Latest news with #Venezuelan-born
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Triple Murderer Among Americans Repatriated From Venezuela in Prisoner Swap
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Trump administration has long insisted that America should not be a haven for criminals. Last week, it brought one home. Dahud Hanid Ortiz — a Venezuelan-born American citizen and former U.S. Marine convicted of a brutal triple murder in Spain — was among 10 Americans repatriated from Venezuela in a high-profile prisoner exchange between the White House and the South American government. Ortiz was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the triple homicide that took place in Madrid in 2016, according to Venezuelan court documents and Spanish media, which also reported that Spain had sought his extradition. However, the Venezuelan Constitution bans the extradition of its citizens, so he was tried in Venezuela, which allows prosecutions for crimes committed abroad. Why It Matters Venezuela on Friday released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for the return of dozens of Venezuelan migrants who had been deported in March by the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, officials said. Venezuela on Friday released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown,... Venezuela on Friday released 10 jailed U.S. citizens and permanent residents in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, officials said. More U.S. State Department The Venezuelans had been held in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT — a massive prison built to detain alleged gang members as part of President Bukele's war on gangs. Trump had invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law, to swiftly deport the men, accusing them of ties to the violent Tren de Aragua street gang. However, the administration did not provide evidence to back up those claims. What To Know In a bitter irony, while the Trump administration has championed the deportation of migrants accused of minor crimes and condemned countries for sheltering fugitives, it repatriated Ortiz as part of a deal it billed as a humanitarian breakthrough. "We delivered murderers for you," Venezuelan minister Diosdado Cabello told the deportees aboard their flight home. "They were in hell. Today they are in Venezuela." Spanish media reports first identified one of the men as Ortiz, 51, as a fugitive wanted in Spain for one of Madrid's most shocking crimes in recent memory — the murders of two Cuban women and an Ecuadorian man in a law office. Investigators say Ortiz, driven by jealousy over his ex-partner, stalked her and her new boyfriend, hacked her devices, and planted microphones before traveling to Madrid and killing three innocent people he mistakenly thought were connected to her. A State Department photo shows some of the 10 Americans freed from Venezuela returning to the U.S. this month. Dahud Hanid Ortiz is at center right, holding a small flag. A State Department photo shows some of the 10 Americans freed from Venezuela returning to the U.S. this month. Dahud Hanid Ortiz is at center right, holding a small flag. U.S. State Department According to a 2021 report of Infobae, Ortiz used a combat knife and an iron bar to stab and bludgeon lawyer Elisa Consuegra Gálvez, secretary Maritza Osorio Riverón, and client John Pepe Castillo Vega, then set the office on fire and left fake cartel calling cards to mislead investigators. After fleeing to Germany and then to Venezuela, he lived under false names until his 2018 arrest by Venezuelan intelligence agents. Venezuelan authorities initially believed Ortiz was an American spy and tortured him before acknowledging Spain's extradition request, El País reported. The Venezuelan Supreme Court denied extradition in 2019, promising he would face trial locally — a trial that never happened. The Trump administration has not clarified how Ortiz came to be listed as a "wrongfully detained" American. When Newsweek reached out to the State Department for comment on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson declined to comment on the specific case of Ortiz: "We were able to secure the release of all Americans detained in Venezuela; many of whom reported being subjected to torture and other harsh conditions." A Troubled Past Dahud Hanid Ortiz was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, in 1970 but later renounced his Venezuelan citizenship to become an American and eventually also acquired German nationality, Infobae reported. He served in the Marines, deploying to Iraq and Korea, and was awarded the Purple Heart before being dishonorably discharged in 2011 for falsifying documents, fraud and theft to obtain benefits and promotions. Fluent in Spanish, English, German and Russian, Ortiz settled in Germany after his discharge and began a relationship with German doctor Irina Trippel. But his behavior became increasingly controlling and abusive, according to Spanish investigators. When Trippel left him for Peruvian attorney Víctor Salas, Ortiz stalked her obsessively, hacked her phone and computer, and even planted listening devices in her home, Spanish media reported. His fixation escalated until he traveled to Madrid in June 2016 and murdered three people in what investigators called a meticulously planned but tragically misdirected act of vengeance. What People Are Saying U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X about the prisoner exchange: "Thanks to POTUS's leadership, ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela are on their way to freedom. I want to thank my team at the State Department & especially President Nayib Bukele for helping secure an agreement for the release of all of our American detainees, plus the release of Venezuelan political prisoners." The Venezuelan government, in a statement on Friday afternoon: "Venezuela has paid a high price to secure the freedom of these compatriots, through an exchange with the authorities of the United States of America of a group of U.S. citizens who were at the disposal of the justice system, for their proven involvement in serious crimes against the peace, independence, and security of the Nation." What Happens Next According to El País, there are suspicions that Ortiz falsified evidence to present himself not as a murderer, but as a political prisoner or a U.S. spy, in order to be included in the prisoner exchange.
