Venezuelan president heads EXPO METAL 2025 closing ceremony // Argentinians commemorate Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice // Ukraine ceasefire talks between Russia and the U.S. conclude
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00:00In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro led the closing ceremony of ExxonMetal 2025 and
00:12launched the mining engines.
00:16Massive mobilizations take place throughout Argentina to commemorate the Day of Remembrance
00:20for Truth and Justice 49 years after the 1976 civil military coup.
00:29And in Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S. talks on a possible Ukrainian ceasefire deal conclude.
00:34The talks focused on the end of hostilities in the Black Sea and the resumption of the
00:39Greens' initiative.
00:47Hello and welcome to From the South, I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Metalhead Studios
00:50in Caracas, Venezuela.
00:51We begin with the news, stay with us.
00:59In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro led the closing ceremony of ExxonMetal 2025 and
01:11launched the mining engines.
01:13During the event, the Venezuelan head of state praised the work carried out in this year's
01:16Expo and called to continue developing the industries to ensure quality production and
01:21economic revival.
01:22Also, different investment agreements were signed to strengthen national production.
01:27Mining rights were also granted, 12 for charcoal and 2 for gold, under the concept of sustainable
01:32ecological mining.
01:34President Maduro also took the opportunity to once again denounce the persecution and
01:37kidnapping of Venezuelan migrants and reiterated his commitment that all would once again return
01:42to their families in their homeland.
01:53And the United States government announced that it will impose a 25 percent tariff on
01:56trades from countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela.
02:00The measure imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump will take effect on April 2nd of this
02:04year, which he referred to as Liberation Day in America.
02:08In the publication made on social media, Trump assured that the new coercive action responds
02:13to the alleged hostilities of South American countries against Washington regarding its
02:18freedoms.
02:19The White House's demand is added to the conglomerate of criminal sanctions applied to the Venezuelan
02:23people, including the most recent elimination of the license granted to U.S. company Chevron
02:28to operate in Venezuela.
02:38Venezuela rejected through a statement the new U.S. aggression of imposing a secondary
02:42tariff of 25 percent on any country that trades with Venezuelan oil and gas.
02:47The statement starts by saying, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela firmly and categorically
02:51rejects the new aggression announced by the President of the United States, Donald J.
02:55Trump, who intends to impose a secondary tariff of 25 percent on any country that trades with
03:01Venezuela in oil and gas.
03:03Moreover, the text explains that for years, the fascist right-wing, repudiated by the
03:08Venezuelan people, has been promoting economic sanctions with the hope of surrendering Venezuela.
03:13They have failed.
03:15They failed because Venezuela is a sovereign country, because its people have resisted
03:19with dignity, and because the world no longer submits to any economic dictatorship scheme.
03:25Today, that same failed strategy seeks to be reused with coercive measures that seek
03:30to undermine the development of our nation.
03:34It also emphasizes that with this new action, the United States flagrantly violates the
03:38rules of international trade.
03:41Venezuela will take all pertinent actions before international organizations to assert
03:45its rights and denounce this new violation of the world economic order.
03:49The statement concludes by stating that, in spite of these aggressions, Venezuela remains
03:53firm on its path, advancing on its path of growth and prosperity, together with a people
03:59that has resisted with dignity and has defeated every attempt of subjugation promoted by the
04:04usual extremists, the self-determination of our people, who have always grown in the face
04:09of difficulties, and who proudly boast their condition of heir to the glories of the greatest
04:14liberator of America, Simon Bolivar.
04:19In El Salvador, several organizations demonstrated against the President Nayib Bukele's mining
04:31campaign, given the negative impact it has on the environment.
04:35Environmental organizations assured that the country is not prepared for a mining exploration
04:39experiment, recalling that in the past, mining projects have damaged rivers and harmed citizens'
04:44health.
04:45Activists point out that it has not been explained to the public what would be the supposed benefit
04:50for the communities, nor has it been projected how much it would cost El Salvador to recover
04:55its ecosystems if this practice is carried out.
04:58On the other hand, a lawyer of the Republic representing 11 citizens, who in turn represent
05:02thousands of Salvadorans who are against mining projects, presented before the Supreme Court
05:07of Justice an appeal to declare unconstitutional the general mining law approved last December
05:1223, 2024.
05:15Well, 11 citizens are filing a constitutional complaint on behalf of thousands of Salvadorans
05:27who have decided to say no to mining, by filing a constitutional complaint, which must be
05:32resolved by the Constitutional Chamber.
05:41We call on the Supreme Court of Justice to declare unconstitutional this law, which
05:46was approved last year on December 23.
05:49There has been an organized work of a team of legal professionals.
