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.
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.
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.
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
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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