International
Brazil’s ransacked capital gets security upgrade as round-up continues
January 16 | By AFP |
Brazilian authorities moved Monday to upgrade security at government buildings ransacked by rioters, and arrested a person accused of “anti-democratic acts” in a roundup of suspected authors of a violent January 8 uprising.
District authorities of the capital Brasilia said they would more than double the security deployment at the Esplanade of Ministries and Three Powers Square where the government presence is concentrated.
Eight days earlier, thousands forced their way into the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme court, smashing windows and furniture, destroying priceless works of art, and leaving behind graffiti messages calling for a military coup.
Acting district governor Celina Leao told reporters Monday a military police battalion in charge of security would be boosted from 248 to 500 members on a permanent basis for “maximum peace of mind.”
Leao is standing in for Ibaneis Rocha, who is the target of an investigation into possible links to the riots and was relieved of his duties for 90 days.
Brazil’s deputy justice minister Ricardo Cappelli told the same press conference that investigators were seeking to determine whether there were any “professionals” among the rioters, who clamored for a military coup.
Delegated by the executive to take charge of security in Brasilia after the violence, Cappelli cited witness testimony of “men… with knowledge of the terrain, combat tactics” among the demonstrators.
Leftist new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his justice minister have both said the riots could unlikely have happened without inside help, including from the security forces.
The district of Brasilia has been under federal control by presidential decree since the riots by followers of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
Forty-four military police were injured while defending the buildings from rioters, said Cappelli.
The full extent of the damage to national heritage is still being determined.
‘Anti-democratic acts’
Bolsonaro, who is in the United States, has denied any connection to the uprising.
The ex-leader, who for years had sought to cast doubt on Brazil’s internationally-hailed election system, has been included in an investigation into the origins of the riots.
His former justice minister Anderson Torres — who was in charge of security in Brasilia when the uprising happened — was arrested on Saturday.
According to the Federal Police, 1,159 people out of more than 2,000 suspected rioters initially detained remained under arrest.
The public prosecutor’s office (MPF), meanwhile, said more than 800 have made initial custody hearing appearances.
The Federal Police (PF) for its part, said a special operation dubbed Ulysses yielded the arrest of one person Monday.
The goal of Ulysses was to track down “persons investigated for anti-democratic acts after the second round of presidential elections” in October “as well as the acts that took place on January 8.”
One of three arrest warrants was executed successfully, the PF said in statement without providing any details.
Two individuals remain at large.
The operation, which also came armed with five search and seizure warrants, sought to find people who had blocked highways, organized demonstrations outside military barracks, and masterminded and financed the January 8 riots.
Ulysses officers seized “mobile phones, computers and miscellaneous documents,” said a PF statement, as well as evidence “capable of linking the suspects to the organization and leadership of events.”
International
Heavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
The death toll from heavy rains in Mexico has risen to 44 after the government confirmed three additional fatalities on Sunday, as civilian and military rescue teams work to clear roads and reach isolated communities.
The states of Hidalgo, Puebla (central) and Veracruz (east) account for the highest number of victims and material damage, according to a statement from the Federal Ministry of Security.
These regions share a large area of the Sierra Madre Oriental, which has been affected by a tropical system from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing intense rainfall since last Thursday amid an already heavy wet season.
The government stated that it is accelerating relief and recovery efforts in the areas affected by the storms.
On Sunday, the clouds began to clear, allowing rescue teams to intensify efforts to reopen numerous mountain roads, which still leave dozens of small communities cut off.
International
Venezuela launches ‘Independence 200’ defense plan amid U.S. naval presence
Venezuela launched on Saturday the defense plan ‘Independence 200’, mobilizing armed civilians, police, and military personnel in the eastern states of Anzoátegui, Monagas, and Bolívar, joining five other regions activated in recent days. The government cited “various threats” from the United States, which maintains a naval presence in the Caribbean Sea near the South American nation.
The Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, led the event in Monagas, explaining that the plan aims to prepare the population, police forces, and the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) to face the threats confronting the country. Cabello emphasized the need to assess strengths and weaknesses rigorously.
“These exercises are not about hiding in a trench and waiting to see what happens, nor expecting the enemy to tire themselves out. No, the enemy will wear down—but through our permanent harassment, denying them rest, driving them to despair, and appearing everywhere by any means,” he said.
The minister also called for active and prolonged resistance and a permanent offensive, warning that the “imperialist enemy has decided to direct all its weapons against the homeland of Simón Bolívar.”
President Nicolás Maduro confirmed via Telegram that the plan is active in Anzoátegui, Monagas, and Bolívar, describing the area as a vital corridor stretching from the Caribbean to the Orinoco River and the southern border with Brazil. He noted that the Integrated Defense Operational Zones (ZODI) will be activated state by state across the country, following the rollout in Carabobo, La Guaira, Aragua, Falcón, and Zulia.
Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López stated that the exercises involve 27 tasks, including monitoring U.S. aerial campaigns, ensuring food and hospital reserves, maintaining community radio communications, defending cities and key access points, and patrolling ports.
While the U.S. defends its naval deployment as an operation against alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking, Maduro’s government insists it constitutes a threat aimed at promoting regime change.
International
Peruvian president Jerí leads prison raids to tackle organized crime
Peruvian President José Jerí led a major prison inspection operation on Saturday aimed at fighting extortion and contract killings linked to organized crime, the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) reported.
Hundreds of inmates were moved from their cells to the yard at the maximum-security Ancón I prison, where President Jerí arrived wearing a white shirt.
“By the president’s order, an extraordinary search has been conducted to combat crime, especially contract killings linked to organized crime,” said INPE chief Iván Paredes to the press.
“President Jerí has been clear: we must fight crime, and on his first day in office, the first thing he did was come here to supervise a prison raid,” Paredes added.
During his inauguration speech, Jerí emphasized that the fight against crime and organized crime is one of the country’s main challenges and called for immediate action.
“The main enemy is outside, on the streets—the criminal gangs, the organized crime groups. They are today our enemies, and as enemies, we must declare war on them,” the president said.
Citizen insecurity led to the removal of former President Dina Boluarte by Congress on Friday.
The operation involved 200 officers and was carried out simultaneously in four prisons, including El Milagro in Trujillo, about 500 km north of Lima, and Challapalca in Tacna, located at 4,600 meters above sea level.
Peru has 68 prisons with an overpopulation of 102,000 inmates, according to INPE.
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