Latino Daily News: Bringing You the Latest Hispanic Current Events and News Stories 24/7

Seven people have gone missing after Argentine- and Paraguayan-flagged vessels collided in the Parana Delta, Argentine coast guard officials said Saturday.

Security forces have detained three Paraguayans from the tugboat of that nationality, the Ava Payagua, that was carrying 12 people.

“The captain, the helmsman and another person in charge of maneuvers have been detained,” coast guard Maj. Sergio Gaetan said.

The collision between the Ava Payagua and the Argentine-flagged Rio Turbio occurred Saturday morning at kilometer 102 (mile 63) of the Parana River off the Argentine city of Zarate.

The coast guard was working the area with divers that rescued one member of the Rio Turbio crew, who is injured though not in danger, but the other seven, all Argentines, have not yet been found.

“It looks like the Paraguayan tug went out of control and crashed into the Argentine vessel, a sand barge carrying a full cargo that sank rapidly,” Juan Carlos Pucci, secretary general of the river workers union, said in a statement on the radio.

Rescue work is being supervised by Argentine Security Minister Nilda Garre, the coast guard said in a statement.

The Paraguayan-flagged ship remains “at kilometer 103.3 (mile 64) of the Parana River on the Palmas arm of the Parana Delta, while the sand barge is apparently resting on the river bottom but is not spilling fuel,” it said.

The federal court at the city of Campana is investigating the accident.

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Brazilian police on Saturday found the dead body of a suspected major drug dealer in the slums of Rio de Janeiro shortly after a shootout.

Marcio Jose Sabino Pereira, who allegedly controlled several “favelas,” or shantytowns, on that metropolis’ north side, was wounded in a law-enforcement operation early Saturday in the Vila Alianca favela but he managed to escape along with some of his accomplices, Rio de Janeiro state’s Military Police force said.

Hours later, not far from the site of the clash, two police officers discovered Pereira’s body inside a car trunk that had been left ajar.

The police said they suspect some members of the suspected drug lord’s gang initially tried to assist him but chose to leave him behind due to the severity of his injuries.

Pereira, alias “Matematico” (the Mathematician), was Rio de Janeiro’s most-wanted drug dealer and authorities last month announced a 10,000 reais (about $5,000) reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

He had been facing 15 arrest warrants for different crimes, all related to drug dealing.

The Rio de Janeiro state government is attempted to pacify the city’s most violent favelas in preparation for hosting the 2016 Olympics.

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National Latino Broadcasting (NLB) announced the launch of Latin GRAMMY En Vivo, a daily show airing on SiriusXM EN VIVO channel 147 at 4:00 pm ET. Hosted by industry veteran Kike Posada, Latin GRAMMY En Vivo is jointly produced by NLB and The Latin Recording Academy, the non-profit organization that recognizes excellence in the recorded arts and sciences through its annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, the most prestigious award in Latin music.

Latin GRAMMY En Vivo will feature a wide variety of music genres, including music by Latin GRAMMY-nominated and winning artists in the same way The Latin Recording Academy honors and celebrates the best in Latin music year-round. Through NLB’s exclusive deal with The Latin Recording Academy, SiriusXM EN VIVO channel 147 has the rights to air daily Latin GRAMMY content, as well as historical material from The Latin Recording Academy’s archives. In addition, the music channel is the official satellite radio partner of the Latin GRAMMY Awards and its related events.

“In the short time it has been on the air, En Vivo has become a favorite of Hispanics, and non-Hispanics alike, looking for a channel where Latin music is more than a preference. The sheer diversity of artists and genres that will be present on this show makes it truly exciting, and the treasures that will be airing directly from The Latin Recording Academy’s vault is what will make this endeavor unique and unprecedented,” said Nelson Albareda, President and CEO of NLB.

“We are excited to partner with NLB and provide Latin GRAMMY and music fans unique and exclusive content from various events and programs we hold not only during Latin GRAMMY week but all year long,” said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Latin Recording Academy. “We look forward to this being a long- lasting partnership and we are certain the show will be a tremendous success.”

EN VIVO, whose slogan is Donde Nace la Musica (Where Music Is Born), broadcasts from its new state-of-the-art facility in Miami and has secured partnerships with studios in New York and Los Angeles. These performance studios will allow live concerts to be broadcast as specials. Additional programming highlights include new music and a live recorded performance per hour, fostering fresh and current content. While the channel caters to the ever-growing Hispanic market in general, its mix of quality music in Spanish and English widens its appeal.

