In El Salvador, government effort against gangs bears fruit

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos Mario MARQUEZ, February 8, 2020

Suspected members of the Barrio 18 gang are pictured at Isidro Menendez
Justice Court in San Salvador on February 6 (AFP Photo/MARVIN RECINOS)

San Salvador (AFP) - Since his arrival in office in June, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has stepped up the country's war on criminal gangs, an effort that is bearing fruit according to experts who point to a falling murder rate.

The country of 6.5 million is one of the most violent in the world and its citizens also face chronic poverty which has prompted many to flee northward towards the United States, including in infamous migrant caravans.

In January El Salvador recorded 119 murders, its lowest monthly tally since the end of its civil war in 1992, the president said recently.

Its murder rate, meanwhile, has dropped massively between 2018 and 2019, from 51 to 35.6 inhabitants per 100,000.

When Bukele assumed office, criminal gangs intensified their activity in an apparent attempt to force the new government to make concessions such as easing jail conditions, analysts said.

A guard wathes over suspected Barrio 18 gang members at Isidro Menendez 

Justice Court in San Salvador on February 6 (AFP Photo/MARVIN RECINOS)

Far from buckling, the government toughened its stance on jailed gang members.

"The message was clear: The gangs know that if they challenge the president, the jailed leaders will pay the consequences," said analyst Juan Ramon Medrano, a professor at Francisco Gavidia University.

Gangs holding back 

Justice and Security Minister Rogelio Rivas has repeated several times: "Now the government is in control of the country's prisons."

El Salvador's criminal gangs, which are involved in extortion, drug-trafficking and other crime, boast around 70,000 members, including 17,000 who are incarcerated.

According to Janette Aguilar, a researcher at the Central American University (UCA) of El Salvador, pressure from authorities has led to the gangs reigning in their activities.

Suspected members of the Barrio 18 gang are pictured at the Isidro Menendez 

Justice Court in San Salvador on February 6 (AFP Photo/MARVIN RECINOS)

She suggested that "an agreement has been reached between the main rival gangs" Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, more commonly known as MS-13, to reign in their violent activities against each other.

Carlos Carcach, a researcher from the Higher School of Economics and Business said that "something is happening inside the gangs that explains them reducing their violence levels."

Bukele, 38, enjoys sky-high popularity ratings and his security policies have been well-received among weary Salvadorans.

Medrano says the public believes that under Bukele the police, with help from the military, are "trying harder" to combat criminal gangs while working "more intelligently."

Extortion still rampant

While there are fewer murders not all of the gangs' activities are on the decline.

Suspected members of the Barrio 18 gang are pictured in custody at Isidro 

Menendez Justice Court in San Salvador on February 6 (AFP Photo/MARVIN RECINOS)

"There's been no decrease in extortion, which is the gangs' oxygen," said Medrano.

The president's biggest challenge is "to stop extortion and get to the root of the problem," which means preventing the gangs from recruiting new young members, he added.

But to do that, "youngsters need to have the opportunity to work and study to better themselves," he said.

Greater reduction of gang violence would open the way for more investment in El Salvador's poorest communities therefore helping the youngsters, he added.

Suriname court convicts president of murder

DW, 30 November 2019

Suriname's President Desi Bouterse has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 1982 murder of 15 political opponents. The South American country is now on edge over what happens next.

Suriname President Desi Bouterse (Reuters/R. Abhelakh)

A military court in Suriname on Friday convicted President Desi Bouterse of murder for the execution of 15 opponents in 1982, plunging the South American country into political uncertainty.

Opposition parties called on Bouterse, who is on a state visit to China, to step down. He was expected to return home on Saturday or Sunday.

The 74-year-old leader was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the military court did not issue an arrest warrant. Under Surinamese law, he cannot be arrested until all appeals have been exhausted.

After the court decision, the government asked Suriname's 560,000 people to remain calm.

Who is Bouterse?

As a junior military officer, Bouterse seized power in a coup in 1980, five years after Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands. He stepped down in 1987 under international pressure in a move that led to a democratic election, only to briefly seize power again in 1990.

