Daily News Brief

September 9, 2024

Top of the Agenda

Spain granted asylum to Edmundo González Urrutia, a candidate in Venezuela’s July election that the United States says won the most votes, but whom Venezuelan authorities had threatened to arrest. González had spent weeks in hiding in what has become a fraught post-election impasse. Venezuelan election authorities proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro the winner at the polls without releasing detailed voting data. In response to mass demonstrations pouring into Venezuela’s streets to dispute Maduro’s victory, authorities have jailed thousands, and dozens more have died in the context of demonstrations.

González pledged to “continue the fight” for democracy in Venezuela from Spain; his fellow opposition figurehead María Corina Machado said that he chose to leave because his life was in danger. Speaking yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called González’s departure “the direct result of the antidemocratic measures” by the Venezuelan government and said that “the will of the people cannot be merely swept aside by Maduro.” (BBC, U.S. Department of State, AP)

Analysis

“The proper [U.S.] reaction should be full reimposition of sanctions on Venezuela, including those affecting Chevron and the European oil companies that have also benefited from the [U.S. President Joe Biden’s] softening of sanctions. Those activities are benefitting and financing the Maduro regime even now as it cracks down again on Venezuelans,” CFR Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams writes for the Pressure Points blog. 

“Washington and other outside actors must send a clear message to Maduro: a revanchist regime that tries to cling to power, despite having no legitimate public mandate, will not be able to normalize relations with the outside world or keep the promises he has made to private investors,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Jose Ignacio Hernández writes for Foreign Affairs. “At the same time, Washington and its partners must also support a transitional framework that will lower the costs for Maduro to leave power.” 

Pacific Rim

The convening today aims to reach a blueprint on artificial intelligence (AI) use in militaries. South Korea is co-hosting the two-day summit along with Kenya, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Kingdom (UK). More than ninety countries including the United States and China sent envoys. At last year’s summit in Amsterdam, countries issued a joint “call to action” without a legally binding commitment. (Reuters)

This episode of The President’s Inbox podcast discusses how AI is revolutionizing warfare.

Vietnam: Typhoon Yagi has wreaked havoc in Vietnam, causing flooding and destruction that killed fifty-nine people, authorities said. Yagi, which made landfall on Saturday, is Asia’s most torrential storm this year—a phenomenon that scientists say will become more frequent due to climate change. (BBC)

South and Central Asia

Envoys from the countries are about to reassess their 2022 bilateral economic agreement after India raised concerns over a rise in precious metal imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), unnamed sources told Reuters. Neither government responded to requests for comment. An Emirati government delegation is visiting India this week. (Reuters)

U.S./India: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is meeting with members of the Indian diaspora and U.S. officials on an unofficial visit to the United States that began yesterday. It is his first visit since becoming the country’s opposition leader. (PTI)

Middle East and North Africa

Israeli authorities are investigating the gunfire as a terrorist attack in what was the first such violent incident at the crossing since 2014. The assassin was a Jordanian man driving a truck from Jordan’s sole crossing into the West Bank; Israel’s military killed him and authorities shut down the bridge crossing. (Times of Israel, WaPo)

Algeria: Election authorities declared President Abdelmadjid Tebboune the winner of the country’s election with 94.7 percent of Saturday’s vote. Amnesty International last week condemned what it called a “brutal crackdown” on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the leadup to the vote; Tebboune himself surprised observers by raising doubt about electoral authorities’ reporting of turnout numbers. (AP)

Sub-Saharan Africa

The foreign ministry is aligned with Sudan’s army in the country’s civil war against a paramilitary force and said that UN recommendations of an international force in the country would be fulfilling a “wish for the enemies of Sudan.” It also strongly criticized the report’s proposal of an arms embargo. (Bloomberg, Sudan Tribune)

This Backgrounder by Claire Klobucista and CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo disentangles the role of peacekeeping in Africa. 

Tanzania: President Samia Suluhu Hassan ordered an investigation into the kidnapping of government critics ahead of November’s local elections. A senior member of the main opposition party was found dead over the weekend after being abducted, opposition officials said. (Bloomberg)

Europe

Secretary Blinken is traveling to the UK today to discuss the countries’ strategic partnership and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Since Friday, multiple media outlets reported that U.S. officials assert that Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, but Iranian officials denied the claim. Group of Seven leaders have warned of coordinated sanctions on Iran should such a transfer occur. (AFP, WSJ)

Brussels: Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi recommended the European Union (EU) spend an added $900 billion per year over the next decade in sectors such as defense and tech in a report commissioned by the European Commission. He wrote that Europe’s competitiveness risks lagging behind in the global economy. (NYT)

This report by CFR Fellow Thomas Graham reimagines the future of European security. 

Americas

This year, the country has experienced its highest number of wildfires since 2010, according to Brazil’s space agency. An unusually early South American fire season began in June, further heightened by a drought. Bolivia’s government said the declaration would allow it to seek international assistance. (Reuters)

U.S. Campaign 2024

Former President Donald Trump said that if elected, he would impose the hike on countries that “leave the dollar.” For months, he has discussed with advisors ways to penalize allies or adversaries who seek bilateral trade in non-dollar currencies, Bloomberg reported. (Bloomberg)

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