President Jovenel Moise did not order the arrest of former opposition Senator Nenel Cassy last week, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, says.”To make it clear, there is no truth in that. President Moise did not order the arrest of Mr. Cassy,” Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview. “The arrest was made onsite at the rally. The rally turned violent. The national police had to step in.”But Cassy offered a different version of the events in a conversation with reporters after his release from a Miragoane jail on Jan. 22.Cassy, who represented former President Jean Bertrand Aristide’s Lavalas party in parliament and is a native of the region, says he traveled to Miragoane, a coastal town in Haiti’s western department on Jan. 21 to seek the release of political activists who had been arrested during an anti-government protest earlier in the day. They were charged with committing “flagrant delinquent acts” but were released with Cassy, hours after being detained.”The attorney general arrived at the police station where lawyer Andre (Michel) and I were talking to the departmental director. Two policemen were present, and Andre was asking them to release the activists. When he (Jean Ernest Muscadin, the attorney general for Miragoane) arrived, he said, ‘We’re going to arrest the senator.’ He said, ‘The president of the republic has asked me to arrest Senator Cassy.’ When I asked him, ‘Which president? Jovenel?’ He responded, ‘Yes, Jovenel said I must arrest you today,’” Cassy said.The former senator said when he asked Muscadin what he was to be charged with, he was told, “This is an order from the president.””He (the attorney general) told me tremendous pressure had been exerted by the president to make the arrest and he (Moise) threatened to fire him if he didn’t do it,” Cassy said. “‘If I went against the order, I’d have to flee the country,’ he told me.”FILE – Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States. (Twitter)Cassy said the attorney general then handcuffed him.Muscadin, during an interview on a Haitian radio show, confirmed that Moise had asked him to arrest Cassy.Ambassador Edmond offered a different version of events:”According to the police report, (former) Senator Cassy was apparently trying to stop police arrests of some of those who were participating in the event. I believe he went to the police precinct trying to get his people (out). I believe it is something that happened on the site (police station). But President Moise was not aware of that,” he told VOA.”President Moise has no interest in giving orders to arrest the former senator,” the ambassador added. “That is not going to serve any good for what we want to do.”Pressed on whether President Moise had any involvement whatsoever in the arrest or release of Cassy, Edmond noted that the administration respects the separation of powers.”I don’t think he (President Moise) intends to get involved in any judiciary process because the executive and the judiciary are two separate branches of the government. Therefore, he cannot call to ask for a release and so on. There is a minister for justice, and it is his role to deal with them. But the president is not going to (get) involved in issues like that,” the ambassador told VOA.Moise has not commented on the arrest. But in a Jan. 18 speech, Moise warned his political opponents that the country’s new intelligence agency was keeping watch and that any “vagabonds” found to be handing out money to encourage people to protest would face consequences.News of Cassy’s arrest was placed on social media and went viral, sparking outrage from Haitians and the diaspora. VOA Creole reporters said they saw tires burning on some streets of the capital and that makeshift barricades were erected, including in front of the police station where Cassy was being held.The former senator’s arrest also unified opposition politicians, who tend to disagree on most topics. They rallied to support their colleague, called on Moise to rescind the arrest order and demanded an investigation.This week, the opposition announced a series of nationwide protests between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7 to demand the president resign.
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Ten years ago, a police raid occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that would permanently change the way Canada deals with national security and intelligence — and send long-lasting ripples through its relations with major allies. It was December 2011 when Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers accompanied by military authorities raided the house of Canadian navy officer Jeffrey Delisle, acting on a tip from authorities in the United States. Within weeks, Delisle had confessed to spying for Russia. The arrest was a blow not only to Canada but also to several key allies. Delisle had been working at HMCS Trinity, a secretive intelligence facility in the Halifax naval dockyard that coordinates intelligence-sharing among a group of countries known as the Five Eyes: Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.  Ten years later, what has been learned? VOA talked to Canadian intelligence experts, local journalists and Canada’s Department of National Defense to find out what steps were taken to prevent a recurrence.  Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert and frequent contributor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), said the security breach led to short-term and long-term changes that are still being felt.  Security clearance Wark told VOA that immediately after Delisle was caught, the facility in which he worked was “stripped apart and rebuilt” to make sure Delisle had not left behind any listening devices or compromised any of the computers.  FILE – Naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle is shown in this still image taken from video of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police videotaped interrogation of the confessed spy in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Jan. 13, 2012.Next, Wark said, the Canadian government tightened the process of gaining a security clearance and the monitoring of people with those clearances. Delisle had been allowed to have continued access to classified information, even though his security clearance had lapsed. Had Delisle been reinvestigated for a renewed clearance, the red flags would have been obvious, even to a nonintelligence expert.  “Among the warning signs was that he had some issues around credit cards and credit debt,” Wark said. “He actually had a government corporate credit card that he had drawn on and never repaid.” Wark added that Delisle had previously aroused the suspicion of Canadian border authorities upon returning from a trip to Brazil. Border guards noticed that Delisle was behaving suspiciously and was unable to explain why he was carrying a large amount of money.Constant monitoring Equally embarrassing for Canadian authorities was the ease with which Delisle sold out his country. According to media reports, he simply walked into the Russian Embassy in Ottawa three years before his arrest and offered to sell them top-secret classified information for $10,000. He was believed to have been in financial distress at the time. Wark said there are now measures in place to keep an eye on anyone with a top-secret security clearance. These include “the requirement that people’s habits are constantly monitored. Any changes in their circumstances, financial, domestic … constant monitoring of people with top-secret clearances.” FILE – A flag is pictured outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 26, 2018.Delisle was sentenced in 2013 to 18 years in prison on top of time served and was paroled six years later after having conducted himself as a model prisoner.  But he was not the first spy to be caught in Atlantic Canada. Stephen Joseph Ratkai was arrested in Newfoundland in 1988 for spying for the Soviet Union as a result of a clever sting operation involving a female U.S. Navy intelligence officer. The American had pretended to defect to the Soviets by dramatically boarding a Soviet research vessel docked in a Newfoundland harbor, claiming she was sick of being held back in a male-dominated military. The intelligence she gathered led to Ratkai’s arrest. Wark said it was after this event that the Five Eyes facility where Delisle worked was built.  Lingering resentmentCanada’s Department of National Defense (DND) was also happy to speak with VOA about the Delisle case, although individual navy and intelligence personnel declined, as it is still considered a very sensitive topic in Nova Scotia.  “The Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defense take information security extremely seriously,” DND spokesperson Jessica Lamirande said. “Cases such as this one have the potential to damage both the reputation of Canada and its ability to collaborate with international intelligence partners. “A strong, sustainable information security program is essential to meeting the country’s defense needs, and we will continue to assess and monitor systems to ensure our personnel, operations and capabilities are protected.” The subject also remains sensitive for many other residents of Halifax, which hosts an annual security forum that attracts world leaders, members of the U.S. Congress and international media.  In addition to the Five Eyes facility, the city is home to NATO facilities and numerous military installations, plus five international universities.  “Halifax is a navy town. Always has been,” said former CBC reporter Rob Gordon. “People here have a deep connection to the navy and military. When Delisle was charged, it sent a shock wave through the city. And there was a certain amount of anger. “The documents leaked included threat assessments to Canadian warships. That meant a brother in the navy or a father serving on ship in the Arabian Sea could be directly impacted by Delisle’s betrayal. “There is no real difference between civilians and navy folks here. His betrayal had the potential to impact thousands of households in Halifax.”
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President Jovenel Moise will not be stepping down on Feb. 7, Haitian Ambassador Bocchit Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview Wednesday.Opposition leaders are calling for nationwide protests in the days leading up to Feb. 7, the day in 1986 when dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was overthrown. Feb. 7 is also the date that the Haitian constitution stipulates newly elected presidents be sworn in.Moise was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for a five-year term, the ambassador noted. But the opposition insists the president’s term should end this year.”They know squarely it is not true because they know the constitution states the president’s term lasts five years, and the president was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for five years, which is going to be 2022,” Edmond said.The opposition, which accuses Moise of being a corrupt autocrat who has not done enough to curb the rash of kidnappings that have terrorized the nation, says a transition government should take control of the country after Feb. 7.Edmond thinks that is a bad idea.”It is time for Haiti to leave that cycle — that cycle of using illegitimate people to replace elected officials,” he told VOA. “Every time we have elections, we have to reverse the electoral votes. We have to ask the president to go, (only) to be replaced by a transitional government, which has never served the good of the Haitian people.”The Moise government’s plan is to hold a referendum on a new constitution in April 2021, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September. But the Provisional Electoral Council (KEP) named by the president faces criticism for not being representative of civil society, and the opposition vows to boycott any elections organized by it.”What about those who want to go to elections? They are also citizens. They have the same rights. That’s the issue,” Edmond said. “But at the end of the day, what I always invite my fellow citizens to understand (is) we will never have agreement on all the issues. There will always be disagreement. But the most important thing is, let us work on what we agree upon.”But the opposition announced that the nationwide mobilization in all 10 departments of the country will begin Jan. 28-31, followed by a general strike on Feb. 1 and 2, then again on Feb. 7 to force the president to leave power.“Stop fighting me,” Moise said in a national address earlier this week. “We fight too much. We don’t need to fight against each other. Let’s fight for each other.”Asked how the Moise government will deal with mass demonstrations on Feb. 7, Edmond reaffirmed the people’s right to peacefully protest, as guaranteed by the constitution.”The government will respect the right of the people to protest peacefully. But any society in any country, whenever protesters are trying to behave in a disorderly manner — burning public goods, burning public property — the police has to step in and put a stop to it,” Edmond told VOA. “We will always support the right of the people to protest peacefully on any issue because this is a right recognized by the constitution.”There are concerns, however, about the lack of security and possible attempts by law enforcement to target civilians taking to the streets. Protesters and journalists, including VOA Creole reporters in Port-au-Prince covering the demonstrations, say police often target them with tear gas and behave aggressively toward them, despite no evidence of illegal behavior on their part.Mario Joseph, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Port-au-Prince, denounced the national police Wednesday as a “tool of repression.” He alleged their goal is to force the people to accept a 2022 presidential departure date.Joseph said article 134-2 of Haiti’s amended constitution states clearly that the president’s term will end on Feb. 7, 2021.”BAI is extremely concerned that the corrupt PHTK (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale ruling party) government has weaponized the PNH (national police force) to use bullets, (tear) gas, physical aggression, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment to crush popular protests,” Joseph said during a press conference Wednesday.”On the other hand, the government used the PNH to protect the G-9 (gang) militants, who call themselves ‘legal bandits’ during their protest on January 22, during which they demanded President Moise fire the Social Affairs minister,” he said.Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe replaced Social Affairs Minister Nicole Altidor on Tuesday, announcing the decision on Twitter. But it is unclear if the decision was in direct response to the G-9 protesters’ demand. Mwen enstale aprè midi a nouvo minis (pa enterim) Zafè sosyal ak Travay la, Marie Gislhaine Mompremier. Mwen mande minis la pou li remete ministè a sou de pye l, pou li aplike politik ak priyorite gouvènman an kòmsadwa. Paske lapè ak lòd dwe vit retounen nan ministè sa a. @MASTHtpic.twitter.com/4izoe7mSoa— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) January 27, 2021Edmond cast doubt on allegations that the national police apply two different standards when moderating protests, but he stopped short of refuting it outright.”Not being a security expert, I don’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted,” he said. …”But what I know (is), whenever the police behave badly, there is always a way to complain through the inspector general’s office of the national police.”Looking ahead to Feb. 7, Edmond told VOA the government would only observe the protests as long as they remain peaceful.    Matiado Vilme and Renan Toussaint contributed to this report from Port-au-Prince, Haiti  
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Most countries have made “little to no progress” in tackling corruption in nearly a decade, a new report by Transparency International says. The Berlin-based nonprofit group ranks countries on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being the least corrupt.According to its report, more than two-thirds of the 180 countries had a score below 50.“The data shows that despite some progress, most countries still fail to tackle corruption effectively,” the group said in a statement.The least corrupt countries are Denmark and New Zealand, with both scoring 88. They were followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, with scores of 85.The most corrupt countries were South Sudan and Somalia, with scores of 12 each, followed by Syria with a score of 14, and Yemen and Venezuela with scores of 15. The United States scored 67, its lowest since 2012.
 
