Because the most important thing is the Ukraine, here are a couple of links for y'all:
CNN Updates: Russia-Ukraine News
AP: Live Updates|Russia-Ukraine War
Washington Post
The Guardian
So many good ones, sorry I know I've left out many.
~ Here it is from The Hill: Problems in Paradise !
Texas Rep Calls For Revoking Visas of Pro-Russia Mexican Politicians
by Rafael Bernal - 04/04/22 7:04 PM ET
" Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente González on Monday called on the Biden
administration to revoke the visas of Mexican politicians who formed the
“Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee” following the Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
“In recent days and in the midst of an international crisis in
Eastern Europe, several legislators from Mexico’s Federal Congress
(Chamber of Deputies) took this opportunity to shun the free world and
stand with Putin by forming a Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee,”
González wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of
Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
“The timing of this committee sent a clear message to the United States and the free world,” wrote González.
A group of Mexican lawmakers, led by Workers’ Party (PT) head Alberto
Anaya, planned the Friendship Committee announcement in early March,
shortly after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
The official announcement came later in the month, in a televised
meeting between Russian Ambassador Víktor Koronelli and 25 members and
former members of the country’s Congress, led by Anaya.
U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar criticized the meeting, alluding to
Mexico joining the Allies in the fight against Nazi Germany in World War
II for historical context.
Local opposition figures also panned the group for its explicit support of the Russian regime, but Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declined to criticize the lawmakers.
“While Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador continues to
publicly maintain a neutral posture in the conflict between Russia and
Ukraine, actions taken by members of his own MORENA party and others
suggest otherwise,” wrote González.
Anaya and many of the lawmakers and politicians present at the
meeting are members of the PT, which operates as a satellite party of
López Obrador’s Morena party, at times exchanging legislators from one
party to another to fill legislative vacancies.
While Morena is in some ways a broader coalition party, the PT has
traditionally taken hard-left public positions while operating close to
larger power structures.
In 2021, Anaya raised eyebrows by declaring that North Korea “is more
of a friend” to Mexico than the United States, while defending North
Korean policies that “generate development.”
López Obrador has not publicly come out in favor of the more extreme
views in his coalition, but he has done little to tamp down those
expressions, and Mexico remains officially neutral in the Russia-Ukraine
conflict.
“It’s disgraceful enough that Mexico — our closest neighbor to the
South — has chosen to not stand in unity with the international
community of democracies. They have instead refused to send any aid to
Ukraine or impose sanctions on Russia,” wrote González.
González also called on Blinken and Mayorkas to “stand with Ukraine
and condemn this ‘friendship committee’ by issuing visa revocations for
all Mexican members of Congress that have participated in this
deplorable assembly.”
The United States has at times used visa revocations as a strong
individual sanction that’s particularly effective in Latin America.
González, a Texas border lawmaker with strong ties to Mexico, has
taken a personal involvement in bilateral affairs, including as a member
of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs.
In his letter, González listed by name the 25 Mexican officials and
former officials who took place in the meeting with Koronelli.
“If these individuals refuse to condemn Russia, and instead choose to
stand with tyranny, they should not be allowed the privilege of
entering, traveling or investing in the United States of America,” wrote
González.
“I urge you to take action to ensure that no foreign government
officials that support Russia during this aggressive and unprovoked
invasion of Ukraine are allowed the privileges of entry into our
country,” he added."
~~~~~
Seems a bit drastic and I do not think this is going to fly. Putin is not going to win this war, he is going to go down. If people want to go down with him, let them. So true...birds of a feather flock together !
~~~~~
Reported earlier today:
~ From Zeta:
Legislador de EU Pide Revocar Visas a 25 Diputados Mexicanos que Apoyan a Rusia
Destacados -
Carlos Álvarez -
martes, 5 abril, 2022 5:55 PM
"Democratic
legislator Vicente González, a member of the United States House of
Representatives, requested, on April 5, the revocation of the visas of
the 25 Mexican deputies who installed the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group
in the Chamber of Deputies of the House of Representatives. Union,
which was attended by the Russian ambassador Víktor Koronelli.
Through
a letter addressed to the Secretaries of State, Antony Blinken, and of
National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Democratic legislator of
Mexican origin condemned the "blatant support" that Mexican deputies
have given to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It
is quite shameful that Mexico, our closest neighbor to the south, has
chosen not to be in unity with the international community of
democracies,” lamented González, who also criticized the Mexican
government for refusing to send aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on
Russia.
