International
Peruvian JNJ suspends prosecutor Benavides for six months
December 7 |
The National Board of Justice (JNJ) of Peru resolved on Wednesday to suspend for six months the prosecutor of the Nation, Patricia Benavides Vargas, who is accused of alleged influence peddling.
The JNJ communicated Wednesday night that the measure taken against the prosecutor of the Nation was decided in the framework of her constitutional functions.
The entity stated in a communiqué that “it unanimously decided, with a duly motivated resolution, to provisionally suspend Ms. Liz Patricia Benavides Vargas for six months as supreme prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and, consequently, in the position of prosecutor of the Nation”.
“The precautionary measure (…) is given in the framework of the immediate disciplinary proceeding initiated against Mrs. Benavides Vargas, in order to ensure the normal development of the same, prevent its obstruction and guarantee the effectiveness of the final resolution,” the official press release added.
The JNJ emphasized that it acts “in strict compliance with the Constitution, its Organic Law and its Regulations of Disciplinary Procedures, guaranteeing the due process and safeguarding the right of defense of the investigated and the public interest”.
The autonomous constitutional body opened last November 28 a disciplinary proceeding against Benavides, following an investigation by the Special Team of Prosecutors against Corruption of the National Power and Police, which accuses her as alleged leader of an alleged criminal organization.
Benavides, while participating earlier in a hearing with the JNJ accused the entity of violating her right to defense and refused to testify in the process that has been opened against her.
“You have instituted a type of procedure that I consider violates my right to defense and the right to due process, for which I have filed several mechanisms for which I have not received any response to this day,” said the now suspended official.
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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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction