International

Lula da Silva: Bolsonaro “will know that in this country the law is for everyone”

Former President Jair Bolsonaro “must prove his innocence” and, if he committed a crime, “he will know that in this country the law is for everyone,” said the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Thursday in statements to a local radio station in Rio de Janeiro.

“They will have the right to defend themselves and say it’s a lie. But if it is proven (the complaint filed by the Prosecutor’s Office) there is no other final solution than the condemnation,” he said in his interview on Rádio Tupi FM.

Lula repeated that “he is not going to speak for Justice,” although he described the complaint filed this Tuesday by the Prosecutor’s Office against the far-right leader and 33 other people as a “serious” act.

“The Workers’ Party was persecuted for almost 50 years without having done even 10% of what the team of the former president (Jair Bolsonaro) tried to do in this country,” said the progressive president.

Lula said he finds it “funny” that the accused for the attempted coup d’état of January 8, 2023, when thousands of extreme right-wing radicals violently invaded the headquarters of the Presidency, the Supreme Court and the Parliament, appeal for an amnesty.

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“What I find funny is that those people are condemning themselves asking for amnesty before being tried. The first thing they have to do is defend their innocence. They are saying that they are guilty asking for amnesty before being tried, and with that they deserve to be condemned,” he said.

“When the former president (Jair Bolsonaro) spends his time asking for amnesty, he is proving that he is guilty, he is proving that he committed a crime,” he said in the face of the efforts of conservative allies to present an amnesty project in the National Congress, which have become stronger after the complaint.

For the invasion of January 8, the Supreme Court has already convicted about 400 people for crimes similar to those that the former president may face.

In his first speech this Wednesday after the complaint, Lula had opted for a more moderate tone towards Bolsonaro, although in the same line.

In a press conference with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luis Montenegro, the president of Brazil commented that “if they prove that they did not try to strike a coup and that they did not try to kill the president, the vice president and a judge of the Supreme Court,” as the complaint says, “they will be free and will be able to travel throughout the country.”

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Even so, he stressed that “if the judges came to the conclusion that they are guilty, they will have to pay for the mistakes they made.”

Bolsonaro is one step away from sitting on the bench for five crimes, including “attempt to violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law”, “coup d’état” and “armed organization to commit crimes,” for which he can receive a 40-year prison sentence.

The defenses of the far-right leader and the other 33 accused of participating in the coup attempt now have a period of two weeks to present allegations.

International

Maduro urges UN to intervene for venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador

Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a third term in January following his controversial re-election, urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to intervene on behalf of Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador after being deported from the United States.

During a broadcast on the state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Maduro claimed these Venezuelans were “kidnapped”, forcibly disappeared, and held in “concentration camps.”

He also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for failing to release the list of migrants deported on March 16, who were allegedly accused of belonging to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, which originated in a Venezuelan prison.

“Reports say there are 238 Venezuelans kidnapped in prisons, in concentration camps, in El Salvador. A week after they were taken and thrown into these camps, neither the U.S. government nor Nayib Bukele have published the list of those they have kidnapped in El Salvador,” Maduro stated, calling it a “forced disappearance.”

International

Canada updates U.S. travel advisory amid immigration policy changes

In a coordinated action with several European allies, Canada has updated its travel advisory for citizens visiting the United States, citing changes in immigration policies and law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland have issued similar warnings, highlighting stricter border screenings, tighter visa restrictions, and new federal guidelines that particularly affect transgender and non-binary travelers.

These advisories reflect growing diplomatic concerns over how the recent U.S. policy shifts are impacting foreign visitors, especially tourists and long-term travelers. Additionally, this marks a rare instance in which multiple NATO allies publicly warn their citizens about travel to the United States.

International

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to meet with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on friday

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum next Friday.

According to statements made to Fox News, the Trump administration official will travel this week to El Salvador, Colombia, and Mexico.

On Wednesday, Noem is scheduled to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, with whom she will tour the mega-prison built to detain gang members in the country.

On Thursday, she will visit Colombia, where she will hold talks with President Gustavo Petro and top law enforcement officials.

On Friday, Noem will be in Mexico, where she is expected to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente.