News

Mexican Authorities Arrest Infamous Cartel Leader Joaquin Guzman

by Michael YoakumImpunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Mexican authorities arrested notorious drug king Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Saturday at a condominium in the resort town of Mazatlán. News spread quickly to Washington, where US Attorney’s office announced Sunday that they will seek extradition of Guzman.

Guzman was arrested in 2001 but escaped from a high security prison, evading capture for thirteen years. (photo courtesy of The New York Times)

Authorities apprehended Guzman in a raid just before dawn in Mazatlán, pinning him to a bed before he could reach a Kalashnikov rifle lying on the floor. The condominium where Guzman was captured has a reputation for being a hangout for drug traffickers.

News of Guzman’s capture has been celebrated in the US, where he is considered one of the most notorious drug traffickers, responsible for as much as 80% of the drug trade in Chicago.

Attorney General Eric Holder said of his capture, “the apprehension of Joaquin ‘Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, by Mexican authorities is a landmark achievement, and a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States.”

Holder added that he was pleased that US law enforcement was able to cooperate with Mexican authorities in capturing Guzman.

Pressure on Guzman’s gang, the Sinaloa cartel, has increased in recent months as Mexican authorities have captured or killed several lieutenants. Information gained during raids on those cartel members ultimately yielded information, namely cell phone data, that aided in capturing Guzman.

The Sinaloa cartel is considered one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in the world, having a wide reach into Europe and Asia. The cartel is heavily involved in the stream of violence in Mexico over the drug trade that has killed tens of thousands.

Despite his infamy, Guzman has been featured on Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful people with an estimated wealth of $1 billion.

In his hometown of Badiraguato, Guzman is honored in song that pays homage to his small stature but wide reaching power. The area, known for harboring some of the most notorious drug traffickers, fears and admires people like Guzman.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán: US to seek cartel leader’s extradition from Mexico – 23 February 2014

BBC News – Man and myth: Joaquin ‘Shorty’ Guzman – 22 February 2014

CNN – After years on run, Sinaloa cartel chief ‘El Chapo’ Guzman arrested – 22 February 2014

NBC News – Authorities Arrest Mexican Drug Kingpin Joaquin Guzman – 22 February 2014

The New York Times – El Chapo, Most-Wanted Drug Lord, Is Captured in Mexico – 22 February 2014

Venezuela Deaths Rise as Police and Opposition Activists Clash Again

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Police and opposition demonstrators have clashed at the end of a march that gathered tens of thousands of people in Caracas on February 22. Police fired tear gas and activists hurled stones in the Altamira district where several people were injured.

Demonstrators run from police firing tear gas and rubber bullets during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, February 22, 2014. REUTERS-Jorge Silva
Demonstrators run from police firing tear gas and rubber bullets during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on February 22, 2014. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters/Jorge Silva)

Since the protests began, 10 people have died, 137 have been injured and 104 arrested, according to government figures. Demonstrators are accusing troops and pro-Maduro militants of attacking peaceful demonstrators.

A female student and a young supermarket worker were the latest fatalities from Venezuela’s political unrest. Geraldin Moreno, a 23-year old student, died in a hospital on Saturday after being shot in the face with rubber bullets as security forces broke up a protest on February 19. Santiago Enrique Pedroza, a 29 year-old man was killed late on Friday when he rode his motorcycle into a cable strung across a main road in the eastern neighborhood of Horizonte.”He was on his way home, he couldn’t see the cable because of the darkness, and it slit his throat,” Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres told state television.

Maduro reiterated that the events of the last two weeks are a coup-in-the-making backed by the United States and financed by Colombia’s ex-president Álvaro Uribe, whom Maduro accuses Leopoldo Lopez of working closely with.

Anti-government protesters have repeatedly blocked streets in the area with trash, which they sometimes set on fire. Police and National Guard troops have often used teargas to separate demonstrators.

According to locals in San Cristobal, the state-capital of Tachira, the internet remained down until Friday. In another effort to neutralize mounting tensions, the minister of energy, Rafael Ramirez, has banned fuel distribution to areas he considers “under-siege”.

Private and public TV stations in the country have given little coverage to the street protests, or even to the incarceration of Lopez, who now awaits trial in a military prison. Several members of a CNN team had their journalist accreditation revoked and left the country amid accusations of “contributing with their coverage to psychological warfare.”

Human Rights Watch has issued a statement condemning the systematic violation of personal freedom and the unlawful imprisonment of civilians.

On Friday, Maduro urged U.S. President Barack Obama to hold talks with his government and suggested the two nations restore ambassadors. “Accept the challenge and we will start a high-level dialogue and put the truth on the table,” Maduro said in a nationwide TV address.

