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U.S. NEWS Saturday 15 September 2018

Colombian drug kingpin busted

in massive smuggling operation

By BRIAN MELLEY in Colombia to investors in on video obtained by in-
Associated Press Mexico, transportation co- vestigators, prosecutors
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A ordinators, houses where said.
Colombian drug kingpin the drugs were stashed “This drug ring has spread
who participated in a vio- and to large scale distribu- death and misery across
lent ring that used planes, tors in the U.S., federal pros- the Americas and to other
speedboats and subma- ecutors said. parts of the world, which This undated photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Central
rines to smuggle hundreds Cuellar-Silva, who was ex- makes this case among the District of California shows Mexican fugitive Angel Humberto
of millions of dollars in co- tradited Thursday from Co- most significant drug traf- Chavez-Gastelum. Chavez-Gastelum and his son, Alonso
caine faced federal traf- lombia, was a high-ranking ficking cases ever brought Jaime Gastelum-Salazar, have been named in an indictment
ficking charges Friday in member of the drug ring in this district,” said U.S. At- on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018.
a Los Angeles courtroom, headed by Mexican fu- torney Nick Hanna. Associated Press
prosecutors said. gitive Angel Humberto Authorities seized more ed nearly a ton of cocaine Thursday, four were in cus-
Victor Hugo Cuellar-Silva is Chavez-Gastelum, who is than 7,700 pounds (3,500 (833 kilograms) floating tody in Thailand and about
among nearly four dozen one of the most-wanted kilograms) of cocaine with in bales off the coast of a half-dozen were facing
defendants charged in drug traffickers in the world, a street value over $500 mil- Tumaco, Colombia and extradition from Colombia.
a vast conspiracy to ship prosecutors said. lion during the three-year more than 1,500 pounds The others remained at
tons of cocaine from South Chavez-Gastelum and his investigation. (700 kilograms) of cocaine large.
America through Mexico to son, Alonso Jaime Gas- The seizures included co- and over 60 pounds (30 ki- Cuellar-Silva was in custo-
the U.S. telum-Salazar, are also caine recovered after a lograms) of methamphet- dy. A defense lawyer rep-
The indictment unsealed charged in the indictment plane was shot down by amine seized in a Tijuana, resenting him said he had
Thursday was unique in tar- with two counts of murder the Venezuelan military Mexico, house. no comment.
geting people throughout in Mexico. and crashed in the Carib- The indictment charged If convicted of the charges,
the drug distribution chain One of the victims was tor- bean, said Assistant U.S. At- 47 people in the drug op- Cuellar-Silva and Chavez-
from the source of where tured and dismembered torney Benjamin Barron. eration. Seven defendants Gastelum face up to life in
the coke was produced and the grisly act was shot Other drugs seized includ- were arrested in the U.S. prison, prosecutors said.q

San Francisco statue that some call racist is removed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A mously Wednesday for
19th century statue near the removal of the statue,
San Francisco’s City Hall which was part of the Pio-
that some said is racist and neer Monument first erect-
demeaning to indigenous ed in 1894. While Ameri-
people was removed early can Indians have pushed
Friday. for the statue’s removal
A group of Native Ameri- for decades, it has not at-
cans chanted, beat drums tracted the same furor as
and burned sage as the Confederate monuments
workers used a crane to elsewhere. In a 1996 com-
take down the “Early Days” promise, a plaque was
statue depicting a Native installed underneath the
American at the feet of sculpture explaining that
a Spanish cowboy and a the monument “represents
Catholic missionary. It was a conventional attitude of
part of group of bronze the 19th century.”
statues near City Hall that “I think we’re witnessing a
depict the founding of moment in history where,
California. Native Ameri- commendably, San Fran-
can activists tried to have cisco officials are doing
the statue removed for de- the right thing to help rec-
cades. They renewed ef- tify the mistreatment of in-
forts last year after clashes digenous people,” Janeen
broke out across the U.S. Antoine, who is of Lakota
over Confederate monu- heritage, told the San Fran-
ments. Cities nationwide cisco Chronicle. “We’re
have tried to remove Con- very happy this is finally
federate monuments fol- happening after decades
lowing the racially moti- of work and struggle from
vated massacre of nine the native community.”
people at a black church The statue will be restored
in South Carolina and a vio- and put in storage until of-
lent white supremacist rally ficials decide what to do
in Charlottesville, Virginia. with it, said San Francisco’s
The San Francisco Board Arts Commission spokes- This Friday, March 2, 2018 file photo shows a statue that depicts a Native American at the feet of a
of Appeals voted unani- woman Kate Patterson.q Spanish cowboy and Catholic missionary in San Francisco. Associated Press