Venezuelan President's Ally Arrested Amidst Human Rights Concerns
Alex Saab, a close and powerful associate of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was reportedly detained in Caracas during a joint operation by Venezuela's intelligence agency and the FBI, according to The Guardian. Saab, a wealthy Colombian-Venezuelan businessman, has long been considered Maduro's frontman. The circumstances surrounding his arrest remain unclear.
The arrest occurred amidst growing concerns about human rights and democratic recession worldwide. According to a new report by Human Rights Watch, the world is experiencing a "democratic recession," with almost three-quarters of the global population living under autocratic rulers, levels not seen since the 1980s. The report cited abuses led by figures like former U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as authoritarianism in countries like Russia and China, as threats to the global rules-based order.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, opposition leader Bobi Wine remained in hiding nearly three weeks after a disputed election. Wine's whereabouts have been unknown since he fled what he described as a night raid on his home by police and military, according to The Guardian. The situation has been further complicated by a high-stakes social media feud with the country's military chief.
In Venezuela, the acting president has touted measures since Maduro's capture, including a plan to turn the notorious El Helicoide prison into a cultural center. Critics argue that this move erases Venezuela's long history of repression. El Helicoide was originally designed in the 1950s as a drive-through shopping center but was never completed and later became a prison under the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
In Nigeria, the death of singer Ifunanya Nwangene, a former contestant on The Voice Nigeria, after a snakebite in her Abuja flat, highlighted the crisis of preventable fatalities in the country. Nwangene, 26, died in the hospital while awaiting treatment after being bitten by a snake while asleep. In a last message to her friends, Nwangene wrote: "Please come." The incident raised questions about the availability of effective antivenoms.
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