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Panamanian coach denies Venezuelan players’ sexual abuse accusations

AFP

Panamaian football coach Kenneth Zseremeta on Friday denied accusations he sexually abused junior female Venezuelan players after 24 of his former charges described him as a “monster.”

Earlier this week, 24 Venezuelan players including Atletico Madrid’s Deyna Castellanos posted a statement on social media denouncing Zseremeta.

They said one of their teammates claimed “she had been sexually abused since the age of 14 by the coach,” and that others had since come forward with tales of “harassment, abnormal questions and invitations, blackmail to remain in the squad, requests for gifts out of context, massages and others.”

In a statement sent to AFP on Friday, Zseremeta said: “I constitutionally accept the presumption of my innocence until proven otherwise.”

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He said that he had coached more than 600 players during almost a decade from 2008 to 2017 working with the Venezuelan national female youth teams, and that when he left the country he did so without “a criminal record.”

When lodging their accusations on Tuesday, the 24 players said they were doing so to “break the silence to prevent physical, psychological and sexual abuse and harassment committed by the football coach Kenneth Zseremeta from creating other victims in women’s football and in football.”

Venezuela’s football federation said on Friday it had asked world football’s governing body FIFA, regional body CONNMEBOL and the North and Central American body CONCACAF to investigate.

The country’s public prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Under Zseremeta, Venezuela won the South American Under-17 title twice and qualified the age group for the World Cup three times, with two semi-final finishes in 2013 and 2016.

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Zseremeta has accused the players of making the accusations to try to prevent him from getting a new job.

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Trump: ‘We Think It’s True’ Amid Claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Was Killed

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he believes multiple reports claiming the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the U.S. and Israeli offensive against the Islamic Republic are likely true, though he stopped short of confirming the news.

“We have a feeling that the information is correct,” he said, according to NBC News. “I don’t want to say anything definitive until I see it, but we think that’s the case. And many of their leaders have disappeared,” he added.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many indications” that Khamenei had died in an attack on his residential compound.

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Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol Sentenced to Life for Insurrection

A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law in late 2024.

“The declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has shown remorse,” said Judge Ji Gwi-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court. “We sentence him to life in prison,” the judge stated.

Yoon declared martial law in a nationally televised address in December 2024, arguing that drastic measures were necessary to eliminate what he described as “anti-state forces.”

The 65-year-old conservative former leader was removed from office, arrested, and charged with multiple offenses, including insurrection and obstruction of justice.

Judge Ji noted that Yoon ordered military forces to the National Assembly in an attempt to silence political opponents.

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“The court determined that the intention was to paralyze the assembly for a considerable period of time,” the judge said.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the crisis.

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Eight Killed in Series of Armed Attacks in Ecuador’s Manabí Province

At least eight people were killed in four separate armed attacks reported Sunday night in the cities of Manta and Montecristi, in Ecuador’s coastal province of Manabí, one of the areas hardest hit by the country’s escalating wave of criminal violence, local media reported on Monday.

The shootings occurred between 7:50 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. local time and affected several neighborhoods, as well as a family gathering, according to press reports. Police are investigating the incidents.

The first attack took place in the Los Artesanos sector of Montecristi, where a couple was shot dead in a public street.

Minutes later, in Manta’s 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a man was killed while sitting down. Police arrested a suspect at the scene and seized a 9mm magazine, authorities said.

A third incident occurred in the Bellavista area of Manta, when an armed assailant entered a home and shot a man during a family celebration. The attacker was captured by neighbors and sustained injuries.

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The deadliest attack was reported at 10:50 p.m. in the Leonidas Proaño parish of Montecristi, where gunmen opened fire from two vehicles on a group of people, leaving four dead and five wounded.

According to Jaime Salgado, acting chief of the Manta Police District, officers recovered seven 7.62mm shell casings, consistent with rifle ammunition, and 14 .40-caliber casings at the scene.

With these killings, the Manta police district, a port and tourist area on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, has recorded 51 violent deaths so far in January 2026, according to official figures.

The attacks occurred amid a state of emergency declared by the government in December due to serious internal unrest in Manabí, where military operations have been intensified this month, particularly in high-conflict zones.