Tuesday, February 25, 2014

The biggest protests since the death of the longtime leader Hugo Chávez nearly a year ago are sweeping Venezuela, rapidly expanding from the student protests that began this month on a campus in this western city into a much broader array of people across the country - NYTimes



Residents of San Cristóbal, Venezuela, built a barrier in an area where repeated clashes with National Guardsmen have occurred. CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times

In Venezuela, Protest Ranks Grow Broader

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Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
SAN CRISTÓBAL, Venezuela — As dawn broke, the residents of a quiet neighborhood here readied for battle. Some piled rocks to be used as projectiles. Others built barricades. A pair of teenagers made firebombs as the adults looked on.
These were not your ordinary urban guerrillas. They included a manicurist, a medical supplies saleswoman, a schoolteacher, a businessman and a hardware store worker.
As the National Guard roared around the corner on motorcycles and in an armored riot vehicle, the people in this tightly knit middle-class neighborhood, who on any other Monday morning would have been heading to work or taking their children to school, rushed into the street, hurling rocks and shouting obscenities. The guardsmen responded with tear gas and shotgun fire, leaving a man bleeding in a doorway.
“We’re normal people, but we’re all affected by what’s happening,” said Carlos Alviarez, 39, who seemed vaguely bewildered to find himself in the middle of the street where the whiff of tear gas lingered. “Look. I’ve got a rock in my hand and I’m the distributor for Adidas eyewear in Venezuela.”
The biggest protests since the death of the longtime leader Hugo Chávez nearly a year ago are sweeping Venezuela, rapidly expanding from the student protests that began this month on a campus in this western city into a much broader array of people across the country. On Monday, residents in Caracas, the capital, and other Venezuelan cities piled furniture, tree limbs, chain-link fence, sewer grates and washing machines to block roads in a coordinated action against the government.
Behind the outpouring is more than the litany of problems that have long bedeviled Venezuela, a country with the world’s largest oil reserves but also one of the highest inflation rates. Adding to the perennial frustrations over violent crime and chronic shortages of basic goods like milk and toilet paper, the outrage is being fueled by President Nicolás Maduro’s aggressive response to public dissent, including deploying hundreds of soldiers here and sending fighter jets to make low, threatening passes over the city.
On Monday, the state governor, who belongs to Mr. Maduro’s party, broke ranks and challenged the president’s tactics, defending the right of students to protest and criticizing the flyovers, a rare dissent from within the government.
Polarization is a touchstone of Venezuelan politics, which was bitterly divided during the 14-year presidency of Mr. Chávez, Mr. Maduro’s mentor. But while Mr. Chávez would excoriate and punish opponents, he had keen political instincts and often seemed to know when to back off just enough to keep things from boiling over.
Now Mr. Maduro, his chosen successor, who is less charismatic and is struggling to contend with a deeply troubled economy, has taken a hard line on expressions of discontent, squeezing the news media, arresting a prominent opposition politician and sending the National Guard into residential areas to quash the protests.
Two people were killed on Monday, including a man here in San Cristóbal who, according to his family, fell from a roof after guardsmen shot tear gas at him. There is disagreement on whether all the deaths nationwide cited by the government are directly associated with the protests, but the death toll is probably at least a dozen.
In the neighborhood of Barrio Sucre, residents said they were outraged last week when a guardsman fired a shotgun at a woman and her adult son, sending both to the hospital with serious wounds. In response, the residents built barricades to keep the guardsmen out. On Monday, after guardsmen made an early sortie into the neighborhood, firing tear gas and buckshot at people’s homes, the inflamed and sometimes terrified residents prepared to drive them back.
Across town, Isbeth Zambrano, 39, a mother of two, still fumed about the time two days earlier when the National Guard drove onto the street, where children were playing, and fired tear gas at residents. Now she sat in front of her apartment building, casually guarding a beer crate full of firebombs.
“We want this government to go away,” she said. “We want freedom, no more crime, we want medicine.” Around her neck, like a scarf, she wore a diaper printed with small teddy bears. It was soaked in vinegar, to ward off the effects of tear gas, in case of another attack.
Unlike the protests in neighboring Brazil last year, when the government tried to defuse anger by promising to fix ailing services and make changes to the political system, Mr. Maduro says the protesters are fascists conducting a coup against his government. He has largely refused to acknowledge their complaints, focusing instead on violence linked to the unrest. Here in Táchira State, he says the protests are infiltrated by right-wing Colombian paramilitary groups, and he has threatened to arrest the mayor of San Cristóbal.
Mr. Maduro’s stance is mirrored by the intensity among the protesters. While he has called for a national conference on Wednesday and some opposition politicians have urged dialogue, a majority of protesters here, most of them longtime government opponents, rejected that option.
“They’ve been mocking us for 15 years, sacking the country,” said Ramón Arellano, 54, a government worker, while a burning refrigerator in the street behind him blotted out the sky with a cone of black smoke. “A dialogue from one side while the other turns a deaf ear, that’s not fair.”
Like most of the protesters here, Mr. Arellano said he wanted a change of government. Protesters say that could be achieved by having Mr. Maduro resign, or be removed through a recall election or changes to the Constitution.
Mr. Maduro says he will not leave office, and he continues to have wide support among those loyal to Mr. Chávez’s legacy.
Táchira State, and especially San Cristóbal, the state capital, are longtime opposition strongholds. The opposition presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, received 73 percent of the vote in San Cristóbal when he ran against Mr. Maduro last April.
A city of 260,000, San Cristóbal was almost completely shut down on Monday. Residents had set up dozens of barricades all around town. In many areas, residents set out nails or drove pieces of rebar into the pavement, leaving them partly exposed, to puncture tires.
In Barrio Sucre, Escarlet Pedraza, 19, showed two motorcycles that she said had been crushed by National Guard troops, who drove armored vehicles over them. She recorded the event on her cellphone camera.
Later, residents burned tires and threw rocks at guardsmen, who advanced and entered a side street, firing tear gas and shotguns directly at the houses.
The guardsmen broke open a garage door in one house and smashed the windshield of a car inside. The house next door filled with tear gas and the family inside, including two young children, choked in the fumes. “I’m indignant,” said Victoria Pérez, the mother, weeping. “This is getting out of hand. It’s arrogance, it’s a desire for power.”
A student, his face covered with a cloth, kicked angrily at a house where a pro-government family lives, shouting at them to join the protest. Other residents rushed in to stop him.
Nearby, a neighbor, Teresa Contreras, 53, flipped through the channels on her television, showing that there was no coverage of the violence, a sign, she said, of the government control over the news media.
Earlier, Andrea Altuve, 38, a teacher, watched the preparations for the coming battle, with people adding to barricades and children pouring gasoline into beer bottles for makeshift bombs.
“It looks like a civil war,” she said. “They are sending the National Guard into the neighborhoods out of fear.”

