MONTEVIDEO: Uruguay’s former president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, a guerrilla fighter and hero of the Latin American left, has died at the age of 89, the government in Montevideo said Tuesday.
“With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” the country’s current president, Yamandu Orsi, said on X.
Mujica won fame as the “world’s poorest president” for giving away much of his salary to charity, during his 2010-2015 presidency.
In May 2024, he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, which later spread to his liver.
His wife Lucia Topolansky said this week he was receiving palliative care.
The man who made Uruguay into a paragon of progressive politics by legalizing abortion, gay marriage and the use of recreational cannabis, campaigned for the left until the end.
In a November 2024 interview with AFP he described the presidential victory of his political heir, history teacher Orsi, as “a reward” at the end of his career.
The blunt-spoken, snowy-haired politician was a fierce critic of consumer culture.
As president he walked the talk by actively rejecting the trappings of office.
He attended official events in sandals and continued living on his small farm on the outskirts of Montevideo, where his prized possession was a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.
Tupamaros movement
In the 1960s, he co-founded the Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla movement Tupamaros, which started out robbing from the rich to give to the poor but later escalated its campaign to kidnappings, bombings and assassinations.
During those years, Mujica lived a life of derring-do. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and took part in a mass prison breakout.
But when the Tupamaros collapsed in 1972, he was recaptured and spent all of Uruguay’s 1973-1985 dictatorship in prison, where he was tortured and spent years in solitary confinement.
After his release, he threw himself into politics and in 1989 founded the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP), the largest member of the leftist Broad Front coalition.
Elected to parliament in 1995, he became a senator in 2000 and then agriculture minister in Uruguay’s first-ever left-wing government.
He served just one five-year term as president, in line with Uruguay’s term limits.
Mujica had no children and is survived by fellow ex-guerrilla Topolansky.
Uruguay’s ex-president Jose ‘Pepe’ Mujica dead at 89
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Uruguay’s ex-president Jose ‘Pepe’ Mujica dead at 89
- Jose 'Pepe' Mujica was a guerrilla fighter and hero of the Latin American left
- Mujica won fame as the 'world’s poorest president' for giving away much of his salary to charity
Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department
- The spat threatened to shatter relations between the two Trump officials and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department
WASHINGTON: The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout from this week’s decision to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which rankled influential far-right media personalities and supporters of President Donald Trump.
The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never actually existed, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House this week. The spat threatened to shatter relations between them and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department.
The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called “deep state,” Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top.
Trump expressed frustration in a social media posting on Saturday over the divide among diehards of his “Make America Great Again” movement over the matter, and expressed support for Bondi. His lengthy post made no mention of Bongino.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’” Trump wrote. “They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page statement saying that they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a “client list,” even though Bondi had intimated in February that such a document was sitting on her desk, and had decided against releasing any additional records from the investigation.
The department did disclose a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording.
It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officials have failed to fulfill their pledge to deliver the evidence that supporters had come to expect.
In February, conservative influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified.” But the binders contained information that had largely already been in the public domain.
Afterward, Bondi said an FBI “source” informed her of the existence of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents and ordered the bureau to provide the “full and complete Epstein files.” She later said officials were poring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI.
But after a months-long review of evidence in the government’s possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo Monday that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”
The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Trump chiding a reporter who asked Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
But Bondi and Bongino had a tense exchange the following day at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
Part of the clash centered on a story from the news organization NewsNation that cited a “source close to the White House” as saying the FBI would have released the Epstein files months ago if it could have done so on its own. The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Bongino.
The news publication Axios was first to describe the conversation.
Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with Patel and Bongino on the Epstein matter and the joint memo.
“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false,” he wrote on X.
Also Friday, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, posted on X that she was told that Bongino was “seriously thinking about resigning” and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday.
The FBI did not respond to a request seeking comment, and the White House sought in a statement to minimize any tensions.
“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,” said spokesman Harrison Fields. “This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”
Nigeria says jailed 44 for terrorism financing
- Counterterrorism agency says it has now secured a total of 785 convictions involving terrorism-related offenses
- Nigeria is listed as a “gray list country” by world monitors due to deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing
KANO, Nigeria: Nigeria on Saturday slapped 44 Boko Haram jihadists with jail terms of up to 30 years for funding terrorist activities, a spokesman for a counterterrorism agency said.
