International
The majority of the Supreme Court rejects Bolsonaro’s appeals in the case of the coup d’état
The majority of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil rejected on Wednesday the appeals presented by former President Jair Bolsonaro to try to remove two judges within the framework of the process in which he is accused of leading a coup plot against the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The president of the Supreme Court, Luiz Roberto Barroso, who is an instructor in the trial, rejected Bolsonaro’s request to challenge two of the magistrates and most of the judges of the high court voted in the same direction, in a telematic session.
The defense of the Brazilian far-right leader claimed that magistrates Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino would not be impartial in the trial, because before assuming their positions in the STF they filed judicial complaints against Bolsonaro.
Barroso was the first of the eleven Supreme Court magistrates to publish his vote on these four appeals in the court’s electronic voting system and was seconded by at least five judges, which makes the decision irreversible.
The two magistrates involved cannot vote and the rest of the judges have until midnight on Thursday to rule on the appeals presented by Bolsonaro and others involved.
According to Barroso, Bolsonaro’s new appeals have no news with respect to previous petitions that he himself has already rejected, and requests for recusal from judges are not protected in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The majority of the Supreme Court also rejected the appeal of former minister Walter Braga Netto, a retired Army general accused of being one of the leaders of the coup plot, who requests the recusal of magistrate Alexandre de Moraes.
Braga Netto’s defense alleges that one of the charges is a plan to murder De Moraes, so this magistrate would have to challenge himself for not being able to be a judge and victim at the same time.
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court has already scheduled three extraordinary sessions for March 25 and 26 in which it will decide whether to accept the coup accusations against Bolsonaro and seven other defendants and whether to open criminal proceedings.
The complaint against Bolsonaro and his closest nucleus, filed in February by the Prosecutor’s Office, accused the former president and 33 other suspects of attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, armed criminal organization and coup d’état, among other crimes.
The conspiracy, according to the accusation, began after then-President Bolsonaro lost the October 2022 elections to the current president.
The coup plot would have first tried to prevent Lula’s inauguration and then led to the violent assault on the headquarters of the three powers of the State on January 8, 2023, a week after his inauguration, when thousands of ultras pressured the Army to overthrow the new Government.
Internacionales
U.S. to restore ambassador-level relations with Bolivia after 17 years
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced on Saturday that the United States will restore ambassador-level diplomatic relations with Bolivia after 17 years. The statement came during his visit to La Paz to attend the inauguration of Bolivia’s new president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira.
In a brief appearance before the media, Landau noted that in recent weeks Washington had maintained “very close relations with the president-elect.”
“And now that he is officially president, we will restore relations at the ambassador level, as it should have always been,” he said, speaking alongside President Paz.
Landau described it as “highly unusual” and “very unfortunate” that the two nations have spent years without ambassadors in each other’s capitals — Washington, D.C., and La Paz.
“Diplomacy is ultimately about communication. Without an ambassador in the other country’s capital, that becomes more difficult,” the U.S. official emphasized, expressing hopes that the appointment of new ambassadors will be announced “very soon.”
He also recalled that President Paz has expressed his interest in maintaining a strong bilateral relationship, adding that the United States “reciprocally wants to establish a good relationship with this new Bolivian government.”
For his part, President Paz thanked the U.S. delegation led by Landau for attending his inauguration and asked him to “convey a message of cordiality and friendship” to President Donald Trump and all levels of the U.S. government.
International
Trump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and the Republican Party “learned a lot” from the Democratic victories in Tuesday’s state and local elections. He also compared Democrats to “kamikaze pilots” over the ongoing budget standoff.
Speaking at an event with Republican senators on Wednesday, Trump described the results as an unexpected setback.
“These were very Democratic areas, but I don’t think it was good for Republicans. In fact, I don’t think it was good for anyone. But we had an interesting night and we learned a lot,” he said during remarks broadcast by the White House.
Trump agreed with pollsters that two key factors led to Republican losses in New York’s mayoral race and the gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia.
International
Bolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
Former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Áñez was released from a women’s prison in La Paz on Thursday, where she had spent more than four and a half years for an alleged coup, after her conviction was annulled, AFP journalists confirmed.
Dozens of supporters and family members gathered outside the facility to celebrate her release. Áñez left the prison waving a Bolivian flag around 15:00 GMT.
“It is comforting to see that justice will once again prevail in Bolivia. She was the only woman who took on the role with bravery and courage,” said Lizeth Maure, a 46-year-old nurse who had come to show her support.
Áñez, a 58-year-old lawyer and conservative politician, governed Bolivia for nearly a year until November 2020, when she handed power to leftist leader Luis Arce.
She was arrested in 2021 and sentenced the following year to 10 years in prison for “resolutions contrary to the Constitution,” accused of illegally assuming the presidency after Evo Morales resigned in 2019 amid social unrest.
Her sentence was overturned on Wednesday by the Supreme Court of Justice, Bolivia’s highest judicial authority.
The court ruled that Áñez should have been subjected to a “trial of responsibilities” before Congress— a constitutional process reserved for sitting presidents, vice presidents, ministers, and top judges — rather than prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court.
As she was welcomed by relatives and supporters upon release, Áñez declared:
“I feel the satisfaction of having fulfilled my duty to my country, of never having bowed down. And I will never regret having served Bolivia when it needed me.”
U.S. to restore ambassador-level relations with Bolivia after 17 years
El Salvador sends medical Aid and relief teams to Jamaica after hurricane Melissa
Rodrigo Paz takes office in Bolivia, ending 20 years of Socialist Rule
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International4 days agoShootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
-
International3 days agoProtests persist in Uruapan after mayor’s assassination as citizens demand justice
-
International4 days agoDeadly fire in bosnian nursing home leaves 11 dead and dozens injured
-
International4 days agoSheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
-
International2 days agoTrump says GOP ‘learned a lot’ after democratic election wins
-
International4 days agoSexual assault attempt on Mexico’s president sparks outrage in historic center
-
International4 days agoTrump alleges “massive fraud” in California redistricting vote without evidence
-
International4 days agoFormer U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
-
International4 days agoLongest government shutdown in U.S. history deepens airport and aid crisis
-
Internacionales2 hours agoEl Salvador sends medical Aid and relief teams to Jamaica after hurricane Melissa
-
International2 days ago
Peru declares Mexico’s president Persona Non Grata over political asylum dispute
-
International2 days agoBolivia’s Jeanine Áñez freed after Supreme Court annuls her conviction
-
Internacionales2 hours agoU.S. to restore ambassador-level relations with Bolivia after 17 years
-
Internacionales2 hours agoRodrigo Paz takes office in Bolivia, ending 20 years of Socialist Rule