Monday, February 24, 2014

Suck My Dick- Dj Valentino

The Police Superintendent James Tuller Cintron said this morning that he does not plan to resign




Cintron Tuller: It was not easy collecting documents for confirmation



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» Tuller Cintrón: No ha sido fácil la recopilación de documentos para su confirmación
24/02/14 12:04 from Primera Hora : Noticias
Además aseguró que no planifica renunciar al cargo como ha trascendido públicamente y que tampoco tiene problemas con la secretaria de la gobernación, Ingrid Vila.


» Tuller: "Yo no renuncio, ni me voy"
24/02/14 07:40 from Metro - Últimas noticias
El designado superintendente de la Policía, James Tuller Cintrón, desmintió hoy declaraciones que...


By Javier Dávila Colón javier.colon @ gfrmedia.com02/24/2014 | 24:04
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The police chief predicted that in about three weeks should have all the documentation ready. (Tonito.zayas @ gfrmedia.com) 

Also said he does not plan to resign as he has publicly transcended and has no problems with the secretary of the government, Ingrid Vila.

The nominee Police Superintendent James Tuller Cintron said this morning that does not plan to resign as publicly transcended and not have problems with the government secretary, Ingrid Vila, chief liaison with Fortaleza.
"Of course I'll stay. It is clear," proclaimed Tuller Cintron in a press conference in the headquarters that became engrossed in heated exchanges with several of the journalists present.
Asked about how the process of gathering documents required by the Senate for confirmation, Tuller Cintron acknowledged that the process was more complicated than expected. He even attributed his difficulty in getting documents like spreadsheets and certificates of good conduct to the resignation from his post in New York came into force on 30 November and the next day was already laboring in Puerto Rico.