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President Jovenel Moise will not be stepping down on Feb. 7, Haitian Ambassador Bocchit Edmond told VOA in an exclusive interview Wednesday.Opposition leaders are calling for nationwide protests in the days leading up to Feb. 7, the day in 1986 when dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was overthrown. Feb. 7 is also the date that the Haitian constitution stipulates newly elected presidents be sworn in.Moise was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for a five-year term, the ambassador noted. But the opposition insists the president’s term should end this year.”They know squarely it is not true because they know the constitution states the president’s term lasts five years, and the president was sworn in on Feb. 7, 2017, for five years, which is going to be 2022,” Edmond said.The opposition, which accuses Moise of being a corrupt autocrat who has not done enough to curb the rash of kidnappings that have terrorized the nation, says a transition government should take control of the country after Feb. 7.Edmond thinks that is a bad idea.”It is time for Haiti to leave that cycle — that cycle of using illegitimate people to replace elected officials,” he told VOA. “Every time we have elections, we have to reverse the electoral votes. We have to ask the president to go, (only) to be replaced by a transitional government, which has never served the good of the Haitian people.”The Moise government’s plan is to hold a referendum on a new constitution in April 2021, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September. But the Provisional Electoral Council (KEP) named by the president faces criticism for not being representative of civil society, and the opposition vows to boycott any elections organized by it.”What about those who want to go to elections? They are also citizens. They have the same rights. That’s the issue,” Edmond said. “But at the end of the day, what I always invite my fellow citizens to understand (is) we will never have agreement on all the issues. There will always be disagreement. But the most important thing is, let us work on what we agree upon.”But the opposition announced that the nationwide mobilization in all 10 departments of the country will begin Jan. 28-31, followed by a general strike on Feb. 1 and 2, then again on Feb. 7 to force the president to leave power.“Stop fighting me,” Moise said in a national address earlier this week. “We fight too much. We don’t need to fight against each other. Let’s fight for each other.”Asked how the Moise government will deal with mass demonstrations on Feb. 7, Edmond reaffirmed the people’s right to peacefully protest, as guaranteed by the constitution.”The government will respect the right of the people to protest peacefully. But any society in any country, whenever protesters are trying to behave in a disorderly manner — burning public goods, burning public property — the police has to step in and put a stop to it,” Edmond told VOA. “We will always support the right of the people to protest peacefully on any issue because this is a right recognized by the constitution.”There are concerns, however, about the lack of security and possible attempts by law enforcement to target civilians taking to the streets. Protesters and journalists, including VOA Creole reporters in Port-au-Prince covering the demonstrations, say police often target them with tear gas and behave aggressively toward them, despite no evidence of illegal behavior on their part.Mario Joseph, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Port-au-Prince, denounced the national police Wednesday as a “tool of repression.” He alleged their goal is to force the people to accept a 2022 presidential departure date.Joseph said article 134-2 of Haiti’s amended constitution states clearly that the president’s term will end on Feb. 7, 2021.”BAI is extremely concerned that the corrupt PHTK (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale ruling party) government has weaponized the PNH (national police force) to use bullets, (tear) gas, physical aggression, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment to crush popular protests,” Joseph said during a press conference Wednesday.”On the other hand, the government used the PNH to protect the G-9 (gang) militants, who call themselves ‘legal bandits’ during their protest on January 22, during which they demanded President Moise fire the Social Affairs minister,” he said.Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe replaced Social Affairs Minister Nicole Altidor on Tuesday, announcing the decision on Twitter. But it is unclear if the decision was in direct response to the G-9 protesters’ demand. Mwen enstale aprè midi a nouvo minis (pa enterim) Zafè sosyal ak Travay la, Marie Gislhaine Mompremier. Mwen mande minis la pou li remete ministè a sou de pye l, pou li aplike politik ak priyorite gouvènman an kòmsadwa. Paske lapè ak lòd dwe vit retounen nan ministè sa a. @MASTHtpic.twitter.com/4izoe7mSoa— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) January 27, 2021Edmond cast doubt on allegations that the national police apply two different standards when moderating protests, but he stopped short of refuting it outright.”Not being a security expert, I don’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted,” he said. …”But what I know (is), whenever the police behave badly, there is always a way to complain through the inspector general’s office of the national police.”Looking ahead to Feb. 7, Edmond told VOA the government would only observe the protests as long as they remain peaceful.     
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The Caribbean island nation of Barbados will return to a two-week lockdown next Wednesday, which includes wearing a face mask in all public places, as part of an initiative to curtail a rise in COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced Tuesday night that from February 3 to February 17, a 7:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew will be in effect. She also announced that the country had confirmed three cases of the easily spread British strain of the virus. Motley said the rise in COVID-19 cases coupled with the deaths of three elderly people within a week prompted her to bring back the restrictions.  Essential businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations will continue to operate during the lockdown.  Supermarkets will only open from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday through Friday during the lockdown. All other businesses, including bars, restaurants and gyms will close during the lockdown. Banks are excepted, shutting down for just six days, February 3 to 9. Barbados has recorded more than 1,400 COVID-19 infections and 10 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center.  
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Colombia is mourning the COVID-19 related death of Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo, who passed away Tuesday after two weeks in a Bogota hospital. Government officials joined his relatives at a mass Tuesday in remembrance of Holmes Trujillo. President Ivan Duque said Holmes Trujillo was a devoted public servant, having served as the nation’s foreign minister and as mayor of Cali. Holmes Trujillo is the latest serving cabinet minister to succumb to COVID-19 related complications, which have claimed 51,747 lives in Colombia, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center. In recent weeks, the virus has contributed to deaths of four ministers in Zimbabwe, two in Malawi, one in South Africa and two in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. 
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Argentina is set to receive another batch of a Russian vaccine against COVID-19 on Tuesday, just days after Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became the country’s latest leader vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine.    
 
