Billionaire Proposes $1 Million Reward for Bolivia's Evo Morales
(Bloomberg) -- Bolivian-American billionaire Marcelo Claure floated the idea of offering a $1 million reward for ex-president Evo Morales, who is the subject of an arrest warrant.
Nice Airport, If You Can Get to It: No Subway, No Highway, No Bridge
Sin puente y sin metro: el nuevo aeropuerto de Lima es una debacle
The Forgotten French Architect Who Rebuilt Marseille
Citadel to Leave Namesake Chicago Tower as Employees Relocate
NYC Sees Pedestrian Traffic Increase in Congestion-Pricing Zone
Claure, in a post on x.com late on Saturday, said he would think about the reward, above a photograph of a wanted poster for Evo Morales, implying, but without saying as much, that the reward would be for information leading to the former president's arrest. Claure, a former COO of SoftBank, now manages his own investment fund and family office.
The billionaire has been wading deeper into Bolivia's election cycle, commissioning nationwide polls and saying he will back a yet-to-be-decided right-wing candidate to defeat the ruling socialist MAS party. On Saturday he said that the government of Luis Arce, a former ally of Morales turned rival, is making the country a joke and said that Bolivia was seen as uninvestable.
A Bolivian court last month ordered the arrest of the former president, who is being investigated for allegedly having a child with a minor. The government has accused groups linked to Morales of responsibility for attacks on the police.
Morales, speaking on his Sunday radio show, responded that Claure was either crazy or foolish, La Razon reported. Morales has not left the Tropico region of Bolivia's Cochabamba since October because of the arrest warrant against him, but he remains politically active in that area.
The country is suffering an economic crisis amid shortages of fuel and foreign currency. At the same time, the ruling socialist party is divided between supporters of President Arce and those loyal to Morales. Arce last year was forced to deny that he had faked a coup against his government in a bid to shore up his popularity. The fiscal deficit was near 11% of GDP last year, Finance Minister Marcelo Montenegro said on Thursday, and year-on-year inflation reached 12% in January.
The Reason Why This Super Bowl Has So Many Conspiracy Theories
Business Schools Confront Trump Immigration Policies
Orange Juice Makers Are Desperate for a Comeback
Believing in Aliens Derailed This Internet Pioneer's Career. Now He's Facing Prison
Inside Elon Musk's Attack on the US Government
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iranians react to new Trump travel ban as tensions are high between nations
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians again face a U.S. travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump, with the decision drawing anger, frustration and some shrugs given the decades of tensions between the countries. Trump imposed a similar ban during his first term before withdrawing America unilaterally from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, under which Iran drastically limited its program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. When he returned to the White House and began seeking a new deal with Iran, it saw the country's rial currency improve and stocks rise. But worries have grown as its government appears poised to reject an initial American proposal. The travel ban has further darkened that mood and led Iranians to fear Trump will lump the nation's 80 million people with its theocratic government even after he repeatedly praised them while seeking a deal. 'Now I understand that Trump is against all Iranians, and his attitude is not limited to the government,' said Asghar Nejati, a 31-year-old man working in a Tehran pharmacy. Even in the years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and subsequent U.S. Embassy hostage crisis, Iranian students traveled to the U.S. to attend universities. Between 2018 and 2024, an average of around 10,000 Iranian students went to the U.S. annually. Estimates suggest some 1 million Iranian-origin people live in the U.S. today. Mehrnoush Alipour, a 37-year-old graphic designer, said the nations could have better relations if they could spoke to each other in softer tones. 'This is another foolish decision. Trump cannot reach his goals by imposing pressures on ordinary Iranians," she said. "The two nations can have better relations through openings, not restrictions.' Bank teller Mahdieh Naderi said Trump was lashing out over his frustrated efforts to reach ceasefires in the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war. 'Trump just expressed his anger about his failed plans,' Naderi said. 'He is complaining about the Chinese and others who are living in the U.S., too Some said interest in the U.S. was already waning before the latest ban. 'Over the past years, two of my grandchildren went to Canada to continue their education there," said Mohammad Ali Niaraki, 75. "Iranians are not limited in immigration and they are not as interested to go to the U.S. as they were decades ago. Iranians prefer Canada, as well as neighboring countries with flourishing economies like the (United Arab) Emirates.' Others pointed out that high-ranking government officials have children living or working in the U.S., despite the tensions, and suggested that it would be fair to remove those as well. Tehran resident Mehri Soltani offered rare support for Trump's decision. 'Those who have family members in the U.S, it's their right to go, but a bunch of bad people and terrorists and murderers want to go there as well,' he said. 'So his policy is correct. He's doing the right thing.' ___ Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu falls short of forming gov't in latest voting projections
