International

The head of Russian security accuses Ukraine and the West of being involved in the Moscow attack

The head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexandr Bórtnikov, today accused Ukraine of having participated “directly” and the West of being involved in the terrorist attack committed on Friday against a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, which was claimed by the Islamic State.

“We believe that the act was prepared by radical Islamists and, naturally, the Western secret services contributed to it,” Bórtnikov told local agencies, who added that the intelligence services of Ukraine had a “direct relationship” with the attack.

While he admitted that Moscow has not yet been able to establish for sure the identity of those who commissioned the attack, he pointed out that “we broadly believe that they are involved in it,” when answering a question about Kiev’s responsibility.

The head of the FSB also pointed out that “the Ukrainian side participated in the instruction and training of fighters in the Middle East.”

“The bandits intended to escape through the border. Right to the territory of Ukraine. According to our preliminary operational data, they were waiting for them there (…) And I tell them a secret: on the other side they wanted to receive them as heroes,” he said.

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Bortnikov advocated declaring the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) a “terrorist organization” and considered the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirilo Budanov, a “legitimate objective.”

The head of Russian security admitted that the United States warned them about a possible terrorist attack in Moscow, but added that he would have liked the information to be “more specific.”

He recalled that the same thing happened in 2017, when a suicide bombing killed 16 people on the St. Petersburg subway.

The head of the FSB made these statements after Putin suggested on Monday the existence of a black Ukrainian hand in the attack, despite the fact that the attack was immediately claimed by the Islamic State.

Both the United States and the European Union have urged the Kremlin to rule out as a hypothesis the participation of Ukraine in Friday’s terrorist attack.

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Meanwhile, the Basmanni Court in Moscow today decreed two-month pretrial detention for an eighth suspect involved in the terrorist attack.

This is Alisher Kasimov, 32, a Russian citizen of Kyrgysy origin who, according to the investigation, rented his apartment to the alleged perpetrators of the massacre.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia does not need Western help to investigate the attack, due to its “double standards”

“I’m sure we can take care of this investigation,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Namibian counterpart, Peya Mushelenga.

The head of Russian diplomacy added that if he accepts Western aid, it would “clearly contain double standards” in order to “promote” a version that suits the West.

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For Lavrov, that version consists of the fact that Ukraine “has nothing to do” with the terrorist attack, which left at least 139 dead and more than 180 injured.

In total, Russian security forces have arrested eleven people linked to the attack, claimed by the Islamic State, four of whom personally participated in the massacre.

On Tuesday, other senior Russian officials also spoke of the involvement of Kiev and Western countries in the tragedy, although they admitted that investigators have not yet established all those responsible for the crime.

International

Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.

“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.

“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.

Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”