Foreign Digest: Ukraine, Romania, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia

Ukraine: The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution on the Russian occupied territories of Ukraine that cites Russian “aggression” for first time. It also condemns torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, illegal detention of civilians, deportation of children, and discrimination against Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories. The resolution, supported by the United States, was approved by a vote of 81-14 with 80 abstentions. It won the votes of large majorities of members in Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, in addition to several States each in Africa and Asia. Even the abstentions were notable, as they included several States that Russia might have hoped for support from, including former Soviet Republics in Central Asia and even some Communist States. The 14 opponents were the usual oppressive and anti-Western regimes. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, in violation of its recognition of the former Soviet Republic’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. It seized Crimea and then fomented and backed pro-Russian separatists until its full-scale invasion in 2022. The U.N. resolution is demonstrating Russia’s diplomatic isolation. Russia is led by a tyrannical ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to restore the Soviet Union/Russian Empire. The U.N. was formed after the Second World War to prevent aggression. Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia vetoed the latest European Union aid package for Ukraine. Such measures must have the unanimous support of all 27 member States. Romania: The European Union is investigating foreign interference in the Romanian presidential election last month, which Romania has overturned because of heavy Russian interference on behalf of a little-known far-right anti-migrant pro-Russian candidate with no party and who did not expend funds, but came in first. The presidential elections will take place next year, as I had posted. As I also posted, the pro-Western opposition parties on the center-left and center-right have formed a coalition after the parliamentary elections to elect a prime minster and govern Romania, and also to back a presidential candidate against the far right. Romania, a former Communist Soviet satellite state, is an ally of the U.S. as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Venezuela: The center-right Venezuelan opposition leader, Corina Machado, won the Andrei Sakharov prize for our courageous stand for liberty and representative government. The popular Machado was barred from being a presidential candidate, but the unified opposition’s last-minute substitute, former diplomatic Edmundo Gonzalez Urutia, won a large majority of the votes, which the Socialist dictatorship refused to accept and has clung to power, as I have posted. The prize is named for the Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident. Machado is in hiding from the regime’s persecution and Gonzales in exile in Spain, but he vows to return January 10 to be sworn in as President of the South American State. Nicaragua: A human rights organization reported that more than 800,000 Nicaraguans have fled the Central American State, which represents almost 12% of the population, because of the persecution by the Marxist Sandinista dictatorship. The refugees have fled to other Latin American States, Spain and America. The Nicaraguan regime has engaged in a policy of forced exile, confiscation, denationalization and persecution against any person who criticizes his human rights violations, including clergy. Bolivia: The opposition parties have united for the presidential elections in 2025 against the leftist ruling party. Center-left, centrist and center right parties will put forward a single candidate against the authoritarian leftists who have ruled the South American State for two decades.