Tehran, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Iran's First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, stated today that security in the Strait of Hormuz "comes at a price" and warned that its guarantee cannot be expected free of charge while restrictions on Iranian oil exports continue.

In a message posted on the social network X, Aref addressed the situation in this strategic maritime route, currently affected by tensions stemming from the naval blockade imposed by the United States.

“The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or a risky and costly one for all,” the senior official said, while noting that the stability of global energy prices depends on ending the economic and military pressure against Iran and its allies.

The statement comes after Iranian authorities announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to US actions, according to a statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

Following that decision, the UK Maritime Operations Office (UKMTO) reported several incidents involving vessels in the area off the coast of Oman in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, Iran reported launching drones against US warships, after Washington announced an attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

These events coincide with expectations of a possible resumption of negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, amid conflicting reports about the development of the diplomatic process.

The current scenario is part of the conflict that began on February 28, which left thousands of victims, followed by a temporary ceasefire announced on April 8 with mediation from Pakistan.

Moscow, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Russia urges the world community not to forget the lessons of the past and to stop the spread of revanchism into a terrible pandemic of fascism, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova today.

Answering a question from the TASS news agency about why there is such a torrent of falsification of history by the West, the diplomat recalled the concept of revanchism as something that in her youth was not very clear, "some term that, apparently, I think we never relate to real life," she noted.

Zakharova, who participated in the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, pointed out that “we probably learned the wrong thing from the film Ordinary Fascism, because there was this warning there: that from a small bacillus a huge and terrible pandemic of practically historical revanchism can grow,” she emphasized.

The diplomat noted that the citizens of the Soviet Union and later of Russia understood the "bad" essence of the concept of revanchism, but could not foresee its future expansion in the minds of Western elites.

Zakharova emphasized that the attempts by Western countries to rewrite history have clearly demonstrated the true meaning of revanchism.

"This means that they do not want to live with the understanding that they have lost, they do not want to concede victory, they do not want to recognize, despite the Nuremberg Tribunal, despite all the decisions enshrined in the UN Charter, they do not want to recognize that there are victorious countries, and that our country occupies a central place among them," he stressed.

Bogotá, April 20 (Prensa Latina) The Investigative Signal of the Colombian Public Media System revealed a strategy promoted by the right wing in the country to influence the presidential elections through fear and uncertainty, according to the investigation released.

The news platform revealed the so-called "Jupiter Plan" through which former diplomat Jaime Bermúdez, described as a strategist for former President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010), seeks to manipulate the citizens' vote through pressure exerted by private companies and with the production of content for social networks.

The plan, which has been underway for months, aims to "generate fear, outrage and uncertainty to benefit the Democratic Center's candidacy, headed by Paloma Valencia, for the elections on May 31," according to the analysis.

Regarding the work of social networks, the investigation denounced that the purpose is to attack the campaigns of Iván Cepeda (left) and Abelardo De la Espriella (far right) in order to show Paloma Valencia as a centrist option.

He added that in the area associated with private companies, the target audience of the plan are operators and mid-level workers who have been brought to the celebration of "democratic workshops" throughout the country.

The Deputy Minister of Labor Relations and Inspection of the Ministry of Labor, Sandra Muñoz, quoted by the program, stated that several complaints were received regarding these alleged training spaces "that could be classified as electoral coercion."

The objective of the “Jupiter Plan”, summarized Señal Investigativa, is “to generate fear, outrage and uncertainty among Colombians, and for this purpose, it would have raised more than seven billion pesos by last March” (approximately one million 942 thousand dollars).

Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro reiterated his warnings about the shortcomings of the electoral system used in the country and asked all campaigns to organize citizen oversight of the vote and the registration of one million witnesses to the process who can act at the polling station when they see fraud.

In his message posted on his social media account, he asked for "thousands of technicians, technologists and software scientists around the world to safeguard the vote of Colombian citizens, and thousands of lawyers in Colombia who know how to challenge polling stations during the vote count."

In his opinion, the fraud already occurred before and was proven in court,” when the Council of State ruled that the current vote counting software is the same one that the court ordered to be changed because it is vulnerable from both inside and outside,” he emphasized.

Beirut, April 20 (Prensa Latina) The Hezbollah resistance movement announced today the destruction of four Israeli tanks in southern Lebanon, in response to what it described as repeated ceasefire violations by Tel Aviv.

In a statement, the organization noted that Israeli forces committed a new breach of the truce, adding to a series of previously documented violations.

According to the report, an Israeli army convoy, consisting of eight armored vehicles, was traveling from the town of Taybeh towards the former site of Al-Sala, in Deir Siryan, when it was attacked with explosive devices placed by Hezbollah fighters.

The action unfolded in two phases and resulted in the destruction of four Merkava-type tanks, which, according to the group, were engulfed in flames before being removed from the site.

