Tag Archives: South America

World

Colombian navy rescues man who survived on ketchup for weeks lost at sea

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CNN
 — 

A man who spent 24 days adrift in the Caribbean Sea says he survived by eating little more than ketchup.

Elvis Francois, 47, was found 120 nautical miles northwest of Colombia’s Puerto Bolívar after a plane saw the word “help” engraved on the hull of his sailboat, the Colombian navy said in a statement Thursday.

“I had no food. It was just a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder and Maggi (stock cubes) so I mixed it up with some water,” Francois said in a video provided by the Colombian army.

Francois, from the island nation of Dominica, said he had been making repairs to his boat near the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin in December when adverse weather conditions pulled his boat out to sea.

He said he lacked navigational knowledge and was unable to maneuver his boat back to shore – spending weeks lost at sea.

“Twenty four days – no land, nobody to talk to. Don’t know what to do, don’t know where you are. It was rough,” he said. “At a certain time, I lose hope. I think about my family.”

After being rescued, he was transferred to the port city of Cartagena where he received medical care and was later handed over to immigration authorities for his return home, Colombian officials said.

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World

Peru: Protests erupt as thousands of police officers deploy to guard capital

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CNN
 — 

Protests across Peru on Thursday saw thousands of police officers deployed to the capital Lima as hundreds of protesters marched toward the downtown area, while fierce clashes erupted in the southern city of Arequipa.

The Andean country’s weeks-long protest movement – which seeks a complete reset of the government – was sparked by the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo in December and fueled by deep dissatisfaction over living conditions and inequality in the country.

Demonstrators’ fury has also grown with the rising death toll: At least 53 people have been killed amid clashes with security forces since the unrest began, and a further 772 have been injured, the national Ombudsman’s office said Thursday.

Protesters shouted “assassins” at police and threw rocks on Thursday near Arequipa’s international airport, which suspended flights on Thursday as several people tried to tear down fences, according live footage from the city. Smoke could be seen billowing from the surrounding fields.

Protestors marching in Lima meanwhile – in defiance of a government-ordered state of emergency – demanded the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and called for general elections as soon as possible.

General Victor Sanabria, head of Peru’s National Police for the Lima region, told local media that 11,800 police officers were deployed in Lima, with key locations such as the parliament, the prosecutor’s office, select TV stations, the Supreme Court and the army headquarters receiving extra protection.

Peruvian authorities have been accused of using excessive force against protesters, including firearms, in recent weeks – a claim that police deny, saying their tactics match international standards.

Autopsies on 17 dead civilians, killed during protests in the city of Juliaca on January 9, found wounds caused by firearm projectiles, the city’s head of legal medicine told CNN en Español.

Jo-Marie Burt, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, told CNN that what happened in Juliaca in early January represented “the highest civilian death toll in the country since Peru’s return to democracy” in 2000.

A fact-finding mission to Peru by the the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) also found that gunshot wounds were found in the heads and upper bodies of victims, Edgar Stuardo Ralón, the commission’s vice-president, said Wednesday.

Ralon described a broader “deterioration of public debate” over the demonstrations in Peru, with protestors labeled as “terrorists” and Indigenous people referred to by derogatory terms.

Such language could generate “a climate of more violence,” he warned.

“When the press uses that, when the political elite uses that, I mean, it’s easier for the police and other or security forces to use this kind of repression, right?” Omar Coronel, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, who specializes in Latin American protests movements, told CNN.

Peruvian officials have not made public details about those killed in the unrest. However, experts say that Indigenous protestors are suffering the greatest bloodshed.

“The victims are overwhelmingly indigenous people from rural Peru,” Burt said.

“The protests have been centered in central and southern Peru, heavily indigenous parts of the country, these are regions that have been historically marginalized and excluded from political, economical, and social life of the nation.”

Protesters want new elections, the resignation of Boluarte, a change to the constitution and the release of Castillo, who is currently in pre-trial detention.

At the core of the crisis are demands for better living conditions that have gone unfulfilled in the two decades since democratic rule was restored in the country.

While Peru’s economy has boomed in the last decade, many have not reaped its gains, with experts noting chronic deficiencies in security, justice, education, and other basic services in the country.

Ahead of Thursday’s demonstrations, people explained to CNN en Espanol why they had arrived in Lima to protest. Some complained about corruption in their areas, while others called Boluarte, who was former President Castillo’s vice president, a traitor.

