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☆ Ex-President of Honduras Denies at Trial That He Trafficked Drugs
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Colin Moynihan | Nate Schweber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The former two-term president of Honduras denied in court on Tuesday that he had trafficked narcotics, offered police protection to drug cartels or taken bribes — assertions that have been at the heart of a conspiracy trial taking place in Manhattan. The former president, Juan Orlando Hernández, has been on trial for two weeks in Federal District Court, facing charges that he conspired to import cocaine into the United States. Prosecutors said that he worked with ruthless drug gangs like the Sinaloa Cartel, led by the Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzman Loera, better known as El Chapo. Government witnesses have included a string of former traffickers from Honduras who testified that they bribed Mr. Hernández in return for promises that he would insulate them from investigations and protect them from extradition to the United States. Dressed in a dark suit with a blue shirt and tie, Mr. Hernández sat up straight during his testimony and sometimes gave long, discursive answers that prompted the judge overseeing the trial to rein him in.

Persons: Juan Orlando Hernández, Joaquín Guzman Loera, Hernández Organizations: Federal, Court, Prosecutors, Chapo Locations: Honduras, Manhattan, United States, Sinaloa, Mexican

☆ Oil prices slip after OPEC+ extends voluntary oil output cuts until mid-year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Oil prices edged lower Monday after oil cartel OPEC+ agreed to extend voluntary output reductions until the second quarter, in an effort to support the short-term stability of crude markets. Global benchmark Brent slipped 0.05% to $83.52 a barrel Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded down 0.19% at $79.82 per barrel. OPEC+ announced on Sunday that the 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary output cuts that were planned for the first quarter of this year will continue into the next quarter. OPEC+ kingpin and de facto leader Saudi Arabia said it will prolong its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of the second quarter, state-owned Saudi Press Agency said Sunday. Riyadh's crude production will stand at approximately 9 million barrels per day until the end of June.

Persons: Brent Organizations: OPEC, Global, U.S, West Texas Intermediate, Saudi Press Agency Locations: OPEC, Saudi Arabia

☆ The US mocked Russia for its motley cast of allies in Ukraine. It's not laughing any more.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

They didn't have the defensive positions prepared," RAND defense researcher Bruce W. Bennett told Business Insider. To work with North Korea, Putin has contravened UN Security Council resolutions he himself signed onto. "If Russia failed to achieve success in Ukraine, meaning it got pushed out of Ukraine, is Putin going to survive physically?" Operating like this "really emboldens North Korea, Iran, and any other autocratic state," said Sanner. AdvertisementIn supplying weapons, Kim Jong Un's regime is unlikely to be driven by a dislike of Ukraine, Bennett said.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Bruce W, Bennett, Putin, State Anthony Blinken, Mark Milley, Grant Shapps, Beth Sanner, that's, Joseph Byrne, Kim Jong Un, John Herbst, Byrne, ALEXANDER KAZAKOV, Kim, Sergei Lavrov, Kim Jong, would've, Russia's, it's, we're Organizations: Service, RAND, Business, State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, UK Defence, Trump, Biden, Atlantic, Royal United Services Institute, REUTERS, Atlantic Council, Putin, Ukraine —, US, UN, New York Times, North Locations: Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russia, Komsomolsk, Khabarovsk Region, South Korea, Korea, Moscow, KCNA

☆ Oil prices rise more than 1% as signs indicate tightening market ahead of OPEC+ decision
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Lone pumpjack located in the middle of large solar array outside of Bakersfield, Kern County, California, USA. Crude oil futures rose more than 1% on Friday as signs point to a tightening market ahead of an OPEC+ decision on production cuts. U.S. crude and the global benchmark booked a second consecutive monthly gain as front month contracts trade at a premium to later months, which is typically a sign of a tightening oil market. OPEC+ is considering rolling over its production cuts through the second quarter and possibly the end of the year, three sources in the organization told Reuters this week. The cartel and its allies are expected to make a decision on the cuts in the first week of March, sources told Reuters.

Persons: pumpjack, Brent Organizations: West Texas Intermediate, Reuters Locations: Bakersfield, Kern County , California, USA, OPEC

☆ Oil on pace for monthly gain as OPEC+ expected to extend production cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The OPEC logo pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria. Crude oil futures are headed for a second consecutive monthly gain as OPEC+ is expected to extend its production cuts through at least the second quarter. U.S. and Brent have gained about 6% month to date with first month contracts trading at a premium to later months. OPEC+ is considering extending its production cuts through at least the second quarter, three sources told Reuters Wednesday. The cartel could keep the cuts in place for the rest of the year, two of the sources said.

