Latest news with #Valiente
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
L.A. Affairs: My dog bit my date. Would I hear from him again?
It was September 2021, and the fall chill was creeping in. Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had been shackled to my 350-square-foot studio apartment in Miracle Mile, supervising two dogs who couldn't get along. I felt trapped, and the sensation was heightened by metal bars on my windows. In late 2020, I had driven 300 miles to rescue a pandemic puppy from Tijuana. I named him Valiente, Spanish for brave. He was terrified of men and was prone to barking and lunging at them. I could not have any visitors in my studio despite my efforts to train the two to cohabitate. Val tried endlessly to get my senior dog, Bunny Bear, to engage, as he wanted to run and play like a typical puppy. Sadly, one evening, when Bunny had enough, she took a chomp out of his snout. Ever since, Val was glued to my hips for fear of the wrath of Bunny. I sank further into depression. I looked forward to my weekly therapy sessions as they provided me with one of my only sources of intelligent human conversation. My therapist suggested going on a dating app. I reluctantly decided to give it another shot. Read more: L.A. Affairs: I boldly gave a fun, mysterious guy my number. Could I refrain from Googling him later? I clicked the reactivate button on my Bumble account, and a young man popped up from Boston. I swiped right and apparently he did too. He piqued my interest because he listed 'writer' as his occupation. I am a wordsmith, and he writes for a living. We were both from the East Coast, so we appreciated L.A.'s laid-back vibe and the temperate weather. I figured he could string together words beyond the typical trite one-liners that guys would normally throw my way on these apps: 'How was your night, beautiful? Are you lonely? I'm a big spoon, looking for my little one. Could it be you?' These types of lines left me feeling hollow. I longed for a more meaningful connection, and not just a physical one. I longed to experience true love. These apps were a playground for people pretending to be anybody but themselves to snag a 'prize.' I was again faced with the daunting task of sifting through piles of hay looking for one needle, so when Tom suggested that we Zoom, I was all in. Zooming was another layer in the weeding-out process, and I was curious to know if he was indeed a working writer. We were having a great Zoom, and he checked all the boxes. Despite this, I was still suspicious. At the end of the call, he asked what my availability was like to get together in person. He suggested two restaurants: the casual Mexican restaurant Don Cuco and the pricier historical landmark the Smoke House, across from the Warner Bros. lot. I opted for the "safer' bet of the two, Mexican. Had I gone with the high-end spot, I fear he might have expected more. Read more: L.A. Affairs: I dated all kinds of complicated guys. Would L.A. men be any different? When I met Tom at the restaurant, I was instantly struck by his strong physique and his dreamy blue eyes, which he smiled with. I could not stop looking at him. His voice was sexy. We chatted about L.A., and I explained that when I moved here, I knew one person and had no job. Within the first three months of arriving, I made my debut on the James Corden show, lived in Hollywood and worked in Beverly Hills. It was fast and furious, and I never looked back. His career was a little more stable. He went to film school at Emerson and moved to Burbank when he was 22. He worked his way up, writing for TV and comics. He seemed extremely stable — like he could be the yin to my yang. I was instantly smitten, and he left me wanting more. This connection went beyond just a 'spark." When we parted, he did not give me his phone number but instead said, 'You can message me on the app if you want. Or not. It's up to you,' then walked away. I was stunned. Most of the guys on the apps were pushy. He was not. He left the ball in my court, which was refreshing and confusing at the same time. Read more: L.A. Affairs: Just before my lips touched my roommate's, I pulled back and looked away I did not hear from him for two days, so I made the bold decision to message him to see if he wanted to get together that day. I felt more confident about the prospect of this being real since he hadn't pushed for sex. I had the date mapped out: We were going to drive to Hermosa Beach, have a drink on the pier, casually stroll the beach and eventually make our way into the water for a first kiss. Much to my delight, it unfolded exactly like that. I even got to show off some of my Pilates instructor moves in my bikini. In the car ride home, he turned to me with those irresistible blue eyes and said, 'So what do we do now? Get married?' I was grinning ear to ear and hoping there was some truth to what he said. When we got to my apartment, I ran in to get Val for an introduction. I wanted them to meet on neutral territory before bringing him into my apartment. When Tom leaned down to pet him, Val lunged and bit his leg, drawing blood. I thought I'd never see the guy again. Read more: L.A. Affairs: After my marriage fell apart, darkness got to me. Then I was catfished When I heard my phone ring later that night, I was thrilled to hear it was Tom. The butterflies in my stomach were flying in full force. He thanked me for the 'most perfect date' and brushed off the bite. He said he would love to go out with me again. I was ecstatic that my scheme had worked. It was a big win. Fast-forward a year later, and I said yes to the rest of our lives. The elopement was supposed to happen in Maui, but the wildfires in Lahaina threw a wrench in our plans. We pivoted to Oahu and had the most magical wedding on the beach at sunset, set against a backdrop of rolling waves and volcanoes. Ever since then, we joked that our story was 'love at first bite,' and we wouldn't have it any other way. The author is an L.A.-based Pilates instructor. She lives in Burbank with her husband, Tom, and their pup, Sparky. She's on Instagram: @jbearinla and @sparkytheshark. L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@ You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here. Sign up for The Wild newsletter to get weekly insider tips on the best of our beaches, trails, parks, deserts, forests and mountains. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Bangkok Post
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
David vs Goliath: Inside the legal battle to help Trump's deportees in El Salvador
SANTA TECLA — A small group of overstretched and outmatched lawyers is fighting for the rights of men deported by the Trump administration and held in a notorious Salvadoran prison -- a David vs Goliath battle that may end up in international courts. In a half-empty old schoolhouse outside San Salvador, lawyer Rene Valiente is trying to determine the fate of 252 Venezuelan migrants expelled from the United States in March without any kind of court hearing. He is the investigations coordinator for Cristosal, a human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is challenging El Salvador's all-powerful president, Nayib Bukele, and his even more powerful US ally, President Donald Trump. For months, Valiente and his team have gone from jail to ministry to courthouse, trying to find out more about those being held at the tightly controlled CECOT facility, and to have the men's legal rights recognized. With both the Trump and Bukele administrations stonewalling, the lawyers have had little success. Valiente has no visitation rights, no proof the men are alive, and not even an official list of their names. "We've asked for information, but have repeatedly been rebuffed," Valiente told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "They are in a kind of legal black hole." "We've filed 70 applications for habeas corpus. None have been resolved," he said, referring to prisoners' right to challenge their detention. On a laptop, Valiente shows a database of detainees that he and his colleagues have managed to cobble together despite the official silence. Some on the list were spotted by distraught family members in Hollywood-style images of chained and shorn deportees being bundled off planes and into jail. Others are like Jhoanna Sanguino, who saw her 24-year-old nephew's name on a list of detainees leaked to the media. "It's overwhelming to know nothing," she said. "Is he being fed? Does he get a sip of water? How is his health? 'Crime against humanity'? Trump has claimed the Venezuelans deported were "criminals" and "barbarians", mostly made up of gangsters, rapists, and murderers. But Cristosal's database tells a different story. The group has registered 152 individuals so far, and 90% of them have no criminal record. Cristosal's work appears to have earned the ire of Bukele -- who has consolidated power and packed the courts with allies since being elected in 2019. Valiente's colleague Ruth Lopez was abruptly detained in May and accused of illicit enrichment, a charge she denies. Days before her detention, she told AFP she had been working on documenting forced disappearances under Bukele's government. She is one of tens of thousands of people who have been detained under Bukele's state of emergency, often without court orders, the right to phone calls or even to see a lawyer. A further crackdown seems likely. Cristosal director Noah Bullock said that in Bukele's El Salvador "speaking out or asking something that is not aligned with the government entails the risk of being arrested." The lawyers are determined to help the Venezuelans, but expect little from a country where the president has near-absolute control. "We want to document these grave human rights violations, to leave a trace. For the moment we are exhausting all domestic legal channels" said Valiente. Ultimately, they may look to bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court, whose treaty, the Rome Statute, was ratified by El Salvador in 2016. "The Salvadoran government is obligated to report on the condition of the prisoners," said Venezuelan former diplomat Walter Marquez, whose Amparo Foundation represents dozens of the detainees. "Failing to do so is a crime against humanity, according to the Rome Statute, and could lead to international prosecution."
