God,” he said, much like the craftsmen who worked on the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
President Donald Trump on Monday once again reiterated that Iran must abandon any hope of obtaining a nuclear weapon as the U.S. prepares for more talks in less than a week.
“Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office while sitting alongside the president of El Salvador.
“Iran wants to deal with us, but they don’t know how. They really don’t know how,” Trump continued.
TRUMP TEAM HOLDS ‘CONSTRUCTIVE’ FACE-TO-FACE NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN, WILL MEET AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND
President Donald Trump shakes the hand of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Apr. 14, 2025. (Pool via AP)
The president confirmed the U.S. will hold more talks with Iran next Saturday in Italy, one week after the first talks began in Oman.
Details of the discussion remain nil, though they were seen as a launching point as Washington tries to negotiate with Tehran to end its nuclear program.
Iranian state media reported that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” together during the two-hour meeting, which suggests Tehran viewed the discussions positively given their initial refusal to hold “direct” talks.
The White House similarly described the talks as “very positive and constructive,” though it also conceded that “very complicated” issues remain unresolved.
TRUMP DEMANDS DO-OR-DIE NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN. WHO HAS THE LEVERAGE?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi prior to negotiations with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, Oman, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
Trump has said negotiations with Iran need to happen “very quickly” but he has not provided a specific timeline on how long he will allow the diplomatic process to be carried out before he turns to military options.
The president has repeatedly threatened to “bomb” Iran should it not stop its ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon.
But the extent that the U.S. intends to shut down Tehran’s nuclear program also remains unclear as some call for complete disarmament as Iran also continues to advance its missile programs.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has analyzed where Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is located as Israel mulls retaliatory attack, Jan. 31, 2025. (Image provided by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) )
“I’ll solve that problem. It’s almost an easy one,” Trump told reporters while comparing the end of Iran’s decades-long ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon to the challenge of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I think Iran could be a great country as long as it doesn’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “If they have nuclear weapons, they’ll never get a chance to be a great country.”
Greek authorities say they have found 39 survivors and the bodies of two women on the small, remote island of Farmakonisi after a suspected migrant boat sank.
The coastguard said the migrants and bodies were found Monday morning but the vessel they had used to make the journey from Turkey was not located.
Officials said there were no reports of any missing people, nor any immediate information on the migrants’ nationalities or how their boat had sunk.
Earlier this month, at least 16 people died when two dinghies sank, one in Turkish and one in Greek waters, as dozens of migrants attempted to make their way from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands.
Greece is a main entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Many make the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats.
Many are not seaworthy or set out in bad weather and fatal accidents are common.
The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea. Many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece.
Last year, more than 54,000 people used what has become known as the eastern Mediterranean route heading to Greece and more than 7,700 crossed Greece’s small land border with Turkey, according to figures from the UN refugee agency.
There were 125 people reported dead or missing.
The UN high commissioner for refugees has said over 8,000 people arrived in Greece by sea and 755 by land between the start of this year and 30 March.
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