In April 2011, NLB was selected by Sirius XM Radio to lease two channels on a long-term basis to air on each of their satellite radio platforms. Aside from EN VIVO, NLB also produces and programs Cristina Radio with talk show icon Cristina Saralegui, a 24-hour lifestyle talk channel.

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The performance of a film on its opening weekend is crucial. NHMC encourages you to go and watch Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, and Eugenio Derbez this weekend, May 11, in Girl in Progress. Directed by Patricia Riggen who is best known for directing the 2007 film La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon) and the 2011 Disney Channel Original film Lemonade Mouth.

Girl in Progress is based on Grace (Eva Mendes) is a single mom, too preoccupied with “paying the bills” and herself to notice that her teenage daughter, Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is in desperate need of her attention. When Ansiedad’s English teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad decides to jump start her own coming of age and all the pain associated with it, as a shortcut to “adulthood” and more importantly a life without her mom. As her misguided plan unravels, in some comedic yet poignant series of events, both Ansiedad and Grace must learn that sometimes growing-up means acting your own age.

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The former military chief of Colombia’s AUC militia federation, extradited four years ago to the United States on drug charges, said Friday he and his now-demobilized organization supported and financed the 2006 re-election campaign of then-President Alvaro Uribe.

“I backed President Uribe’s re-election, both with the support we provided in the communities and with money,” Salvatore Mancuso said in an interview with Caracol Radio from a U.S. federal prison in Warsaw, Virginia.

The funds were allocated so “they could hire buses, do advertising, for food, for all these things in President Uribe’s campaign,” Mancuso said, adding “of course we did it.”

A U.S. State Department cable disseminated by WikiLeaks blamed the AUC, which was designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government in 2001, for more than 250,000 deaths in Colombia.

Uribe was re-elected in 2006 after his allies pushed through a constitutional amendment ending the ban on a president’s serving two consecutive terms.

Mancuso said he had already acknowledged his and the AUC’s support for Uribe’s re-election in testimony to prosecutors since 2007.

In the same interview, the former paramilitary leader admitted that he also had meetings with Uribe but declined to provide specific dates and places.

“These are issues I’d rather not discuss,” said Mancuso, a former cattle rancher who rose to become one of the AUC’s top commanders along with brothers Carlos and Vicente Castaño, both killed by rival members of the paramilitary federation.

Mancuso reiterated previous accusations that multinational companies such as U.S.-based Chiquita Brands and Dole and domestic firms like Postobon helped fund the militia organization.

He also said rancher Santiago Uribe - Alvaro’s brother - and Pedro Juan Moreno, a close associate of the former president who died in a helicopter crash, both had ties to the paramilitaries.

Mancuso said Moreno, acting at Uribe’s behest, advised the militiamen on creating security cooperatives when the latter was governor of the northwestern province of Antioquia, enabling the AUC to “continue expanding the fight against subversion, combining all elements of struggle, legal and illegal.”

The AUC disbanded in mid-2006 as part of a peace process with Uribe’s 2002-2010 government.

The talks led to the gradual demobilization of more than 31,000 members of the organization, which was formed in the mid-1980s with the ostensible aim of protecting farmers and ranchers from leftist guerrillas but degenerated into a loose alliance of death squads whose commanders grew wealthy from drugs, extortion, cattle rustling and land seizures.

Mancuso and 12 other erstwhile AUC leaders were extradited in May 2008 to the United States, where they were prosecuted on drug-trafficking, money laundering and terrorism-financing charges.

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This past Friday, Univision, the top network for Spanish-speaking viewers, announced that it would launch a new video digital network and three webnovelas.

Webnovelas are similar to telenovelas in the sense that the stories end in cliffhangers, but you will not find these on your TV.  Webnovelas will air online and will be able to be seen on Univision’s new digital network, UVideos.  UVideos will feature all the video content from Univision’s television networks, and will be accessible via game consoles, smartphones, tablets and Internet-enabled TVs.

