International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro to be investigated in Jan 8 riot probe
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
International
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
Dick Cheney, former U.S. vice president under George W. Bush and a chief architect of the 2000s “war on terror,” died Monday night at age 84.
According to a family statement, Cheney passed away due to complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease.
Cheney, who rose to political prominence as White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford in the 1970s, went on to become one of the most influential vice presidents in U.S. history during the Bush administration (2001–2009). He was widely known as one of the strongest advocates for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In his later years, however, Cheney emerged as a vocal critic of the Republican Party under Donald Trump’s leadership.
“Dick Cheney was a great man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live with courage, honor, love, kindness, and a passion for fishing,” his family said in a statement.
International
Sheinbaum maintains 70% approval despite growing discontent in Mexico
Seven out of ten Mexicans — 70% — approve of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s performance a little over a year into her term, even as disapproval reached its highest level in October at 30%, according to a monthly survey published by the newspaper El Financiero.
The approval rating marks a slight decline compared to September (73%), August (74%), and especially February, when Sheinbaum peaked at 85%. Meanwhile, disapproval rose to 30%, three points higher than in August and double the levels recorded between January and March, when just 15% of respondents disapproved of her leadership.
Of the 1,000 Mexicans surveyed, 59% rated the government’s response to last month’s deadly storms — which left 83 people dead and 16 missing — as good or very good. Additionally, 56% gave positive marks to cleanup and recovery efforts, while 40% viewed them negatively.
Support programs for affected families received 53% positive and 42% negative evaluations. Sheinbaum’s visits to impacted areas generated a narrower split: 50% approval versus 45% disapproval.
The president’s empathy stood out as her most valued attribute, earning 63% favorable ratings, followed by honesty (59%), leadership (59%), and ability to deliver results (47%).
International
Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
A confrontation between Mexican security forces and an armed group in the troubled state of Sinaloa left 13 gunmen dead and four others arrested, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported on Monday.
Sinaloa, located on the Pacific coast, has been shaken for more than a year by a violent power struggle between factions of a powerful local cartel — a conflict that has resulted in at least 1,700 homicides, including 57 minors, and nearly 2,000 disappearances.
The shootout occurred around 12:45 p.m. local time (18:45 GMT) in the municipality of Guasave, where authorities were able to rescue nine kidnapped individuals following the clash. Officers also seized seven vehicles, long weapons, and tactical equipment, according to the minister’s post on X.
García Harfuch explained that security forces “were attacked by an armed group hiding under a bridge” while patrolling the La Brecha community of Guasave, prompting an “immediate response” from authorities.
The detainees and seized items have been turned over to Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office, he added.
The internal war within the Sinaloa Cartel erupted after the capture of longtime leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was betrayed and extradited to the United States in July 2024 by the son of his former partner Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Guzmán has been serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison since 2019.
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney dies at 84
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Shootout in Sinaloa leaves 13 gunmen dead as authorities rescue kidnapping victims
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