The Daily Telegraph - 22.08.2019

Maduro: I gave

consent to secret

talks between US

and my officials

By Rozina Sabur in Washington

PRESIDENT Nicolas Maduro of Vene-
zuela has claimed secret talks between
his top officials and the US have been
taking place with his express permis-
sion.
It comes amid reports that American
officials were secretly working to oust
Mr Maduro from power with the help
of his deputy, Diosdado Cabello.
The country is suffering from one of
the worst economic crises in history,
which has caused a mass exodus of
people and left many of those who
remain without basic access to food,
health and education services.
Donald Trump confirmed on Tues-
day that his administration was “talk-
ing to various representatives of
Venezuela”. Mr Trump declined to
name the officials, but added “we are
talking at a very high level”.
Mr Maduro took to national televi-
sion on Tuesday to say the talks
between senior officials from the two
countries had been under way for
some time. “We’ve had secret meetings
in secret places with secret people that
nobody knows,” he said, adding that all
talks had been carried out under his
“direct” authorisation.
Mr Trump’s national security
adviser, John Bolton, poured cold wa-
ter on that claim yesterday, saying in a
tweet: “As the president has repeatedly
stated, to end the pilfering of the

Venezuelan people’s resources and

continued repression, Maduro must

go. The only items discussed by those

who are reaching out behind Maduro’s

back are his departure and free and fair

elections.”

Reports over the weekend suggested

that the Trump administration had

been covertly approaching members of

Mr Maduro’s inner circle with offers of

immunity if they withdraw their sup-

port for the Venezuelan leader.

According to a Trump administra-

tion official, that dialogue was said to

focus on Mr Cabello, who reportedly

met with a US intermediary in Caracas

last month.

America is among more than 50

countries to recognise Juan Guaidó,

the Venezuelan opposition leader, as

the country’s rightful president.

In his first public comments about

the matter, Mr Guaidó said the Vene-

zuelan government’s hardliners would

be disappointed to hear about alleged

talks with the US.

“What’s clear are the contradictions

of the regime,” he said at an event in Ca-

racas yesterday. “If they’ve been effec-

tive in anything, it’s communications,

propaganda, lies for years.”

Mr Guaidó appeared to be on the

verge of ousting Mr Maduro earlier this

year, but a number of key allies of the

president who had planned to defect

appeared to get cold feet at the last mo-

ment and rallied around the regime.

Brazil leader says Amazon fires lit by his enemies

By Andrew Quinn

BRAZIL’S hard-Right president has
blamed non-governmental organisa-
tions (NGOs) for starting fires in the
Amazon rainforest to undermine him.
Jair Bolsonaro said NGOs were “set-
ting fire” to the forest to shame his gov-
ernment after he cut their funding.
His intervention came after the Na-
tional Institute for Space Research
(Inpe) released data this week suggest-

ing fires were at a record level, with an

83 per cent increase compared to 2018.

Mr Bolsonaro sacked the head of

Inpe, Ricardo Galvão, this month after

accusing him of “lying” about the scale

of deforestation.

Conservationists have accused Mr

Bolsonaro of encouraging loggers and

farmers to clear the land.

In a statement broadcast on Face-

book Live, avoiding the hostile main-

stream media, Mr Bolsonaro claimed

that the aim of the NGOs was “to draw

attention against me”.

On Monday, smoke from the fires

caused an hour-long daytime blackout

in São Paulo, more than 2,700km away.

Inpe claimed to have logged a record

72,000 fires between January and Au-

gust. There were only 40,000 fires in

the whole of 2018. Satellite images

showed the northern state of Roraima

covered in smoke. Its neighbour, Amazo-

nas, has declared a state of emergency.

Mexicans cleared to use cocaine

By Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

A MEXICAN court granted two people

the right to carry and use cocaine,

though not to buy or sell it, an anti-pro-

hibition organisation said yesterday.

The rulings, the first of their kind in

Mexico, would allow the petitioners to

“possess, transport and use cocaine”,

but not to sell it, Mexicans United

Against Crime, a non-profit group

which has lobbied for years for an end

to Mexico’s “war on drugs”, said. Hun-

dreds of thousands of people have been

killed since the government’s crack-

down on drug trafficking began in

2007, and all drug use is criminalised.

The court decision follows a simi-

larly tolerant legal path created around

marijuana, which the Mexican govern-

ment is moving closer to legalising.

The ruling only applies to the two

people who brought the cases, whose

names were not disclosed.

Ships of the Silk Road Lines of camel trains carry tourists past the Mingsha Mountain

near Dunhuang in Gansu Province, north-west China. The trails formed part of the 4,000-

mile Silk Road that dates back to the 4th century BC.

CHINA NEWS SERVICE

World news

Kashmir policeman and

militant die in gunfight

Two people were killed in India’s

disputed Kashmir region yesterday in

the first clash since the federal

government scrapped the northern

territory’s autonomy.

Police said a gunfight in Baramulla,

33 miles west of Srinagar, erupted on

Tuesday evening after an armed

militant fired on a police search party.

In the ensuing battle, which lasted more

than eight hours, the militant was shot

dead. Two policemen were wounded,

with one dying later in hospital.

WORLD BULLETIN

Serial upskirting suspect

arrested in Madrid

Spanish police said they have arrested

a man suspected of secretly recording

videos of more than 500 women’s

underwear, some of them minors, on

public transport and in supermarkets.

A 53-year-old Colombian has been

arrested after allegedly using a mobile

phone concealed inside a backpack to

take pictures up women’s skirts in

Madrid without their consent, a

practice known as “upskirting”.

He was caught in the act on the

Madrid metro, a police statement said.

German joyrider, eight,

found after 87mph jaunt

An eight-year-old joyrider was found

by the side of a German motorway

with his hazard lights on and a

warning triangle up after taking his

mother’s car for a spin, police said.

Soest police said the boy’s mother

called them yesterday morning after

she noticed that both her son and her

VW Golf had disappeared.

The boy was discovered after he

pulled over at a highway service area

because he felt “uncomfortable” on

the road when he reached speeds of

140 kph (87 mph).

Buildings set on fire in

Indonesian protests

Demonstrators clashed with police

and buildings were set on fire

yesterday during further unrest in the

eastern Indonesian territory of Papua.

More than 1,000 security personnel

were sent to the region after violent

protests, triggered by the detention of

dozens of Papuan students in Java at

the weekend, broke out on the streets.

Jakarta appealed for calm in West

Papua province, but in Timika city

yesterday, 1,000 demonstrators battled

with police, set buildings alight and

threw rocks at the local parliament.

The Daily Telegraph Thursday 22 August 2019 *** 15

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