https://www.voanews.com/z/616 americas https://www.voanews.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.voanews.com/z/616 en 2024 - VOA 60 Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:44:48 -0500 Pangea CMS – VOA La Paz, Bolivia — Campaigning for Sunday's judicial election may be strictly forbidden, but look closer on the streets of Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, and you’ll find that some candidates have sneakily plastered their faces on packs of corn puffs and others have slipped subtle slogans into official voting manuals. After all, it’s a popular vote, and even a bit of PR can work wonders when voters know nothing about the dozens of names on their sprawling ballot papers.  Bolivia is the only country in the world that holds elections for top judicial posts. Soon Mexico will, too, after former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pushed through a highly contentious overhaul of the justice system in the face of mass protests. As Bolivia's ex-President Evo Morales did when remaking the judiciary in 2009, Lopez Obrador has championed the overhaul to purge the corrupt elite and boost democracy. But apathetic Bolivian voters say the elections have had the opposite effect, turning their courts from neutral arbiters into political prizes. “I’ll flip a coin,” said 25-year-old architecture student Marisol Nogales when asked how she would vote Sunday. It’s never easy to find supporters of Bolivia’s system of electing judges, which, over a   decade ago, replaced a nomination system rooted in qualifications and training. Across the world, academics, investors and judges have warned that judicial elections can cement the dominance of the ruling party and reduce checks and balances. And across Latin America, from El Salvador to Honduras, experts have characterized politicized judiciaries as profound threats to democracy. In Bolivia, even senior judicial officials struggle to sound positive when asked to defend the election. “It should be a calm, easy and simple process, but it has become very litigious, very controversial,” Francisco Vargas, the vice president of Bolivia’s electoral tribunal, told The Associated Press from the court in central La Paz. This year in Bolivia, experts find it even harder than usual to praise the system. With the posts up for grabs every six years, Sunday’s vote was supposed to take place in late 2023. But as the deadline approached last year, the Constitutional Court — packed with allies of President Luis Arce — suddenly intervened to push the vote back a year, escalating his power struggle with his former mentor and current rival, Morales, over who will lead their long-dominant leftist party into Bolivia’s 2025 presidential election. Both understand that whoever wins over the Constitutional Court ensures their own political survival. Arce cited the paralysis of their divided party in justifying the vote's delay. Morales' loyalists, who hold a majority in Congress and would have determined the shortlist of judicial candidates, accused Arce of illegally extending the mandates of friendly judges for fear of losing influence over the courts. “What happened was disorder, the kind that can lead us to a greater conflict,” said Ivan Lima, the former Minister of Justice. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights criticized the postponement of elections, raising alarm about its “potential to undermine the effective functioning of the Bolivian justice system.” Now, after many attempts to derail and further delay the vote, it is finally moving ahead Sunday. But there’s a wrinkle: It's a partial election. Only four out of nine seats on the powerful Constitutional Court are up for grabs. The other five — the majority of sitting judges, as it happens — will stay in their posts. “The judges have turned the Constitutional Court into a sort of superpower,” said Bolivian political analyst Paul Coca. Sunday marks the third time that Bolivia has held judicial elections. If the past two rounds under then-President Morales, in 2011 and 2017, are any indication, turnout will be low. Both times, most Bolivians, outraged or simply baffled by the notion of endorsing unknown judges pre-selected by Morales’ allies with little transparency, voted null or blank. Critics questioned the legitimacy of the elected judges. But they nonetheless shaped the evolution of Bolivian democracy. In 2016, Morales asked Bolivians in a legally binding referendum to decide whether to let him run for a fourth term, in defiance of a two-term limit established in the 2009 Constitution he had backed. When he didn’t get the answer he wanted — a slim majority voted “no” — his party found a workaround through the pliant Constitutional Court, where judges ruled that to deny Morales another term as president would be to violate his human rights. “This was his major mistake,” said Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court. It was Morales’ decision to run again in 2019 that brought a precipitous end to his remarkable 14-year tenure and ushered in a surreal parade of crises. As allegations of electoral fraud sent angry crowds into the streets, Morales resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile. Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, bracing for fallout from the overhaul she inherited, is keen to see how Bolivia’s vote plays out. The National Electoral Institute, the Mexican voting authority, sent a delegation to observe the process in La Paz this weekend, Vargas said. https://www.voanews.com/a/bolivia-holds-divisive-popular-vote-for-its-top-judges/7902157.html https://www.voanews.com/a/bolivia-holds-divisive-popular-vote-for-its-top-judges/7902157.html Sun, 15 Dec 2024 14:28:30 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was discharged from the hospital Sunday after undergoing surgery to stop a brain bleed.  The 79-year-old president spoke alongside doctors in a news conference Sunday morning in a show that he was doing well following the head surgery. “I’m here alive, well, with the urge to work. And I’ll tell you something I used to say during the campaign. I’m 79 years old; I have the energy of 30 and the enthusiasm of 20 to build this country,” Lula said. Lula's medical team said the surgery went well and that Lula would be able to walk and hold meetings as he rests in his home in the city of Sao Paulo until Thursday.  