From Columbia Radio News in New York, I’m Andrea Salcedo.
Venezuelan troops have killed at least one person and wounded several others today in an indigenous village near Brazil’s border. This is the first act of violence in the midst of efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the South American country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denies there is a humanitarian crisis and opposes international aid.
And at the border of Colombia and Venezuela, a fundraising effort by British billionaire Richard Branson is underway. Branson is raising money for humanitarian aid for Venezuela.Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Cúcuta. That’s the town where the United states has been pilling aid to ship to Venezuela this weekend.
The US will leave 400 of its troops in Syria. The troops will remain at a military base near the border of Iraq and Jordan. President Trump said in December that all U.S. troops will be leaving Syria because the U.S. had won the battle against ISIS. Now he says the U.S. can leave a small army of troops in that country.
R&B singer and producer R-Kelly was charged in Illinois today with ten counts of sexual abuse, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times. Multiple women accused the singer of sexual abuse in a Lifetime documentary. Kelly has denied abuse accusations in the past.
The owner of NFL Super Bowl champions New England Patriots has been charged with soliciting prostitution. Authorities say they learned Robert Kraft solicited sex at a massage parlor in Florida through a sting operation. Videos show the billionaire visiting the massage parlor in two separate occasions to solicit sex. A spokesman for Kraft and the Patriots denied the accusations.
Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman wants a new trial. Meanwhile his sisters in Mexico want to come see him while he serves his time in an American prison. They’ve asked Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to help them get visas.
For Columbia Radio News, I’m Andrea Salcedo.