International

Venezuelans behind Taller Neo, a recycling success story in Caracas

Photo: VOA

August 16|

Four months ago, Venezuelans Gabriel Santana and Alberto Alfonso decided to crystallize a business idea they had been studying for some time, the purpose of which was to contribute to environmental protection. Thus was born Taller Neo, a space in Caracas that transforms waste into objects of value and then put them on sale.

“The idea was born first of all out of a concern or a sensitivity that Alberto and I had for the environment (…) We saw that there were these workshops that work with recycled plastic in various parts of the planet, especially in Europe and the United States, more than in Latin America, where there are already some interesting cases,” Santana explained to the Voice of America.

He added that they then began “to see how to set up one of those workshops, what things could be made in those workshops that could be sold so that it could be a business”.

“So we started to look at the objects, the things that are created and everything around them.”

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Since formally opening on April 15, Taller Neo has been very well received. It currently offers an item created from waste: the materos, plant pots, which have become a trademark of the project.

“Our materos have been a success that we never imagined and have exceeded our expectations,” noted Alfonso.

“It has been very exciting because we have had a great receptivity from the people, from the community, from people who are involved in the environment in Venezuela and have received us very well, in social networks we have done very well. We are very happy with what we have been building and happy because we know that when we start to release the other products there will also be a good receptivity in that sense,” said Gabriel Santana.

Taller Neo is open every day from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Two people work in the space along with the founders and two online interns, although they are always open to receive more help.

In addition to recycling and creating objects from waste, Gabriel Santana and Alberto Alfonso also receive students, scouts and environmental groups at the site and give them a talk and a tour of the facilities. For both of them, these activities are crucial because they help raise awareness about environmental care and the importance of recycling in the future.

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“Young people are very important in this project because in the end it is these young minds, motivated and enthusiastic about the future, who best receive this message, and therefore become lifelong advocates and promoters of the cause,” said Alfonso.

International

Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.

Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.

Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.

However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.

Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.

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He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.

His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.

Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.

International

U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince

The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.

Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.

“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.

Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.

According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.

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International

Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.

“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”

The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.

The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”

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Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.