05:54Also in El Salvador, a group of lawyers filed an appeal on behalf of 238 kidnapped Venezuelan
05:59migrants held in concentration camps.
06:02The habeas corpus appeal was presented before the Supreme Court of Justice by a team of
06:07lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government and representing relatives of migrants requesting
06:11the release of the Venezuelan hostages.
06:13The lawyers also stressed that Venezuelans cannot be detained in Salvadoran jails because
06:17they have not committed any crime in that country.
06:20Should be noted that the Venezuelan migrants have been held hostage since March 15 in Salvadoran
06:25territory without any charges or crime.
06:34And now we have a short break coming up, but first remember you can join us on TikTok at
06:38TELUS for English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates, and much
06:42more.
06:43Want to be right back?
06:44Stay with us.
06:49Welcome back.
06:50On March 24th, under the slogan Never Again, massive mobilizations take place throughout
06:54Argentina to commemorate the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice, 49 years after the
06:591976 civil military coup.
07:02Human rights organizations take to the streets of different parts of the country in which
07:05they will raise their voices for remembrance, truth, and justice for the 30,000 people who
07:11disappeared during the civil military dictatorship led by Jorge Rafael Videla.
07:15As every year, citizens also express their rejection to the systematic baby-stealing
07:19plan carried out by the military and the establishment of the neoliberal model, which led to the
07:24closing of some 20,000 factories.
07:27During the day, human rights movements denounce the denialist, repressive, and adjustment
07:30policies implemented by the government of Javier Millen.
07:57The Ecuadorian presidential debate was held Sunday, March 23rd.
08:01In the event, the candidate for the Citizens' Revolution and the president, nominee Daniel
08:04Novoa, presented their proposals for the run of elections next April 13th.
08:09Gabriela Mena with all the details.
08:11In Ecuador, the city of where polymedia outlets were broadcasting looked like this.
08:18There, they were to disseminate the presidential debate for the run of elections.
08:22Hundreds of supporters of the nominee for the Citizens' Revolution, Luisa Gonzalez, supported
08:27her by raising flags, wearing T-shirts with slogans, and blowing boggles.
08:30At all times, they shouted the candidate's name.
08:42The presidential debate started at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 23rd.
08:46Candidates have tackled five main concerning issues, including education, health, and security.
08:50The first to speak was candidate Luisa Gonzalez, who reiterated President nominee Daniel Novoa
08:55all the time that he should stop lying to the country during his speeches.
09:00Shall you continue lying to the Ecuadorian people?
09:03Do we Ecuadorians think that you still lack time for making things happen?
09:07When pigs fly.
09:12Gonzalez highlighted the shortcomings of the president candidate Daniel Novoa.
09:16First, she mentioned that children, teenagers, and youngsters lack qualities to enter the
09:20public education system.
09:21Then, she questioned that if he had not fulfilled his campaign proposals in 15 months in office,
09:28who guaranteed that now he would comply with them?
09:31She further referred to the illegalities committed by Novoa, as he consented officers to break
09:36into the Mexican embassy to arrest the former vice president Jorge Blas.
09:40Therefore, Ecuador had lost the support of the international community, she argued, granting
09:45to recover global trust in case she won elections.
09:48What's the current trend of foreign investment in Ecuador?
09:55It is the worst in the past 10 years.
09:58Nobody wants to come to a country where the president violates international treaties,
10:02laws, and the constitution itself.
10:05And this directly impacts employment so that you have caused economic domestic crises.
10:12Candidate Luisa Gonzalez stated that she will lower the VAT, attract energy investments
10:16and that polybanking will be for development, with low interest rate credits.
10:21In addition, she affirmed at all times that the Citizens' Revolution Party won't make
10:25changes in dollarization.
10:27She said so in response to Novoa's proposal of changing the transactional currency, despite
10:32the fact that it is the Citizens' Revolution who seeks to make the dollar official from
10:37the National Assembly.
10:42Ecuadorian President-Candidate Daniel Novoa reaffirmed to reinstate foreign military bases
10:47in the country to control drug trafficking.
10:53In addition, we'll always maintain our respect for our armed forces, the national police
11:01and all state officials who today are working hard for this new Ecuador.
11:06Gonzalez questioned Novoa on whether he will collect the millionaire debt of $94 million
11:12in taxes from his family and he answered no.
11:15However, this is not a new scenario because Novoa has awarded several state businesses
11:20to his family on his term.
11:24Subsidies to Petro Novoa, school breakfast to your aunt, ethanol to your aunt, power
11:30outages and job losses, economic impact on the Esmeralda's population and the environment,
11:36200,000 layoffs, giving the Sasha oil field as a gift, which was prevented by citizens'
11:42actions, repelling public investments, you have brought about all these problems in just
11:48a single year.
