International
Gisèle Pelicot, the victim of hundreds of rapes orchestrated by her husband, testified again at the trial
Gisèle Pelicot, the victim of hundreds of rapes orchestrated by her husband when she was under the influence of drugs, will testify again in the trial opened in early September in Avignon, in the south of France, to try to clarify some of the points that have been addressed in the process.
The victim’s statement has raised media expectations for the process, which had fallen in recent days, and which should last until December 20.
Pelicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, assured France Bleu radio that his client “has heard many things, which have sometimes hurt, hurt and scandalized her,” while pointing out that this new testimony in the middle of the trial “will allow the case to be better judged.”
Symbol against male domination
Turned into a symbol against male domination, Gisèle Pelicot has attended almost all of the trial sessions, has listened to the testimonies of the defendants and the projection of the images recorded by her husband of the alleged rapes.
The last time he took the floor was to denounce “a humiliation” in some of the testimonies and in the strategies of some of the defenses: “They came to rape me, it’s so degrading what I hear in this room.”
In the vicinity of the Court of Avignon, several banners could be seen in support of Gisèle Pelicot and the victims of sexual abuse.
“A rape is a rape,” says one of those banners, while another read “Welcome our sisters in support of Gisèle,” a reference to the group of Spanish feminists who attended the demonstration that took place last Saturday in front of the court in support of the victim.
As is tradition, upon arrival in court Gisèle Pelicot was applauded, as a sign of support for a case that has become a cause with which this woman wants “shame to change sides”, that the victims stop being questioned, as she herself denounced that she was, and that the events she suffered for almost 10 years are never repeated.
Giséle Pelicot: “I also had an exceptional man”
Gisèle Pelicot reminded the women who today supported her relatives accused that she also had “an exceptional man.”
“These mothers, sisters, women, have said that their brothers and husbands were exceptional. I also had an exceptional man, but the profile of the rapist can be in the family, in the friends,” he said on Wednesday when he intervened again as a witness in the Court of Avignon (southeast).
This woman, who has become an authentic feminist symbol in France, explained that every day she goes to trial for all the victims of rape and for those women and men who support her day after day, with applause in the courts and with messages through social networks.
“I have realized that I don’t have to be ashamed, I have nothing to reproach myself for, I have suffered 100 violations,” he said.
He also said that his request for an open trial and his consent to have videos of the rapes shown is because he wants “all rape victims to be able to say that, if Mrs. Pelicot did it, we can do it too.”
“I don’t want them to be afraid, we don’t have to be ashamed, it’s them,” he insisted.
However, she acknowledged that she is “destroyed” at the age of 72: “I am a completely destroyed woman and I don’t know how I’m going to get up. I don’t know if my life will give me to understand everything that has happened to me.”
International
79-Year-Old ICE Detainee Faces Hearing as Family Warns His Health Is Rapidly Deteriorating
Paul John Bojerski, a 79-year-old man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida, will face a hearing before an immigration judge on Tuesday as his family warns that his health has sharply deteriorated due to detention conditions.
Bojerski was arrested on October 30 during a mandatory ICE appointment in Orlando. Although he has lived in the United States for more than seven decades, he never obtained U.S. citizenship. Born in a refugee camp in Germany after World War II, he legally immigrated with his family in 1952 at the age of five and has lived since then in the city of Sanford.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, his record includes criminal convictions from the 1960s and 1970s, which led to a deportation order that authorities did not carry out at the time.
In July, ICE warned him that he had to leave the country voluntarily. He was instructed to return on October 30 with a travel plan, but was unable to do so because he has no passport and no country willing to receive him. As a result, he was arrested and transported for eight hours to the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” located in the middle of the Everglades west of Miami.
Immigrant rights organizations have denounced “inhumane” conditions at that facility, which opened in July, reporting issues such as spoiled food, lack of medical care, limited access to drinking water, mosquito infestations, and difficulty contacting the outside world.
His family says Bojerski has lost mobility since being detained. He previously walked unassisted, but now uses a wheelchair, has been left without his usual treatment for chronic back problems, and reportedly fell to the floor of his cell without receiving help for hours.
He is currently being held at the Krome detention center in Miami, where a judge will determine on Tuesday whether he can be released on bond.
International
Trump: “I Don’t Rule Out Anything” When Asked About Troops for Venezuela
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he may speak at some point with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and did not rule out the possibility of sending American troops to the South American nation.
Trump’s remarks come amid heightened tensions over the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean aimed at combating drug trafficking. Venezuela views the operation as a step toward toppling Maduro, whom Washington accuses of leading a “terrorist” organization involved in narcotics trafficking.
“At some point, I will talk to him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Maduro “has not been good for the United States,” he added.
When asked whether he ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela, Trump replied, “No, I don’t rule it out. I don’t rule out anything.”
“We have to take care of Venezuela,” he continued. “They have sent hundreds of thousands of people from their prisons into our country.”
International
Armed Civilians Block Roads in Michoacán Amid Operation Targeting Criminal Leader
Armed civilians blocked several highways in the western Mexican state of Michoacán on Monday in response to a security operation targeting a criminal leader, just a week after President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government reinforced the presence of federal forces in the region.
The federal deployment was increased following the early November shooting death of Carlos Manzo, mayor of the municipality of Uruapan. His killing sparked protests and widespread demands for justice.
Michoacán is home to major drug trafficking groups such as the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and La Nueva Familia Michoacana—both designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” by U.S. President Donald Trump in February.
“Following an operation to apprehend a priority target (a criminal leader), armed civilians set up roadblocks and burned vehicles at various highway points in La Piedad, Zamora, and Pátzcuaro,” the Michoacán Public Security Secretariat reported on X.
“Our Civil Guard is already clearing the roads; two suspected individuals were killed,” the agency added, without specifying the intended target of the operation.
Organized crime groups in Mexico frequently block roads to prevent the capture of their leaders or to hinder law enforcement activities.
The blockades also occurred just hours before a new state public security secretary took office. José Antonio Cruz—a former official of the local prosecutor’s office and former National Guard executive—assumed the position, replacing Juan Carlos Oseguera.
The killing of Mayor Manzo during a public Day of the Dead event on November 1 triggered protests throughout Michoacán. During demonstrations held Saturday in Mexico City, participants also demanded justice for the crime.
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