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Federal congressman murdered in Veracruz, Mexico
Mayhem on Dec. 9 adds to the recent spate of atypical violence in Mexico.
By WILLIAM SAVINAR,
Contributing Writer
MEXICO CITY (CN) — Congressman Benito Aguas Atlahua was gunned down by assailants on a motorcycle when he was traveling in a van Monday night, Dec. 9 in Tepenacaxtla, Veracruz.
Benito Aguas Atlahua. Courthouse Photo
He died hours later. President Claudia Sheinbaum and multiple politicians condemned the attack Dec. 10.
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"We regret what happened and we have asked the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection to immediately contact the governor [of Veracruz] to be there to help with all that is required to bring justice," Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference.
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Veracruz Green Party Congressman Javier Herrera Borunda also condemned the attacks.
"From the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro we make an energetic call to eradicate political violence in our country and we will be very attentive that both the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of the Federal Government, as well as the Secretariat of Public Security of the State of Veracruz, act accordingly," he said in a published statement.
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Aguas Atlahua dedicated much of his political career to representing indigenous and rural communities of Veracruz. He was a member of the Green Party, which makes up part of the ruling Morena party's coalition headed by Sheinbaum, and had requested protection from the National Electoral Institute, the organization that organizes federal elections, during his campaign due to insecurity in the area.
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A statement posted to his Facebook account following his death noted his "hard work and tireless dedication" to citizens.
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"His legacy of service and his love of his country will remain in the hearts of all who knew him and worked alongside him," the statement said. "The impact of his work is still alive in each of the projects and actions he undertook for the welfare of his people."
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Another man, engineer Agustín Linares López, was also found dead at the scene following the attack.
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Political violence was especially alarming during the past election cycle leading to the June vote. Some estimate there were 37 political candidates murdered leading up to the election and multiple elected officials in the weeks after, including the gruesome murder of Alejandro Arcos Catalán, newly elected mayor of Chilpancingo, who was beheaded just six days after being sworn into office.
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Germán Reyes, the Chilpancingo head of public security and a former Mexican army lieutenant, was arrested Nov. 13 for the murder. He maintains his innocence, claiming to be a political scapegoat.
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Attacks on federal politicians are less common compared to attacks on local politicians.
According to Data Civica, an independent organization that monitors political violence in Mexico, 73 percent of political attacks occurred on the municipal level in 2024.
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The southern state of Guerrero has the highest number of attacks, accounting for 11percent of the total, while Guanajuato, Veracruz and Oaxaca combined account for almost 37 percent.
In the weeks leading up to Sheinbaum's inauguration, the State Commission for Human Rights of Michoacán published a document prepared by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Navy and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, outlining her administration's security priorities during her first 100 days as president.
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The main objectives are to combat crime in the 10 largest areas of high-impact crime by strengthening Mexico's National Intelligence Center and Executive Secretariat of the National System of Public Security and creating a new intelligence and police investigation unit.
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In a sad twist, however, one of Mexico's safest states was hit by one of the worst incidents of violence all year.
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On Nov. 10, armed men brutally ambushed a bar, killing 10 people in their 20s and 30s during a night out in downtown Querétaro in the state of the same name. The ambush was an unusual incident of violence in an otherwise safe state.
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Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Garcia Harfuch was quick to blame rival cartels for the attack days later in a press conference. One person was arrested. Weeks later, on Dec. 4, music promoter Jesús Pérez Alvear was gunned down while eating lunch in the high-end Plaza Miyana mall in Polanco, one of Mexico City's most luxurious neighborhoods.
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Pérez Alvear had been pursued by the US for his ties to drug trafficking. After the shooting, the US embassy issued a warning for US residents traveling in the area.
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A day after the shooting, Garcia Harfuch announced the largest-ever seizure of fentanyl in the country's history, valued at $400 million. This occurred just days after President-elect Donald Trump threatened 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Mexico if it doesn't act on drug trafficking and illegal immigration to its northern neighbor.
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The seizure took place in Sinaloa, which has been dealing with violence since infighting plagued the area following the arrests of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in July.
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Categories / Criminal, International
QUINCY
JONES
DIES
Musical
genius gone
at 91
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – Nov. 3, 2024) was an American record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer.
His career spanned 70 years, with 28 Grammy Awards won out of 80 nominations,[2] and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.
Click to read more.
DODGERS
VANQUISH
YANKEES!
The LA Dodgers have dismantled the
NY York Yankees, taking them down 5 games to 1 for the 2024 World Series title for the eighth time in franchise history, See story in Sports.
REPARATIONS: 40 ACRES?
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Sean Combs
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Feds ask judge to keep Diddy jailed ahead of sex trafficking trial
Prosecutors decried Sean Combs' latest request for bail as an example of a wealthy defendant “paying his way out of custody.”
By JOSH RUSSELL, Contributing Writer​
MANHATTAN (CN)—A judge in New York federal court will decide next week whether entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs should remain jailed on sex-trafficking conspiracy charges.
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US District Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday, Nov. 22, held a two-hour bail hearing in Manhattan federal court, but he didn't immediately rule on the latest application by the Bad Boy Records founder to be released from the Brooklyn jail where he's been detained since September.
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Subramanian, the Joe Biden-appointed judge now presiding over the case, promised to publish a written opinion by next week.
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Combs’ defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo told Subramanian, Friday, that his legal team has secured a three-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He said Combs could be confined there under “a very, very rigorous set of conditions,” including strict 24/7 monitoring by a private security firm.
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His attorneys argued the current conditions of confinement at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn infringe on his constitutional rights to participate in his own defense.
Pushing back, prosecutors said Combs’ latest motion for bail “amounts to the defendant paying his way out of custody.” The renewed bail application, they argued in a court filing, ignores “significant evidence” that “the defendant is a violent, serial abuser who uses his vast wealth and position in the entertainment industry to conceal his illegal conduct and prevent victims of, and witnesses to, his abuse from coming forward.”
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“In light of the well-documented danger posed by the defendant, the updated proposed conditions of release are woefully insufficient to assure the safety of the community and integrity of these proceedings,” they wrote in an opposition brief. “Indeed, the defendant’s continued obstructive conduct confirms the conclusion reached by two other courts: no set of conditions can meet that task.”
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Combs, 54, has been detained since he was arrested in September on a three-count criminal indictment.
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That indictment accused Combs of a sprawling sex-trafficking conspiracy involving physical abuse, drug-fueled sexual predation, and surreptitious video recording. He has pleaded not guilty on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
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Three judges have already separately rejected Combs’ successive applications for bail.
His first request — a proposed $50 million package — was rejected by a federal magistrate judge at his initial presentment in the Southern District of New York. That proposed deal was to be secured by Combs' $48 million Miami mansion.
His second request for release on bail was denied again by Barack Obama-appointed US District Judge Andrew Carter.
His third request, before Second Circuit Court of Appeals, was also denied last month by US Circuit Judge William J. Nardini, a Donald Trump appointee. His sealed and pending appeal for bail before a three-judge panel was thus put on ice while Combs returned to the lower court to ask for bail once again.
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In his latest bid, Combs argued that former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was recently released on a $10 million bond amid what Combs called “considerably worse” sex-trafficking conspiracy charges.
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Prosecutors responded that Jeffries’ case is distinct from Combs' because of Jeffries' advanced age (80) and the relative lack of alleged violence.
By contrast, Assistant US. Attorney Christy Slavik said the “significant level of violence” in Combs’ case makes it “much more comparable” to recent sex-trafficking conspiracy cases against R. Kelly, Keith Raniere, and Lawrence Ray. Those defendants were all detained before trial and ultimately convicted.
“This is a case about violence,” Slavik said. “He’s subjected individuals around him — employees, romantic partners, strangers — to physical violence.”
Slavik directed the judge’s attention to a 2016 episode at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was captured on surveillance video violently assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hallway. He later allegedly attempted to bribe hotel security to coverup the attack.
“This video is evidence that the defendant is a violent abuser,” she said. “He's a danger to the community.”
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A representative for the federal pretrial service office said Friday that they found Combs' proposed bail conditions insufficient to ensure his court appearances.
Combs is represented by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, who also handled the defense for NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere’s sex-trafficking trial in Brooklyn federal court.
He is currently scheduled to begin trial in Manhattan federal court on May 5, 2025.
Categories / Civil Rights, Criminal, Entertainment
Kanye West seeks new lawyer as multiple default judgments loom
"We are trying in vain to retain counsel," one lawyer representing the rapper's interests told a judge on Tuesday. "We are interviewing several firms. For one reason or another, it has failed to work out."