 
JAMES TULLER, "I WILL NOT RESIGN"
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The nominated superintendent of police said this morning that does not plan to resign the office as publicly transcended.

"There are many formalities ... personal things, things I need to deliver to the Senate. Gotta get those things. Me has not been easy some of the things to deliver," said Tuller Cintron.
"I came here too light. Had I stayed (in New York) to (meet) some personal things I need for the Senate would have been easier to get," he said noting that his wife, who is in New York, the is ayuando in the proceedings.
The police chief predicted that in about three weeks should have all the documentation ready.
When asked if you have had difference Vila, Tuller Cintron was blunt: "Not true Clearly not true.".
When you are stressed, abounded: "I find it hard to think of the differences we've talked I do not understand why the question..."
In fact, this media asked him if has had trouble with politicians, including senators who are called to evaluate their appointment.
"Everything went very well ... I have confidence that this confirmacón result for me," he said.
Tuller Cintron looked haggard repeatedly in his meeting with reporters. For example, was upset when a reporter questioned whether he was investigated by an apparent pattern file while air traffic was head of the NYPD.
 "There was an investigation with me," replied the reporter, pointing the finger and questioned him if he understood well the question I asked.
Then Tuller Cintron acknowledged to be investigated for allegedly filed a traffic ticket to a relative."But there was no ticket I filed," he said.
Tuller Cintron was altered again with another journalist who asked him if he also filed a ticket transit to then candidate for mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio.
"I know what you mean," he snapped. "If I had I would have filed a ticket dismissed from the police," he added.
The appointed superintendent also got angry when asked if he was willing to stoop the $ 195,000 annual salary as part of austerity measures intended to implement the government.
"I entered into an agreement with my salary.'m Going to keep working. Already I answered the question. Salary is an agreement that I got," he said.
 After much insistence, he added that not discuss his salary at the press conference.

» Ansioso Tuller Cintrón por culminar proceso de confirmación - El ...
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Puerto Rico To Investigage Catholic Church Sex Abuse Allegations - Huffington Post

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» Puerto Rico to probe more church abuse allegations - Washington Post
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Venezuelans stop traffic in protest

» Venezuelans stop traffic in protest
24/02/14 17:11 from BBC News - Latin America & Caribbean
Major roads in Caracas are blockaded by demonstrators protesting against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

