International
The Minister of Finance of Colombia denounces Petro’s adopted son, who asks for his resignation
The Colombian Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, sent a letter to the Prosecutor’s Office denouncing alleged illegal acts of the president of Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa, and Nicolás Alcocer, adopted son of President Gustavo Petro, who a few hours later asked for his resignation.
In the letter, revealed by Blu Radio, Bonilla assures that Roa, who was the manager of Petro’s campaign and is already being investigated for possible irregularities in financing, “wants to keep all the energy and profitable companies in the sector.”
And he also denounces Alcocer, who is the second son of Petro splashed by controversy, for seeking to “exert undue pressure” on the Ecopetrol board “to take control of it and favor his closest friends.”
“I therefore look forward to the resignation of a great colleague and honest teacher, Dr. Ricardo Bonilla, secretary of the Treasury of Bogotá Humana (Petro Mayor’s Office), who left it at its best financial moment, and great Minister of Finance, who took Colombia out of the recession because of the over-indebtedness left by (Iván) Duque,” Petro said in an extensive letter in X.
The president justifies the great work of one of his closest colleagues in the Government by claiming that he asks him to resign “not because he thinks he is guilty, but because they want to tear him apart for being loyal to the Government program.”
Petro does not allude at any time that the reason for asking for the resignation is the letter that Bonilla sent to the Prosecutor’s Office denouncing his adopted son and Roa.
A hydroelectric power plant at the center of the complaint
Bonilla’s letter is sent regarding the investigation into the Urrá hydroelectric power plant, located in Córdoba, and in it the minister wants to provide the accusing entity with alleged information that has reached him about the undue pressures to favor contracts with the hydroelectric company, whose majority shareholding is held by the State.
In addition to denouncing external officials and contractors, who would have had “full internal knowledge and privileged access to technical information,” Bonilla talks about alleged pressures exerted by Roa and Alcocer on the board of directors of Urrá.
This in an “apparent effort to take control of the company and favor close allies in the award of contracts, specifically in relation to the Urrá 19.9 Solar Park, whose construction has faced a delay of two and a half years,” as revealed by Blu Radio.
History of complaints against Petro’s family in Colombia
It is not the first time that a son of Petro has been involved in a case being studied by the Prosecutor’s Office, since the firstborn, Nicolás Petro, is currently accused of alleged money laundering, illicit enrichment and violation of personal data and has been under house arrest in Barranquilla since the middle of last year.
After his arrest in July last year, President Petro’s son acknowledged, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, that he received money for the campaign of Samuel Santander Lopesierra – extradited and convicted in the United States for drug trafficking in 2007 – and Gabriel Hilsaca Acosta, son of the controversial businessman Alfonso ‘Turco’ Hilsaca.
The Prosecutor’s Office assures that Nicolás Petro “hid and covered up” sums of up to 500 million pesos (about 119,000 dollars today) delivered by politicians such as Máximo Noriega, identified as the intermediary between possible drug traffickers and the president’s son.
Part of that money allegedly entered the Petro President campaign in 2022, although Nicolás Petro assured in an interview with Semana magazine that the president did not know it, in a case for which Roa is also questioned.
International
Climate-driven rains trigger one of Indonesia’s deadliest flood emergencies in years
A torrential monsoon season, compounded by two unusual tropical cyclones, has triggered intense rainfall in several regions since last week, including southern Thailand, northern Malaysia, and large parts of Indonesia.
Climate change has recently intensified rainfall patterns, as a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. In Indonesia, desperation is growing among those affected by the disaster due to the slow pace of rescue operations and the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Relief agencies warned that the scale of the emergency is nearly unprecedented, even for a country accustomed to frequent natural disasters.
Across the island of Sumatra, the death toll was revised downward to 770 fatalities and at least 463 people still missing as of Wednesday night. Earlier, the national disaster management agency had reported 804 deaths.
Gathering accurate information on the ground remains difficult, as many regions are still cut off due to flood damage, widespread power outages, communication failures, or a combination of all three.
International
Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
Russia has blocked access to the U.S.-owned game creation platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and what authorities described as “LGBT propaganda,” state media reported on Wednesday.
The country has repeatedly threatened to ban certain foreign digital platforms, a move that human rights organizations view as part of broader efforts by authorities to tighten control over internet use.
In a statement released through Russian news agencies, the federal communications watchdog Roskomnadzor accused Roblox of hosting “inappropriate content that can negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
“The game exposes minors to sexual harassment, tricks them into sharing intimate photos, and encourages them to commit acts of depravity and violence,” the regulator claimed.
Last week, the same agency also threatened to ban WhatsApp, the country’s second most widely used messaging app, accusing it of failing to prevent criminal activity.
Roblox, which is owned by the U.S.-based Roblox Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to company data for 2024, the platform has around 100 million daily users worldwide, nearly 40% of whom are under the age of 13.
Other countries, including Qatar, Iraq and Turkey, have also restricted or banned Roblox, mainly over concerns about the safety of underage users. In the United States, the states of Texas and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against the platform on similar grounds.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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Climate-driven rains trigger one of Indonesia’s deadliest flood emergencies in years
Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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