By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Over the weekend Mexican authorities arrested Eduardo Villatoro Cano.  Cano, who is one of Guatemala’s most wanted men, was wanted for his participation in the murder of eight Guatemalan police officers this past June.

Authorities identified Cano, who was using a false name while hiding in southern Mexico, by photos and fingerprints.  Cano’s cousin, who is also wanted in Guatemala, was also arrested.  Along with their arrests, authorities confiscated thirty-three handguns, twelve rifles, seventy-five vehicles, and cash.

The murder took place at what investigators describe as a remote police station near the Pan-American Highway.  The Pan-American Highway is routinely used by the drug lords to transport drugs from Columbia to Mexico and from Mexico into the United States.

On the night of the murder, heavily armed men in ski masks entered into the police station where nine officers were on night duty.  According to investigators, the men shot the officers at least forty times.  Eight of the officers were killed instantly, but the gang took the ninth officer, the commander of the station, with them.  Investigators presumed that the commander was dead and believe that they have found his partial remains.

Many believe that the shooting was in retaliation for a recent surge in drug seizures by Guatemalan authorities.  However, the shooting will not reduce drug seizures in the future, as authorities say they will continue to take down assailants.

The murder has had a large impact on Guatemala, which has one of the world’s highest homicide rates.  The Guatemalan authorities have vowed to punish the perpetrators and launched “Operation Dignity”.  As a result of the operation and with the arrest of Cano, who was the mastermind of the shooting, thirty-six people have been arrested for their involvement in the shooting.

Additionally, authorities believe that with Cano’s arrest they have now largely broken down one of the larger drug-trafficking groups in Guatemala. Cano’s gang, is thought to be responsible for over one hundred murders in towns near the Mexican border.

Furthermore, in recent months both Guatemala and Mexico have increased security around the border.  Both hope that these efforts will help reduce the problems and violence that the drug-cartels impose on their countries.  Their efforts seem to be working, as Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina attributed Cano’s arrest to Guatemala’s “excellent coordination with the Mexican authorities” and that it “conclude[d] a successful operation that resulted in the capture of those responsible for the massacre.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Guatemala ‘Drug Lord’ Arrested In Mexico – 05 October 2013

IB Times – Mexican Authorities Capture Guatemala Drug Kingpin – 05 October 2013

Latino Daily News – Mexican Police Arrest Guatemalan Wanted for Cop Killings – 05 October 2013

Updated News – Guatemala ‘Drug Lord’ Arrested In Mexico – 06 October 2013

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TRIPOLI, Libya – US military forces conducted simultaneous raids Saturday that targeted Al-Qaeda leaders in both Libya and Somalia.  In Libya’s capitol, American troops assisted by CIA and FBI captured Abu Anas al-Liby, a man indicted for the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

“As the result of a U.S. counterterrorism operation, Abu Anas al Libi is currently lawfully detained by the U.S. military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

al-Liby, who will be handed over to the FBI, is expected to be flown to New York where he will stand trial for his involvement in the 1998 embassy bombings.  His suspected participation in those bombings earned him a $5 million bounty during the 15 year manhunt.  In those 15 years, al-Liby traveled between Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iran, where he was detained for a number of years.

The Libyan government has denounced the military operation, calling on the US government to explain the “kidnapping” of al-Liby from Tripoli.  Many parts of Libya have fallen under control of Islamic militia groups since the fall of the Gaddafi government in 2011.

“We hope that this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in the effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror,” said John Kerry.

Hours before the military operation in Tripoli, a US Navy SEAL team swam into the Barawe, a stronghold for the terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia.  The SEAL team members engaged in a fierce firefight and were unable to capture their intended target, whose identity the Pentagon has yet to release.  There have been no reports on casualties for either US military forces or military targets as of yet.

The al-Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the four day siege of a mall in Nairobi that began September 21.  That attack resulted in 67 casualties.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Libya, Somalia raids show U.S. reach, problems – 6 October 2013

The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Raids Terror Targets in Somalia, Libya – 6 October 2013

The Washington Times – Libya bristles at U.S. raid that captured al Qaeda militant – 6 October 2013

ABC News – US Strikes Double Blow Against Al Qaeda in Libya and Somalia – 5 October 2013

The New York Times – U.S. Raids in Libya and Somalia Strike Terror Targets – 5 October 2013

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America  

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – As drug violence continues to plague much of western Mexico, there has been an increase in the number of Mexicans seeking asylum.  The United States, however, has been releasing women and children from detention centers before a formal ruling by an immigration judge is reached and many are ultimately deported.

For example, through the month of September forty-four women and children were released just from a detention center in San Diego.  After release, the asylum seekers are free to live in America while their asylum claims are pending.  Most of those claims, however, are rejected but some of the seekers remain in the U.S. as illegal immigrants or are deported.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte is critical of the releases and he also thinks the claims of asylum seekers are “being exploited . . . in order [for illegal immigrants] to enter and remain in the United States.”  While the Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the releases, it did issue a statement that said, “custody decisions are made on factors including ties to the community, flight risk and criminal record.”

Of those women and children who were released, is Elizabeth Silva.  Silva, who is from Hot Country, (‘Tierra Caliente”) which is outside of Mexico City, fled to the U.S. after her father and younger brother were shot and killed inside their own home.  Many of the others who seek asylum have similar stories of violence and many are from Hot Country.

Hot Country “is so completely ruled by one vicious drug cartel” that the residents formed self-defense gangs, hoping they could drive out the cartel.  That effort has failed and those involved in the self-defense groups have been targeted by the cartel.  Now, these “targets” are seeking asylum before they are killed.

