Brazil: Justice grants goalkeeper Bruno freedom
Bruno Fernandes, former owner of Flamengo who was sentenced to 20 years and 9 months for the death of Eliza Samudio, who was expecting a child by him, was released by Carioca judge Ana Paula Abreu Filgueiras. From now on, Bruno is free. 12 years ago Bruno had killed his ex-girlfriend’s remains and then fed a friend’s Rottweilers whose body was never found.
A priest in Brasilia offers Bolsonarists sanctuary in the church
In a note, Father Geraldo Gama, from Capela Santa Luzia (poor satellite town near Brasilia), thanked everyone for their “generosity and concern” and specified that his church had received more than 400 people “arrested, humiliated by the PF and evacuated at dawn on Tuesday”. “Many fasted without money, papers or cellphones to return to their home states. Today the last group will return to their home state. Thank God there was no lack of volunteers and material help for food and ticket purchases. Therefore, at the moment we do not need any further donations and volunteers,” said the priest. “There are a great number of good people who are unjustly imprisoned. Therefore, let us pray to our God of Mercy and Justice to strengthen these people and deliver them from evil by offering our sacrifices and fasting.”
The oil that Maduro rescues, Chevron begins shipping it to the United States
Without much explanation or formal announcement, the White House ushered in a new phase of its Venezuela policy earlier this year, the culmination of a breakthrough that has occurred since Joe Biden took office. This decision by the Biden team, which once again places Nicolás Maduro and the regime as the only and necessary interlocutors for the United States, has led critics of the president and his policy towards Venezuela to question whether the oil deal is seen in the context of scarcity and inflation , caused by the war in Ukraine, is more important than democracy and human rights. Elliott Abrams, special envoy for Venezuela to the previous administration, describes the situation this way: “Perhaps the Biden administration has simply abandoned progress towards democracy in Venezuela, and perhaps the lobbying by Chevron and other oil companies simply outweighs any desire for democracy promote and human rights”. Writing in the US magazine National Review, he wrote: “Thinking of those fighting to restore democracy in Venezuela who now know their fate has been downgraded to a very low priority in the White House and in Biden’s State Department than a few thousand barrels of oil.”
Paolo Manzo, January 15, 2023
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