The vice president was given the shot three days after President Alberto Fernández was given his first dose.
 
Argentina is one of the largest countries to begin vaccinating its citizens with Sputnik V vaccine, which its developers claim is more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19.
 
Argentina approved the use of Sputnik V for people 60 years of age and older last week, as it expands the vaccination program to a larger segment of the population.  
 
Argentina is also awaiting the first batch of vaccine created AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
 
The South American country is working on obtaining the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while still having access to the Covax equitable distribution of vaccine, which is run by the World Health Organization.
 
So far, Argentina has recorded more than 1.8 million confirmed cases and 47,034 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid Resource Center.
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A Peru-based company says it has developed a COVID-19 molecular test kit that can detect the variants of the virus found in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. The director of BTS Consultores Research, Milagros Zavaleta says the CavBio can detect the variants in a swab sample but does not distinguish the type of variant. The low-cost COVID-19 test kits became available for sale after Digemid, the government organization that oversees the safe access to medicines, authorized the BTS production plant to operate. The director of BTS says the company is in talks with clinics and laboratories to sell the kits, which could prove beneficial, with more countries experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 cases, including variants of the virus. Peru has confirmed more than 1,093,000 coronavirus cases and 39,608 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center.  
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A former paramilitary leader in Colombia is in custody in the South American country Tuesday, a day after being deported from United States, where he served a 16-year sentence for drug trafficking. A spokesman for Colombia’s Ministry of Justice said 74 year-old Hernán Giraldo faces charges related to massacres, murder, kidnapping, rapes and drug trafficking.  Giraldo, who was known as “the boss” for his heavy-handed leadership, is wanted under dozens of warrants for crimes committed under his command by the Tayrona Bloc of the Self-Defense Units of Colombia, a far-right militia that operated in northern Colombia.  Giraldo was sentenced to 40 years in Colombia after confessing to hundreds of crimes affecting more than 10,000 victims while in custody in the United States.  Giraldo’s sentence was reduced because he helped the government under a program to prosecute paramilitary groups. Giraldo’s lawyers are seeking leniency from Colombia for his time served in the United States and his earlier cooperation with the government.  
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Venezuela’s Juan Guaido is a “privileged interlocutor” but no longer considered interim president, European Union states said in a statement on Monday, sticking by their decision to downgrade his status.The EU’s 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognize Guaido as after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognizing that vote.Following the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018, Guaido, as head of parliament, became interim president. Guaido is still seen by the United States and Britain as Venezuela’s rightful leader.The status of interim president gives Guaido access to funds confiscated from Maduro by Western governments, as well as affording him access to top officials and supporting his pro-democracy movement domestically and internationally.The 27 EU members said in a joint statement that he was part of the democratic opposition – despite a resolution by the European Parliament last week for EU governments to maintain Guaido’s position as head of state.”The EU repeats its calls for … the freedom and safety of all political opponents, in particular representatives of the opposition parties elected to the National Assembly of 2015, and especially Juan Guaido,” the statement said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.The EU considers them to be important actors and privileged interlocutors,” it said, calling for the opposition to unite against the disputed rule of Maduro.The assembly elected in 2015 was held by the opposition, whereas the new assembly is in the hands of Maduro’s allies, after the opposition called on Venezuelans to boycott the vote.Guaido last week thanked the European Parliament for recognizing him as president of the National Assembly, a committee of lawmakers who assert they are the country’s legitimate legislature, arguing the 2020 parliamentary elections were fraudulent.
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Argentina’s groundbreaking abortion law went into force Sunday under the watchful eyes of women’s groups and government officials, who hope to ensure its full implementation despite opposition from some conservative and church groups.  Argentina became the largest nation in Latin America to legalize elective abortion after its Senate on December 30 passed a law guaranteeing the procedure up to the 14th week of pregnancy and beyond that in cases of rape or when a woman’s health is at risk.  The vote was hailed as a triumph for the South American country’s feminist movement that could pave the way for similar actions across the socially conservative, heavily Roman Catholic region. But Pope Francis had issued a last-minute appeal before the vote and church leaders have criticized the decision. Supporters of the law say they expect lawsuits from anti-abortion groups in Argentina’s conservative provinces and some private health clinics might refuse to carry out the procedure.  “Another huge task lies ahead of us,” said Argentina’s minister of women, gender and diversity, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, who has acknowledged there will be obstacles to the law’s full implementation across the country.  Gómez Alcorta said a telephone line will be set up “for those who cannot access abortion to communicate.”A smiley pillow sits on a gynecological table at Casa Fusa, a health center that advices women on reproductive issues and performs legal abortions, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.The Argentine Catholic Church has repudiated the law and conservative doctors’ and lawyers’ groups have urged resistance. Doctors and health professionals can claim conscientious objection to performing abortions but cannot invoke the right if a pregnant woman’s life or health is in danger. A statement signed by the Consortium of Catholic Doctors, the Catholic Lawyers Corporation and other groups called on doctors and lawyers to “resist with nobility, firmness and courage the norm that legalizes the abominable crime of abortion.” The anti-abortion group Unidad Provida also urged doctors, nurses and technicians to fight for their “freedom of conscience” and promised to “accompany them in all the trials that are necessary.”  Under the law, private health centers that do not have doctors willing to carry out abortions must refer women seeking abortions to clinics that will. Any public official or health authority who unjustifiably delays an abortion will be punished with imprisonment from three months to one year. The National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, an umbrella group for organizations that for years fought for legal abortion, often wearing green scarves at protests, vowed to “continue monitoring compliance with the law.” “We trust the feminist networks that we have built over decades,” said Laura Salomé, one of the movement’s members. A previous abortion bill was voted down by Argentine lawmakers in 2018 by a narrow margin. But in the December vote it was backed by the center-left government, boosted by the so-called “piba” revolution, from the Argentine slang for “girls,” and opinion polls showing opposition had softened. The law’s supporters expect backlash in Argentina’s conservative provinces. In the northern province of Salta, a federal judge this week rejected a measure filed by a former legislator calling for the law to be suspended because the legislative branch had exceeded its powers. Opponents of abortion cite international treaties signed by Argentina pledging to protect life from conception. Gómez Alcorta said criminal charges currently pending against more than 1,500 women and doctors who performed abortions should be lifted. She said the number of women and doctors detained “was not that many,” but didn’t provide a number. “The Ministry of Women is going to carry out its leadership” to end these cases, she said.  While abortion is already allowed in some other parts of Latin America — such as in Uruguay, Cuba and Mexico City — its legalization in Argentina is expected to reverberate across the region, where dangerous clandestine procedures remain the norm a half century after a woman’s right to choose was guaranteed in the U.S. 
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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the symptoms are mild.Mexico’s president, who has been criticized for his handling of his country’s pandemic, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment.“I regret to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” he tweeted. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward…”Lamento informarles que estoy contagiado de COVID-19. Los síntomas son leves pero ya estoy en tratamiento médico. Como siempre, soy optimista. Saldremos adelante todos. Me representará la Dra. Olga Sánchez Cordero en las mañaneras para informar como lo hacemos todos los días.— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) January 25, 2021Lopez Obrador, 67, has long been criticized for not setting an example of prevention in public. He has rarely been seen wearing a mask and continued to keep up a busy travel schedule taking commercial flights.He has resisted locking down the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on so many Mexicans who live day to day.Early in the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, Lopez Obrador removed two religious amulets from his wallet and proudly showed them off.“The protective shield is the ‘Get thee behind me, Satan,’” Lopez Obrador said, reading off the inscription on the amulet, “Stop, enemy, for the Heart of Jesus is with me.”His announcement came shortly after news emerged that he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about obtaining doses of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter the two leaders would speak about the bilateral relationship and supplying doses of the vaccine.The vaccine has not been approved for use in Mexico, but the government is desperate to fill supply gaps for the Pfizer vaccine. Mexico has given more than 618,000 vaccine doses.Mexico has registered nearly 150,000 COVID-19 deaths and more than 1.7 million infections. Hospitals in the capital have been near capacity for weeks as a surge of cases followed the holiday season. 
 