A temporary 10-day ceasefire, which can be extended, came into effect last Thursday, although Lebanese authorities denounced continuous violations by Israel through bombings that caused casualties and material damage.

In that context, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz declared that his country will maintain control over the occupied areas in southern Lebanon following the recent offensive.

The Israeli army also warned Lebanese residents on Monday not to return to some 80 southern towns, despite the truce being in effect.

Since the start of the offensive on March 2, Lebanon has confirmed more than 2,000 deaths, thousands of injuries, and more than one million displaced people, according to official figures.

Tehran, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Iran's First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, stated today that security in the Strait of Hormuz "comes at a price" and warned that its guarantee cannot be expected free of charge while restrictions on Iranian oil exports continue.

In a message posted on the social network X, Aref addressed the situation in this strategic maritime route, currently affected by tensions stemming from the naval blockade imposed by the United States.

“The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or a risky and costly one for all,” the senior official said, while noting that the stability of global energy prices depends on ending the economic and military pressure against Iran and its allies.

The statement comes after Iranian authorities announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to US actions, according to a statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

Following that decision, the UK Maritime Operations Office (UKMTO) reported several incidents involving vessels in the area off the coast of Oman in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, Iran reported launching drones against US warships, after Washington announced an attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

These events coincide with expectations of a possible resumption of negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, amid conflicting reports about the development of the diplomatic process.

The current scenario is part of the conflict that began on February 28, which left thousands of victims, followed by a temporary ceasefire announced on April 8 with mediation from Pakistan.

Minsk, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today advised the United States against attempting a military adventure in Cuba, arguing that "it will cost them dearly."

"If they go into Cuba and start a war with the Cubans, it will cost them dearly, history proves it," Lukashenko warned in an interview with Rick Sanchez, the Cuban-American journalist who works for the Russian television channel RT.

The president stated that "there will be nations that discreetly support Cuba, and it's difficult to say how that might end." Unlike Iran, Lukashenko noted, Cuba is "close to President Donald Trump's mansion" in Florida.

"Do you need that? No. Well, you have to think about it. Is it possible? Very problematic," he said.

Since the beginning of this year, tensions between Washington and Havana have escalated following US military action in Venezuela.

On January 29, Trump signed an executive order allowing the United States to impose tariffs on imports from countries that supply oil to Cuba.

Washington's actions have caused a severe fuel shortage in Cuba, affecting electricity generation and vital sectors of the economy, transportation, food production, health and education, among others.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced Washington's "energy blockade" and considered it "condemnable" that a power like the United States "adopts such an aggressive and criminal policy towards a small nation."

For his part, in repeated statements to the press, Trump has not ruled out the possibility of the United States taking military action against the island.

Lima, April 20 (Prensa Latina) The far-right presidential candidate Rafael López Aliaga launched a plan to annul the Peruvian elections of eight days ago, invoking an alleged fraud, lacking evidence, according to a journalistic report.

At the same time, the slow vote count continues, with the first consolidated vote going to the neoliberal Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular, followed by the leftist Roberto Sánchez, who narrowly surpasses López Aliaga and endures a McCarthyist-style media campaign similar to those seen in elections in other countries.

The newspaper La República stated in its online version that the aforementioned candidate "is leading a disinformation campaign that aims to annul the presidential elections," for which he alleges a supposed fraud plan against him previously applied in Venezuela.

The newspaper points out that police intelligence sources have reported this and that the plan uses the delays and other serious flaws in the electoral process of April 12, which forced the National Elections Board (JNE) to extend voting until the next day so that those who did not vote in polling centers in Lima could vote, are actually part of a fraud.

In a rally before a few hundred supporters on April 14, he issued an ultimatum to the president of the JNE, Roberto Burneo, to suspend the vote count within 24 hours, under threat of unleashing insurgency and sodomizing the official, something that deserved harsh criticism.

In a new rally last night, he demanded that the head of the JNE call for supplementary elections before May 3 for those who did not vote on April 12, including police and military personnel who, he said, were prevented from doing so.

López Aliaga, Porky, of the Popular Renewal party, repeatedly stated during the election campaign that his polls, which were not publicly known, guaranteed him a wide victory and that he was on guard against fraud like the one that, according to him, occurred in 2021, when rural teacher Pedro Castillo won the presidency.

He was then accompanied by Castillo's rival, Keiko Fujimori, of Fuerza Popular, and they failed in their attempt to annul Castillo's victory due to alleged fraud for which repeated investigations found no evidence.

But this time, Fujimori, with first place and 17 percent of the votes, compared to just over 12 percent for Sánchez and López Aliaga, has what is considered his greatest opportunity to become a ruler after three failures, which is why he opposes López Aliaga's preaching.