Montreal Gazette
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Projet Montréal distances itself from councillor's ‘unacceptable' comments about Indigenous people
Montreal Politics A Montreal borough councillor has resigned from Projet Montréal after making a disparaging comment about Indigenous people on social media. Enrique Machado, a Venezuelan-born councillor representing Verdun's Champlain–Île-des-Sœurs district, came under fire after replying to a video posted on TikTok by Venezuelan influencer Sofia Saavedra, which showcased a new 3D advertisement screen in Caracas. Machado wrote, in Spanish: 'Seriously? Are you surprised by this? Hahaha. Venezuelans are like Indigenous people, give them mirrors and little shiny things and they'll be amazed.' The remark was widely condemned online, including by Saavedra herself. She posted a follow-up video on TikTok saying she has formally complained against Machado to the city council. Machado has reportedly apologized on social media, but his Facebook account has since been deactivated. In a statement to The Gazette, Projet Montréal spokesperson Arianne Beaupré called the remarks 'unacceptable' and said it did not reflect the party's values. 'The values of inclusion, respect and the need to actively contribute to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples are at the heart of the principles that guide Projet Montréal's mission,' Beaupré said. 'Mr. Machado's comment contradicts the values of our party, our leader and the mayor.' Machado was then summoned by the party, she said, after they became aware of the situation. He later chose to resign from the caucus and end his political career with Projet Montréal. 'We believe this is the right decision under the circumstances,' she said. He will now sit as an independent for the remainder of his term.
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami New Drama's musical show is a Venezuelan backyard party — with sancocho
'Paint your village and you will paint the whole world' is advice attributed to Nobel Prize winner Leo Tolstoy. Few theatrical experiences in recent memory make the point as vividly or successfully as the immersive music-driven production, '¡Viva La Parranda!' The musical, commissioned by Venezuelan-born theater director, writer, and producer Michel Hausmann, co-founder and artistic director of Miami New Drama, and produced by Miami New Drama, returns to the Colony Theatre featuring the original ensemble, a revisiting of its premiere in 2019. The show opens Thursday, July 10 and runs through Sunday, July 27. Staged as a backyard get-together around a typical sancocho, a traditional stew that cooks (for real) throughout the show in a large pot, '¡Viva La Parranda!' transports the audience to El Clavo, a small town in Barlovento, a region in the center north of Venezuela. With an approximate population of 1,500, El Clavo 'is not in Wikipedia,' deadpans lead singer Betsayda Machado in one of the on-stage moments. Barlovento has deep, centuries-old African roots, and the ensemble plays its music on ancestral instruments such as the mina (a large drum with roots in what is now Benin), the culo'e puya (small drums of Kongo origin), and the quitiplás (bamboo drums). In between songs, there are moving personal stories told by the performers, all neighbors of El Clavo. They aren't professional actors but their grace and emotion come from authenticity. Born in Caracas but raised in El Clavo, where her mother still lives, Machado was already a leading voice in Afro-Venezuelan music when an inquiry by producer Juan Souki led to the idea of capturing the experience of la parranda, a genre of Afro-Venezuelan music, but also the name of the ensemble that plays it and the party around the music. Souki was an admirer of Machado well before he met her. 'I just knew her voice from a recording. It was a large vocal ensemble, so I didn't even know her name, but I recognized her voice. Betsayda has such a universal voice that it feels like she can sing to you about the pulse of the earth,' he says. Souki had collaborated with Machado on a bolero project and wanted to do more with her, so he asked her to show him something of interest from her hometown. 'And I told him, 'Well, from my house, for as long as I can remember, there is a parranda every January first.' The parranda in the pueblo de El Clavo is older than me, and I'll be 52 in August,' says Machado in Spanish, during a telephone interview. 