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* Ecuador: Drug trafficker claims Pres. Noboa ordered killing of former Pres. candidate Villavicencio
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NewsTranscript
00:11The Cuban Ministry of Interior informed that a confrontation with the US registered vessel
00:16resulted in four deaths and six injured after it violated international waters.
00:25Drug trafficker Wilmer Chavarria Bahre, also known as PIPO,
00:29accused Ecuadorian President Daniel de Boa of ordering the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
00:39Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Zahrakshi arrives in Switzerland for the third round of negotiations with the US delegation
00:46in an effort to reach a new nuclear agreement amid escalating tensions.
00:55Hello and welcome to From the Cells.
00:57I'm Sophie Fernandez from the Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.
01:01We begin with the news. Stay with us.
01:15Venezuela's acting president Alciar Rodriguez announced a special vaccination campaign against yellow fever in four states of the country.
01:22The national government activated a vaccination plan for 22 prioritars parishes in the states of Aragua, Lara, Varinas and Portuguesa.
01:30The call specifically aimed at the people who have never been vaccinated against this disease.
01:35The acting president also highlighted the strengthening of the public health system as a guarantee of a fundamental human right
01:41and mentioned the cooperation with the Pan-American Health Organization for the arrival of necessary supplies and vaccines.
01:51And on Wednesday, Venezuela's acting president Alciar Rodriguez held a working meeting with senior representatives of the African Energy Chamber
02:05The dialogue aims to integrate the African energy sector with the Venezuelan experience in hydrocarbons, promoting technical and commercial exchange.
02:13The meeting was attended by the president of the African Energy Chamber, as well as executives from Nigerian companies and
02:19representatives from Egypt and Cameroon.
02:21This initiative is part of Venezuela's acting participation in African forums, such as the one held in Cape Town in
02:29September 2025, where the Bolivarian nation reaffirmed its role as a key player in energy cooperation
02:34and the search for joint solutions for the development of the resources.
02:46And also in Venezuela, Attorney General Larri de Boa and Opsman Tarek William Zapp were sworn in by the National
02:54Assembly as the heads of their respective entities in the Bolivarian Republic.
02:59Roriz urged the Venezuelan lawyer Larri de Boa to swear up uphold the Constitution on laws of the Republic and
03:06to protect the citizens.
03:07De Boa agreed to carry out his duties honestly and truthfully, complying with the Bolivarian Constitution, the laws of the
03:14public ministry and other related statutes.
03:17For his part, William Zapp took a note, recalling his time in the Constituent Assembly working with the popular and
03:24human rights movements
03:25to secure constitutional guarantees, as well as his work as Attorney General since 2016.
03:38And in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, security forces officials seized more than 2.8 tons of marijuana and multiple
03:46narcotics in the state of Zulia.
03:47In a throughout investigation operation, enforcement officials seized 107 buried bales containing remnants of active cannabis plant,
03:57with a total gross weight of 2,804 kilos and 6 rams, distributed across around 5,729 packages.
04:08Thanks to an operation executed in perfect coordination between the public, military and public sectors,
04:13this represents a decisive law to drug trafficking in the state.
04:17Furthermore, the Venezuelan government continues actions to coordinate intelligence and operational efforts
04:22that directly impact the eradication of illicit drug trafficking.
04:32And the government of Venezuela rejected the statements made by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago,
04:38Camla Persat Vicesar, during the 50th meeting of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM,
04:43which were contrary to the spirit of regional integration.
04:47In the official statement, the government highlighted that,
04:49The position expressed by the Prime Minister is also contrary to the founding principles of CARICOM itself,
04:56established 53 years ago precisely on the territory of Trinidad and Tobago.
05:00The document adds that,
05:02The Prime Minister's rhetorical fixation in Venezuela jeopardizes bilateral relations
05:06unharms Trinidad and Tobago's own economic interests
05:09by obstructing the development of joint strategic projects for the mutual benefit of both states.
05:15To conclude, the government of Venezuela reaffirms his commitment
05:19to the principles of the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace
05:22and retaliates his willingness to deepen cooperation with Caribbean nations.
05:32And now we have a short break coming up.
05:34But first, remember you can join us on TikTok at Telesur English,
05:37where you will find news in different formats, news updates and more.
05:40We'll be right back. Stay with us.
05:59Welcome back to From the South.
06:01We continue with more information and we go to Cuba,
06:04where the Ministry of Interior informed on Wednesday of a confrontation with a foreign vessel
06:08that violated national territorial waters.
06:10In an official statement, the authorities said,
06:13On the morning of February 25, 2026,
06:16a violating speedboat was detected within Cuban territorial waters.