The convicted were among 54 suspects arraigned in four specially-constituted civilian courts set up at a military base in the town of Kainji in central Niger state, Abu Michael, a spokesman for Nigeria’s counterterrorism center said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Nigeria resumed trials of the suspects seven years after it suspended prosecution of over 1,000 people suspected of ties with the jihadist group that has been waging an insurgency since 2009 to establish a caliphate.
“The verdicts delivered from the trials resulted in prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years, all to be served with hard labor,” Michael said.
“With the latest convictions, Nigeria has now secured a total of 785 cases involving terrorism financing and other terrorism-related offenses,” said the statement.
The trial of the remaining 10 cases was adjourned to a later date, he said.
Nigeria is listed as a “grey list country” by international monitors alongside South Sudan, South Africa, Monaco and Croatia due to deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Nigerian military’s 16-year campaign to crush the jihadists in the northeast has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes, according to the United Nations.
The violence has also spilt over into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
In October 2017, Nigeria began mass trials of the Islamist insurgents, more than eight years after the start of the violence.
That phase of the trials, which lasted five months, saw the convictions of 200 jihadist fighters with sentencing ranging from “death penalty and life imprisonment to prison terms of 20 to 70 years,” Michael said.
The offenses for the convictions included attacks on women and children, the destruction of religious sites, the killing of civilians, and the abduction of women and children.
Human rights groups accused the military of arbitrarily arresting thousands of civilians, with many being held for years without access to lawyers or being brought to court.
Trump calls for MAGA base to end ‘Epstein Files’ obsession
- “Let’s...not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform
- The “Epstein Files” were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, he told his MAGA supporters
- Trump has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the notorious sex offender
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump urged his political base on Saturday to stop attacking his administration over files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a case that has become an obsession for conspiracy theorists.
Trump’s Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week there was no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a “client list” or was blackmailing powerful figures.
They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe.
The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right — many of whom have backed Trump for years — and strident criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Trump said Saturday in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.
“We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” he added, referring to his “Make America Great Again” movement.
Many among the MAGA faithful have long contended that so-called “Deep State” actors were hiding information on Epstein’s elite associates.
“Next the DOJ will say ‘Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,’” furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted after last week’s move. “This is over the top sickening.”
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer called for Trump to fire Bondi over the issue, labeling her “an embarrassment.”
But on Saturday, Trump came to the defense of his attorney general, suggesting that the so-called “Epstein Files” were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, without specifying what benefits they hoped to attain.
"Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration...?” he said.
On Saturday, Trump struck an exasperated tone in his admonishment of his supporters.
“For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” he said. “Let’s...not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
The US president called for Patel and Bondi to instead focus on what he terms “The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020,” which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
The Republican has repeatedly perpetuated unfounded conspiracy theories about his loss being due to fraud.
He called for the FBI to be allowed to focus on that investigation “instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT!“
Trump, who appears in at least one decades-old video alongside Epstein at a party, has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier.
“The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” said FBI Director Patel on Saturday, hours before Trump’s social media post.
Not everyone, however, seemed to be on the same page.
US media reported that Dan Bongino — an influential right-wing podcast host whom Trump appointed FBI deputy director — had threatened to resign over the administration’s handling of the issue.
A look at the countries that received Trump’s tariff letters
- Nearly every country has faced a minimum 10 percent levy on goods entering the US since April, on top of other levies on specific products like steel and automobiles. And future escalation is still possible
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has sent letters this week outlining higher tariffs countries will face if they don’t make trade deals with the US by Aug. 1.
Some mirror the so-called “reciprocal” rates Trump unveiled against dozens of trading partners in April — the bulk of which were later postponed just hours after taking effect. But many are higher or lower than those previously announced amounts.
So far, Trump has warned the European Union and 24 nations, including major trading partners like South Korea and Japan, that steeper tariffs will be imposed starting Aug. 1.
Nearly all of these letters took the same general tone with the exception of Brazil, Canada, the EU and Mexico, which included more specifics about Trump’s issues with those countries.
