Mexico City
Oil fraud: Mexican authorities have arrested a top oil executive for allegedly defrauding Citigroup of up to $400 million. Prosecutors say Amado Yáñez Osuna’s Oceanografía oil services company falsified invoices used as collateral for loans from Citigroup’s Mexican subsidiary. They believe some of the money was laundered through a soccer team Yáñez owns. But the opposition National Action Party contends the case may be politically motivated. Oceanografía was awarded many lucrative contracts by the state-owned oil giant Pemex while the National Action Party was in power. The NAP is refusing to support President Enrique Peña Nieto’s energy reform bill until the case is resolved.
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
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Terrorist plan worked: Al Qaida wanted to provoke the U.S. into war, said accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Speaking to lawyers for Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, who was on trial in New York, Mohammed said that the attacks were intended to drive the U.S. out of Muslim lands. “Every state of emergency declared and every change of alert level that inflicts specific procedures on military and civilian sectors costs the country millions of dollars,” he said. “The U.S. government has incurred losses upwards of a trillion dollars in the wars it has waged in the aftermath of 9/11, the bleeding of which continues to this day.”
Caracas, Venezuela
Booted out: A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker has been kicked out of parliament for giving a speech in Washington. María Corina Machado went to the headquarters of the Organization of American States last week to inform the delegations about the recent protests against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Panama ceded its seat at the OAS meeting so that Machado could speak, and Venezuelan authorities say Machado betrayed her country by “acting as a Panamanian official.” They stripped her of her seat and her parliamentary immunity, and say she could be arrested for “inciting violence.” More than 30 people have been killed in anti-government protests in the past month.
Rio de Janeiro
Troops raid favelas: With less than three months to go before the World Cup, Brazil is sending soldiers into the slums around Rio to stem surging violence. Last week, the gangs that control the favelas firebombed police stations in a coordinated attack. “Criminals want to weaken our policy of pacification and take back territories that were in criminal hands for decades,” said Rio state Gov. Sérgio Cabral. Activists say the violence is rising because of police brutality. Residents have been tortured and killed by police, and the rioters contend that the cops are more corrupt than the criminals.
Montevideo, Uruguay
U.S. detainees welcome: Uruguay has become the first Latin American country to agree to accept prisoners released from Guantánamo Bay. “I was imprisoned for many years, and I know how it is,” said President José Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla jailed under Uruguay’s dictatorship in the 1970s and ’80s. “They are coming as refugees, and there will be a place for them in Uruguay if they want to bring their families.” Uruguay is expected to accept five of the 154 detainees who remain in Guantánamo. The U.S. government said no deal has been finalized and wants assurances that resettled prisoners will be required to stay in the country for at least two years.
