The Americas Post - The alleged Chilean spy is the one wearing the Jack Daniels t-shirt

Peru’s government said Wednesday it is investigating an alleged Chilean spy arrested in the vicinity of a military airbase in the north, in a case that could cast a shadow over relations between Lima and Santiago.

Defense Minister Alberto Otárola, said when Luis Maximiliano Seraín was arrested he had in his possession a CD,  a USB memory stick and “some writings” that are being investigated by the local public prosecutor.

“From what we know he is a Chilean citizen who was arrested near the barracks of El Pato military base in Talara.  I can not provide or confirm more details because I repeat is in full investigation,” Otárola told journalists.

In 2009, Peru and Chile engaged in a diplomatic row after the arrest of a Peruvian Air Force officer, who was accused of sending classified information to Chile.  After a year of research, a military court in Peru convicted the officer, formerly employed in the Peruvian Embassy in Santiago, to 25 years in prison.

This new espionage case involving Chile, a major investor in Peru, comes at a time when both South American countries are in international court disputing differences in their maritime boundaries.

Chilean government spokesman Andrew Chadwick said in Santiago they are fully confident that the person arrested in Peru has no link with Chilean state activities.

“We are absolutely clear on the country’s foreign policy in relation to our neighbors.  We never want to risk any type of situation that could harm our relations,” he said.

“As a government we deal with these situations calmly and wisely,” he added.

Relations between Peru and Chile, both major mineral exporters, have gone through ups and downs since they fought a war in the late nineteenth century.  Despite the friction, trade links and business between the two countries have grown rapidly in recent years.

The Americas Post - Chevron managers could end up in Brazilian prison

Brazilian prosecutors are planning to file criminal charges against Chevron Corp within the next several weeks, adding the possibility of prison time to an $11 billion civil lawsuit for a November oil spill offshore.

The federal court filing in Campos, Brazil, will probably include a criminal indictment of Chevron Brazil CEO George Buck and other staff, Brazilian government officials have revealed.

Transocean Ltd, whose rig was used in the operation, and some employees in Brazil will also be charged, according to the officials.  A judge will then decide whether to accept the charges and move ahead with indictments.

Buck and Chevron acted in a “careless and irresponsible way,” said one official who investigated the 2,400-barrel spill.  He admitted it is unlikely that people facing charges will be arrested soon or be prohibited from leaving Brazil. As the case advances however, those measures could be applied.

The charges would come more than a month after a Federal Police investigator submitted a report saying Chevron and Transocean took “unacceptable” risks in the Frade oil field off Brazil’s southern coast, and recommended that 17 individuals be indicted.

Police and prosecutors alleged that Chevron knew it was drilling in a high pressure area and that rock structures above the reservoir were fragile, factors that should have prompted more caution.

“This well could not and should not have been drilled,” the Federal Police said in a December 20 report.

Chevron denies taking undue risks and says Brazilian authorities approved drilling plans.  Oil from the leak did not reach shore and was less than 0.1 percent of BP’s 4.9 million barrel Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010. The Frade leak was also much smaller than several previous spills in Brazil by Petrobras.

The Americas Post - This bridge is covered, but what about the other 1,600 kilometers?

Colombia and Peru have agreed upon a plan to combat criminal organizations on their common border, the defense ministers of the two countries announced to the press after a Wednesday meeting in Bogota.

“Colombia and Peru have decided to aggressively confront organized crime which respects no borders, such as drug trafficking and illegal logging and mining,” said Peruvian Defense Minister Alberto Otalora.  He spoke at a press conference accompanied by his Colombian host and counterpart, Juan Carlos Pinzón.

“Organized criminals on our borders are hereby notified that Colombia and Peru, as of this moment, will increase joint activities not only to combat organized crime, but to achieve concrete results in the shortest time possible,”  Otálora said.

In addition, Peru agreed to lead the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on the issue of combating transnational crime.  For Peru, “crime has no boundaries” and therefore is seeking cooperation with “brother countries”, said Otalora.

The Peruvian Minister announced “a new era of defense relations between our countries”, while stressing the traditional “good relationship” between the two nations.

Pinzon said, for his part, that “the relationship of Colombia and Peru is not only friendly and formal, but means a permanent presence of Peruvian officers working with Colombian officials, and the presence of Colombian officers working with the Armed Forces of Peru” .

The ministers agreed to take joint action against criminal groups in the border area ”in the coming months”.

Security operations will be accompanied by social initiatives for the people on both sides of the 1,600 km long border,  the Colombian minister stressed.

To assess the situation, the two ministers agreed to meet again in March at the border, and hope that this meeting will also be attended by Minister of Defence of Brazil, Celso Amorim.

Industrial cooperation in defense matters was another issue discussed.

“Colombia has been experiencing major developments in its military industry, and is fully prepared to offer it to friendly countries, like our Peruvian brothers,” said Pinzon.  He mentioned that Lima has already made “small” purchases from Colombia, but gave no more details.

