World
Dueling political factions demonstrate in Venezuela's capital as presidential election race heats up
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Dueling political factions took to the streets of Venezuela’s capital on Tuesday for the first competing rallies of the presidential election year, showcasing their ability to draw people en masse, as voters grapple with political disappointments and uncertainty over the candidate who ultimately will challenge President Nicolás Maduro.
Supporters of Maduro’s ruling party and opposition leader María Corina Machado demonstrated in Caracas a day after Venezuela’s top prosecutor announced the detention of more than 30 people and arrest warrants for a dozen others who allegedly plotted efforts to destabilize the South American country’s government.
US SWAPS MADURO ALLY WITH VENEZUELA FOR 10 AMERICANS, INCLUDING ‘FAT LEONARD’
But if either camp had hoped to scare the other in numbers, neither gathered the tens of thousands each were capable of last decade.
Maduro supporters — overwhelmingly a mix of state workers, ruling-party community leaders and loyalists of the late President Hugo Chávez — walked across the city, with dozens of them also concentrating in the same plaza where Machado, the winner of an October presidential primary election, was expected to address her own followers.
The Maduro administration is seeking to rally government supporters amidst a sagging economy and refugee crisis.
More than an hour after Machado was supposed to show up, her supporters left the plaza and stopped traffic, allowing her to address them from a makeshift stage as they waved Venezuelan flags.
“They talk about elections, but they are terrified of elections,” Machado said, referring to Maduro and his allies. “But because they know that they do not have votes, they hide… behind threats, persecution, lies, a fabricated sentence, to try to end us. Let them know clearly, no one takes us out of this electoral route.”
Maduro and the opposition faction behind the primary agreed last year to hold a presidential election in the second half of 2024. Maduro will seek to add six more years to his decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency. His challenger’s participation in the election remains in doubt even though she won the primary with more than 90% of support.
The government has banned the former lawmaker from running for office, and Attorney General Tarek William Saab has opened criminal investigations against organizers of the primary, which was carried out with no support from Venezuela’s electoral authorities. Authorities have not shown any evidence supporting the ban against Machado, who has continued to campaign, insisting that voters, not ruling-party loyalists, are the rightful decision makers of her candidacy.
The uncertainty is sowing doubts among her supporters.
Digital marketing manager Yeickson Ramos considers Machado “the most serious and credible option” that the opposition has “to challenge the government.” But at Tuesday’s rally, Ramos, 33, acknowledged the urgent need for the opposition to determine the steps to follow if the government does not lift Machado’s ban.
“Will she choose (her substitute)?” said Ramos, who has witnessed the apathy that previous opposition failures have created among voters. “Or will there be an internal negotiation that concludes it can’t be any of the primary candidates who received minimal support, but we are going to look for an option that is attractive to the population.”
The U.S.-backed opposition stunned its allies and adversaries when more than 2.4 million people, included in neighborhoods long considered strongholds of the ruling party, voted in the primary. The high turnout happened despite numerous setbacks and government efforts to discredit and discourage participation in the contest.
In December, Maduro’s government was stunned again when it held a referendum on claiming part of Guyana and voting centers appeared virtually deserted throughout Election Day. Maduro and his allies insist more than 10 million people voted. Still, the absence of long lines typical of elections called for by the ruling party displayed its growing inability to mobilize supporters, even when some are required to submit proof of participation to keep their jobs or maintain certain government benefits.
Chavistas — supporters of Chávez and his self-described socialist policies — have long been cautious when expressing criticism of Maduro, who was handpicked by Chávez to lead Venezuela shortly before he died in 2013. A complex ten-year crisis that pushed millions into poverty coupled with recent corruption scandals is loosening lips.
Leonard Suarez, a Caracas lawyer, voted for Chávez and Maduro in previous elections. This year, he says he wants to see on the ballot someone other than Maduro representing Chávez’s ideals after concluding that “keeping only one person in power breeds corruption.” In the name of democracy, Suarez said, Machado better make it to the ballot.
“She should participate because it would be an example of the democracy that exists in our country,” he said near the ruling party’s demonstration. “And not only her, any other candidate who has expressed their intention to participate in a presidential election must participate.”
Thousands of guests, including diplomats, politicians and military personnel, attended an event organised by the US Embassy to Belgium in Brussels on Sunday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of US independence.
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“The US Embassy in Belgium will host an invitation-only celebration to celebrate this historic milestone: 250 Years of Independence: Building Our Future Together.