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Honeybees in Bolivia’s mountains are in trouble. Their natural habitat is disappearing, being replaced by an environment they cannot call home. One couple in one of the country’s forest regions is fighting to save them. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.
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A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Saturday off the coast of Antarctica, with authorities issuing a tsunami warning for Chile’s Eduardo Frei base on the frigid continent, emergency officials said.The quake struck at 8:36 p.m. local time (2336 GMT) about 210 kilometers east of the base at a depth of 10 kilometers, Chile’s National Emergency Office (Onemi) said, urging evacuation from “the beach area of the Antarctic” ahead of a possible tsunami.The Chilean air force’s base is the country’s largest in Antarctica and includes a village, hospital, school, bank, post office and chapel.The maximum population in summer is 150 people, and the average population in winter is 80.An unrelated 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck near Santiago on Saturday night, but Onemi said no significant damage or impact was reported.Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. An 8.8 magnitude temblor in Concepcion on February 27, 2010, left more than 500 dead.The country suffered the most powerful earthquake ever recorded 60 years ago — measuring 9.6 magnitude — in Valdivia. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear to President Joe Biden on Saturday that he’s eager to forge a new U.S.-Britain trade deal.Johnson’s push for a deal came during a wide-ranging call between the two leaders that touched on the global response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the Biden administration’s announcement this week that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, according to a statement from Downing Street.A new trade agreement between the allies is a higher priority for Johnson than it is for Biden. Britain regained control over its national trade policy at the start of the month following the end of a post-Brexit transition period.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that the administration had no timeline for forging a new trade deal because Biden’s attention was largely focused on getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and pressing Congress to pass the president’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.The call with Johnson was at least Biden’s third call with a foreign counterpart since Friday. The president spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday evening.Aid to halt immigrationOn Saturday, Lopez Obrador said Biden told him the U.S. would send $4 billion to help development in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, nations whose hardships have spawned tides of migration through Mexico toward the United States.López Obrador said that during their Friday call, the two discussed immigration and the need to address the root causes of why people migrate. Mexico has stopped recent attempts by caravans of Central American migrants to cross Mexico.FILE – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his daily news conference at the presidential palace in Mexico City, Dec. 18, 2020.Biden’s call with López Obrador came at a tense moment, days after the Mexican president accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of fabricating drug trafficking charges against the country’s former defense secretary.But López Obrador said in a statement Friday that the conversation with Biden was “friendly and respectful.”Biden’s call to Trudeau came after the Canadian prime minister this week publicly expressed disappointment at Biden’s decision to issue an executive order halting construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The long-disputed project was projected to carry about 800,000 barrels of oil a day from the tar sands of Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.Biden told Trudeau that by issuing the order he was following through on a campaign pledge, a senior Canadian government official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.The White House said in a statement that Biden acknowledged Trudeau’s disappointment with his Keystone decision.’Perfect alignment’ is rareTrudeau told reporters before the call Friday that he wouldn’t allow his differences with Biden over the project to become a source of tension in the U.S.-Canada relationship.FILE – Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference in Ottawa, July 13, 2020.”It’s not always going to be perfect alignment with the United States,” Trudeau said. “That’s the case with any given president, but we’re in a situation where we are much more aligned on values and focus. I am very much looking forward to working with President Biden.”Biden and Trudeau also discussed the prospects of Canada being supplied with the COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, according to a second senior Canadian government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.Canada has been getting all of its Pfizer doses from a Pfizer facility in Puurs, Belgium, but Pfizer has informed Canada it won’t get any doses next week and will get 50% less than expected over the next three weeks. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has publicly asked Biden to share a million doses made at Pfizer’s Michigan facility.The U.S. federal government has an agreement with Pfizer in which the first 100 million doses of the vaccine produced in the U.S. will be owned by the U.S. government and will be distributed in the U.S.The two leaders also spoke broadly about trade, defense and climate issues. Trudeau also raised the cases of two Canadians imprisoned in China in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Huawei executive, who was apprehended in Canada on a U.S. extradition request, according to the prime minister’s office.  
