criminals

US official visits mega-prison in El Salvador, repeats accusation that deported migrants are “criminals”, “terrorists”

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Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

US Secretary of Homeland Security tours CECOT mega-prison, and signs a new security cooperation agreement between San Salvador and Washington.

Last Wednesday, March 26, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, traveled to El Salvador to visit the mega-prison called Confinement Center for Terrorism (CECOT), where the Salvadoran government has detained hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported by the United States.

On X, the US Embassy in El Salvador explained that during her visit, “Secretary Noem will address cooperation between the two countries in the fight against illegal migration, reinforcing joint efforts to strengthen border security and ensure a safer region.”

Noem strengthens US-El Salvador alliance on mass deportations

In a clear gesture of support for the Bukele administration, Noem met with the Salvadoran President to strengthen the crackdown on immigration that the Trump administration has initiated since he took office on January 20, 2025. According to the US Embassy in El Salvador, the meeting formalized “bilateral cooperation on security and migration. During the meeting, Secretary Noem thanked the President for El Salvador’s commitment to the fight against illegal migration.”

For his part, El Salvador’s Secretary of Security, Gustavo Villatoro explained that during Noem’s visit, “We toured CECOT, the largest maximum-security prison in the Americas. In addition, we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to update the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) between our countries. With this agreement, we will have a more streamlined exchange of information and criminal records on fugitives, so that these criminals are not inadvertently released or remain unnoticed in the communities. This will undoubtedly be an enriching experience to share our security achievements and strengthen our strategies to combat transnational organized crime and terrorism.”

Noem’s prison video sparks controversy over US policy and human rights

One of the most controversial moments of the visit was disseminated by Secretary Noem herself, who recorded a video inside the CECOT mega-prison, in front of a cell holding dozens of shirtless inmates posing in silence.

“I want to thank El Salvador and their President for the partnership with the US to bring the terrorists here, and to incarcerate them and to have consequences for the violence they have perpetuated in our communities.” But most seriously, she warned in a threatening tone, that if anyone dared to enter the United States illegally, “this is one of the consequences you can face… [CECOT] is one of the facilities that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people”.

Despite Noem repeating that the detained men are “terrorists” and “criminals”, none of the 238 migrants who were irregularly deported from the US to El Salvador were granted a trial – a constitutional right – meaning they have not been proven guilty of anything. In fact, family members of many of those deported have shared that their relatives’ only crime was being a poor migrant with tattoos.

Read more: Venezuelan families demand justice for their relatives deported to El Salvador

The agreement to receive deported migrants and lock them up was signed between the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. 

According to official information leaked by AP, El Salvador will receive around USD 20,000 per year for each person the US government sends to the Central American country.

Venezuela continues to demand the immediate and safe return of its citizens from El Salvador, and has received several deportation flights this past week.

Trump doubles down on deportations and detainment 

For now, Trump shows no signs of abandoning his immigration policy, including the deportation of migrants to El Salvador. Despite the objections of several human rights organizations and the Venezuelan government, Trump has ordered a blackout on information regarding deportation operations to the Central American country. Everything related to the flights of Venezuelans to El Salvador has been declared a “State Secret” by the US president. 

Meanwhile, hundreds of Venezuelan families, along with the Maduro government, continue to demand the release and repatriation of their compatriots to Venezuela.

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingUS official visits mega-prison in El Salvador, repeats accusation that deported migrants are “criminals”, “terrorists”

Trump’s scrapping of corporate transparency will strengthen dictators

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Original article by Eleanor Rose republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The White House’s latest move doesn’t just encourage financial crime in the US – it encourages the acceptance of it everywhere else

Another week, another startling development from Donald Trump’s White House. On Sunday, the US Treasury said it will halt enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a federal law that requires certain companies to declare their owners’ identities.

Scott Bessent, secretary of the Treasury, described the move as “a victory for common sense” that would “unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations”.

Unleashing prosperity is a nice goal, but the White House’s chosen method will come as a bombshell for anyone who believes in transparency or accountability – both in the US and around the world.

Knowing who owns a company isn’t just a matter of corporate admin. It can serve as a vital tool against dictatorships, which build their power on global networks of financial secrecy. It’s key to tackling money-laundering and fraud. Trump’s actions pull the rug out from international efforts to reveal this hidden world. Autocrats and major criminals around the world will be celebrating.

