Diverse Regional Reports Cover Venezuelan Trade Disputes, Colombian Security, and Cuban Energy Crisis

A ship carrying 30,000 tons of rice and sugar docked at the unusual port of Guaranao in Venezuela, sparking allegations of a privilege scheme favoring Chinese industrialists. Local producers claim the operation avoids public scrutiny at Puerto Cabello and benefits MICEVEN C.A. allowing the company to use cheaper foreign raw materials while national farmers face a severe crisis. Reports indicate that rice prices for producers dropped by 35 percent, falling from 0.40 to 0.30 USD per kilogram. In Colombia, security incidents were reported in Tolima and Antioquia. Soldiers in Puerto Saldaña shot down a drone carrying explosives to prevent it from reaching a civilian area. Separately, a recognized merchant named Luis Alexánder López Restrepo was kidnapped from a peasant fair in Segovia, Antioquia, with kidnappers reportedly demanding 6,000 million pesos. In Cuba, the state Union Eléctrica reported that 65 percent of the country would be without power during peak hours this Saturday. The energy crisis is attributed to a combination of obsolete thermoelectric plants and the impact of United States sanctions on fuel imports. Other regional news includes the entry of former mayor Miguel Ángel Aguilera into a detention center in Santiago to serve 24 days for money laundering and illicit enrichment, and the supermarket chain D1 opening various job vacancies across Colombia with salaries up to 5 million COP.