International

Bolivian Public Prosecutor’s Office requests 20 years in prison for Jeanine Áñez

Photo: EFE

December 27 |

Bolivia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office presented on Tuesday the formal accusation against the ex-civic Luis Fernando Camacho, the former de facto president, Jeanine Áñez, and six other defendants for the violent actions that resulted in the ouster of former president Evo Morales from power in 2019.

As part of the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the formal accusation was also made for the former Potosí civic official Marco Pumari, the former Minister of Defense, Luis Fernando López, the former commanders of the Armed Forces Williams Kaliman and of the Police Yuri Calderón, as well as the former inspector of the Armed Forces, Jorge Fernández, and the former commander of the armed institution, Carlos Orellana.

The agency requested a 20-year prison sentence for Luis Fernando Camacho and three other defendants. Camacho has been in preventive detention since December 28, 2022 in the maximum security prison of Chonchocoro in La Paz, for the “Coup d’Etat I” case. López, Kaliman and Calderón are fugitives from justice.

Prosecutor Omar Mejillones communicated the presentation of the formal accusation after the investigative process was carried out, in which evidentiary elements were gathered, such as the bank movements of Luis Fernando Camacho during the 2019 conflict, as well as the statement of assistant Williams Kaliman, who denounced the links with Luis Fernando López.

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The Prosecutor’s Office also provided evidence in which Luis Fernando Camacho revealed in a video that his father, José Luis, arranged with military and police officers not to support Evo Morales. Previously, the police officers, in charge of internal security, were insubordinate and the military leadership suggested Morales to abandon the responsibility.

Likewise, 131 declarations of witnesses who participated in meetings and actions during the conflicts of 2019 were contributed to the process, as well as declarations of the accused.

The prosecution has 133 pieces of documentary evidence, including forensic technical reports, hotel invoices, bank statements of money transfers, official letters, responses from State institutions to fiscal requirements, and other evidentiary elements that support the formal accusation.

According to the investigation, it was reported that Jeanine Áñez and Marco Pumari are in preventive detention.

In the case of Áñez, she has an executed sentence of 10 years for the case of Coup d’Etat II or the way in which she took power, in sessions of the Senate and the Legislative Assembly without quorum and outside the line of succession.

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The former deputy of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), Lidia Patty, at the end of 2020, filed the accusation to which the Ministry of Government was added. The formal accusation leads to the criminal trial for crimes such as terrorism, which has a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison, financing of terrorism, active bribery, seduction of troops, public incitement to commit a crime, criminal association and improper use of public goods and services.

International

Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.

NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.

Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”

An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.

“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.

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“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.

The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”

At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.