South America

FORMER LEGAL ADVISOR OF MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO ON TRIAL FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Former financial manager and legal advisor of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Sergio Schoklender, was fired late last week and has been banned from leaving the country after being accused of money laundering and embezzlement from the Mothers’ government-donated funds.

Scandal hits Argentinas mothers of the disappeared (Photo courtesy of The Guardian). Scandal hits Argentina’s mothers of the disappeared (Photo courtesy of The Guardian).

The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo are a group of women who, for the past 30 years, have been pressuring the Argentinean government to release information about their sons and daughters who were among the estimated 30,000 people abducted during Argentina’s military regime (1976-1983). As a form of silent protest, the Mothers silently marched in front of Argentina’s national congress every Thursday wearing white head scarves with the names of their missing children embroidered.

Suspicions arose after the Argentine newspaper, Clarin, uncovered Schoklender’s life of luxury on a relatively low government salary. According to Clarin, Schoklender acquired a 19-room mansion, sports cars and a yacht on a $16,000 a year salary.

Schoklender and his brother are suspected of using their titles as financial and legal advisors to steal from public funds given to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo by the Kirchner administration. Over the years, the Kirchner administration has transferred anywhere from $150 to $300 million into the Mothers’ funds to build low-income housing.

The Federal Justice Ministry and Argentina’s Congress are seizing documents and computers from Schoklender’s office as part of their investigation. In an eight-page document presented to the presiding Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide, the head of the Plaza de Mayo Association, Hebe de Bonafini, accused the Schoklender brothers of “[operating] as an illegal association through fraudulent administration and false documentation.”

Schoklender, however, denies any wrongdoing and has given Judge Oyarbide financial documents such as bank statements and receipts that he says will prove his innocence.

As an advocate and supporter of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, President Christina Kirchner’s close ties to the association and its leaders could have negative political consequences for her as she faces re-election in October.

For more information, please see:

Buenos Aires Herald — Schoklender denies raiding Mothers of Plaza de Mayo offices —15 June 2011

The Wall Street Journal — Mothers on the March Again in Argentina— Into Scandal —15 June 2011

The Guardian UK — Scandal hits Argentina’s Mothers of the disappeared —12 June 2011

ABC News — Corruption scandal hits Argentina’s Mothers group —9 June 2011

 

Environmentalists Murdered in Brazil

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Three environmentalists were murdered in Brazil in the last few weeks.  On May 24, 2011, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, a husband and wife team, were shot and killed in the state of Pará.  The two were leaders of the National Council of Extractive Workers (CNS) which advocates for sustainable uses of the rainforest and protests illegal logging and deforestation.

Police watch the body of Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)
Police inspect the body of José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)

Just days later, on May 27, 2011, Adelino Ramos was gunned down in the state of Rondônia.  Ramos was the leader of the Movimento Camponês de Corumbiara (Corumbiara Peasant Movement), which advocates for sustainable land reform.

The assassinations came right as proposed modifications were being debated for Brazil’s Forest Code.  The Forest Code, a 1965 law, lays out stipulations for Brazilian landowners to maintain a certain percentage of native forest on their lands as a legally protected reserve.  The majority of landowners do not adhere to these stipulations.

The proposed changes to the Forest Code would grant amnesty to landowners who illegally deforested parts of their land, up until July of 2008.  It would also reduce the size of legal reserves that must be maintained.  In a very controversial decision, the Congress approved the changes, sending the modified bill on to the Senate who will now debate the issue.

The authorities in Brazil deny any link between the killings and the changes to the Forest Code.  Afonso Florence, the Minister of Agricultural Development, maintains that “[t]he debate has another dynamic.  There is no direct association”.

Despite this, the authorities have said that they will make environmentalist protection a priority.  An emergency meeting of the President’s cabinet produced the promises that those who receive death threats will receive state government protection as well as national armed guard protection, if necessary.

Other environmentalist group leaders are not convinced that these promises will make any difference.  As Leila Salazar-López; the Program Director for the group Amazon Watch, stated, “[t]here are over 200 unsolved murders in the Pará state alone involving Amazon activists”.  In the past 25 years, there have been 1,580 reported murders of activists in Brazil.  This resulted in only 91 trials and a mere 21 convictions.

