Airport workers carried out an 11-hour strike at 27 airports in Argentina on Thursday.
The action took place in two slots, between 6am and 12 noon, and 5pm and 10pm.
Workers from the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) grouped in the State Workers Union (ATE) went on strike amid a series of airport workers protests.
Airport workers including land staff, firefighters, assistance vehicles drivers and signal operators took part.
Air traffic controllers did not join the strike, but are themselves set to take strike action next week.
Additionally, Aerolíneas Argentinas pilots and flight attendants had meetings on Thursday to decide and are to strike again, after their 24-hour-long work stoppage last week.
Air transportation was declared an essential service on Monday by the right-wing government.
This means that whenever aviation workers go on strike, they have to guarantee that at least 50 per cent of flights operate.
Critics have said that this law is a violation of the right to protest.
The new rules were introduced after previous strikes in airports across the country led to the cancellation and rescheduling of hundreds of flights.
Pilots, baggage handlers and other staff are in a dispute over pay amidst a vehement political debate about whether to privatise national carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said that he is processing arrest warrants against the president of Argentina Javier Milei for seizure of an aircraft from Emtrasur and violation of human rights.
On the theft of the aircraft (Boeing 747-300M), Saab noted that after flying from Mexico and being denied fuel loading on Argentine soil, the crew decided to fly to Uruguay, but was also denied fuel assistance. This caused them to return to Buenos Aires.
In the Argentine capital, the authorities arrested 19 crew members, five of whom were Iranian nationals. And after a few months of being in prison, they were released under house arrest.
Saab said: ‘They were literally kidnapped. The aircraft was subsequently restricted from flying, a procedure which was carried out by the national aviation authority with the international agency.’
With the collaboration of the Argentine government and through a federal judge, the aircraft was illegally transferred to the US, ‘with a flight plan for which they indicated an American registration and flag.
‘Once the plane arrived in the US it was totally dismantled.
This outraged the Venezuelans, and, adds Saab, details were requested from Buenos Aires and Asunción on this matter and there has been no response yet.
Saab continued : ‘We have followed the provisions of international law which give the State party (Venezuela) the possibility of establishing its jurisdiction not only as a means of defence against the crimes of aggravated robbery, loss of legitimacy in capital, unlawful deprivation of liberty, simulation of a punishable act, unlawful interference, aircraft disablement, association for criminal purposes.’
Venezuela has assigned two prosecutors specialised in the matter to process an arrest order against Javier Milei, President of Argentina: Karina Milei, secretary general of the Argentine presidency and Patricia Bullrich, minister of security of that country.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Mexican Lower Chamber approved a constitutional reform aimed at recognising the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
Presented by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), the constitutional reform allows the recognition of Indigenous peoples as legal entities.
In a country where 23 million out of 126 million inhabitants identify as Indigenous, this is a significant step forward.
The reform will now be sent to the Senate, where its approval is expected to acknowledge the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural composition of Mexico and recognise Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples as legal entities with their own juridical personality and assets.
The reform elevates to constitutional status the right of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to free, prior, informed, and culturally appropriate consultation on legislative and administrative measures that may affect or impact their lives or natural environment.
It also stipulates that Indigenous people have the right to be assisted and advised by translators, advocates, and experts specialised in Indigenous rights. This assumes the constitutional recognition of legal pluralism and cultural and linguistic diversity.
‘With the approval of this constitutional reform, we are taking a fundamental step toward recognising the rights of Indigenous peoples, and especially Indigenous women, who have been doubly ignored and marginalised for a long time,’ said Claudia Salas, a legislator from the opposition party Citizen Movement.
The package of constitutional reforms presented in February by President AMLO also includes the Judicial Branch reform, which was approved last week, and the National Guard reform, which is set to be discussed in the Mexican Congress.
On Tuesday, Mexico’s President-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, rejected an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Ukraine.
Sheinbaum who will become Mexico’s first female president on 1st October, stated that the her country’s constitution clearly specifies that Mexican foreign policy is based on non-intervention in external affairs and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Sheinbaum said: ‘Our constitution is very clear, noble, and pacifist. We seek a peaceful resolution to any conflict. My main task is to govern Mexico. I will attend some international events that I consider important, but I am not going to travel much because my responsibility is here.’
- Haiti’s government has taken a key step towards holding long-delayed elections with the creation of a body which will oversee the polls.
The nine-member provisional electoral council – set up on Wednesday – has been tasked with organising elections by February 2026.
The last time Haitians voted someone into power was in 2016.
Since then, armed gangs have seized control of almost the entire capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as large swathes of rural areas of Haiti.
So far, seven members of the provisional electoral council (CEP) have been named.
Among them are representatives of the media, academia, trade unions, and religious groups.
Since Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, the post of president has been vacant.
In the following years, Haiti was governed by Ariel Henry, the man whom President Moïse had nominated as his prime minister shortly before he was killed.
But when Henry left for a summit in Guyana on 25 February 2024, gangs seized the international airport in Port-au-Prince and prevented him from returning.
Henry resigned in April and a transitional presidential council (TPC) was created to lead the country until elections can be held.
The TPC named Garry Conille as interim prime minister, to serve until a democratically elected government takes over.