Persons: Brent Organizations: Organization of, Petroleum, West Texas Intermediate, Reuters Locations: Algiers, Algeria, OPEC, U.S, Canada, Guyana, Brazil, Israel, Lebanon, Red, Iran

☆ I Trafficked $5 Million Worth of Cocaine Internationally
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Dylan Brzezinski | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Pieter Tritton, a former cocaine smuggler, returns for a second interview with Business Insider about his experience trafficking drugs from South America to the United Kingdom. Tritton says he started selling cocaine in the illegal rave scene in the UK in the 2000s. The National Crime Agency estimates the UK cocaine market is worth $13.8 billion, or £11 billion, a year. In the year ending March 2023, over 92 metric tons of illegal drugs were seized by police and Border Force, the highest volume since 2003 to 2004. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Pieter Tritton, Tritton, Garcia Moreno, El Organizations: Business, Crime Agency, Border Force Locations: South America, United Kingdom, Europe, Ecuador, Quito, Litoral Penitentiary, Guayaquil

☆ El Chapo gave a briefcase with $1 million to the campaign of the ex-Honduras president now accused of US drug trafficking: witness
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Noah Hurowitz | Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the meeting, El Chapo told Tony Hernández he was looking to open new trafficking routes through Honduras. El Chapo then asked if, under his brother's administration, the Valle brothers or Ardon Soriano himself would be extradited for prosecution. AdvertisementAt that point, El Chapo offered $1 million to Hernández's campaign, Ardon Soriano testified. At a different meeting that year, Ardon Soriano and Tony Hernández met with El Chapo again, and El Chapo personally handed the briefcase with $1 million to Hernández, the convicted drug trafficker testified. "Juan Orlando Hernández told me that he had had them extradited because they had tried to have him killed," Ardon Soriano told the jury.

Persons: Joaquín, Guzmán, Juan Orlando Hernández, El Chapo, Amilcar Alexander Ardon Soriano, El Paraíso, —, Hernández, Ardon Soriano, Soriano, Miguel Arnulfo Valle, Luis Alfonso —, Tony, Tony Hernández, Valle, Juan Orlando, Ardon Organizations: Business, Prosecutors, Honduras —, National Party, El, Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle Locations: Honduras, Honduran, El, Manhattan, United States, America, Espíritu

CNN —An Alaska Airlines passenger accused of attacking another traveler with pens wrapped in rubber bands in late January has been charged in federal court with assault with a dangerous weapon, according to court documents filed in the US District Court of Nevada on Wednesday. Lopez is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Las Vegas on March 1, court documents said. The other passenger, who was seated across the aisle from Lopez, is a sworn law enforcement officer, court documents say. He also said that he felt the mafia had been chasing him for months, court documents said. One witness described Lopez as “fidgety” and said he was putting on and taking off gloves during the flight, court documents said.

Persons: Julio Alvarez Lopez, Lopez, “, ”, Aden Kahssai, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, An Alaska Airlines, Court, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, FBI, Alaska Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration Locations: Nevada, Seattle, Las Vegas, Lopez, Aden

☆ Fubo CEO on suing Disney and Fox: 'Sports cartel' hurts customers and competition
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFubo CEO on suing Disney and Fox: 'Sports cartel' hurts customers and competitionDavid Gandler, FuboTV CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the company's lawsuit against a sports streaming venture from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, if the launch of the venture would be better for consumers, and the best case scenario outcome.

Persons: David Gandler Organizations: Disney, Fox, ' Sports, Warner Bros . Discovery

☆ Ex-Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernández, former US ally, to stand trial in NY for alleged cocaine smuggling empire
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Noah Hurowitz | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández will stand trial in New York on drug trafficking charges. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in 2020. Juan Orlando Hernández, center in chains, is shown to the press at the Police Headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. In this courtroom sketch, Juan Orlando Hernández, center, speaks into a microphone while pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges in 2022. Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernández, the brother of Juan Orlando Hernández.

