International

No Quds Force member on grounded plane, Argentina says

AFP

No member of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was among the 19 crew of a Venezuelan plane grounded outside Buenos Aires, Argentina said Wednesday.

As the crew remained barred from exiting Argentina pending investigations into the flight’s purpose and origins, Security Minister Anibal Fernandez said one of the men shared a name with a Quds Force member, nothing more.

The man, Gholamreza Ghasemi, is one of five Iranian crew members who had their passports seized after the Venezuelan Boeing 747 cargo plane was grounded in Argentina a week ago.

On Tuesday, a judge ruled the 14 Venezuelan crew may also not leave, after police searched the crew members’s hotel rooms and seized cell phones and documents.

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On Monday, Argentina officials raised suspicions of a link between the flight and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, listed as a foreign “terrorist organization” by the United States.

The plane, reportedly carrying car parts, came in from Mexico to land in Cordoba, Argentina on Monday last week.

It then tried to travel to neighboring Uruguay, but was denied entry and returned to Ezeiza outside Buenos Aires two days later.

The plane belongs to Emtrasur, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s Conviasa, which is under US sanctions.

A judge grounded the plane based on a “reasonable suspicion that the reason given for entering (Argentina) might not be true.”

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On Tuesday, Paraguay said two officials who had authorized the landing of the plane there in May had been dismissed and two anti-drug agents were under investigation.

Interior Minister Federico Gonzalez said only after it had left did Paraguay receive information that “the aircraft is sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department and that seven of the crew members are members of the Al Quds forces (of the Guards) and that the United States has them on a list of terrorists.”

Fernandez said on Wednesday none of the crew members were on an Interpol red list, and there had been no reason to prevent them from entering Argentina.

Iran has said Argentina’s move was part of a “propaganda” campaign against Tehran amid tensions with Western countries over negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the plane was sold by Iran’s Mahan Air to a Venezuelan company last year.

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Mahan Air is accused by the United States of links with the Revolutionary Guards.

Interpol has arrest warrants out for former Iranian leaders suspected of involvement in an attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994 that killed 85 people and injured hundreds.

International

Habeas Corpus at risk as Trump team eyes drastic border policy shift

The White House is reportedly considering suspending habeas corpus, the legal principle that protects individuals against arbitrary detention, as part of its efforts to escalate anti-immigration measures in the United States.

In remarks to reporters, Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, argued that the U.S. Constitution allows the suspension of habeas corpus “in times of invasion.”

“It’s an option we are actively considering, and it all depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not,” Miller stated.

The Trump administration has frequently invoked the notion of a “migrant invasion” to justify actions such as the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and the deportation of foreign nationals—primarily Venezuelans—to El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison.

International

Maduro to Xi: Venezuela is a loyal friend to China

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro assured his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, during a meeting held in Moscow on the sidelines of the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory in World War II, that China has “loyal friends” in the Caribbean nation.

“You know that in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela you have loyal friends and people willing to continue working for a new world,” said the South American leader, according to footage aired Friday by Venezuelan state broadcaster VTV.

Maduro, accompanied by several of his ministers including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, highlighted the “great results” of a 2023 agreement between China and Venezuela called the “All-Weather and All-Round Strategic Partnership.”

“I believe we can multiply the great results we’re already seeing, and I’m sure that strong and clear guidelines will emerge from this meeting to keep moving forward together,” Maduro added.

International

Iberojet reaffirms commitment to Honduras as Central American Hub

Spanish airline Iberojet and Palmerola International Airport, located in central Honduras, signed a three-year renewal of their exclusive agreement to operate direct flights between the Honduran terminal and the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

With this renewal, Iberojet—part of the Spanish tourism group Ávoris Corporación Empresarial—reaffirms its commitment to Honduras as its main gateway to Central America from Europe.

The agreement was signed by Iberojet’s Commercial Director, Mario Domínguez, and Erick Spears, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Palmerola.

The signing ceremony took place at the residence of the Spanish Ambassador to Honduras, Diego Nuño García, who served as an honorary witness.