He later left the army and took office again in 2010, following democratic elections won by his National Democratic Party (NDP). He secured a second term in 2015.

What did the court find? 

The court ruled that Bouterse had overseen what is known as the "December killings," in which soldiers abducted 16 opponents, among them prominent journalists, academics and military officers.

All but one of the detainees was killed at a colonial fortress in the capital Paramaribo. The sole survivor — a union later — testified against Bouterse.

What led up to decision?

The court decision marks a turning point in a trail that began in 2007, when Bouterse accepted "political responsibility'' for the killings but insisted he was not present.

Bouterse and the NDP have repeatedly sought to obstruct the trial. Shortly after taking office in 2010, the NDP-controlled National Assembly granted him amnesty that was overturned by the constitutional court.

Then in 2016, the president asked the attorney general to halt the legal proceedings against him, but the court ruled against the move because the trial had already started.

Calls to implement law

Angelic del Castillo, head of the opposition Democratic Alternative '91 party, said Bouterse had "disqualified himself" and demanded he immediately resign.

In a joint statement, the diplomatic missions of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States called on the final verdict in the killings to be "implemented and upheld in accordance with the rule of law."

"The integrity and independence of the Judiciary is a pillar in Suriname society," they said.

Drug trafficking

In 2009, a Dutch court sentenced Bouterse to 11 years in prison in absentia for drug trafficking. However, his 2010 election victory protected him from being extradited under an Interpol warrant.

In 2015, his son, Dino Bouterse, was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison in the United States after being convicted of drug smuggling and trying to help the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah establish a base in Suriname. He had previously been picked to run Suriname's counter-terrorism unit.

A Suriname judge in 2005 convicted Dino of trafficking arms, drugs and running a gang.

Peru's ex-president ordered detained in graft case: justice

Yahoo – AFP, April 10, 2019

Former Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, 80, resigned in 2018 in a
scandal linked to the Odebrecht case (AFP Photo/Christian Miranda)

Lima (AFP) - A Peruvian court ordered the arrest on Wednesday of ex-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at the request of prosecutors investigating the giant Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Judicial authorities said the 80-year-old former president -- who resigned last year amid the scandal -- would be held for a preliminary period of 10 days "for the alleged crime of money laundering in the Odebrecht case."

The Superior Court on organized crime also authorized prosecutors to conduct a 48-hour search of Kuczynski's home for documents related to the case.

Kuczynski became the first sitting president to resign over the sweeping graft scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht when he stepped down in March 2018.

The region-wide scandal has also embroiled Kuczynski's predecessors Ollanta Humala, Alan Garcia and Alejandro Toledo.

Odebrecht has admitted paying at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials since 2004.

Kuczynski is a former economist who prior to his election in 2016 served as prime minister under Toledo in 2005-06.

Argentina jails ex-Ford directors for 'dirty war' collaboration

Yahoo – AFP, 11 December 2018

Former Ford executive Pedro Muller, pictured in court in Buenos Aires, was jailed
for 10 years for collaborating in the military dictatorship's "dirty war"

An Argentine court on Tuesday handed jail sentences to two former directors of automaker Ford for participating in the military dictatorship's "dirty war" against leftist opponents.

After a year-long trial, the court sentenced Hector Sibilla, the former security chief at Ford's Buenos Aires plant, to 12 years in prison, and manufacturing manager Pedro Muller to 10 years.

They had been on trial since last December, accused of complicity in the persecution of union leaders at the plant during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship.

The court said both men "were necessary participants in the illegal deprivation of liberty, aggravated by the use of violence and threats" with the aim of political persecution.

It found that Sibilla was also present during a torture session.

Prosecutors had requested the maximum penalty of 25 years in jail for both men.

"It's a vindication of the Argentine labor movement, which was a principal target of the dictatorship, with the complicity of the companies," said Tomas Ojea, a lawyer for the victims, after the sentence was read.