Persons: Juan Orlando Hernández, Hernández, —, Joaquín, Moises Castillo, Hernández's, James D, it's, Elmer Martinez, Hernández —, Juan Carlos Bonilla, Mauricio Hernandez Pineda, " Pineda, Bonilla, Pineda, Juan Antonio, Tony, Tony Hernández, Tony Hernández's, El Chapo, ledgers, Elizabeth Williams Hernández's, Pamela Ruíz, Rúiz, Cachiros, Hondurans, Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, Alex Ardon, Fernando Antonio, Juan Orlando Organizations: Prosecutors, Service, AP, Embassy, of, Police, Honduran National Police, Central, International, Business, National Party, Sinaloa Cartel, Honduran Locations: Honduran, New York, Honduras, United States, America, Mexican, Manhattan, Tegucigalpa, Hernández, Southern, of New York, Washington, Brooklyn, Tigre, Miami, Colombia, El, Central America, El Paraiso, Guatemala, Sinaloa

But few foresaw JPMorgan Chase and State Street quitting Climate Action 100+, a global investment coalition that has been pushing companies to decarbonize. All told, the moves amount to a nearly $14 trillion exit from an organization meant to marshal Wall Street’s clout to expand the climate agenda. Representative Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who compared the coalition to a “cartel” forcing businesses to cut emissions, called for more financial companies to follow suit. JPMorgan said it had built an in-house sustainable investment team to focus on green issues. And BlackRock will maintain some ties to the coalition: It has transferred its membership to an international entity.

Persons: Wall, Jim Jordan, Brad Lander, they’re Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, State, Ohio Republican, JPMorgan Locations: BlackRock, Brad Lander , New York

☆ Oil prices fall on forecast global demand in 2024 will grow at half last year's rate
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Crude oil demand is expected to grow by 1.2 million barrels per day this year, down nearly 50% from growth of 2.3 million bpd in 2023, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency. "The expansive post-pandemic growth phase in global oil demand has largely run its course," the IEA wrote in its February oil market report Thursday. Supply, meanwhile, is expected to exceed demand and grow by 1.7 million bpd this year driven primarily by higher production in the U.S., Brazil, Canada and Guyana. "Given heightened geopolitical risks and low global oil inventories, a modest surplus may help contain market volatility," the IEA said. OPEC, on the other hand, is forecasting a much tighter oil market this year, with demand growing by 2.2 million bpd, outpacing production growth of 1.2 million bpd outside the cartel.

Persons: Brent Organizations: International Energy Agency . Futures, Brent, West Texas Intermediate, IEA, OPEC Locations: Loving County , Texas, U.S, Paris, Brazil, Canada, Guyana, East, Israel, Lebanon, Cairo, Gaza

For the second time as governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem has been banished from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Noem’s mention of the gang, he said, was the first time he had heard of it or its possible presence on the reservation. In 2018, as a Representative in the South Dakota Legislature, she proposed legislation that would allow federal authorities to arrest people on tribal lands for state crimes. Tony Mangan, a spokesperson for the South Dakota Attorney General’s office, said the Ghost Dancers are affiliated with a motorcycle gang called the Bandidos. Around the country, tribal nations adopted the practice, and in South Dakota it became part of one of America’s most infamous massacres.

Persons: Kristi Noem, ”, Frank Star, Donald Trump, Noem, Ian Fury, didn’t, Tony Mangan, Mangan, ” Noem, Bull, Sitting Bull, Trump, Nick Estes, “, hasn’t, ___ Graham Brewer, Trisha Ahmed, @TrishaAhmed15 Organizations: Oglala Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux, Republican, South Dakota Legislature, South Dakota Attorney, U.S, Pipeline, Oglala, Oglala Sioux Tribal, American Civil Liberties Union of, American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota, Trump, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: South Dakota, Pine, Oglala, Texas, U.S, Mexico, American, Rapid City, resiliency, Sioux, Oglala Sioux, American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, Lower Brule Sioux, States, Connecticut

☆ Oil market will face supply shortage by end of 2025, Occidental CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The oil market will face a supply shortage by the end of 2025 as the world fails to replace current crude reserves fast enough, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub told CNBC on Monday. For now, the market is oversupplied, which has held oil prices down despite the current conflict in the Middle East, Hollub said. But the supply and demand outlook will flip by the end of 2025, Hollub said. The forecast implies a supply deficit unless OPEC ditches current production cuts and boosts its own output. Hollub told CNBC in December that Occidental expects WTI to average around $80 in 2024.