All three of the murdered activists were victims of harassment and received death threats in the days prior to their killings.  Police reports show that nothing was removed from any of the bodies and José Silva’s ear was cut off.

For more information, please see;

Latin America Press – Moves Toward Deforestation – 2 June 2011

UPI – Brazil Acts to Protect Amazon Activists – 1 June 2011

The Rio Times – Killing of Amazon Activists Sparks Protection – 31 May 2011

Act for Climate Justice – Brazil: Environmentalists Murdered in the Amazon and Debate Over a New Forest Code: Impunity Must End – 28 May 2011

Huffington Post Green – Adelino Ramos Killed: Third Environmentalist Activist Murdered This Week in Brazil – 28 May 2011

Former mayor of Tijuana´s arrest may have been politically motivated

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon, was formally charged on Wednesday by Federal Prosecutors in Mexico with possession of prohibited weapons.  According to military officials, 88 firearms and between 8,000 and 9,000 ammunition rounds were seized in the raid of Hank’s vast compound in Tijuana.  Most of the guns were limited by law to use solely by the armed forces.

Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post) Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case. (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post).

Hank’s attorneys have suggested that the confiscated weapons were properly licensed and legitimate methods to protect the former mayor’s business interests. They also stated that some of the weapons are thought to have been planted.

From 2004 to 2007, Hank served as the mayor of Tijuana. He is currently one of the country’s wealthiest men, having inherited his father’s fortune. His father, Carlos Hank Gonzalez, formerly served as the governor of Mexico and a powerbroker of the then ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Hank’s position as a major figure within the PRI, the now opposition party in Mexico, has led to allegations by its members that his arrest was a politically motivated move orchestrated by the conservative National Action Party, or PAN. PAN is currently President Calderon’s party and is far behind PRI in the early polls for the 2012 elections.

Hank’s arrest sparked a whirlwind of protests in Tijuana last week. Dressed in red and yelling “Viva Hank,” thousands of his supporters gathered demanding Hank’s release. One large banner read “The anonymous tip came from Los Pinos,” referring to President Calderon’s residence.

Calderon officials denied any involvement.

“There is no witch hunt, of course not. Every case is supported by evidence,” stated Mexico’s attorney general, Marisela Morales.

Columnist Martin Moreno was in support of Hank’s arrest. “Let’s not confuse ourselves, Jorge Hank Rhon … represents the PRI and is the emblem of the abuses, corruption and decadence of PRI-ism,” he wrote in his column in the Daily Excelsior.

Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, former governor of Chiapas, joins Hank Rohn among politicians facing criminal charges. Mendiguchia was arrested in Cancun on Tuesday on charges of stealing $9 million from public funds before leaving office in 2006.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times World —Raid puts Mexican casino mogul in sympathetic light —12 June 2011

BBC News —Ex-Tijuana mayor Hank Rhon on weapon charges—8 June 2011

Los Angeles Times — Mexico authorities return former mayor to Tijuana to face arms charges —8 June 2011

The Washington Post —Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case —8 June 2011

Venezuelan Inmates take prison employees hostage for the second time in two months

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Inmates in Venezuelan prisons have taken prison officials hostage on two separate occasions in the last two months.  On April 27, 2011, at the El Rodeo prison, 22 employee hostages were taken.  State officials said that the hostages were taken by the inmates to protest an alleged tuberculosis outbreak.

Soldiers guarding the prison in Caracas, Venezuela, where inmates took 15 officials hostage. (Photo Courtesy of MSNBC).

The hostile take-over ended eight days later when the prison director and 21 prison employees were released.  Officials agreed to the inmate’s demands to screen all incoming patients and dismiss one health official within the prison.

On May 20, 2011, at the Caracas prison, the prison director and 14 other employees were taken hostage for over a day as a protest against prisoner mistreatment.  The hostage situation began when inmates physically clashed with the National Guard as they were taken to court.

