International

Protests wane in Brazil, but diehards stand by Bolsonaro

Photo: Caio Guatelli / AFP

| By AFP | Luján Scarpinelli y Florian Plaucheur en Rio de Janeiro |

Protests in deeply polarized Brazil have dwindled since presidential elections nearly two weeks ago but some hard-core supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro remain in the streets.

A retired metalworker, Jose Carlos Flamino, stood at his encampment on Friday near a military barracks in Sao Paulo and vowed to remain “as long as is necessary.”

He still doesn’t accept that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president who squeaked out a 50.9 percent victory over Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent in the October 30 vote, won fairly and squarely.

“The balloting that gave victory to Lula is not reliable,” said Flamino, 53, demanding the military overturn the vote.

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He’s not alone. Other diehard Bolsonaro supporters are camped out with him at the Sao Paulo garrison and at military barracks across Brazil.

Bolsonaro, a retired army captain, “was a victim of an injustice but we are fighting here for the fatherland,” said Aguinaldo Coimbro, a 52-year-old market analyst, a Brazilian flag draped over his shoulders.

About 100 people with him outside the Sao Paulo military base chanted, “SOS, armed forces,” and called on the military to “save Brazil.”

Most wore green and yellow clothing, the colors of the national flag that has turned into a symbol for Bolsonaro followers.

“Brazil didn’t elect anyone. The people don’t accept this. We don’t want to become Venezuela. Our freedom doesn’t have a price,” said Lena Pasqualini, 62, a jewelry saleswoman resting at a support center with donated food for the protesters.

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At a temporary encampment of protesters next to the central Duque de Caxias garrison in Rio de Janeiro, around 100 people remained on Friday morning, down from several thousand in the days after the October 30 runoff election.

Even as demonstrations melt to only a few dozen people, protesters insist they represent multitudes.

The election “was stolen, and that’s why all of Brazil is in the streets,” said Paulo Campelo, 70, a retired soldier.

“We want the army to eliminate those bastards who want to authenticate the fraudulent elections,” Campelo added.

Lula: ‘One wins, one loses’

The Armed Forces said Friday in a statement that “the solution to possible controversies… must make use of the legal instruments of the democratic rule of law.”

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Protesters assert that a “fraud” was perpetrated with the electronic ballot box system, used in Brazil since 1996, and questioned without proof by Bolsonaro.

Numerous international observers and a report by the Armed Forces themselves released on Wednesday fully dispute that allegation.

Lula on Thursday appealed to the “minority in the streets” to go home.

“Democracy is that, one wins, one loses,” the president-elect said. “How many times have I cried because I lost?”

Bolsonaro, who has not openly acknowledged his defeat and has practically disappeared from public life for more than a week, asked his supporters to take down hundreds of roadblocks they threw up after the vote, but supported protests elsewhere.

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On Friday Brazilian roads were completely back to normal, the Federal Highway Police told AFP.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.