'So I took him to the town one weekend,' she says. 'I brought all the parranderos up to date; they prepared as if Juan were a visiting mayor, and he was welcomed with a sancocho.' The encounter, and hearing Machado perform in place with the group, led to a recording featuring her with La Parranda El Clavo: 'Loé Loá (Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree).' The title was no marketing cutesy. 'No sir. It was recorded under a mango tree,' says Machado. 'And we invited the whole town so that they could experience what it was like to record an album. Because this was the first time that the group was called to do a recording.' It was also Souki's first recording. 'And my last,' he quickly adds. 'It's not what I do. But that album ended up on the New York Times' list of the best albums of 2017.' The reception of their recording opened the world to Machado and La Parranda El Clavo and led to international touring and appearances at events such as WOMEX and Global Fest, leading World Music gatherings, and venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. 'The farthest the group had gone was the town of El Guapo. Our first trip [after the album] was to Canada,' says Machado, adding that 'of course' the group on stage is only a small representation of the actual parranda. 'The parranda is the whole town,' she says. 'But I couldn't bring the whole town onto the stage.' Hausmann and Souki have known each other since they were teenagers in Caracas, and, as Hausmann puts it, 'precocious theater directors.' However, at some point, Souki transitioned to music production and world music, recalled Hausmann. When Hausmann learned about the Parranda El Clavo project, he was moved. 'Juan was posting videos about it, and I called him and told him, 'We got to do a play with them . . . So we spoke about the idea of a documentary play.' The result is a one-of-a-kind, profoundly moving theatrical documentary. The backyard staging allows for the personal storytelling and the music to unfold naturally. 'I remember that I said that we were going to prepare a sancocho,' says Machado. 'And that's how we have it in the play. Our first experiences as parranderos were born with a sancocho.' Naturally, at the end of the performance, the audience is invited onstage to share the experience and taste the food. That is no showbiz, that is the way of El Clavo. In addition to Machado, members of the ensemble are Blanca Castillo, a retired nurse; Youse Cardozo, a firefighter; a founding member of the parranda, Asterio Betancourt, is a former basketball player and a drummer; and Nereida Machado, Betsayda's sister, is a singer, dancer, and insurance analyst. The stories they tell speak of family and community but also violence, death, single parenthood, drug use, and the back-breaking work in cocoa fields. 'They tell their stories in anecdotes,' says Souki. 'At the end of the day, it's soup, a beer, rice, and telling stories. The text is the literal anecdotes from them and their experiences as they were told to me in a very informal context, not from interviews, but long days of conversation.' In 2019, when Hausmann first introduced '¡Viva La Parranda!', he had yet to cultivate an audience that included mainstays, Miami's predominant Venezuelan community. '. . . Part of the reason we are bringing it back is because we might have done that show a little too early in our company's career. . . This is our way of reminding this community that there is something intrinsic in the Venezuelan spirit that allows for […] continuing at it in the face of adversity.' The foundation of the musical also brings something to the stage that resonates. 'The emotions are so powerful because they are raw and they are real. It is impossible not to connect with what they feel because we all recognize those emotions. And I think that that is the power of theater: to remind us that we are all made of the same emotional DNA and to some degree, every story is a universal story,' says Hausmann. If you go: WHAT: '¡Viva La Parranda!' WHERE: Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday, from July 10, previews, opening night, Saturday, July 12. Through July 27. COST: $46.50, $66.50, $76.50 INFORMATION: (305) 674-1040 and is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don't miss a story at
