Image // Miguel Gutierrez
REPRESSION. Venezuelan national guard shoots at peaceful protestors.
By: Rafael TortoleroMultimedia Specialist
There’s a big world outside of South Bend, and your everyday news sources might not keep you in the loop about global conflicts, especially as certain topics become old news despite new developments. See below for global news you may have missed over the summer.
Venezuela
On July 28, Venezuela held elections. Even though all the polls predicted the win of Edmundo Gonzales, who was running against incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, the results showed otherwise due to fraud. This triggered discontent among the population, who want a better government and a way out of the humanitarian crisis in the country.
Many Venezuelans went out to protest in a peaceful manner and were quickly suppressed by armed forces and criminal groups sustained by the government. The U.S. Department of Treasury has placed multiple sanctions on Venezuelan government officials to hold them accountable for their actions.
The Venezuelan government has tried multiple methods of censorship, including on social media platforms like X, which suffered a 10-day ban in early August, but still continues to be down. Multiple civilian demonstrators have been prosecuted and labeled as terrorists to then be taken to the largest torture center in Latin America, known as El Helicoide, which is located Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro has also mentioned the opening of two more prisons to incarcerate dissenters.
The opposition candidate, Gonzales, has been forced to leave the country and seek political asylum in Spain. Along with him, 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country, over 100,000 of them residing in the U.S. The opposition leader Maria Corina Machado still resides in the country, fighting for freedom even though her life is at risk. She was recently nominated for the Nobel peace prize and has gained popularity on the global stage; even though her participation as a running candidate has been prohibited, her policies and ideals have captured the hearts of Venezuelans.
Multiple countries and organizations, including the United Nations, recognize Venezuela’s election fraud and crimes against humanity.
Sudan
On Aug. 26, Sudan reached its 500th day at war. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been at constant war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. The conflict in Sudan has led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis with at least 150,000 civilian deaths. The war has been fueled by support to the RSF from the United Arab Emirates. This war has resulted in massive destruction, worsening the standard of living in Sudan and making it difficult for civilians to access essential resources and services.
Over the years, 12 million Sudanese citizens have been forced to flee the country in search of better living conditions. According to the UN, over 10 million people were internally displaced in Sudan as of July, with over 2 million people fleeing to neighboring countries since April 2023.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been at war for decades over the exploitation of resources like cobalt, coltan, gold, diamonds and lithium. There has been an ongoing conflict between armed forces and rebel armed groups, like the M23 movement. At least 2.5 million people have been displaced internally.
The DRC government has made it difficult for media to cover the situation, which has led to lack of information, causing this conflict to be known as “The Forgotten Genocide”. The DRC has suffered one of the biggest death tolls since World War II, with approximately 6 million fatalities related to the conflict since 1996, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Living conditions in the DRC have significantly downgraded over the years, particularly because of the spread of diseases. A recent epidemic of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, has claimed over 700 lives in DRC since January, with over 14,000 cases reported in the same timeframe, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Ukraine
Over the summer, the war between Ukraine and Russia continued with significant developments. July became the deadliest month in Ukraine since October 2022, with at least 219 civilians killed and 1018 injured.
The Ukrainian military made great advances in the eastern region, recovering multiple towns that were previously captured by Russian forces. This was possible due to increased western military aid, including weapons and training. Massive destruction continues to be an issue, affecting residential areas, schools, airports, hospitals and roads.
At the time of publication, President Joe Biden is in discussion with Britain, who has requested his permission to allow Ukraine to launch British long-range missiles into Russia, which Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would interpret as war not just with Ukraine but with NATO countries.