Peru says suspect in miner killings arrested in Colombia
LIMA - Peru's interior ministry said on Thursday that a suspect in the killing of 13 miners in the northern district of Pataz has been arrested in Colombia.
The ministry said in a post on X that the arrest of Miguel Rodriguez, alias "Cuchillo" or "Knife," followed extensive intelligence work and coordination between the Peruvian and Colombian National Police and Interpol.
Earlier this month, workers at a gold mine in northern Peru were kidnapped and murdered by illegal miners that were allied with criminal groups, according to police and industry sources, among a wave of violence over control of the area, which has forced the government to establish a military facility there.
A lawyer for the suspect, Kevin Diaz, told local radio station RPP that his client had been in Venezuela for "a few days" before returning to Colombia, where he was arrested.
Rodriguez had previously denied involvement in the killings in an interview with a local television station.
Illegal mining in Peru, mainly for gold, has begun moving more money than drug trafficking, between $3 billion and $4 billion, per year, according to the government. REUTERS
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Amid Epstein furor, Ghislaine Maxwell seeks relief from US Supreme Court
FILE PHOTO: Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sits at the defense table as juror number 50 answers questions from Judge Alison Nathan about his answers on the juror questionaire in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S., March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo Even as an uproar over files relating to Jeffrey Epstein engulfs President Donald Trump and Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by an associate of the late financier and convicted sex offender to overturn her criminal conviction. The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. Maxwell's lawyers have told the Supreme Court that her conviction was invalid because a non-prosecution and plea agreement that federal prosecutors had made with Epstein in Florida in 2007 also shielded his associates and should have barred her criminal prosecution in New York. Her lawyers have a Monday deadline for filing their final written brief in their appeal to the court. Some legal experts see merit in Maxwell's claim, noting that it touches on an unsettled matter of U.S. law that has divided some of the nation's regional federal appeals courts, known as circuit courts. Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there is a chance that the Supreme Court takes up the case, and noted the disagreement among appeals courts. Such a split among circuit courts can be a factor when the nation's top judicial body considers whether or not to hear a case. "The question of whether a plea agreement from one U.S. Attorney's Office binds other federal prosecution as a whole is a serious issue that has split the circuits," Epner said. While uncommon, "there have been several cases presenting the issue over the years," Epner added. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Any disparity among lower court rulings "is of limited importance," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the brief, "because the scope of a plea or similar agreement is under the control of the parties to the agreement." If the Supreme Court opts to grant Maxwell's appeal, it would hear arguments during its new term that begins in October, with a ruling then expected by the end of next June. MOUNTING PRESSURE Trump and his administration have been facing mounting pressure from his supporters to release additional information about the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein, who hanged himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell, an autopsy concluded, while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, met with Maxwell in Florida on Thursday in what her lawyer called "a very productive day." The administration reversed course this month on its pledge to release more documents about Epstein, prompting fury among some of Trump's most loyal followers. The Epstein case has long been the subject of conspiracy theories, considering his rich and powerful friends and the circumstances of his death. The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump during his first term in office. Whether the court would want to take on such a case that represents a political landmine is an open question. The justices hear relatively few cases - about 70 out of more than 4,000 appeals filed at the court each year - and have broad discretion to choose which ones will be on their docket. At least four of the justices must agree in order for the court to take up a case. EPSTEIN'S DEAL Maxwell's appeal focuses on a deal Epstein struck in 2007 to avoid federal prosecution in part by pleading guilty to state criminal offenses in Florida of soliciting prostitution and soliciting minors to engage in prostitution. Epstein then served 13 months in a minimum-security state facility. In 2019, during Trump's first term as president, the U.S. Justice Department charged Epstein in Manhattan with sex trafficking of minors. Epstein pleaded not guilty, but committed suicide before the trial at age 66. Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted the following year after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls to have sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Maxwell failed to convince a trial judge and the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out her conviction based on the 2007 non-prosecution agreement, which stated that "the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein." In the appeal to the Supreme Court, Maxwell's lawyer David Markus said that in its reference to co-conspirators, the Epstein agreement had no geographic limit on where the non-prosecution agreement could be enforced. "If the government can promise one thing and deliver another - and courts let it happen - that erodes the integrity of the justice system," Markus told Reuters. "This isn't just about Ghislaine Maxwell. It's about whether the government is held to its word," Markus said. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has urged the Supreme Court to hear Maxwell's appeal given the prevalence of plea agreements in the U.S. criminal justice system and to ensure that the government keeps its promises. The group represents thousands of private lawyers, public defenders, law professors and judges nationwide. It said in a filing to the justices that the lack of a geographic limitation means "no part of the Department of Justice may institute criminal charges against any co-conspirator in any district." Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman, an expert in criminal law, said it was unusual for the U.S. attorney in Florida to include protection for co-conspirators in the agreement to not prosecute Epstein. That peculiarity might be reason enough for the Supreme Court to avoid the matter, Richman said, as it renders the case a poor vehicle for resolving whether pleas in one court district bind actions in all other court districts. "There were many strange things about this deal," Richman said, which will cut against the Supreme Court's interest in taking up Maxwell's appeal. Richman said he hoped the political fallout would not play into the Supreme Court's decision on whether to hear Maxwell's appeal. If it does, Richman said, taking up the case could allow Maxwell to avoid cooperating with the government and dodge responsibility. "A decision that would allow Maxwell to protect herself probably would not be something they would be interested in," Richman said of the Supreme Court justices. REUTERS
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Chicharito regrets 'confusion or discomfort' caused after fine for sexist remarks
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Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ex-cop faces 15 charges over sex offences involving at least 6 boys, allegedly made child porn
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Sharizal Shafi'ee has since left the Singapore Police Force. SINGAPORE - A former police officer allegedly committed sex-related offences, including molestation and producing sexually explicit material showing minors, involving at least six boys. He allegedly targeted three boys in one day in April 2024. His alleged offences involved three 14-year-old boys and three 15-year-olds, and were allegedly committed when he was still with the Singapore Police Force (SPF). Sharizal Shafi'ee, 40, who has since left the SPF, was handed 15 charges on July 25. Court documents stated he was in a Jurong West flat on July 31, 2023, when he allegedly persuaded a 15-year-old boy to perform a sexual act over a video call via messaging platform Telegram. Sharizal allegedly used his mobile phone to record the teenager doing so. He was in the same flat on Aug 20, 2023, when he allegedly committed similar offences involving a 14-year-old boy. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HDB resale price growth moderates in Q2, more flats sold Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore Etomidate found in blood samples of 2 people involved in fatal Punggol Road accident in May: HSA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Asia Cambodia border clash heaps pressure on embattled Thai PM Business GIC posts 3.8% annualised return over 20 years despite economic uncertainties Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly Sharizal is said to have committed the same offences again with the same boy two days later. He is accused of targeting a second 15-year-old boy twice in November 2023. Similarly, Sharizal allegedly persuaded the teenager to perform a sexual act over a Telegram video call on Nov 12 and 17 that year. After that, he purportedly used his mobile phone to record the teenager doing so on both occasions. On April 18, 2024, he allegedly targeted three victims, first by allegedly committing similar offences against a third 15-year-old boy. He is accused of attempting to procure an obscene act from a second 14-year-old boy along a pavement in Jurong West Avenue 1 that day. Court documents stated Sharizal allegedly asked the teenager's help to adjust Sharizal's bra and asked the boy to follow him. Sharizal allegedly did this so he could touch the boy in an obscene manner. Sharizal allegedly struck again that day when he allegedly molested a third 14-year-old boy at a staircase landing of a Jurong West block of flats. Sharizal's case has been adjourned to Aug 22. If convicted of molestation, he can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments. For each count of producing a sexually explicit video showing a minor, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.