PR police reform monitor steps down - By CB Online Staff

PR police reform monitor steps down

By CB Online Staff


The federal monitor overseeing compliance with a sweeping reform of the Puerto Rico Police Department required in a settlement between the commonwealth government and the U.S. Department of Justice has stepped down for personal reasons.
Juan Mattos informed U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpí this week that he is leaving the post after just four months on the job.
“It is in the interest of the public and the press that this court informs that Mattos’ resignation is in no way due to the action or inaction of the commonwealth and/or the U.S. and their respective officials,” Gelpí said in a short order. “On the contrary both parties have always acted as expectd by the court and in the best interests of justice.”
The judge urged that a replacement of Mattos’ “caliber” be appointed promptly.
Puerto Rico Justice Secretary César Miranda said Friday he is working with U.S. Justice Department officials to quickly find a replacement.
Mattos, veteran New Jersey law enforcement official from Puerto Rico, was serving as U.S. Marshal for the New Jersey District when he was appointment as technical compliance adviser (TCA) on the Police Department reform in October.
The TCA’s role is to be an officer of the court to monitor, evaluate and report on the island government’s compliance with required reforms.
In July, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced a sweeping civil rights agreement to modernize and reform the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) that resolves a civil suit initiated by the federal government in December 2012 to remedy a pattern and practice of police misconduct.
The agreement represents a joint commitment to effective and constitutional policing and is the product of extensive negotiations between the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), the PRPD and the administrations of García Padilla and his predecessor Luis Fortuño.
The agreement is designed not only to promote constitutional policing, but also to enhance public and officer safety and increase community confidence in the PRPD, according to officials, who said it was among the “most extensive” agreements ever obtained by the DoJ under the police misconduct provision of the Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The agreement requires corrective action in numerous core areas: use of force, searches & seizures, equal protection, policies & procedures, training, supervision, civilian complaints & internal investigations, community engagement and information systems. The agreement will also provide the public meaningful opportunities to participate in the reform process through periodic community meetings, public reports, civilian interaction committees, community surveys and the implementation of community policing principles.
Officials have said the agreement is expected to be fully implemented in 10 years, but it has no expiration date. The technical compliance adviser will assess and report on the PRPD’s compliance, as well as provide technical assistance to promote constitutional policing. They said the accord is tailored to the unique needs of the PRPD and with a recognition of the public safety challenges facing Puerto Rico. With a diverse mission and a police force of 17,000 officers, the PRPD is the second largest police department in the country.
Puerto Rico government officials have said they need up to $80 million for changes in the first two years.
The accord calls for an initial capacity-building period of four years, which will allow the PRPD to modernize its administrative systems and professionalize its police force.
Through the development of action plans, the PRPD will have broad flexibility to stage implementation and allocate resources to achieve measurable results within established timeframes. Once the plans are implemented, officers in all police regions will have the policy guidance, training, supervision, equipment and support they need to carry out their duties in a lawful, effective and efficient manner.
The DoJ’s December 2012 civil lawsuit followed a thorough investigation of the PRPD’s policies and practices. The investigation uncovered wide-ranging and longstanding deficiencies that gave rise to a pattern and practice of police misconduct, including the use of excessive force, use of unreasonable force designed to suppress protected speech and unconstitutional searches and seizures. The investigation also uncovered evidence the PRPD has failed to adequately investigate gender-based violence, and engaged in discriminatory policing. The PRPD cooperated throughout the investigation and began initiating corrective actions in response to the investigative team’s recommendations and technical assistance.
The department began negotiating an agreement with the Fortuño administration after completing the investigation in September 2011. The negotiations culminated in a preliminary agreement that was filed concurrently with the department’s complaint in December 2012. The court granted a joint request to stay the proceedings to provide the García Padilla administration the opportunity to review and negotiate a final agreement. Once the federal court approves the agreement, the parties will select a technical compliance adviser and begin implementation.
Under the agreement, the TCA will assist in determining whether the terms of the reform plan have been fully implemented in a timely manner. The TCA’s assessment will include a thorough review of PRPD’s policies, training curricula, standard operating procedures, plans, protocols and other operational documents related to the agreement.
The TCA will also assess whether the implementation of the agreement results in constitutional policing, increased community trust and the professional treatment of individuals by PRPD officers. To this end, the TCA will engage community stakeholders including representatives of civic and community organizations, minority communities, lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and transsexual communities, student and labor groups, civil rights organizations, and women’s advocacy groups to ensure they have a voice in the reform process.
The TCA will also assess and report on PRPD’s compliance, as well as provide technical assistance to promote constitutional policing. Once appointed, a replacement for Mattos will assist PRPD officials with the development of action plans to modernize its administrative systems and professionalize its police force.

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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Former Puerto Rican police commissioner jailed for possession of child porn

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imageICE said its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the arrest, the guilty plea and subsequent sentencing of the former commissioner. (Credit: pr
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Thursday November 21, 2013, CMC – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says the former commissioner of the San Juan, Puerto Rico Police Department has been sentenced to 10 years in jailed followed by 15 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
On Wednesday, ICE said its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working jointly with Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force, conducted the investigation that led to the arrest, the guilty plea and subsequent sentencing of the former commissioner.
On December 8, 2011, Hilton Cordero-Rosario, 52, was arrested by HSI special agents on production and possession of child pornography charges.
According to the 21-count indictment, Cordero-Rosario had digital images and video files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
He pleaded guilty on February 1 to count 21 of the indictment, possession of child pornography, by signing a plea agreement that requires a 10-year prison sentence, ICE said.
Angel Melendez,  the special agent in charge of HSI San Juan said the investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)


Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/puerto_rico_news/1085937.html#ixzz2uI8vl41E



» Former Puerto Rican police commissioner jailed for possession of ...
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