MILAN (AP) — Czechia has to do without Pavel Zacha at the Milan Cortina Games as the Boston Bruins center will not recover in time from injury for the Olympic hockey tournament in a blow for the Czechs.
The Czech team said Saturday that Zacha will be replaced by Filip Chlapík from Sparta Prague in the Czech league.
The Czechs announced the change after it was approved by the International Olympic Committee. They received the bad news from Boston manager general Don Sweeney on Friday evening.
Zacha left the Bruins' 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 30 during . He has 15 goals and 22 assists in 54 games for the Bruins this season.
The Czechs open the Olympic tournament against Canada on Feb. 12.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault (35) stops Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced a major Cabinet shake-up Wednesday with the appointment of a new defense minister to replace Gen. Vladimir Padrino López, who had been a cornerstone of the military’s long-standing support for former President Nicolás Maduro.
Rodríguez announced the transition on her Telegram channel, saying the appointment of Gen. Gustavo González López to the role was effective immediately. She also thanked Padrino López for his “loyalty to the Homeland” and expressed confidence in his future roles.
The announcement comes more than ten weeks after Rodríguez became acting head of state following the Jan. 3 U.S. military operation that captured Maduro to put him on trial in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
The Trump administration has since ramped up pressure on the Maduro loyalists currently governing the oil-rich nation.
González López has an extensive intelligence background and faced U.S. sanctions for his role in cracking down on 2014 street protests. Since Jan. 6, when Rodríguez reshuffled her security detail, he has served as commander general of the presidential honor guard and head of the military’s feared counterintelligence agency.
Padrino López was one of the longest-serving Cabinet ministers after Maduro took office in 2013 and one the country's longest-serving defense ministers following his appointment in 2014.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez attend a government-organized civic-military march in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
