Articles in this Cluster
21-07-2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced visa restrictions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his immediate family members, citing a "political witch hunt" against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Moraes had issued search warrants and restraining orders against Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office. Bolsonaro is prohibited from contacting foreign officials, using social media, or approaching embassies, and has an ankle monitor on him. The US has also seen tensions rise between the two countries, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods in support of Bolsonaro.
21-07-2025
Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as "Fito" and leader of the Ecuadorean gang Los Choneros, has been extradited to the US to face charges of drug and arms trafficking. He was recaptured in June after escaping from a high-security prison a year earlier. Macías is suspected of ordering the assassination of a presidential candidate and is linked to powerful criminal organisations. He will appear in a US federal court on Monday, where his lawyer says he will plead not guilty. Ecuador has become a major transit point for cocaine, with over 70% of the world's cocaine passing through its ports.
21-07-2025
Brazilian police raided the home of former President Jair Bolsonaro and enforced a Supreme Court ruling that he wear an electronic ankle tag. Bolsonaro is being accused of plotting to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election, charges he denies.
21-07-2025
Brazilian police searched the home and political headquarters of former President Jair Bolsonaro after the country's Supreme Court issued warrants and restraining orders. Bolsonaro is prohibited from contacting foreign officials, using social media, and approaching embassies, and has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He is also banned from leaving home between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and from contacting his son, Eduardo. The search and restraining orders were issued due to concerns that Bolsonaro might try to flee.
21-07-2025
The US has secured the release of 10 Americans detained in Venezuela through a prisoner swap involving El Salvador. The Americans, including a former Navy SEAL, were exchanged for 252 Venezuelans who were deported from the US to El Salvador earlier this year and were being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison. The Venezuelan government also released dozens of people described as political prisoners and detainees. The swap was described as a "humanitarian" deal by US officials, who denied that sanctions were discussed. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele claimed his country had proposed the swap to Venezuela in April.
21-07-2025
More than 250 Venezuelan migrants living in the US were detained in immigration raids and sent to a notorious jail, with many having no prior ties to the nation. The detainees were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the US and Venezuela, where ten Americans were being held. The migrants were held in the CECOT maximum-security jail, where human rights abuses, including beatings and torture, were documented. The US had paid the El Salvador government to imprison the men, claiming they were part of a dangerous gang, although evidence was limited. The released migrants, like Arturo Suarez, are reuniting with family in Caracas after being flown back from El Salvador.
