Leaked chats appear to show judge advised prosecutors in Lula case

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BRASILIA (Reuters) - Leaked personal messages published on Saturday by a news website show the judge who led the corruption trial that jailed former Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva advised prosecutors to influence public opinion against the leftist leader.

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro speaks during a session of the Public Security commission at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

The Intercept posted what it said were social media chats from then judge Sergio Moro to the prosecution team, suggesting prosecutors make a public statement playing up what Moro said were contradictions in Lula’s testimony to undermine his claim to be a victim of political persecution.

The exchange occurred after Lula’s May 10, 2017 deposition against charges that he took a beachside luxury apartment as a bribe. Lula left the court room to tell supporters that he was being “massacred” and was preparing to run for president again.

Moro, who is now Brazil’s justice minister, questioned the authenticity of the messages and said he would not comment on texts obtained by hackers.

“The supposed material, obtained in a criminal way, must be presented to an independent authority so that its integrity can be certified,” he said in a statement.

The texts copied off the Telegram messaging app appear to show Moro suggesting to prosecutors that they mount a public campaign against the man he was judging, and The Intercept said they raised doubts about Moro’s impartiality in the trial that led to a 12-year prison sentence for Lula.

“Maybe tomorrow you should write a statement clarifying the contradictions between (Lula’s) deposition and the rest of the proof and his previous statement,” the judge wrote to prosecutor Carlos dos Santos Lima on the corruption investigation.

Lula’s lawyers have long argued that Moro was a politically motivated judge who wanted to jail their client to block him from running for the presidency last year, when opinion polls showed him easily leading the race, even after he had been jailed.

In an interview published on Friday, Moro told the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that he was not worried that the corruption conviction against Lula would be overturned, which legal experts including the Brazilian Bar Association and some Supreme Court Justices have said could happen.

The Intercept has published stories based on what it said was an “enormous trove” of messages received from an anonymous source containing exchanges between prosecutors, Moro and others involved in the investigation and prosecution of the “Car Wash” corruption probe.

Considered the world’s largest graft investigation, it has uncovered billions of dollars of bribes paid in schemes mostly involving sweetheart contracts at state-run firms. It has brought down hundreds of members of the business and political elite in Brazil and across Latin America.

Moro told the newspaper he did not think there was anything illegal in his chats with prosecutors and insisted that Lula’s case “was decided with absolute impartiality based on proof without any type of influence.”

Moro was picked for justice minister by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who won the presidency after Lula was barred from running because of his conviction.

Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel Wallis

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One trapped miner in Chile rescued, one dead, one remains missing

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SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean authorities found alive one of three Bolivian miners trapped beneath the rubble at a small copper mine early on Saturday, while another was found dead, Chile´s mining ministry said.

Authorities have yet to locate the third miner. The three men had gone missing late Thursday after a small landslide blocked the entrance to the mine, trapping the miners nearly 70 meters (230 feet) beneath the surface.

“Our rescue teams found one of the miners in good physical condition, and he has been transferred to the hospital,” mining minister Baldo Prokurica said in a statement on Saturday. “We will continue to look for the third person that has not been found.”

The mining ministry said authorities had worked for nearly 40 hours at the Directorio 8 mine near Tocopilla on the northern Chilean coast before locating two of the three men.

Chile is the world’s top copper producer, and mining accidents, while uncommon, are closely followed by the Chilean public and politicians.

In 2010, a mining accident in Copiapo, northern Chile, led to 33 miners being trapped underground for nearly 10 weeks before being rescued, an event that made world headlines.

Reporting by Dave Sherwood, Editing by Franklin Paul

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Venezuelans rush to Peru border ahead of migration crackdown

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TUMBES, Peru (Reuters) - Thousands of Venezuelans rushed to Peru’s northern border on Friday in hopes of entering the Andean country before it imposes tough immigration requirements at midnight, as one of the hitherto most welcoming destinations for the migrants in South America closes another door to them.

Venezuela’s economic collapse under President Nicolas Maduro has unleashed the biggest migratory crisis in recent Latin American history, forcing countries like Peru - a developing nation of 32 million people - to grapple with an unprecedented surge in immigration.

Children dominated the crowds of tired migrants who arrived at the Peruvian border town of Tumbes from Ecuador on Friday, ahead of the June 15 deadline for all Venezuelan migrants to have valid visas and passports.

On Thursday alone, 5,849 Venezuelans entered Peru at Tumbes, compared to a daily average of around 1,500-2,000 in recent months, Peru’s immigration office said on Friday.

“It was awful!” said Rosmaura, a 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant who said she had traveled for a week from the eastern Venezuelan city of Maracaibo to reach Tumbes with her two children. She declined to give her second name.

Rosmaura was afraid that after June 15 Peru would not let her 5-year-old daughter in because she lacks a passport, which she said costs $200-$500 to acquire in Venezuela - an impossible fee for most people in a country where the monthly minimum wage equates to just $6.

She said she hopes to make it to Chile.

“Most of my family is there,” she said.

Four million Venezuelans - more than a tenth of the population - have fled the economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland, the United Nations said last week.

Peru is home to some 800,000, the government says - the second-largest Venezuelan migrant population outside Colombia, which houses more than 1.2 million.

Just two years ago, Peru had introduced new migratory laws to accommodate Venezuelan migrants. It doled out hundreds of thousands of special residency cards so they could work legally, go to school and access public health care.

But the tide has since turned, amid growing fears fanned by media reports and politicians that Venezuelan migrants are driving down wages and fuelling crime.

Slideshow (17 Images)

Peru cut short its special residency program and started deporting Venezuelans with criminal records. The government has said it would require migrants to secure a visa from its consulates in Venezuela before going to the border - a policy similar to one implemented by neighboring Chile.