Persons: Vicki Hollub, Hollub, CNBC's Tyler Mathisen, WTI, Brent Organizations: CNBC, Smead Investor Oasis Conference, West Texas Intermediate, Brent, Occidental, CNBC PRO Locations: Occidental, Phoenix, U.S, Brazil, Canada, Guyana, China, OPEC, WTI

☆ Former Drug Smugglers Share How Drug Trafficking Actually Works
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Dylan Brzezinski | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Pieter Tritton, a former cocaine smuggler, speaks with Business Insider about trafficking cocaine from Ecuador to Europe through a cartel connection. Tritton was arrested in Ecuador and sentenced to 12 years in one of the world's most violent and corrupt prisons. David McMillan is a British Australian former drug smuggler. Shaun Attwood is a former drug smuggler who ran a successful ring trafficking MDMA pills in the US in the '90s. He speaks with BI about his experience with drug-dealing gangs and how the drug market works.

Persons: Pieter Tritton, Tritton, David McMillan, Adi Jaffe, Jaffe, Shaun Attwood, Attwood, Neil Woods, Woods, incapablestaircase.com Adi Jaffe, Neil Organizations: University of California Locations: Ecuador, Europe, British Australian, Southeast, Central Asia, Los Angeles, American

☆ Why U.S. renters are taking corporate landlords to court
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Carlos Waters | In Carloswaters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Equity Residential purchased Portside Towers in 2019. A group of renters in the U.S. say their landlords are using software to deliver inflated rent hikes. Renters told CNBC they discovered how revenue management software is used in real estate after reading a 2022 ProPublica investigation. Equity Residential investor materials show that the company started to experiment with Lease Rent Options between 2005 and 2008. Equity Residential and other defendant landlords declined to comment on ongoing RealPage litigation.

Persons: RealPage, District of Columbia Brian Schwalb, We've, Kevin Weller, There's, Jeffrey Roper, Thoma, Thoma Bravo, Harry Gural, Gural, we're, Mark Parrell Organizations: Washington , D.C, District of Columbia, CNBC, Equity Residential, Towers, World Trade, RealPage, U.S . Department of Justice, Equity, U.S, Thoma Bravo, U.S . Locations: Washington ,, RealPage, Jersey City , New Jersey, Portside, U.S, Miami, Van Ness, Jersey City, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, U.S . East

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador immediately interpreted the reports as a U.S. attack on his government and his Morena party before Mexico’s June 2 presidential election. The stories described testimony by traffickers that they passed about $2 million to confidants of López Obrador in 2006, when he narrowly lost the race for president. Political Cartoons View All 253 Images“It is completely false, it's slander,” López Obrador said Wednesday at his daily media briefing. López Obrador is notoriously touchy about anything that tarnishes his own moral authority or reputation, upon which his entire party rests. Campaign operators linked to López Obrador have been caught on video several times receiving large sums of cash, but with no proof he knew about it.

Persons: —, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Salvador, López Obrador, ” López Obrador, “, ” “ It's, Mike Vigil, “ It's, ” Vigil, Cienfuegos, Vigil, Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador's, Mexico's, Beltran Leyva, didn't, Guadalupe Correa, Cabrera, ”, Correa, “ That's, Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s Organizations: MEXICO CITY, ., Mexico’s, . Drug, Administration, López, ProPublica, Deutsche Welle, George Mason University, U.S, Republicans, Republican, DEA, Cienfuegos ’, United Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Mexico, Mexican, Salvador Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos, United States, López Obrador's Morena, ‘ Mexico, Los Angeles

☆ Did Griselda Blanco actually kill all 3 of her husbands?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what happened to Alberto Bravo — and Blanco's other two husbands — in real life. Blanco had three sons with her first husband, Carlos TrujilloBlanco's three oldest sons Uber, Dixon, and Ozzy in "Griselda." He's long gone by the time the show picks up, with Blanco fleeing Colombia after the death of her second husband, Alberto Bravo. The two were divorced by the late 1960s after having three sons; Blanco reportedly had Trujillo murdered over a "business dispute" in the 1970s. Blanco's second husband, Alberto Bravo, was shot and killedBlanco's second husband Alberto Bravo appears in the first episode of the Netflix series.