Webnovelas are already very popular in Latin America, in fact Univision has already had them for a few years.  Two of the new webnovelas will star Kate del Castillo, who is also directing a few of the episodes.  One of the webnovelas will be based on her best-selling book “Tuya” (“Yours”).Kate

Kate del Castillo is not the only star to be playing a role in the Webnovelas.  Univision Networks President Cesar Conde hinted that some of the biggest stars in Hispanic media would also be involved.

More information on the Webnovelas can be found here

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The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, the Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and the Unit for the rights of persons LGBTI of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemn the murder of Eric Alex Martínez Ávila, a journalist and defender of the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual population, who went missing on May 5th and was found dead two days later.

According to the information received, on May 7th, members of the community of Guasculile found the body of a young man that was later identified as belonging to Martínez Ávila alongside a highway between the cities of Olancho and Tegucigalpa.

Eric Alex Martínez Ávila worked in the area of public relations, monitoring and evaluation at the Kukulcán Association, an organization dedicated to defending the rights of lesbians, gays, and transsexual and bisexual persons. He was recently named as a candidate for local primary elections of the Libertad y Refundación party, and he was an active member of the Roundtable for Sexual Diversity of the National Resistance Front.

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Crossover actress Kate del Castillo is the face of a new PETA campaign, “Fiercely Protect Your Animals.”  The Mexican superstar is an owner of a rescued dog, Lola, whom she is holding in the photo.

Del Castillo, 39, who was born Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo, is a Mexican actress who became well known after her 1991 role as Leticia in the telenovela Muchachitas.

In 2006, she appeared in the Jennifer Lopez and Martin Sheen movie Bordertown about deaths in Ciudad Juarez. Her recent roles include playing Teresa Mendoza on Telemundo’s “La reina del sur”, a Spanish-language series about a woman from Mexico (Mendoza) who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain. The telenovelas ran from February to May 2011.

In 2009, Del Castillo was named Ambassador for the Mexican Commission on Human Rights. The following year she helped launch the Blue Heart Campaign in order to raise awareness and fight human trafficking.

A behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot can be seen here:

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A local election in Travis County, Texas, is bringing to light important questions surrounding the controversial Secure Communities program. As recently reported by the Texas Tribune, Democratic primary challenger John Sisson has criticized incumbent Sheriff Greg Hamilton for honoring federal immigration “detainers”—the lynchpin of Secure Communities—because of their harm to immigrant communities. While Hamilton has said he is bound by federal law, contrary policies in jurisdictions around the country show the sheriff is either misinformed or confused.

Immigration detainers are official requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking law enforcement agencies to detain immigrants for 48 business hours after they would otherwise be released so that ICE can take custody. As we have previously explained, detainers are requests, not commands, meaning that local law enforcement agencies do not have to honor them. Yet by Sheriff Hamilton’s own admission, he honors every detainer he receives. “At the Travis County jail,” he said, “we follow the law, and the law says that when an ICE detainer is put on, the law enforcement agency shall maintain that individual for 48 hours.”

In truth, federal law does not require law enforcement agencies to hold individuals for 48 hours; instead, it requires them to release the subject of a detainer if ICE fails to assume custody within 48 hours. In fact, numerous jurisdictions around the country—including San Francisco, Cook County, Ill., and the state of Connecticut—have announced policies in the past year prescribing conditions that must be met for detainers to be honored (such as being convicted of a serious or violent crime).ICE itself is partially to blame for Sheriff Hamilton’s confusion. Agency spokespersons frequently say they expect local law enforcement agencies to honor detainers but fail to mention that they are under no legal obligation to do so. In addition, ICE issued a new detainer form (Form I-247) last year clarifying that detainers expire after 48 hours, but suggesting that law enforcement agencies were required to honor them in the first place.

Aside from problems with detainers, there is larger cause to be concerned about Secure Communities, or “S-Comm.”  Although the program was intended to target serious criminals, it has resulted in the deportation of many immigrants with minor or no criminal record.  Nationwide, 26% of those deported through the program in FY 2011 had no criminal convictions.  In Travis County, more than 60% of the 2,269 immigrants deported between June 2009 and September 2011 were “Level 3” (the lowest priority level) offenders or had only immigration violations.  By contrast, less than 40% had Level 1 or Level 2 criminal convictions. These figures are consistent with trends documented in a report released in 2010 finding that in 2008, nearly 60 percent of detainers in Travis County were placed on those charged with misdemeanors—up from 38 percent in 2007 and 34 percent in 2006.