06:21The vessel registered in Florida, United States,
06:23with registration number FL 7726SH,
06:28approached up to one nautical mine northeast of the El Pino Channel in Cayo Falcones,
06:33in the municipality of Cogralillo, Villa Clara province.
06:36When a surface unit of the border guard troops of the Ministry of the Interior,
06:41carrying five fierce members, approached the vessel for a notification,
06:46the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire on the Cuban personnel,
06:49resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel.
06:52In this context, the Cuban Ministry of the Interior unveiled that,
06:56as a consequence of the confrontation,
06:58as of the time of this report,
07:00four aggressors of the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured.
07:04The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance.
07:09The official communique closes by assuring that,
07:11in the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination
07:15to protect its territorial waters,
07:17based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban state,
07:21in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.
07:25Announced that investigators by the competent authorities are continuing
07:29in order to fully clarify the facts.
07:38And the Government of Canada announced that it will provide solidarity assistance to Cuba,
07:43aimed at spreading food security for the most vulnerable sectors of the island.
07:48We immediately began to look into it.
07:51As it stands now, the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, others are involved.
07:56The majority of the information we still possess is what Cuban authorities are providing,
08:00both the public and the U.S. government.
08:03We have our embassy on the ground in Havana working this as we speak,
08:06asking for access to the people that were on those vessels,
08:10if they were American citizens or permanent residents,
08:12according to the Cuban regime that the boat was registered in Florida.
08:18We're tracking shortly, and we will know quickly,
08:22many more facts about this incident than we know right now.
08:25The majority of the facts being publicly reported are those by the information
08:30provided by the Cubans.
08:31We will verify that independently, and as we gather more information,
08:35then we'll be prepared to respond accordingly.
08:38I'm not going to speculate.
08:40I'm not going to opine on what I don't yet know.
08:44But we're going to find out exactly what happened here,
08:46and then we'll respond accordingly.
08:49In other news, the Government of Canada announced that it will provide solidarity assistance to Cuba,
08:55aimed at strengthening food security for the most vulnerable sectors of the island.
08:59The Government of Canada is immediately providing nearly $6 million of strengthened food and nutrition
09:04for the most working Cubans.
09:06It should be noted that this aid will be channeled through the World Food Programme and UNICEF.
09:11This measure is in addition to the assistance previously sent by Mexico,
09:15which dispatched more than 2,000 tons of supplies, and the support of Russia.
09:20Ottawa also assured that it is monitoring the situation in Cuba
09:23and remains in contact with its partners to respond to the changing needs of the Caribbean country.
09:34I will move now to Ecuador, where drug trafficker Wilmer Chavarria Bahre, also known as PIPO,
09:40accused Ecuadorian President Daniel de Boa of ordering the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
09:46The Ecuadorian drug trafficker denied responsibility for Villavicencio's murder,
09:51which took place in Northern Quito in August 2023.
09:53People arrested in Spain in November 2025 made statements during a court appearance in Zaragoza on Wednesday.
10:01The detanee also stated that a person close to the Minister of Interior, John Greenberg,
10:06had told him that the crime had been ordered by President de Boa
10:08out of fear that Villavicencio would win the elections.
10:11To date, only five of the perpetrators of the murder have been convicted,
10:16as most were killed in prison before they could testify.
10:27Also in Ecuador, only two people were killed in Durán, and two bomb attacks were carried out in Machala,
10:33reflecting an escalation of the crisis of violence facing the country.
10:37Another day of violence was recorded when an armed attack on a family gathering in the Durán district left at
10:43least four people dead.
10:44At the same time, two bomb attacks in the city of Machala affected the homes of two lawyers, with no
10:50reports of injured people.
10:52These events occurred well on international reports that ranked seven Ecuadorian cities among the 50 most dangerous in the world.
11:07We went now to Mexico.
11:09President Gladys Sheinbaum presented a proposal for electoral reform,
11:13which includes ten key points to strengthen the country's democratic life.
11:17The executive branch will send a proposal for Congress to this cause.
11:20The plan establishes a 500-member chamber of deputies elected entirely by direct vote,
11:26cuts election spending by 25%, and grants electoral authority greater oversight of party finances.
11:33It expands voting rights for Mexicans abroad, limits campaign airtime to 35 minutes per day,
11:39and regulates artificial intelligence and votes on social media.
11:42The reform also speeds up vote counting, expands referendums and calls to local levels,
11:49bans nopotism in public office, and prohibits consecutive re-election starting in 2030.