“Right now the political situation merits a change of representatives, of government, of the executive and the legislature. That is the immediate thing. Because there are other deeper issues – inflation, lack of employment, poverty, malnutrition and other historical issues that have not been addressed,” protester named Carlos, who is a sociologist from the Universidad San Marcos, said from Lima on Wednesday.

Another protester told CNNEE that “corruption is big in Peru, unfortunately the State has abandoned the people.”

Castillo, a former teacher and union leader who had never held elected office before becoming president, is from rural Peru and positioned himself as a man of the people. Many of his supporters hail from poorer regions, and hoped Castillo would bring better prospects for the country’s rural and indigenous people.

While protests have occurred throughout the nation, the worst violence has been in the rural and indigenous south, which has long been at odds with the country’s coastal White and mestizo, which is a person of mixed descent, elites.

Peru’s legislative body is also viewed with skepticism by the public. The president and members of congress are not allowed to have consecutive terms, according to Peruvian law, and critics have noted their lack of political experience.

A poll published September 2022 by IEP showed 84% of Peruvians disapproved Congress’s performance. Lawmakers are perceived not only as pursuing their own interests in Congress, but are also associated with corrupt practices.

The country’s frustrations have been reflected in its years-long revolving door presidency. Current president Boluarte is the sixth head of state in less than five years.

Joel Hernández García, a commissioner for IACHR, told CNN what was needed to fix the crisis was political dialogue, police reform, and reparations for those killed in the protests.

“The police forces have to revisit their protocol. In order to resort to non-lethal force under the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality and as a matter of last resort,” Hernández García said.

“Police officers have the duty to protect people who participate in social protest, but also (to protect) others who are not participating,” he added.



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US

Immigration records contradict Santos’ claim his mother was at World Trade Center on 9/11

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CNN
 — 

Newly uncovered immigration records for Rep. George Santos’ mother appear to contradict the embattled freshman Republican’s repeated claim that she was present at the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The records indicate that Fatima Devolder said she was in Brazil between 1999 and early 2003, and therefore not in New York City when the attacks took place. CNN obtained the records, first reported on by The Forward, from genealogy researcher Alex Calzareth, who received them from a Freedom of Information Act request.

While in Brazil in 2003, Devolder indicated on a form that she had not been to the US since she left in 1999. Devolder also filed paperwork in Brazil in 2001, just months before the September 11 attacks, saying her green card had been stolen.

Representatives for Santos did not return CNN’s requests for comment.

Santos has repeatedly claimed that his mother was at the World Trade Center on September 11 and said the incident played a role in her death from cancer.

In a December 17, 2021, radio interview on “The Voice of Reason with Andy Hooser,” Santos said that his mother got “caught up in the ash cloud” on 9/11 and that she did not sign up to get financial relief because she didn’t want to take money away from first responders.

“She was in the south tower, and she made it out. She got caught up in the ash cloud. My mom fought cancer till her death,” Santos said.

Santos has previously claimed his mother was a financial executive, although that description has since been removed from his website. The records obtained by CNN show she listed her jobs as a housekeeper or home aid.

Devolder also listed both of her parents – Santos’ grandparents – as being born in Brazil, again undercutting his claim that his maternal grandparents fled the Holocaust.

Santos has refused to step down from Congress, despite facing mounting legal issues and growing calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume.

– Source:
CNN
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Hear from the Navy veteran that was allegedly scammed by Santos

He is already facing a federal probe led by prosecutors in New York who are investigating his finances. And in a separate matter, CNN reported that law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Santos. Prosecutors said they will seek a “formal response” from Santos related to a stolen checkbook in 2008, after police suspended an investigation into him because they were unable to find him for nearly a decade.

In an interview last month with the New York Post, Santos denied being charged with any crime in Brazil, saying “I am not a criminal here – not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”

Santos admitted to stealing a man’s checkbook that was in his mother’s possession to purchase clothing and shoes in 2008, according to documents obtained by CNN.

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Science

Foot-long dwarf boa found in Ecuadorian Amazon

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.



CNN
 — 

Scientists have identified a tiny new species of dwarf boa living in the Ecuadorian Amazon that even a snake hater could love: These small reptiles are just a foot long.