Regarding
the Mexican deputies, the Democratic legislator from Texas said that if
they choose to support the tyranny of Russia, "they should not be
allowed the privilege of entering, traveling or investing in the United
States."
"I
urge you to take steps to ensure that no foreign government officials
who support Russia during this aggressive and unprovoked invasion of
Ukraine have entry privileges into our country," the Democratic lawmaker
asked Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas.
González
insisted that by revoking Mexican lawmakers' visas, the US government
would send a clear message to those who have chosen to support the
uncivilized and criminal behavior of the Russian regime.
The
Texan legislator also pointed out that despite the fact that the
president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, publicly maintains a
neutral position in the face of the conflict, the actions of members of
his Morena party show the opposite.
Among
the politicians who are on the list presented by the Democratic
representative are: Alberto Anaya Gutiérrez -current national president
of the Labor Party (PT)-, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, Augusto Gómez
Villanueva, Armando Contreras Castillo, Margarita García García, Nelly
Maceda Carrera, Pedro Daniel Abasolo Sánchez, Armando Reyes Ledezma,
Alfredo Porras Domínguez, Miriam Citlalli Pérez Macintosh and Clementina
Marta Decker Gómez.
Also
on the list are: María Rosalía Jiménez Pérez, Eraclio Rodríguez Gómez,
Manuel Huerta Martínez, Raúl Ernest Sánchez Zavala, Oscar González
Yáñez, Francisco Javier Huacas Esquivel, Reginaldo Sandoval Flores,
Santiago González Soto, Ángel Benjamín Robles Montoya, José Luis García
Duque , Maribel Martínez Ruiz, José Mario Osuna Medina, Jesús Fernando
García Hernández, Ana Laura Bernal Camarena.
UNACCEPTABLE FOR THE US TO TRY TO INFLUENCE RELATIONS WITH MEXICO, SAYS RUSSIA
"We
consider that it is unacceptable when the United States tries to
influence the activity and decisions of the Government of Mexico," the
Russian Embassy said on March 25 through its account on the social
network Twitter.
The
Russian embassy rejected Salazar's statement to the effect that Mexico
has no friendship with any other nation like the one it has with the
United States.
“Do
you take into account the annexation by the United States, Mexico's
'best friend', of half of its national territory in the 19th century?”,
added the Russian Embassy.
The
Russian diplomatic representation added that the purpose of US
propaganda is to isolate Russia and diplomats from that country from
around the world, through false news, as was the case with the number of
spies from that country in Mexico.
“In
this context, we would like to address Mr. Salazar asking him in the
most friendly way the following question: Who are the more than a
thousand US diplomats who work at the US Embassy in Mexico?” they asserted.
“A SHAME”, SAYS THE UKRAINIAN EMBASSY OF THE MEXICO-RUSSIA FRIENDSHIP GROUP IN SAN LÁZARO
Oksana
Dramaretska, head of the Embassy of Ukraine in Mexico, criticized the
installation of the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group in the Chamber of
Deputies of the Congress of the Union, which was attended by the Russian
ambassador Viktor Koronelli.
The
Ukrainian diplomatic representative considered that this act was a
shame, since she reiterated that the Russian forces are invading her
territory and it was not possible that the Mexican Legislative Power was
fraternizing with them.
“Supporting
the murderers is actually participating in their crimes… They are not
interested in these legislators joining [Vladimir] Putin. He is a criminal, he is a person who seems crazy, ”said the Ukrainian ambassador to Mexico, quoted by the Milenio newspaper.
EU AMBASSADOR REPROACHES FRIENDSHIP GROUP OF RUSSIA AND MEXICO IN SAN LAZARO
Keneth
Lee Salazar, head of the United States Embassy in Mexico, criticized,
on March 24, the installation of the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group in
the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union, which was attended
by the Russian ambassador Víktor Koronelli .
During
the installation of the United States-Mexico Friendship Group in the
Lower House, the US diplomat pointed out that his Russian counterpart
made "noise" about an alleged relationship between Mexico and Russia.
Likewise,
Salazar reminded the Mexican federal deputies that Mexico and the
United States united "for freedom" in World War II against the
intentions of Adolf Hitler and the Axis Forces.
"We
have to be in solidarity with Ukraine and against Russia. It seems to
me that the Russian ambassador was here yesterday making a noise that
Mexico and Russia were so close, and that, sorry, can never happen, can
never happen," he declared. the American ambassador.
“We can no longer say that this is happening on the other side of the world because it can affect us here in Mexico. What [Vladímir] Putin and the Russians are doing is something that I thought I would never see,” Salazar stressed.
“What Russia did by attacking Ukraine is an attack on the freedom and way of life of all of us. When the family is attacked, if someone threatens it, the whole family joins. Here
we are talking about a Friendship Group between Mexico and the United
States, there can be no differences, we have to do the same”, emphasized
the American diplomat.
On
March 23, despite the rejection of the deputies of the parliamentary
groups of the National Action Party (PAN) and the Citizen Movement (MC),
the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group was installed in the Chamber of
Deputies of the Congress of the Union.
Alberto
Anaya Gutiérrez, deputy of the Labor Party (PT) parliamentary group and
who presided over the installation of the Group, reiterated that the
Government of Mexico determined not to issue any sanctions against
Russia and welcomed their relations.
"Due
to this conflict between Ukraine and Russia, we are going to be in a
situation of peace and neutrality, relations are welcome," said the
deputy before Viktor Koronelli, head of the Russian Embassy in Mexico.
"Our
votes are for this conflict to have a diplomatic solution, a peaceful
solution, where the parties agree to end this conflict so that this
region of the world finds peace again and this conflict does not
escalate," insisted Anaya Gutiérrez.
In
the installation of the Group, the Russian ambassador in Mexico, Víktor
Koronelli, maintained that Russia did not start "this war", referring
to his country's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.
The
Russian diplomat described the war as an operation to demilitarize
Ukraine, and thus put an end to the "extermination" of the Russian
community in Donbas by the Ukrainian Army, which, according to him, has
lasted 8 years.
On
the other hand, Koronelli recognized the position of President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, head of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (SRE), of not joining the sanctions against Russia
and rejecting Ukraine's request to send weapons.
“We greatly respect the position demonstrated, already several times, by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador; by
the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, that Mexico will
never join the anti-Russian sanctions and that it will never, despite
the requests of the Government of Ukraine, ever supply Ukraine with
weapons, ”he said.
"I
want to assure you that I have no doubt that what is happening these
days is not going to affect Russia's relations with Mexico in any way,
which continues to be one of our oldest and most important partners in
the Latin American region," the Russian ambassador said.
“In
2021 alone, despite COVID and all restrictions, our trade more than
doubled compared to 2020, reaching a record $4.8 billion,” added
Koronelli.
The
diplomat quoted the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who a few
days ago said that: "Today in the world there are countries like China,
India, Mexico that will never answer and do anything at the order of
Uncle Sam."
Separately,
the MC parliamentary group demonstrated for the installation of the
Mexico-Russia Friendship Group, with signs that said "No to war." While the PAN caucus demanded a ceasefire and a solution to the conflict based on International Humanitarian Law.
“For
no reason do we agree with being part of the recklessness and lack of
sensitivity of the situation that Ukraine is going through with the
invasion of Russian troops in its territory, which has resulted in 2,421
civilian victims and more than 6.5 million displaced people”, stated
the PAN parliamentary group.
~~~~~
AMLO's Response:
~ From Zeta:
"Es Regresar a la Guerra Fria", Dice AMLO de Quita Visas a Diputados Pro Rusos
Destacados
Carlos Álvarez
miércoles, 6 abril, 2022 8:42 AM
"President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador reproached, on April 6, the proposal of
Democratic legislator Vicente González, a member of the United States
House of Representatives, who requested the revocation of the visas of
the 25 Mexican deputies who installed the Mexico-Mexico Friendship
Group. Russia in the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union,
which was attended by the Russian ambassador Víktor Koronelli.
"I
also take this opportunity to say that I don't see things well, I don't
think it's fair and I don't think it's rational to want to suspend the
visas of those who met to express their views regarding the Russian
invasion of Ukraine," said the national president. .
As some legislators expressed, there is already a campaign to request that they not be allowed to enter the United States. I find it in bad taste and very prehistoric, very backward. That is going back to the Cold War, to the times of persecution and exclusion and authoritarianism. I
do not agree with that, well, I did not agree when President Donald
Trump was removed from his Twitter account, ”said the Tabasco
politician.
