Análisis por Stefano Pozzebon, CNN en Español

Dos semanas después del sorpresivo operativo estadounidense en Caracas que llevó a la captura de Nicolás Maduro, la confrontación política sobre el futuro de Venezuela se está consolidando rápidamente en torno a dos líderes, ambas mujeres, que representan diferentes visiones para su país: la presidenta encargada, Delcy Rodríguez, que representa la continuidad con la vieja guardia de Maduro, aunque dentro de la órbita geopolítica estadounidense, y la líder opositora María Corina Machado, quien ha hecho campaña para que su país recupere la libertad y la democracia, cueste lo que cueste.

Para ambas líderes, el apoyo de —o al menos un entendimiento con— el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, es fundamental, ya que él puede levantar las sanciones económicas que ahogan la economía venezolana con solo una firma, o incluso extraer a otros miembros del Gobierno que enfrentan cargos en Estados Unidos y enviarlos al Metropolitan Detention Center tal como hizo con Maduro el 3 de enero.

Machado acaparó los titulares la semana pasada con su visita a la Casa Blanca, donde presentó su medalla del premio Nobel de la Paz a Trump, aunque fue recibida sin demasiada pompa y salió de allí con una bolsa de regalos y una sesión de fotos, pero sin un apoyo concreto. Sin embargo, los acontecimientos recientes en Washington y Caracas sugieren que es Rodríguez quien lleva la ventaja en este nuevo choque.

La líder conservadora es una política hábil y una incansable activista. La última persona que cometió el error de subestimar la determinación de Machado y su capacidad para convertir una desventaja en ventaja ahora lleva esposas en las muñecas.

Sin embargo, estas son cuatro señales de que Rodríguez está ganando impulso, al menos por ahora.

Cualquier líder mundial puede dar fe de lo importante que es una relación personal y efusiva para Trump, solo hay que preguntarle al presidente de Ucrania, Volodímir Zelenski.

A Delcy Rodríguez le faltaba uno de estos elementos, hasta la semana pasada.

El miércoles, Trump sorprendió a muchos conocedores venezolanos diciendo que mantuvo una llamada telefónica con la líder venezolana interina y la elogió como una “persona magnífica”.

Hasta esta semana parecía que Machado, quien ha hablado con funcionarios estadounidenses durante años y mantiene una relación personal sólida con el secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio, iba a ser la socia preferida, al menos en el plano personal. Sin embargo, ahora Rodríguez también puede presumir de una conexión directa con el inquilino de la Casa Blanca.

El 9 de enero, Trump invitó a varios ejecutivos petroleros a presentar propuestas de inversión en la deteriorada industria petrolera venezolana.

Muchos asistieron, pero pocos participaron, y el CEO de Exxon, Darren Woods, lo resumió para todos al decir que los “marcos legales y comerciales (…) existentes hoy” hacen de Venezuela “un país no invertible”.

El jueves, Rodríguez se puso manos a la obra y anunció una reforma a la Ley de Hidrocarburos que regula la extracción de petróleo en Venezuela.

Mientras Maduro había estado considerando una reforma similar durante años, Rodríguez rompió el estancamiento en menos de una semana, demostrando su disposición a atender los llamados de Washington.

El mismo día que anunció las reformas legales, Rodríguez también dio la bienvenida al director de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, en Caracas. Las fotos filtradas al día siguiente mostraban un ambiente relajado y cordial —la n

By Ivana Kottasová, Christian Edwards, CNN

(CNN) — US President Donald Trump told Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that he no longer feels bound “to think purely of Peace” because the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not award him the Nobel Peace Prize.

In an extraordinary text message to Støre, first reported by PBS and confirmed by an official in the Norwegian prime minister’s office, Trump linked his repeated threats to seize control of Greenland to the fact that he has not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he has long coveted.

“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

Støre said he received the message in reply to a text he and Finnish President Alexander Stubb sent Trump, in which the Nordic leaders “conveyed our opposition to his announced tariff increases against Norway, Finland and select other countries.”

He said in a statement that he has “clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the (Nobel Peace) prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”

Trump’s missive came after he threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on goods from several European countries over their opposition to his plan to acquire Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, a fellow NATO member, from February 1. Trump’s threats have rattled NATO as the alliance based on collective defense confronts the prospect that one member might use force against another.

“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also,” Trump said in his message.

