International

US city authorities release note penned by Walmart gunman

Photo: NewsNation

| By AFP |

Virginia authorities on Friday released a “death note” in which the Walmart manager who shot and killed six people at his store complained of being harassed at work and asked God for forgiveness.

Andre Bing, 31, an overnight manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, committed suicide after Tuesday’s shooting rampage.

The attack in a store full Thanksgiving shoppers took place two days before the holiday and on the heels of a weekend shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado that killed five people.

The authorities in Chesapeake, 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of the US capital Washington, released a message on Friday titled “death note” that they said was found on Bing’s phone.

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“Sorry God I’ve failed you, this was not your fault but my own,” it said. “I was harassed by idiots with low intelligence and a lack of wisdom.

“I was just as guilty and failed my management team and everyone that ever loved me by convincing them that I was normal,” the note said.

Bing apologized for his actions saying “Sorry everyone but I did not plan this. I promise things just fell in place like I was led by the Satan.

“I wish that I could have saved everyone from myself,” he said. “May God forgive me for what I’m going to do.”

The Chesapeake city authorities also said on Friday that Bing had legally purchased the 9mm handgun used in the shooting the same day as the attack.

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Six people were killed and four wounded when Bing entered a staff break room around 10:00 pm and opened fire, according to police.

It was the second mass shooting in Virginia this month.

Three University of Virginia football players were shot dead and two other students wounded by a classmate after a school field trip on November 13.

So far in 2022, the Gun Violence Archive website has tracked more than 600 mass shootings in the United States — defined as an incident with four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter.

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International

Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.

The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.

International

U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster

A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.

This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.

The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.

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International

Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday highlighted her government’s achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, after the United States said challenges remain in combating organized crime.

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that “despite progress, challenges still exist” in addressing organized crime.

“There are very strong results from joint cooperation and from the work Mexico is doing: first, a 50% reduction in fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.

The president also said that authorities have seized nearly 320 tons of drugs and that there has been a “40% decrease in intentional homicides in Mexico” since the start of her administration on October 1, 2024.

Sheinbaum added that the United States should implement campaigns to reduce drug consumption within its territory and curb the flow of weapons into Mexico.

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“There are many results and there will be more, but there must be mutual respect and shared responsibility, as well as respect for our sovereignties,” she said.

On Monday, Sheinbaum held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security issues. She said she once again ruled out the presence of U.S. troops in Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Security has been a recurring issue used by Trump to threaten tariffs on Mexico and to pressure negotiations over the USMCA (T-MEC) free trade agreement, which are scheduled for 2026.

The agreement is crucial for Mexico’s economy, as about 80% of the country’s exports are destined for the United States.