Page 11 - atoday

WORLD NEWS A11
Friday 16 October 2015

Brazil ex-president testifies in influence peddling probe

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, looks at a paid to sway foreign lead- ian construction firms and spread the word about
document with Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff during a Central ers into awarding inflated leading lawmakers. these companies abroad,
Workers Union convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil. contracts to Brazilian con- In his testimony, Silva de- aiming to generate jobs
struction giant Odebrecht nied any suggestion of im- and currency for Brazil.”
(AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) and pushed Brazil’s state propriety in his activities, his The statement said that
development bank to give foundation said. “ex-presidents from the
the company well over $1 “Lula stressed that he ‘nev- whole world” assume simi-
billion in low-interest loans. er interfered’ in any con- lar roles, adding that “he
Top executives at Odebre- tract concluded between also stressed that this was a
cht have been implicated the BNDES and private source of pride for him.”
in a separate kickbacks- companies,” the statement Under Brazilian law, influ-
for-contracts scheme at said, referring to the former ence peddling to obtain
Brazil’s state-run oil giant, leader by his nickname, advantages from a pub-
Petrobras, a case has also as Silva is widely known in lic servant or institution is
engulfed other top Brazil- Brazil. “He always tried to illegal.q

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — For- hours at the federal public
mer President Luiz Inacio prosecutor’s office in the
Lula da Silva testified Thurs- capital, Brasilia.
day before Brazilian fed- He was questioned in an
eral prosecutors who are investigation centering on
investigating allegations of trips Silva made to several
influence peddling, the ex- developing nations, includ-
leader’s foundation said. ing Angola and Cuba, af-
In a statement, the Instituto ter leaving office. Prosecu-
Lula said Silva voluntarily tors are looking into ques-
appeared for about 1 1/2 tions of whether Silva was

Exiled opposition leader Rosales

returns to Venezuela, is arrested

HANNAH DREIER Rosales was governor of
Associated Press the western state of Zulia,
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) where he returned Thurs-
— A Venezuelan opposi- day. He ran for president
tion leader who had been in 2006 and lost to Hugo
living in self-imposed exile Chavez.
was arrested Thursday af- He went into exile in 2009,
ter returning to the socialist fleeing to Peru and then
South American country. Panama after prosecutors
Former Gov. Manuel Ro- accused him of stealing
sales flew into Venezuela public money. He says the
on Thursday after six years charges are false and po-
as a fugitive. Intelligence litically motivated.
police met him at the air- Supporters and other op-
port and took him into cus- position leaders rallied near
tody. He was expected to the airport Thursday. The
appear in a Caracas court country’s main opposition
later in the day. groups immediately began
Before his arrest, Rosales denouncing his arrest as
vowed to continue fight- arbitrary and further evi-
ing the country’s 16-year- dence of a broken justice
old socialist administration system. Last month, Ven-
and urged Venezuelans to ezuelan opposition leader
vote in Dec. 6 legislative Leopoldo Lopez was sen-
elections. Authorities had tenced to more than 10
warned him days earlier years in prison for his role in
that he would be detained leading anti-government
if he came back. protests in 2014.q