"The next step will be against the company itself," he added. "We are going to evaluate the steps to be taken to hold the company to account. It has to explain its actions."

The court heard testimony from dozens of people including Pedro Troiani and Carlos Propato, who were trade union leaders at Ford in Argentina when they were detained in the factory and tortured by the military junta.

The court found Ford's former executive Hector Sibilla was also present during 

a torture session

They were held prisoner for two years and letters were sent to their families claiming they had been fired for failing to show up for work.

Sibilla and Muller are currently out under a former of conditional release that bars them from leaving the country, but the judge said they would have to serve out their sentences in prison once all appeals have been exhausted.

Survivors and relatives burst into applause and cheers when the verdict was given.

The court also sentenced a former general, Santiago Riveros -- head of the secret Campo de Mayo detention center where the men were held -- to 15 years in prison.

He has previously been convicted of crimes against humanity.

Before the sentence was read, only Muller, the manufacturing manager, availed himself of the opportunity to address the court.

"I have a clear conscience because nobody can accuse me over my conduct," he said.

Legal first in Argentina

The case marked the first time executives of a multinational company had been put on trial for crimes committed during the dictatorship.

The company itself was not implicated, but prosecutors sought to demonstrate there was complicity with the dictatorship responsible for the deaths and disappearances of some 30,000 people, according to human rights organizations.

Cases have also been taken against other international automakers, including Mercedes Benz, Renault and Fiat, but only the Ford case has so far gone to trial.

When the military took over in a 1976 coup, some 5,000 workers were employed at Ford's Buenos Aires plant, as well as 2,500 administrative staff.

Twenty four of the 100 trade union delegates at the plant were taken captive in retaliation for union activism.

Several were tortured at the plant, on the northern periphery of Buenos Aires, before they were transferred to secret detention centers.

Former Ford executive Pedro Muller, pictured in court in Buenos Aires, was jailed for 10 years for collaborating in the military dictatorship's "dirty war"

The court found Ford's former executive Hector Sibilla was also present during a torture session

Central American caravan continues toward US after rest

Yahoo – AFP, Yemeli ORTEGA, November 10, 2018

The metro in Mexico City opened an hour early to transport migrants toward
neighboring Mexico State (AFP Photo/Alfredo ESTRELLA)

Mexico City (AFP) - Around 5,000 Central Americans left Mexico City at dawn Saturday, brushing exhaustion and illness aside to get back on the road towards the United States as part of a migrant caravan that has drawn fury from President Donald Trump.

Between coughs and sneezes, the migrants packed up their makeshift camp in a sports park, where they had rested for six nights, and headed to the city's metro -- which opened an hour early to transport them toward neighboring Mexico State.

"We got cold sleeping out in the open, so that's why we're sick now. The kids have got lice, there's not always enough water to bathe them," Adamari Correa, a Guatemalan traveling with her sister and her sister's children, told AFP.

From there, the plan was to set off once again on foot toward Queretaro in central Mexico, still hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the US border.

"I don't want to walk, Mommy!" cried one little girl wrapped in a blanket, as her mother -- a sleeping mat on her back and two large bundles in each hand -- stood in an endless line waiting to board the five designated train, each carrying around 1,000 people, metro authorities estimated.

Some 1,000 police officers kept watch over the operation.

The caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on October 13 and has covered more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) so far.

A group of Central American migrants is seen on the metro in Mexico City, on 

their way to Queretaro state (AFP Photo/Alfredo ESTRELLA)

At least two other caravans have since been established, defying threats from Trump -- who has decried what he describes as an "invasion" and ordered thousands of soldiers to the US-Mexico border.

On Friday, his administration unveiled a controversial new crackdown, announcing it would no longer allow people who enter the US illegally to claim asylum. Instead, those seeking political or other kinds of asylum will be heard exclusively at the border crossings.

Also on Friday, a group of 1,300 Central American migrants fragmented from the caravan to embark on the same path from Mexico City.

They quickly amassed on the sides of the wide high-speed road that snakes around the capital, leading to the exit toward Queretaro.

