International
Brazil roadblocks dwindle as Bolsonaro starts handover
| By AFP |
Brazilian police said Friday they have nearly finished clearing hundreds of roadblocks by supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who have been protesting since his election loss to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Just 15 partial roadblocks remain nationwide, said federal highway police, adding they had broken up another 954 since Sunday’s divisive presidential runoff election.
Bolsonaro supporters reacted furiously to Lula’s narrow victory, blocking highways with cars, trucks, and tractors and camping out at army bases to demand a military intervention.
The blockades had threatened to cause havoc in Latin America’s biggest economy but have diminished since Bolsonaro urged supporters Wednesday to “unblock the roads.”
Ex-army captain Bolsonaro remained silent for nearly two days after the election, raising fears he would try to cling to power with the backing of hardline supporters.
But after a series of key allies acknowledged the result, the incumbent said Tuesday he would respect the constitution and authorized the start of the transition process for Lula’s inauguration on January 1.
However, Bolsonaro has still not explicitly recognized the result or congratulated Lula.
The outgoing president on Thursday met briefly with vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, who is heading Lula’s transition team.
Alckmin said the meeting had been “positive,” and that Bolsonaro had promised “all information and assistance needed for a smooth transition.”
Pro-Bolsonaro protests had dwindled Friday morning outside military bases in various cities.
Around 100 people remained outside a barracks in Brasilia, an AFP photographer said. In Sao Paulo, a handful of protesters remained, calling for “divine and then military intervention.”
In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrators had dispersed.
The remaining roadblocks affect just five of Brazil’s 27 states, police said.
The National Confederation of Industry had warned Tuesday that there was an “imminent risk of shortages” if highways were not quickly cleared.
Although Bolsonaro urged supporters to lift their roadblocks, he also encouraged “legitimate demonstrations,” raising fears Brazil may still face turbulent times until Lula is sworn in, and beyond.
Ex-metalworker Lula, 77, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, won an unprecedented third term with 50.9 percent of the vote, to 49.1 percent for Bolsonaro — the closest presidential election in the country’s modern history.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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