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House arrest for ex-guatemalan president Perez: Corruption conviction after eight years behind bars

Former Guatemalan President Otto Perez has been placed under house arrest after spending eight years in prison due to a corruption conviction, as confirmed by his lawyer on Thursday.

Perez, a retired general, led the Central American nation from 2012 until 2015 when he was compelled to resign, with only four months remaining in his term, amid widespread protests related to corruption scandals.

On Wednesday evening, the ex-president left prison, expressing happiness to be reunited with his family after an extended period of confinement, according to his lawyer, Cesar Calderon, who shared the information with Reuters.

To secure his transition from prison to house arrest, Perez had to meet specific conditions, including paying a $38,000 bond and offering two properties valued at $1.2 million as collateral, Calderon explained.

In late 2022, Perez received a 16-year prison sentence for charges related to illicit association and customs fraud. Alongside his Vice President, Roxana Baldetti, who remains incarcerated, Perez was accused of orchestrating a customs fraud network that misappropriated approximately $3.5 million in state funds during their administration.

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Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse

Thirteen members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) have been reported “missing” following an explosion at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the eastern part of the island, the military institution announced.

“As a result of the explosions at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the Melones community… in the province of Holguín, 730 km east of Havana,” two officers, two non-commissioned officers, and nine soldiers are reported as “missing,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces released by Cuban state television.

The statement specified that “investigations are still ongoing at the site,” which led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 residents from areas near the warehouse of a military unit where “aged ammunition was being classified.”

Neither the official press nor Cuban state television have provided images of the explosions at the military unit, but independent media outlets published photos online showing a massive column of smoke and police officers deployed in the streets of the Melones community.

 

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Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to justify implementing a package of universal tariffs on both allied and adversary countries, according to CNN.

The proclamation of these measures would grant the incoming U.S. president the freedom to create a new tariff program using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

This move would give the president the authority to manage imports during a national emergency.

According to the report, Trump has a penchant for this law as it provides broad jurisdiction on how tariffs are implemented without strict requirements to prove they are necessary for national security reasons.

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Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration

Enrique Márquez, a minority opposition candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 elections, was “arbitrarily detained,” denounced a political coalition he is part of and his wife, who described the action as “kidnapping.”

Since Tuesday night, there has been a wave of reports of detentions, with at least a dozen arrests just over 48 hours before President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration for a third six-year term, following a controversial reelection.

“We inform that yesterday, 07.01.25, Enrique Márquez was arbitrarily detained,” stated the Popular Democratic Front (FDP).

“He was kidnapped by paramilitary groups who, using force as their law, aim to silence and intimidate those of us who want a better country and have a different vision,” said his wife, Sonia Lugo de Márquez, on the leader’s X account.

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