The Americas Post » Judicial System

Chevron indictments expected soon in Brazil

tlc — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:30:22 +0000

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.

US Supreme Court rules against police use of GPS

tlc — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:01:04 +0000

The United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday that police may not install a GPS device on a suspect’s car to track his movements without a warrant, in a test case that upheld basic privacy rights in spite of new surveillance technology.

The high court ruling was a defeat for the Obama administration, which had argued that a warrant was not required to use global positioning system devices to monitor a vehicle on public streets.

The justices unanimously agreed with a precedent-setting ruling by a U.S. appeals court that the police must procure a warrant before using a GPS device for an extended period of time to covertly follow a suspect.

The high court ruled that placement of a device on a vehicle and using it to monitor the vehicle’s movements was prohibited by U.S. constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures of evidence.

There are no precise figures on how often police in the United States use GPS tracking in criminal investigations. But the Obama administration told the court last year it was used rarely by federal law enforcement officials.

The American Civil Liberties Union rights group praised the ruling as an important victory for privacy. “While this case turned on the fact that the government physically placed a GPS device on the defendant’s car, the implications are much broader,” Steven Shapiro of the ACLU said.

“A majority of the court acknowledged that advancing technology, like cell phone tracking, gives the government unprecedented ability to collect, store, and analyze an enormous amount of information about our private lives,” he said.

Mexican cartel leader gets off easy in US court

tlc — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:18:30 +0000

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.”

Illinois governor gets 14 years for corruption

tlc — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:30:53 +0000

The Americas Post - Blagojevich keeps up with Illinois governor tradition by going to jail.

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of attempting to barter President Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or personal favors, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Blagojevich led the fifth-most populous American state from January 2003 to January 2009, one month after his arrest for what Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald called “a political corruption crime spree.”

Blagojevich, 54, was found guilty of 17 charges in June. Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge James Zagel for a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison, arguing it would set an example in a state where four of the nine most recent governors have been convicted for crimes committed before, during or after they held office.

The twice-elected Democrat received the longest sentence among the four Illinois governors sent to prison in the last four decades. He is the second in a row to go to jail; his Republican predecessor, George Ryan, is now serving 6 1/2 years. The other two did three years or less.

Blagojevich made a last plea for mercy, telling the judge he’d made “terrible mistakes” and admitted for the first time that he broke the law.

“I caused it all, I’m not blaming anybody,” Blagojevich said. “I was the governor and I should have known better and I am just so incredibly sorry.”

It didn’t help.

“Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers … to do things that were only good for yourself,” Zagel said.

“The governor was not marched along this criminal path by his staff,” the judge concluded. “He marched them.”

Brazil forming Truth Commission on human rights

tlc — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:40:17 +0000

The Americas Post - Dilma Rousseff wants the whole world to see Brazil's dirty laundry.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on Friday approved the formation of a Truth Commission to investigate human rights abuses committed during and prior to that nation’s military dictatorship, which ran from 1964 to 1985.

The creation of the seven member commission is the strongest step yet taken by the Brazilian government to resolve the many incidents of violence and torture during their dictatorship, in spite of not having authority to prosecute those responsible.

That catch is frustrating for human rights activists, who want to see Brazilian soldiers on trial like their counterparts in Chile and Argentina.

“Today we honor the generations of Brazilians who died, not by a process of vengeance, but by a process of reconstructing the truth and memory”, said Rousseff. The former left wing activist, who was tortured by the military herself, spoke at a ceremony in the presidential palace.

“The truth about our past is fundamental to ensure that these deeds staining our history can never be repeated”, she added.

With a two-year mandate, the commission will be able subpoena witnesses to investigate abuses committed by the government as well as by the opposition. That process is limited, however, by the 1979 amnesty law, approved by the dictatorship, that protects alleged torturers from trial.

Unlike its neighbors in the region, until now Brazil has avoided a formal discussion of crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated during its military dictatorship, and has never jailed a member of the military for those.

“This development shows Brazil’s commitment to deal with human rights in their country, just like the rest of the world”, said UN Human Rights commissioner Navi Pilley in a statement for the press.

Around 500 Brazilians were killed or disappeared during their military dictatorship, while many others were tortured. Most victims were left-wing activists.

Rousseff also signed a Freedom of Information law guaranteeing the public free access to government documents. That law allows sensitive information to be kept secret for 25 years, renewable to 50 years, but prohibits the concealment of any document related to human rights.