Alex Bentley, research coordinator of the Sumak Kawsay In Situ field station in the eastern foothills of the Andes, stumbled across a small, curled up snake in a patch of cloud forest, an upland forest where clouds filter through the treetops.

He sent a photo of the snake to colleagues, including Omar Entiauspe-Neto, a graduate student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Butantan Institute in Brazil.

“We were immediately surprised, because it shouldn’t be there,” said Entiauspe-Neto, the corresponding author of the paper describing the species in the European Journal of Taxonomy.

Other dwarf boas have been identified elsewhere in South America and the West Indies, but none had ever been found in the region where Bentley spotted this one. The closest known match in Ecuador lives west of the Andes, and, according to Entiauspe-Neto, it looks “radically different” from the specimen in Bentley’s photo.

While the snake didn’t match any known species of dwarf boas, it had a lot in common with a specimen in the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences collected several years ago.

“We’re usually afraid to describe new species based on only a single one, because there’s a chance that there might be some sort of variation,” Entiauspe-Neto said. “Once we had those two specimens, we were fairly sure they were a new species.”

By comparing both the physical characteristics and genetic sequences of the mystery snakes with known species, the researchers determined that they’d found an animal new to science. They named it Tropidophis cacuangoae in honor of Dolores Cacuango, an Indigenous activist who championed women’s rights and founded Ecuador’s first bilingual schools with lessons in Spanish and the Indigenous language Quechua.

Like its fellow dwarf boas, T. cacuangoae is distantly related to the bigger boa constrictor, but they have key traits in common.

They both have thickset bodies, and their skeletons bear vestigial hip bones, relics of snakes’ ancient legged ancestors. And instead of being armed with venom, they squeeze their prey to death, blocking blood flow and causing cardiac arrest.

While 10-foot-long boa constrictors go after animals as big as wild pigs, dwarf boas have diets that largely consist of small lizards. And since they don’t have size on their side like true boa constrictors, dwarf boas have evolved a strange defense mechanism: When threatened, they curl into a ball and bleed out of their eyes.

This behavior, also seen in horned lizards, might appear more gross than threatening, but Entiauspe-Neto suspects the behavior is part of a bigger constellation of death feigning found throughout the animal kingdom.

“Most predators tend to feed on living prey,” he said. If a predator such as an eagle sees a dwarf boa coiled up and bleeding from its eyes, “the predator is very likely to think that the snake might be either sick or dying, so therefore it will not feed on it” to avoid catching whatever made the snake seem ill.

However, dwarf boas face far bigger threats than predators: The newly identified species may already be endangered due to habitat loss. “It has a fairly small range,” Entiauspe-Neto said. “So while it still needs to be formally evaluated by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), I think it might be threatened with extinction.”

Thaís Guedes, a researcher at the State University of Campinas in Brazil who was not involved with the study, praised the work. “I am always happy when I see a new species of snake being introduced to the world,” Guedes said.

Honoring activist Cacuango in the naming of the species is also important, she said, since Indigenous peoples play a key role in conservation.

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World

Peru: Protester killed as anti-government violence spreads to tourist city

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CNN
 — 

One protester has died and at least 19 Peruvian police officers were injured in anti-government clashes in Cusco as officials in the tourist city put health facilities on red alert.

Protesters had tried to enter the Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport during curfew Wednesday, an Interior Minister statement said. The officers injured suffered from head trauma and bruises, it added.

A member of the Anansaya Urinsaya Ccollana de Anta indigenous community was later reported to have been killed in the city, bringing the death toll across the country to 48 since protests began in December following the ousting of leftist former President Pedro Castillo, according to the Peruvian Ombudsman report.

“We demand an immediate investigation to find those responsible for the death and proceed to the respective sanctions,” the Ombudsman said in a statement, according to Reuters news agency.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that the Regional Health Management of Cusco had placed all health establishments on red alert.

Thousands have paid tribute to the dead by parading coffins through the streets of Juliaca, a city where almost half of the deaths occurred, before burying them alongside images of the victims, Reuters reported.

Peruvians carrying black flags also marched through the streets in the region of Puno, some shouting “The bloodshed will never be forgotten!”

Peru’s top prosecutor’s office launched an inquiry Tuesday into new President Dina Boluarte and senior cabinet ministers over deadly clashes that have swept the country following the ousting of Castillo.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of Boluarte, the dissolution of Congress, changes to the constitution and Castillo’s release.

