World
How Venezuela’s recent history can inform its present-day election crisis
Already, the toll of the current political unrest has been high. Since the July election, at least 23 people have died in Venezuela’s protests, according to Victim Monitor, a human rights group. Foro Penal, meanwhile, has documented 1,581 arrests.
Some critics have speculated that, if Maduro continues to lose popular support, the Venezuelan military could turn on him.
Even the opposition’s presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, urged the country’s security forces to “fulfil their constitutional duties” and not “repress the people”.
Straka, the historian, pointed out that the Venezuelan military has turned its back on leaders in the past, most notably in the case of the dictator Perez Jimenez.
That the military played a role in his downfall took “everyone by surprise”, Straka explained. “The armed forces — Perez Jimenez’s main support — were divided.”
But that outcome is less likely in Maduro’s case, according to Gunson, the Venezuela expert at the International Crisis Group. He indicated that some military leaders could face prosecution without Maduro’s protection.
“If the military were to desert Maduro, his government would fall,” Gunson told Al Jazeera. “But the high command is unlikely to do that in the near future at least because it would threaten their own personal positions.”
In recent weeks, the military even reaffirmed its support for Maduro amid the election crisis.
On August 25, the Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) pledged their “absolute loyalty and subordination to the commander-in-chief of the FANB, President Nicolas Maduro”.
Still, Gunson believes the military might not be as unified as it appears.
“There is no reason to believe that members of the security forces voted any differently from the rest of the population,” Gunson said, pointing to the widespread support for Venezuela’s opposition coalition.
“There are plenty of anecdotes to support the thesis that many members of the National Guard and the police sympathise with demonstrators,” he added. “In recent years, thousands of members of the armed forces have deserted, and many have left the country.”
The strength of the opposition has given Tenreiro — the woman who witnessed the fall of Perez Jimenez over 60 years ago — a measure of hope. She said she wishes to see another authoritarian leader topple in her lifetime.
“I don’t want to leave this world before seeing the start of change [in Venezuela] once again.”
World
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World
Brazilian mayoral candidate hospitalized after rival attacks him with metal chair: Watch
A televised mayoral debate in Sao Paulo, Brazil got heated Sunday night, after one of the six candidates attacked another candidate with a metal chair.
The Associated Press reported that Pablo Marcal, a personal development influencer turned right-wing politician, spoke about allegations against one of his opponents, José Luiz Datena, a former TV presenter turned candidate, during the debate.
Marcal said Datena had wanted to slap him, adding, “You’re not even man enough to do this.”
Datena was then seen during the live video walking toward Marcal’s podium with a metal chair over his head and slamming into Marcal’s side as he raised his arms.
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Immediately following the attack, the debate moderator for TV Cultura interrupted the event and cut to commercials. The debate later resumed on Sunday night without Marcal.
Rather than continue the debate, Marcal was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, where he reportedly received respiratory support.
On Monday, he explained to his followers that he felt pain while breathing and suffered a fracture on the bottom of his rib cage.
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Hospital officials said in a statement that Marcal suffered “trauma to the right chest region and right wrist without major associated complications,” adding that he had been discharged.
Marcal called the incident an “attempted homicide” on social media, even comparing it to the attempted assassination of former President Trump in July, and to the stabbing of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018.
An inquiry into Datena’s alleged misconduct never resulted in charges, the Associated Press reported, and the issue was shelved after the accuser retracted her statements.
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Datena has also denied the accusations.
After the debate, Datena told reporters the episode had been painful for him because he believes it prompted his mother-in-law to suffer a series of strokes and later dying.
On Monday, Datena acknowledged making a mistake during the debate, though he had no regrets.
“If the circumstances were the same, I would not refrain from repeating the gesture, an extreme response to a history of aggression perpetrated against me and many others by my adversary,” he said.
Marcal’s campaign team said the debate should not have continued without him, adding they hope legal measures are taken against Datena.
On Sunday night, the incident was logged with Sao Paulo’s public security agency as “bodily injury and insult.” An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
US rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested in New York
Charges against Combs not immediately clear as lawyer criticises ‘unjust’ prosecution.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, the American rapper and music producer, has been arrested in New York after being indicted by a grand jury.
The charges on which Combs was arrested on Monday were not immediately clear.
Combs’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo issued a statement expressing disappointment at the authorities’ decision to pursue an “unjust prosecution” against the rap mogul.
“Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.
“To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts.”
In March, federal authorities carried out raids on properties belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami.
Combs has also been accused of sexual assault and misconduct in a number of lawsuits since November, when his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura sued him for alleged physical and sexual abuse.
Combs and Ventura settled the suit the day after it was filed, without disclosing the terms of the agreement.
Combs has vehemently denied the accusations in the suits against him, saying his accusers were seeking “a quick payday”.
In May, Combs was thrust back into controversy when CNN aired a leaked video of the rapper violently grabbing, dragging and kicking Ventura in 2016.
Combs publicly apologised after the release of the video, calling his actions “inexcusable”.
Combs, who has also gone by the names Puffy Daddy and Love, became one of the most successful producers in the history of rap after founding Bad Boy in the early 1990s.
During his three-decade long career, he has worked with a slew of top-selling artists including the Notorious B.I.G. Mary J. Blige and Usher.
Combs has also ventured into businesses outside of music, including a fashion label, a fragrance brand and a range of alcoholic drinks.
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