VENEZUELA

• Sakharov Prize laureates call on Europeans to vote and defend democracy
  Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Oleksandra Matviichuk and Lorent Saleh are among the Sakharov laureates calling on citizens to vote in the European elections.
• In a #UseYourVote campaign video, recent Sakharov Prize laureates and their teams share messages with EU citizens ahead of the 6 - 9 June European elections.
• Background
  The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.
• Through the prize and its associated network, the EU assists laureates, who are supported and empowered in their efforts to defend their causes.

• Similarly, Tehran’s arms shipments to Russia are well known and have prompted complaints and sanctions from the West.
• But Tehran has received little coverage of its military intervention in another deadly conflict: Sudan’s civil war.
• It follows a similar trajectory as Iran’s involvement in Ethiopia during the Tigray war of 2020-22.

Projecting power

• Iran has done this to project power, strengthen alliances and influence conflicts in the Middle East and other regions.
• At the same time, it can prove a lucrative source of income for the Iranian economy, as well as a showcase for the country’s technology.
• In regards to Sudan, arming the SAF helps both Iran’s wider geopolitical goals and its competition with regional rivals, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Rogue states

• It exported tractors there and stationed naval vessels at Sudanese ports in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
• As a fellow so-called rogue state subjected to U.S. sanctions and embargoes, Sudan provided diplomatic support to Tehran throughout the period.
• These setbacks resulted from Iran disengaging from Sudan and Africa to concentrate on nuclear diplomacy with the United States and other world powers.
• They also coincided with growing military, diplomatic and economic assistance from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Sudan and other states in the Horn of Africa in exchange for joining the Saudi-led coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Making inroads in the Horn

• Tehran aspires to assist al-Burhan and the SAF win the war and take back control of the state.
• Giving assistance to the SAF also fits a dynamic that predates the war and again relates to Iran’s battle for influence with Saudi Arabia.
• Outside the military realm, the UAE has a sizable economic edge over Iran as Sudan’s largest export partner and second largest import partner.

Fueling conflict

• The market has several participants/vendors active in the Latin America data center market, leading to market growth.
• Brazil led the Latin America data center market in 2023, accounting for over 40% of the market share in investments.
• What is the estimated market size in terms of area in the Latin America data center market by 2029?
• How many MW of power capacity is expected to reach the Latin America data center market by 2029?

• Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure solutions leader Black & Veatch has completed a feasibility study for the planned Andes Energy Terminal, LNG regasification terminal and power plant.
• “Black & Veatch’s more than 45 years of experience in developing projects in Latin America and over 100 years of experience in critical infrastructure aligned our team perfectly to assess the Andes Energy Terminal (AET),” said Laszlo von Lazar, president of Black & Veatch’s energy and process industries business.
• It consists of an LNG terminal for receiving imported LNG, land-based regasification plant, LNG truck loading terminal, power plant and associated gas and electrical transmission infrastructure.
• The regasification plant in the Pacific coast is an undeniable need, and we are in a privileged position to be able to deliver the solution to this challenge with the Andes Energy Terminal project.”
  Contact Black & Veatch for more information.