The new government, however, won a vote of confidence in Congress by a wide margin Tuesday evening. A loss would have triggered a cabinet reshuffle and the resignation of Prime Minister Alberto Otárola.

The vote of confidence, a constitutional requirement after a new prime minister takes office, passed with 73 votes in favor, 43 against and six abstentions.

The inquiry comes after at least 18 people died since Monday night during demonstrations in the southern Puno region, including a Peruvian policeman who was burned to death by protesters.

Police confirmed to CNN Espanol Tuesday that Peruvian officer Jose Luis Soncco Quispe died on Monday night after being attacked by “unknown subjects” while patrolling in Puno.

“We regret the sensitive death of José Luis Soncco Quispe. We extend our condolences to his closest family and friends. Rest in peace, brother policeman!” Peruvian National Police wrote on Twitter.

A curfew will be in place from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time “to safeguard the life, integrity and freedom of citizens” following the conflicts in Puno, the Council of Ministers tweeted Tuesday.

The recent unrest has proved to be the worst violence in Peru since the 1990s when the country saw clashes between the state and rebel group Shining Path. That violence left 69,000 people dead or missing over a period of two decades, according to Reuters.

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US

Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters break into Brazilian Congress and presidential palace

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CNN
 — 

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday breached security barriers set up by the Armed Forces and gained access to key buildings for the three branches of government, including the congressional building, the Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace.

Footage showed massive crowds in the capital of Brasília walking up a ramp that leads to the congressional building, where they had reached the Green Room, located outside the lower House of Congress’ chamber, Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo told CNN Brasil.

Other outlets showed Bolsonaro suporters entering the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, where CNN Brasil showed the arrivals of anti-riot police and the Brazilian Armed Forces. Inside, protesters were using furniture to build barricades to prevent police from entering, CNN Brasil reported.

The floor of the Congress building was flooded after the sprinkler system activated when protesters attempted to set fire to the carpet, according to CNN Brasil.

Additional videos showed protesters inside the building taking gifts received from international delegations and destroying artwork.

By Sunday evening, several hours after the breaches, the three buildings had been cleared of protesters, CNN Brasil reported. At least 170 people have been arrested, according to Federal District Civil Police.

Paulo Pimenta, the Communications Minister, released a video Sunday evening of a walking tour of his office in the Planalto Palace. The video shows furniture overturned and offices along a corridor in disarray.

“I’m in my office on the second floor of the Planalto Palace, as you can see everything was destroyed,” Pimenta says in the video. “This is a criminal thing that was done here, this is a revolting thing. Works of art…Look what the vandals did here, the chaos the vandals made here. Destroyed works of art, the country’s heritage.”

The breaches come about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose return to power after a 12-year hiatus comes after he defeated Bolsonaro in a run-off election on October 30.

Bolsonaro’s administration previously said it was cooperating with the transition of power, but the far-right leader has stopped short of explicitly conceding his election loss, and he left the country for the United States prior to Lula’s inauguration.

Supporters of Bolsonaro have been camped out in the capital since then. Justice Minister Flavio Dino had authorized the Armed Forces to set up the barriers and guard the congressional building Saturday due to the continued presence of pro-Bolsonaro supporters.

“Today is sad day for the Brazilian nation,” Valdemar Costa Neto, head of Bolsonaro’s right-wing Liberal Party said in a statement Sunday evening.

“We cannot agree with the depredation of the National Congress. All ordered manifestations are legitimate. Disorder has never been part of the principles of our nation,” Neto said. “I want to say to you that we strongly condemn this type of attitude. And that the law must be fulfilled, strengthening our democracy.”

President Lula on Sunday described the events as “barbaric” and called the Bolsonaro protesters who breached the government buildings “fascists.”

“These people are everything that is abominable in politics, to invade the government headquarters, the headquarters of Congress and the headquarters of the Supreme Court like true vandals destroying everything in their path,” Lula said.

Lula also said there was a “lack of security” and said “all the people who did this will be found and punished.”

The president held the press conference in Araraquara, where he had been surveying areas damaged by heavy floods.

Brazilian officials condemned the actions of demonstrators, which were reminiscent of January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and President Joe Biden’s win over former President Donald Trump.

