International
Trial of former president Fujimori for massacre begins in Peru
December 19 |
The trial against former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, his former advisor Vladimiro Montesinos and 21 others investigated for the crime of aggravated homicide in the Pativilca massacre case began this Monday, according to local judicial sources.
According to the information, the hearing will be in charge of the Fourth National Superior Criminal Court.
At the beginning of the trial, Public Prosecutor Elsa Delgado Pérez stated that former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) implemented an anti-terrorist policy that consisted of “eliminating presumed terrorist elements” through operations carried out by the Colina undercover detachment.
The Public Prosecutor explained that Fujimori developed this national policy with the issuance of new laws and the organization of the National Intelligence Service (SIN), through which he ordered special intelligence operations related to the fight against terrorism in the country.
“One of those operations was carried out by the Colina detachment,” which “assassinated six residents” of Pativilca, north of Lima, on Jan. 29, 1992, and proposed the appointment of trusted personnel in those entities of the Armed Forces, Delgado said.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation, Colina is the undercover military group that was also responsible for the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres, for which Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009, but now the former president is following this trial in freedom, after his pardon was reinstated this year.
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office previously requested the preliminary detention of the former president and a new sentence of 25 years in prison, considering that crimes against humanity have been committed.
The former president was remotely connected to the hearing from his daughter Keiko’s house in Lima, accompanied by his lawyer, and his former intelligence advisor Vladimiro Montesinos was also connected from the Callao Naval Base, former military chiefs and the former members of Colina from the prisons where they are being held for having sentences in force, all of whom are involved in this trial for homicide, murder and forced disappearance.
In the case of Montesinos, the representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office affirmed that he was the “de facto head of the SIN”, since he shared control of this entity with its director, Julio Salazar Monroe, and was in charge of designing “a policy of eliminating presumed terrorist elements”.
He was the one “in charge of implementing the illegal fight against terrorism, through these illegal operations,” orders that were carried out by the Colina detachment, he specified.
“He ordered, with Alberto Fujimori’s knowledge and consent, that Colina carry out this intelligence operation aimed at eliminating alleged terrorist elements,” said Delgado in his accusation against the defendants.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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