Colombian authorities arrest alleged leader of Italian mafia in Latin America
Police identified the suspect as Giuseppe Palermo, also known as 'Peppe,' an Italian who was wanted under an Interpol red notice, which called for his arrest in 196 countries.
He was apprehended on the street in Colombia's capital Bogota during a coordinated operation between Colombian, Italian and British authorities, as well as Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, according to an official report.
Palermo is believed to be part of 'one of the most tightly knit cells' of the 'ndrangheta mafia, said Carlos Fernando Triana, head of the Colombian police, in a message posted on X.
The 'ndrangheta, one of Italy's most powerful and secretive criminal organizations, has extended its influence abroad and is widely accused of importing cocaine into Europe.
The suspect 'not only led the purchase of large shipments of cocaine in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, but also controlled the maritime and land routes used to transport the drugs to European markets,' Triana added.
Illegal cocaine production reached 3,708 tons in 2023, an increase of nearly 34% from the previous year, driven mainly by the expansion of coca leaf cultivation in Colombia, according to the United Nations.
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Trump accused of ‘attack on Brazilian democracy' after sanctioning Bolsonaro trial judge
Allies of Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have accused Donald Trump of launching 'a direct attack on Brazilian democracy' after the US treasury slapped sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, the supreme court judge widely credited with helping save Brazilian democracy from a 2022 rightwing coup. The highly controversial US move was announced on Wednesday by the secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, shortly before Trump followed through on a threat to hit Brazilian imports with 50% tariffs by signing an executive order 'to deal with the recent policies, practices, and actions by the government of Brazil'. Trump has partly attributed those tariffs to his outrage at the supposed political 'witch-hunt' against his far-right ally the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly seeking to seize power after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula. Related: President Lula hits back as Trump tariffs threaten US-Brazil trade showdown Moraes is presiding over the trial, which is widely expected to result in Bolsonaro being convicted and sentenced to up to 43 years in jail, as well as several other criminal investigations into Bolsonaro and his family. Announcing the Magnitsky sanctions, Bessent accused Moraes of being 'responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights and politicized prosecutions – including against former president Jair Bolsonaro'. 'Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch-hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies,' Bessent claimed. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, tweeted: 'Let this be a warning to those who would trample on the fundamental rights of their countrymen – judicial robes cannot protect you.' A White House statement confirming the 50% tariffs on Brazil – albeit with numerous major exemptions, including oil, orange juice, timber and aircraft – said they were a result of 'the government of Brazil's politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters'. Hundreds of hardcore Bolsonaro supporters have been put on trial and jailed for taking part in the 8 January 2023 rightwing riots in the capital, Brasília, during which the supreme court, congress and presidential palace were stormed and ransacked. The sanctions were celebrated by Bolsonaro's relatives and supporters, who see US pressure as the only way of helping the former president escape a hefty jail term and, perhaps, save his political future. 'We Brazilians will never forget this action of yours [Rubio and Trump],' tweeted Bolsonaro's congressman son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has spent recent weeks in the US lobbying the Trump administration to fight for his father's cause by imposing sanctions. 'Today I have a feeling of mission accomplished but our journey won't end here,' Eduardo Bolsonaro vowed in a social media video. But members of Lula's government denounced the move as a dramatic escalation of what they see as Trump's crusade to undermine Brazilian democracy. José Guimarães, a congressperson from Lula's leftwing Worker's party (PT), called the sanctions 'not just an affront to a supreme court minister … [but also] a direct attack on Brazilian democracy and sovereignty'. 'We will not accept foreign interference in … our justice system,' Guimarães wrote on X, calling the sanctions 'the fruit of a Bolsonaro family conspiracy against Brazil'. Gleisi Hoffmann, a top minister and one of Lula's closest allies, called Trump's move a 'violent and arrogant act' and expressed the government's 'utter repudiation' of the 'absurd' measure. There was also criticism from conservative politicians. João Amoêdo, one of the founders of the rightwing Partido Novo, called the sanctions 'an unacceptable attempt at foreign interference in the Brazilian justice system'. Eduardo Leite, a conservative presidential hopeful who governs Rio Grande do Sul state, said he could not accept 'another country trying to interfere in our institutions'. The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. The Magnitsky sanctions were named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax lawyer who died in a Moscow prison in 2009 after being imprisoned for exposing high-level corruption. They have been used since 2017 to sanction individuals accused of involvement in serious human rights abuses. Past targets have included Saudi Arabian officials involved in the 2018 murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Nicaraguan officials linked to a deadly crackdown designed to keep its dictator Daniel Ortega in power, Communist party leaders involved in the repression of members of the Uyghur ethnic group in west China and military chiefs in Myanmar involved in alleged acts of ethnic cleansing. Legal experts and human rights activists voiced astonishment and consternation that such sanctions had been used to target a judge in Latin America's largest democracy. Thiago Amparo, an international law and human rights professor from Brazil's Getúlio Vargas Foundation, said the sanctions exposed 'Trump's distorted view of what a human rights violation is'. Amparo said Trump appeared to think that one of his ideological allies being given a fair trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup was equivalent to 'torture, genocide or other grave violations … to which laws such as Magnitsky are meant to apply'. Solve the daily Crossword
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Ghislaine Maxwell is talking – but what can she tell and can she be believed?