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Former Haitian opposition Senator Nenel Cassy was freed Friday, hours after he was arrested in Miragoane, a town on Haiti’s west coast, on orders of President Jovenel Moise.Cassy, who represented former President Jean Bertrand Aristide’s Lavalas party in parliament and is a native of the region, had traveled to Miragoane on Thursday to seek the release of political activists who had been arrested during an anti-government protest earlier in the day. They were charged with committing “flagrant delinquent acts” but were released with Cassy.”What happened yesterday is unfathomable; even under the Duvalier regime this was never done,” the former senator said in recounting his ordeal for reporters during a press conference on Friday.”The attorney general arrived at the police station where lawyer Andre (Michel) and I were talking to the departmental director. Two policemen were present, and Andre was asking them to release the activists. When he (Jean Ernest Muscadin, the attorney general for Miragoane) arrived, he said, ‘We’re going to arrest the senator.’ He said, ‘The president of the republic has asked me to arrest Senator Cassy.’ When I asked him, ‘Which president? Jovenel?’ He responded, “Yes, Jovenel said I must arrest you today,’” Cassy said.The former senator said when he asked Muscadin what he was to be charged with, he was told, “This is an order from the president.””He (the attorney general) told me tremendous pressure had been exerted by the president to make the arrest and he (Moise) threatened to fire him if he didn’t do it,” Cassy said. “‘If I went against the order, I’d have to flee the country,’ he told me.”Cassy said the attorney general then handcuffed him.Muscadin, during an interview on a Haitian radio show, confirmed that Moise had asked him to arrest Cassy.No commentMoise has not commented on the arrest. But in a Jan. 18 speech, Moise warned his political opponents that the country’s new intelligence agency was keeping watch and that any “vagabonds” found to be handing out money to encourage people to protest would face consequences.News of Cassy’s arrest spread quickly on social media, sparking outrage from Haitians and the diaspora. VOA Creole reporters said they saw tires burning on some streets of the capital and that makeshift barricades were erected, including in front of the police station where Cassy was being held.Meanwhile, opposition politicians, who tend to disagree on most topics, rallied to support the senator, calling on Moise to rescind the arrest order.”Senator Nenel Cassy has just been arrested in Miragoane at the office of the director of the police department in accordance with an order from President Jovenel Moise,” lawyer and opposition leader Andre Michel tweeted from Miragoane. “The battle for the respect of the constitution must be sped up. Unacceptable. Shut down the country.”Le Sénateur Nenel Cassy vient d’être arrêté à Miragoane au bureau du Directeur départemental de la Police, conformément aux instructions du Président Jovenel Moise. La bataille pour le respect de la constitution doit prendre sa vitesse de croisière. Inacceptable!! Bloke peyi a .— Me. André Michel (@avokapepla) Senator Youri Latortue says the opposition stands united against President Jovenel Moise, Jan. 22, 2021. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)During his press conference Friday, Cassy decried the harassment he and his family have endured at the hands of the Moise government.”My security guards were arrested and released after six months because they couldn’t find anything to charge them with. They arrested my mother a few days ago in Miragoane, they shot at me, they arrested me, the country has become a living hell for me under the PHTK government (Pati Ayisyen Tet Kale – President Moise’s ruling party),” Cassy said.In the past, the opposition leader, who has frequently participated in anti-government protests, has criticized Moise for not curbing crime, addressing the economic crisis or human rights abuses and for ruling by decree. On Wednesday, he joined a group of peaceful protesters near the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince to call on the new Biden administration not to support the Moise government and to demand Moise resign on Feb. 7.Pressure from US, international communityIn 2020, Haiti faced increased pressure from the Trump administration, the Organization of American States and the United Nations to hold elections as soon as possible. On the campaign trail, then-candidate Joe Biden had promised Haitians and Haitian Americans that he would work with Haiti’s government to hold elections as soon as possible.A few days before the Christmas holiday, a joint statement issued by Representatives Andy Levin, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Gregory Meeks, incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Albio Sires, chair of the Western Hemisphere civilian security and trade subcommittee, said they were watching events unfold in Haiti with “growing concern.”“Haitian President Jovenel Moise is pursuing an increasingly authoritarian course of action, issuing a series of recent decrees that include creating an extraconstitutional domestic ‘intelligence’ force,” the statement said. “His latest actions are reminiscent of past anti-democratic abuses the Haitian people have endured, including the run-up to the Duvalier dictatorship. We will not stand idly by while Haiti devolves into chaos.”Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, expressed outrage about the statement in an exclusive interview with VOA in December.“It saddens us to see democratic officials call for a transitional government. We don’t think that going through a transition again will help Haiti,” Edmond said.The ambassador questioned the feasibility of the January 2021 timeframe suggested by the U.S. to hold elections. He told VOA the Moise government believes an overhaul of the current constitution is necessary first and that there are plans to hold a referendum on that in spring 2021.“I think we have already met them in the middle,” Edmond told VOA. “We have agreed to elections. President Moise has done his job in naming an electoral council. We are working on possible calendars to submit now.”Haiti’s presidential and legislative elections are now scheduled for September 2021.In the meantime, the newly reinvigorated and united opposition vows to keep protesting in the streets to demand Moise respect the constitution and step down on Feb. 7.  
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Brazil expects to receive 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday in its buildup to launching a mass immunization program.
 