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BY HILLEL ARON, Contributing Writer
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LOS ANGELES (CN) — Ye, the rapper and fashion mogul also known as Kanye West, needs a new lawyer — and fast.
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The 47-year-old Grammy-winning hip-hop star has been the target of numerous lawsuits over the last few years, almost too many to recount.
This, perhaps, is not all that unusual for a person as famous and as controversial as Ye. But the complaints paint a stark portrait of bizarre behavior, far beyond the normal level of celebrity eccentricity.​
Kayne West
What's more, he keeps firing his attorneys — or stops speaking to and paying them, causing them to quit, according to court records.
This practice has left him facing a number of default judgment motions, including one filed by Isiah Meadows, who worked as an assistant principal at Donna Academy, an unaccredited Christian private school founded by Ye that was only open for about year.
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On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Manoj Shah, managing partner at Brand Counsel — a lawyer specializing in brands and not, say, civil litigation — appeared in court telephonically to ask the judge for more time.
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"We are trying in vain to retain counsel," Shah told the judge. "We are interviewing several firms. For one reason or another, it has failed to work out. Our goal is to have counsel and participate in the defense."
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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Christopher Lui was sympathetic.
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"If there’s some effort trying to get counsel, it would not make sense to enter a default," Lui said. "But this can’t continue forever. If a substitute counsel is going to come in, it has to be done quickly."
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The judge gave Ye one month to find a new lawyer. If he fails to do so, he'll be found in default — a victory for the plaintiff, Meadows, which would eventually lead to a monetary judgment against Ye.
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"It’s an odd situation," said Meadows' attorney, Ron Zambrano, the employment litigation chair at West Coast Trial Lawyers, in a phone interview after the hearing. "This is the first time we've heard there’s an attorney representing his interests.
"Whoever the next attorney is, there’s a long history of people not getting paid by Kanye West, which is part of the problem. But we’re gonna move forward. He’s going to have to pay attention to this case somehow.," Zambrano said.
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He added: "This just delays the inevitable in my opinion. There’s some very serious things he did that he’s going to have reckon with." When asked why Ye had not been participating in the litigation against him Zambrano opined: "I just think that sometimes he has the attention span of a goldfish."
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Shah did not return a phone call requesting an interview.
Meadows is just one of many former employees to have sued Ye over the last few years.
Many of them worked for the short-lived Donda Academy, including three former teachers suing Ye and the school for discrimination, saying they were fired for raising concerns about "sanitation, health, safety [and] education standards."
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Their complaint gave a behind-the-curtain look at the $15,000-a-year private school: students ate sushi for lunch every day; tables, chairs, crossword puzzles and coloring books were all strictly forbidden.
Students and teachers had to wear all-black Balenciaga uniforms designed by Ye; and the second floor of the school was off limits because, according to the plaintiffs, Ye "was reportedly afraid of stairs."
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In his lawsuit, Meadows says he was fired after raising health and safety concerns about the school, such as an overflowing sceptic tank, a lack of hot water, and a skylight without glass — essentially a hole in the roof — "because West expressed that he did not like glass."
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Benjamin Provo worked as a security guard for Donda Academy and for Ye himself. He says, in his lawsuit, that he was ordered, by Ye, "to prevent paparazzi from interacting with Kanye by any means necessary, including acts of violence."
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Trevor Phillips, who worked for both Donda Academy and Ye's fashion brand, is suing the rapper and entrepreneur for discrimination and other labor code violations. He accuses Ye of, among other things, spewing a litany of "antisemitic tropes and lies," including, at times, praising [Adolph] Hitler.
According to the suit, West once said: “Hitler was great. Hitler was an innovator! He invented so many things. He’s the reason we have cars.”
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Both Phillips and Provo have also filed motions for default, saying Ye has no attorney and has stopped communicating with plaintiff attorneys.
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Last month, West was hit with two more salacious lawsuits, one by an unnamed fixer who says he worked as "director of intelligence" for Ye who sued the rapper for unpaid wages.
In his complaint, he says he was once tasked with investigating the Kardashian family for "supposed various criminal links Ye believed they had with criminal enterprises, including alleged sex trafficking.”