The opposition is demanding that the president resign over rampant crime, high inflation, shortages of basic products, and what opposition members see as repression of political opponents.

The current wave of protests began on February 12. Three people were shot dead at the end of those marches in Caracas by unknown gunmen. Daily protests have been held in the capital for the past eleven days.

For more information please see:

Reuters – Venezuela deaths rise as unrest claims student and biker– 22 February 2014

BBC – Venezuelan police and opposition activists clash in Caracas – 22 February 2014

The Guardian – Venezuelans on streets again as protest leader awaits trial arrest – 22 February 2014

CNN – Venezuela’s Maduro wants talks with Obama – 21 February 2014

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill is on Hold

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – President Yoweri Museveni is asking the U.S. to advise Uganda’s scientists about homosexuality. The Ugandan President is currently considering whether to sign the law, which would increase punishments.

Gay Rights Activists have strongly condemned the Bill (photo courtesy of AP)

Museveni wants to discover whether people are born gay.

Museveni’s change of heart, which he was going to sign the Bill, seems to be due to the money the UK and United States gives to Uganda.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda. The proposed legislation passed by parliament toughens the penalties, including imprisonment for certain acts.

Previously, Ugandan scientists had determined there was no gene for homosexuality.

“It was learned and could be unlearned,” Museveni said.

Shortly after Museveni announced he would sign the Bill, U.S. President Obama warned Museveni that enacting the bill would affect relations between the two nations. He described the proposal as an “affront and a danger to the gay community” in Uganda.

The hold will determine whether homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a “lifestyle choice.”

Homosexuality is also illegal in 37 African countries. Few Africans are openly gay because they fear imprisonment, violence, and loss of jobs.

Museveni made a statement on February 18 that he “want[s] . . . [the United States] to clarify whether a combination of genes can cause anybody to be a homosexual. Then my task will be finished and I will sign the bill.”

Museveni had originally refused to sign the Bill, saying it was wrong to punish people born “abnormal.”

Scientists, however, advised him that homosexuality was a behavioral choice. They told him that there was no gene for homosexuality but it was not an “abnormality” and it could be influenced by environmental factors.

The report said: “The practise needs regulation like any other human behaviour, especially to protect the vulnerable.”

The Bill was first introduced in 2009, with the death penalty as a sanction. This was scaled back to life in jail when the Parliament voted in December.

The Bill also proposed years in prison for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians, a provision that would ensnare rights groups and others providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Uganda: Museveni ‘seeks US advice on homosexuality’ – 21 February 2014
The Huffington Post UK – Uganda’s Gay Laws Put On Hold As President Asks For Advice From Scientists – 23 February 2014
CNN – Ugandan President says he’s asked U.S. scientists for advice on homosexuality – 22 February 2014
Reuters – Antigay law put on hold in Uganda – 21 February 2013

Ukraine Ushers Overwhelming Change, Opposition Victory as Parliament Ousts President

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – A historic chain of events found Ukrainian protesters in control of the capital Kyiv, opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko free from prison, and President Viktor Yanukovych defiantly claim to still wield power after Parliament voted to dismiss him.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko praised protestors following her freedom from prison. (Photo courtesy of TIMES World)

Since November 2013, Ukrainian protests escalated into a Cold War-style confrontation, as Russia attempted prevent EU and US efforts to strengthen relations with Ukraine.

On 22 February 2014, security forces abandoned President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Kyiv. Tens of thousands of protestors who occupied Independence Square discovered nearly-abandoned government and presidential buildings.

Inside Yanukovych’s private estate, Ukrainians found luxuries ranging from a private zoo to a replica galleon floating on an artificial waterway.

“I am in shock,” a retired military servicewoman named Natalia Rudenko said as she inspected the president’s rare pheasant collection and a banquet hall built inside the galleon replica. “In a country with so much poverty, how can one person have so much?”

As Yanukovych gave a television interview from the pro-Russian eastern bastion city of Kharkiv, he denounced the “coup” against him and branded his political foes “bandits.”

In Yanukovych’s absence, Parliament stepped into the power vacuum , voted to oust President Yanukovych, and set new elections for 25 May 2014. Next, Parliament ordered Yanukovych’s pro-EU rival, Tymoshenko free from prison. United States officials applauded Tymoshenko’s release, and wished her “a speedy recovery as she seeks the appropriate medical treatment that she has long needed and sought.”

Tymoshenko appeared in a wheelchair to 50,000 protestors, saying, “You are heroes, you are the best of Ukraine.”

Later, deputies named Tymoshenko ally Arsen Avakov as interior minister in place of Vitaliy Zakharchenko, who is blamed for ordering the police to open fire on unarmed protesters.

The army issued a statement that it “will in no way become involved in the political conflict.” Additionally, the police force declared itself in support of “the people” and “rapid change”.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “Events in the last 24 hours show the will of Ukrainians to move towards a different future, and ensure that the voices of those who have protested courageously over several months are heard.”

“This is a political knockout for Yanukovych,” charismatic opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said in a statement. “Yanukovych is no longer president.”

In a firm voice, Yanukovych vowed to fight any attempt to oust him: “I am not leaving the country for anywhere. I do not intend to resign. I am the legitimately elected president.

However, government buildings stood without police protection as baton-armed protesters dressed in military fatigues wandered freely across his once-fortified compound.

Russia’s foreign ministry accused the opposition of “submitting itself to armed extremists and looters whose actions pose a direct threat to the sovereignty and constitutional order of Ukraine.”

Only time will tell how well the waters of this Ukrainian spring have cleansed a country following months of turmoil.

For further information, please see:

AFP – Protesters Hail Freed Tymoshenko But Ukraine Leader Defiant – February 22, 2014

Aljazeera – Freed Tymoshenko Addresses Ukraine Protesters – February 22, 2014

Euronews – Ukraine: New Parliamentary Speaker Elected – February 22, 2014

New York Times – Ukraine’s Leader Flees the Capital; Elections Are Called – February 22, 2014

TIME World – Freed Ukrainian Opposition Leader Yulia Tymoshenko Addresses Protestors – February 22, 2014

Russian Activist Punk Band Press Conference Disrupted by Protestors in Sochi

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Demonstrators disrupted Russian punk band Pussy Riot as the former political prisoners attempted to hold a press conference.

Costumed heckler, joined by five university students, disrupted Pussy Riot’s press conference for the punk band’s newest anti-Putin music video. (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)

In 2012, Russian dissident musicians Pussy Riot rose to international fame by storming a Moscow cathedral, where they performed a provocative song that denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin. Band members Maria Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina imprisoned for hooliganism and inciting religious hatred. Authorities released them, alongside other political prisoners, shortly before the Olympics began in Sochi.

However, Pussy Riot immediately returned to denouncing the Kremlin, as well as conditions inmates endure in Russian prisons.

On 18 February 2014, police in Sochi detained members of Pussy Riot, human rights activists, and journalists in connection with an alleged theft at the band’s hotel. All charges were dropped and the detainees released within hours.

On 20 February 2014, Pussy Riot released an angry music video—“Putin Will Teach You to Love Your Country”—against Putin’s crackdown on free expression, as well as the Sochi Olympics’ price of $50 billion. In the song, Pussy Riot sings about the “constitution being lynched,” government pressure against Russia’s independent television station, and last week’s sentencing of environmentalist Evgeny Vitishko to a penal colony for three years.

“The goal is to show what it’s like to be a political activist in Olympic Sochi,” said Pussy Riot member Tolokonnikova.

The video included the previous day’s footage of Cossacks—descendants of the former patrolmen of Russian borderlands—whipping the band members shortly after their song began near a “Sochi 2014” sign.

While foreign media prepared for a news conference with the band at a Sochi hotel, a hotel employee informed journalists that the conference room was unavailable. Several dozen journalists went outside, where uniformed police and undercover security officers waited for band members to arrive.

As the four Pussy Riot members approached with arms locked, five male university students, accompanied by a man dressed in a giant chicken suit, pulled out raw chickens and chanted, “We like sex with chicken” in mangled English. Then the students and costumed chicken attempted to disrupt the news conference.

The man in the chicken costume said, “We don’t like people who have sex with food. We don’t want them here.”

“We don’t understand their behavior and that’s why we’re protesting,” said 23-year old Sergei Barashov, one of the anti-Pussy Riot demonstrators. Barashov expressed concern that the punk band would desecrate a recently-built Russian Orthodox cathedral on the outskirts of Sochi’s Olympic Park.

For further information, please see:

CNN International – Beaten But Hardly Tamed, Pussy Riot Strikes Back in Sochi – February 20, 2014

Guardian – Pussy Riot’s Tour of Sochi: Arrests, Protests – and Whipping by Cossacks – February 20, 2014

New York Daily News – Bondy: Pussy Riot Slams ‘Total Police and Security Control’ of Winter Olympics at ‘Secret’ Press Conference – February 20, 2014

Reuters – Pussy Riot Mocks Russia’s Olympics in Music Video – February 20, 2014

New York Times – Members of Russian Protest Group Attacked by Cossacks in Sochi – February 19, 2014