"Because
that goes against freedom, how are we going to be talking about
freedom, how is the Statue of Liberty going to look in New York, it is
going to turn green with courage," said the head of the Federal
Executive Branch.
“How are we going to carry out such a measure? With
great respect, we would send a diplomatic note of protest,” added the
president during his morning press conference, held from the Treasury
Hall of the National Palace.
Through
a letter addressed to the Secretaries of State, Antony Blinken, and of
National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Democratic legislator of
Mexican origin condemned, on April 5, the "flagrant support" that
Mexican deputies have given to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“It
is quite shameful that Mexico, our closest neighbor to the south, has
chosen not to be in unity with the international community of
democracies,” lamented González, who also criticized the Mexican
government for refusing to send aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on
Russia.
Regarding
the Mexican deputies, the Democratic legislator from Texas said that if
they choose to support the tyranny of Russia, "they should not be
allowed the privilege of entering, traveling or investing in the United
States."
"I
urge you to take steps to ensure that no foreign government officials
who support Russia during this aggressive and unprovoked invasion of
Ukraine have entry privileges into our country," the Democratic lawmaker
asked Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas.
González
insisted that by revoking Mexican lawmakers' visas, the US government
would send a clear message to those who have chosen to support the
uncivilized and criminal behavior of the Russian regime.
The
Texan legislator also pointed out that despite the fact that the
president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, publicly maintains a
neutral position in the face of the conflict, the actions of members of
his Morena party show the opposite.
Among
the politicians who are on the list presented by the Democratic
representative are: Alberto Anaya Gutiérrez -current national president
of the Labor Party (PT)-, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, Augusto Gómez
Villanueva, Armando Contreras Castillo, Margarita García García, Nelly
Maceda Carrera, Pedro Daniel Abasolo Sánchez, Armando Reyes Ledezma,
Alfredo Porras Domínguez, Miriam Citlalli Pérez Macintosh and Clementina
Marta Decker Gómez.
Also
on the list are: María Rosalía Jiménez Pérez, Eraclio Rodríguez Gómez,
Manuel Huerta Martínez, Raúl Ernest Sánchez Zavala, Oscar González
Yáñez, Francisco Javier Huacas Esquivel, Reginaldo Sandoval Flores,
Santiago González Soto, Ángel Benjamín Robles Montoya, José Luis García
Duque , Maribel Martínez Ruiz, José Mario Osuna Medina, Jesús Fernando
García Hernández, Ana Laura Bernal Camarena.
UNACCEPTABLE FOR THE US TO TRY TO INFLUENCE RELATIONS WITH MEXICO, SAYS RUSSIA
"We
consider that it is unacceptable when the United States tries to
influence the activity and decisions of the Government of Mexico," the
Russian Embassy said on March 25 through its account on the social
network Twitter.
The
Russian embassy rejected Salazar's statement to the effect that Mexico
has no friendship with any other nation like the one it has with the
United States.
“Do
you take into account the annexation by the United States, Mexico's
'best friend', of half of its national territory in the 19th century?”,
added the Russian Embassy.
The
Russian diplomatic representation added that the purpose of US
propaganda is to isolate Russia and diplomats from that country from
around the world, through false news, as was the case with the number of
spies from that country in Mexico.
“In
this context, we would like to address Mr. Salazar asking him in the
most friendly way the following question: Who are the more than a
thousand US diplomats who work at the US Embassy in Mexico?” they asserted.
“A SHAME”, SAYS THE UKRAINIAN EMBASSY OF THE MEXICO-RUSSIA FRIENDSHIP GROUP IN SAN LÁZARO
Oksana
Dramaretska, head of the Embassy of Ukraine in Mexico, criticized the
installation of the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group in the Chamber of
Deputies of the Congress of the Union, which was attended by the Russian
ambassador Viktor Koronelli.
The
Ukrainian diplomatic representative considered that this act was a
shame, since she reiterated that the Russian forces are invading her
territory and it was not possible that the Mexican Legislative Power was
fraternizing with them.
“Supporting
the murderers is actually participating in their crimes… They are not
interested in these legislators joining [Vladimir] Putin. He is a criminal, he is a person who seems crazy, ”said the Ukrainian ambassador to Mexico, quoted by the Milenio newspaper.