As migrants took buses, hitchhiked and trekked their way to Peru’s border on Thursday, President Martin Vizcarra defended his new immigration stance from an event in the northern city of Piura.

“Our country has opened its arms to more than 800,000 Venezuelans. I think it’s completely logical and justified to ask them to bring visas to ensure better control of who enters,” Vizcarra told journalists.

Reporting by Guadalupe Pardo and Reuters TV, Writing By Mitra Taj; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Rosalba O'Brien

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Mexico, Honduras say will work together to protect migrant rights

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico and Honduras will coordinate to protect the rights of Honduran migrants in transit through Mexico as well as strengthen their cooperation to tackle human trafficking, their foreign ministries said in a joint statement on Friday.

Officials from both countries met in Mexico City to discuss migration and development “under the principle of shared responsibility,” the statement said.

Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, Editing by Dan Flynn

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U.S. sending more asylum seekers back to Mexico via Texas border crossing: official

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Cuban migrants return to Mexico from the United States to await their court hearing for asylum seekers as part of the legal proceedings under a new policy established by the U.S. government, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday began ramping up the pace of returns of asylum seekers to Mexico to wait out their U.S. court hearings by sending around 200 migrants back through the El Paso, Texas, port of entry, according to a Mexican official.

The increase from around 100 migrants a day is the first sign of expansion of a Trump administration policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, said Luis Carlos Cano, a spokesman for Mexico’s national immigration agency in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso. The program began in January and was meant to expand as part of a deal to stave off tariffs on Mexican goods.

Reporting by Julio-Cesar Chavez in El Paso, Texas; Editing by Leslie Adler

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U.S. drugmakers file lawsuit against requiring drug prices in TV ads

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FILE PHOTO: Used blister packets that contained medicines, tablets and pills are seen, in this picture illustration taken June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/Illustration

(Reuters) - U.S. drugmakers filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a new government regulation that would require them to disclose the list price of prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements.

The lawsuit was jointly filed by Amgen Inc, Merck & Co, Eli Lilly and Co and the Association Of National Advertisers in the U.S. district court for the district of Columbia.

The new regulation, which was finalized on May 8 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and set to take effect in July, is part of the government’s efforts to bring down the cost of prescription medicines for U.S. consumers.

Drugmakers have argued against the regulation, saying list prices do not reflect the final price paid by patients as it excludes rebates and discounts drugmakers may offer, as well as patient assistance programs to make drugs more affordable for some.

“Not only does the rule raise serious freedom of speech concerns, it mandates an approach that fails to account for differences among insurance, treatments and patients themselves, by requiring disclosure of list price,” Amgen said in a statement.

“Most importantly, it does not answer the fundamental question patients are asking: ‘What will I have to pay for my medicine?’” Amgen said.

It remains to be seen whether the advertising regulation would have any actual impact on lowering costs if the requirement goes into effect.

“If the drug companies are embarrassed by their prices or afraid that the prices will scare patients away, they should lower them,” HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in an emailed statement.

“President Trump and Secretary Azar are committed to providing patients the information they need to make their own informed healthcare decisions.”

Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel and Bill Berkrot

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U.S. drugmakers file lawsuit against rule requiring drug prices in TV ads

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FILE PHOTO: Used blister packets that contained medicines, tablets and pills are seen, in this picture illustration taken June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/Illustration

(Reuters) - U.S. drugmakers on Friday filed a lawsuit to prevent the companies from disclosing the list price of prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements as per a newly proposed government regulation.

The lawsuit was jointly filed by Amgen Inc, Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and the Association Of National Advertisers in the U.S. district court in Columbia.

The new regulation on advertisement, which was finalized on May 8 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and takes effect in July, is part of the government’s efforts to bring down costs for U.S. consumers.

However, drug companies have argued against the proposed rule, saying list prices do not reflect the final price paid by patients as it excludes rebates and discounts drugmakers may offer.

“Not only does the rule raise serious freedom of speech concerns, it mandates an approach that fails to account for differences among insurance, treatments and patients themselves, by requiring disclosure of list price,” Amgen said in a statement.

“Most importantly, it does not answer the fundamental question patients are asking: ‘What will I have to pay for my medicine?’”

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel

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Brazil's Minerva suspends furlough at beef plant as China ban ends

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian meat processor Minerva SA said on Thursday it has suspended a furlough announced last week for its Barretos beef processing facility, following news that a ban to exports to China has ended.

Brazil’s government said on Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of mad cow disease.

Reporting by Gabriela Mello and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Phil Berlowitz

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Brazil lifts suspension of beef exports to China

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s government said on Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of mad cow disease, sending shares of Marfrig Global Foods, Minerva SA and other Brazilian meatpackers soaring.

The suspension had been in effect since June 3 after a case was reported in a 17-year-old cow in the state of Mato Grosso. Cases can arise spontaneously in cattle herds, usually in animals 8 years old or older.

Tereza Cristina Dias, the agriculture minister, said on her Twitter account that Brazil would resume issuance of international health certificates to allow for beef exports to China.

Marfrig, whose shares jumped 5% after the announcement of the end of the suspension, said in a securities filing that the government’s issuance of these certificates had been normalized on Thursday.

Shares of rival Minerva also rose 3% in São Paulo.

China is the only country among Brazilian importers that enforces a health protocol requiring suspension of beef imports when an atypical case of mad cow disease is reported, Brazil’s agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The ministry reiterated the Brazilian government’s intention to negotiate a new health protocol with Chinese authorities to address the issue.

Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Dan Grebler and Paul Simao

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