Daily Headlines: September 8, 2016

* Ecuador: Oil drilling began yesterday in an area near the Yasuni National Park despite opposition from indigenous communities in the Amazon and environmentalists.

* Venezuela: In one of the latest struggles between the government and opposition politicians, former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claimed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro “sent armed groups” to harass him at an airport.

* Brazil: Acting president Michel Temer was drowned out by a cacophony of jeering and whistling as the Rio Paralympics was inaugurated last night during an otherwise festive opening ceremony.

* Bolivia: LGBT activists in Bolivia celebrated the arrival of government-issued identification cards to transgender citizens based on a law approved last May.

YouTube Source – Ruptly TV 

Online Sources – BBC News, UPI, Voice of America, ABC News

Daily Headlines: September 30, 2013

* U.S.: On Sunday, Venezuelan pitcher Henderson Alvarez hurled the first no-hitter in Major League history to end on a wild pitch.

* Mexico: Why is Laura Bozzo, the Latin American version of talk show host Jerry Springer, engaged in a feud with well-known Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui?

* Colombia: Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos rejected the mediation of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson in the release of a former U.S. Marine kidnapped by the FARC guerillas since June.

* Argentina: A six-year-old girl has become the first transgendered person in Argentina to officially change her identity after her mother petitioned the country’s president and the governor of Buenos Aires.

Video Source – MLB.com
 
Online Sources- USA Today; Reuters; The Telegraph; Latin Times

Guilty verdict in Angie Zapata murder trial

A small measure of justice was enacted yesterday at the trial of a man accused of the senseless beating and murder of an 18-year-old transgendered Latina (image).

Allen Ray Andrade was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in the landmark hate crime murder case of Angie Zapata. Prosecutors were able to successfully argue that Andrade became enraged after finding out Zapata’s sexual orientation and plotted to kill her. His grisly plan came to fruition after he beat “it” (as he referred to Zapata) by repeatedly punching her and then assaulting her with a fire extinguisher.

Though the defense tried to argue that Zapata’s murder was not premeditated, it took the Colorado jury only two hours to punish Andrade for last July’s murder.

In her assessment of the Zapata case for VivirLatino, fellow contributor Maegan la Mala admonished Latino rights groups and the media for a perceived lack of coverage and outrage.

(…) where was the Latino media, both mainstream and not in covering Angie’s story? The Latino blogosphere and Latino orgs jump on stories when an immigrant is killed or attacked in a hate crime. Where were orgs like the NCLR and where are their statements? Are we as Latinos still so uncomfortable, still so transphobic that we can’t discuss, report, speak on cases like Angie’s? Was she not as much a part of the Latino community as Marcelo Lucero for example.

What do you think?

Image- denverpost.com
Online Sources- VivirLatino, The Latin Americanist, New York Times, ABC News

Daily Headlines: April 16, 2009

* U.S.: Jury selection began this week in the case of Allen Ray Andrade who is accused of the hate crime murder of a transgendered Latina, Angie Zapata.

* Mexico: Newly appointed U.S. “border czar” Alan Bersin is anticipating the “magical opportunity, north and south, to actually strengthen security for both sides of the border."

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez and the media are at loggerheads after he accused the press of trying to “subvert and destabilize” the country.

* Peru: After nearly two years of rapid growth, Peru’s economy has come to a screeching halt according to the latest figures.

Image- ABC News (“Allen Ray Andrade, 32, is accused of killing Angie Zapata, who was born Justin Zapata but lived as a young woman.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, 9NEWS.com, UPI, Reuters, LAHT

Follow-up: Suspect arrested in transgendered Latina murder

Police in Greely, Colorado nabbed a suspect in the murder of Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman. Allen Ray Andrade was arrested after police answered a loud noise complaint and found Zapata's car. According to court documents, Andrade cold-heartedly killed Zapata after finding out that she was transgendered:

In an affidavit, Andrade explains that he started to look at photos in the apartment and questioned Zapata's sex...That night, he questioned Zapata directly, and according to the affidavit, Zapata responded, "I'm all woman."

Andrade told authorities that he grabbed Zapata by the genitals and discovered a penis. He became angry and struck Zapata with his fist before grabbing a fire extinguisher and striking her in the head twice, according to the affidavit.

Andrade explains to police that he believed he "killed it," referring to Zapata but when she was making gurgling noises and when she began to sit up, he hit her with the extinguisher yet again.

Zapata’s sister expressed relief over Andrade’s arrest yet admitted that “he took a part of our heart, he did, when he killed her.” Local prosecutors were unsure if Andrade will be charged with a hate crime though Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said that the accused will be “pursued aggressively” for the murder.

(Hat tip: Guanabee).

Image- ABC News (“On Thursday, July 17, Angie Zapata, an 18-year old Latina transgender woman, was found murdered in her home in Colorado.”)

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Post Chronicle, Metro, Denver Post, Greely Tribune, Guanabee