Taking the risk

"We're sick from the temperature changes," said Wilson Alexander Mejia, a 27-year-old laborer traveling alone.

"But we're determined to reach the border and beyond."

On the highway, truck drivers stopped to offer rides. Some migrants clung to vehicles; others found a seat perched on the hood, above the engine.

"Thank you Mexico! We go forward!" they yelled to passers-by, waving.

Other caravan members following behind trekked on foot or took public buses to reach the Queretaro exit, where trucks slowed to pick them up.

Under already intense sun, transport police were also seen helping migrants into one cargo vehicle's two trailers -- but they lacked any ventilation system.

"When you want something, you have to take risks and not care what happens," said Lucas Rocha, a 31-year-old on his second journey to the border. He said if he doesn't make it this time, he'll try again.

Years ago, he rode the notoriously dangerous cargo train route through Mexico known as "La Bestia" -- "the beast."

Along that route, migrants are routinely robbed and assaulted by organized criminals -- while scrambling onto moving trains sees many get dragged underneath and lose limbs.

MPs demand action as man behind 1982 Dutch journalist murders is found

DutchNews, September 25, 2018

Dutch MPs have urged the government to undertake steps to have the man responsible for the murder of four Dutch journalists in El Salvador in 1982 brought to justice. 

On Monday, investigative journalism programme Zembla revealed that the man, Mario Reys Mena, is a alive and well and living in the US. 

Mena, a former colonel in the El Salvadorean army at the time of the country’s civil war, was never prosecuted even though a report by the UN Truth Commission identified him as the man who gave the order to kill the four. 

When confronted by Zembla journalists, the 79-year-old Mena said the case had been investigated. ‘I was never indicted. You are part of a communist plot to take revenge.’ The journalists tracked him down via the social media activities of his grown up children. 

The Dutch public prosecution department has also confirmed it has been investigating the case since 2013. Mena could also face justice in El Salvador whose amnesty law was abolished two years ago, Zembla said. 

Official version

The official version at the time was that the four journalists, who worked for now defunct broadcaster Ikon, had been killed during an exchange of gunfire between guerrilla fighters and the army. But the 1993 UN investigation found that the murder had been premeditated and the four were ambushed when they were on their way to guerrilla territory. 

According to secret reports by the UN Truth Commission, which have come into the hands of the Zembla journalists, an American military trainer called Bruce Hazelwood, who was stationed at the same base as the soldiers who killed the journalists, knew about the plans. An anonymous source is quoted as saying that ‘Reyes Mena told Bruce Hazelwood about the plan to kill the journalists’. 

Investigation

Zembla also uncovered an email conversation in which Hazelwood writes to a fellow El Salvador veteran about the day of the murder: ‘That night my conversations with Mena were very frank and he followed my recommendations – unlike his former actions.’ 

Confronted with this information by Zembla, Hazelwood denied he was present that day.

 According to Geoff Thale of the Washington Office on Latin America the alleged involvement of Hazelwood warrants an investigation by the American congress. He also said the Dutch government should act.

Venezuela's fugitive prosecutor resurfaces in Brazil

Yahoo – AFP, August 23, 2017

The appearance of Ortega in Brazil adds to the intrigue around the increasingly
 high-profile critic, with expectations that she'd use the big stage to deliver new
corruption allegations against the embattled leader (AFP Photo/Sergio Lima)

Brasília (AFP) - Venezuela's fugitive former top prosecutor was expected to grab the limelight of an international forum in Brazil on Wednesday to intensify her battle against President Nicolas Maduro.

Brazil's prosecutors' office confirmed that Luisa Ortega, 59, was taking part in a crime-fighting conference in the capital Brasilia with representatives from the Latin American trade regional group Mercosur.

"She is taking part at the invitation of the prosecutor general," the office said in a statement regarding the conference, due to open at 9:00 am (1200 GMT).

The appearance of Ortega in Brazil adds to the intrigue around the increasingly high-profile critic, who vowed to use the big stage to deliver new corruption allegations against the embattled leader.