The vaccine is due to arrive a day after President Jair Bolsonaro fended off criticism by health officials over whether Brazil has enough vaccine to begin its nationwide immunization program.
 
Bolsonaro, who has long played down the impact of the coronavirus, even after he contracted the disease, said the government will provide the vaccine to all Brazilians free of charge.    
 
However, health officials say the country’s 6 million doses of the China-based Coronavac vaccine and nearly 5 million doses of the vaccine on order is well below what is needed to immunize Brazilians.
 
A second wave of coronavirus cases and concern over the government’s ability to secure more vaccine prompted the new mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, to tweet Thursday that it will not be possible to host annual carnival celebrations in July.
 
Brazil has more than 8.6 million coronavirus cases and 212,831 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Resource Center.  
 
Brazil’s COVID-19 mortality total is second only to the United States’ 406,417 deaths as of Thursday evening.
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Brazil expects to receive 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Friday in its buildup to launching a mass immunization program.The vaccine is due to arrive a day after President Jair Bolsonaro fended off criticism by health officials over whether Brazil has enough vaccine to begin its nationwide immunization program.Bolsonaro, who has long played down the impact of the coronavirus, even after he contracted the disease, said the government will provide the vaccine to all Brazilians free of charge.However, health officials say the country’s 6 million doses of the China-based Coronavac vaccine and nearly 5 million doses of the vaccine on order is well below what is needed to immunize Brazilians.A second wave of coronavirus cases and concern over the government’s ability to secure more vaccine prompted the new mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, to tweet Thursday that it will not be possible to host annual carnival celebrations in July.Brazil has more than 8.6 million coronavirus cases and 212,831 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Brazil’s COVID-19 mortality total is second only to the United States’ 406,417 deaths as of Thursday evening.
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Latin American leaders from Peru, Venezuela and Colombia are extending congratulations to U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.Colombian President Ivan Duque described Biden’s inaugural speech as transcending, saying his call for unity among the people of the United States and his call for the construction of common goals in the midst of differences has important repercussions in the world.Duque also said the 200-year-old diplomatic relationship between the United States and Colombia continues to strengthen toward common goals.Peruvian President Francisco Sagest said, his country is optimistic about a future of greater cooperation, investment, and trade with the United States.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wished Biden luck with a direct appeal to change the U.S. policies toward Venezuela.Biden has not commented publicly on U.S. policy toward Venezuela since taking office Wednesday, but his nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, showed support for Maduro’s rival, Juan Guaido during his Senate confirmation hearing, according to ABC news.The U.S. and several western nations have favored opposition leader Guaido as Venezuela’s recognized leader, following the disputed 2018 presidential elections.
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Chile is getting a new weapon to help in its fight against the spread of the coronavirus.Health regulators approved the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.Heriberto Garcia, director of Chile’s Public Health Institute, said very encouraging data from late-stage trials and the Health Institute’s independent investigations suggested CoronaVac was a “safe and effective vaccine to fight the pandemic.”Chile paid $3.5 million to host a clinical trial of the Sinovac vaccine and has ordered 60 million doses of the vaccine, according to Reuters.Garcia said Sinovac will arrive in Chile at the end of the month. Chile has already inoculated more than 29,000 people with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which arrived in the country late last month.Leaders of Chile’s Public Health Institute are also weighing approval of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for emergency use and have already signed a deal to purchase 14.4 million doses.So far, Chile has confirmed more than 677,000 COVID infections and 17,573 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
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Indigenous people in Brazil’s rainforest are getting their long awaited first doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has infected thousands in their community and killed hundreds of others. The Brazilian military flew medical workers and 1,000 doses of the CoronaVac Chinese vaccine into the Amazon rainforest on Tuesday and began vaccinating the indigenous people, who celebrated the arrival of the vaccine. Isabel Ticuna, one of the people in her village to get inoculated said, “the vaccination is so important for all of our indigenous community, for all the villagers. It was this that we were waiting for.” The coronavirus pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on Brazil’s indigenous people because a large part of the population does not have immediate access to a medical facility. The coronavirus has killed 926 indigenous people in Brazil and infected more than 46,000, according to a tribal umbrella organization called Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil.  So far, Brazil has confirmed more than 8,500,000 cases and 210,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID Resource Center. 
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The incoming Biden administration will work “to cease funding for further construction” of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, who told senators Tuesday that U.S. law will dictate whether individuals in migrant caravans are allowed to remain in the United States. 
 