Persons: Griselda, Sofia Vergara, Griselda Blanco, Alberto, Blanco, Alberto Bravo —, —, Carlos Trujillo Blanco's, Uber, Dixon, Ozzy, Elizabeth Morris, Netflix Carlos Trujillo, Blanco's, Alberto Bravo, Trujillo, Netflix Blanco, Maxim, Bravo, Blanco wasn't, Max Mermelstein, she'd, Mermelstein, " Blanco, Darío Sepúlveda, Alberto Guerra, Dario, Dario Sepulveda, Michael Corleone Blanco, Sepulveda, It's, Bravo's, Fernando, Michael, Little Michael, Michael's Organizations: Netflix, New York Times, Bravo, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel Locations: Miami, Colombia, Medellín, New York, Queens , New York, Blanco, Bogotá, Sepulveda, Irvine , California

☆ Mojave Desert killings: 5 arrested after authorities find 6 people shot and killed in drug dispute
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Christina Maxouris | Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Authorities in southern California have arrested five men in connection to the grisly killings of six people discovered shot – and some of whom were also burned – last week in a remote area of the Mojave Desert. The killings appear to be connected to illegal marijuana, authorities said, though they did not release many details, as the case is being reviewed by the district attorney’s office. Warrick said the man told them in Spanish he had been shot but did not know where he was. Authorities served multiple search warrants throughout the investigation and recovered several firearms and other evidence, the news release said. “We are confident that this appears to be a dispute over marijuana, which resulted in the murders,” Warrick said.

Persons: –, Michael Warrick, Warrick, ” Warrick, Adelanto, ”, Franklin Noel Bonilla, Kevin Dariel Bonilla, Toniel Baez, Duarte, Mateo Baez, Jose Nicolas Hernandez Sarabia, Jose Gregorio Hernandez Sarabia, Jose Manuel Burgos Parra, “, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon D, Dicus, ” CNN’s Cheri Mossburg Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Deputies, California, Patrol, Baldemar Mondragon, San, San Bernardino County, Attorney’s Office, San Bernardino County Sheriff Locations: California, San Bernardino County, Spanish, Adelanto, Los Angeles, Albarran, San Bernardino

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government has acknowledged that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of a toxic mix of cartel violence and land disputes. The explosion of drug cartel violence in Chiapas since last year has left the Yaxchilán ruin site completely cut off, the government conceded Friday. They say that to get to yet another archaeological site, Lagartero, travelers are forced to hand over identification and cellphones at cartel checkpoints. Though no tourist has been harmed so far, and the government claims the sites are safe, many guides no longer take tour groups there. The guide said the ruin sites have the added disadvantage of being in jungle areas where the cartels have carved out at least four clandestine landing strips to fly drugs in from South America.

Persons: —, “ It’s, ”, Andrés Manuel López, “, López Obrador, Mexico — Organizations: MEXICO CITY, “, National Institute of Anthropology, Central Americans, National Guard Locations: MEXICO, Chiapas, Guatemala, Tonina, Gaza, Lagartero, Mexico, Palenque, Frontera Comalapa, Darien, South America, Central America, U.S, Cuba, Asia, Africa, Sinaloa, Jalisco

“Porcelain War,” which follows last year’s “20 Days in Mariupol” as a Sundance documentary prize-winner that captures the war in Ukraine, was made by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev. “A New Kind of Wilderness,” about a Norwegian family living off the grid, won the jury award for world documentary. Sean Wang's “Dìdi,” a coming-of-age film about a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, took the audience award for U.S. dramatic film. The NEXT audience award winner was the Irish drama “Kneecap,” about a Belfast rap trio, co-starring Michael Fassbender. ___For more coverage of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival

Persons: ”, “, Alessandra Lacorazza, Lacorazza, Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, ” Natalie Rae, Angela Patton’s, Sean Wang's “, Dìdi ”, “ Ibelin, Benjamin Ree's, Mats Steen, Steen, Darren Aronofsky, David Schwimmer, Michael Fassbender, Jesse Eisenberg's, Kieran Culkin, Will Ferrell, Harper, Christopher Reeve, Eisenberg, Steven Soderbergh's Organizations: Sundance Film, Sundance, U.S, Netflix, NEXT, Searchlight Pictures, sundance Locations: Park City , Utah, Colombian American, Las Cruces , New Mexico, Mariupol, Ukraine, ”, Norwegian, Belfast, Harper Steele

☆ Mexico High Schoolers Take up Arms After Village Kidnappings
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Violence has recently escalated in Guerrero, one of the poorest states in Mexico. In Ayahualtempa, four members of a local family have been missing since Friday when they were kidnapped, the Guerrero state prosecutor's office said. "We're not going to allow them to kidnap us any more, or for people to keep disappearing," Toribio said. This is not the first time minors have been armed in Guerrero, where authorities have struggled to counter powerful drug trafficking gangs. (Reporting by Javier Verdin in Acapulco and Diego Oré in Mexico City, Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