"I will talk about the Odebrecht scandal, corruption in Venezuela and my situation," she said in brief comments made to reporters at the airport following her arrival in Brasilia from Panama late Tuesday.

She was fired from her post this month after being earlier charged with misconduct by authorities loyal to Maduro.

She and her husband, German Ferrer, then fled on Friday after the pro-Maduro Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant against Ferrer for alleged corruption and extortion.

On Tuesday, Maduro announced he was asking Interpol to issue "red notice" warrants for "these people involved in serious crimes."

However, Columbia and Brazil have both firmly condemned Maduro's handling of the crisis. Oil-rich Venezuela has been suspended indefinitely from the Mercosur group.

A loyalist of late socialist president Hugo Chavez, Ortega broke ranks with his successor Maduro to become his most high-ranking domestic critic as international pressure on the president mounted.

Last month, Maduro set up a new constitutional body packed with his allies, which a few days later removed Ortega from her post.

She hit back on Friday by claiming she had evidence implicating Maduro and his close allies in an international bribery scandal involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht

"They are very worried and anxious, because they know we have details on all the cooperation, amounts and people who got rich," Ortega told a meeting of Latin American prosecutors in Mexico by video conference.

"And that investigation involves Mr Nicolas Maduro and his inner circle."

Maduro counter-attacked on Sunday, alleging on television that Ortega had received money for blocking corruption investigations that he had ordered.

Maduro was elected in 2013 after the death of his late mentor Chavez.

Venezuela has since descended into chaos that has raised fears for regional stability.

The fall in world prices for its oil exports has left it short of dollars for vital imports.

Maduro's critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking the state institutions amid shortages of food and medicine.

Clashes between protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors.

Luisa Ortega, who fled Venezuela, said that she possesses evidence of President Nicolas Maduro's corruption https://t.co/7behQvFOIl pic.twitter.com/ojeC6NoMLO

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 23, 2017

Related Article:

Colombia offers asylum to Venezuela prosecutor

Queen Maxima’s controversial father dies, royals to attend funeral

DutchNews, August 9, 2017

Maxima and Willem-Alexander with Jorge Zorreguieta in 2011. Photo: Persbureau
Edwin Janssen via HH

The father of queen Maxima, Jorge Zorreguieta, has died at home in Buenos Aires at the age of 89. He had been ill for some time. 

Maxima, who was at her father’s side when he died, king Willem-Alexander and their three daughters will all attend the funeral, the state information service RVD said. 

Zorreguieta was minister of agriculture at the time of the Videla dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. After it was announced that Maxima and Willem-Alexander were to marry, the Dutch government commissioned a report into his role in the junta. 

That report concluded that it was ‘unthinkable’ that Zorreguieta knew nothing of the human rights abuses but was unlikely to have been involved himself. He has always denied any knowledge of the killings. 

Nevertheless, he was banned from attending the wedding and later in 2013, the inauguration of Willem-Alexander as king. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte has expressed his condolences to the royal family on behalf of the cabinet. ‘I wish them, their daughters and other members of the family strength and courage at this difficult time,’ Rutte said. 

From dictator to detainee: Noriega's turbulent past

Yahoo – AFP, May 30, 2017

From dictator to detainee: Noriega s turbulent past

Panama City (AFP) - The late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who rose to power while working for the CIA, ruled ruthlessly 1983-1989 and was ousted by a US military invasion.

Noriega, 83, died late Monday in a Panama City hospital as he was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Here are some notable moments of Noriega's life:

February 11, 1934: Noriega is born to a poor family in Panama City's Guachimango district. He goes on to graduate from a military academy in Peru and embarks on a military career.

1968: Participates in a coup that ousts president Arnulfo Arias, and backs popular strongman general Omar Torrijos. Around this time Noriega reportedly goes onto the CIA's payroll. Torrijos makes him chief of Panama's military intelligence.

1983: Noriega takes command of the National Guard and becomes Panama's de facto ruler, two years after Torrijos dies in a mysterious plane crash.