According to the survey, current opposition parties would secure 61 seats, excluding Arab parties, or 65 seats, including a party led by Naftali Bennett. Current projections indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would struggle to form a government if elections were held today, according to a Ma'ariv poll published Friday. According to the survey, the current opposition parties would secure 61 seats, excluding the Arab parties, or 65 seats, including a party led byNaftali Bennett. In both scenarios, Netanyahu would fall short of a majority. The survey found that Netanyahu still leads the opposition leaders in terms of suitability for prime minister, with a 17 percent advantage over Yair Lapid and a 10 percent lead over Benny Gantz. However, Naftali Bennett is seen as more suitable for the role than Netanyahu by the Israeli public, with 46 percent support compared to 39 percent for Netanyahu. The poll showed the following results (excluding a party led by Bennett): Likud, headed by Netanyahu, would receive 22 seats; Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, would win 19; the National Unity Party, headed by Benny Gantz, would get 15; the Democrats, headed by Yair Golan, would also receive 15; Yesh Atid, headed by Lapid, would get 12; Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, would secure 10; Otzma Yehudit, headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, would win nine; United Torah Judaism, led by Yitzhak Goldknopf and Moshe Gafni, would win eight; Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas, would secure five; and Hadash-Ta'al, led by Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, would get five. The Religious Zionist Party and Balad would not cross the electoral threshold. In the scenario where a party led by Bennett would run, it would receive 27 seats, overtaking Likud, which would then receive 20 seats. The Democrats would win 11; Yisrael Beytenu would secure 10; Shas and Yesh Atid would both win nine; the National Unity Party would secure eight; Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism would each get eight; Ra'am would win six; and Hadash-Ta'al would secure four. The survey also examined public opinion on an Israeli strike against Iran. A majority of Israelis (55 percent) expressed support for an attack. Of these, 34 percent favor an immediate strike even without US approval, while another 21 percent believe it should take place only with American approval. About 24 percent said Israel should wait for the outcome of negotiations between Iran and the United States, seven percent believe it is too late for an attack, and 14 percent are undecided. Among coalition voters, 56 percent support a strike even without US approval, compared with 34 percent among opposition voters, who prefer waiting for American approval. The poll, conducted for Ma'ariv by the Lazar Research Institute, led by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in collaboration with Panel4All, has a maximum sampling error of 4.4 percent.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
French grandmother files 'genocide' complaint over Gaza killings
The grandmother of two children with French nationality killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder", her lawyer said Friday. Jacqueline Rivault filed her complaint with the "crimes against humanity" section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said. Rivault hopes the fact her daughter's children, aged six and nine, were French citizens means the country's judiciary will decide it has jurisdiction to designate a magistrate to investigate the allegations. Rights groups, lawyers and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". But Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the explosive term. The complaint states that "two F16 missiles fired by the Israeli army" killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023. They and their family had sought refuge in another home "between Faluja and Beit Lahia" after leaving their own two days earlier due to heavy bombardment, the 48-page document stated. One missile entered "through the roof and the second directly into the room where the family was", it said. Abderrahim was killed instantly, while his sister Janna died shortly after being taken to hospital. The complaint argues the "genocide" allegation is based on the air strike being part of a larger Israeli project to "eliminate the Palestinian population and submit it to living conditions of a nature to entail the destruction of their group". Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the military. - Mother convicted - The children's brother Omar was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said. A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a "terrorist" group over distributing money in Gaza to members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. No court has so far ruled the ongoing conflict is a genocide. But in rulings in January, March and May 2024, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza. The International Criminal Court has issued arrests against Netanyahu and ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the October 7 attack, but the case against him was dropped in February after confirmation Israel had killed him. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan initially sought warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh as well, but dropped those applications after their deaths in Israeli attacks. gd/ah/sjw/jhb