“The National Congress has never denied a voice to those who want to demonstrate peacefully. But it will never give room for turmoil, destruction and vandalism,” Arthur Lira, president of the Lower House of Congress said on Twitter. “Those responsible for promoting and abetting this attack on Brazilian democracy and its main symbols must be identified and punished in accordance with the law.”

Brazil’s Attorney General’s office (MPF) said in a statement it is investigating all involved in the breaches.

“The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, monitors and follows with concern the acts of vandalism to public buildings that occur in Brasília this Sunday (8),” the MPF said.

Aras has also “requested the Attorney General’s Office in the Federal District (PRDF) to immediately open a criminal investigation procedure aimed at holding those involved accountable.”

Several hours after the breach, Brazil’s Federal District Military Police (PMDF) said in a statement they had begun dispersing pro-Bolsonaro protesters inside the buildings.

Those identified as taking part in “acts of vandalism” were taken to the police station, according to the PMDF.

Dino, who said he was at the Ministry of Justice headquarters, condemned the actions of Bolsonaro’s supporters in a statement on Twitter, saying, “This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”

Gleisi Hoffman, president of the Worker’s Party, called the breaches “a crime announced against democracy” and “against the will of the polls.”

Federal District Security Secretary Anderson Torres – and the former justice minister under Bolsonaro’s government – similarly called the scenes “regrettable,” adding that he had ordered “immediate steps to restore order in the center of Brasília.”

Torres, who was the Justice Minister under Bolsonaro, was appointed to the Federal District office by current governor Ibaneis Rocha but was dismissed after Sunday’s breaches.

Rocha posted a video on YouTube Sunday night apologizing for the storming of federal public buildings.

“What happened was unacceptable,” Rocha said. “We did not believe at all that the demonstrations would take on the proportions that they did. They are true vandals, true terrorists, and they will have every fight with me to punish them.”

Brazilian Federal Public Defender (AGU) asked the country’s Supreme Court to issue an arrest order for Torres and “other public agents responsible for acts and omissions.”

The AGU also requested the “immediate evacuation of all federal public buildings across the country, and the dissolution of anti-democratic acts carried out in the vicinity of barracks and other military units.”

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday afternoon condemned the violence in Brazil’s capital and “any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil.”

“President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence,” Sullivan wrote on Twitter.

Portugal’s government said in a statement it condemns “the acts of violence and disorder that took place today in Brasilia” and pledged support for authorities “in restoring order and legality.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, joined other world leaders in offering support to President Lula: “The will of the Brazilian people and democratic institutions must be respected! President Lula da Silva can count on the unconditional support of France,” Macron said on Twitter.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel also condemned “the assault on the democratic institutions of Brazil” and pledged his support to the Brazilian president, as did Spain and Colombia.



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US

Brazilian authorities intend to revive fraud case against George Santos

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Washington
CNN
 — 

Law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Rep.-elect George Santos, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office tells CNN, as the New York Republican officially assumes his role in the US House Tuesday under a cloud of suspicion over his dubious resume.

Prosecutors said they will seek a “formal response” from Santos related to a stolen checkbook in 2008, after police suspended an investigation into him because they were unable to find him for nearly a decade.

Authorities, having verified Santos’ location, will make a formal request to the US Justice Department to notify him of the charges, Maristela Pereira, a spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office, told CNN. The prosecutor’s office told CNN the request will be filed upon reopening on Friday.

CNN previously confirmed that Santos was charged with embezzlement in a Brazilian court in 2011, according to case records from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice. However, court records from 2013 state that the charge was archived after court summons went unanswered and they were unable to locate Santos.

CNN has reached out to a lawyer for Santos for comment. The reinstatement of the fraud charges was first reported by The New York Times.

According to the Times, citing court records it has reviewed, the criminal case stems from a visit Santos made to a small clothing store in Niterói, a city outside of Rio de Janeiro, where Santos spent nearly $700 out of the stolen checkbook using a fake name.

In an interview with the New York Post last week, Santos denied that he had been charged with any crime in Brazil, saying: “I am not a criminal here – not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”

Santos, who helped Republicans win a narrow House majority last year when he flipped a Democratic-held seat, is set to take office on Tuesday despite admitting to lying about parts of his resume after The New York Times first revealed that Santos’ biography appeared to be partly fictional.