The leader's doctors said international travel would be out of the question until further notice, but that he'd be able to travel to the country's capital, Brasilia, if all goes well in a medical exam. The president also offered his first comments about Saturday's arrest of Gen. Walter Braga Netto, a former member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s government and his 2022 running mate, in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot. Lula has largely avoided commenting on the case because of ongoing investigations. “It is not possible for us to accept disrespect for democracy, disrespect for the constitution. And it is not possible for us to accept that in a generous country like Brazil we have people of high military rank plotting the death of a president, his vice president and a presiding judge of the supreme electoral court,” said Lula.  Braga Netto was indicted in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, on charges of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office after his failed 2022 reelection bid.  Prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges against Braga Netto. His arrest was related to allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said in a statement.  https://www.voanews.com/a/brazilian-president-lula-discharged-from-hospital-after-brain-surgery/7902083.html https://www.voanews.com/a/brazilian-president-lula-discharged-from-hospital-after-brain-surgery/7902083.html Sun, 15 Dec 2024 11:54:35 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) SAO PAULO — Brazil's Federal Police on Saturday arrested a former member of President Jair Bolsonaro's Cabinet and his 2022 running mate in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, the Supreme Court said in a statement. Gen. Walter Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid. Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto. The arrest made on Saturday stemmed from allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said in a statement. The arrest request was authorized by the Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, with a favorable assessment from the prosecutor-general's office. A court statement said police formally requested the general to be preventively detained because its agents identified "robust evidence" that he sought to discover what a former Bolsonaro aide, who signed a plea bargain, was telling authorities. Authorities also executed search and seizure warrants against Braga Netto and his aide, Col. Flávio Botelho Peregrino. Braga Netto served as Bolsonaro's chief of staff from 2020-21 and as defense minister from 2021-22. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Previously, his legal team said they would wait to review police documents before making any statements. In November, Brazil's Federal Police unsealed the final report of its investigation into the plan to keep Bolsonaro in office by overturning the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. Federal Police portray Braga Netto as one of the plot's leaders, also involved in pressuring military leaders to sign onto the coup. The 884-page document, substantiated by evidence and testimony, described a multistep scheme. The plan included systematically sowing distrust of the electoral system among the populace, drafting a decree to give the plot a veneer of legal basis, pressuring top military brass to go along with the plan, and inciting a riot in the capital. According to the investigation, the plan included a plot to assassinate Lula, Vice-President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Investigators allege Braga Netto greenlit the assassination plan at a meeting with the plotters inside his home. The assassination plan sought to leave Bolsonaro's ticket as the only remaining valid one in the 2022 runoff, police said. De Moraes led a five-year probe into fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, which has led some far-right allies and supporters being barred from social media and even imprisoned. The police report contains no indication that any attempt to assassinate Lula or Alckmin was put into motion. However, investigators found messages and documents indicating that the plotters were monitoring and following de Moraes at the time. The Supreme Court's statement said the police had new evidence suggesting that Braga Netto was involved in securing and delivering financial resources for the coup plot. Braga Netto, the former president and his main allies have denied any wrongdoing or involvement and accuse the authorities of political persecution. Reactions to the arrest were divided along the same political line that has split the South American nation since Bolsonaro took power. Bolsonaro wrote on social media platform X that the arrest was ordered on a questionable basis, while the ex-president's allies railed at authorities for what they called another case of authorities breaking legal norms. Lula's government and members of his party called it a win for democracy and justice in Brazil. "The fact that for the first time in Brazil's history, a four-star general has been arrested for attempted coup d'état is in itself a sign that we are making progress as a constitutional democracy. Brazil still has a long way to go as a Republic, but today is a historic day on this journey," Randolfe Rodrigues, a senator in Lula's party, wrote in a post on X. https://www.voanews.com/a/ex-bolsonaro-cabinet-minister-arrested-in-brazil-over-alleged-coup-plot/7901818.html https://www.voanews.com/a/ex-bolsonaro-cabinet-minister-arrested-in-brazil-over-alleged-coup-plot/7901818.html Sat, 14 Dec 2024 22:51:43 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) New York — Officials from the White House, FBI and DHS on Saturday stressed that most of the recently reported drone sightings in New Jersey and nearby states involved manned aircraft, and there was no evidence of any national security threat. An FBI official told reporters during an impromptu briefing that the agency was working with 50 local, state and federal partners to look into increased reports. The official said less than 100 of the over 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation, and all of the large fixed-wing reported sightings so far involved manned aircraft. "The combination of efforts so far ... to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has ... not found any evidence to support large-scale [unmanned aerial systems] activities," the official said, adding that many of the sightings occurred along regular flight paths. Extensive efforts were underway to investigate the remaining cases, using interviews and analysis of radar and intelligence, the official added. "We can't ignore the sightings that have been there," the official said. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities, but I think there has been a slight over-reaction." A spate of reported drone sightings that began in New Jersey in mid-November spread in recent days to include Maryland, Massachusetts and other states. The sightings have garnered media attention and prompted creation of a Facebook page called "New Jersey Mystery Drones — let's solve it" with 56,000 online members. U.S. President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates on the issue, a White House official said. On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, residents and a police officer in Harwich reported seeing 10-15 drones flying in the Friday night sky, the Boston Herald reported. Police relayed the information to the Boston FBI and Massachusetts State Police. Governor Maura Healey said on Facebook that she is also “aware of a growing number of drone sightings across Massachusetts and we’re monitoring the situation closely.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Saturday called for a boost in federal law enforcement efforts after the runways at a local airport in the Hudson Valley were shut down for one hour due to drone activity on Friday. "This has gone too far," Hochul said in a statement on the social media network X, urging the Biden administration to boost law enforcement in New York and other areas, and calling on Congress to pass drone reform legislation. An official with the Federal Aviation Administration said a temporary ban on drone activity had been put in place over Picatinny Arsenal, a military base in Wharton, New Jersey, that was due to expire on December 26 and could be made permanent. There had been drone sightings over Picatinny and another naval weapons station in December, a military official told reporters, but there was no intelligence or observation that they were linked to a foreign actor or had malicious intent. Drone operations over military installations are generally banned, but occur from time to time, the official added. A second ban was put in place over Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, that was due to expire on December 20, but could be extended, the FAA official said. https://www.voanews.com/a/mystery-drones-still-causing-concern-over-us-northeast-/7901613.html https://www.voanews.com/a/mystery-drones-still-causing-concern-over-us-northeast-/7901613.html Sat, 14 Dec 2024 17:48:47 -0500 USAAmericaswebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) ROME — Italy's government has granted citizenship to Argentinian President Javier Milei on account of his Italian family roots, a source with knowledge of the matter said Friday, confirming earlier media reports. Milei is in Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and to take part in her Brothers of Italy party's annual festival Saturday. The source declined to provide further details. The news on Italian media triggered an angry reaction from some politicians and on social media from people protesting at citizenship being given to Milei when it is hard to obtain for the children of migrants born in Italy. Italy's citizenship laws are based on blood ties, meaning that even distant descendants of an Italian national can obtain an Italian passport. Requirements for foreigners born in Italy or who migrate there, on the other hand, are much tougher. Pro-migrant groups have proposed a referendum to ease them, but Meloni's right-wing coalition is against any relaxation. Riccardo Magi, a lawmaker from the small opposition More Europa party, said granting citizenship to Milei was an act of "intolerable discrimination against so many young people who will only get it after many years." During a previous trip to Italy in February, Milei told a TV interview that he felt "75% Italian" since three of his grandparents had Italian origins, and that he has "an incredible passion for Italian Opera." Libertarian Milei and conservative Meloni have established a close relationship. When they met in Buenos Aires last month, the Argentine leader gave his Italian guest a statuette of himself wielding his trademark chainsaw. https://www.voanews.com/a/argentina-s-milei-receives-italian-citizenship-during-rome-visit-source-says/7900855.html https://www.voanews.com/a/argentina-s-milei-receives-italian-citizenship-during-rome-visit-source-says/7900855.html Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:30:35 -0500 EuropeAmericasImmigrationwebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) MEXICO CITY — Millions of faithful gathered to mark Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country's patron saint. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in Mexico's cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country Thursday.  Enormous crowds gathered early in the day, singing the traditional Mexican birthday song "Las mananitas" at Mexico City's Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.  Mariachi bands and traditional dance groups were also present at the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial-era architecture.  Maria Luisa Vazquez Mendoza, 33, a homemaker, walked for 16 hours from neighboring Mexico state to visit the basilica on the capital's north side and give thanks "for another year of life, and that my family is all right."  "You feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close," said Vazquez Mendoza. "Your body relaxes completely. You don't feel pain or tiredness anymore."  Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for "a halt to the armed violence and hostile statements."  "In a country where violence has left painful wounds in families and polarization among the public, this is a proposal to reflect, and act in favor of reconciliation and human dignity," the council wrote on a church website, Desde la Fe.  But in the north-central state of Guanajuato — which has the highest number of homicides of any of Mexico's 32 states — the day was possibly even more violent than usual.  Police and prosecutors said 15 dead bodies were found on the streets in various cities in Guanajuato, and they warned that the death toll might be higher. In one macabre location, a pile of human remains was discovered on a highway near the city of Salvatierra, but authorities were still investigating how many victims it contained.  