International
The Venezuelan Prosecutor rejects the use of the concept of “forced disappearance” instead of “arrest”
The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, rejected on Wednesday the indiscriminate use of the concept of “forced disappearance” when there is an arrest of opponents or activists accused of crimes, in which cases – he assured – the State acts in accordance with the rights.
“I find it disgusting that every time the Venezuelan State acts, the international media that look like public facades of conspiracy plans make the figure of forced disappearance appear,” Saab said, referring to the arrest of Whillfer Piña and Renzo Flores, members of the opposition political organization La Causa R.
On Tuesday, Saab reported that these two members of the opposition political organization Causa R were arrested in the town of Maturín (northeast), for the crimes of conspiracy and threats of slaughter against President Nicolas Maduro
Saab explained that the crimes of the detainees Whillfer José Piña Azuaje and Renzo Estibenz Flores, are part of a chain of acts that began in May 2023 and have lasted over time to the present day.
On the other hand, Saab rejected that international organizations, “instead of defending human rights, intend to protect those who want to attack the country.”
“To those who seem that arresting these subjects for threatening the life of the president is an excessive measure, I remind you of the long history of arrests and convictions in the United States for threats against the different presidents of that country,” said the prosecutor, who recalled the successive attempts to attack Maduro, such as on August 4, 2018, for which drones were used.
The official insisted that the State will continue to defend the country’s peace and will avoid, whenever possible, acts of this nature.
Among the evidence found by the authorities, there is the publication of a threat in the Whatsapp state of Piña, which says that “in Maturín (where the Venezuelan president traveled this Monday) it will be the death of Nicolás Maduro.”
On the phone where the WhatsApp was hosted, seized for analysis, a conversation was discovered between Piña and Renzo Flores. In this, groups of armed hooded men are mentioned to carry out the planned operation with other individuals, whose names do not appear in the text.
The prosecutor detailed that, during the interrogation, Renzo Flores stated that he met Piña about 8 months ago. The latter had mentioned to him a plan that he was organizing with former comrades of the Military Academy. It consisted of recruiting 50 soldiers to take one so
The two subjects will be presented to an anti-terrorism court this Wednesday afternoon, accused of conspiracy, association and attempted assassination.
The arrest and subsequent presentation of Flores and Piña before the courts denies, de facto, that there was a forced disappearance, as stated on Tuesday by the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform and Causa R.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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