EU AMBASSADOR REPROACHES FRIENDSHIP GROUP OF RUSSIA AND MEXICO IN SAN LAZARO
Keneth
Lee Salazar, head of the United States Embassy in Mexico, criticized,
on March 24, the installation of the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group in
the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union, which was attended
by the Russian ambassador Víktor Koronelli .
During
the installation of the United States-Mexico Friendship Group in the
Lower House, the US diplomat pointed out that his Russian counterpart
made "noise" about an alleged relationship between Mexico and Russia.
Likewise,
Salazar reminded the Mexican federal deputies that Mexico and the
United States united "for freedom" in World War II against the
intentions of Adolf Hitler and the Axis Forces.
"We
have to be in solidarity with Ukraine and against Russia. It seems to
me that the Russian ambassador was here yesterday making a noise that
Mexico and Russia were so close, and that, sorry, can never happen, can
never happen," he declared. the American ambassador.
“We can no longer say that this is happening on the other side of the world because it can affect us here in Mexico. What [Vladímir] Putin and the Russians are doing is something that I thought I would never see,” Salazar stressed.
“What Russia did by attacking Ukraine is an attack on the freedom and way of life of all of us. When the family is attacked, if someone threatens it, the whole family joins. Here
we are talking about a Friendship Group between Mexico and the United
States, there can be no differences, we have to do the same”, emphasized
the American diplomat.
On
March 23, despite the rejection of the deputies of the parliamentary
groups of the National Action Party (PAN) and the Citizen Movement (MC),
the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group was installed in the Chamber of
Deputies of the Congress of the Union.
Alberto
Anaya Gutiérrez, deputy of the Labor Party (PT) parliamentary group and
who presided over the installation of the Group, reiterated that the
Government of Mexico determined not to issue any sanctions against
Russia and welcomed their relations.
"Due
to this conflict between Ukraine and Russia, we are going to be in a
situation of peace and neutrality, relations are welcome," said the
deputy before Viktor Koronelli, head of the Russian Embassy in Mexico.
"Our
votes are for this conflict to have a diplomatic solution, a peaceful
solution, where the parties agree to end this conflict so that this
region of the world finds peace again and this conflict does not
escalate," insisted Anaya Gutiérrez.
In
the installation of the Group, the Russian ambassador in Mexico, Víktor
Koronelli, maintained that Russia did not start "this war", referring
to his country's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.
The
Russian diplomat described the war as an operation to demilitarize
Ukraine, and thus put an end to the "extermination" of the Russian
community in Donbas by the Ukrainian Army, which, according to him, has
lasted 8 years.
On
the other hand, Koronelli recognized the position of President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador and Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, head of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (SRE), of not joining the sanctions against Russia
and rejecting Ukraine's request to send weapons.
“We greatly respect the position demonstrated, already several times, by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador; by
the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, that Mexico will
never join the anti-Russian sanctions and that it will never, despite
the requests of the Government of Ukraine, ever supply Ukraine with
weapons, ”he said.
"I
want to assure you that I have no doubt that what is happening these
days is not going to affect Russia's relations with Mexico in any way,
which continues to be one of our oldest and most important partners in
the Latin American region," the Russian ambassador said.
“In
2021 alone, despite COVID and all restrictions, our trade more than
doubled compared to 2020, reaching a record $4.8 billion,” added
Koronelli.
The
diplomat quoted the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who a few
days ago said that: "Today in the world there are countries like China,
India, Mexico that will never answer and do anything at the order of
Uncle Sam."
Separately,
the MC parliamentary group demonstrated for the installation of the
Mexico-Russia Friendship Group, with signs that said "No to war." While the PAN caucus demanded a ceasefire and a solution to the conflict based on International Humanitarian Law.
“For
no reason do we agree with being part of the recklessness and lack of
sensitivity of the situation that Ukraine is going through with the
invasion of Russian troops in its territory, which has resulted in 2,421
civilian victims and more than 6.5 million displaced people”, stated
the PAN parliamentary group.
~~~~~
Remember what I said about putting him on "ignore" ? Have to go soak my knee, it's killing me, I go in at the end of June to set up the new knee surgery thank god. Will be back manana with un otro problema - the "Reforma Electrica", with the other side of the story.