Nearly every country has faced a minimum 10 percent levy on goods entering the US since April, on top of other levies on specific products like steel and automobiles. And future escalation is still possible. In his letters, which were posted on Truth Social, Trump warned countries that they would face even higher tariffs if they retaliated by increasing their own import taxes.
Here’s a look at the countries that have gotten tariff letters so far — and where things stand now:
Brazil
Tariff rate: 50 percent starting Aug. 1. Brazil wasn’t threatened with an elevated “reciprocal” rate in April — but, like other countries, has faced Trump’s 10 percent baseline over the last three months.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, iron products, coffee and fruit juice.
Response: In a forceful response, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Trump’s tariffs would trigger the country’s economic reciprocity law — which allows trade, investment and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness. He also noted that the US has had a trade surplus of more than $410 billion with Brazil over the past 15 years.
Myanmar
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing, leather goods and seafood
Response: Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government said it will follow up with negotiations.
Laos
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 48 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Shoes with textile uppers, wood furniture, electronic components and optical fiber
Cambodia
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 49 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Textiles, clothing, shoes and bicycles
Response: Cambodia’s chief negotiator, Sun Chanthol, said the country successfully got the tariff dropped from the 49 percent Trump announced in April to 36 percent and is ready to hold a new round of negotiations. He appealed to investors, especially factory owners, and the country’s nearly 1 million garment workers not to panic about the tariff rate announced Monday.
Thailand
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Computer parts, rubber products and gemstones
Response: Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said Thailand will continue to push for tariff negotiations with the United States. Thailand on Sunday submitted a new proposal that includes opening the Thai market for more American agricultural and industrial products and increasing imports of energy and aircraft.
Bangladesh
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key export to the US: Clothing
Response: Bangladesh’s finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said Bangladesh hopes to negotiate for a better outcome. There are concerns that additional tariffs would make Bangladesh’s garment exports less competitive with countries like Vietnam and India.
Canada
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with a North American trade agreement covering the US, Canada and Mexico. Some of Canada’s top exports to the US are subject to different industry-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Oil and petroleum products, cars and trucks
Response: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X early Friday that the government will continue to work toward a trade deal by the new Aug. 1 deadline.
Serbia
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Software and IT services; car tires
Indonesia
Tariff rate: 32 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Palm oil, cocoa butter and semiconductors
Algeria
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, cement and iron products
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 35 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Weapons and ammunition
The European Union
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 20 percent announced in April but less than the 50 percent Trump later threatened.
Key exports to the US: Pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
Iraq
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 39 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Crude oil and petroleum products
Response: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs would disrupt essential supply chains “to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.” She said the EU remains ready to continue working toward an agreement but will take necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including countermeasures if required.
Libya
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum products
Mexico
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with the free trade agreement covering the US, Mexico and Canada. Some of Mexico’s top exports to the US are subject to other sector-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Cars, motor vehicle parts and accessories, crude oil, delivery trucks, computers, agricultural products
South Africa
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Platinum, diamonds, vehicles and auto parts
Response: The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that the tariff rates announced by Trump mischaracterized the trade relationship with the US, but it would “continue with its diplomatic efforts toward a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States” after having proposed a trade framework on May 20.
Sri Lanka
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing and rubber products
Brunei
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Mineral fuels and machinery equipment
Moldova
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Fruit juice, wine, clothing and plastic products
Japan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Autos, auto parts, electronic
Response: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the tariff “extremely regrettable” but said he was determined to continue negotiating.
Kazakhstan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 27 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Oil, uranium, ferroalloys and silver
Malaysia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and electrical products
Response: Malaysia’s government said it will pursue talks with the US A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
South Korea
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Vehicles, machinery and electronics
Response: South Korea’s Trade Ministry said early Tuesday that it will accelerate negotiations with the United States to achieve a deal before the 25 percent tax goes into effect.
Tunisia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 28 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Animal and vegetable fats, clothing, fruit and nuts
Philippines
Tariff rate: 20 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 17 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and machinery, clothing and gold
North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia on Ukraine, KCNA says
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed Pyongyang’s “unconditional support” for all actions taken by the Russian leadership to fundamentally resolve the Ukraine situation, the North’s state media reported on Sunday.
Kim made the comment during his meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, state news agency KCNA said.