Local media said parts of hacked-up human bodies were left in black garbage bags in the back of a pickup truck with a banner signed by a drug cartel.  In Guanajuato in 2023 there were 8.5 homicides a day on average, according to official figures.  Vazquez Mendoza said she hoped the call for a truce might still influence people "to be a little more human, more conscious."  Over 11 million worshippers had visited the basilica in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Mexico's patroness, authorities said.  Many had walked from distant villages and others rode on bicycles or buses to reach the basilica's enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.  The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin's cloak inside the basilica did not discourage them. Many of the pilgrims walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.  According to church tradition, in 1531, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.  Traditionally, those who have asked for help from the Virgin of Guadalupe come in a sign of appreciation. Some, like street vendor Christofer Hernandez, completed the last stretch to the basilica barefoot or on their knees.  Arturo Rivas was one of 200 people who made the pilgrimage on bicycle from the nearby state of Tlaxacala, a ride of over 60 miles (100 kilometers).  "We are excited to come year after year," Rivas said. "This is what our parents taught us." https://www.voanews.com/a/millions-mark-mexico-s-virgin-of-guadalupe-day-but-calls-for-a-truce-in-drug-violence-go-unheeded-/7899873.html https://www.voanews.com/a/millions-mark-mexico-s-virgin-of-guadalupe-day-but-calls-for-a-truce-in-drug-violence-go-unheeded-/7899873.html Thu, 12 Dec 2024 21:23:17 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) BRASILIA, Brazil — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium — a landmark voluntary agreement banning trade in soybeans from recently deforested areas.  The 18-year-old moratorium stipulates that traders and oil producers refrain from buying soybeans grown on land cleared after 2008. The deal gathered strange bedfellows, ranging from environmental groups Greenpeace and WWF to U.S. commodity giants Cargill, Bunge and ADM.  However, new laws recently enacted in the Amazon states of Mato Grosso, Brazil's largest soybean producer, and neighboring Rondonia have cut tax incentives for processing and trade companies that adhere to the agreement. Two other states and Brazil's Congress are weighing similar legislation.  "This means penalizing companies committed to ending deforestation, promoting the continued expansion of agribusiness in Amazon forest areas, creating subsidies for deforestation and discriminating against the granting of tax incentives based on companies' environmental commitment," Thursday's declaration stated.  "Therefore, those who are more ambitious in environmental protection lose the incentive," said the manifesto, whose 67 signers include Greenpeace, WWF and Climate Observatory, a network of 119 organizations watching federal climate policy in Brazil.  The document argues soybean production grew exponentially in the Amazon under the moratorium as it expanded into pastureland. Its area jumped from 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) in 2007 to 7.28 million hectares (18 million acres) in 2022, according to a moratorium report. The manifesto also calls for the companies that operate in Mato Grosso and Rondonia to maintain their commitment to the agreement even though it means losing millions of dollars in tax incentives — a tough decision for small and medium-sized companies.  Researchers have found the moratorium is helping to preserve the Amazon forest. A 2020 study in the journal Nature Food found that the agreement, in combination with public policies, contributed to the steepest reduction of deforestation recorded in Brazil, between 2003 and 2016.  In a written response, the government of Mato Grosso said it enacted the law because the moratorium is harsher than Brazil's legislation, which already has "the world's strictest environmental regulations." It also stated that most of the state is covered by original rainforest trees and plants.  "We challenge these nonprofits to name any state, in any country, that is a major food producer and preserves 60% of its territory," the statement said. https://www.voanews.com/a/environmental-groups-condemn-new-laws-threatening-soybean-restrictions-in-brazil-s-amazon/7899868.html https://www.voanews.com/a/environmental-groups-condemn-new-laws-threatening-soybean-restrictions-in-brazil-s-amazon/7899868.html Thu, 12 Dec 2024 21:05:45 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) Doctors in Brazil say President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a surgical procedure Thursday to treat bleeding in his brain – his second this week. The operation was successful, and he was recovering in a hospital’s intensive care unit – ICU. Speaking to reporters at Sao Paulo's Sirio-Libanes Hospital, the president’s doctor, Roberto Kalil Filho, said the 79-year-old Lula was awake and speaking, following the early-morning procedure, which lasted about an hour. Doctors performed a “middle meningeal artery embolization,” a minimally invasive treatment that blocks one or more blood vessels, in this case intended to reduce the risk of future bleeding. They said he is expected to be moved from the ICU Friday and released from the hospital to resume normal activities next week. Thursday’s procedure follows a two-hour “unscheduled” surgery Tuesday to drain bleeding between his brain and the meningeal membrane that surrounds it. Lula traveled from Brasilia, 1,000 kilometers south to Sao Paulo, in the early hours of Tuesday to be treated. Doctors said the surgery was linked to an accident at the president ‘s official residence in October. Media reports said he was trimming his toenails in the bathroom October 19 when he fell and hit his head. He was taken to the hospital, received five stitches and was discharged, but as a precaution, doctors barred him from traveling to a BRICS intergovernmental summit in Russia. At the time of the accident, Dr. Filho told GloboNews TV the president’s fall caused “great” trauma to the back of his head, requiring stitches and resulting in a “small brain hemorrhage” in the temporal-frontal region. He said then that the injury would have to be monitored. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-s-lula-recovering-from-second-brain-surgery/7898918.html https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-s-lula-recovering-from-second-brain-surgery/7898918.html Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:07:14 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) Messages of desperation sent by political prisoners in Venezuela are being made public by relatives and organizations as a way of demanding their release from the government of Nicolás Maduro. Several of the letters include confessions of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. Click here for the full story in Spanish.  https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-spanish-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-venezuela-recount-the-horrors-of-their-imprisonment/7898451.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-spanish-letters-from-political-prisoners-in-venezuela-recount-the-horrors-of-their-imprisonment/7898451.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 22:11:35 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Spanish) Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime announced Wednesday that Port-au-Prince's international airport will be reopening soon. In an official statement, the prime minister's office detailed measures the government is taking to secure the airport and surrounding areas. American Airlines announced earlier this week it was suspending all flights to Haiti for the time being. Haiti has been wracked by gang violence. Click here for the full story in Creole. https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-haitian-government-announces-reopening-of-port-au-prince-airport-/7898449.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-haitian-government-announces-reopening-of-port-au-prince-airport-/7898449.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 22:05:41 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Wilner Bossou) RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio  Lula da Silva will undergo a new procedure on Thursday following up on an unplanned surgery earlier this week for a brain bleed, doctors said.  The minimally invasive procedure aims to stop persistent bleeding on the surface of the brain. On Tuesday, the 79-year-old leftist leader underwent surgery for a brain bleed after suffering complications resulting from a fall at home in October.  In a statement, doctors at the Sirio-Libanes hospital said Wednesday that Lula "spent the day well," adding that "he underwent physiotherapy, walked and received visits from family members."  Lula remains in intensive care. In an earlier statement on Wednesday, doctors said the Brazilian president was lucid and had his bearings, and that he remained hooked up to a surgical drain as he awaited further routine tests.  After the first surgery, doctors had said there would be no aftereffects and that Lula was expected to return to the capital, Brasilia, at the beginning of next week. Until then, they said, he would be unable to work.  Doctors will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. local time Thursday to provide further updates, they said.  Lula canceled a trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after the accident, his office said at the time. It left him with a visible cut on the back of his head, slightly above his neck.  Fagnislainny Fernandes, a 40-year-old visual artist, said she went to the hospital "out of compassion" for Lula.  "This country, unfortunately, has a lot of misinformation and so I came personally to find out if this situation is really happening," she said. https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-s-lula-to-undergo-new-procedure-after-initial-surgery-for-brain-bleed/7898444.html https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-s-lula-to-undergo-new-procedure-after-initial-surgery-for-brain-bleed/7898444.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 21:51:23 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) In response to an inquiry from VOA Persian, the Canadian government stated that compulsory conscription in Iran’s armed forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), does not necessarily result in former conscripts being barred from entering Canada. The IRGC has been added to Canada’s list of terrorist organizations, but a Canadian government spokesman said those fleeing Iran who were required to serve with the Iranian force would not be barred from Canada. Click here for the full story in Persian.   https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-persian-canada-says-conscription-service-in-iran-s-revolutionary-guard-does-not-bar-entry/7897904.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-persian-canada-says-conscription-service-in-iran-s-revolutionary-guard-does-not-bar-entry/7897904.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:10:59 -0500 AmericasIranwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Persian) WASHINGTON — A court in Guatemala City has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for a prominent investigative journalist known for his reporting on governmental and judicial corruption in the country. Juan Luis Font, director and host of the daily radio talk show “ConCriterio” and a co-founder of El Periodico newspaper in Guatemala, is accused of collusion and bribery, charges he denies. The journalist, who lives in exile in France, told VOA he expected that a warrant would be issued because of his stories on corruption. “They speak about me laundering money. They speak about me being bribed. And they have not been able to build up any of these cases. Instead, they have proceeded with these accusations against me,” he said. Watchdogs say the Justice Department in Guatemala often uses the threat of legal action to silence critical voices. The press freedom environment in the country is “dire," according to the free expression group Fundamedios, which said journalists have difficulty bringing corruption cases to light because they are frequently prosecuted. The Guatemala Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to VOA’s request for comment. Font said he has been vocal about allegations of corruption in the judiciary. “I am not a person who is going to be well-seen by the people in power,” he said. Guatemala experienced years of corruption before electing current President Bernardo Arevalo, who ran on an anti-corruption platform in 2023. There are “serious problems” with the independence of the Guatemalan judiciary, according to a 2023 State Department country report. The report found