- The US elevated the Aragua Train to the category of transnational criminal organization. The Ministry of Transport reported that the Central Regional Highway will be closed due to roadworks. The first fine was imposed for rigging bids at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games | Main photo: US Department of the Treasury / Archive
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on July 11 that it has issued sanctions once morest Tren de Aragua, a “transnational criminal organization based in Venezuela” that is expanding throughout the Western Hemisphere.
The Ministry of Transport warned that the Central Regional Highway (ARC) will remain closed at kilometer 4 towards Aragua, due to road works.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, regretted that Venezuela revoked the EU’s invitation to observe the presidential elections on July 28 and considered that its presence would have had “a very important added value.”
And on the international stage, Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez said her security detail was attacked with rifle fire.
Below are the most relevant news from Thursday, July 11:
The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC reported on July 11 that it has issued sanctions once morest the Tren de Aragua, a “transnational criminal organization based in Venezuela” that is expanding throughout the Western Hemisphere.
“Today’s designation of Tren de Aragua as a significant transnational criminal organization underscores the growing threat it poses to American communities,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson.
In a statement, OFAC said the criminal group is involved in various criminal activities, including human trafficking, gender-based violence, money laundering and drug trafficking.
The Ministry of Transport announced that on Thursday, July 11, between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on July 12, the Central Regional Highway will remain closed at kilometer 4 (Aragua) due to roadworks.
According to the information, the authorities will carry out maintenance work on this section due to the collapse of the road.
The state agency did not explain whether a channel will be created for the circulation of vehicles or if there will be a counterflow measure.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, regretted that Venezuela revoked the invitation to that body to observe the presidential elections on 28 July and considered that its presence would have had “a very important added value”.
“I think the European Union would have brought a very important added value and I am very sorry that the Venezuelan government did not want us to be there,” Borrell said in an interview with the EFE news agency.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that no other type of election observation can compare with that provided by the EU mission.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia and the Colombian police announced that they will offer a total of $12 million for the capture of three leaders of the transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
This was explained by the director of the Colombian Police, General William Salamanca, together with the chargé d’affaires of the United States Embassy in Colombia, Francisco Palmieri, at a press conference in Bogotá.
“Criminals are always looking for a place to take refuge, and the police in Latin America have international cooperation operations to capture the subjects wherever they are, but we still have no information on whether these leaders are in Colombia,” explained Salamanca.
5. The first fine was imposed for bid-rigging at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
A Tokyo court on Thursday imposed the first fine on six companies involved in bid-rigging for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, specifically on the country’s second-largest advertising firm, Hakuhodo.
The Tokyo District Court ordered the company to pay a fine of 200 million yen (regarding 1.14 million euros) and imposed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence, suspended to three years of probation, on the former president of the subsidiary Hakuhodo DY Sports Marketing, Kenichiro Yokomizo, 57, according to details collected by the local news agency Kyodo.
This conviction is related to the scandal involving the rigging of contracts to plan the test events prior to the Games and to operate the venues themselves during the tournament held in the summer of 2021, for which the former CEO and chief operating officer of the Games, Yasuo Mori, has already been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years.
In The newspaper We present you a summary of the most important information of the day, which you should know at the national and international level.
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2024-07-12 18:30:41