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Odebrecht graft trial starts for Peru ex-president Humala

AFP

Ollanta Humala on Monday became the first ex-president of Peru to go on trial in a vast corruption case involving Brazilian construction group Odebrecht and bribes paid to politicians.

Humala, 59, appeared virtually in the dock with his wife Nadine Heredia, 45, on money laundering charges for allegedly accepting $3 million in illegal contributions to the campaign that brought him to power.

Both are also accused of “concealment of real estate purchases” made with some of the money.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of 20 years for the former army officer who served as Peru’s president from 2011 to 2016, and 26 years for his wife.

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Humala is one of four former presidents implicated in a massive investigation targeting Odebrecht, which admitted in 2016 having paid at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.

Two-term leader Alan Garcia committed suicide in 2019 when police came to his house to arrest him, while two other former presidents: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06), are under investigation.

Kuczynski, 83, stepped down in March 2018 ahead of likely impeachment over the Odebrecht scandal, and is under house arrest.

Toledo, 75, is under arrest in the US state of California pending a decision on his requested extradition to Peru.

Humala is out on bail pending trial, while Heredia is under house arrest. Both had spent nine months in detention in 2017-18. 

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Three judges will hear the case against the couple and nine other defendants, including Heredia’s brother and mother.

The prosecution has presented a list of 285 witnesses, which include jailed former Odebrecht president Marcelo Odebrecht and executives Luiz Mameri and Jorge Barata.

The trial is taking place via videoconference in the country with the world’s highest Covid-19 death rate per capita.

Leftist Humala came to the presidency in 2011 after beating rightwing candidate Keiko Fujimori in a runoff election.

Fujimori herself spent 13 months of detention in a case linked to Odebrecht, before being freed ahead of a presidential vote last year which she lost to leftist Pedro Castillo. 

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Victory would have temporarily shielded her from prosecution on charges of receiving money from Odebrecht to fund failed presidential bids in 2011 and 2016. Her trial has yet to start.

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

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International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.

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