inefficiency, corruption and “manipulation of justice” within the justice system, and many who are arrested are denied fair, public trials. Judicial harassment of journalists has also been on the rise, according to the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders. “The Justice Department is still in the hands of people who really want to silence all the critical voices, all the people who do investigations, and the people who bring to light what's happening in Guatemala,” Dagmar Thiel, U.S. CEO of Fundamedios, told VOA. “And Juan Luis is one of the strongest critical voices in Guatemala.” Font is one of the most well-known journalists in Guatemala, according to Thiel. He co-founded El Periodico with Jose Ruben Zamora, who spent more than two years in prison in what watchdogs say was retaliatory action. Zamora is currently under house arrest after an appeals court overturned a conviction on money laundering charges in October. Zamora’s son, Jose Carlos, told VOA that Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras and special prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche have led an “assault” on press freedom. “This group fabricates cases and issues unlawful rulings to silence journalists exposing corruption,” Jose Carlos wrote to VOA. The case against Font has been condemned by international groups. The National Press Club in Washington demanded an end to the harassment that Font and other Guatemalan journalists experience. Cases like these highlight the “animosity Guatemala's judicial authorities have for independent and critical journalism,” club president Emily Wilkins said in a statement Tuesday. “Journalism is not a crime, and Font is not a criminal.” Font told VOA that one of the accusations against him is “bribing” an anti-corruption judge named Erika Aifan, who fled Guatemala in 2022. The alleged bribe, he said, is a “Person of the Year” award that Font presented to her on “ConCriterio.”  “It’s absolutely nuts,” Font said. “They said I granted her a payment in the form of an honor two years before I knew I would even need her help.” Font is one of around 20 Guatemalan journalists now in exile who fled Guatemala to avoid legal retaliation, Thiel of Fundamedios said. In France, Font is still running his radio show. “I did the right thing by leaving my country two years ago, and I have been well,” he said. “I’m sleeping peacefully, because I'm sure that they're not going to be able to put me in jail the next morning.” https://www.voanews.com/a/arrest-warrant-for-guatemalan-journalist-viewed-as-retaliatory/7897897.html https://www.voanews.com/a/arrest-warrant-for-guatemalan-journalist-viewed-as-retaliatory/7897897.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 15:42:37 -0500 Press FreedomAmericaswebdesk@voanews.com (Jocelyn Mintz) PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday it would partially resume its activities in Haiti's violence-wracked capital, Port-au-Prince, less than a month after suspending its operations over threats to its staff. Haiti has suffered from decades of instability, but the situation escalated in February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Gangs currently control 80% of the city, where Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said the medical needs are "immense." "MSF is now resuming activities thanks to a constructive dialogue with key stakeholders and involvement by the authorities to ensure respect for our teams and our medical mission," the nongovernmental organization said in a statement. But the group said it would not resume patient transports, as "the risk for our teams and patients remains high, particularly in ambulances." Three MSF-run hospitals and a clinic in the greater Port-au-Prince metropolitan area will reopen, but the Turgeau hospital will remain closed, due to the issue with patient transports, it said. MSF suspended operations on November 19 over what it said was "violence and threats from police," after two patients were shot dead. "These past three weeks have been especially painful," Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF's head of mission in Haiti, said in a statement. "Despite the commitments made by the authorities, the risks remain high, and our ability to continue our work in Haiti is uncertain as we move ahead," he said. "We call on all parties to respect our medical and humanitarian mission so that we can respond to medical needs to the full extent of our capacity." Nearly 200 people were killed in brutal violence in Port-au-Prince last weekend, reportedly orchestrated against voodoo practitioners. The government has condemned the massacre as "unbearable cruelty." The latest killings bring the death toll this year in Haiti to around 5,000 people, according to the United Nations. https://www.voanews.com/a/doctors-without-borders-resumes-some-activities-in-haiti-s-capital/7897508.html https://www.voanews.com/a/doctors-without-borders-resumes-some-activities-in-haiti-s-capital/7897508.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 10:43:30 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Agence France-Presse) VIENNA — Human trafficking has risen sharply due to conflicts, climate-induced disasters and global crises, according to a United Nations report published on Wednesday. In 2022, the latest year for which data is widely available, the number of known victims worldwide rose to 25% above 2019's pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons said. A sharp fall in 2020 had largely disappeared by the following year. "Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labor, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence," the report said, adding that organized crime was mainly responsible. Children accounted for 38% of detected victims, compared to 35% for figures for 2020 which formed the basis of the previous report. The latest report showed adult women remain the largest group of victims, representing 39% of cases, followed by men at 23%, girls at 22% and boys at 16%. The most common reason by far for women and girls being trafficked was sexual exploitation at 60% or more, followed by forced labor. For men, it was forced labor and for boys, it was forced labor and "other purposes" in roughly equal measure. Those other purposes include forced criminality and forced begging. The report said the growing number of boys identified as victims of trafficking could be linked to rising numbers of unaccompanied minors arriving in Europe and North America. The region of origin that accounted for the largest number of victims was sub-Saharan Africa with 26%, though there are many different trafficking routes. While improved detection could account for the growing numbers, the report said it was likely a combination of that and more trafficking in general. The biggest increases in cases detected were in sub-Saharan Africa, North America and the 'western and southern Europe' region, according to the report, with migration influxes being a significant factor in the latter two. https://www.voanews.com/a/human-trafficking-rises-sharply-after-dropping-during-pandemic-un-says/7897104.html https://www.voanews.com/a/human-trafficking-rises-sharply-after-dropping-during-pandemic-un-says/7897104.