International

Brazil’s most-voted lawmaker suspended from Twitter

Photo: Douglas Magno / AFP

| By AFP |

An ultra-conservative who was the most-voted lawmaker in Brazil’s elections said Saturday his social media accounts had been suspended after he called for an investigation of alleged irregularities in President Jair Bolsonaro’s loss at the polls.

Nikolas Ferreira, 26, a social media star and fervent supporter of the far-right president, had posted a series of messages on Twitter Friday calling on electoral authorities to investigate accusations that some of Brazil’s electronic voting machines gave unusually large scores to leftist president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the October elections.

“I’m asking the (Superior Electoral Tribunal) to verify revelations made today of possible fraud in the Brazilian elections. Valid doubts have emerged,” wrote Ferreira, a devout Christian with more than two million followers on Twitter and Instagram.

He said the information came from a video on a pro-Bolsonaro YouTube channel about supposed irregularities in “unauditable” voting machines manufactured before 2020.

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Bolsonaro and his supporters have regularly alleged Brazil’s voting system is plagued by fraud, with scant evidence.

The Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has moved aggressively to counter disinformation around the elections, including by ordering false claims be blocked on social media — drawing accusations of bias from Bolsonaro.

Ferreira’s Twitter account was inaccessible in Brazil, displaying a message that said it had been “withheld in response to a legal demand.”

Ferreira accused the authorities of censorship in a message on Instagram, saying he “never alleged anything, just asked for an investigation.”

He posted a picture of himself with black tape over his mouth, with the message: “Share this information… The truth will prevail.”

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The TSE did not confirm it had ordered Ferreira’s accounts suspended. A spokeswoman for the electoral authority told AFP such rulings are confidential court documents.

Ferreira, who says he is at “war” with the “silent threat of communism” in Brazil, was elected to Congress for the southeastern state of Minas Gerais with 1.5 million votes in the country’s October 2 elections.

Lula went on to defeat Bolsonaro in a polarizing presidential runoff election on October 30, with 50.9 percent of the vote to 49.1 percent for the incumbent.

International

U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense

Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.

The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.

According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.

Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.

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The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.

Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.

International

U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico

The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.

According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.

“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.

In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.

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In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.

The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.

International

Pope Leo XIV Says Countries Have Border Rights but Migrants Deserve Respect

Pope Leo XIV said Thursday that migrants must be treated with dignity as he addressed the global migration crisis during a press conference aboard the plane returning from his tour of Africa.

The pontiff answered questions from journalists regarding his upcoming trip to Spain, which will include a visit to the Canary Islands, a region heavily affected by migration flows and growing political polarization surrounding the issue.

“Obviously, migration is a very complex issue and affects many countries — not only Spain, not only Europe, but also the United States. It is a global phenomenon,” the pope said.

Pope Leo XIV also questioned the role of developed nations in addressing the crisis.

“My response begins with a question: What is the Global North doing to help the Global South and those countries where young people no longer see a future and dream of going north, even when the North sometimes has no answers to offer?” he asked.

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While acknowledging that “a state has the right to establish rules for its borders,” the pope insisted that the debate must go beyond border control and address the structural causes that force people to leave their home countries.