Extradition approved for Guatemalan ex-president

tlc — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:45:39 +0000

The Americas Post - Another former president heads off to jail. Photo Credit: Prensa Libre

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom announced Tuesday approval of a U.S. extradition order for former president Alfonso Portillo, who faces money laundering charges for the alleged embezzlement of $1.5 million in foreign donations.

Colom said Guatemalan courts have already approved Portillo’s extradition and that he will respect those rulings.

“The president should not get mixed up in the decisions of judges and justices,” Colom said. The nation’s supreme court approved the extradition request in August.

Portillo is charged in a New York federal court with money laundering and embezzling $1.5 million donated by Taiwan to buy schoolbooks for Guatemalan children. He allegedly deposited the money in Miami and transferred it to a Paris account in the name of his ex-wife and daughter.

After leaving office in 2004, Portillo fled to Mexico where he was granted a work visa to serve as financial adviser for a construction materials company.

He was extradited from Mexico to Guatemala in 2008 to face the embezzlement charges at home and remained free until his arrest on Jan. 26, 2010. Portillo was captured at a beach preparing to flee Guatemala by sea.

Colom did not specify a date for the extradition. The remaining administrative processes could take several months.

Colombia shuts down intelligence agency

tlc — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:53:17 +0000

The Americas Post - Colombian President Santos has pulled the plug on an intelligence agency. Photo credit: Reuters

On Monday Colombia shut down a controversial intelligence center for surveillance and illegal interception of communications to magistrates, journalists and politicians who opposed the administration of ex-president Alvaro Uribe.

President Juan Manuel Santos said that responsibilities of the Administrative Security Department (ASD) will be taken over by other agencies like the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Ministry of the Interior, the Justice Dept and the National Police.

“This is not a transformation, this is not reform”, said president Santos. ”In the case of the ASD, it’s a liquidation. The ASD is closed.”

The Colombian leader said that 92% of the 6,000 ASD staff members will be transferred to other agencies while the rest continue with the process of shutting down the agency.

Santos took the step using special powers authorized by the Colombian congress to modernize the state, under which he re-established the Ministries of Justice and Labor.

Illegal surveillance by the ASD resulted in one of the most serious scandals faced by the Uribe administration during that president’s second term. Uribe led the nation of 46 million from 2002 to 2010.

Amnesty International slams Dominican cops

tlc — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:52:57 +0000

The Americas Post - Dominican police respond to demonstrators throwing bottles and rocks. Photo: KINT News

Amnesty International released a highly critical report on Tuesday, saying the national police force kills and tortures with impunity in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican national police were responsible for 15 percent of violent deaths recorded annually in the Dominican Republic from 2005 to 2010, according to the report. The London-based human rights group said police abuse in the Caribbean nation has accompanied increased violent crime due to drug trafficking, the spread of firearms and worsening poverty rates.

With a population of 10 million, the Dominican Republic shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. The National Police said 2,367 people had been killed by its officers from 2005 through 2010, according to the report.

The report blamed “hardline policing methods” for contributing to escalating violence and crime instead of reducing it, as a result of inadequate government oversight and reforms.

“At the heart of the failure to implement effective reforms and ensure that Dominicans have the effective policing that they need is a lack of political will,” the report said. ”Those in power have failed to confront those with a vested interest in maintaining the current system in which corruption is deeply rooted and human rights abuses by the police are pervasive.”

In addition to what it described as widespread police torture of criminal suspects, Amnesty said there was evidence to suggest that some killings by the police were so-called “extrajudicial executions.” There was no immediate response to the report from the Dominican government or police.

As recently as April 2011, Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble congratulated the Santo Domingo police force for being “one of the best in the world”.

TAM and LAN airlines preparing to tie the knot

tlc — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:12:20 +0000

The Americas Post - Will they call it LAN AM?

Chilean airline LAN has avoided a lawsuit from local competitor PAL and reached an agreement that will allow LAN to proceed in their planned marriage with Brazilian airline TAM. The merger would create one of the largest airline groups in the world.

LAN, one of the leading carriers of Latin America, announced Tuesday that PAL agreed to drop objections to the merger raised some weeks ago in the Chilean Supreme Court, in return for compensation of US$5,000,000.

Based in Santiago and owned by the local Cueto family, LAN operates in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, with additional cargo service in Brazil and Mexico. Over a year ago the company announced their intention to acquire TAM, thus creating the largest airline in Latin America with over 10.5 billion in revenue.