December 20, 1989: US forces invade Panama to oust Noriega, accusing him of drug trafficking. Noriega takes refuge in the Vatican embassy for 10 days, then surrenders to the US soldiers, who take him to the United States.

1992: A US court sentences Noriega to 40 years prison for drug trafficking. The sentence is later cut to 17 years.

April 2010: Noriega is extradited to France, where he faces charges of laundering $3 million from the Medellin drug cartel through French banks.

July 2010: A French court sentences Noriega to seven years in prison.

December 11, 2011: France extradites Noriega to Panama, where he was sentenced in absentia to three 20-year prison sentences for the murder of opponent Hugo Spadafora and military commander Moises Giroldi, and for killing rebellious soldiers trying to overthrow him in what became known as the Albrook massacre.

January 28, 2017: A Panama court agrees to temporarily release Noriega to house arrest to prepare for surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. The ex-dictator's family and lawyers say he has suffered strokes, respiratory problems, prostate cancer and depression.

March 7, 2017: Doctors remove the brain tumor, but complications lead to cerebral bleeding. Following a second operation doctors put him in an induced coma.

May 29, 2017: Noriega dies at the San Tomas public hospital.

From dictator to detainee: Noriega's turbulent past https://t.co/CRIV6QHl2u pic.twitter.com/AUdThhnbFs

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 30, 2017

Pinochet agents apologize for Chile crimes

Yahoo – AFP, December 23, 2016

Human rights activists demonstrate during the private ecumenical ceremony in
 the Punta Peuco prison where nine former agents of Chile's 1973-1990 dictatorship,
apologize for their crimes, in Santiago, on December 23, 2016 (AFP Photo/
Christian Miranda)

Santiago (AFP) - Nine former agents of late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's regime asked forgiveness for their crimes Friday -- a first for Chile -- but victims' families rejected the gesture as a ploy.

The apology came in the form of a private religious ceremony at the Punta Peuco prison, where some 100 former regime agents are serving sentences for the kidnappings, killings and torture perpetrated during Pinochet's rule from 1973 to 1990.

The nine convicts included Raul Iturriaga, a high-ranking official in Pinochet's political police.

"God is doing something extraordinary in this country. This would not have been possible until recently," Anglican priest Pablo Alvarez told journalists after the ceremony, which was closed to the press.

But dozens of victims' family members protested outside the prison, rejecting the ceremony as a hollow bid to obtain a pardon or early release.

"We have the right and the moral duty to be here to prevent this media show," said Alicia Lira, head of a rights group for victims' families.

Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nunez, right, leaves the federal courthouse with his

 attorney, Luis Calderon, left, Monday, June 27, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. Barrientos, 

former lieutenant under the brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet, tortured and killed 

a famed Chilean folk singer whose family had been seeking justice for more 

than 40 years, a federal jury in Florida ruled. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Family members emphasized that none of the convicts have provided information on the fate of nearly 1,000 people missing and presumed killed by the regime.

They also demand the closure of Punta Peuco, which they condemn as a luxury prison with tennis courts, terraces and barbecues.

More than 3,000 regime opponents and alleged collaborators were killed or disappeared during Pinochet's rule. Some 38,000 were tortured.

Pinochet, who came to power in a military coup, died in 2006 without being brought to justice.

El Salvador arrests ex-president over graft accusations

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos Mario Marquez, October 30, 2016

Elias Antonio Saca was president of El Salvador from 2004 to 2009

(AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

San Salvador (AFP) - Police in El Salvador arrested the country's ex-president Elias Antonio Saca and six other suspects including three serving government officials on Sunday for alleged embezzlement and money laundering, authorities said.

Saca, 51, and six other former officials from his government were detained in the early morning "on charges of various crimes," it said on Twitter.

Saca is a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). He was president of El Salvador from 2004 to 2009.

He is accused of embezzlement, money laundering and links to illegal groups, the prosecutors' office said.

It give no further details of the accusations for the time being.

A self-made businessman, Saca was a well-known journalist before becoming president.