CNN confirmed details of that reporting about his college education and employment history and uncovered even more falsehoods from Santos, including claims he was forced to leave a New York City private school when his family’s real estate assets took a downturn and that he represented Goldman Sachs at a top financial conference.

Santos’ claims that his grandparents fled the Holocaust as Ukrainian Jewish refugees and that his mother died as a result of being present in the South Tower during 9/11 have also come under scrutiny, CNN’s KFile found.

In interviews with WABC radio and the New York Post on December 26, Santos admitted to lying about attending Baruch College and New York University as well as misrepresenting his employment at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup but said at the time he still intended to serve in Congress.

Two days later, CNN reported that the US attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York had begun investigating the finances of Santos, who faces questions over his wealth and loans totaling more than $700,000 he made to his successful 2022 campaign.

The same day, the Nassau County district attorney’s office announced it was also looking into fabrications from Santos.

“No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at the time.

The district attorney’s office did not specify what fabrications it was exploring and the US attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.

CNN has reached out to a representative for Santos for comment on the probes.

Santos’ FEC reports contain a number of unusual expenditures, including exorbitant expenses on air travel and hotels, as well as a number of expenses one penny below the dollar figure above which the FEC requires campaigns to keep receipts.

“Campaign expenditures for staff members including travel, lodging, and meals are normal expenses of any competent campaign. The suggestion that the Santos campaign engaged in any unlawful spending of campaign funds is irresponsible, at best,” Joe Murray, a lawyer for Santos, said in a statement to CNN on Saturday.

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World

Peru: Castillo denies charges as Peru protest death toll rises

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CNN
 — 

Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo has rejected allegations of conspiracy and rebellion, following his dramatic ouster and arrest last week. His appearance in court on Tuesday came amid ongoing protests by Castillo’s supporters that have seen at least six killed.

Castillo was impeached and arrested on Dec. 7, after he announced plans to dissolve Congress and install an emergency government ahead of a looming impeachment vote by lawmakers.

Dina Boluarte, his former vice president, has since become president. On Monday, Boluarte proposed bringing general elections forward two years to April 2024 during a televised speech.

During a virtual court hearing on Tuesday to appeal his seven-day detention order, Castillo told Judge Cesar San Martin, “I have never committed the crime of conspiracy or rebellion” and described his detention as arbitrary and unjust.

Dressed in a blue jacket and sitting next to his lawyer Ronald Atencio, Castillo also said, “I will never resign and abandon this popular cause.”

“From here I want to urge the Armed Forces and the National Police to lay down their arms and stop killing these people thirsty for justice. Tomorrow at 1:42 p.m. I want my people to join me…” he also said, before being interrupted by the judge.

Since last week, demonstrations have erupted in cities across the country in support of Castillo, sometimes marked by clashes with Peru’s security forces,

At least six people have died in the demonstrations, including two minors, Peru’s ombudsman’s press office said on Tuesday. And at least 47 individuals were hospitalized as a result of protests in the cities of Lima, Apurímac, Huancavelica and Arequipa, Peru’s Health Ministry tweeted.

Demonstrators have called for a general election, the dissolution of Congress, and the creation of a new constituent assembly, according to the radio and television broadcaster Radio Programas del Perú.

Boluarte on Tuesday called for calm to be restored to the country, and said that she had instructed police not to use any lethal arms against protesters.

“Everyone has the right to protest but not to commit vandalism, burn hospitals, ambulances, police stations, assault airports, (these) are not normal protests, we have reached the extreme,” Boluarte added.

Trains to and from Machu Picchu will be suspended from Tuesday due to Peru’s protests, railway operator PeruRail said in a statement.

“We regret the inconvenience that these announcements generate for our passengers; however, they are due to situations beyond the control of our company and seek to prioritize the safety of passengers and workers,” the statement read.

Flights have also been disrupted due to protests, with LATAM Airlines Peru announcing the temporary suspension of services to and from airports in the cities of Arequipa and Cuzco.

Protesters attempted to storm the terminal at Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cuzco on Monday, according to the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC).

So far there have been no reports of injuries, arrests or damage to the airport, according to CORPAC.

LATAM called on Peruvian authorities to take “corrective measures to ensure safety” for the operation of its flights.

“We regret the inconvenience that this situation beyond our control has caused our passengers,” it added.