The Americas Post - Victim Sheila Nabb poses with husband Andrew under happier circumstances. Photo Credit: Facebook

The governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa has promised an extensive probe into what happened to a Canadian woman hospitalized after she was badly beaten at a posh Mexico resort.

Sheila Nabb, 37, was vacationing with her husband  Andrew, at the all-inclusive Hotel Riu Emerald Bay resort last week when she was found inside a hotel elevator with serious injuries to her face.

The official statement released Wednesday said investigators are collaborating with Canadian authorities to keep them informed as the case advances.  The governor also expressed concerns to Mexican media that the incident could hurt tourism revenue.  He said surveillance cameras at the resort could provide some clues but investigators are hoping to speak with Nabb.

Nabb had been expected to undergo facial reconstructive surgery Wednesday or Thursday, but family members said she has contracted pneumonia, a condition common with a tracheotomy — a hole made in the windpipe to ease breathing.  She has been sedated again with the surgery rescheduled for later this week.

The Americas Post - Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher speaks to congress. Photo Credit: CBP

The U.S. Border Patrol is preparing to implement tougher punishments on undocumented immigrants entering the United States from Mexico, to change the revolving door policy that has been in place for years.

Instead of simply being sent back across the border to try again, immigrants captured on the U.S. side will now face harsher consequences for illegal entry.  These range from inconveniences like being bused hundreds of miles away to distant border crossings, to aggressive prosecution for criminal offenses in the United States or by Mexican authorities upon their return.

Young, first-time illegal aliens may be allowed a “voluntary return” option without facing criminal consequences.   Repeat offenders and smugglers, however, will be singled out for felony prosecution in the United States.

The U.S. Border Patrol is more able to develop such individualized sanctions now that the number of illegal entries has fallen sharply,  from 1.6 million in 2000 to only 327,577 last year.  At the same time, the Border Patrol has grown to 21,000 agents with 652 miles of pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers in place at busy crossing points.

The new approach will “break the smuggling cycle and deter a subject from attempting further illegal entries or participating in a smuggling enterprise” by imposing “ideal consequences to impede and deter further illegal activity,” according to U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher.

A test program in the Tucson sector has already dramatically lowered the number of illegal immigrants released to Mexico without administrative or criminal penalties, says Border Patrol Tucson sector chief Rick Barlow.   Approximately 85 percent of illegal immigrants arrested on the U.S. side of the border were returned to Mexico without any penalty three years ago.  That figure has now been reduced to around just 10 percent of detainees.

The customized consequences are more expensive, the Border Patrol’s chief has admitted in testimony before Congress.   Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, however, have promised their budgetary support to meet the additional costs.

The Americas Post - Drug trafficking accusations are no obstacle for the Chavez administration

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez this week appointed a new defense minister, described by the United States as a “drug kingpin” involved in cocaine smuggling from next-door Colombia.

“This good soldier, this humble soldier … this fighter for the people, today I publicly designate him as the new defense minister of the Republic,” Chavez announced while naming General Henry Rangel Silva to the post.

In 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Rangel and another top Venezuelan officer of supporting narcotics trafficking operations by Colombian FARC guerrillas.  Both men denied any connection.

President Chavez  has repeatedly denied U.S. accusations that his government has turned a blind eye to drug trafficking.  He in turn accuses the United States of being a decadent empire that exploits developing countries.

The Venezuelan leader is expected to reshuffle his cabinet in the next few months to allow several of his current ministers to run in regional elections later this year.

Sharing a long border with Colombia, Venezuela has become a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine en route to consumer nations.  Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005 when he accused its agents of spying and violating Venezuelan sovereignty.

He claims his administration has invested millions of dollars in anti-narcotic operations, pointing to the extradition of accused druglords to Colombia and an increase in drug-related arrests as proof of Venezuela’s efforts.

Diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States have been icy for years, in spite of the fact that South American nation still provides nearly 10 percent of US fuel imports.

In September, Washington accused four close Chavez allies of providing arms to FARC rebels in Colombia, a charge which Venezuela described as “abusive.”

The Americas Post - It doesn't look like much, but this boat carried over a ton of marijuana

Federal authorities captured a Mexican motorboat with over a ton of marijuana north of Los Angeles early Wednesday,  arresting 10 suspects in the latest of a growing number of West Coast maritime smuggling attempts.

U.S. Border Patrol agents found the 27-foot craft packed with numerous bales of marijuana on the coast of Ventura County shortly before dawn, according to a news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Authorities also impounded two vehicles in the landing area suspected of involvement in the smuggling attempt.

Four of those arrested arrived on board the boat, while the other six were detained in the landing area, the agency reported.