Based in Sao Paulo and controlled by the Amaro family, TAM is the largest airline in the largest economy of Latin America. The company has announced it will not renew four aircraft leases next year as originally planned, saving $50 million a year and reducing their fleet to 159 planes instead of 163 at the end of 2012. TAM reported profits of 38 million dollars in the second trimester, leaving behind their losses for the same period last year.

LAN plans to invest heavily in their fleet as part of an aggressive expansion plan for 2011-2014. The Chilean carrier reported a year-over-year revenue decline of 11% for the third trimester, due to restructuring of their Colombian operation and foreign exchange losses. From January to September the company reported profits of US$207,700,000.

Expected to be complete by mid 2012, the merger is expected to save almost 400 million dollars per year by combining operations. Both companies plan to ask the Chilean Supreme Court to approve the deal by waiving three remaining legal obstacles imposed by the local anti-monopoly tribunal.

Chavez continues to consolidate power

tlc — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:32:14 +0000

The Americas Post - Without Leopoldo Lopez, who else can run against Chavez? Photo: Al Dia

This week opponents of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez suffered from a one-two punch: a court decision handicapping the presidential aspirations of a major candidate, followed by a $2 million fine that threatens the closure of an anti-government TV channel.

Both rulings by the Supreme Court and National Telecommunications Commission have outraged opposition leaders and human rights activists, who say judges and government regulators blatantly act as agents of the president by singling out his enemies for harassment.

The sanctions against candidate Leopoldo Lopez and the Globovision TV station look suspiciously like a crackdown on critics, as Chavez readies his re-election campaign after completing chemotherapy for cancer.

“The government is trying to show it is firmly in control and can play offense, even at a time when questions are being raised about Chavez’s vulnerability in next year’s elections,” said Michael Shifter, president of Inter-American Dialogue in Washington DC.

“Chavez wants to depict Lopez and Globovision as symbols of the old, discredited political order,” he said. “The aim is to rally his political base of hard core Chavistas, to prepare for the election campaign.”

The Chavez administration and their supporters deny such allegations.

The telecommunications agency’s chief, Pedro Maldonado, said Globovision is being fined the equivalent of more than $2.1 million for violating broadcast regulations by airing interviews with family members of inmates during a prolonged prison rebellion.

Maldonado accused Globovision of playing such interviews approximately 300 times and adding the sound of gunfire to some segments.

The TV station only has until Dec. 31 to pay, but owner Guillermo Zuloaga assured viewers this week that he will come up with the money.

Zuloaga denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the news channel is being penalized for coverage the government disliked.

“I think there’s no doubt that President Chavez fears the independent media,” Zuloaga said. “I want to watch him lose the elections.”

Zuloaga was interviewed by telephone from the United States, where he fled last year after prosecutors issued an arrest warrant on charges of usury and conspiracy for storing 24 new vehicles at a home he owns. Zuloaga, who also owns several car dealerships, calls the charges false and accuses prosecutors of merely doing Chavez’s bidding.

Last year Globovision became Venezuela’s only surviving anti-Chavez TV channel when another station, RCTV, was forced off cable and satellite TV after the government refused to renew its broadcast license.

If it can remain on the air, Globovision will be a vital soapbox for opposition leaders in the next presidential campaign.

Also this week, the Venezuelan Supreme Court upheld a decision by the country’s top anti-corruption official banning Leopoldo Lopez from public office until 2014 following alleged irregularities.

Opposition politicians accuse the authorities of fabricating corruption accusations against enemies while ignoring corruption within the government. International watchdog group Transparency International currently rates Venezuela among the most corrupt countries in its annual index.

Manuel Rosales, Chavez’s main rival in the 2006 presidential election, was forced into exile in 2009 when prosecutors accused him of corruption.

Lopez is one of about 1,300 officials disqualified from office over the past 11 years due to corruption, said acting Comptroller General Adelina Gonzalez.

A former Caracas mayor, Lopez was sanctioned for multiple accusations, including funneling donations from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, where he and his mother worked, to a non-profit organization he was involved with.

Lopez has denied any wrongdoing and notes he was never sentenced by any court.

“They’re wrong if they think we’re going to kneel before their attempts to take our rights away from us,” he told supporters this week. “This is a fight for our rights.”

The Supreme Court overruled a Sept. 1 decision by the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which said Lopez’s political rights had been violated and instructed Venezuela to let him run for office.

The Supreme Court upheld the prohibition on Lopez holding office, yet said he would be free to run if he chooses.

Lopez said that “confusing decision” leaves a threat hanging over his candidacy. Prosecutors also said criminal investigations against him remain open.