The CTA was a key plank in Biden’s plans to counter corruption. Passed by Congress in 2021 and brought into force in 2024, it aimed to address the fact that businesses created in the US weren’t previously obliged to disclose the names of their shareholders or the people that ultimately control them.

Speaking in 2022, Himamauli Das of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said the CTA would “play an important role in protecting American taxpayers and businesses who play by the rules”.

He added: “It has been far too easy for criminals, Russian oligarchs and other bad actors to fund their illicit activity by hiding and moving money through anonymous shell companies and other corporate structures right here in the United States.”

Investigations from our Enablers team‘Butcher of Hama’: Assad’s uncle used Guernsey fund manager to stash millions looted from SyriaIllegal donations: how does dark money get into UK politics?HMRC fines zero ‘enablers’ of offshore tax evasion in five years

Since the CTA has been in force – and despite some challenges in district courts – that sort of anonymity has been a lot harder to come by. Beneficial ownership details have had to be filed by most domestic corporations and Limited Liability Companies (though not non-profits or publicly traded companies that meet certain criteria). Non-compliance has been punishable with a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to two years in prison.

That progress has now been undone. Once a leading champion of corporate transparency, the US is now basically saying that such measures are harmful red tape.

And the news could have implications beyond US shores. The UK is currently trying to impress the need for transparency requirements on its crown dependencies and overseas territories (CDOTs). Stephen Doughty MP last week said the UK government expects overseas territories to bring in publicly accessible registers this year.

Our Enablers team has spent years reporting on how these places facilitate serious financial wrongdoing: the British Virgin Islands, for instance, have been central to arrangements that helped Roman Abramovich avoid huge amounts of UK tax, funnel half a billion dollars to a now-sanctioned oligarch and bankroll a Dutch football club in secret.

But the recent calls for transparency have not been universally popular with the CDOTs. There’s been some disagreement about what exactly it means and how it should work, as well as some outright pushback.

The BVI, for instance, has proposed a registry that would grant access to a limited amount of information and to a limited number of parties. Which means it wouldn’t be all that transparent.

It’s in situations like this where the White House’s latest move feels especially pertinent. Corruption robs ordinary taxpayers and undermines global security. And the fight for financial transparency – to stop the world’s oligarchs, organised criminals and kleptocrats from stashing their wealth – is one that urgently needs international momentum.

Not only does Trump’s intervention encourage fraudsters and money-launderers to do their business on US turf – it also sends a message of apathy towards financial crime that will be heard around the world.

Reporter: Eleanor Rose
Deputy editor: Katie Mark
Editor: Franz Wild
Fact checker: Ero Parksakoulaki
Production editor: Alex Hess

TBIJ has a number of funders, a full list of which can be found here. None of our funders have any influence over editorial decisions or output.

Original article by Eleanor Rose republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingTrump’s scrapping of corporate transparency will strengthen dictators

Morning Star Editorial: A cruel campaign against benefit claimants won’t solve Britain’s health crisis

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cruel-campaign-against-benefit-claimants-wont-solve-britains-health-crisis

Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, at the Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 12, 2024

IF KEIR STARMER were serious about treating people who receive social security payments with “dignity and respect,” he would not have announced his crackdown in the Mail on Sunday, or used it to rail against “criminals” who “game the system.”

…

The presumption of guilt is built into the successive wars on “benefit cheats.” It grossly exaggerates the scale of benefit fraud, feeding hostility to the social security system itself. It encourages suspicion of anyone claiming, and was certainly linked to the steady rise in hate crimes against disabled people recorded over 14 years of Tory government.

The assault on disabled and chronically ill people was among the cruellest policies of those governments.

Whistleblowers exposed jobcentre staff being handed targets to cut the number of people receiving payments. “Fit for work” tests were slammed by medical professionals for setting claimants up to fail.

The DWP admitted in 2015 that thousands of people passed as “fit for work” died within months; there were even cases where people starved to death after their benefits were cut, like Errol Graham, whose body was only discovered by the bailiffs sent to evict him.

Labour should be rejecting a Tory inheritance that persecutes some of Britain’s most vulnerable.

But it shows little sign of doing so, with Rachel Reeves pledging to continue Tory amendments to the work capability assessment that narrow eligibility criteria and are likely to cost disabled people hundreds of pounds a month.

