International
EU demands end to Venezuela’s judicial actions against opponents as fraud claims mount
On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) called on the Venezuelan government to end its “judicial intimidation campaign” against opposition leaders, following the opening of a criminal investigation against two opposition figures amid allegations of election fraud.
Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, urged Venezuelan authorities to “stop this intimidation campaign,” emphasizing that the EU is “deeply concerned” about the unfolding situation in Venezuela.
Following the July 28 elections, which were marred by fraud allegations, the National Electoral Council (CNE), accused by the opposition of bias towards the ruling chavismo, declared incumbent President Nicolás Maduro re-elected with 52% of the vote compared to 43% for González Urrutia, without releasing official election documents. Opposition reports, which were published, showed González Urrutia with 67% versus Maduro’s 30%.
On Monday, opposition leaders María Corina Machado and González Urrutia urged the military in an open letter to side “with the people” and end the “repression” of protests. González Urrutia signed the letter as “elected president,” while Maduro has also claimed victory.
Shortly after, Venezuela’s attorney general announced a criminal investigation against Machado and González Urrutia for “open incitement to police and military officials to disobey the laws.” They are also accused of “usurpation of functions” and “incitement to insurrection.”
The EU stated on Sunday that the results of Venezuela’s elections, which declared Maduro the winner, “cannot be recognized.”
Unlike the United States and other countries, the EU has refrained from recognizing the opposition candidate’s victory.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
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