Early one afternoon in April 2016, Ghislaine Maxwell got so angry that she struck a table. Maxwell, who was facing a defamation lawsuit from the late Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre Roberts, was being deposed by attorneys and seemed to grow incensed during questioning. 'I am going to put on the record, Ms Maxwell very inappropriately and very harshly pounded our law firm table in an inappropriate manner,' said Roberts's attorney Sigrid McCawley. 'I ask she take a deep breath, and calm down. I know this is a difficult position, but physical assault or threats is not appropriate – so no pounding, no stomping, no, that's not appropriate.' 'Can we be clear, I didn't threaten anybody,' retorted the British socialite, who in 2021 was convicted of sex trafficking in relation to Epstein. Maxwell's attorney, Jeffrey Pagliuca, came to her defense: 'Stop, you made your record, there is no dent in the table. I don't see any chips.' Related: Trump cranks up distraction machine but focus refuses to budge from Epstein The heated deposition would ultimately prove damaging for Maxwell. When she was charged in 2020 for inviting unsuspecting teen girls into Epstein's predatory orbit, she also faced two perjury counts for allegedly providing false information 'under oath' during litigation. Although prosecutors said they would drop these perjury counts if she didn't get a retrial in her sex-trafficking case, Maxwell's statements about Epstein – and whether they can be trusted – are once again at the forefront of national news. Twice this week, Maxwell met with the deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, as Donald Trump continues to contend with the political uproar over his justice department's handling of files related to Epstein, who died in jail six years ago as he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges. Epstein, whom prosecutors said abused girls as young as 14, had for years counted numerous powerful men among his associates – including Trump and Prince Andrew, whom Roberts accused of sexual misconduct in relation to Epstein and who has denied any wrongdoing. Trump for weeks has faced political fallout over a justice department memo claiming there was no Epstein client list, and its decision not to release extensive case documents despite Trump's campaign promise to do so. Meanwhile, Congress – specifically the House's oversight committee – has also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify. As the controversy continues to swirl, report after report has shed light on Trump's friendship with Epstein, which reportedly ended several years before the financier was arrested on prostitution charges in Florida. But it is Maxwell – again – who finds herself at the center of a political and media firestorm, as Trump seeks to assure his Maga base that he is telling the truth when he says he had little contact with Epstein and was unaware of his crimes. What exactly Maxwell's meeting with the Department of Justice, or her testifying to Congress, will uncover remains unclear. It's also unknown whether Maxwell's sit-down will do anything to help her: she is serving a 20-year sentence for enabling Epstein's abuse. After the second meeting with Blanche on Friday, Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told reporters: 'Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question.' The attorney Alan Dershowitz, who represented Epstein in Florida criminal proceedings where he pleaded guilty to state charges including soliciting a minor for prostitution, said Maxwell was still key to understanding what exactly transpired. 'Maxwell knew Epstein intimately for many, many years. She was his girlfriend, she was his chief assistant,' said Dershowitz, speaking before Maxwell's meeting with the justice department. 'She would be the one who arranged the travel for people when I had to come down to argue cases for him or appear in front of the state attorney or the US attorney. 'She knows where all the bodies are buried.' He noted that prosecutors often exchange time in prison for information, including in organized crime cases. 'If they really want to get to the bottom of all this, they should make a deal with her – and the deal is an obvious one,' he said, describing it as a 'win-win for everybody' if she was freed, granted immunity and testified to Congress. While Maxwell does have intimate knowledge of Epstein, Dershowitz said this did not mean any meeting or testimony would implicate others. She could, for example, tell Blanche there were other accusers but that she believes them to be liars. Whether her evidence implicates people or appears to clear them, neither might be trustworthy by itself, he said. 'Whatever the inculpatory material is has to be checked and has to be verified. You can't just put out accusations.' Roberts and Dershowitz sued each other over Epstein-related allegations; in 2022, she dropped her suit, and both agreed not to sue again. Dershowitz has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. There are various ways Maxwell could receive a reprieve. Prosecutors could ask the judge to reduce her sentence for assisting with the prosecution of others, or Trump could commute her sentence or grant a pardon. 'I suspect it's really just window dressing or distraction to try to avoid having to release any significant Epstein-related documents,' said the defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. 'Maxwell had the opportunity to speak with the feds when she was under indictment and apparently chose not to because she claimed she was innocent. 