The lavish celebration took place at Parc du Cinquantenaire, an iconic park in the Belgian capital near the European Union institutions. Guests tried their hand at baseball, rode a mechanical bull and participated in a linedance.
The festivities also featured music, performances, a ceremonial flyover and will conclude with a drone and firework show.
US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White opened the ceremony. Among those attending were Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola.
In a post on X, Metsola honoured 250 years of the transatlantic partnership that has weathered both triumphs and challenges alike.
Many US military personnel based in the Belgian capital were also in attendance.
Asked about funding, the US ambassador said he had raised more than five million dollars from over 220 donors, Belgian media report.
Both American and Belgian companies, as well as private individuals contributed, according to White. Sponsors include American multinationals such as Meta, Microsoft, Nike and McDonald’s, alongside Belgian names such as Leonidas, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Sabena, Van Moer Logistics and Sibelco.
Criticism: the privatisation of a public space
The event, however, drew widespread criticism from local residents and numerous organisations.
On Sunday morning, Greenpeace unrolled a massive banner in the historic Grand Place square in the Belgian capital.
“The 600-square-metre banner read ‘War. Greed. Energy Crisis. What’s there to celebrate?‘ condemning using the occasion to promote Trump’s political and corporate agenda,” Greenpeace wrote in a statement.
“The celebration in Brussels takes place against a backdrop of intensifying global instability driven by the White House,” the statement added.
Outside of the security perimetre of the park, several activist groups, including Extinction Rebellion, Indivisible Belgium and Rise for Climate denounced the event, protesting against the privatisation of the public park.
Local residents also expressed their discontent, unhappy with the lack of communication surrounding the event, but also with the multi-day closure of one of the city’s largest public parks amid an ongoing heatwave that has swept across Europe the past week.
World
33 rescued from Venezuelan rubble: Survival window desperately fading with nearly 50,000 missing
US sends emergency aid to Venezuela as earthquake death toll rises
Fox News correspondent Nate Foy reports live from the debris fields of Caracas, documenting rescue operations after the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes decimated Venezuela. As the death toll surpasses 1,400 and over 68,900 citizens remain unaccounted for, search-and-rescue teams are working alongside the U.S. military to pull survivors from a collapsed 17-story high-rise before the critical 72-hour survival window shuts.
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Search-and-rescue crews in Venezuela pulled 33 people alive from collapsed buildings over the weekend after twin earthquakes devastated the country’s northern coast, but officials and aid workers warned Sunday that time was rapidly running out for nearly 50,000 still feared missing.
The death toll stood at 1,430 as of late Saturday, according to The Associated Press. More than 3,000 have been injured and roughly the same number are living in shelters, according to Venezuelan authorities.
The worst devastation is concentrated in coastal La Guaira state, where entire apartment blocks, hotels and public housing buildings pancaked after magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck in quick succession Wednesday. Hundreds of aftershocks have continued to rattle damaged neighborhoods, complicating rescue work and keeping survivors outside in the heat.
Among the 33 rescued were an infant removed alive from rubble by U.S. rescuers, an 11-year-old boy found by a Colombian team after a scanner detected him about 10 feet below the surface, and another 11-year-old rescued by Mexican crews in Caraballeda.
AMERICAN RESCUE TEAMS PULL INFANT ALIVE FROM RUBBLE IN VENEZUELA DAYS AFTER DEVASTATING TWIN EARTHQUAKES
U.S. firefighters from Fairfax County, Virginia, sent by the State Department work to reach earthquake survivors trapped in the rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela on Sunday, June 28, 2026. (Matias Delacroix)
“In these hours each life is hope for Venezuela,” Acting President Delcy Rodríguez wrote on X after one of the rescues.
Swiss rescue-team leader Sebastian Eugster told Reuters that the odds of finding survivors drop sharply after roughly 72 hours under rubble. That mark passed Saturday evening.
“There exists a window of roughly three days, 72 hours, where the probability afterwards decreases that you can save people alive,” Eugster said.
The missing toll remains highly uncertain. The government has spoken of hundreds missing or trapped, while some estimated just under 50,000 people as missing Sunday, down from 55,000 a day earlier. The AP reported that families had listed 68,900 people missing Saturday, underscoring the chaos in accounting for the dead, the displaced and those cut off by communications failures.
