International
Bolsonaro courts powerful bloc with minister appointment
AFP
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, whose popularity has plummeted recently, on Tuesday named a senator from the largest bloc in congress as his new chief of staff.
Ciro Nogueira, 52, who represents the right-wing and center-right “centrao” (large center) bloc, will take on the role of minister of the civil house, a Cabinet-level position that is equivalent to a chief of staff.
“I have just accepted the honorable invitation from President Jair Bolsonaro to take over the Civil House,” said Nogueira on Twitter during a meeting with the president in Brasilia.
Nogueira is president of the Progressistas (Progressives) party that is among those to be courted recently by Bolsonaro, who ran for election in 2018 by opposing the “old politics” of such parties.
Legislators from the centrao bloc are known to offer votes in exchange for investment in their states, while their support for presidents can be fickle.
For example, many legislators from the bloc initially supported leftist Dilma Rousseff (2011-16) before subsequently voting for her impeachment.
This “give and take” form of governance has led to numerous scandals and corruption investigations over the years.
Bolsonaro spent almost 30 years of his political career with parties in the centrao, but he affiliated himself with the far right PSL when running for president in 2018 on an anti-establishment ticket.
He broke from the PSL just a few months later.
Initially he tried to govern without support from the centrao but his chaotic pandemic management and embroilment in a corruption scandal related to the purchase of vaccines saw his popularity plummet to just 24 percent.
Bolsonaro was thus forced to court the centrao, particularly with a general election just over a year away.
This year, he supported the election of two centrao legislators to head the Chamber of Deputies and Senate.
“I’m from the centrao, I was born here,” Bolsonaro said last week in defense of his imminent appointment of Nogueira.
In the latest opinion polls he has trailed well behind leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010).
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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