International
Chile will resort to the ICC if Diosdado Cabello’s participation in a crime is confirmed
The Government of Chile will appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the participation of the number two of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, in the murder almost a year ago of the former Venezuelan soldier who took asylum in Chile, Ronald Ojeda, is confirmed, the Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, said on Thursday.
“They are preliminary antecedents because the investigation is still ongoing, but we take them with all their seriousness because they are relevant and repeated. If the investigation confirms them, the State of Chile will not let it pass,” Tohá said in statements to the media.
“There will be many definitions to take, but one of the things we are clear about is that we will resort to the International Criminal Court,” also known as the International Criminal Court and based in The Hague (Netherlands), the minister added.
The announcement comes after the national prosecutor of Chile, Ángel Valencia, confirmed hours earlier to a local radio that one of the witnesses of the crime points out that “the order and payment would have come from Diosdado Cabello.”
Valencia’s statements thus support the thesis that the prosecutor in charge of the case, Héctor Barros, has maintained since the early stages of the investigation and that links officials of Nicolás Maduro and the transnational organization Tren de Aragua with the murder of Ojeda last February.
Ojeda, a Chavista dissident and political asylum in Chile, was kidnapped on February 21, 2024 at his home in Santiago and ten days later they appeared in a town in the capital, buried under a cement block.
“The State of Chile has shown how seriously it takes these issues and the persistence with which we work so that justice works and there is no impunity, even when there are so many obstacles as there have been in this case,” Tohá concluded.
The Chilean Prosecutor’s Office reported on Wednesday the arrest of a man belonging to the group ‘Los Piratas’, a faction of the Aragua Train that is “directly related” to the homicide of Ojeda.
The Aragua Train, born in the Venezuelan prison of Tocorón, has spread to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, where the authorities accuse it of committing numerous crimes, such as drug trafficking, extortion, kidnappings and homicides.
For the crime of Ojeda there are also at least two other people arrested, a 17-year-old Venezuelan and one of the main perpetrators of the crime.
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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