'What is she going to be providing now, at this point?' Indeed, it remains unclear what Maxwell might tell authorities that could lift the veil on Epstein. Before her trial, her attorneys said so much time had passed that key witnesses had died and key evidence was inaccessible. Prosecutors also said in court that they had not offered Maxwell a plea deal – and that her team did not request one. Kevin Faga, a veteran defense attorney, said that if Maxwell wound up signing a cooperation agreement, then prosecutors could request a resentencing. While it's up to the judge, Faga said, 'in my experience, judges pay a lot of attention to these types of requests from the government' because they believe there's a public interest in providing assistance 'so that other wrongdoers can be prosecuted and punished'. In other words, if Maxwell were to simply tell authorities that prosecutors got the case wrong, that would probably not help her. 'Cooperation doesn't work that way,' Faga said. 'That's not providing substantial assistance to the government.' There's also the matter of Maxwell's problematic deposition – striking that table. 'If the government previously charged her with perjury, then it makes her a very questionable witness,' Faga said, 'and a witness that the government may deem just too unreliable to accept cooperation from.' Solve the daily Crossword
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Ghislaine Maxwell interviewed again by deputy US attorney general
The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor's office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday. Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, on Friday afternoon said Blanche had finished his questioning for the day, NBC News first reported. Markus told reporters as he left the courthouse in downtown Tallahassee: 'We started this morning right around 9 o'clock, and went to now lunchtime, and we're finished after all day, yesterday and today. Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question.' He added: 'They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything.' The justice department has not said whether Blanche intends to question Maxwell further. Markus said he did not know whether the discussions would have any impact on her case. He had previously said Thursday's meeting was 'very productive'. Related: What are the Jeffrey Epstein files and will they be released? Blanche had announced earlier in the week that he had contacted Maxwell's lawyers to see if she might have 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims'. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, after a jury convicted her of sex trafficking in 2021. An uproar continues to engulf Donald Trump and calls have intensified for his administration to release all details of the federal investigation into Epstein, while questions remain about whether Maxwell has any fresh light to shed on her former boyfriend's crimes. Meanwhile, the US supreme court is due to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by Maxwell to overturn her criminal conviction. Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a jail cell in New York while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to Epstein, headed to Scotland on Friday for a trip that will mix golf with politics mostly out of public view. Protests await the president in the UK over his extreme agenda while scandal nips at his heels in the US. Further talking to reporters after Friday's meeting, Markus said: 'We don't know how it's going to play out. We just know that this was the first opportunity she's ever been given to answer questions about what happened, and so the truth will come out about what happened with Mr Epstein. And she's the person who's answering those questions.' Prosecutors and the judge who oversaw Maxwell's 2021 trial have said that she made multiple false statements under oath and failed to take responsibility for her actions. She was convicted for sex trafficking and other crimes, and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. 'People have questioned her honesty, which I think is just wrong,' Markus said. Asked if Maxwell had received an offer of clemency from the government, Markus said no offer had been made. Trump rejected the idea of a pardon for Maxwell after landing in the UK on Friday. 'A lot of people have been asking me about pardons' for Maxwell, he said. 'Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons.' Although the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, earlier this year had promised to release additional materials related to possible Epstein clients, the justice department reversed course this month and issued a memo concluding there was no basis to continue investigating and there was no evidence of a client list or blackmail. Since then, the department has sought permission to unseal grand jury transcripts from its prior investigations into Epstein and Maxwell. On Wednesday, US district judge Robin Rosenberg denied one of those requests. Trump's name, along with many other high-profile individuals, appeared multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s, while several media outlets have this month reported previously unpublicized and friendly communications from the US president to the high-profile financier. Meanwhile, the supreme court justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up the appeal by Maxwell against her conviction in 2021 by a jury in New York for 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 US law that has divided some of the nation's regional federal appeals courts. Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there was a chance that the supreme court would take 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 US 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. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting Solve the daily Crossword