Peru’s National Police said that, as of Monday evening, there were blockades on national roads in at least 11 regions of the country.

In addition, the government has declared a state of emergency in seven provinces in the Apurimac region in south-central Peru.

Peru has been racked with political instability in recent years, with many Peruvians calling for political change, according to a September poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, which found 60% of those surveyed supported early elections to refresh both the presidency and Congress.

It is unclear if Boluarte’s ascendancy to the presidency can gain widespread political buy-in.

Boluarte “does not have a recognized political career,” said Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla, professor of political science at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. “And without partisan support, political party or social organization behind her, she is weak from the beginning.”

“Everyone knows when Dina Boluarte’s government began, but no one can be sure how long it will last,” he told CNN.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect a revision by the Peruvian National Ombudsman of the known death toll from Peru’s recent political protests.

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Sports

Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez sends warning to Lionel Messi

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CNN
 — 

Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has sent a warning to Lionel Messi, who he accused of disrespecting Mexico.

“Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag????” Álvarez tweeted, apparently in reference to a video which shows Messi celebrating with his teammates in the changing room.

As the Argentine takes off his football boots, the video shows Messi’s foot appearing to make contact with a Mexico shirt that was on the floor. There is no indication that Messi kicked the shirt intentionally.

“He better pray to God that I don’t find him!!” Álvarez added in another tweet, with a series of angry emojis. “Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls**t that Messi pulled.”

Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 on Saturday in a tense game in Group C at the Qatar World Cup. Messi scored the opening goal, before Enzo Fernández sealed the win late on to keep Argentina’s World Cup dream alive following its stunning opening round defeat to Saudi Arabia.

Álvarez, who is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers ever after winning world championships in four weight classes, added in one reply to a journalist: “It’s one thing them being better than us (in football), it’s another thing to have respect.”

CNN has asked Alvarez’s representatives for further comment but did not receive an immediate response. The Argentinean Football Association and Messi’s representatives did not immediately respond to CNN.

Messi’s former Argentina teammate Sergio Agüero responded to Álvarez on Twitter, saying: “Mr. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or problems, surely you don’t know about football and what happens in a changing room.

“The shirts are always on the floor after games have finished due to sweat and then if you look properly, he makes the movement to remove his boot and accidentally hits it.”

Argentina takes on Poland in its final group match on Wednesday, with Mexico facing Saudi Arabia as all four teams in Group C remain in with a chance of qualifying for the round of 16.



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World

US provides Chevron limited authorization to pump oil in Venezuela after reaching humanitarian agreement

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Washington
CNN
 — 

The US has granted Chevron limited authorization to resume pumping oil from Venezuela following the announcement Saturday that the Venezuelan government and the opposition group have reached an agreement on humanitarian relief and will continue to negotiate for a solution to the country’s chronic economic and political crisis, including a focus on the 2024 elections.

A senior Biden administration official described Saturday’s announcements as “important steps in the right direction,” but noted that there is still much to be done as both parties work toward a more permanent solution to the ongoing crisis. The official also highlighted the license’s limited nature saying that they do not expect this to have a tangible impact on international oil prices and that the move is intended as an inducement for the negotiations – not a reaction to high global oil prices.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Saturday issued Venezuela General License 41, which authorizes Chevron to “resume limited natural resource extraction operations in Venezuela,” according to a news release from the Treasury Department. This is a 6-month license, and the US can revoke it at any time. Additionally, any profits earned will go to repaying debt to Chevron and not to the Maduro regime, according to the senior official, and states that the US government will continue to require significant reporting by Chevron on its financial operations.

“GL 41 authorizes activity related to Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela only, and does not authorize other activity with PdVSA. Other Venezuela-related sanctions and restrictions imposed by the United States remain in place; the United States will vigorously enforce these sanctions and will continue to hold accountable any actor that engages in corruption, violates U.S. laws, or abuses human rights in Venezuela,” the release said. PdVSA is the state-owned Venezuelan oil and gas company.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Bloomberg TV earlier this year that if there was a thaw that it would take months and years to refurbish their oil fields in the country and that there “wouldn’t be an instantaneous” effect on oil production.

If the Venezuelan regime continues to take concrete steps toward reaching a negotiated solution, then future targeted sanctions relief is possible, according to the official.

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