He was seen as a strong ally of the United States during his time in power.

The other suspects arrested include former public waterworks official Cesar Funes, 46, and ex-presidential communications chief Julio Rank, 65.

Police said those two were detained along with Saca in an exclusive restaurant.

Salvadoran media reported that the three were there to celebrate the wedding of one of Saca's sons.

Official sources said the suspects were in custody in the premises of the anti-drugs squad in the capital San Salvador.

Elmer Charlaix, ex private secretary of former Salvadorean President Antonio Saca

 (2004-2009), is transferred to the division of narcotics of the police National Civil, 

where Saca is also detained in San Salvador on October 30, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Marvin Recinos)

'US pressure'

El Salvador is a Central American country of six million people, bordered by Guatemala and Honduras.

It is stricken by poverty and violent crime involving drug gangs.

The other three detained suspects are Pablo Gomez, Francisco Rodriguez Artega and Jorge Alberto Harrera.

They worked in Saca's government and are currently financial officials in the government of leftist President Salvador Sanchez.

The suspects could face sentences of up to 15 years in jail for embezzlement and money laundering, according to El Salvador's penal code.

Saca was already facing charges dating to early this year, when he was accused of embezzling some four million dollars.

His leftist successor as president, Mauricio Funes, faces similar charges. He obtained political asylum in Nicaragua in September, after saying he feared for his life in El Salvador.

Political analyst Juan Ramon Medrano said the corruption investigations were likely partly due to pressure from the United States.

Washington has demanded action on corruption in return for financial aid to boost development and fight crime in El Salvador and its two poor neighbors.

"It is good that pressure from the United States is succeeding in cleaning up suspected corruption in the country," Medrano told AFP.

"But pressure should also be applied to those who evade taxes and have drowned the country fiscally."

Argentine women protest rape and murder of teenager

Argentine women have taken to the streets in protest after the savage rape and murder of a 16-year-old-girl. Organizers said their goal was to protest a macho culture and system that values women less than men.

Deutsche Welle, 20 Oct 2016

Women from across the country marched in memory of Lucia Perez, who died earlier this month, in the latest demonstration to take place after more than a year of mass protests.

Many who part in the Buenos Aires protest wore black, to mourn victims of gender-based violence.

The demo took place under the banner "Black Wednesday," and was organized by the collectives "Ni Una Menos" (Not One Fewer) and MuMaLa. There were no official attendance figures.

There was an eruption of anger in June last year after a series of gruesome killings, but the murder of Perez in the city of Mar del Plata has led to particular outrage.

"If you touch one of us, we all react," said signs carried by many of the protesters, who staged an hour-long strike at 1 p.m. (1400 UTC). Solidarity protests were held in other countries, including Spain and Mexico.

'Sobering and planned' murder

Perez, a high school student, died on October 8 after she was allegedly raped and impaled on a spike.

Prosecutor Maria Isabel Sanchez said last week that Perez had been drugged with cocaine and had suffered "inhumane sexual aggression" that resulted in cardiac arrest. The perpetrators were then said to have washed the body in an effort to make the death appear accidental.

Two men, known for selling drugs outside a school, were being held on Sunday in connection with the rape and homicide.

"The brutality of this crime reveals a sobering, planned and sophisticated violence," said Florencia Minici, spokeswoman for Ni Una Menos. Minici said the event would serve as a visual reminder of the violence, which she said was "beyond any statistic."

'Gather strength, shout together'

Perez' brother, Matias, said the demonstration could help prevent more deaths like that of his sister. "We have to gather strength - now more than ever - and get out onto the street to shout together - 'Not one more (life lost)!'" he said.

MuMaLa coordinator Raquel Vivanco told the news agency EFE that the state was "absent" from dealing with the problem, with figures showing that a woman was murdered in Argentina every 30 hours.

However, Argentine Justice Minister German Garavano, who met Perez' family last week, said the government was committed to dealing with the problem.

rc/jr (AFP, AP, EFE)

Related Article:

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”