Daily Headlines: November 11, 2014

* U.S.: Cuban-born slugger José Abreu was unanimously selected as the American League Rookie of the Year following a stellar season where he batted .317 with 36 home runs and 107 RBI.

* Peru: Production in Peru’s vital copper industry has been affected by an indefinite strike that started yesterday at the country’s Antamina mine.

* Colombia: An ex-drug smuggling pilot testified in court that former capo Pablo Escobar allegedly framed a British businessman imprisoned since 1986 on murder charges.

* Brazil: FIFA will create a $100 million development fund for Brazil months after the soccer’s global governing body earned more than $4 billion in sales from the World Cup.

Video Source – MLB via YouTube

Online Sources – USA TODAY; Reuters; The Guardian; Bloomberg

Colombian Cartel Killer Put on Parole (Updated)

One of the worst killers in Colombia’s modern history could be freed from prison as soon as today despite committing hundreds of homicides.

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez is expected to be paroled today after having spent twenty-three years behind bars for the crimes he committed as the security chief of the Medellin drug cartel.  As a result, the former hitman for the late capo Pablo Escobar will have only served three-fifths of the near four-decade sentence handed down against him.

Update: Velásquez was officially placed on parole by a Colombian judge on Tuesday evening.

Nicknamed “Popeye”, his prison sentence has been whittled down a result of his cooperation with the authorities and good behavior while behind bars at the tough Combita prison. He is expected to be put on parole after meeting a series of conditions including paying an approximately $4600 fine and ensuring that there are no further judicial processes against him.  As a part of his potential parole, he is reportedly prohibited from leaving Colombia and will be placed on probation for almost five years.

Since receiving his prison sentence in 1992, “Popeye” has voluntarily admitted to killing some 300 people, arranging an additional 3000 murders under Escobar’s orders and planning the kidnappings of high-profile politicians and even a former beauty queen. Hundreds of Colombians died as a result of over 150 car bombings   planned by Velásquez and he confessed to participating in the 1989 bombing of Avianca Flight 203 that killed 110 people.  (In contrast to Velásquez’ fate, one of his cohorts is currently in a U.S. maximum security prison serving ten life sentences plus forty-five years for crimes like planting the explosive device in the Avianca bombing.)
Mixed reactions have been shown by those most affected by Velásquez' actions: families of the victims of violence caused by the now-defunct Medellin Cartel.

Daily Headlines: September 12, 2013

* Brazil: The Brazilian government is reportedly looking into creating its own network equipment in order to protect information privacy and prevent alleged surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency.

* Mexico: Thousands of striking teachers took to the streets of Mexico City as part of their protests against government-backed educational reforms.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan officials rejected a recent World Bank arbitration panel decision claiming that the South American country had “failed to act in good faith or properly compensate” ConocoPhillips for the 2007 nationalization of oil projects.

* Colombia: John Leguizamo was selected to play the late Medellin Cartel boss Pablo Escobar in a Hollywood biopic set to begin shooting this January.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- The Guardian; USA TODAY; Reuters; Bloomberg; The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: Dark Knights

Former Medellin Cartel chief Pablo Escobar is remembered by very few residents of that city as the man who built houses and soccer fields for the poor. His efforts to give the image of a benefactor failed among most Colombians hurt by his greed, ruthlessness and sanguinary nature.

Much like the late Escobar, Mexico’s Knights Templar drug gang are also attempting to trick others and portraying themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods. The drug gang distributed flyers and hung banners last week in Michoacán claiming that they helped “achieve” a drop in food prices.

Cribs: 'La Barbie' Edition

As we highlighted earlier, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, aka 'La Barbie', was arrested this week in Mexico, ending his run as one of the top capos in the business. This video (in Spanish) of Valdez speaking after his arrest shows La Barbie looking forlorn and dejected, a far cry from the high-flying lifestyle he led as a top drug boss in Mexico.

La Barbie was taken as the home pictured above - check out more pictures of the pad here. It wasn't exactly Pablo Escobar's famous "Hacienda Napolés," but with flat screens, Cartier and Gucci boxes, pool tables, and a decently stocked bar La Barbie certainly had a comfortable spot during his last free moments.

Even before his arrest, La Barbie couldn't exactly enjoy the huge profits from the reported ton of cocaine he sent into the US each month, as he was in a vicious struggle with Hector Beltrán Leyva for control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel after the death last year of former boss Arturo Beltrán Leyva. The battle resulted in a grizzly internecine conflict that recently saw the headless bodies of four associates of La Barbie hung from a bridge in Cuernavaca with warning notes that the same fate awaited others who assisted him. A few months earlier one of his top 'enforces' was beheaded on camera in a grizzly assassination posted on the Blog del Narco.

Image Source: Huffington Post via AP

Online Sources: BBC Mundo, Huffington Post, BBC News, Reuters, Dallas Morning News, Yahoo! News, YouTube, Blog del Narco

Nuestro Cine: We still miss you Andres

One of the most difficult days I've had as a sports fan occurred on June 22, 1994. Not only had the Knicks lost the pivotal final game of the NBA Finals but Colombia lost its must-win World Cup duel against the U.S. Since then that crucial soccer match has helped me not only greatly appreciation soccer in the U.S. but also become a fervent fan of the "Stars and Stripes." Back then however my psyche was shattered after seeing Andres Escobar sit grimly on the grass of the Rose Bowl and contemplated the own-goal he had inadvertently scored. That grief would worsen weeks later when he was senselessly shot dead.