The number of deportations from Travis County also exceeded that of nearby Bexar County, which includes San Antonio and has a larger overall population.  The numbers have raised concerns that local law enforcement officers are arresting suspected immigrants on minor charges specifically to determine through Secure Communities whether they are in the country illegally.  For this very reason, opponents of the program have argued that the program creates obstacles to community policing and can lead to racial/ethnic profiling and pretextual arrests.

Sisson and Sheriff Hamilton will face off in the Democratic primary on May 29. In an interesting twist, the winner will face former Sheriff Raymond Frank, a Republican, who has stated he would not honor immigration detainers because they separate families.

Read more at Immigration Impact →

Late Tuesday night, the House of Representatives pushed through an amendment that would cut off the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ability to bring new challenges or join existing challenges to nine specific state racial profiling, anti-immigrant laws.

The amendment, introduced by Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), was offered on the FY2013 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, and would prohibit the DOJ from originating or joining any legal challenge to laws passed by Arizona, Alabama, Utah and South Carolina, where DOJ already has pending litigation, as well as certain laws in Georgia and Indiana, where the ACLU has sued, and in Missouri and Oklahoma, where two omnibus anti-immigrant laws have been in effect for several years.

“The House has made it clear it condones racial profiling by stripping the DOJ of its prospective ability to challenge these discriminatory laws that target Latinos and other minorities,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “It’s bad enough that state lawmakers want to target certain minority groups for harassment, but now our federally elected representatives want to slam the door shut on the Justice Department’s ability to protect our Constitutional rights. This is an all-out attack on the innocent victims of these state profiling laws, including children and U.S. citizens.”

Murphy warned that Black’s funding limitation would establish a dangerous precedent by opening the door to congressional restraints on federal litigation by future administrations on any issue.

Read more by HS News Staff →

In a first-ever, exclusive live streaming event at PremiosJuventud.com today, Univision revealed the names of superstars nominated by viewers for its 9th annual edition of “Premios Juventud” (Youth Awards). The 2012 “Premios Juventud” ceremony will air on the Univision Network, LIVE from the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami on Thursday, July 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. Central).

With awards in 23 totally unconventional categories, “Premios Juventud” goes beyond traditional award ceremonies allowing young Hispanics to honor their favorite celebrities in five distinct areas: Music, Movies, Novelas, Sports, and Pop Culture. The official nominations announced today are based on votes cast by thousands of fans on PremiosJuventud.com

Breaking popularity records this year with an unprecedented 11 nominations in Music categories ranging from “Catchiest Tune,” “Red Hot Artist,” and “My Tropical Artist” to “My Favorite Video” and “Best Moves” is Romeo Santos, former lead singer of the internationally famous bachata group Aventura, who made his solo debut in 2011. Santos is closely followed by another bachata star, Prince Royce, nominated in 10 categories including “My Tropical Artist,” “My Ringtone,” and “Heart-Wrenching Song.”

Next on the list of music stars nominated for multiple awards are: urban music phenomenon Pitbull (7 nominations), internationally famous singer/songwriter Ricardo Arjona (7 nominations), regional Mexican artist Gerardo Ortiz (6 nominations), Puerto Rican pop artist Luis Fonsi (6 nominations), pop megastar Usher (5 nominations), reggaeton sensation Daddy Yankee (5 nominations), and Latin pop idol Ricky Martin (4 nominations). Other Latin music artists competing this year include Anahí, Enrique Iglesias, Jesse & Joy, Espinoza Paz, Gaby Espinoza, and Maná (with 3 nominations each); Marc Anthony, Jenni Rivera, 3BallMTY, and Shakira (2 nominations each); and Chino y Nacho, Banda El Recodo, Camila, Chayanne, Juan Luis Guerra and Alejandra Guzmán, among others.

Among the big names vying for the Movies categories “She Steals the Show” and “Best Actor” are Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara, Antonio Banderas, Zoe Saldana and Gael García Bernal. In the Novelas arena, heartthrobs Aaron Díaz, Carlos Ponce, David Zepeda, Jorge Salinas, and José Ron compete for the “He’s So Hot!” award, while leading ladies Ana Brenda Contreras, Anahí, Angelique Boyer, Blanca Soto and Sandra Echeverría make up the “Girl of My Dreams” contenders.