Greenland, a vast Arctic island, was incorporated into Denmark in 1953 as part of global decolonization movements in the wake of World War II. It is self-governing, but its defense, security and monetary policy are still controlled by Denmark.

“I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland,” Trump said in his note to Støre.

Although the US has been the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security for decades, and spent far more on defense in that period than any other NATO member, many NATO allies participated in recent US wars. Forty-three Danes died fighting in Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion.

At a news conference in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that Denmark is a “close ally” of the United Kingdom and the US, and “a proud NATO member that has stood shoulder to shoulder with us, including at real human cost.”

Trump’s message came after Støre and Stubb texted the US president about the additional tariffs he had threatened over Greenland. “We believe we all should work to take this down and de-escalate – so much is happening around us where we need to stand together,” the Nordic leaders wrote,

Por Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español

Medio siglo de vida, miles de millones de barriles de petróleo producidos y un rol central en la historia contemporánea de una nación. En sus 50 años, la empresa estatal Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) se ha ubicado como un actor fundamental en el desarrollo económico del país sudamericano —donde el petróleo es la principal fuente de ingresos y se cuenta con las mayores reservas de crudo extrapesado del mundo— y también en su estabilidad política y social.

De acuerdo con exfuncionarios y especialistas del sector energético consultados por CNN, se trata de una historia con altibajos, atravesada por presidentes, aperturas al exterior, nacionalizaciones y tensiones con otros países.

Entre estas últimas, las más recientes fueron las que escalaron el año pasado entre los gobiernos de Nicolás Maduro y Donald Trump, que condujeron al operativo militar que Estados Unidos realizó el 3 de enero en Caracas para capturar a Maduro —a quien acusa de narcoterrorismo, narcotráfico y posesión de armas, cargos que él rechaza— y al anuncio de Washington de que ahora buscará recuperar el petróleo que, dice, Venezuela “le robó”.

PDVSA se creó en 1976, durante la primera presidencia de Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-1979), tras la publicación de una ley de nacionalización de la industria petrolera. El objetivo del Gobierno era contar con una empresa estatal que explotara y administrara la riqueza del país.

El economista José Toro Hardy, exdirector de PDVSA, dice en su canal de YouTube que en sus orígenes la compañía tenía personal altamente capacitado y contaba con herramientas avanzadas.

Hacia mediados de la década de 1990, señala Toro Hardy, PDVSA preguntó a la Justicia de Venezuela bajo qué sustento legal podría buscar inversión extranjera, lo que llevó a que se fijaran parámetros para una apertura del sector y para gestar alianzas con empresas privadas. Esto significó la llegada de recursos y crecimiento para PDVSA, beneficiada también por la ubicación geográfica de Venezuela y su lejanía de los conflictos que había en los países petroleros de Medio Oriente.

De acuerdo con Toro Hardy, para 1997 PDVSA había logrado expandirse y era propietaria de una veintena de refinerías, situadas en Europa, Estados Unidos, el Caribe y Venezuela. El especialista dice que, según la plataforma Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, PDVSA llegó a ser la segunda petrolera más importante del mundo, solo detrás de la saudí Saudi Aramco. Hoy, el sitio oficial de PDVSA matiza ese dato, al señalar que la compañía es la quinta más relevante del planeta.

El asesor en energía y economía Ramsés Pech coincide en que esa fue la época dorada de PDVSA.

“La empresa PDVSA tuvo su auge sobre todo antes del 2000 porque había interacciones con contratos para la explotación de ciertos campos”, dijo el experto, quien recordó que para entonces la producción de la compañía llegó a superar los 3 millones de barriles de petróleo al día.

Tanto para PDVSA como para Venezuela, sin embargo, la situación comenzó a cambiar durante los primeros años del siglo XXI.

Hugo Chávez llegó a la presidencia de Venezuela en 1999 —un cargo que mantuvo hasta su muerte en 2013— y, con su arribo, cambiaron las políticas del Gobierno con relación a PDVSA, dicen los especialistas.

Desde que fue candidato, Chávez fue crítico de la apertura del sector petrolero, dice Toro Hardy, por lo que cuando estuvo en el poder impulsó nacionalizaciones y cambios de personal en PDVSA.

Estos relevos se produjeron en 2003 después de una breve huelga, cuando Chávez ordenó el despido de trabajadores que consideraba contrarios a su Gobierno. De acue

By Georgiana Ralphs, CNN

(CNN) — Police in Queensland, Australia are investigating the death of a 19-year-old woman after her body was found surrounded by wild dogs on a beach at K’Gari, formerly known as Fraser Island.

The island, a UNESCO world heritage site, lies off Australia’s eastern coast and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The woman was a Canadian national who had spent the past six weeks working at a backpackers’ hostel on the island, Queensland police said during a press conference. They said she had traveled there with a friend from her home country.

Around 5 a.m. local time on Monday (2 p.m. ET on Sunday), the woman told people she was going for an early morning swim, police said.

Just over an hour later, two men driving past the beach spotted a pack of approximately 10 dingoes surrounding her body.

Police said it is too early to know if the woman’s death was caused by the wild dogs, which are protected as a native species in Queensland’s national parks.

“I can confirm that the woman’s body had been touched and interfered with by the dingoes,” said Queensland Police Inspector Paul Algie, “but we’re not speculating yet as to whether that was anything to do with her cause of death.”

Algie added that while dingoes are culturally significant to the island’s locals and Indigenous people, “they’re wild animals and they need to be treated as such.”

“I implore all people that visit K’Gari, which is a beautiful place, that you do not go near dingoes, that you do not feed dingoes, and that you just leave them to live their life and you move around them accordingly.”

Algie said the incident has rocked the island’s tight-knit local community. “The police on K’Gari are locals to K’Gari. They have been speaking to local community members all day and as you can imagine, everyone is absolutely horrified and shocked at what has occurred.”

The woman’s body has been returned to the mainland and is set for autopsy on Wednesday.

Queensland police said they have notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to get in contact with the victim’s family. CNN has reached out to the RCMP for comment.

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Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.

The post Body of Canadian woman, 19, found surrounded by dingoes on Australian island appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final – a game to decide the best soccer team on the continent – ended in utter chaos on Sunday as fans caused a huge commotion and players walked off the pitch in protest on an evening which showed the best and very worst of the sport.

Ultimately, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 to lift the trophy, but the scoreline underplays the disarray that occurred in arguably the most dramatic final in the history of the sport.

With so many flashpoints and moments of madness to dissect, CNN Sports breaks down what exactly happened on a wild and memorable night.

Chaos errupts

The final was between the two highest-ranked teams in Africa. Morocco, which was hosting the tournament, was the slight favorite over Senegal, which last won AFCON back in 2021.

The game also involved some of the best players in the world, with former Liverpool star Sadio Mané spearheading the Lions of Teranga and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Achraf Hakimi leading the Atlas Lions.

While the game started slowly, there was an undercurrent of tension surrounding the final and that feeling boiled over in the most spectacular way in the closing minutes of regulation time.

With the score still 0-0, Senegal thought it had scored the winner when Ismaïla Sarr bundled the ball over the line in the second minute of added time at the end of the match.

But the celebrations quickly turned to fury for the Senegalese players after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala ruled the goal out after judging Abdoulaye Seck had fouled Hakimi in the build-up. The decision looked soft, and everyone in a green Senegal jersey was incensed.

Those feelings were compounded minutes later when the referee awarded Morocco a controversial penalty, after El Hadji Malick Diouf’s challenge on Brahim Díaz.

Despite going unpunished initially, the foul was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), and Ndala eventually pointed to the spot after reviewing the replays. It was a soft penalty, perhaps, but you could see why the official awarded it.

That decision, though, lit the fuse.

The Lions of Teranga, led by head coach Pape Thiaw, were furious with the decision, and the team’s protestations spilled out onto the pitch, preventing the penalty from being taken. While players, officials and coaching staff clashed on the field, a pocket of Senegal fans at one end of the stadium also began a violent outburst, jumping out of the stands before clashing with stewards. Police and security staff were needed to prevent the supporters from running onto the pitch.

Then, in sensational scenes, Thiaw ordered his players off the field as a way of protest. Some of his team listened and disappeared into the locker room, while a handful of others stayed on the field to try calm the situation.

Chief among those who remained on the field was Senegalese star Mané, who had said this would be his final AFCON game for the national team. The forward seemed intent on his team finishing the match and was seen urging his teammates to come back on the pitch.

After a brief conversation with former Senegal player El Hadji Diouf in the stands, Mané ran towards the players’ tunnel to demand that the rest of the squad come back ou