Nearly sixteen years since that fateful day ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series will shine a light on the Escobar incident and Colombian soccer itself at the time. The Two Escobars will examine Andres' career as one of the country's best defenders but also of his namesake Pablo, the infamous drug capo whose influence extended onto the soccer pitch. The trailer for the film is below and it will surely be a can't-miss documentary:

The Two Escobars Teaser from Two Escobars on Vimeo.

(Hat tip: The Offside Rules.)

Online Sources - Huevos Pericos, Vimeo, The Offside Rules,

Movie Trailer: Pecados de Mi Padre (Sins of My Father)

We are always told to play the hand we're dealt, but no one knows the consequences of that more than Sebastian Marroquin, a name that is probably unfamiliar to most of us. This is exactly why Juan Pablo Escobar, the 32 year old son of the notorious and highly violent drug czar Pablo Escobar changed his name to Marroquin- to escape the legacy of his father.

Marroquin and his mother fled Colombia shortly after the shooting death of Escobar and finally relocated to neighboring Argentina in 1994. He's spent most of his life avoiding the legacy of his father, trying to be just another "low profile architect" in Argentina.

But in a surprising twist of events, Marroquin has emerged from his recluse life to be a part of the documentary Pecados de Mi Padre (Sins of My Father). The film, which premiered last week at the Mar de Plata film festival, has been receiving a flood of press, appearing in Time Magazine, Newsweek, and The New York Times, to name a few.

The documentary has ambitious goals- to "promote reconciliation" in Colombia, to stop the hatred being inherited from generation to generation, and perhaps more importantly, to tear down the glorified image that many of Colombia's youth still have today of Pablo Escobar. Many of them are tempted by the same things that lured Escobar into the drug trade- wealth and power. Marroquin's message, delivered almost 16 years after the death of his father, is a poignant and simple one: "'Hey, I'm the son of Pablo Escobar. Don't be like my father.'"

Will his message strike a chord with Colombia's youth? Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. Is this apology too little too late? Is it even relevant today?

Daily Headlines: January 7, 2008

* Congrats to Elsa Murano; on Thursday, she became the first female and Hispanic president of Texas A&M University.

* Coming soon to the Canadian market: Mexico’s Corona beer.

* South Korean auto giant Hyundai is looking at Brazil for the site of its first South American factory.

* El Salvador will continue being the only Latin American country to send troops into combat in Iraq.

* Follow-up: In December, Colombia’s newest tourist attraction was launched – a theme park at the former estate of dead drug capo Pablo Escobar. Not to be outdone, Bogotá opened a “museum of laziness” last week.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Independent Online, BBC News, AHN, Canadian Press, Houston Chronicle,

Image- Texas A&M University

Daily Headlines: December 27, 2007

* Rescuers found a 12-year-old girl who survived for over two days in the Panamanian jungle after a plane crash killed her family.

* Colombia’s newest tourist attraction opened yesterday: a theme park built on the former estate of dead drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

* Fidel Castro’s health continues to improve according to a speech by his brother, Cuban president Raul Castro.

* Follow-up: Nicaragua’s Supreme Court has started an investigation against the judges who overturned the conviction against Eric Volz.

Sources- Independent Online Edition, CNN, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist, Associated Press

Image- ABC News (“Francesca Lewis, 12, is carried on a stretcher after being rescued from the jungle in the town of David, west of Panama City, Dec. 26, 2007. Francesca was found Tuesday walking near the wreckage of the plane in the 3,500-feet (1,067-meter) high, jungle-laden flanks of the Baru. (Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)”)

Javier Bardem to portray Pablo Escobar?

According to Variety Spanish actor Javier Bardem has been tapped to play infamous drug capo Pablo Escobar in an upcoming film. Bardem (image) is best known for his role as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in the 2000 film “Before Night Falls” which led to an Academy Awards nomination.

The movie- “Killing Pablo”- will be based on the Mark Bowden book of the same name, and is scheduled to star Christian Bale and begin shooting next June according to the producers.

However, an article on Rotten Tomatoes points out that another film on Escobar is set to begin production almost simultaneously as “Killing Pablo.” In fact, the director chosen for “Killing Pablo” passed on the script to the other biopic, creatively titled “Escobar.”

In August of 2006 it was reported that rapper Timbaland had planned to produce a film on the deceased kingpin. Who knows what happened to that idea?

Sources- Variety, IMDB.com, Cinematical, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, The Latin Americanist

Image- elpais.com

Quote of the Day: Dangerous liaisons

“I was never friend of Pablo Escobar even when it used to be a fad.”

--Colombian president Alvaro Uribe issued a statement today denying allegations made in a recently published book by a former lover of Pablo Escobar (image).

In her book “Loving Pablo, hating Escobar,” Virginia Vallejo claimed that Uribe permitted the construction of runaways used by drug traffickers during the early 1980s. (Uribe was head of Colombia’s civil aeronautics board between 1980-1982).

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, RCN

Image- BBC Mundo