Síntesis informativa - 1° de mayo 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Trump, Seeking to Put Pressure on Maduro, Threatens a Full Embargo on Cuba
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday accused Cuba of aiding the government of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who the administration evidently hoped would be ousted by day’s end, warning that the United States would impose an embargo and additional sanctions on the country if Cuba did not end its support.
“If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, “a full and complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/politics/trump-maduro-cuba.html
Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks and Still Faces U.S. Charges
LONDON — A British court sentenced Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, to 50 weeks in prison on Wednesday for jumping bail when he took refuge in Ecuador’s Embassy in London seven years ago.
His complex legal travails are far from over: The United States is seeking Mr. Assange’s extradition for prosecution there, and an initial hearing on that request is expected on Thursday. Officials in Sweden have left open the possibility that he could face criminal charges in that country, as well.
Mr. Assange faces a charge of conspiracy to hack into a Pentagon computer network; a federal indictment accuses him of helping an Army private to illegally download classified information in 2010, much of it about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which WikiLeaks then made public. He has denied the charge.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/world/europe/julian-assange-sentence-uk.html
Taliban and U.S. Start New Round of Talks in Qatar
KABUL, Afghanistan — American and Taliban negotiators began a new round of peace talks Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement that would include Taliban guarantees regarding terrorism and a phased withdrawal of American troops.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter early Wednesday that the talks — the sixth round between American and Taliban officials — had begun in Doha, the Qatari capital.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the special envoy leading the American delegation, has said the talks will ultimately focus on four main issues. They include troop withdrawal; guarantees against terrorism; talks between the Taliban and the American-supported government of Afghanistan to establish a path toward political settlement; and a lasting cease-fire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/world/asia/taliban-peace-talks-qatar.html
U.S. Military Stops Counting How Much of Afghanistan Is Controlled by Taliban
KABUL, Afghanistan — The American military command in Afghanistan has halted regular assessments of how many people and districts the government and insurgents there control, it emerged on Wednesday — eliminating what has long been an important public measure of progress in the war.
The military said the assessments had “limited decision-making value” for commanders. As recently as November 2017, the previous American commander in Afghanistan had called them “the metric that’s most telling in a counterinsurgency.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/world/asia/us-afghanistan-territory-taliban.html
THE GUARDIAN
Venezuela crisis: Maduro claims victory over 'deranged' coup attempt
Nicolás Maduro claimed his troops have thwarted a botched attempt to topple him masterminded by Venezuela’s “coup-mongering far right” and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang” – while on Wednesday morning the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said US military action in the country was a possibility “if required”.
Russia denies US claim it told Maduro not to flee Venezuela
Russian and Venezuelan officials have denied a US claim that Nicolás Maduro planned to flee his country during Tuesday’s failed coup attempt until the Kremlin told him to stay.
The assertion by the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was part of an “information war”, said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry.
Julian Assange jailed for 50 weeks for breaching bail in 2012
A judge largely rejected the mitigating factors put forward by lawyers for the WikiLeaks founder, who had also written a letter in which he expressed regret for his actions but claimed he had been left with no choice.
