Eighteen (18) former Latin American and Caribbean leaders signed a letter to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in which they ask him to lift the six (6) decade economic blockade against Cuba, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian.

The letter, shared with The Associated Press ahead of publication Wednesday, also requests that Biden remove Cuba from his list of state sponsors of terrorism for providing safe haven to the leaders of a guerrilla group (ELN) now poised to re-enter. to the peace talks with Colombia.

"We ask you, Mr. President, to take into account this dramatic situation that thousands of Cubans are experiencing and do whatever is necessary to lift those restrictions that affect the most vulnerable," the letter reads.

Signatories include former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, two former Colombian leaders, Juan Manuel Santos and Ernesto Samper, and former leaders from Bolivia to Belize. All the signatories are left or center.

Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper told The Associated Press in an interview that he does not want the letter to be seen as a political statement.

"Right now what worries us is that those who pay the cost ... are the Cubans who are running out of food, medicine and electricity," Samper told the AP.

Island officials say the restrictions have made it difficult to recover from the hurricane, which destroyed 14,000 homes and caused long-term damage to the country's power grid.

The complete lifting of the economic blockade would also require the authorization of Congress at a time of deep political division in the US, which becomes more difficult as the midterm elections approach in which Florida is a swing state

🛩 Conviasa will carry out 12 flights between November and December to repatriate Venezuelans

"Between November and December, Conviasa estimates to carry out 12 flights to return Venezuelans stranded abroad," said the Minister of Transportation, Ramón Velásquez Araguayán.

✳️ The early morning of this November 1st there were 86 returnees from Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Terror attack in Guayaquil, Ecuador. at least 2 dead

Thousands of supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro call for military intervention in the Eastern Military Command - Center of Rio de Janeiro.

After three days, they do not recognize the electoral victory of Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva.

The former president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, was accused by prosecutor Franco Picardi before judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi for alleged illegal espionage (through the Federal Intelligence Agency) carried out during his government against several political leaders, including the current Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

The prosecutor raised the need to deepen the investigations carried out. On the other hand, he emphasized that Macri may have had a personal interest in the cases that had as victims the then-senator Cristina Fernández, her sister Florencia Macri and her partner, Salvatore Pice, as well as the journalist Hugo Alconada Mon

One day after the meeting between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, the spokesman for the US Department of State, Ned Price, highlighted that in the meeting held a few weeks ago between the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Petro, discussed "ways we can work together with Colombia to hold the Maduro regime to account."

"We believe that a return to Mexico City, a return to the negotiating table, where the regime and the unitary platform would be in a position to advance what is ultimately the aspirations of the Venezuelan people to see those rights consecrated to see those rights protected and to see those rights restored," he insisted.

Finally, the State Department spokesman reiterated that the sanctions policy will be maintained as long as there are no democratic advances in Venezuela.

"We have been very deliberate in promoting accountability for the rights abuses that are occurring and have taken place in Venezuela. And our position will not change until progress is made on the rights of the Venezuelan people," he said.

🇪🇨🇧🇷 — Rafael Correa: "Lula's victory totally changes the geopolitical balance in Latin America" - Grupo de Puebla

Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa affirmed that the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil "totally changes the geopolitical balance" in Latin America, where the four largest economies will be governed by the left, and described the president-elect as a "great integrationist" who will strengthen the regional union.

"I am almost certain that with Lula the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be strengthened and UNASUR will be recovered," Correa, 59, told Télam during an interview during his visit to Buenos Aires.

The former Ecuadorian leader (2007-2017) assured that "the world of the future is the world of the bloc" and spoke about the impact of the new progressive wave on Latin American integration and the possibility of launching a common currency, as well as addressing the advance of hate speech in the region.

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I HATE THE ANTICHRIST

⚠️🇻🇪🌊 Flooded streets are reported in El Playón, Ocumare de la Costa, Aragua state, due to heavy rains.

🚨⚖️ Only 41% of those accused of child sexual abuse in 2022 have been convicted by the Venezuelan justice

The data comes from the figures revealed this Tuesday by the Chavista attorney general, Tarek William Saab, in an interview with Venevisión, who indicated that from January to October the Public Ministry has registered 1,024 cases of child sexual abuse. 1,831 aggressors have been charged in these cases.

Of these, only 41% have received a conviction. “752 have been sentenced, and with the maximum penalty. In the most terrible terms, we have achieved sentences of 25 to 30 years”, detailed Saab.