11:51The presidential debate had lasted around two hours and prior to the closing, the President-Candidate
11:56was questioned about not entrusting the presidency to the Vice President Veronica Abad during
12:01his electoral campaign as abided by law, an issue that Novoa evaded.
12:07According to the law, Novoa could not participate in the presidential debate being both a president
12:12and a candidate.
12:14However, he did it.
12:15Gabriela Mena, Telesur, Ecuador.
12:19In Saudi Arabia, negotiations for a possible agreement on the Ukrainian conflict between
12:35the United States and Russia concluded during a meeting which lasted more than 10 hours.
12:40Both delegations agreed on the possible signing of a final declaration on the agenda discussed.
12:45In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that no document is expected
12:50to be signed after the consultations held in Riyadh.
12:53On the day, Moscow mentioned that a possible future agreement between the parties on Ukraine
12:57could be extended.
12:58A Russian official, however, indicated in the early hours that the end of hostilities
13:02in the Black Sea and the resumption of the grain agreement was the focus of the talks.
13:15And the Russian government reaffirmed its position of upholding the agreement not to
13:18attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
13:21Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the current order of Russian President Vladimir
13:24Putin not to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure remains in force despite Kiev's attacks and
13:29violations of the agreement.
13:31In this regard, the Russian government denounced that the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky is carrying
13:36out attacks on infrastructure such as oil pumping stations in the region and other energy
13:41infrastructure.
13:43They also denounced that Kiev's actions maintain the tension in the region and prevent the
13:47achievement of a diplomatic understanding that would put an end to the conflict.
14:00And the Russian Defense Ministry denounced this Monday, March 24th, that Ukraine carried
14:04out several attacks against Russian energy targets during the last days.
14:09The Ministry detailed that the most recent Ukrainian UAV attack targeted the oil pumping
14:13station in Krasnodar.
14:15The Defense Ministry warned that these actions by Kiev demonstrate its lack of commitment
14:19to a ceasefire agreement.
14:21We now have our second short break coming up.
14:30Before we invite you to visit our Facebook page at Telesur English, there you'll be able
14:33to watch our top stories, special live coverage and much more.
14:37Follow our page and activate the notification button to stay up to date on the world's most
14:40recent events.
14:41After the break, we'll be right back.
14:57The Palestinian Health Ministry has registered over 61 deaths.
15:00The Palestinian Ministry has informed registered 61 deaths in the latest 24 hours as a result
15:10of the Israeli forces' endless shelling on the Gaza Strip.
15:13The health entity indicated that the resumption of the Syrian offensive had pushed the death
15:18toll up to over 46,110,000 others wounded in the enclave in 15 months.
15:24The Israeli regime had mounted raids and bombings on several areas of the south and north of
15:30the Gaza Strip at the crack of Monday, March 24, including the Nassar Hospital located
15:35in southern Hanjunis.
15:37There the medical staff denounced the Syrian aggression and demanded humanitarian intervention
15:42from the international community.
15:57Chinese maritime police expelled several Japanese fishing vessels from the waters of
16:01the disputed Diaoyu Islands.
16:04According to the Coast Guard of China, from March 21 to the 24th, at least five Japanese
16:09fishing boats illegally entered the Chinese territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands.
16:14They further state that China calls on the Japanese side to immediately stop all illegal
16:17activities in this area as the Diaoyu Islands and its adjacent islands are inherent territory
16:23of the country.
16:27And in South Korea, a series of forest fires caused the death of at least four firefighters
16:46and the evacuation of 600 people.
16:49The fire broke out last Friday in Sangcheon County, and in addition to the fatalities,
16:53left six people injured, burned 16 houses, two factories, nine warehouses, and two temples.
16:59Over the weekend, the flames spread to neighboring Hadong County due to the strong dry winds
17:04in the area.
17:05In this regard, the authorities deployed 36 helicopters to assist from the air in the
17:09work of containing the flames, as well as to provide the necessary medical assistance.
17:22Meanwhile in Japan, forest fires have also affected two areas in the western part of
17:26the country, damaging several houses and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.
17:31The city of Iwahari, in the Ehime Prefecture alone, large trees were ablaze on a hillside
17:36while a helicopter was seen dropping water on the fire.
17:39Meanwhile in the western city of Okayama, the fire broke out on Sunday afternoon and
17:44has since damaged five houses.
17:46Authorities advise the evacuation of several hundred residents of the affected district.
17:51Like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
17:59You can find these and many other stories on our website at telestroenglish.net.
18:02You can also join us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok.
18:07For Telestro English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos.
18:09Thanks for watching.
18:16Transcription by ESO. Translation by —