…

Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cruel-campaign-against-benefit-claimants-wont-solve-britains-health-crisis

Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.

Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: A cruel campaign against benefit claimants won’t solve Britain’s health crisis

Who is really endangering art?

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/who-really-endangering-art

JAILED: Eco-protesters support Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer as they are sentenced on September 27 2024 for throwing tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery in 2022

Just Stop Oil has been criticised for targeting the work of Van Gogh, but it’s inaction on climate that’s putting great paintings at risk, argues LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

ON the occasions when activists from Just Stop Oil have targeted works of art or historical landmarks, there has been an outcry, both from horrified onlookers at the time and later in the press and the courtroom.

The British government is intent on cracking down on protest, even if it’s an action intent on trying to save us all from the ravages of runaway climate chaos.

Keir Starmer confirms that his government is cnutier than Suella Braverman on killing the right to protest.
Keir Starmer confirms that his government is cnutier than Suella Braverman on killing the right to protest. This image does not appear in the original article.

“They are pathetic, they are self-defeating, and they need to feel the full force of the law,” pronounced Keir Starmer of Just Stop Oil activists in June. “That is what will happen if we have an incoming Labour government.”

The fact that these “antics,” as Starmer referred to them, had continued was “a failure to grip criminal justice,” he said. Now Starmer and his version of the Labour Party are in power, and climate protesters are being duly gripped, tried and sentenced.

Because in today’s world, climate activists are criminals. As one of Just Stop Oil’s self-described foot soldiers put it, “Slow-walking across Waterloo Bridge becomes an offence that goes to crown court.”

Throwing soup at glass-enclosed paintings by Van Gogh is just the most high-profile of the various direct actions being carried out to demand immediate and effective measures to drastically reduce carbon emissions.

A sensible government should have arrived at such a realisation on its own, thus obviating the need for Just Stop Oil not only to toss soup but to exist at all.

Instead, the Starmer government’s latest move is to squander £22 billion on one of the most useless (along with nuclear power) of all the supposedly “green” climate solutions — carbon capture and storage (CCS).

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/who-really-endangering-art

Continue ReadingWho is really endangering art?

Replica bomb placed outside of Parliament as government refuses to commit to an arms embargo

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/replica-bomb-placed-outside-of-parliament-as-government-refuses-to-commit-to-an-arms-embargo

Oxfam placed a replica Mark 84 2,000-pound bomb, used by the Israeli military in Gaza to devastating effect, opposite Parliament, July 30, 2024 Photo: Andy Aitchison / Oxfam

Oxfam warns that 7,000 people are estimated to be killed or injured in Gaza by Israeli military during Parliament recess

AS BRITAIN remains complicit in Israel’s war crimes by refusing an arms embargo, a replica of a 2,000-pound bomb was placed outside of Parliament today, serving as a stark reminder of the innocent lives that will be claimed while the government breaks up for summer.

The 16-foot replica was placed by Oxfam after it released a new analysis estimating that around 7,000 people in Gaza will be killed or injured over the next 33 days.

A carpet of flowers around the bomb symbolised those who are likely to be killed by the Israeli military, as well as the Israeli hostages still in captivity.

Using UN cumulative impact reports, Oxfam estimated that Israel will likely murder more than 1,800 people — a third of them children — if its military offensive continues at its current level.

The analysis comes as Britain refuses to commit to an arms embargo, despite warnings that exports are likely being used to commit war crimes.

This includes components for F-35 Israeli fighter jets, which carry out devastating strikes.

According to Action on Armed Violence, air-strikes were responsible for more than 45 per cent of recent fatalities.

Oxfam GB chief executive Halima Begum said: “By selling F-35 components to Israel, the UK government is effectively facilitating many of the Israeli air strikes and the decimation of Gaza.

“The government is fully aware of the risk that arms exported from the UK are likely being used to commit war crimes in Gaza.

“It is critical that the UK government immediately suspend both existing and new licences for all arms sales, whether direct to Israel or via third parties.”

Britain is legally obliged to halt arms exports if there is a clear risk they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/replica-bomb-placed-outside-of-parliament-as-government-refuses-to-commit-to-an-arms-embargo

Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted "I support Zionism without qualification." He's asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.
Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.
UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party's support for and complicity in Israel's genocide of Gaza.
UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
Continue ReadingReplica bomb placed outside of Parliament as government refuses to commit to an arms embargo