Int'l Business Times
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
David Vs Goliath: Inside The Legal Battle To Help Trump's Deportees In El Salvador
A small group of overstretched and outmatched lawyers is fighting for the rights of men deported by the Trump administration and held in a notorious Salvadoran prison -- a David vs. Goliath battle that may end up in international courts. In a half-empty old schoolhouse outside San Salvador, lawyer Rene Valiente is trying to determine the fate of 252 Venezuelan migrants expelled from the United States in March without any kind of court hearing. He is the investigations coordinator for Cristosal, a human rights NGO that is challenging El Salvador's all-powerful president, Nayib Bukele, and his even more powerful US ally, President Donald Trump. For months, Valiente and his team have gone from jail to ministry to courthouse, trying to find out more about those being held at the tightly controlled CECOT facility, and to have the men's legal rights recognized. With both the Trump and Bukele administrations stonewalling, the lawyers have had little success. Valiente has no visitation rights, no proof the men are alive, and not even an official list of their names. "We've asked for information, but have repeatedly been rebuffed," Valiente told AFP. "They are in a kind of legal black hole." "We've filed 70 applications for habeas corpus. None have been resolved," he said, referring to prisoners' right to challenge their detention. On a laptop, Valiente shows a database of detainees that he and his colleagues have managed to cobble together despite the official silence. Some on the list were spotted by distraught family members in Hollywood-style images of chained and shorn deportees being bundled off planes and into jail. Others are like Jhoanna Sanguino, who saw her 24-year-old nephew's name on a list of detainees leaked to the media. "It's overwhelming to know nothing," she said. "Is he being fed? Does he get a sip of water? How is his health? Trump has claimed the Venezuelans deported were "criminals" and "barbarians", mostly made up of gangsters, rapists, and murderers. But Cristosal's database tells a different story. The group has registered 152 individuals so far, and 90 percent of them have no criminal record. Cristosal's work appears to have earned the ire of Bukele -- who has consolidated power and packed the courts with allies since being elected in 2019. Valiente's colleague Ruth Lopez was abruptly detained in May and accused of illicit enrichment, a charge she denies. Days before her detention, she told AFP she had been working on documenting forced disappearances under Bukele's government. She is one of tens of thousands of people who have been detained under Bukele's state of emergency, often without court orders, the right to phone calls or even to see a lawyer. A further crackdown seems likely. Cristosal director Noah Bullock said that in Bukele's El Salvador "speaking out or asking something that is not aligned with the government entails the risk of being arrested." The lawyers are determined to help the Venezuelans, but expect little from a country where the president has near-absolute control. "We want to document these grave human rights violations, to leave a trace. For the moment we are exhausting all domestic legal channels" said Valiente. Ultimately, they may look to bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court, whose treaty, the Rome Statute, was ratified by El Salvador in 2016. "The Salvadoran government is obligated to report on the condition of the prisoners," said Venezuelan former diplomat Walter Marquez, whose Amparo Foundation represents dozens of the detainees. "Failing to do so is a crime against humanity, according to the Rome Statute, and could lead to international prosecution." Salvador Rios, a Salvadoran lawyer hired by the government in Caracas to represent 30 deportees, similarly believes that "sooner or later" Bukele will face justice. This handout picture released on March 31, 2025, by El Salvador's Presidency press office shows alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua and from the Salvadoran gang MS-13 being subdued upon their arrival at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in the city of Tecoluca, El Salvador. AFP Venezuelan Walter Marquez, president of the human rights organization Fundacion El Amparo Internacional, speaks with members of the media outside the Human Rights Defense Office (PDDH) after a meeting with relatives of Venezuelans deported by the United States to El Salvador in San Salvador on June 10, 2025. AFP Salvadoran lawyer Salvador Ríos speaks during an interview at his office in San Salvador on May 7, 2025. Rios belongs to a law firm contracted by the Venezuelan government to resolve the legal situation of 252 Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration and who are in a maximum security prison in El Salvador, lawyers have filed several appeals before the courts and delivered a letter to President Nayib Bukele to end this "illegal detention" but all his efforts have been unsuccessful. AFP El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and his wife Gabriela Rodriguez leave the National Theatre after deliver his first-year speech in San Salvador on June 1, 2025. AFP
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hannan Commences Drill Program
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2025) - Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV: HAN) (OTC Pink: HANNF) ("Hannan" or the "Company") is pleased to announce drill rig has been mobilized and the Company has commenced its maiden drill program at the Belen prospect within the Company's 100%-owned Valiente copper-gold project in Peru. Hannan Metals reaffirms its commitment to legal compliance, community respect, and environmental stewardship, emphasizing that all operations only proceed with proper authorization from local populations and with required environmental and archaeological certifications. About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV: HAN) (OTC Pink: HANNF) Hannan Metals Limited is a resource and exploration company discovering and developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Mr. Michael Hudson FAusIMM, Hannan's Chairman and CEO, a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has prepared, reviewed, verified and approved the technical contents of this news release. On behalf of the Board, "Michael Hudson" Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7Mariana Bermudez, Corporate Secretary, +1 (604) 685 9316, info@ Forward Looking Statements. Certain disclosure contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company's public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the political environment in which the Company operates continuing to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; planned work programs; permitting; and community relations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news. To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Boston Globe
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘The fear comes back to me': Those who fled despots have thoughts on authoritarianism, here and abroad.
