International
The Government of Brazil suspends its advertising campaigns in X after Musk’s criticism
The Government of Brazil decided not to hire advertising campaigns in X again after the controversial criticism of the tycoon Elon Musk, owner of the social network, to the Supreme Court of the country and the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Sources from the Secretariat of Communication confirmed this Saturday that Lula’s administration will no longer invest more resources in promoting the actions of the Executive on the platform, in the middle of the dispute with the businessman, also owner of Tesla and Space X.
According to the Transparency portal, the Government of the progressive leader spent about 650,000 reais (127,000 dollars or 120,000 euros) on institutional communication in X between 2023, the year in which he took power, and the first months of 2024.
The measure, which applies to new advertising contracts, is based on a guideline promulgated last February to avoid advertising actions in “portals, applications and content producers” that may “damage the image of the institutions of the Executive Branch.”
In addition, the Brazilian press publishes this Saturday that X’s representative in Brazil, lawyer Diego de Lima Gualda, left office this week, according to a document in the São Paulo Commercial Board.
The controversy has its origin in a series of messages from Musk in which he accused the Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre De Moraes of imposing censorship by, in his opinion, determining the blocking of X profiles without an apparent reason.
The businessman also anticipated that, in defense of freedom of expression, he would disobey decisions in that regard, even if this would result in economic fines or the closure of the platform in the South American country.
De Moraes responded by including it in the investigations that are advancing in the high court on the dissemination of fake news and attacks on democratic institutions.
Obleious to the ruling, Musk continued with his criticism this week, described the magistrate as a “dictator” and questioned the appointment of Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former personal lawyer, to occupy a seat in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Lula condemned on Wednesday that “a businessman who never produced anything,” in allusion to Musk, criticizes the rulings of Justice and even said he is willing to violate them, and insinuated that he should use his fortune to “help preserve” the environment.
Musk’s criticism of Brazil’s justice has been interpreted in sectors of national politics as a kind of support for the far right led by former President Jair Bolsonaro, especially in the face of next October’s municipal elections.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
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