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
White House considered dropping leaflets over Caracas to pressure Maduro
The White House recently proposed a plan to drop leaflets from U.S. military aircraft over Caracas to further pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by The Washington Post.
The operation — which as of Saturday had not yet been authorized — considered dropping the leaflets this Sunday, the day of Maduro’s 63rd birthday. The materials were expected to highlight the $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, a bounty the White House doubled in August on the grounds that the Venezuelan leader is involved in “narcoterrorism.”
The proposal represents an escalation in Washington’s efforts to oust Maduro, a goal Trump pursued during his first term (2017–2021) and one that remains a priority for several of his top advisers.
Since the summer, the United States has carried out a large-scale military deployment in the southern Caribbean aimed at pressuring Maduro and, according to the White House, combating drug trafficking. This operation has resulted in the destruction of roughly twenty boats allegedly carrying narcotics and the deaths of 83 people on board.
In mid-November, Trump said he had made a decision regarding a possible military action in Venezuela, further raising tensions with Caracas.
On Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an advisory urging commercial flights to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean due to the “potentially hazardous situation” linked to increased military activity in the region.
This prompted several European and American airlines to cancel flights to the Caribbean nation.
International
Trump attacks Europe and Biden on Truth Social ahead of talks on Ukraine peace plan
In a message posted on Truth Social, the U.S. president also targeted European nations, “which continue buying oil from Russia,” as well as his predecessor, Joe Biden, whom he accused of inaction at the start of the conflict.
“I inherited a war that never should have happened, a war in which everyone is losing,” the president wrote in all caps on his social media platform.
“The Ukrainian leaders have shown zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe keeps buying oil from Russia.”
“The United States continues to sell massive quantities of weapons to NATO for distribution to Ukraine (corrupt Joe gave everything away — free, free, free — including large sums of money!),” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Geneva this Sunday in hopes of advancing Trump’s plan for Ukraine.
Washington now presents Trump’s 28-point proposal as a “framework for negotiations” aimed at ending the conflict, though it is viewed with concern in both Kyiv and Brussels.
International
Tatiana Schlossberg reveals aggressive leukemia diagnosis in personal New Yorker essay
In a deeply personal essay published in The New Yorker, Tatiana Schlossberg revealed her diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia with a rare genetic mutation known as Inversion 3, a variant that responds poorly to standard treatments.
The 35-year-old journalist explained that the disease was discovered shortly after the birth of her second daughter in May 2024, when doctors detected an extremely high white blood cell count. Schlossberg said she was in complete shock upon receiving the diagnosis, noting that she “didn’t feel sick” and had experienced a healthy pregnancy.
Her treatment since then has been intense. She has undergone chemotherapy, at least two bone marrow transplants, and is participating in clinical trials involving CAR-T therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy. In one of these trials, her doctors told her they might be able to “keep [her] alive for a year, maybe less.”
Schlossberg reflected on her fears for her children, her husband, George Moran, and her parents, and on the emotional weight of becoming part of the Kennedy family’s long history of tragedy. She also criticized her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for political decisions that she argues have harmed medical research that could benefit cancer patients like her.
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