International
Ex-guerrilla leader returns to Colombia after Mexico arrest
AFP
A leader of the disbanded left-wing rebel group FARC returned to Colombia on Wednesday, just hours after he was briefly detained in Mexico under a “red notice” from Interpol.
Rodrigo Granda is the Marxist group’s head diplomat and played a crucial role in a historic 2016 peace accord signed with the government that turned the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia into a political party.
The 72-year-old former guerrilla thanked Mexico and the international community for facilitating his return to Colombia as he arrived at Bogota’s international airport, according to local media.
“We’re showing our face, here we are,” said Granda, who denied he had been arrested in Mexico.
Mexican government sources confirmed his arrest to AFP, without giving details.
On Tuesday, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said on Twitter that Granda’s arrest “for kidnapping, criminal association and intentional homicide” followed a request from Paraguay.
But a lawmaker from Comunes, the political party descended from FARC, who accompanied Granda to Mexico for an event organized by a left-wing party, also denied he was arrested.
Carlos Lozada was originally one of two Comunes lawmakers to claim on Tuesday that Granda had been detained but on Wednesday he insisted his colleague was merely “isolated” and held incomunicado for seven to eight hours before “voluntarily returning” to Colombia.
“We saw that it was much better to return to Colombia given that … this red notice was circulating,” Lozada told W Radio.
Paraguay announced it had summoned the Mexican ambassador in Asuncion to explain Granda’s release.
Granda said he was authorized to leave Colombia by authorities from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a body investigating crimes committed during Colombia’s half century long conflict.
He claimed the international arrest warrant was a manoeuver by “high-level officials in the Colombian government” that are opposed to the conditions of the peace process.
Colombian President Ivan Duque is a vocal critic of the peace deal signed by his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos, considering it to be too lenient on former guerrillas.
It is not the first time Paraguay has requested Granda’s detention, having previously done so in 2008, accusing him of involvement in the 2005 kidnapping and murder of the daughter of Raul Cubas, a former president.
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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