International
Colombia allows sexual assault victims to denounce alleged attackers online
AFP
Sexual abuse victims in Colombia will be allowed to publish accusations against their alleged attackers on social media following a decision by the country’s top court published on Friday.
The constitutional court deemed that dozens of posts on Facebook and other social media platforms using the hashtag #acosadorsexual (sexual aggressor), posted alongside photos of the alleged perpetrators, can remain in place.
The court ruled that any harm “potentially suffered” by an alleged aggressor due to the publication was “inferior to the harm suffered” by a victim if rendered silent due to fear of being sued over the post.
The ruling came following a complaint by a man who was accused of abuse by his partner.
The young woman said on Facebook that her partner, a university classmate, abused her, taking advantage of the “state of weakness” she was in after consuming “alcohol and other psychoactive substances.”
In the post, the woman said the incident was “very difficult for me and my mental health” and that she took two months to report it out of “fear.”
The post has been shared more than 200 times and liked almost 500 times.
The man denies the accusations and claims their encounter was “consensual.”
Denouncing what he said was an attack on his “honor and reputation,” the man requested the “deletion of the publication in question, the retraction of the information in it and a public apology.”
But the court rejected his complaint and said that “victims of crime have the right to freely and publicly denounce the events they suffered.”
The court added that it considered those claims to be based on “personal experience” and done in “good faith.”
The court said the “condition of a woman who allegedly has been the victim of sexual violence” deserves “special” protection.
The decision overturned a ruling by a lower court in June 2020 that had sided with the man.
In 2020, more than 18,000 people, including almost 15,500 women, turned to Colombia’s medical investigation body over alleged instances of sexual abuse.
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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