International

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to be investigated in Jan 8 riot probe

Photo: EVARISTO SA / AFP

January 14 | By AFP | Ramon Sahmkow and Marcelo Silva da Sousa |

Brazilian far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro will be included in an investigation into the origins of the January 8 sacking of government buildings in Brasilia, a Supreme Court judge announced Friday.

The probe of the former leader comes at the request of the office of the prosecutor general (PGR), which cited a video Bolsonaro had posted “questioning the regularity of the 2022 presidential elections.”

By doing so, “Bolsonaro would have publicly incited the commission of a crime,” the PGR said in a statement.

Thousands of so-called “bolsonaristas” invaded the seats of government in Brasilia Sunday, breaking windows and furniture, destroying priceless works of art, and leaving graffiti messages calling for a military coup in their wake.

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The Bolsonaro video was posted online two days after the violent storming of the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court and later deleted.

The PGR explained that even though the video came after the uprising, it may serve as “a probative connection” that justified “a global investigation of the acts performed before and after January 8, 2023 by the defendant.”

Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes made the announcement Friday green-lighting Bolsonaro’s inclusion in the probe into what the PGR said was the “instigation and intellectual authorship” of the rioting.

In a note seen by AFP Friday, Bolsonaro’s defense denied any involvement by the ex-president.

Bolsonaro “never had any relationship or participation in these movements,” the note said, blaming the violence on “infiltrators.”

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Bolsonaro had for years sought to cast doubts on the reliability of Brazil’s internationally praised election system, and had suggested he would not accept a defeat.

He never publicly acknowledged new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva victory, and left for the United States, where he remains, two days before his successor’s inauguration.

‘Collusion’

As they move to identify the masterminds and financiers of the violent uprising that invited many parallels with the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol, Brazilian authorities on Friday also tightened the screws on a former Bolsonaro minister.

Anderson Torres, who was Bolsonaro’s last justice minister, is wanted under a Supreme Court warrant for alleged “collusion” with the rioters.

He also stands accused of “omission” in his most recent job as security chief for the capital Brasilia which was the target of the destructive ire of protesters.

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He was fired after the violent revolt against leftist Lula.

Like his former boss Bolsonaro, Torres was in the United States when the riots erupted, and is expected back in Brazil any day.

Lula’s new justice minister Flavio Dino, who replaced Torres, said Friday the authorities would give Torres until Monday to present himself.

If he fails to show up, “through international mechanisms, we will launch the procedures for extradition next week, since there is an arrest warrant,” Dino told reporters in the capital.

‘Cause and effect’

The minister also confirmed the discovery at Torres’ home of a draft decree proposing emergency steps for the possible “correction” of the October election that Bolsonaro lost to Lula by a razor-thin margin.

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The undated and unsigned draft bears Bolsonaro’s name at the bottom, but Dino said the authorship was unknown.

Published in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper late Thursday, the document foresees the creation of an election “regulation commission” to take over the electoral oversight functions of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

The aim, it said, would be “the preservation or immediate restoration of transparency and correction of the 2022 presidential electoral process.”

It was not clear whether the document was drawn up before or after Bolsonaro’s defeat.

Dino said the document connected some of the dots between Lula’s October 30 election victory and the January 8 riots.

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It was, he added, a “fundamental element for understanding cause and effect,” a “missing link between a succession of events, showing that they were not isolated. And yes, that there was… a plan.”

Torres said on Twitter the document was “likely” part of a pile of papers at his home that were destined to be destroyed.

He said the contents of the draft had been taken “out of context” to “feed false narratives” against him.

More than 2,000 rioters were detained after the events, for which the full extent of the damage is still being calculated.

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International

Colombia slams Ecuador’s 30% tariff as ‘economic aggression’

Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma, on Wednesday described as an “economic aggression” the 30% “security fee” imposed by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on imports from Colombia.

“We reject the tariff measure imposed by Ecuador, an economic aggression that breaks the principle of regional integration,” Palma said in a post on X.

President Noboa explained that the decision was taken due to what he described as a “lack of reciprocity and firm actions” by Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking. He added that despite Ecuador having made “real efforts of cooperation,” including maintaining a trade deficit exceeding $1 billion annually, the country’s armed forces continue to face drug-linked criminal groups along the border without any cooperation.

For that reason, Noboa stated that the measure will remain in place “until there is a real commitment” from Colombia to jointly confront drug trafficking and illegal mining along the 586-kilometer shared border, with the same level of determination Ecuador is currently applying.

According to official data, Ecuador seized 214.5 metric tons of drugs in 2025, down from the record 294.6 tons confiscated in 2024.

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on January 7 that during his administration, which began on August 7, 2022 and ends this year, drug seizures have increased significantly, adding that total confiscations are expected to exceed 3,500 tons by the time he leaves office.

International

José Jerí claims destabilization attempt after videos of secretive meetings surface

Peru’s interim president, right-wing leader José Jerí, on Wednesday denounced an alleged plot against him and warned of a deliberate attempt to destabilize the country, following the release of a series of videos showing semi-clandestine meetings with a Chinese businessman, as well as visits to the Government Palace by another businessman of the same nationality who is under house arrest.

“I also want to know who is behind this entire plot. I am an objective and impartial president who does not give in to pressure, but someone has found a way to do so. I want to know who is behind it and what their real objective is,” Jerí said while appearing before Congress’ Oversight and Comptroller Commission.

The interim president, who recently marked 100 days in office after replacing former president Dina Boluarte (2022–2025) in his role as head of Congress, insisted that he has never lied to the country. Without directly accusing any individual or group, he argued that routine activities—such as visiting a restaurant or a shop—are being portrayed with a “malicious” intent.

So far, reports indicate that on December 26, close to midnight, Jerí visited a chifa restaurant—a Peruvian-Chinese eatery—owned by Chinese businessman and state contractor Zhihua “Johnny” Yang, accompanied by Interior Minister Vicente Tiburcio, and wearing a hood. On January 6, he also visited a shop belonging to the same businessman, which had been shut down by municipal authorities just hours earlier.

The revelations have fueled political controversy and renewed scrutiny of the interim administration’s actions amid Peru’s ongoing political instability.

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International

Mexican influencer “La Nicholette” kidnapped in exclusive area of Culiacán

The content creator known as “La Nicholette,” also referred to as “La Muchacha del Salado,” was kidnapped Tuesday afternoon in Isla Musalá, one of the most exclusive residential areas of Culiacán, capital of the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, according to local media reports on Wednesday.

The abduction was captured by the security camera of the young woman’s vehicle, a lilac-colored Tesla Cybertruck, which was later found abandoned at the scene.

Video footage circulating on social media shows a masked man carrying a long firearm preventing the influencer from entering her vehicle, while another individual forces her into a white sedan, reportedly an older-model Toyota Corolla.

According to media reports, the incident occurred at approximately 5:00 p.m. local time (2300 GMT) at the intersection of Tachichilte Avenue and San Esteban Street, within the Musalá residential area.

Authorities have not yet released official details regarding the victim’s whereabouts or the motives behind the kidnapping.