International

Odebrecht graft trial starts for Peru ex-president Humala

AFP

Ollanta Humala on Monday became the first ex-president of Peru to go on trial in a vast corruption case involving Brazilian construction group Odebrecht and bribes paid to politicians.

Humala, 59, appeared virtually in the dock with his wife Nadine Heredia, 45, on money laundering charges for allegedly accepting $3 million in illegal contributions to the campaign that brought him to power.

Both are also accused of “concealment of real estate purchases” made with some of the money.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of 20 years for the former army officer who served as Peru’s president from 2011 to 2016, and 26 years for his wife.

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Humala is one of four former presidents implicated in a massive investigation targeting Odebrecht, which admitted in 2016 having paid at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.

Two-term leader Alan Garcia committed suicide in 2019 when police came to his house to arrest him, while two other former presidents: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06), are under investigation.

Kuczynski, 83, stepped down in March 2018 ahead of likely impeachment over the Odebrecht scandal, and is under house arrest.

Toledo, 75, is under arrest in the US state of California pending a decision on his requested extradition to Peru.

Humala is out on bail pending trial, while Heredia is under house arrest. Both had spent nine months in detention in 2017-18.

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Three judges will hear the case against the couple and nine other defendants, including Heredia’s brother and mother.

The prosecution has presented a list of 285 witnesses, which include jailed former Odebrecht president Marcelo Odebrecht and executives Luiz Mameri and Jorge Barata.

The trial is taking place via videoconference in the country with the world’s highest Covid-19 death rate per capita.

Leftist Humala came to the presidency in 2011 after beating rightwing candidate Keiko Fujimori in a runoff election.

Fujimori herself spent 13 months of detention in a case linked to Odebrecht, before being freed ahead of a presidential vote last year which she lost to leftist Pedro Castillo.

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Victory would have temporarily shielded her from prosecution on charges of receiving money from Odebrecht to fund failed presidential bids in 2011 and 2016. Her trial has yet to start.

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.

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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.

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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.