International
Duque hopes trial will unveil Venezuela’s ‘drug dictatorship’
AFP
Colombia President Ivan Duque said Monday he hopes the trial of a suspected money launderer extradited to the United States will shed light on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s “drug dictatorship.”
Businessman Alex Saab appeared in court in Florida on Monday after being extradited on Saturday to the United States from Cape Verde, where he had been detained since June 2020.
Saab, a Colombian national, and his business partner Alvaro Pulido are charged in the US with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela, an oil-rich nation mired in an acute economic crisis.
“I hope that all the support Alex Saab gives to the US court will also show what there is behind this network, and it’s a drug dictatorship that tried to use this network to launder money,” Duque said during an official visit to Sao Paulo.
Duque is one of the fiercest critics of Maduro.
Venezuela’s government reacted with fury on Sunday to news of Saab’s extradition, calling off the latest round of talks with the Venezuelan opposition in Mexico.
Duque has often accused Maduro’s regime of drug-trafficking to raise money, and also of harboring armed Colombian rebels on its soil.
“I also hope that (a trial) will serve to consolidate the accusations being made by Colombia for some time, which is the collusion of Maduro’s regime with terrorist groups and drug-traffickers,” said Duque.
Experts believe Saab could shed light on hidden financial transactions between Caracas and allied countries.
However he has indicated he will not cooperate with the US court proceedings.
Venezuela’s opposition says Saab, 49, who has Venezuelan nationality, was a frontman doing shady deals for Maduro’s government.
Saab and Pulido are alleged to have moved $350 million out of Venezuela into accounts they controlled in the US and other countries. They risk up to 20 years in prison.
Saab, who was indicted in July 2019 in Miami for money laundering, was traveling on a Venezuelan diplomatic passport when detained in Cape Verde.
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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