Latest news with #11September
Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Trump raises bounty for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has doubled its reward for the arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro from $25 million (€21.4 million) to $50 million (€42.9 million), accusing him of being one of the world's largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine. 'Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday in a video announcing the reward. Maduro was indicted in a federal court in Manhattan in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several of his close allies. They were charged with charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. The former Trump administration at the time set a reward of $15 million (€12.9 million) for his arrest, which was later raised by the Biden administration to $25 million – the same amount Washington offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden following the 11 September attacks. Despite the big bounty, Maduro remains in power after defying the US, the European Union and several Latin American countries who viewed his 2024 re-election as a sham, and recognised his opponent, Edmundo González, as Venezuela's duly elected president. In July, the Trump administration struck a deal with Venezuelan officials to secure the release of 10 Americans jailed in the capital Caracas, in exchange for Venezuela getting scores of migrants deported by the US to El Salvador. Shortly after, the US reversed an earlier ban on US energy giant Chevron to resume drilling Venezuela after it was previously blocked by US sanctions. Bondi says the US Justice Department has seized more than $700 million (€600 million) in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets and close to 7 tonnes of cocaine, which was traced directly to the Venezuelan leftist leader. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil released a statement calling the reward 'pathetic' and accused Bondi of orchestrating a 'crude political propaganda operation.' 'We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from. The same one who promised a non-existent 'secret list' of Epstein and who wallows in scandals for political favours,' Gil said, referring to the backlash Bondi faced after she reversed a promise to release more evidence on the Epstein case. 'Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery,' added the top Venezuelan diplomat. — Euronews
Euronews
5 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Trump offers $50 million reward for the arrest of Nicolás Maduro
The Trump administration has doubled its reward for the arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro from $25 million (€21.4 million) to $50 million (€42.9 million), accusing him of being one of the world's largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine. 'Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday in a video announcing the reward. Maduro was indicted in a federal court in Manhattan in 2020, during the first Trump presidency, along with several of his close allies. They were charged with charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. The former Trump administration at the time set a reward of $15 million (€12.9 million) for his arrest, which was later raised by the Biden administration to $25 million – the same amount Washington offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden following the 11 September attacks. Despite the big bounty, Maduro remains in power after defying the US, the European Union and several Latin American countries who viewed his 2024 re-election as a sham, and recognised his opponent, Edmundo González, as Venezuela's duly elected president. In July, the Trump administration struck a deal with Venezuelan officials to secure the release of 10 Americans jailed in the capital Caracas, in exchange for Venezuela getting scores of migrants deported by the US to El Salvador. Shortly after, the US reversed an earlier ban on US energy giant Chevron to resume drilling Venezuela after it was previously blocked by US sanctions. Bondi says the US Justice Department has seized more than $700 million (€600 million) in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets and close to 7 tonnes of cocaine, which was traced directly to the Venezuelan leftist leader. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil released a statement calling the reward 'pathetic' and accused Bondi of orchestrating a 'crude political propaganda operation.' 'We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from. The same one who promised a non-existent 'secret list' of Epstein and who wallows in scandals for political favours,' Gil said, referring to the backlash Bondi faced after she reversed a promise to release more evidence on the Epstein case. 'Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery,' added the top Venezuelan diplomat.
Scoop
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Balancing Risk With Overreach In Our Terror Laws
The government wants to tighten our terror laws, but critics fear it will mean a corresponding trampling of advocacy groups and free speech. The government is eyeing an overhaul of the country's terrorism legislation, which is necessary, it says, to keep New Zealanders safe in a rapidly evolving world and keep pace with modern threats. However, critics are warning that the move could come at a steep price, specifically a loss of civil liberties. The proposed changes, still in the closed-door consultation phase with a handpicked selection of groups and experts, would give police and intelligence agencies broader powers to intervene earlier, redefine what constitutes a "terrorist act" and expand preventative detention powers, all in the name of public safety. Today, The Detail spoke with Newsroom national affairs editor Sam Sachdeva and University of Waikato terrorism and firearms expert Alexander Gillespie about the potential changes to the Terrorism Suppression Act and how the government will balance risk without resorting to overreach. "What this is really about is are our current terror laws fit for purpose, and where do we draw the line between dealing with the very real threat that is posed by terrorist groups and terrorists, while still preserving the fundamental political freedoms and rights and liberties that all New Zealanders hold dear," Sachdeva told The Detail. He said critics, worried that those freedoms and rights are now at risk, are fired up. "Look, they are. We have seen the Council for Civil Liberties, [and] the Free Speech Union has now come out as well, expressing some concern about this. "So, it's early stages, but it seems like it's something that could quite easily animate or light a fire under a lot of these rights groups who are concerned." The terror law, enacted in 2002 following the 11 September terror attacks, allows governments to formally designate people or groups as terrorist entities, freezing