International
Venezuelan delegation protests grounding of plane in Argentina
AFP
An official Venezuelan delegation protested Thursday to Argentina’s embassy in Caracas against the grounding of a plane and its crew in Buenos Aires since June.
The Boeing 747 cargo plane, owned by Venezuelan company Emtrasur, has been held in Argentina since it arrived on June 8 from Mexico with a shipment of auto parts, after having tried unsuccessfully to enter Uruguay.
Transport Minister Ramon Velasquez and pro-government lawmakers visited the embassy Thursday to protest, as a few dozen workers of state airline Conviasa gathered outside chanting: “Return the plane and crew!”
The delegation was received by ambassador Oscar Laborde.
Back in Argentina, Judge Federico Villena on Thursday granted a request from the United States to seize the plane on the basis that laws were broken when it was sold by Iran to Venezuela — both countries under US sanctions, Telam news agency reported.
Conviasa, which controls Emtrasur, is also sanctioned.
Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protested the US seizure request, which he said amounted to an attempt to “steal” the plane, and asked Argentina for backing.
The United States’ entry into the fray has given rise to street demonstrations in Venezuela.
– ‘Puppet of imperialism’ –
The Venezuelan delegation handed a document to ambassador Laborde in which it protested the plane’s continued detention.
“We gave the ambassador some communications so that the authorities, the counterparts in Argentina, can sit down and talk about the situation, find the best alternative and the best solution to this problem,” Velasquez said afterwards.
“We hope that the truth prevails, that the Argentine justice system reacts, that it does not take this situation plagued by illegality to new levels,” he said.
The Boeing first entered Argentina on June 6 with a load of auto parts from Mexico.
Unable to refuel in Buenos Aires due to the sanctions, the plane left for Montevideo on June 8. But the Uruguayan authorities refused it access, and it flew back to Argentina.
A judge ordered the plane be detained in light of an investigation into the crew of 14 Venezuelans and five Iranians.
Last week, a judge gave the green light for 12 of the crew members to leave Argentina — minus four Iranians and three Venezuelans. That decision is now being appealed.
Velasquez said the crew members were being investigated for “espionage and terrorism.”
“They have not yet been called to testify, their right to a defense is being violated,” he charged.
The Paraguayan intelligence service has linked one of the Iranian crew members to the Al Quds Force, a group of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards classified as a terrorist organization by the United States.
But Velasquez said the intelligence report was “biased.”
On Wednesday, Venezuelan lawmaker Pedro Carreno urged Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez to “show if he is a puppet of the empire, if he is a puppet of imperialism or if he really governs that country.”
Argentine presidency spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti said at her weekly briefing Thursday that the outburst “does not imply a diplomatic incident.”
International
Authorities capture CJNG financial chief in international airport operation
A man identified as the main financial operator of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was arrested Thursday at Mexico City’s international airport, authorities reported.
The individual, named by Mexican media as Óscar Antonio Álvarez, was apprehended during an operation involving the army, navy, National Guard, police, and the attorney general’s office, according to a joint statement.
Álvarez is considered the primary financial operator of a criminal group originating in Jalisco, and the capture took place at Benito Juárez Airport as he arrived on a flight from Barcelona, Spain.
Authorities stated that Álvarez faces charges of organized crime and money laundering, specifically for receiving and transferring illicit funds. His work with the CJNG reportedly included purchasing properties and managing businesses in the tequila and livestock sectors.
According to El Universal, Álvarez was directly under the command of Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho”, the cartel’s top leader, for whom the U.S. offers a $15 million reward.
The CJNG, which operates throughout Mexico and in various parts of the world, was designated earlier this year as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S. government.
Álvarez was handed over to the federal public prosecutor to determine his legal situation, the report added.
International
Jair Bolsonaro sentenced for leading armed criminal plot after 2022 election loss
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 70, has been sentenced for leading an armed criminal organization that attempted to cling to power after losing the 2022 elections to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The alleged coup plot, which reportedly included a plan to assassinate Lula, was not carried out due to lack of support from the military leadership.
By a four-to-one vote of the judges overseeing the case, seven co-defendants, including former ministers and military chiefs, were also convicted.
“A criminal armed organization was formed by the defendants, who must be sentenced based on the factual circumstances I consider proven,” said the final judge to cast a vote, Cristiano Zanin.
Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, did not attend the court hearings, citing health issues.
Reacting on X, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, said: “They call this a trial a process whose outcome everyone already knew before it began.”
One of the first international reactions came from the White House. Former U.S. President Donald Trump called the sentence “very surprising,” while Senator Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the United States will “respond accordingly” to the “unjust” ruling.
International
Poland invokes NATO Article 4 after russian drone incursion
The violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones on Wednesday triggered the most serious clash between Russia and NATO since the start of the war in Ukraine, prompting Poland to invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which calls for consultations among allies.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Parliament on Wednesday, describing an unprecedented “aggression” in which at least 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace, creating a situation that the Prime Minister described as “the closest to an open conflict since World War II.”
Speaking at the start of an extraordinary Council of Ministers session, Tusk stated that “this is the first time Russian drones have been shot down over the territory of a NATO member state, and that is why all our allies are taking the situation very seriously.”
Although he affirmed that “there is no reason to claim that we are in a state of war,” he labeled the incidents as “a large-scale provocation” and ordered the invocation of NATO’s Article 4 to call for consultations with allied nations.
Tusk also noted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had received “not only expressions of solidarity with Poland but, above all, concrete proposals to support the country’s air defense” during discussions with European leaders throughout the day.
The Polish leader specifically mentioned conversations with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands—Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, and Dick Schoof—along with French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
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