Mayorkas appeared for his Senate confirmation hearing one day after reports surfaced that Biden intends to propose an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants shortly after taking office Wednesday, signaling an immediate focus on a topic that has both consumed and paralyzed Congress for decades. Biden to Propose 8-year Path to Citizenship for Immigrants It would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal statusRepublican lawmakers pressed Mayorkas on whether the Biden administration would spend $1.4 billion that Congress appropriated late last year to continue border wall construction, one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities that has been fiercely opposed by Democrats, including President-elect Joe Biden. 
 
Mayorkas said he would examine whether existing funds must be spent and underscored Biden’s opposition to further wall appropriations. He did not signal any intention by the incoming administration to tear down wall sections already built. FILE – President Donald Trump signs a plaque that bears his name on the 450th mile of the border wall in Texas, January 12, 2021. 
The hearing came as a caravan of Central American migrants pushes north toward the United States. Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah asked Mayorkas if the caravan would be allowed to enter the United States or turned back at the border. 
 
“We are a nation of immigrants and we are also a nation of laws, and I intend to apply the law,” the Cuban-born Mayorkas responded. “If people qualify under the law to remain in the United States, then we will apply the law accordingly. If they do not qualify to remain in the United States, then they won’t.” 
 
The nominee rejected calls by progressive elements of the Democratic coalition that helped elect Biden to defund U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within DHS that, among other duties, carries out deportations of undocumented immigrants. Alejandro Mayorkas, nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 19, 2021. 2015 DHS inspector general’s report The hearing lasted more than two hours and featured repeated questions about Mayorkas’ role in the granting of U.S. visas to wealthy foreign investors when he served as director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during the former Obama administration. A 2015 DHS inspector general’s report concluded that Mayorkas intervened in the EB-5 investor program at the behest of some powerful Democrats in a way that “created an appearance of favoritism and special access.” Mayorkas noted that the report found no legal wrongdoing. 
 
“The inspector general did not take issue with the disposition of the cases in which I became involved because I studied the law, and I followed the facts, and that is my North Star. And it always has been. And any suggestion to the contrary, is incorrect,” Mayorkas said.  FILE – District of Columbia National Guard stand outside the Capitol, January 6, 2021, after a day of rioting protesters.DHS after Capitol riot If confirmed, Mayorkas would be the first Latino and first immigrant to lead that Department of Homeland Security. In addition to leading USCIS, he served as Obama’s deputy secretary of DHS, the third-largest federal agency in the nation.   DHS was created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, a period when threats originating abroad were seen as paramount. 
 
Addressing the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol carried out by Trump loyalists, Mayorkas expressed horror and said authorities have yet to learn everything that happened that day.  
 
He vowed to “do everything” to ensure that “the tragic loss of life, the assault on law enforcement, the desecration of the building that stands as one of the three pillars of our democracy, the terror that you felt your colleagues, staff and everyone present will not happen again.” 
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The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned three individuals, fourteen entities, and six vessels for their ties to a Mexico-based network involved in the sale of Venezuelan oil benefitting the government of President Nicolas Maduro.The list of actors designated by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) includes an Italian and a Swiss citizen, as well as a Venezuelan-Spanish dual citizen. The listed entities include organizations based in places like Malta, Panama and Zimbabwe. Two U.S. companies based in New York City were also designated.Starting today, U.S. property of the sanctioned entities is frozen, while U.S. based companies that are more than 50% owned by the designated individuals and entities are blocked. “Those facilitating the illegitimate Maduro regime’s attempts to circumvent United States sanctions contribute to the corruption that consumes Venezuela,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The United States remains committed to targeting those enabling the Maduro regime’s abuse of Venezuela’s natural resources.”Last June, OFAC designated five other actors for their participation in a sanctions-evasion scheme benefitting the Maduro regime and the state-controlled oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA). PdVSA and the Venezuelan Central Bank have also been sanctioned under President Donald Trump. As of October 2020, the Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on around 160 Venezuelan or Venezuelan-connected individuals, while the State Department had revoked the visas of more than 1,000 individuals and their families, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.The U.S. is among the Western nations that recognized opposition leader Juan Guido as Venezuela’s interim president. 
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