logo
Federal agents in Miami arrest a prominent Haitian businessman and once presidential hopeful

Federal agents in Miami arrest a prominent Haitian businessman and once presidential hopeful

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal agents in Miami have arrested Pierre Réginald Boulos, a well-known Haitian businessman, doctor and former presidential hopeful.
The arrest occurred at Boulos' home in South Florida late last week, a person familiar with the arrest said Monday.
Boulos was born in the United States but renounced his citizenship to run for president of Haiti in recent years. He obtained his U.S residency last year under the Biden administration.
Boulos, who previously has denied a flurry of corruption allegations, is the most well-known Haitian arrested to date by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It wasn't immediately clear why Boulos was arrested. ICE did not return a message seeking details.
An attorney for Boulos could not be immediately reached for comment.
Boulos was being held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, a detention center that Human Rights Watch said in a recent report is one of three in Florida that are grossly over capacity and 'flagrantly violate international human rights standards.'
Boulos founded several businesses while in Haiti, where he served as president of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 2019, he created the Third Way Movement, a political party in contrast to the 'shameless elite and the unscrupulous politicians who are working to bog down the country and increase the suffering of the people,' he said at the time, according to local media.
The party promptly stated it would seek 'a historic political compromise that would facilitate the negotiated departure from power of Jovenel Moïse.'
Boulos visited Haiti's central region in August 2019 as he rallied for support.
'I am part of the system that must be destroyed,' he was quoted as saying by Le Nouvelliste newspaper. 'I know how to destroy it.'
Moïse served as president from 2017 until he was gunned down at his private residence in July 2021. Dozens of suspects were arrested, including seventeen former Colombian soldiers who are still being interrogated by Haitian authorities.
Court documents have stated that those involved in the plot included Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor, doctor and failed businessman who envisioned himself as Haiti's new leader. Elections have not been held since Moïse was killed.
Gang violence surged in the political vacuum that ensued, and Boulos soon returned to the U.S.
The arrest comes as the Trump administration seeks to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians after announcing it would revoke such protections for those who arrived in the U.S. under a humanitarian parole program.
Rod Joseph, a Haitian-American running for U.S. Congress, said he has been working with the administration to avoid deporting people 'just for the fun of it.'
'If the president goes after criminals, no one is against that,' he said over the phone on Monday. 'But if you deport someone who doesn't commit any crime who's here seeking a better life, this is when we start having issues with the practice.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Taiwanese rally for and against the recall of opposition lawmakers seen as close to China
Taiwanese rally for and against the recall of opposition lawmakers seen as close to China

Winnipeg Free Press

time18 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Taiwanese rally for and against the recall of opposition lawmakers seen as close to China

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Threats from China and anger over legislative deadlock are dominating Taiwan's political discourse as residents rally for and against a campaign to recall two dozen opposition Nationalist Party lawmakers in polling to be held on Saturday. Thousands of supporters of the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party turned out in the heart of the capital Taipei on Thursday to hear from civil society activists, writers, musicians and others who support the recalls, which could potentially give the party, also known as the DPP, a majority in the legislature. The DPP won last year's presidential election, but came up short in the legislature. Since then, the China-friendly Nationalists, also known as the KMT, and their allies have sought to hobble the power of the executive and blocked key legislation, especially the defense budget. That has been seen as undermining both Taiwan's hard-won democracy and its ability to deter China's threat to invade the island it considers its own territory. Those concerns prompted activists to campaign for recall votes in the districts where Nationalists were seen as most vulnerable, and they succeeded in 24 districts where votes are scheduled this weekend. A recall measures must win 40% of the constituents in a district to succeed, after which a special election will be held to fill the seat, in which all parties can compete. The KMT and the smaller Taiwan People's Party together hold a majority in the parliament with 62 seats, while the ruling DPP holds 51 seats. The KMT on Thursday sent some of its best known politicians, including the mayor of Taipei, the speaker of the legislature and the party chairman, out to urge voters to oppose the recall. It also planned a rally in Taipei on Friday. The KMT calls the measure a power grab by the DPP and a threat to multi-party democracy. Perhaps more than any issue, China has loomed over the campaign, with both its officials and state media dismissing the recall effort as a further futile attempt to preclude what they call the inevitability of Beijing's annexation of Taiwan, either by military or peaceful means. On Taiwan, it has brought out differences between Taiwanese who favor pursuing the current path and those who seek accommodation with Beijing. China-friendly politicians have been accused of selling out Taiwan for accepting trips to the mainland and meetings with Chinese politicians, while they defend themselves as keeping open lines of communication in light of Beijing's refusal to interact with the DPP. The recall campaign — Taiwan's first — was prompted by anti-KMT groups alarmed by the party's closeness with China, corruption and the KMT's refusal to work with President Lai Ching-te's administration. They first needed to gather signatures from 10% of voters in each district, targeting legislators seen as particularly vulnerable or controversial and under China's influence. Each campaign seeking to unseat a single legislator required a huge organizational effort, limiting the number of KMT lawmakers targeted. The KMT is primed to contest any special elections that must be called within six months, raising the possibility that they could win back the seats, and the DPP, although enlivened by the campaign, could still remain in the minority.

Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party
Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party

Winnipeg Free Press

time18 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party

LONDON (AP) — Former British Labour Party leader Jermy Corbyn said Thursday he is forming a new left-leaning political party to advocate 'mass redistribution of wealth and power' and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box. The new formation has a website — — but does not yet have a name. 'It's your party,' Corbyn said. 'We're going to decide (a name) when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive.' Corbyn said he hoped the new party would have its inaugural conference in the fall. Corbyn, 76, led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019, but the veteran socialist campaigner remains popular with many grassroots supporters. and the new party has the potential to further fragment British politics. The long-dominant Labour and Conservative parties now have challengers on both left and right, including the environmentalist Green Party and hard-right Reform UK. Plans for a new party emerged earlier this month when lawmaker Zarah Sultana, who has been suspended from Labour for voting against the government, said she would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with Corbyn. At the time, Corbyn did not confirm the news. On Thursday he denied the party launch had been messy, saying the process was 'democratic, it's grassroots and it's open.' A longtime supporter of the Palestinians and critic of Israel, Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 after Britain's equalities watchdog found anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour while he was leader. He was suspended after failing to fully accept the findings¸ claiming opponents had exaggerated the scale of antisemitism in Labour for 'political reasons.' Corbyn was reelected to Parliament last year as an independent. Prime Minister Keir Starmer succeeded Corbyn as Labour leader in 2020 and dragged the party back toward the political center ground. He dropped Corbyn's opposition to Britain's nuclear weapons, strongly backed sending weapons to Ukraine and stressed the party's commitment to balancing the books. Starmer won a landslide election victory a year ago, but has struggled to maintain unity among Labour lawmakers as the government struggles to get a sluggish economy growing and invest in overstretched public services. He has been forced into a series of U-turns by his own lawmakers, including one on welfare reform that left his authority severely dented.

Iran says it's ready for nuclear talks with the US but only if Washington rebuilds trust
Iran says it's ready for nuclear talks with the US but only if Washington rebuilds trust

Winnipeg Free Press

timean hour ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Iran says it's ready for nuclear talks with the US but only if Washington rebuilds trust

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only if Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday. Iran is set to meet Friday in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, and the European Union's deputy foreign policy commissioner. They will be the first talks since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved U.S. B-52 bombers striking nuclear-related facilities in Iran. Gharibabadi said in a social media post Thursday that to enter negotiations, Iran sought 'several key principles' to be upheld. He said these included 'rebuilding Iran's trust — as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States — avoiding the use of talks as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action, though Iran remains fully prepared for any scenario; respecting and recognizing Iran's rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including enrichment in line with its legitimate needs; and the lifting of sanctions.' Friday's talks will be held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The stakes are high. European leaders have threatened to trigger a 'snapback' mechanism included in a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which would reimpose sanctions that were lifted in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program. The U.K., France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal. The U.S. withdrew in 2018 during the first term of President Donald Trump, who insisted the agreement wasn't tough enough. Iranian officials have warned that a move to reimpose sanctions would have consequences. Gharibabadi said earlier this week that it could force Tehran to withdraw from key non-proliferation agreements. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations under the 2015 deal while supporting Israel's recent strikes on Iran. In the recent conflict, U.S. B-52 bombers struck Iranian nuclear facilities in support of Israel's air campaign. Iran responded with missile attacks, including a strike on a U.S. base in Qatar, which President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted was not directed at the Qatari state. In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared for another war and accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him during a June 15 meeting of Iran's national security council in Tehran. Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran's nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law and insisted the country has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons. 'Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists,' he said, emphasizing Iran's position that future negotiations must be rooted in mutual respect, not threats. According to the official judicial news agency Mizan, at least 13 Iranian nuclear scientists were killed during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel. A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday the country's nuclear industry would recover from the recent attacks by Israel and the United States. 'Our nuclear industry is deeply rooted. What has roots cannot be harmed by attack or pressure — it will grow back and thrive again,' state TV quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying. The International Atomic Energy Agency, known by the acronym IAEA, reported in May that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% had grown to over 400 kilograms (882 pounds). That material, just below weapons-grade level, remains a central concern for the West. Despite the growing stockpile, Iran has said it remains open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA following legislation signed by Pezeshkian. The road ahead remains uncertain. While European officials say they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store