❗ Formal Petition for Congressional and/ or Foreign Diplomatic Intervention ❗

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The “Status Hierarchy and the socially Engineered Status Dynamics

Earthquake in Venezuela. Countering transnational repression. Lawyers under attack.

You’re watching news from the weekly rally in front of the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. Today is June 27th, 2:30 PM.

On the evening of June 24, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela. Parts of Caracas and surrounding areas were devastated. The second tremor was the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. As of June 26, authorities had confirmed 920 deaths and 3,360 injuries, but more than 50,000 people were missing and crews were still clearing rubble. Using a mathematical model, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the possible death toll at between 10,000 and 100,000. Residents are doing much of the rescue work themselves, pulling people from the rubble with their bare hands because there are not enough cranes or equipment. Mexico, El Salvador, the United States and other countries have already sent aid. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/rescuers-comb-venezuelan-quake-rubble-thousands-reported-missing-2026-06-26/

Portugal sent a civil protection team of about 50 people: rescuers, INEM medics and military personnel from the GNR Emergency Assistance and Support Unit with experience in international missions. https://portugal.gov.pt/gc25/comunicacao/noticias/portugal-mobiliza-equipa-de-emergencia-para-apoiar-a-venezuela-apos-os-sismos

In Lisbon, the Venezuelan restaurant La Calle 58, at Calçada da Tapada 15, is accepting aid. We contacted the restaurant, and staff said they need medicine, disposable gloves, masks, first aid kits, bandages, disinfectants, baby products, hygiene products and nonperishable food. (❗ Check their work hours and contact them before buying and bringing anything). https://www.instagram.com/lacalle58.pt/

On June 16, the European Parliament adopted a nonbinding resolution on countering transnational repression—the persecution of critics abroad by authoritarian regimes, including within the EU. The document names Russia, China, Iran and Belarus as the main perpetrators. It singles out Russia as one of the world's most aggressive actors and as responsible for the largest number of documented cases in the EU, citing assassinations and attempted assassinations, recruitment via Telegram, proxies such as Wagner and the abuse of Interpol "red notices." China is described as waging the world's most systematic campaign, with overseas "police stations" and pressure on academia. The resolution also notes operations by Iranian intelligence services and the IRGC, as well as the outsourcing of attacks to organized crime groups. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2026-0203_EN.html

On June 20, the "Disclosedlive" YouTube channel broadcast a roundtable of Russian lawyers titled "Lawyers Under Attack: Questions Facing the Profession." They said the justice system is in a systemic crisis, citing a 99.64 percent conviction rate in 2024 and dependence of judges. Most judges come from prosecutors' offices, investigative agencies or court staffs, they said. Participants examined cases in which they had served as defense attorneys as examples of fabrication: confessions extracted under torture, false expert reports, closed-door trials with secret witnesses and the persecution of lawyers themselves, including disbarment. The result was a draft resolution with three demands: not to introduce a Justice Ministry "lawyer monopoly," to establish criminal liability for obstructing attorneys' work and to create a real mechanism to hold investigators, prosecutors, experts and judges accountable for fabricating cases. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG8iogtH7nA