Some of these asylum seekers carry letters from town official Ramon Contreras that says the holder of the letter is a victim of persecution and they “are under a death threat from a drug cartel . . . please provide them the protection they request.”  However, the letters are not much help, as the U.S. generally does not recognize organized crime as a reason to grant asylum.

There are similar problems at port of entries in Texas.  There, a group of immigrants, called the “Dreamers”, have spent time in the U.S. previously and consider it home.  But they are not being allowed back in.  Most of them are seeking political asylum, however, because they claim if they are forced to stay in Mexico they will be “instant targets” for having spent time in the U.S.

Asylum requests from Mexico have quadrupled since 2006, even though the Mexican government has launched an offensive against the drug cartels.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that eleven Mexicans seek asylum daily at the San Diego border crossing, with most of them claiming to be victims of the drug cartels.  However, over 90% of the asylum requests are denied and some estimate that only 2% of requests are granted.  Additionally, many asylum seekers are turned away at the border and one such seeker said U.S. authorities “laughed at us” when we told them we wanted asylum.

 

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Mexicans Seek Asylum as Drug Violence Persists – 3 October 2013

Huffington Post – Big Win For Immigrant Activists Who Staged Border-Crossing Protest In Laredo – 1 October 2013

NPR – Asylum Application Surge And The Shutdown – 3 October 2013

The New Yorker – Dreamers At The Border – 3 October 2013

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Following the government shutdown that began Tuesday the federal government has been forced to furlough 70% of its intelligence staff.  In a meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that the shutdown “seriously damages” the intelligence community’s ability to protect the US.

Clapper testified to the Judiciary Committee that, following clear legal guideline, the intelligence community was forced to place 70% of its civilian staff, including operations and support personnel, on unpaid leave.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Clapper said, adding “I think this, on top of sequestration, seriously damages our ability to protect the security and safety of this nation and its citizens.”

The more pressing concern, Clapper said, is the “dreamland for foreign intelligence services” that is created by placing intelligence staff on unpaid leave.  Clapper worried that foreign intelligence services will be able to recruit the valuable Ph.D.s, computer scientists and mathematicians employed by the US intelligence community.

The Judiciary Committee guidelines call for agencies to furlough employees unless they are “necessary to protect against imminent threat to life or property.”  In the intelligence business, where imminent threats often crop up quickly, Clapper expressed concern that which personnel were necessary to prevent imminent loss of life and property would change on a daily basis.

“We will have to shuffle people in and out depending on what we believe the concern of the day is,” Clapper said.

The counterterrorism staff has remained on duty; however, intelligence officials are worried about the shutdown’s effect on staff morale.  Clapper assured that he would keep enough staff to guard against potential threats, but warned that he might have to call more employees back to work if the shutdown continues.

“Each day that goes by, the jeopardy increases,” he said.

The number of employees that work at the various intelligence agencies is classified.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – US spy chief: Shutdown ‘damaging’ – 2 October 2013

Washington Times – Shutdown furloughs 70 percent of U.S. intelligence workers– 2 October 2013

Al Jazeera – 70% of intelligence staff out in government shutdown – 2 October 2013

Reuters – Intelligence chiefs deem shutdown ‘insidious’ danger to U.S. – 2 October 2013

Fox News – Clapper says shutdown damaging US spies’ ability to guard against threats – 2 October 2013

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Over the weekend, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the “FARC”) invited the Rev. Jesse Jackson to negotiate for the release of Kevin Scott Sutay, a former U.S. solider, who was captured by the FARC three months ago.  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, however, does not want Jackson involved.  Despite that, Jackson intends to travel to Colombia this week to negotiate a cease-fire so that Sutay can be picked up from the FARC’s custody.

The FARC, a guerilla army comprised of 8,000 armed fighters and funded through drug trafficking and extortion, has been fighting against the Colombian government since the 1960’s.  While the FARC has repeatedly called for peace with the government, Santos has refused to stop the fighting.  Jackson, meanwhile, has said that “a lengthy pause in the fighting is not necessary for . . . to bring Kevin out” and hopes a one day cease-fire can be negotiated.

Sutay was captured in June as he hiked through the Colombian jungle, supposedly on his way to Brazil.  According to Jackson, the FARC “thought he was a terrorist or a spy” because he was in military attire and was carrying surveillance equipment.  After the FARC found out Sutay was not a terrorist or spy, they told Sutay he was free to leave.  However, due to the fighting in Colombia, there has not been a safe way to get Sutay out and he remains in custody.

Santos, meanwhile, does not want Jackson or any other public figure involved in the release of Sutay, stating, “We will not allow a media spectacle.”  Santos has, however, authorized the International Red Cross to facilitate Sutay’s release.  The Red Cross does not want to get involved right now and issued a statement that said it would facilitate the release “only once all sides agree on the details.”

The FARC has in the past, unilaterally freed more than a dozen prisoners of war as a goodwill gesture and in the hope that it will rally public support for its cause, which is social justice.  In a statement, the FARC hopes “instead of unjustly prolonging Scott’s stay in the jungle,” Santos will start planning for Sutay’s release.

The conflict between the FARC and the government has killed over 200,000 people and displaced millions of innocent victims from their homes, though a resolution is in the works as both sides have engaged in peace talks in the past year.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Jesse Jackson Continues FARC Mission Despite Colombia Refusal – 29 September 2013

CBS News – Jesse Jackson To Mediate For U.S. Captive In Colombia – 28 September 2013

USA Today – Jesse Jackson Hopeful FARC Will Free Captive Soldier – 29 September 2013

Wall Street Journal – Colombia’s Santos Won’t Authorize Jesse Jackson Role in Kidnap Case – 29 September 2013