Featured: former Pemex boss arrested in Spain

Text by: Marie Normand Follow

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It is on the front page of a good part of the Mexican press this Thursday: Emilio Lozoya, the former boss of the oil group Pemex was arrested Wednesday in Malaga, Spain, after several months of research. He is accused of corruption, money laundering and association of criminals. Emilio Lozoya, who had been on the run since May, " fell with a false driver's license, " says Milenio .

" At the time of his arrest, the former official showed the agents a permit allegedly issued by the government of Mexico under the name of" Jonathan ", and assured him that he was not the person they were looking for. ". Except that " his physical features corresponded to those of the red notice distributed by Interpol ". He was therefore arrested.

AMLO has "opened Pandora's box"

“ Emilio Lozoya had been located on the Costa del Sol for four weeks , says El Horizonte . The Spanish police knew his habits and the few places he frequented ”. This close friend of former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto ran the national oil company Pemex from 2012 to 2016. He is accused of having received bribes from companies wishing to secure juicy public contracts, in particular from the Brazilian construction and public works group Odebrecht: more than 10 million dollars in all.

" The case , specifies the New York Times , relates [in particular] to the purchase by Pemex of a fertilizer factory which was out of service at the time ... at an excessively high cost ", according to critics of the project. " The Attorney General of the Republic indicates that he will begin the proceedings to request the extradition of Emilio Lozoya to Mexico, " adds El Universal . Raymundo Sánchez, deputy managing editor of El Heraldo de Mexico , another newspaper, said the arrest would " necessarily expand the investigations, which will go as far as former president Enrique Peña Nieto and former finance minister Luis Videgaray ". For the editorialist of El Horizonte , the current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador " has started a path without return ", opened " the Pandora's box that the president seemed not to want to open: have his predecessor tried ".

Paraguay: Brazilian journalist killed on border with Paraguay

It happened in the Paraguayan city of Pedro Juan Caballero, which faces Ponta Pora in Brazil. " Leo Veras was dining with his family in the backyard of his house when, around 9 pm, two armed and hooded men arrived in a white van, " reports Brazilian media G1 . The reporter was hit by approximately 12 9mm bullets; he got one of them in the head. Leo Veras ran the Pora News website, devoted to the news of this border region, in Portuguese and Spanish. " He has frequently reported on drug trafficking situations ," says G1 . But the police don't know if the murder is related to his work . ” The Paraguayan newspaper Hoy specifies that the journalist regularly received threats from criminal groups and even had bodyguards.

Haiti: resurgence of kidnappings

Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Nouvelliste , talks about the increase in insecurity, in particular kidnapping cases in Port-au-Prince, in Gonaïves, but also in Cap-Haitien and other cities of the country.

Analysis by Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste"

Canada: protests against gas pipeline continue

" The protests are disrupting travel and commerce across the country, " says the English-language newspaper The Star . They are " organized by other Aboriginal groups [called Canada] First Nations and environmental activists, in solidarity " with the Wet'suwet'en community whose ancestral territory will be crossed by the Coastal GasLink pipeline . Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognized the right to peaceful protest. " But we are also the rule of law, " he added , "and we must ensure that these laws are respected ."

" But what laws? Asks The Star . The hereditary chiefs Wet'suwet'en maintain that, on this territory, " their old non-codified laws - transmitted by oral traditions and history - must prevail ". Another question asked by the newspaper: " Who should speak to whom?" " The government of British Columbia is trying to resolve the complexities posed by the difference between the hereditary chiefs [from a traditional mode of governance] who oppose the project and the elected band councils [who govern each Native American band]. Many band councils in the region have signed compensation agreements apparently in favor of the project, ”including five from the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

Debate on the legality of railway blockages

The Globe and Mail , another major English-language newspaper in Canada, believes that " if protests are a constitutional right, blocking rail lines is not ." " The $ 6.6 billion pipeline has received all necessary regulatory approvals, and the company supporting it has fulfilled its obligations to consult with indigenous communities along the way ." The columnist believes that "a minority voice [implying that of the hereditary chiefs] cannot be authorized to declare unilaterally that it is the only true voice ".

" Given the turbulent history of their relationships with indigenous people, Ontario police have been wise enough to tolerate illegal blockages, " continues The Globe and Mail . " But in the end, the rule of law must be applied ". For the moment, Ottawa has decided not to interfere and is asking the province of British Columbia to negotiate a way out of the crisis. " Ottawa observes, but hesitates to intervene, aware that federal intervention could aggravate tensions, not resolve them, " writes The Star . " Fortunately for Trudeau," concludes The Star, "Parliament is not sitting this week. Next week could be another story . "

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• Newspaper
• Spain
• Mexico