By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News
Trinidad and Tobago
We begin tonight in Trinidad and Tobago, where Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is standing firm on her recent warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, declaring that Trinidad and Tobago is “off limits.”
In a statement to the Express, the Prime Minister said no compelling evidence had been provided by Venezuelan authorities to support their claims of Trinidadians being captured in Venezuelan territory.
She also fired back at critics in the opposition who accused her government of poor diplomatic handling. Persad-Bissessar defended her administration’s approach, stating that all responses have adhered to formal diplomatic protocol.
“The misstep,” she said, “is being committed by those who support dictatorship and election fraud in Venezuela while failing to uphold democratic values at home.”
She confirmed that diplomatic notes were dispatched to Caracas at the very start of the allegations.
Colombia
In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro has signed a decree to hold a national referendum on labor reform, pressing the Senate to act before its current session ends on June 20.
The proposed reforms include:
- Limiting the workday
- Increasing holiday and Sunday work surcharges from 75% to 100%
- Requiring social security contributions from app-based delivery drivers
The original 12-point reform plan was narrowly defeated in the Senate last month in a 49-47 vote—a result Petro later claimed was tainted by fraud.
If the referendum proceeds, each measure must be approved by at least 13.5 million voters, or one-third of the country’s electorate, to be considered valid.
Colombia is expected to hold its next legislative and presidential elections in the first half of 2026.
India
We end with tragic news from India, where more than 200 people were killed when an Air India plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The flight, which was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, was carrying 242 passengers.
Authorities say the aircraft crashed into a residential area, hitting a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
GS Malik, the local police chief, confirmed that 204 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage, marking this as the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade.
However, there was a ray of hope—officials confirmed that one man survived the horrific crash. The flight manifest identifies him as British national Fishwash Kumar Ramesh.
