logo
Bukele criticises Venezuela over migrant abuse investigation

Bukele criticises Venezuela over migrant abuse investigation

The Sun4 days ago
SAN SALVADOR: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has strongly criticised Venezuela after its government announced an investigation into alleged mistreatment of migrants deported from the US and detained in El Salvador.
The dispute follows a recent prisoner exchange involving over 250 migrants held in El Salvador's CECOT prison.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab stated that an inquiry has been launched against Bukele and other Salvadoran officials for alleged crimes against humanity.
The migrants, detained for nearly four months, reportedly endured sexual abuse, beatings, and poor living conditions.
Bukele responded on social media, accusing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government of hypocrisy.
'They were satisfied with the exchange agreement, which is why they accepted it,' he said.
He suggested Venezuela's anger stemmed from losing leverage over the US, as the deal included the release of 10 American detainees.
The migrants were deported to El Salvador in March after the US invoked wartime laws to bypass court hearings.
Human rights groups condemned the move, with many arguing the deportees had no gang affiliations.
Venezuelan authorities confirmed that the returned migrants are undergoing medical checks and receiving new identification before reuniting with their families. – AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US drops sanctions on Myanmar junta allies after Trump praise
US drops sanctions on Myanmar junta allies after Trump praise

The Star

time6 minutes ago

  • The Star

US drops sanctions on Myanmar junta allies after Trump praise

A trishaw driver rides as his passenger uses an umbrella to cover themselves from the rain in Yangon on July 21, 2025. -- Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP YANGON (AFP): The United States has lifted sanctions on several allies of Myanmar's ruling general and their military-linked firms, a US Treasury notice shows, after the junta chief sent a glowing letter of praise to President Donald Trump. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a 2021 coup, deposing the civilian government and sparking a civil war that has killed thousands, leaving 3.5 million displaced and half the nation in poverty. Two weeks ago, the top general sent a letter to Trump, responding to his threat of tariffs by lauding his presidency with praise, including for shutting down US-funded media outlets covering the conflict. A US Treasury notice on Thursday said sanctions were dropped against KT Services and Logistics, the Myanmar Chemical and Machinery Company, and Suntac Technologies -- as well as their managers. In a statement, a US Treasury Department spokesperson denied there was an "ulterior motive" in the move, although the notice did not provide a reason for the removals. "Anyone suggesting these sanctions were lifted for an ulterior motive is uninformed and peddling a conspiracy theory driven by hatred for President Trump," said the spokesperson, on condition of anonymity. They added that individuals were "regularly added and removed" from the sanctions list "in the ordinary course of business." KT Services and Logistics and its CEO Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung were described as junta "cronies" when they were sanctioned in 2022 for leasing Yangon's port from a military firm for $3 million a year. The Myanmar Chemical and Machinery Company and its owner, Aung Hlaing Oo, and Suntac Technologies owner Sit Taing Aung were sanctioned later that year for producing arms, including tanks and mortars. A third Myanmar national, Tin Latt Min -- who the US previously described as owning "various companies that are closely related to the regime" -- was also removed from the sanctions list. Trump sent a letter to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing earlier this month, one among a raft of missives despatched to foreign leaders during his global tariff blitz. The letter -- believed to be Washington's first public recognition of the junta's rule since the coup -- threatened Myanmar with a 40 percent levy unless a trade deal was struck. Min Aung Hlaing responded with a multi-page letter expressing his "sincere appreciation" for Trump's message and praising his "strong leadership". - AFP

ICJ climate ruling not binding — but a powerful ‘shield and sword' for global justice and climate-vulnerable nations
ICJ climate ruling not binding — but a powerful ‘shield and sword' for global justice and climate-vulnerable nations

Malay Mail

time35 minutes ago

  • Malay Mail

ICJ climate ruling not binding — but a powerful ‘shield and sword' for global justice and climate-vulnerable nations

PARIS, July 26 — The world's top court may not be able to compel polluting states to halt planet-warming emissions, but experts say its momentous climate decision gives potent legal and political firepower to countries and campaigners on the frontlines. An advisory opinion like the one issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week is not binding and so is not directly enforceable, but that does not mean it has no weight. By saying that all countries were firmly bound to a swathe of legal obligations under existing laws and treaties, experts say the ruling will influence courts, climate negotiations and policy decisions across the world. The ICJ 'couldn't have been clearer' on the binding nature of a range of climate duties, said Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Professor of Law and Director of the Climate Law Accelerator at New York University. He said the ruling, which was responding to questions on countries' climate responsibilities from the UN General Assembly, was 'as strong as we could have imagined'. 'The consensus among the judges is fully behind the conclusion that international law establishes clear and binding obligations for states not to cause massive harm to the environment in general and not to harm the climate system in particular,' he told AFP. Schoolchildren from the Suango Mele primary and secondary school, located in the village of Mele, north of the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila, hold signs as they pose for a photograph on July 24, 2025. — AFP pic These included ensuring national climate plans reflect the highest possible ambition to stay within the Paris agreement's safer global warming cap of 1.5C above pre-industrial times — a level that the world could reach this decade. If those obligations are not met, the court said states may be obliged to repair damaged infrastructure or ecosystems — and if that is not possible, they could face compensation claims. This will ripple into future litigation, said Markus Gehring, professor of European and international law at the University of Cambridge. 'We are a far cry from a contentious case between two countries, where someone is demanding liability for past and present climate change damage, but in theory, the court lays out an avenue towards such claims,' he said. Climate activists and campaigners demonstrate outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ahead of the reading of an advisory opinion that is likely to determine the course of future climate action across the world, The Hague July 23, 2025. — Reuters pic 'Wrongful act' Major petrostates like the United States may take little heed of the court's warning that expanding production of oil, gas and coal could constitute an 'internationally wrongful act'. But Gehring said countries could choose to ignore ICJ advisory opinions 'at their peril'. He cited the court's 2019 advice that the United Kingdom should end its occupation of the Chagos islands. After Britain initially rejected the ruling, a UN General Assembly resolution demanded it cede the islands to Mauritius, which it eventually did in 2024. Gehring said that while the court's climate decision is not directly binding on individual states, it would be indirectly binding through subsequent domestic or international court action and through UN institutions. The move by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris deal also would be unlikely to absolve the country from its duties, Gehring added, because the obligation to address climate change is now 'crystal clear in international law'. 'So even leaving the Paris Agreement and the climate treaty regime does not eliminate those obligations,' he said. ICJ judge Sarah Cleveland said countries' 'significant responsibilities' to protect the climate system may also affect interpretation of international investment law. Schoolchildren from the Suango Mele primary and secondary school, located in the village of Mele, north of the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila, hold signs as they pose for a photograph on July 24, 2025. — AFP pic 'Shield and sword' The ruling was 'a decisive legal vindication' for Vanuatu — which spearheaded the push for an ICJ opinion — the country said in a legal analysis of the decision. The Pacific island nation, which is at risk from rising seas, said the court's conclusions would strengthen its hand in global climate negotiations, helping it demand greater climate ambition and attract financial support for countries suffering climate loss and damage. It could also open the way for legal action against countries and possibly companies that have by their actions and omissions caused climate harm, the statement said. 'For Vanuatu, the opinion is both shield and sword: a shield affirming its right to survival and a sword compelling the world's major emitters to act in line with science and justice,' it added. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, former president of the UN COP20 climate conference in Peru and now WWF Global Climate and Energy lead, said he expects the ICJ ruling to 'move the needle strongly'. 'The timing is so fantastic because we are in difficult times in the climate debate, so to have that opinion in the current time, it is showing that we should never lose our hope,' he told AFP. — AFP

‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes
‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

Malay Mail

timean hour ago

  • Malay Mail

‘Relations used to be good, we were like siblings': Fleeing civilians plead for peace amid deadly Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

KANTHARAROM (Thailand), July 26 — As Cambodia and Thailand traded deadly strikes, fleeing civilians on both sides described their cross-border neighbours as 'siblings' and 'friends' — swapping calls for peace against the backdrop of artillery barrages. The death toll from three days of fighting has risen to 33, the majority civilians, after a long-running border dispute sharply escalated into combat waged with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops. 'Relations used to be good — we were like siblings,' said 56-year-old Sai Boonrod, one of hundreds of Thais sheltering at a temple in the town of Kanthararom after evacuating her border village home. 'But now things may have changed,' she told AFP. 'I just want the fighting to end so we can go back to being like siblings again.' Over the Cambodian border, 150 kilometres from Sai's temporary home, a similar scene plays out: hundreds of evacuees huddled in makeshift tents on a temple site, surrounded by emergency food rations and their hastily packed clothes. 'We are neighbours, we want to be friends,' one 50-year-old told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity at the temple shelter in Phumi Bak Thkav. 'But they are attacking us. We are fleeing homes because of them.' Tensions have long flared over the countries' shared 800-kilometre border, peppered with ancient temple sites claimed by both nations. The previous most deadly clashes broke out between 2008 and 2011 — leaving at least 28 people dead. But stretching her legs on a bamboo mat, Sai said 'it was never this violent' in previous times. She is one of more than 170,000 evacuated from the countries' border zones, but her husband stayed behind to help guard neighbours' livestock and belongings. 'I want them to negotiate, to stop firing quickly... so the elderly can return home and the children can go back to school,' she said. The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting yesterday and both sides have said they are open to a truce — but accused the other of undermining armistice efforts. Evacuees displaced by the ongoing conflict between Thailand and Cambodia rest at a makeshift evacuation center inside a Buddhist temple in the Thai border province of Si Sa Ket July 26, 2025. — AFP pic 'End the fighting' This flare-up began with a gun battle in late May killing one Cambodian soldier, and festered with tit-for-tat trade restrictions and border closures before hostilities spiked on Thursday. At 73 years old, Suwan Promsri has lived through many episodes of border friction — but said this one feels 'so much different'. He said resentment of Cambodians among Thais — including himself — is growing, with patriotic online discourse fanning the flames. In February, Bangkok formally protested to Phnom Penh after a video of women singing a patriotic Khmer song in front of a disputed temple was posted on social media. The fighting has also been accompanied by a wave of online misinformation and disinformation from both sides. 'Before the internet, I felt indifferent,' said Suwan. 'But social media really plays a part in fuelling this hatred.' Despite the divisions, he is united with his Thai neighbours, and those over the border in Cambodia, in his calls for peace. 'I want the government to realise that people along the border are suffering. Life is difficult,' he said. 'I hope the authorities work on negotiations to end the fighting as soon as possible.' — AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store