their assets and making it illegal to financially support, recruit for, or participate in a designated terrorist entity. Minor changes were made after the 15 March terror attack in 2019 and the New Lynn Countdown Supermarket attack in 2021. Sachdeva said among the new potential changes are making membership of a terrorist entity a criminal offence, creating new offences to capture public expressions of support for a terrorist act or designated entities - including showing insignia - and modernising definitions for terms like "material support" to capture new online forms of support. Extending the renewal period for terrorist designations to five years, from three at present, is also being considered. The government said there will be safeguards and judicial oversight. The proposed changes are expected to go before Parliament later this year. Gillespie, speaking to The Detail from Vienna, where he is working on gun reforms, said the threat of a terror attack has long lingered in New Zealand, and while the likelihood of another attack will never be zero, the risk can be lowered. "Part of reducing that risk is making sure the law is as good as it can be. That the balance between civil liberties and risk is correct. And that we have proportionate penalties for those who are willing to advocate the use of violence against civilians to change policy. "I support looking at it... I think it's foreseeable that the tensions in our society are going to be around for the foreseeable future. And to make sure they are fit for purpose, because when I look back at recent times, our laws weren't fit for purpose, and now we need to be thinking, 'what more can we do?'." While the debate on security versus liberty and protection versus principle will undoubtedly continue, one thing is certain -in the fight against terror, New Zealand is searching for a line, but it will not be easy to draw. here.
Euronews
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
US appeals court throws out plea deal for 'mastermind' of 9/11 attacks
A divided US federal appeals court threw out an agreement on Friday that would have allowed the accused 11 September, 2001 terror attacks mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to plead guilty in a deal that would spare him the risk of capital punishment. The decision by a panel of the federal appears court based in the capital, Washington DC, undoes an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution plagued with legal and logistical problems. It signals that there will be no quick end to the long struggle by the US military and successive administrations to bring justice to the man charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks ever orchestrated on US soil. The deal was negotiated over two years and was approved by military prosecutors and senior Pentagon officials charged with overlooking prisoners at the infamous Guantanamo Bay, a year ago, stipulating consecutive life sentences without parole for Mohammed and two other co-defendants. Mohammed is accused of having developed and directed the plot to crash the hijacked airliners into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Another hijacked plane flew into a field in Pennsylvania. Relatives of the 11 September attacks, commonly referred to as 9/11, were split on the plea deal. Many objected to it asserting that a trial was the best path towards justice and uncovering more information around the terror incident. Others saw it as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a close after more than 20 years, and get some answers from the men responsible for the attacks. The deal would've obligated the men to answer any lingering questions that families of the victims have about the tragic attacks, which according to the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), killed close to 3,000 people. Then-Defence Secretary under the Biden administration, Lloyd Austin, rejected the deal, saying a decision on the death penalty in an attack as grave as 9/11 should only be made by the defence secretary. Attorneys for the defendants had argued that the agreement was already legally in effect and that Austin, acted too late to try to throw it out. A military judge at Guantanamo and a military appeals panel agreed with the defence lawyers. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, by a 2-1 veto however found that Austin acted within his authority and faulted the military judge's ruling. The panel had previously put the agreement on hold while it considered the appeal, first filed by the Biden administration and then continued under President Donald Trump.
RTÉ News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
US appeals court scraps 9/11 mastermind's plea deal
A US appeals court has scrapped 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's plea agreement that would have taken the death penalty off the table. The decision brings to an end the long-running legal saga surrounding his case. The agreement had sparked anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, which saw former US defence secretary Lloyd Austin move to cancel it last year, saying that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial. Mr Austin "acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment," judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote. The plea deals with Mr Mohammed and two alleged accomplices - Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi - were announced in late July last year. The decision appeared to have moved their cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. But Mr Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should be up to him, given its significance. He subsequently told journalists that "the families of the victims, our service members and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case". A military judge ruled in November that the deals were valid and binding, but the government appealed that decision. Much of the legal jousting surrounding the 9/11 defendants' cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone torture at the hands of the CIA - a thorny issue that the plea agreements would have avoided. Mr Mohammed was regarded as one of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's most trusted lieutenants before his March 2003 capture in Pakistan. He then spent three years in secret CIA prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006. The trained engineer - who has said he masterminded the 9/11 attacks "from A to Z" - was involved in a string of major plots against the United States, where he attended university. The United States used Guantanamo, an isolated naval base, to hold militants captured during the "War on Terror" that followed the 11 September attacks in a bid to keep the defendants from claiming rights under US law. The facility held roughly 800 prisoners at its peak, but they have since slowly been sent to other countries. A small fraction of that number remain.
