In the News: Mexico, land of impunity for the murderers of journalists?
A tribute to journalist Javier Valdez on the first anniversary of his death in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2018. (Photo illustration) Julio Cesar AGUILAR AFP / Archivos
Text by: Marie Normand Follow
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Four years ago, the collaborator of the newspaper
La Jornada
and the AFP, Javier Valdez, a specialist in drug cartels, was shot dead in the street by hooded men.
Milenio
recalls that Juan Francisco Picos Barrueta, known as El Quillo, was found guilty last week of being the co-perpetrator of the crime. The federal justice of Culiacan, in the state of Sinaloa, therefore pronounced his sentence Thursday: 32 years and three months in prison.
"The special prosecutor's office (...) had asked for the maximum penalty, 50 years in prison, but it was not granted,
" the newspaper notes. For the governor of Sinaloa, quoted by
Noroeste
, this condemnation is in any case "
a good signal
".
This signal is not sufficient for the relatives of the victim.
"
For the family of Javier Valdez, the fight continues
", writes
La Jornada
which makes its front page.
"
This sentence is only one more round won, because it remains to bring to justice Dámaso Lopez Serrano (...) designated as the mastermind of the attack
".
This drug dealer was allegedly upset by an article by Javier Valdez and ordered the murder.
He is currently serving a prison sentence in the United States for another case.
Another journalist murdered Thursday
On the same day, a former mayor of Chinipas, Chihuahua state, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the assassination of Miroslava Breach Velducea, another journalist from
La Jornada
.
She was a correspondent in the city of Ciudad Juarez.
These sentences are "
some good news
", comments the Committee to Protect Journalists, "
in a country where most crimes against journalists go unpunished
".
These sentences were also pronounced a few hours after the assassination of another journalist, Gustavo Sanchez, killed by in the state of Oaxaca.
Paraguay overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic
In Paraguay, the Covid-19 epidemic is taking a worrying turn.
“
The country's roughly 750 intensive care beds are full,
” says
Perfil
.
Less than 7% of the population is vaccinated, which according to the newspaper promotes high transmission of the virus.
Paraguay "is going
through the worst time of the pandemic and the forecasts for the coming weeks are grim
".
It's also on the front page of
Ultima Hora
:
"
The death toll could triple by October
".
The journal derives these projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the US institute for public health statistics.
The Paraguayan Ministry of Health is relaying this information and is already predicting that the health system will not be able to respond to the expected wave.
Paraguay is currently - and is expected to remain for some time - the country with the highest number of deaths in the world per million population
Obamacare is here to stay?
In the United States, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to strike down Barack Obama's flagship health insurance law. The highest American court has “
yet
” saved Obamacare, notes the
San Francisco Chronicle
. This is the third time, underlines the
Los Angeles Times
, that the Court has validated this law since its adoption in 2010. The newspaper considers in passing that the Supreme Court should never have had to take up this case and criticizes the bad ones. lower court decisions.
For a lobbyist quoted by the conservative
Washington Times
media
, this decision is "
a slap in the face for all Americans who fought to create a conservative majority in the Supreme Court
".
“
Obamacare is here to stay,
” claims the
New York Times
.
Moreover, "
Republicans in Congress have largely abandoned efforts to repeal the law
."
Proof of this is, according to the newspaper, the few reactions of elected Republicans after the decision of the Court on Thursday.
Nicolas Maduro's foot call
$ 954 million: this is the amount raised to help the 5.7 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants, at the end of the UN International Donors' Conference, held Thursday in Ottawa, Canada. Biggest contributor, as
El Nacional
indicates
: the United States. The country will double its contribution from last year. It will reach $ 400 million. This conference was described as a "
media farce
" by the Venezuelan president. Nicolas Maduro grants, in parallel, an exclusive interview to the American chain
Bloomberg
this Friday. There he launched a public and direct appeal to Joe Biden. His message: "
it's time to make an agreement
To normalize relations between the United States and Venezuela.
So far, he said, the US administration has not sent any positive signals.
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In the spotlight: in Canada, the international donors' conference for Venezuelan refugees and migrants