International
Former official linked to Ayotzinapa case remanded in custody
July 3 |
A Mexican federal judge prosecuted this Sunday for the crimes of torture and forced disappearance Gualberto Ramirez Gutierrez, who served as head of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Specialized Deputy Attorney General’s Office for Organized Crime Investigation (Seido) at the time of the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa normalistas, in September 2014.
The Criminal Justice Control Judge, Juan José Hernández Leyva, determined that Ramírez Gutiérrez was a co-perpetrator of these crimes to the detriment of Felipe Rodríguez Salgado, identified as an alleged hitman for the Guerreros Unidos criminal organization, which is accused of the disappearance of the 43 students.
In addition, he ratified his preventive detention, considering that there is a risk of flight and that Ramirez Gutierrez Gutierrez intimidates an official of the Seido who testified against him. On the other hand, the judge gave a term of six months for the complementary investigation of the charges against him.
Ramírez Gutiérrez was arrested last June 26 and shares the accusation with the former Attorney General, Jesús Murillo Karam (arrested) and with the former head of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) of the then Attorney General’s Office, Tomás Zerón (Mexico is trying to extradite him from Israel, where he fled).
In addition to committing acts of torture, the judge considered that Ramírez Gutiérrez participated in illegal interrogations of Rodríguez Salgado in an illegal detention center operated by Tomás Zerón, who was based in the AIC facilities in the Lomas Sotelo neighborhood in the Mexican capital.
Amidst torture and beatings, Rodríguez Salgado was threatened with death there if he did not confess to having participated in the kidnapping and disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students. He remained in prison for four years and was finally acquitted of the charges.
After intense investigations, it has been determined that Ramírez Gutiérrez, Murillo Karam and Tomás Zerón participated in a meeting on October 7, 2014, in which they shaped the so-called “historical truth” of the Ayotzinapa case, according to which all the normalistas were incinerated in the landfill of Cocula, Guerrero state.
Subsequent investigations indicate that they lied to hide the truth from Mexican society and prevent justice from being done in a clear case of State terrorism, committed during the six-year term of office of former President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
In this regard, the Undersecretary of Human Rights, Population and Migration, Alejandro Encinas, valued that the arrest of Ramírez Gutiérrez represents an important step towards truth and justice.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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