Burundi Ruling Party Wins All Seats in National Assembly
Burundi's ruling party won all 108 seats in the national assembly following an election.
Three indigenous lawmakers obtained seats to fulfill so-called ethnic equilibrium, taking the total allocated to 111, National Election Commission President Prosper Ntahorwamiye said Wednesday.
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Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
ICE detains Venezuelan ex-political prisoner after immigration case dismissal
A Venezuelan political prisoner who spent more than three years incarcerated under Nicolás Maduro's regime has been detained in the United States after an immigration judge dismissed his asylum claim. He now faces possible deportation to the same country he once fled, where he was tortured. Gregory Antonio Sanabria Tarazona, now in his early 30s, was just 20 and studying computer engineering when he was arrested on Oct. 7, 2014 in Táchira, a western state in Venezuela and then moved to a prison in Caracas. He had taken part in La Salida ('The Exit'), a nationwide civil disobedience movement led by opposition figures Leopoldo López, María Corina Machado, and Antonio Ledezma, aimed at removing Maduro from power. Sanabria Tarazona entered the United States via the southern border in early 2023 and passed a credible fear interview, according to Renzo Prieto, a former National Assembly member and fellow political prisoner in Venezuela. He settled in Dallas, where he worked in construction and air conditioning installation. According to Prieto he was also granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a deportation protection designation first granted to Venezuelans in 2021 under the Biden administration. He received protection in 2023 after the protection was expanded. However, the Trump administration recently rescinded it, placing him, and more than 350,000 Venezuelans, at risk of deportation. On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Sanabria Tarazona in Texas. According to ICE records, he is currently being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe. 'Severe beating' La Salida in 2014, marked by widespread unrest and the construction of makeshift barricades known as guarimbas, was fueled by skyrocketing inflation, rampant shortages of food and medicine, insecurity, and political persecution. While the movement ultimately failed to unseat the regime, it left dozens dead and led to the imprisonment of numerous activists. Following Sanabria Tarazona's arrest, he was subjected to brutal treatment. According to Venezuelan media reports, he was physically and psychologically tortured: interrogated with a bag over his head, shocked with electricity, and beaten and bitten by Venezuelan security agents. He spent more than three years behind bars, including in El Helicoide, the notorious headquarters of Venezuela's political police, SEBIN. Upon his release on parole in 2018, he was hospitalized. Doctors confirmed moderate cerebral edema and injuries requiring surgery, including a broken nose. That same year, the United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the 'severe beating' he endured and called for an investigation into the use of torture and mistreatment of prisoners at El Helicoide. 'Life in danger if deported' The Herald searched public records in Dallas and found no criminal history for Sanabria Tarazona in the United States. Although current policy generally protects individuals who have been in the country for more than two years from expedited removal, like Sanabria Tarazona, the Trump administration's immigration crackdown is shifting that interpretation. Immigration authorities are increasingly placing residents into removal proceedings, regardless of how long they have lived in the U.S.. Several legal challenges to this practice are now pending in federal courts. The Herald requested comments from Homeland Security and ICE regarding the charges against Sanabria Tarazona but has not received a response. Venezuelan opposition leaders have remained silent about the fate of Sanabria Tarazona following news of his arrest in the U.S. and possible deportation, which could put his life at risk. While Maria Corina Machado defended Sanabria Tarazona during his imprisonment in Caracas—when he was beaten by guards—she has remained silent now that he faces deportation. The Herald requested comments from Comando con Venezuela in Miami, which represents Machado in Florida, but has not received a response. While Sanabria Tarazona's family has remained silent out of fear Prieto has publicly denounced his detention and urged U.S. authorities to reconsider. In a post on X wrote: 'Gregory is one of the young people who fought for democracy in Venezuela,' the message reads. 'He was imprisoned, tortured, and persecuted by the criminal gang that holds power in our country hostage. His cause was shared by leaders like Antonio Ledezma, as well as numerous students and opposition activists.' 'Gregory Sanabria needs and deserves international protection' said Prieto. 'His life is in danger if he is deported to Venezuela.'
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Several killed as separatists clash with Malian army, Russian allies in the conflict-hit north
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian security forces clashed with members of an armed separatist group over two days, resulting in the deaths of 10 separatists, the Malian army said Friday. The Azawad separatists said it killed dozens of Malian soldiers and members of a Kremlin-controlled armed force. The clashes began with a military offensive in the northern Kidal region on Thursday, the Malian army said in a statement. On Friday, the Malian military's logistics convoy was ambushed before the attack was repelled, it added. The separatists reported they killed 'dozens' of Malian soldiers and fighters with the Kremlin-controlled African Corps in the ambush. The Azawad separatist movement has been fighting for years to create the state of Azawad in northern Mali. They once drove security forces out of the region before a 2015 peace deal that has since collapsed was signed to pave the way for some ex-rebels to be integrated into the Malian military. 'We recovered 12 trucks loaded with cereals, tankers full of diesel, one military pickup, and one armored vehicles from the 30 vehicles in the convoy,' Mohamed Maouloud Ramadan, spokesman for the Azawad separatists, said in a statement that acknowledged the death of three of their members. Viral videos shared by the separatists showed military trucks on fire in a large swathe of desert land amid gunfire as gun-wielding hooded young men posed in front of the trucks. The videos also showed bodies with uniforms that resemble those of the Malian army. The Associated Press could not independently verify the videos. The latest clashes show how difficult it is for security forces in Mali to operate in difficult terrains like Kidal, according to Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South think tank. 'It's difficult to gather actionable intelligence to protect their convoys, and this gives a significant advantage to armed and jihadist groups', said Lyammouri. The latest attack occurred days after Russia's mercenary group Wagner – which for more than three years helped Malian security forces in the fight against armed groups – announced it was leaving the country. The Africa Corps, under the direct command of the Russian defense ministry, said it will remain in Mali. There are around 2,000 mercenaries in Mali, according to U.S. officials. It is unclear how many are with Wagner and how many are part of the Africa Corps.
Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Washington Post
UN peacekeeping chief in Congo meets M23 leaders in first visit to rebel-held city
GOMA, Congo — The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo met with leaders of the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 on Friday in Goma, in her first visit to the eastern city of Goma since its capture by the insurgents. The meeting included discussions on the mandate of the peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO, especially on the protection of civilians, the mission said on X.
