International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro flexes muscles with military parade
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro drew criticism Tuesday for presiding over a military parade outside the presidential palace, a show of strength as he fends off sinking popularity and a raft of investigations.
Smiling with military top brass at his side, the far-right leader stood atop the palace steps as a long convoy of tanks and armored vehicles filed through the seat of power in Brazil, where Bolsonaro trails in the polls for presidential elections next year.
Critics said the display was reminiscent of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, for which Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is openly nostalgic.
“This is pathetic…. Our democracy has the means to defend itself from a coup-mongering outburst,” said Senator Omar Aziz, chair of a Senate committee investigating the Bolsonaro government’s widely criticized handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bolsonaro, 66, is also facing investigations over his attacks on Brazil’s electronic voting system, which he alleges — without evidence — is riddled with fraud.
The Supreme Court and Supreme Electoral Court have ordered him investigated for potential crimes in his unrelenting campaign against the system, which Brazil has used since 1996.
The military parade came on the same day Congress debates a Bolsonaro-backed bill to overhaul the system.
The president wants “printable and auditable” paper ballots for every vote cast, in addition to the electronic system.
Opponents accuse him of setting the stage to claim widespread fraud if he loses the October 2022 election, following in the footsteps of his political idol, former US president Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro insisted there was no link between the military parade and the bill before Congress.
Officially, the event was for the armed forces to give the president an invitation to upcoming military exercises outside the capital.
However, it is the first time tanks have filed past the presidential palace, Congress and high court since the dictatorship era.
“The president is using this tank parade to try to intimidate Congress and the Supreme Court,” said political scientist Mauricio Santoro of Rio de Janeiro State University.
“He wants to show the armed forces are on his side.”
Nine opposition parties issued a joint statement condemning the display, including the Workers’ Party of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who leads Bolsonaro in the polls for 2022.
Soldiers arrested a group of protesters who tried to block the convoy. A small crowd of Bolsonaro supporters also attended, some carrying signs calling for the military to intervene to “save Brazil.”
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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