Persons: Javier Verdin, Diego Oré, Antonio Toribio, We're, Toribio, Isabel Woodford, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Familia Locations: Diego Oré ACAPULCO, Mexico, Ayahualtempa, Guerrero, Acapulco, Mexico City

☆ Rampant Extortion Reveals 'Corrosive' Hole in Mexico Security Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

"Burgeoning extortion has not grabbed the headlines, but it's been the all-the-more corrosive fallout of a security strategy that never merited the label," said Falko Ernst, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. Lopez Obrador denies his strategy has fed impunity, but said after the villagers' bloody takedown of extortionists in Texcapilla, some 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Mexico City, that Mexico must fight the problem. Security frequently tops polls of voters' chief concerns ahead of the June 2 presidential election to succeed Lopez Obrador, who under Mexican law cannot run again. Sheinbaum has defended the administration, while also pledging "zero impunity" and highlighting her own record on security in Mexico City, where murders fell far more sharply. A recent study by a Mexican Senate think tank said Mexico suffers some 13,000 acts of extortion daily.

Persons: Dave Graham MEXICO, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez, it's, Falko Ernst, Lopez Obrador, abrazos, Lopez Obrador's, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Sheinbaum, Ernst, Mexico's, extortioners, Carlos Heredia, Dave Graham, Lizbeth Diaz, Alistair Bell Organizations: Dave Graham MEXICO CITY, Crisis, Mexico City Mayor, Army Locations: Texcapilla, Mexico City, Mexico, Mexican

☆ Ecuador: As terror grips the streets, even the armed forces live in fear
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( David Culver | Abel Alvarado | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Suddenly, residents, including Camille and Diego, found themselves seeking a safe place for themselves and their loved ones. Ecuadorean Police/Handout via ReutersHours after terror broke out in Guayaquil, President Daniel Noboa took an unprecedented step. Noboa, who had only been inaugurated two months earlier, declared an “internal armed conflict” in the country and ordered Ecuador’s armed forces to “neutralize” the members of more than 20 gangs, which he labeled as terror groups. Since then, Ecuador’s national police and armed forces have been carrying out raids of homes of those with suspected ties to terror groups. Experts warn that Ecuador’s terror groups are aligned with a wider criminal network, including the notorious Sinaloa Cartel out of Mexico, complicating Noboa’s attempts to “neutralize” criminal groups operating within his borders.

Persons: Ecuador CNN — Camille Gamarra, Diego Gallardo, Camille, Diego, “, ’ ” Camille, ” Camille, – José Adolfo Macías, ” –, Jose Adolfo Macias, Daniel Noboa, they’ve, ”, Jaime Vela Erazo, Fito, Sean Walker, Noboa, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, It’s, Carlos Jimenez, ” Jimenez, Jimenez, he’s, “ I’ve, I’ve, “ I’m, Noboa’s, Cesar Suarez Organizations: Ecuador CNN, Ecuadorean Police, Handout, Reuters, CNN, Joint Command, Ecuador’s Armed Forces, Colombian, RCN, Residents, TC Television Locations: Guayaquil, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, United States, Europe, Sinaloa, Mexico, Aire, Golfo

☆ Brown, Yale, and Columbia are among 5 elite schools that agreed to pay $104.5 million to students after being accused of colluding to limit financial aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Five more elite schools agreed to a settlement to resolve claims they colluded on financial aid. The 2022 lawsuit accused nearly 20 top schools of working in a "price-fixing cartel" to limit aid to students. AdvertisementFive more elite schools have now agreed to a settlement to put claims they colluded to limit financial aid to rest. On Tuesday, Emory, Yale, Brown, Columbia, and Duke agreed to pay a collective fine of $104.5 million to resolve allegations against 17 top schools that concerned the way each of them allocated financial aid. The other schools named in the original lawsuit have yet to announce trial dates or progress toward reaching a settlement.

Persons: —, Duke, Brown, Brian Clark, Johns Organizations: Service, Duke, Yale, Group, University of Chicago, Columbia, Emory, UChicago, Cornell, MIT, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, CalTech, Johns Hopkins Locations: Emory, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Northwestern, Georgetown, Notre, Penn, Rice

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