Since he has no proof of the fraud he alleges, he has offered to pay 20,000 soles (5,882 dollars) to each official of the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) and to anyone who gives him evidence of the alleged fraud that he attributes to the head of that organization, Piero Corvetto, who is the subject of widespread calls for dismissal as responsible for the irregularities.

In this scenario, the candidate of Together for Peru (JP), Roberto Sánchez - amidst the media barrage against him - has initiated contacts with left and center forces, to face the second round of the presidential election, should he consolidate his second-place position.

Anahí Durand, the likely senator-elect for JP and former minister in Pedro Castillo's brief government, warned that the current crisis is not this time a confrontation between the right and the left, nor between communism and capitalism.

The problem, he indicated, “is a group of fascist fanatics whose leader threatens to kill andremoved high-ranking state officials and corrupt public servants, and who despises the people’s vote.”

“The response cannot be individual or technical, it has to be political and collective; we call for the formation of a great front among all those who defend democracy, peaceful coexistence among Peruvians and respect for democracy,” he said.

He added that the proposal is not simply about endorsing votes for Roberto Sánchez, and argues that "all organizations on the democratic side must unite, beyond political differences, and provide a democratic solution to this crisis."

The call is a tacit appeal to the leaders of the organizations Good Government Party, Jorge Nieto; Now Nation, Alfonso López-Chau; and People First, Marisol Pérez Tello, centrists with various nuances and opponents of Fujimori and López Aliaga, and who, with the addition of Sánchez, would have won the first round by a wide margin.

Bogotá, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa of trying to falsely link him to criminals or illicit activities and of interfering with the electoral process currently underway in Colombia.

According to the statements made by the Colombian head of state on his social media account, there are recordings that reveal that Ecuadorian authorities received orders, allegedly from the State Department, "to find bandits to accuse me."

This, he said, would be aimed at keeping him on the United States Treasury Department's list, which they arbitrarily put him on, he emphasized.

“Noboa listens to them and takes orders, and he receives the opposition led by Uribe with whom he conspires to interfere in the elections to give a hand to his business cronies in Uribismo,” he wrote, referring to former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010).

The statement came after his counterpart spoke about an alleged meeting that Petro attended with people related to the drug trafficker known as Fito when he visited the city of Manta.

Following that comment, the Colombian president denied knowing the criminal in question or his friends.

“I have only gone to Ecuador to attend the inauguration of its presidents, and we have captured many bandits born in that country whom we have handed over to them,” he stated.

He later announced that he would sue Noboa for defamation.

In recent days, the presidential candidate for the Historical Pact, Iván Cepeda, considered that a tour carried out by former president Uribe through the neighboring nation and also through border regions had electoral purposes.

“The far right has used all kinds of dirty methods and unscrupulous campaigns to gain popular support and obtain more votes in this electoral process. Now Uribe is moving to the border with Ecuador to try to incite hatred between our peoples and also exacerbate the trade war,” he stated in a video posted on his social media.

According to the candidate, Colombian right-wing politicians are allied with those who share similar ideologies in Ecuador to harm the population living in the south of the country and as a way to counteract the support received by the Historical Pact in the elections to the Congress of the Republic on March 8, 2026.

“That is nothing different from stateless behavior,” he remarked.

He emphasized that, if he comes to power, he will prioritize fraternal relations, both economic and political, with border towns.

Colombia and Ecuador have been going through a diplomatic and economic crisis for months after the latter's decision to impose tariffs of 30 percent, which it later raised to 100 percent, on Colombian products.

Quito, April 20 (Prensa Latina) The mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, mentioned the possibility of sabotage against the Ecuadorian capital's Metro system, following technical problems that forced the suspension of service today.

During the radio program Frecuencia Quiteña, Muñoz stated this Monday that the damage to the communication system is already under investigation and indicated that the legal staff will file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office.

If no internal cause is found for the "strange failure," the mayor stated that a possible sabotage, whether accidental or intentional, will be analyzed.

"No hypothesis can be ruled out," he said.

After thousands of users of the transport system saw the doors closed since dawn, the mayor specified that the Metro can operate, however, it does not do so due to problems in communication and video surveillance.

He pointed out that this difficulty makes it impossible to guarantee the necessary safety conditions for the service.

The Quito Metro, considered the most modern transport system in the country, has 18 trains with six cars each, connecting the north and south of the city with journeys of just 27 minutes.

Its interruption today caused discomfort among the city's inhabitants, who had to use other means of transportation.

On April 16, the Metro awarded the contract for the maintenance of the structure and superstructure to the consortium made up of the companies Sofratesa de Panamá Inc., Sociedad Francesa de Tecnología Avanzada SA, Rieltec Ecuador, and Ripconciv Construcciones Civiles.

The contract was awarded for $62.1 million and will be valid for five years for preventive and corrective maintenance tasks.