Tottenham’s Conte era gets off to winning start
AFP
Antonio Conte was dished up the good and the bad in his first match in charge of Tottenham who beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-2 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday in a game which also three red cards.
Conte took his place in the dug out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his work permit arrived in time two days after his appointment.
Spurs had not mustered a single shot on target in the weekend defeat to Manchester United, which spelled the end for Nuno Espirito Santo after just four months in charge.
Against Vitesse they’d conjured up two within the first 90 seconds, encouraging the fans, some draped in Italian flags to make Conte feel at home.
The Italian former Inter Milan, Chelsea and Juventus boss only had to wait 14 minutes for his new side’s first goal, with Son Heung-min driving in a low angled shot from the right.
Shortly after Lucas Moura, taking receipt of an inch-perfect cross from Harry Kane, clinically converted the chance, sliding the ball past the onrushing keeper Markus Schubert.
The reenergized hosts were 3-0 up before the half hour, the goal awarded to Vitesse defender Jacob Rasmussen who in trying to keep out Kane’s close range shot dragged the ball over the line.
Rasmussen made quick amends, heading past Hugo Lloris four minutes later.
On 39 minutes a defensive error by Moura resulted in Matus Bero slotting past Lloris to give Conte plenty to talk about at his first half-time prep talk in the Spurs dressing room.
On the hour Tottenham went a man down after defender Cristian Romero received his second booking for a foul on Lois Openda.
Lloris was then kept busy as Vitesse tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage, the Spurs skipper superbly denying Riechedly Bazoer’s curling shot with his left hand.
Conte made a triple substitution, introducing Harry Winks, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndomblee for Son, Moura and Oliver Skipp.
Vitesse had a man sent off of their own when captain Danilho Doekhi felled Kane in the centre circle to earn his second booking, as Tottenham held on for a much needed win.
Vitesse keeper Markus Schubert was also sent off for handling the ball outside of his area.
While Conte was left with plenty of food for thought in north London ahead of his Premier League return against Everton, former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho watched his Roma side earn a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Bodo/Glimt.
The Norwegians had embarrassed Mourinho’s Serie A charges 6-1 at home in the first match between the two sides last month.
International
Bayly Says Trump ‘Gets Along Better With Dictators’ and Criticizes U.S.–Venezuela Policy
Peruvian author and journalist Jaime Bayly said Tuesday in Madrid that U.S. President Donald Trump “gets along better with dictators than he does with democrats” and that his administration is experiencing “a honeymoon with the Venezuelan dictatorship,” according to a report on his remarks during the launch of his new novel Los golpistas (Galaxia Gutenberg).
Bayly made the comments while presenting the book, which reconstructs the turbulent three days in April 2002 when Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez briefly lost power. He also sharply criticized the current Venezuelan leadership, saying that Delcy Rodríguez should be recognized as a dictator and “a continuation of Maduro’s dictatorship.”
The writer lamented that the failed 2002 coup — which he described as carried out by “amateurs” — did not lead to free elections that might have restored democracy to Venezuela. He argued that, even now, U.S. policy under Trump seems more focused on securing access to Venezuelan oil than on supporting Venezuelans’ freedom. “Venezuela could have chosen a free, clean and legitimate government — which we still impatiently await despite Trump, who only seems interested in freeing Venezuelan oil, not Venezuelans,” Bayly said.
Bayly also claimed that “every day that passes, Trump seems more enchanted with Delcy,” suggesting that Washington might leave Venezuelan leaders in power so long as they cooperate on economic interests.
A U.S. citizen who has lived in Miami for decades, Bayly said he is proud never to have voted for Trump, whom he described as “servile with the powerful and cruel with the weak.” He also criticized U.S. immigration enforcement as abusive.
Regarding the book’s creative process, Bayly said he combined extensive documentation and interviews with historical events, weaving fictional dialogue and narrative into real episodes without altering core facts. Los golpistas explores why the April 2002 coup attempt against Chávez failed and how key figures such as Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castroshaped modern Venezuelan history.
Central America
Washington Imposes Visa Ban on La Modelo Director Amid Crackdown in Nicaragua
The United States government announced Wednesday that it has imposed visa restrictions on Roberto Clemente Guevara Gómez, director of Nicaragua’s largest prison, La Modelo, for his involvement in actions that violate human rights.
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measure is intended to promote accountability for abuses committed under what he described as the “Murillo-Ortega dictatorship” against political prisoners.
Rubio specified that Guevara Gómez was designated for participating in “a gross violation of the human rights of a political prisoner.” The sanction was issued under the 2024 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, which bars the sanctioned individual — and potentially immediate family members — from entering the United States.
“United States demands the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners unjustly detained in Nicaragua,” the statement added.
Ongoing tensions between Washington and Managua
Washington rejected Nicaragua’s November 2021 elections, in which President Daniel Ortega and his wife, now co-president Rosario Murillo, were reelected while seven potential challengers were in prison.
Relations between the two countries remain tense amid expanding U.S. sanctions and increasing diplomatic pressure on the Nicaraguan government.
On January 10, marking Ortega’s 19 years in power, Nicaragua released “dozens of detainees,” including political prisoners. The move came one day after the U.S. Embassy in Managua stated that “more than 60 people” remain “unjustly detained or disappeared” in the Central American nation.
U.S. officials have continued to push for the “unconditional release” of political prisoners rather than selective or temporary releases.
Ortega, 80, governs alongside Murillo with consolidated authority, having strengthened executive power through constitutional reforms and security measures, while the opposition has been weakened by imprisonment, exile, and the revocation of citizenship and property rights.
International
Maduro and Cilia Flores Receive Consular Visit in U.S. Jail Ahead of March 26 Hearing
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is detained in the United States, and his wife, Cilia Flores, received a consular visit from a Venezuelan government official on January 30 while they remain in a New York jail awaiting their next court appearance, scheduled for March 26, 2026, according to a court filing.
The notification, submitted to the judge by prosecutors and the defense and now part of the digital case file, states that Maduro and Flores were visited by “an official representing the Republic of Venezuela to help facilitate any services the accused needed.”
The document also notes that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the U.S. prosecutor’s office at the couple’s first court appearance on January 5 to ensure they had access to consular services and to inform the court when such access was provided.
Their next hearing was postponed by the court from an original date of March 17 to March 26 at 11:00 a.m., after prosecutors, with the consent of the defense, requested extra time to gather evidence, allow the defense to review it, and determine which pretrial motions they will file, the filing says.
Maduro has denied wrongdoing, calling himself “innocent” of the narcotics charges authorities have brought in federal court.
Bayly Says Trump ‘Gets Along Better With Dictators’ and Criticizes U.S.–Venezuela Policy
Washington Imposes Visa Ban on La Modelo Director Amid Crackdown in Nicaragua
Maduro and Cilia Flores Receive Consular Visit in U.S. Jail Ahead of March 26 Hearing
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