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With the desperation of the survival window closing as the days and hours wear on, Starlink has provided communication services for the humanitarian crisis.
“Starlink Mobile is providing free connectivity to @MovistarVe customers in the La Guaira region, and we are working to provide free service for @DigitelAyuda and @movilnet_ve customers as quickly as possible,” Starlink posted Sunday to X.
“Families, communities and businesses with compatible LTE smartphones can now stay connected through SMS even if terrestrial networks are not available and customer phones will automatically connect to Starlink Mobile. Coverage will work best with a clear view of the sky.”
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Pope Leo on Sunday expressed solidarity with survivors and victims’ families holding out hope.
“I wish to express my closeness to the Venezuelan sisters and brothers affected by the recent earthquakes that caused numerous victims and injuries,” the pontiff said in Spanish before worshippers gathered for Sunday’s Angelus prayer in Rome.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo – The latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is unfolding against the backdrop of one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises.
Conflict involving armed groups and intercommunal violence has displaced large numbers of people, while insecurity has made it difficult for health workers to reach many communities, particularly camps for internally displaced people (IDPs).
Officials say the lack of access is hampering case detection, contact tracing and treatment, while communities that have long been deprived of basic services remain sceptical of an Ebola-focused response.
Al Jazeera speaks to Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the humanitarian challenges hampering the response, the funding gap and what it will take to bring the outbreak under control.
Al Jazeera: What are the main priorities?
Jean Kaseya: We are in a region where around a million people are living in camps for internally displaced people. These people cannot access even the most basic services and reaching those camps is a major challenge.
Some of the people coming from the camps to seek treatment are telling us there are many more cases there, but we cannot access them. We are talking about close to two million people.
Al Jazeera: You cannot go there because of security reasons?
Jean Kaseya: We cannot go there because of security concerns, which are linked not only to rebel groups but also to conflict between the Hema and Lendu communities. The people living in these camps have not received humanitarian support for a very long time.
When health workers go there to raise awareness about Ebola, people ask: “Why are you coming now? Is it because of your disease?”
They tell us they do not have enough water, food or medicines for other diseases.
They ask our volunteers: “Why are you only coming here because of Ebola?” It is a difficult question to answer.
Al Jazeera: You recently met Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and African Union Chairperson and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye. What came out of those meetings?
Jean Kaseya: We met the two heads of state together with the Ebola task force and the humanitarian affairs ministry. We concluded that we need around $1.4bn over the next six months to deal with this humanitarian crisis if we are serious about stopping the outbreak.
At our meeting on June 16, we received pledges of $910m, but that was for the health response only. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has provided $50m out of the $200m requested for the health response plan.
Now, because of the scale of the humanitarian crisis, those needs are being reviewed. We are talking about $1.4bn on top of the $200m required for the health response.
Al Jazeera: $1.4bn is a great deal of money at a time of donor fatigue. Why is that level of funding necessary?
Jean Kaseya: I want to make this very clear. Without addressing the humanitarian crisis, we will not stop the outbreak. That is what makes this outbreak more complex and more difficult than others we have seen in the past.
You cannot contain an Ebola outbreak without addressing these humanitarian challenges.
Al Jazeera: How will you secure that funding?
Jean Kaseya: It is a matter of choice. No one is protected. If our partners are serious, they will provide the funding needed to stop this outbreak where it is now.
If they do not act and tomorrow the outbreak spirals out of control, they could also be affected. Then they will realise that responding to the outbreak in their own countries will cost five to 10 times more than what we are requesting today to stop it at its source.
Al Jazeera: Another major challenge is contact tracing. Why?
Jean Kaseya: One of our key indicators is that we are seeing cases coming from camps for displaced people. There are three or four major camps and we are struggling to carry out contact tracing there.
Most of those affected are between the ages of 15 and 45. They are young and economically active. Anyone exposed to the virus needs to be isolated and monitored for 21 days, which means they cannot go to work or run their businesses.
We need to compensate them, provide them with food and give them somewhere to stay. Some of them do not even have a home.
Al Jazeera: What is your biggest concern?
Jean Kaseya: The case fatality rate is now approaching 25 percent and we do not know where the situation is heading.
We know that Ebola case fatality rates are usually around 20 percent, but the symptoms we are seeing are changing. Some are different from what we have seen in previous outbreaks. There are still many unknowns.
We must provide the support needed to stop the virus where it is. Closing borders is not the solution.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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