12:15Authorities in Colombia responded to an emergency in the municipality of San Juan de Urabá,
12:20in the Department of Antioquia,
12:22where a volcanic eruption forced the evacuation of several homes.
12:26Videos show a huge column of fire lighting up the sky, visible from nearby towns,
12:31which increased concern among the community.
12:33The Antioquia Press Management Administrative Department reported that there are no injuries or fatalities.
12:39However, the death of several animals was confirmed, and damage to the road was reported,
12:44and at least four homes were evacuated, while firefighters controlled the flames to prevent a forest fire,
12:49and traffic was restricted due to cracks in the road.
13:01We have a second short break coming up.
13:02Before, we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Tell us with English.
13:05There, you'll be able to watch our top stories, special life coverage, and much more.
13:09Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's most recent events.
13:14Find a short break, but we'll be right back. Don't go away.
13:29Welcome back to From the South.
13:31And we move off to Switzerland, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araki arrived on Wednesday,
13:37for the third round of negotiations with the U.S. delegation in an effort to reach a new nuclear agreement.
13:43The Iranian Foreign Minister stated that Tehran and Washington are facing a historic opportunity to achieve an agreement that addresses
13:49mutual concerns and interests.
13:51The Iranian and U.S. delegations have held two rounds of indirect talks, on February 6th in Oman and on
13:57February 17th in Geneva.
13:59The objective is to finalize the detail of a new agreement that will put an end to nuclear tensions.
14:04However, U.S. President Donald Trump insists that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons,
14:10accusations that justify a large U.S. military deployment in the Middle East.
14:22In this context, on February 25th, the U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned over three Iranian individuals, entities and vessels,
14:30linked to oil and missile development,
14:32amid nuclear negotiations and regional tensions.
14:35The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on 16 entities, 12 oil tankers and several individuals,
14:42for a large involvement in the illicit sale of Iranian oil and leaks to the production of ballistic missiles and
14:48advanced conventional weapons.
14:49Sanctions denied access to U.S. properties and assets, and prohibited transactions with designated individuals.
14:57However, the direct economic impact would be limited since many of those sanctions do not hold funds in U.S.
15:03financial institutions.
15:18At least 37 international delegations called for a boycott of the right round table of Ukraine organized by Moscow,
15:26at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's headquarters.
15:31Russian permanent representative to the organization, Dmitry Poloyensky, announced the fact after Russia organized a round table on the Ukrainian
15:38conflict in Vienna on Tuesday,
15:40to which all of those member states were invited.
15:44Western countries ignored the call.
15:46The Russian Federation thanked its allies, especially the missions of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Belarus, for attending the
15:53meeting.
15:53Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 2022.
16:03Brazil's The Russian Federation
16:03The violence by Israeli settlers continues in the occupied West Bank.
16:25Palestinian families lost their homes and vehicles in a new arson attack south of the Hebron.
16:31Israeli settlers set fire to five houses and several vehicles in the Palestinian village of Sursia, in the occupied West
16:38Bank.
16:39The attackers threw tear gas onto the houses, causing at least four residents to suffer from suffocation.
16:45This is the latest in an escalation of violence that, in January alone, saw more than 450 attacks by settlers
16:52in different areas of the Palestinian territory.
16:54Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted that Benjamin Netanyahu's Zionist regime is carrying out ethnic clans in forcibly displaced
17:03the Palestinian population.
17:24The 32nd edition of Handmade Rocks is being held in Iran, highlighting the country's tradition of craftsmanship.
17:31This event, which will be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, until February 27, brings together iconic designs from
17:38various regions, such as Kerman, Isfahan, Horasan and Tabriz.
17:43The carpets and display are not only a cultural expression, but also a vital economic driver for many Iranian families,
17:50who live from their homes.
17:52This exhibition is one of the most important in the world, because it facilitates meetings between dryers, weavers and traders
17:58in the sector.
18:07Meanwhile, in Italy, the 76th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, one of the country's most prominent artistic events, is
18:15being held in the city of Sanremo, in Liguria.
18:18The competition will run until February 28, with 34 singers taking part.
18:24It will be hosted by Carlo Conti, accompanied by famous Italian vocalist Laura Polsini.
18:29Each year, the festival will feature different co-hosts, including Turkish actor Can Jamal and model Irina Sciac, among others.
18:38The winner of the festival will have the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be
18:45held in May in Vienna.
18:57And like this, we have come to the end of T-Soon's Brief.
19:00You can find this and many other stories on our website at www.telesurenglish.net.
19:03And join us on social media.
19:05Twitter, Facebook, X, Instagram, Teleram and TikTok.
19:08For Telesur English, I'm Sophie Fernandez.
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