International
Mexican ex-cartel boss jailed for 28 years
AFP
A Mexican court has sentenced former drug lord Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, who headed one of the country’s leading cartels, to 28 years in prison, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The 58-year-old, known as “El Viceroy,” is the brother of the founder of the Juarez cartel, whose turf wars with enemies were blamed for thousands of deaths.
Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as “The Lord of the Skies,” was considered one of Latin America’s biggest drug traffickers until he died during plastic surgery in Mexico City in 1997.
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, who replaced his brother, was arrested in 2014 in the northern state of Coahuila on charges of organized crime and drug trafficking.
The Attorney General’s Office said in a short statement that a judge had handed down a 28-year jail sentence to the former cartel kingpin.
The United States had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, while Mexico offered $2.2 million.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration’s then-chief, Michele Leonhart, congratulated Mexico at the time for catching “one of history’s most notorious drug traffickers.”
“Carrillo Fuentes was the leader of the Juarez cartel and facilitated murder and violence in Mexico while fueling addiction in the United States and across the world,” Leonhart said.
The arrests of its leaders and bloody turf battles have sapped the strength of the Juarez cartel, which is no longer such a powerful force.
Carrillo Fuentes’ capture at a police checkpoint gave then-president Enrique Pena Nieto another victory against major drug traffickers.
The fallen drug lord, whose sentence takes into account time already served, was described by authorities as a “very low-profile and discreet” cartel boss.
Based in Ciudad Juarez, a city on the border with the US state of Texas, the Juarez cartel fought against Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel for control of the major drug transit route.
Guzman is now serving a life sentence in a US prison.
The bloodshed in Juarez and elsewhere in Mexico led to the government’s controversial deployment of the military in the war on drugs in 2006.
The Latin American country has seen more than 300,000 murders since then, most of them blamed on criminal gangs.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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