US defends work in border park with Mexico after allegations of environmental damage

The United States government defended ongoing construction work inside the Big Bend National Park along the southern border with Mexico on Thursday. The project involves erecting a virtual wall, which has drawn bipartisan criticism due to concerns over potential environmental damage to the park.

In a separate regional development announced the same day, the U.S. Embassy stated that the first phase of the Tocoma hydroelectric plant in southern Venezuela's Bolívar state is scheduled to add 160 megawatts to the national electrical grid within 90 days to strengthen the country's power system.