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Who was Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Pina AKA ‘China Baby'? Teen TikToker's dismembered remains found in Peru water plant
The dismembered body of a teenage TikTok influencer who went missing has been found in a Peru water plant. The body of 19-year-old Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Pina, known as 'China Baby' on the platform, was found clogging up the water plant's river filtration grid. Police found the mutilated remains inside the plant in the Peruvian capital of Lima while carrying out routine inspections of the site, Panamericana reported. Who was Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Pina AKA 'China Baby'? Teen TikToker's dismembered remains found in Peru water plant (chinababy.17/TikTok) Pina was a Venezuelan-born TikTok star who was found dead four days after she shared her last TikTok video, Argentinian outlet infobae said. She had at least 5,000 followers on the platform. Forensic crews identified Pina's body parts through her tattoos, including one on her back reading 'Paula Sophia' along with a date. Her remains were found on June 9. According to El Comercio, parts of Pina's body were trapped in the river filtration grid within the water plant. Videos show crews pulling out Pina's remains from the plant last month, but some of her body parts remain missing. Pina's family revealed that the young girl left her native Venezuela when she was still a minor to live with her then-boyfriend, Meiner Jimenez Castillo. 'She never told us she was leaving. She just left, and that was it,' a relative told La Republica. Meanwhile, in 2022, Castillo was found dead by suicide. However, his family long alleged that Pinna had a connection to his death. They allegedly even harassed her on social media. The Peruvian National Police, who are investigating Pina's death, said that the gruesome nature of the crime is similar to methods used by human traffickers. However, no suspects have been announced in connection with Pina's death yet. Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
New York Post
01-07-2025
- New York Post
Dismembered remains of teen TikTok influencer found clogging water plant
The dismembered body of a missing teenage TikTok influencer has been discovered in a Peru water plant clogging up its river filtration grid, according to reports. Mutilated remains of 19-year-old Fabiola Alejandra Caicedo Pina, known as 'China Baby' on the platform, were found inside the plant in the Peruvian capital of Lima by police officers carrying out routine inspections of the site, Panamericana reported. Forensic crews were able to identify the body parts through Pina's distinctive tattoos, such as the one on her back reading 'Paula Sophia' along with a date, the outlet reported. Workers at the plant found the remains June 9, four days after Pina shared her last TikTok video with her 5,000 followers, Argentinian outlet infobae said. 4 The mutilated remains of Venezuelan-born TikTok star 'China Baby' were discovered in a water plant in Peru. Jam Press Parts of her body were then found trapped in the river filtration grid within the water plant about a week later, El Comercio reported. Graphic video shows crews pulling the teenager's remains out of the plant last month. Some of her body parts are still missing, infobae said. Pina left her native Venezuela when she was still a minor to live with her then-boyfriend, Meiner Jimenez Castillo, her family said. 4 The teen's remains were uncovered at the plant in the Peruvian capital of Lima last month. PTVNoticias 4 Pina's injuries were similar with those of human trafficking victims, police said. Jam Press 4 She was identified by her distinctive tattoos, including this one on her back. PTVNoticias 'She never told us she was leaving. She just left, and that was it,' a relative told La Republica. In 2022, Castillo was found dead in Lima by suicide, although his family has long accused Pina of having a connection to his death and harassed her on social media, the outlet reported. The brutal nature of Pina's death is similar to methods used by human traffickers, according to the Peruvian National Police, who are investigating the crime. So far, no suspects have been announced in connection with her death.