Caracas inmates demanded that their rights be respected and that certain administrative officials be dismissed.  No dismissals resulted; however, state officials agreed to investigate alleged incidents of prisoner abuse and to more closely monitor prison employees.

A recent investigation into the San Antonio prison on Margarita Island has revealed a bizarre situation.  Inmates of the prison are not incarcerated in the traditional sense.  Here, the prisoners have taken control.  Children of inmates swim in a prison pool, wives and girlfriends visit regularly and satellite TV is provided.  Prisoners mingle freely with each other and with visitors.  Not only are they permitted to bet on cock fights, but prisoners openly engage in the sale and use of drugs and firearms.

An incarcerated drug trafficker, Teófilo Rodriguez, referred to as “El Conejo” (The Rabbit) is in control of the prison.  He uses other inmates as personal body guards to enforce his power via intimidation and beatings of other prisoners with baseball bats.  The prison warden is there simply to decide who is permitted in.  Guards search visitors on the way in but not on the way out.  Thus, the prison, filled with convicted drug felons, has become a haven for violence and drug trafficking.

For decades, Venezuela has been unsuccessful in tackling the challenges facing its prison system.  Overcrowding, inmate gang disputes and prison official corruption are just the beginning.  Research done by human rights groups reported that last year, 476 prisoners were killed during their incarceration.  This is roughly 1% of the Venezuelan prisoner population.

For more information, please see;

The New York Times – Where prisoners can do anything, except leave – 3 June 2011

MSNBC – Inmates free 15 hostages at Venezuela prison – 21 May 2011

Times Union – Inmates free 15 hostages at Venezuela prison – 21 May 2011

ABC News – 22 hostages held at Venezuelan prison – 29 April 2011

Police Arrested in Mexico for Suspected Involvement with Zetas drug Cartel

by Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Police suspected of protecting Zetas drug cartel (Photo courtesy of Fox News)

PACHUCA, Mexico – 25 drug cartel members, including a police chief, two commanding officers and seven agents were arrested this week in central Mexico for suspected ties to the notorious Zetas drug cartel. Hidalgo Mexico officials stated that several of the authorities arrested have admitted to helping the Zetas.

The Zetas gang is a drug-trafficking organization in Mexico that is suspected of forcefully recruiting young migrants to battle the Gulf Cartel for control of territory and power. Those who refuse to fight are often killed or beaten.

The arrests began on Sunday in Hidalgo state after state officers were attacked while patrolling the town of Huejutla, said Martin Vivar, spokesman for the Hidalgo state attorney general’s office. After the attack, six alleged drug traffickers were arrested and admitted to have operated in the area with the aid and protection of local police.

Concerns over police corruption have constantly plagued the Mexican police system and have frustrated efforts to control drug trafficking– allowing drug gangs to carry out their violent crimes without repercussion.

On 21 May, gang members opened fire on the Café Iguana in downtown Monterrey. A squad of eight policemen rushed to the scene but only stood by and watched as gang members began loading dead bodies in the back of a truck. The officers involved are now being investigated but only one has been arrested.

In September 2009, 124 municipal, state and federal level police officers were detained in Hidalgo after being suspected of collaborating with the Zetas.

Low salaries, an absence of resources and threats from the cartels are the most cited reasons for police complicity and overall corruption in police ranks.

“Our police do not have anything to lose,” said Jorge Domene Zambrano, executive director of the Office of Public Security for the state of Nuevo Leon, which includes Monterrey. “That’s why they are very easy to be kept by the bad guys.”

Javier Trevino Cantum, the state’s secretary general, acknowledges the problem and states that feuding off drug gangs is going to be a major challenge. The government is planning on revamping laws that will make it easier to go after drug gangs and targeting poor neighborhoods with social programs to help fend off recruitment by cartels.

For more information, please see:

CNN Latin America — Mexican police chief, officers charged with helping cartels —2 June 2011

El Universal — Encarcelan a 124 policías de Hidalgo ligados a Zetas —14 Sept 2009

The Globe And Mail — Police turn blind eye to Monterrey drug cartels — 27 May 2011

Univision Noticias — Detuvieron a 25 presuntos ‘Zetas’, diez policías entre ellos — 1 June 2011