International
Argentina court dismisses ex-president’s obstruction case
AFP
A court in Argentina has dismissed a case alleging Vice President Cristina Kirchner obstructed an investigation while president into an attack on a Jewish center that killed 85 people.
Kirchner, 68, was accused of a cover-up over an investigation into the 1994 attack in connection with a deal her administration brokered with Tehran.
No one has ever claimed responsibility for the assault — which killed 85 people, wounded 200 and remains the deadliest in the country’s history — but Israel has accused Tehran of sponsoring it.
“The agreement with Iran, whether considered a political success or failure, does not constitute a crime,” the court ruled Thursday. The decision can be appealed.
Kirchner, who served as president from 2007 to 2015, told the court the accusation made “no sense” and was “being used as an instrument of persecution against political opponents.”
In 2006 prosecutor Alberto Nisman alleged Iran’s involvement, but his efforts to prosecute officials were stymied after Kirchner’s administration signed a deal with Iran and established a Tehran-based joint commission to investigate the attacks.
The agreement was approved in 2013 by parliament, but ultimately Iran did not respect the terms of the deal.
Nisman accused Kirchner of trying to arrange the deal in exchange for oil and trade benefits, basing his accusations on hundreds of hours of wiretaps.
But just before he was due to present his findings to Congress in January 2015, Nisman was found dead at his home in Buenos Aires.
The attack on July 18, 1994 was the largest against the Jewish community in Argentina — the biggest in South America — followed by the 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy which left 29 dead and 200 wounded.
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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