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 03:26:55 -0500 EuropeAfricaAmericasAsiawebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria demonstrates the vulnerability of authoritarian governments such as those in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, according to analysts, who question the current capacity of Russia and Iran to actively defend their more distant allies.  Assad’s Latin American supporters are watching what has happened in Syria “with great apprehension,” according to Geoff Ramsey, an analyst at the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based research and think tank.  See full story here.  https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-spanish-assad-s-fall-shows-vulnerability-of-authoritarianism-in-latin-america-say-analysts-/7897082.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-spanish-assad-s-fall-shows-vulnerability-of-authoritarianism-in-latin-america-say-analysts-/7897082.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 02:21:50 -0500 AmericasMiddle Eastwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Spanish) The armed gang attack that killed more than 180 people, many of them elderly, over the weekend in Haiti's Cite Soliel area has sparked widespread condemnation.   U.S. State Department official Brian Nichols posted a message on X expressing shock and asking the international community to provide more support for the multinational force in Haiti. The United Nations is calling for a thorough investigation and for those responsible for the attack to be held accountable. The Haitian government vowed to mobilize its forces to track down the attackers.   See full story here.  https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-gang-massacre-in-haiti-sparks-widespread-condemnation-/7897081.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-gang-massacre-in-haiti-sparks-widespread-condemnation-/7897081.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 02:17:17 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (VOA Creole) AUSTIN, Texas — Six Guatemalans were arrested in Guatemala and in Texas Monday on human smuggling charges linked to a 2021 semitrailer truck crash in Mexico that killed more than 50 migrants, authorities said. The truck had been packed with at least 160 migrants, many of them Guatemalans, when it crashed into a support for a pedestrian bridge in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas. The arrests were announced on the three-year anniversary of the accident. According to an indictment unsealed Monday in Laredo, Texas, Guatemalan authorities arrested Tomas Quino Canil, 36; Alberto Marcario Chitic, 31; Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 24; and Josefa Quino Canil de Zavala, 42. Another man, Jorge Agapito Ventura, was arrested at his home in Cleveland, Texas, U.S. authorities said. Guatemalan officials noted a sixth arrest. A sixth name listed on the U.S. federal indictment was blacked out. The accused were charged with conspiracy, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury, and resulting in death. It was unclear late Monday if those arrested had attorneys in the United States who could comment on their behalf. Justice Department officials did not immediately respond to an email Monday night. The indictment charges them with conspiring to smuggle migrants from Guatemala through Mexico to the U.S. for payment. In some cases that involved smuggling unaccompanied children, the defendants would provide scripts of what to say if apprehended, the indictment said. The smugglers would move migrants on foot, inside microbuses, cattle trucks and tractor trailers, the indictment said. It said the smugglers would use Facebook Messenger to request and deliver identification documents to the migrants to get them into the U.S. "The tragedy that occurred three years ago today in Chiapas is further proof that human smugglers are ruthless, callous and dangerous, intending migrants should not believe their lives," said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Guatemalan Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the defendants were part of a criminal structure called Los Quino, and that U.S. officials had requested extradition of the four arrested in Guatemala. Authorities executed 15 search warrants across Guatemala on Monday, Jiménez said. He said they had the support of the U.S. and Mexican governments. https://www.voanews.com/a/guatemalans-charged-with-human-smuggling-in-deadly-2021-mexico-crash/7895630.html https://www.voanews.com/a/guatemalans-charged-with-human-smuggling-in-deadly-2021-mexico-crash/7895630.html Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:13 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) Around 180 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti's Cite Soleil area, Haiti's prime minister's office said Monday, after attacks that an NGO said were ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had been made ill using witchcraft. "A red line has been crossed," the office said in a statement, adding it would "mobilize all forces to track down and annihilate" those responsible, including Wharf Jeremie gang leader Monel "Mikano" Felix, whom it accused of planning the attack. It said the victims were mostly elderly. The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), an NGO in Haiti that monitors state institutions and promotes human rights education, said Sunday at least 110 people — all aged over 60 — had been killed in Cite Soleil over the weekend. It later said the death toll could be higher and cited witnesses as saying that "mutilated bodies were burned in the streets, including several young individuals who were killed [while] attempting to save residents." RNDDH said Felix had ordered the violence after his child became sick, and after seeking advice from a voodoo priest who accused elderly people in the area of harming the child through witchcraft. The group said Felix's child had died Saturday afternoon. Reuters was not able to independently verify the events outlined by RNDDH. Felix did not immediately comment on the accusations. Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum by the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas of Haiti. Tight gang control, including the restriction of mobile phone use, has limited residents' ability to share information about the massacre. The government, riven with political infighting, has struggled to contain the gangs' growing power in and around the capital. The armed groups are accused of indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, ransom kidnappings and fueling critical food shortages. In October, the Gran Grif gang took responsibility for the killing of at least 115 people in Pont-Sonde, a town in Haiti's breadbasket Artibonite region. They said it was retaliation for residents helping a self-defense group hinder their road toll operations. Calls for U.N. peacekeepers A U.N.-backed security mission was requested by Haiti in 2022 and approved a year later but so far has just partially deployed and remains deeply under-resourced. Haitian leaders have called for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission to be converted into a U.N. peacekeeping force to ensure it is better supplied, but the plan stalled amid opposition from China and Russia in the Security Council. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said the weekend's death count was at least 184, including 127 elderly people. "The secretary-general reiterates his pressing call to Member States to provide the Multinational Security Support mission the financial and logistical support required to successfully assist the Haitian National Police," he said. A White House security spokesperson echoed the call for urgent international support for the mission and said the United States was "appalled." Dujarric also called for an acceleration of the political transition within Haiti. Haiti's transitional government has said it plans to hold long-awaited elections in 2025, provided there is sufficient security for a free and fair vote. The security situation has, however, continued to deteriorate, and many countries have yet to deliver on pledges of support. Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged countries to improve efforts to stop arms trafficking to Haiti. The U.N. estimates the gangs' increasingly modern arsenals are largely trafficked from the United States. "These latest killings bring the death toll just this year in Haiti to a staggering 5,000 people," he said. https://www.voanews.com/a/haiti-gang-massacres-around-180-people-targeting-elderly/7893554.html https://www.voanews.com/a/haiti-gang-massacres-around-180-people-targeting-elderly/7893554.html Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:47:11 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) Vancouver, British Columbia — Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” officially ended Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The nearly two-year-long tour was record-breaking and trend-setting. It is finally the end of an era for Taylor Swift. The last show here in Vancouver is the finale of a 149-concert tour that spanned almost two years. It is estimated that it earned around two-billion dollars since the first concert in March 2023. Each concert lasted about three-and-a-half hours and featured at least 44 songs, divided into 10 parts, or “eras," of her recording career. The tour stopped in 53 cities on five continents. For Vancouver residents, the arrival of Swiftmania took over the city and drew comparisons to when the area hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Chris May is the general manager of BC Place Stadium, the venue that hosted the final three Swift concerts. He said organizing and preparations for these concerts was similar to ceremonies for the Olympics, Paralympics and the 2015 Women’s World Cup of Soccer, which were held in the stadium. He said 70% of attendees for the final concerts were from outside of the greater Vancouver area. “That means we have a huge amount of guests that have never been here before. So, you know, it's working through those realities of ensuring we have enough staffing, enough signage and wayfinding, and people to help to get people where they're going,” he said. May said the April 2024 concert for Diljit Dosanjh, which was the biggest Punjabi music concert outside of India, drew more than 50,000 fans. All told, Swift's three Vancouver concerts drew about 160,000 people.      Jarrett Vaughan, an adjunct professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, said Swift’s adept use of social media played a crucial role in the tour’s success.   He also said the COVID-19 pandemic played a part for some younger members of her audience.  “I think when we look at the current audience that she has, you know, they were fairly young at that time. They didn't have the opportunity to attend concerts going through maybe middle school or elementary school, and so for them now, to be able to attend something like this is pretty remarkable,” he said. Vaughan said the legacy of the Eras Tour will not solely be just Swift’s use of social media, but the positivity she created for her fan base. Stephanie Burt is an English professor at Harvard College and recently taught a very popular class at the school on Swift. For her, the secret to Swift’s Eras Tour and her career itself is simple, she is really good at writing songs that are aspirational and relatable. “We hear the songs, and we hear both someone who's already like us and someone who we want to be more like and want to be closer to and aspire to be like. That's a rare gift to extend it that long, and the tour testifies to the persistence of her talent and to her versatility and to her ability to collaborate and organize and plan,” she said. Vancouver’s tourism office estimates the final dates of Swift’s tour boosted the city’s economy by $112 million.  https://www.voanews.com/a/taylor-swift-s-record-breaking-eras-tour-ends-in-vancouver/7892139.html https://www.voanews.com/a/taylor-swift-s-record-breaking-eras-tour-ends-in-vancouver/7892139.html Sun, 08 Dec 2024 19:11:37 -0500 AmericasArts & Culturewebdesk@voanews.com (Craig McCulloch)