In Sports, baseball great Alex Rodríguez and soccer idols Lionel Messi and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández are among the nominated for “Most Electrifying Athlete.” The Pop Culture category, “Follow Me,” recognizes stars with the biggest following on social media and this year features Mexican pop singers/actresses Anahí and Thalía, plus Latin music stars Luis Fonsi, Prince Royce and Ricky Martin as nominees. For the “Image & Fashion” category, which does not have nominations, the winners will be chosen by a panel of fashionistas on the night of the event.

Starting today through May 31, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET, fans can vote to elect the winners in every category (except Image & Fashion) online and on mobile at PremiosJuventud.com.  All of the winners will be announced during the “Premios Juventud” live broadcast on July 19.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents discovered multiple artifacts during the last few months while patrolling in remote, rugged mountain areas west of the city.

In late February, Ajo Station agents patrolling on foot found what they believed was an ancient bowl. The “bowl” was actually an olla used to store water and keep it cool in the shady alcove where the discovery was made. The clay olla displayed a weathered exterior that helped it blend in with the environment inside the alcove.

Following the discovery, agents notified Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument officials who then took charge of recovering the artifact for further study at a local National Park Service facility.

In March, Tucson Sector agents working in the same mountains located similar artifacts hidden in the entrance of a natural cave. Agents documented the discovery by taking photographs. The information was then provided to OPCNM for removal and preservation of the artifacts.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Five people were killed in a clash with army soldiers and state police on a highway in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, officials said.

According to reports, heavily armed individuals riding in several SUVs had set up a checkpoint on the highway and were sparking fear among motorists.

A convoy of army troops and state police was dispatched to the scene and met by gunfire, prompting a shootout that ended with an armored Chevrolet Suburban set ablaze and five people dead inside the vehicle.

Sinaloa state Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez confirmed the number killed in the clash and said one of the lanes of Mexican Federal Highway 15 had to be temporarily blocked while firefighters put out the blaze.

Authorities also seized a Dodge Ram with weapons inside, including a .50-caliber Barrett rifle.

State police and army soldiers launched an operation in the area after the clash, stopping and searching vehicles in an attempt to track down the assailants who managed to flee.

Sinaloa is the birthplace of the first generation of high-profile Mexican drug traffickers, including Joaquin “El Chapo” (Shorty) Guzman, the fugitive boss of the Sinaloa cartel and - according to Forbes magazine - one of the world’s richest people.

Though El Chapo’s mob dominates the drug trade in the northwestern state, challengers have been trying to encroach on the Sinaloa cartel’s territory.

Conflict among rival drug cartels and between the criminals and the security forces has claimed some 50,000 lives in Mexico since December 2006, when newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderon militarized the struggle against the traffickers.

Read more by HS News Staff →

The Latino Coalition, the leading Latino non-profit small business organization founded in 1995 with a commitment of building communities and partnerships for a stronger America, announced that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will provide a keynote address and receive the annual Tributo Award at its Annual Economic Summit.

The event, held during National Small Business Week (occurring May 20-26 this year), will focus on procurement, business development, and trade opportunities. Each year The Latino Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit attracts a who’s who of U.S. policymakers and national business leaders as well as hundreds of Latino small business owners from across the country.

“Senator Rubio has emerged in the U.S. Senate as an honest, thoughtful and steady voice for small businesspeople across the nation,” said Hector V. Barreto, The Latino Coalition’s Chairman and the former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (2001-2006). “His track record of work in Congress and his remarkable personal story serve as inspiration for all Americans and a reminder of the great opportunity America has provided to millions of Latinos. He knows that policies affecting small businesses are critically important to our nation’s ability to strengthen the economy and create jobs.”

This year The Latino Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit comes on the heels of its annual participation in America’s Small Business Summit, an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This year The Latino Coalition will host hundreds of delegates from throughout the United States as well as international small business delegations from Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia.

In 2011, The Latino Coalition presented the prestigious Tributo Award to the U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA), in recognition of significant contributions to the Latino Community and the Leadership Award to U.S. Senator John Cornyn (TX), in recognition of his contributions and outreach to the Latino Community and for years of exemplary public service to this country. Prior Tributo Award recipients include AltaMed President and CEO Castulo de la Rocha and U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

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