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Ye's former assistant Lauren Pisciotta sued the recording artist claiming sexual harassment and sexual battery, calling him, in the most recent version of her complaint,
"a manipulative, dangerous, premeditative, sadistic groomer with an explosive temper." Pisciotta says that among other things, Ye drugged and sexually assaulted her at a recording session with Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is himself now in jail, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Categories / Courts, Employment, Entertainment
Gang members get 50 years for cop's murder
The defendants opted to plead guilty in 2023 rather than risk a mandatory
life sentence for a conviction of a violent crime in aid of racketeering.
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By EDVARD PETTERSSON, Contributing Writer
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LOS ANGELES (CN) — Three members of the South Los Angeles street gang Florencia 13 received sentences of as long as 50 years in federal prison for the killing of off-duty LA Police Officer Fernando Arroyos when he was house hunting with his fiancée in January 2022.
The three pleaded guilty July 2023, shortly before they were to go on trial, to conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.
The killing of Arroyos — a native of South Central LA who had graduated from UC Berkeley and was considered one of the brightest prospects on the police force — caused an uproar in LA where concerns about rising crime had already prompted an ultimately unsuccessful effort to recall liberal leaning District Attorney George Gascón.
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"The senseless loss of life is all too frequent in our community," US District Judge Percy Anderson said at the separate sentencing hearings Friday afternoon. "It is literally ripping apart the fabric of our society. The sentence imposed must send a message, not only to this defendant but to everyone, that if you choose to endanger our community by murdering, robbing and trafficking in narcotics, there will be significant consequences.”
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Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Rios, 30, and Ernesto Cisneros, 25, were each sentenced to 50 years. They were the ones who robbed Arroyos at gunpoint before killing him. The third man, Jesse Contreras, 36, was sentenced to 35 years. He gave a loaded gun to Rios but stayed behind in the truck they were driving when the other got out to rob Arroyos and his girlfriend.
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Earlier that same day, at 2 a.m., Rios and Contreras had already robbed two musicians outside a bar where they had been performing. They had been waiting outside the bar expecting that band members who had been performing there for hours would have a lot of cash on them, according to the prosecution in their sentencing memorandum. They took about $2,000 from the two victims at gunpoint.
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Later that day, they picked up Cisneros and cruised around in Rios's truck looking for people to rob. They noticed Arroyos and his fiancée and decided to target him because he was wearing gold chains around his neck.
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"With his elite education, Fernando could have pursued any number of professions that would have been more financially rewarding than a career in law enforcement," now-retired LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a letter to the judge last year. "However, Fernando wanted to give back to his community and pursued his childhood dream of becoming a police officer."
The three men, as well as Rios's girlfriend, were arrested shortly after the Jan. 10, 2022 murder of Arroyos. They were initially charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering, which would have put them behind bars for life if they had been convicted.
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In July 2023, prosecutors with the US attorney's office in Los Angeles offered them a plea deal, which all three of them had to accept or none would get it, to admit to racketeering conspiracy with the understanding that the government would seek sentences of 35 to 50 years.
Contreras and Cisneros tried to withdraw their guilty pleas, claiming that they hadn't understood what they were pleading guilty to, but the judge rejected their request in May, noting that during the change-of-plea hearings he had repeatedly asked them if they understood the terms of the agreement and whether they needed more time to confer with their attorneys.
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LASD K-9 in recovery after being shot during Compton suspect search
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METROPOLIS NEWS SERVICE
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COMPTON—A bullet proof vest worn by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit may have saved the canine deputy's life, as he continues to recover after being shot in Compton on Wednesday.
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Deputies say that the K9 named Kjeld, a search
Kjeld being treated for injuries at an animal hos- pital after being shot in Compton. Screenshot
dog for the Special Enforcement Bureau, was shot by an assailant around 6:30 p.m., whom deputies were searching for following an assault with a deadly weapon—a handgun, in the 100 block of E. Spruce Street.
Deputies said the suspect emerged from hiding and shot the Kjeld, who was rushed to a local animal hospital after the shooting, where he was treated for his injury and was released.
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"The heroic actions by K9-Kjeld were crucial in saving the lives of our deputies and even the suspect who shot him, demonstrating extra- ordinary bravery and dedication," the LASD said in a statement.
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Deputies, who did not return fire in the incident, incident, said the suspect was arrested following the incident.
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