Valiente is among some local emigrés from countries that have suffered under autocracies who say Rümeysa Öztürk's arrest — apparently for co-writing a pro-Palestinian opinion piece in a student newspaper — alongside President Trump's broader immigration crackdown represents a source of profound unease. Advertisement For some who fled authoritarian regimes, the echoes of the old country in the United States are jarring. They have seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well. 'I unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms, but I believe no one should be targeted, detained, or deported without due process — especially not for their political views' explained Valiente, a journalist who said he was abducted near his home, similar to how Öztürk was taken, after covering antigovernment protests in Caracas. Trump has used the notion of a connection to terrorism to justify the cancelling visas of foreign students, some of Advertisement 'It's very dangerous, because many innocent people are going to be suffering,' said Valiente. 'Many are suffering, and even if you have not been arrested yet, we know in our community thousands of people who can't even go to sleep because of the fear and uncertainty.' In a statement, the White House batted away the idea that Trump's actions could be construed as moving toward authoritarianism. 'There is no greater defender of freedom than President Trump, who signed an Executive Order to protect free speech on his first day back in office, ended the weaponization of justice, restored over 400 press passes to the White House complex, and takes media questions daily,' said spokesperson Anna Kelly. But Valiente, a spokesman for the Panagiota Gounari, a University of Massachusetts Boston linguistics professor who studies authoritarianism, knows how strongmen can influence pillars of the state and erode civil liberties. She grew up in Greece, where a military junta seized the government and ruled for seven years from the late 1960s to 1970s. Gounari was a small child when that dictatorship ended, and so doesn't remember much firsthand. But her parents, both educators, 'lived it in their skin.' 'Curricula were affected, specific ideologies were promoted through schooling, there was surveillance,' she said. 'It was a very, very difficult time for anybody.' Members of her family were imprisoned, tortured, or exiled, she said. She sees parallels between Trump and that time: 'It's the fear, it's the censorship, it's the retaliation against political opponents.' Advertisement 'It's the same feeling of fight or flight,' she said. The Boston Globe contacted more than 60 individuals and expat organizations who have members who lived through authoritarianism for this story. Many declined to talk, with some saying they did not feel comfortable given the current political moment in the United Startes, despite their legal immigration status. For Gounari, authoritarianism is 'essentially a form of government that concentrates and exercises power arbitrarily with no regard to the constitution or the rule of law.' Trump, she said, ticks several authoritarian boxes: he refused to accept his defeat in 2020, deals in fear-mongering, creates She thought he drew from the political playbooks of right-wing leaders like In Venezuela, he was a congressman and a vice president of parliament. He led a peaceful political resistance against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in 2017, and was politically persecuted, spending three years essentially under house arrest at the Chilean embassy in Caracas before he was thrown in jail by the Maduro regime, he said. He can't return to his home in Venezuela. Advertisement For Guevara, a hallmark of autocracy is 'the absence of dialogue with the other.' In other words, framing the political opposition as the enemy. Polarization, where people live in a political bubble and demonize those who have different viewpoints, can foster the conditions where authoritarianism is possible and creates a reinforcing effect, said Guevara. Such dynamics can be dangerous, he said. 'It becomes a vicious cycle in which societies get more and more divided, serving mainly the purpose of autocrats, who need to demonize the other side as a precondition to take 'extra institutional' measures to protect 'the people' from 'the enemy,'' he said. 'All sides claim they are defending democracy,' he said. The encroachment of authoritarianism occurs, 'when you have leaders who have some kind of charisma that elicits blind following from members of the administration either because of fear or because of the sharing of certain type of ideology,' said Charlot Lucien, a 60-year-old Massachusetts poet and history instructor who grew up in Haiti under dictatorships known for their oppression and brutality. François Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as 'Papa Doc' and 'Baby Doc' respectively, used violence as a tool to squash dissent. In Haiti, the Duvaliers controlled the political institutions, including the elections, and held sway over systems including higher education, according to Lucien. 'Demagoguery was a tool used to [present] a more palatable understanding of what was still an authoritarian regime,' said Lucien of Baby Doc. Newton resident Simona Coborzan was 11 years old when Romania's communist despot Nicolae Ceaușescu was executed by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989. 'As a schoolgirl, I noticed right away that things changed — his portrait and other symbols of his regime were removed from every classroom," she said. 'We no longer had to start each school day listing all the roles Ceaușescu held — he controlled the legislature, executive, and judiciary." Advertisement Under Ceaușescu, Coborzan's grandfather was put under house arrest simply for owning 'too much land,' she said. Trump's administration, she said, reminds her of that era in her native Romania. 'The cult of personality is strikingly similar — so many flags, symbols, and slogans centered on one man," she said. Trump's insistence that the nation would enter 'Ceaușescu used the exact same phrase to describe life in Romania—saying we were Trump's 'His contempt for democratic institutions and norms mirrors what I saw in my childhood: a single man trying to rewrite the rules of democracy to serve his personal power,' she said. Alberto Calvo, a 73-year-old retired engineer from Newton, grew up in Cuba. His father, fearful Calvo would be indoctrinated into 'He killed a lot of people, that's for sure,' he said. Trump, he said, certainly has an authoritarian bent, but without total control and loyalty of the military, Calvo did not think the United States could become an authoritarian state. Advertisement 'I don't think he can establish it here,' he said. Still, he said Trump is haphazard in his decision-making, adding that he's never seen a president quite like the current one: 'It's interesting times we live in.' Danny McDonald can be reached at