In recent years improved security along the United States border with Mexico has increasingly forced traffickers to smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants north by sea.  Between January and October of 2011, authorities recorded 26 maritime smuggling attempts in the greater Los Angeles area, including seven in Ventura County.  Since then, 10 further cases included two in Ventura County and one in Santa Barbara County.

In response to increased activity in the Los Angeles area, authorities have extended the use of marine patrols, land-based surveillance and collaboration with the Mexican government.

The Americas Post - The Tijuana cartel leader got off with a lighter sentence than his underlings

Former drug capo Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty this week to federal racketeering and money-laundering conspiracy charges, putting an end to a long case against Mexico’s formerly most powerful organized crime group.

Arellano Felix, 58, the former leader of the Arellano Felix drug cartel, converted Tijuana into a major trafficking route to the U.S. during a 16-year run before his arrest in Mexico in 2002.

His group, also known as the Tijuana cartel, funneled tons of drugs into California, terrorized rivals, bribed Mexican law enforcement officials and financed luxurious lifestyles that became symbolic of Mexican organized crime.

According to the plea deal with federal prosecutors in San Diego, Arellano Felix admitted making hundreds of millions in profits, exchanging weapons for drugs from a rebel group in Colombia and training teams to assassinate competitors and witnesses.

Extradited from Mexico in April, he now faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, according to the agreement.   Under terms of the extradition agreement with Mexico Arellano Felix was not subject to the death penalty, but many expected him to receive a life sentence.

His organization introduced paramilitary tactics, including .50-caliber machine guns and armored cars with oil and smoke dispensers to evade arrest.
The cartel regularly used chemicals to dispose of enemies, dissolving bodies in vats of acid.

As part of the plea agreement, four of the five original charges were dismissed. Arellano Felix pleaded guilty to only two counts: racketeering and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. He also agreed to forfeit $100 million, according to the agreement.

The U.S. attorney for San Diego, Laura Duffy, called the case historic.

“Arellano-Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades. Today’s guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption, and his historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite, and prosecute you for your criminal activities.”

The Americas Post - Illegal lottery results are openly posted in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian police are investigating possible connections between the organized crime groups controlling illegal gambling in Rio de Janeiro and Russian and Israeli mafias, with casinos in Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay.

According to daily newspaper O Globo, the legal casinos play a key role in laundering money for operators of illegal lotteries and slot machines in Rio.  Other crimes under investigation by Brazilian Federal Police include tax evasion, smuggling and homicide.

According to the police, the Israeli Abergil and Russian Bratva organized crime syndicates were sought out by the Brazilian operators of the illicit Bicho lottery, for their expertise in money laundering.  Evidence of the connection came to light during investigations of cash remittances to foreign bank accounts, mainly in Uruguay and Panama, associated with various hotels operating casinos in South America.

Investigations over the last two years have produced 21,000 hours of recorded telephone calls between known criminals such as Israeli Yoram El Al, Meir Zloff, Tal Amir, Genrich Birman and Vitaly Okorov.

The Americas Post - Al-Saadi Gadhafi wanted to go Al Puerto Vallarta. Photo Credit: AP

Mexican authorities said Wednesday that a surviving son of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and three other relatives planned to enter Mexico under false names and hide at a Pacific coast resort.

The plan to smuggle in al-Saadi Gadhafi allegedly involved two Mexicans, a Canadian and a Danish suspect, all of whom have been arrested according to Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire.

The plot was discovered by Mexican intelligence agents in September as al-Saadi fled Libya shortly after his father’s downfall.  He never made it as far as Mexico, ending up in the Western African country of Niger where he currently resides.

The plotters allegedly flew to Mexico, opened bank accounts and bought safe houses in several parts of the country, including one just outside Puerto Vallarta.

“The great economic resources which this criminal organization has, or had, allowed them to contract private flights,” Poire told a news conference.

Poire named Canadian Cynthia Vanier as the group’s ringleader.  He said she had been picked up on Nov. 10 and is now under house arrest with three other suspects on suspicion of document falsification, human smuggling and organized crime.

Poire said Vanier “was the direct contact with the Gadhafi family and the leader of the group, and presumably was the person in charge of the finances of the operation.”

The plot also allegedly depended on a Mexican woman living in the United States, who Poire said obtained the falsified Mexican identity documents.

A Danish man acted as “the logistic liaison” for the plan, Poire said.  He said the alleged conspirators also traveled to Kosovo “and several Middle Eastern countries.”

The Mexican officials made no mention of Moammar Gadhafi himself being involved in the plan, and Poire did not say which relatives may have planned to accompany the son to Mexico. The elder Gadhafi fell from power in late August and was killed in Libya on Oct. 20.

Poire said that false documents were issued in the names of “Daniel Bejar Hanan, Amira Sayed Nader, Moah Bejar Sayed and Sofia Bejar Sayed.”  The Gadhafi name does not appear anywhere in the documents.