Page 23 - ATA

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 16 February 2018
Venezuela's President Maduro taking new title: Party crasher

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) by air, land or sea — I will They say the crisis-wracked rule. flected threats U.S. Secre-
— Venezuela's President get to the Summit of the country's ruling party is Venezuela sits atop the tary of State Rex Tillerson
Nicolas Maduro said Thurs- Americas to tell the truth of plowing ahead with snap world's largest oil reserves, made in a recent tour of
day he isn't above crashing this country," Maduro de- presidential elections but crude production has Latin America. Tillerson said
a party after his invitation clared at a news confer- stacked in Maduro's favor plummeted under mis- that increasing sanctions
was yanked to a regional ence of international jour- by blocking many of the management and corrup- against Venezuela aimed
meeting of leaders in the nalists. "Don't you want to most popular opposition tion inside the state-run oil at breaking Maduro’s grip
Western Hemisphere. see me in Lima?" candidates. The United company. Inflation is soar- on power could include an
Maduro is determined to Showing up could be awk- States has said it will reject ing as residents who find it embargo on oil. Maduro
show up for the Summit ward. Peru says Maduro is the outcome of the elec- increasingly difficult to find said, however, that such
of the Americas, an April no longer welcomed to the tion set for April 22. food and medicine are a move would come at
gathering of regional lead- meeting it's hosting. Peru is Once one of Latin Amer- leaving — many crossing a greater political cost to
ers in Lima, Peru. President backed by a dozen Latin ica's wealthiest nations, on foot into neighboring President Trump. If the U.S.
Donald Trump is also invited American countries who Venezuela is gripped by a Colombia and Brazil. decides not to buy Venezu-
but hasn't said whether he'll say Maduro's government deepening economic and Speaking to journalists at ela’s oil shipments, Maduro
attend. is breaking the rules of de- political crisis after nearly the Presidential Palace in said, “We would go to oth-
"Rain, shine or lightning — mocracy. two decades of socialist Caracas, Maduro also de- er destinations.” q

Report: A record 30M people visited Caribbean despite storms

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) islands directly blasted by
— A record 30 million peo- the storms.
ple visited the Caribbean Only 40 percent of hotels
last year, despite two dev- and rooms are open in the
astating hurricanes that hit U.S. Virgin Islands, while sev-
a region still struggling to eral renowned hotels re-
recover, regional tourism main closed in Puerto Rico,
officials said Thursday. where more than 400,000
Visitors spent a record to- power customers are still
tal of $37 billion, up nearly without lights. Officials said
3 percent compared with the British Virgin Islands has
the previous year, accord- at least five resorts reopen-
ing to Ryan Skeete, acting ing later this year, while a
research director for the marina and yacht club are
Barbados-based Carib- expected to reopen next
bean Tourism Organization. year. At least 85 percent of
The majority of visitors came power has been restored
from the United States, and there, although some plac-
there was a surge of travel- es remain without water.
ers from Canada and Eu- Hugh Riley, secretary gen-
rope. The Royal Caribbean International's Explorer of the Seas is docked at Charlotte Amalie Harbor in eral of the Caribbean Tour-
It is the eighth consecu- St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands. A record 30 million people visited the Caribbean in 2017 despite ism Organization, noted
tive year of growth for the two devastating hurricanes that hit the region. Officials say some islands saw double-digit growth that the sector employs
Caribbean, although some while others saw a nearly 20 percent drop in visitors after hurricanes Irma and Maria hit in Sep- 14 percent of the Carib-
islands including St. Lucia tember. (AP Photo/Thomas Layer) bean’s population and
and Bermuda saw double- represents anywhere from
digit increases while others hurricanes Irma and Maria billions of dollars in dam- Tourism Association report- 7 percent to more than 80
reported a nearly 20 per- hit in September, killing doz- age. ed that huge numbers of percent of various islands
cent drop in visitors after ens of people and causing The Caribbean Hotel & hotels remain closed on economies.q

Mexican diocese withdraws nuns from violent city

By MARK STEVENSON the area. The nuns ran one call on the criminal gangs other town in the diocese. two bodies in the Pacific
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The of the oldest and most re- not to affect or destroy, One of the priests had coast state of Nayarit that
Roman Catholic diocese spected schools in Chilapa. one of the sacred things we been photographed ear- may be those of two pros-
where two priests were The church did not specify have: the education of our lier holding an assault rifle ecution agents kidnapped
killed earlier this month has how many nuns were in- children and youths,” the in the company of armed, earlier this month and later
withdrawn all nuns from the volved, but local media diocese said, noting that is masked men. Bishop Salva- forced to appear on a vid-
hyper-violent city of Chila- said there were four. Local the school closed perma- dor Rangel said the priest eo by a drug gang. The of-
pa in southern Mexico. The media also reported the nently, many would be left worked in an area where fice said the remains were
diocese said in a statement nun’s parents had been without quality education. mines controlled by drug found in the Nayarit town
that the parents of one of hacked up. The diocese Two priests were shot to gangs abound. He said the of Xalisco, which has long
the nuns had been killed openly called on the gangs death on Feb. 5 along priest “had to greet them” been linked to heroin traf-
and that their school had not to hurt children’s edu- with four other people in order to enter the area. ficking to the United States.
to close for several months cation, and said it hoped when gunmen attacked And on Thursday, the fed- The office said DNA testing
last year due to threats from other could be found oth- their truck as they returned eral Attorney General’s would be carried out to
drug gangs that operate in ers to run the school. “We home from a concert in an- Office said it had found confirm their identities. q