Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 11 april 2019
Red Cross regains entry to Venezuela jails, military prisons

Associated Press er in what she said was re-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) taliation for her husband's
— The International Com- opposition to the govern-
mittee of the Red Cross has ment.
regained access to prisons She said that if not for remit-
in Venezuela, including tances sent by a relative in
highly guarded military fa- Spain, her husband could
cilities where dozens of in- starve on the scant rations
mates considered political provided by prison authori-
prisoners are being held, as ties.
President Nicolas Maduro While her husband told her
seeks to counter mounting he wasn't among the small
criticism of his government's group of prisoners allowed
human rights record. to speak with the Red Cross
The fact that the visits in- representatives, she was
clude military prisons, which hopeful the visit would help
hadn't been previously re- improve dire conditions for
ported, was confirmed to all inmates, many of whom
The Associated Press by a she said are suffering from
human rights lawyer and lack of medical attention
family members of those and claim to have been
detained. In this April 28, 2017 file photo, prison guards stand on the roof of the Ramo Verde military prison tortured. The AP was un-
International Red Cross in Los Teques, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela. able to independently veri-
President Peter Maurer met Associated Press fy those claims.
with Maduro Tuesday night "It's very important they talk
as he wraps up a five-day But others say it's a glim- and hold private conversa- cas, which holds 69 people to prisoners and see first-
visit to Venezuela, where mer of hope in an other- tions with inmates in which the opposition considers hand what's happening in-
the Geneva-based group is wise grim outlook for the they can voice complaints political prisoners. side," she said.
among international orga- country, opening normally and send messages to Sandra Hernandez, whose Red Cross officials declined
nizations trying to carve out thin-skinned authorities to loved ones. husband, Sgt. Luis Figueroa, to comment and the group
a space to deliver badly scrutiny — albeit of a con- But the group had been has been jailed at Ramo has made little mention of
needed humanitarian aid fidential nature — and denied access in Venezu- Verde since January for the prison visits, saying only
and technical assistance that along with renewed ela at least since 2012. leading a military uprising in a Tweet that it had be-
free of the winner-take-all engagement with interna- The renewed visits in Ven- against Maduro, was pres- gun visiting jails under the
politics contributing to the tional actors like the World ezuela began March 11 ent last week when a white auspices of civilian peni-
country's turmoil. Food Program and Pan when a Red Cross delega- vehicle emblazoned with tentiary authorities. It made
Critics say the prison visits, American Health Organi- tion visited a model prison the international Red Cross' no mention of the visits to
which were coordinated zation could possibly pave in Caracas, the Simon Bo- logo pulled up to the prison the military-run facilities.
directly with the socialist the way for political dia- livar Center for the Forma- entrance. Prisons Minister Iris Varela
government with little input logue. tion of New Men. Eighty- She was there for her once- has said the visit to the
from its opponents, have Red Cross representatives seven foreigners are being a-week visit, delivering ba- civilian facility, and oth-
the effect of legitimizing visit prisons every year in held. sic staples — pasta, rice ers to come, were part of
Maduro's rule at a time he's more than 100 countries, But more significant was and cheese — that have an effort to share with the
face mounting pressure following an established the visit two weeks later become harder to afford world Venezuela's positive
from the U.S. and dozens of protocol allowing it to verify to the military-run Ramo since she was fired from her experience rehabilitating
allies to resign. conditions of confinement Verde prison outside Cara- $7-a-month job as a teach- inmates.q

Judge orders detention of former Peruvian president

Associated Press placed in detention. tion crusade has rallied Pe-
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Peru- "This is a very difficult mo- ruvians accustomed to see-
vian judge on Wednesday ment for me," Kuczynski ing their leaders go unpun-
ordered the 10-day deten- wrote on Twitter. "But I will ished for financial crimes,
tion of former President Pe- confront it with fortitude said some of the payments
dro Pablo Kuczynksi as part of someone who has only were made when Kuczyns-
of a money laundering dreamed of a better coun- ki was serving as a Cabinet
probe into his consulting try." minister and overseeing
work for the company at The 80-year-old ex-head Odebrecht's construction
the heart of Latin America's of state resigned last year of a highway connecting
biggest graft scandal. after opposition lawmak- Peru to Brazil. Peru has gone
Special police agents ers seeking his impeach- farther than any other na-
gathered outside Kuczyns- ment revealed that his pri- tion outside Brazil in pros-
ki's neo-colonial mansion in vate consulting firm had ecuting politicians for their
Lima and later left with the received some $782,000 in ties to Odebrecht, which
former Wall Street banker in previously undisclosed pay- admitted in a plea agree-
In this photo provided by the Andina News Agency, Peru’s former a white SUV. ments from Brazilian con- ment with the U.S. Justice
President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, waves as he leaves a medi- He was taken to a prosecu- struction giant Odebrecht Department to doling out
cal branch of the prosecutor’s office, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, tor's office, where he was more than a decade ago. almost $800 million in bribes
April 10, 2019.
Associated Press expected to be examined Prosecutor Jose Domingo for business throughout Lat-
by a doctor before being Perez, whose anti-corrup- in America.q