Venezuelan opposition member details harrowing 400-day captivity at UN
He and his colleagues were effectively trapped inside the Argentine Embassy in Caracas — where the opposition members fled to, and were sheltered due to the diplomatic status of the embassy.
The opposition figures were under siege by regime forces who made their lives extremely difficult due to their control of the utilities. Urruchurtu told the council he had endured "five months without electricity, three minutes of water every ten days, rifles pointed at the windows, and dogs trained to bite; only because those in power considered it a crime to direct the campaigns of Maria Corina Machado in the opposition primaries and Edmundo González in the presidential elections. Both won."
Opinion: America Needs A Venezuela Deal That Only President Trump Can Deliver
"Today I am here despite the state, and not thanks to it, because if it were up to it, I would be missing or dead," Urruchurtu said.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the council that since May 1, 2024, the human rights situation in Venezuela has only gotten worse. The people have experienced "arbitrary detentions, violations of due process and enforced disappearances, amid continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment."
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Türk revealed that his office had documented 32 people — 15 of them adolescents — who reported being tortured and ill-treated in detention. He also noted that 28 people had been subjected to enforced disappearance after the country's parliamentary elections, which took place in May 2025. He said their whereabouts remain unknown and that at least 12 of them were foreign nationals who "do not have access to consular assistance."
Venezuelan Opposition Promises Reparations To Laken Riley's Family, Other Victims Of Tren De Aragua Violence
"The world must no longer look away from the brutal reality of what the once-beautiful Venezuela has become. Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression. Pedro's voice today represents the cries of thousands of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned, persecuted or forced into exile, as slaves to the regime," UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a post on X on May 6 that the opposition members, including Urruchurtu, had been rescued in "a precise operation" and brought to the U.S. A few weeks later, Rubio met with the released opposition members. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Rubio had commended the Venezuelan opposition members for their "bravery in the face of Maduro's relentless repression and tyranny."
Neuer also expressed gratitude for the Trump administration and Rubio's actions, which led to Urruchurtu's release.
"Thank you to the Trump administration and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for their critical role in securing Pedro's release and the release of his comrades. Once again, proving that strong, principled diplomacy saves lives and advances the cause of freedom for the world," Neuer told Fox News Digital.Original article source: Venezuelan opposition member details harrowing 400-day captivity at UN
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Division among Brazilians over Bolsonaro house arrest order could set the tone for next election
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Associated Press
26 minutes ago
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Division among Brazilians over Bolsonaro house arrest order could set the tone for next election
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Washington Post
26 minutes ago
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Division among Brazilians over Bolsonaro house arrest order could set the tone for next election
SAO PAULO — Brazilians were divided Tuesday over a house arrest order against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office . The division could set the tone for next year's general election. Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday issued the order in a case that has gripped the South American country even as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration. Supporters of the far-right leader and some moderates see the ruling as harsh, while allies of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other moderates want to move on and leave the issue for the judiciary. Creomar de Souza, a political analyst with Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, said that could be the dynamic of next year's election. 'One is the effort of Bolsonaro supporters to keep strong on the right, no matter if it is pushing for amnesty in congress or putting themselves physically out there,' the analyst said. 'The second is how the Lula administration will try to show that the country has a government.' Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who put Bolsonaro on trial for his alleged role in the coup plot to keep him in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election, ordered the 70-year-old former president's arrest for violating precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons. That decision followed one from the court last month ordering Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and to obey a curfew while the proceedings are underway. The polarization between supporters and critics of the former president took Brazil's congress by storm Tuesday and was also reflected in figures from pollster Quaest, which say 53% are favorable to the order against the far-right leader and 47% against it. Analysts expect another narrow election next year, with Lula running for reelection and Bolsonaro barred. The political repercussions in Brazil are getting attention from the U.S. government as President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation. Late on Monday, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs condemned the far-right leader's order for house arrest and attacked de Moraes. Since de Moraes' order, Bolsonaro allies are pledging to stop congress unless an amnesty bill is passed in favor of the far-right leader and his supporters involved in the coup plot probe. Early on Tuesday, a group of 40 pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers told journalists in the capital Brasilia they will push hard for the former president's release. Altineu Cortes, the conservative deputy speaker of the lower house, said he will put the amnesty bill to a vote if he gets the chance. 'I've already told speaker Hugo Motta that I will do that in the first moment I am working as the speaker of the house during one of his trips abroad,' Cortes said. Later, many of the same lawmakers protested in the lower house and the senate by blocking access to the presiding tables. 'This is an arbitrary action,' said Sen. Davi Alcolumbre, the president of Brazil's senate. 'I call for serenity and spirit of cooperation. We need to start working with respect, civility and dialogue so congress can fulfill its mission in favor of Brazil and our population.' 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'I came here with the compromise of not wasting much time speaking about tariffs. I will just say the least I can. If I didn't (say anything) you would go: 'Why didn't Lula speak about it? Is he afraid of Trump?' And I don't want you to leave with that impression,' he said. Members of Lula's Cabinet have also avoided discussing Bolsonaro's future. A Brazilian government staffer told The Associated Press that Lula told his ministers that his reelection depends on governing, not on his predecessor's future. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly. If the next Brazilian election has the same standard of the previous face off between Lula and Bolsonaro, the winner will be decided by turnout and a very slim number of moderates. Gov. Eduardo Leite, a moderate from the Rio Grande do Sul state, embodied the split among many Brazilian voters who will likely have to chose one of the two camps in 2026. 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