Missing in the Amazon: the disappearance

Three years ago, British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished while on a reporting trip near Brazil's remote Javari valley. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, investigates what happened in the first episode of a new six-part investigative podcast series. Find episode 2 – and all future episodes – by searching for 'Missing in the Amazon'

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Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is sent off just TWO MINUTES after coming off the bench against Flamengo in the Club World Cup

Nicolas Jackson was sent off for a reckless challenge just two minutes after coming off the bench in Chelsea 's Club World Cup clash with Flamengo. The red card topped six minutes of madness for Chelsea who went from leading their Brazilian opponents 1-0 after 61 minutes to finding themselves 2-1 down — and with only 10 men — after 67 minutes. The red card was the worst possible birthday present for the 24-year-old who is competing with Liam Delap, the man he replaced on the pitch, as Chelsea's first-choice striker.

The Independent

2 hours ago

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Close ally of drug kingpin 'El Mencho' gets 30 years in prison as US ramps up pressure on cartels

A close ally of fugitive Jalisco New Generation boss known as 'El Mencho' for years orchestrated a prolific drug trafficking operation, using a semi-submersible and other methods to avoid detection, and provided weapons to one of Mexico's most powerful cartels, prosecutors say. On Friday, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington's federal court to 30 years in a U.S. prison following his 2017 arrest at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name. González Valencia, 49, known as 'Chepa,' along with his two brothers, led a group called 'Los Cuinis' that financed the drug trafficking operations of Jalisco New Generation, or CJNG — the violent cartel recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. His brother-in-law is CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, whom for years has been sought by the U.S. government. Meanwhile, El Mencho's son-in-law, Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, appeared in the same courtroom earlier Friday to plead guilty in a separate case to a money laundering conspiracy charge. Gutierrez Ochoa was arrested toward the end of the Biden administration last year in California, where authorities have said he was living under a bogus name after faking his own death and fleeing Mexico. Together, the prosecutions reflect the U.S. government's efforts to weaken the brutal Jalisco New Generation cartel that's responsible for importing staggering amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S. — and track down its elusive leader. The Trump administration has sought to turn up the pressure on CJNG and other cartels with the foreign terrorist organization designation, which gives authorities new tools to prosecute those associated with cartels. 'You can't totally prosecute your way out of the cartel problem, but you can make an actual impact by letting people know that we're going to be enforcing this and showing that Mexico is being cooperative with us and then ultimately trying to get high level targets to sort of set the organization back,' Matthew Galeotti, who lead the Justice Department's criminal division, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Trump's Justice Department has declared dismantling CJNG and other cartels a top priority, and Galetotti said the U.S. in recent months has seen increased cooperation from Mexican officials. In February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures — including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985 — to the U.S. for prosecution. The Trump administration has already charged a handful of defendants with terrorism offenses since designating CJNG and seven other Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations in February. Galeotti said several additional indictments related to CJNG and other cartels remain under seal. 'We are taking a division-wide approach to this,' Galeotti said. 'We've got money laundering prosecutors who are not just focused on the cartels themselves ... but also on financial facilitators. So when we're taking this broad approach … that's why I think we've had some of the really significant cases that we've had, and we've seen a very significant pipeline.' González Valencia pleaded guilty to international cocaine trafficking in 2022. Authorities say he went into hiding in Bolivia in 2015 after leading 'Los Cuinis' alongside his brothers for more than a decade. He was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration after traveling to Brazil, and was later extradited to the U.S. 'Los Cuinis' used 'air, land, sea, and under-the-sea methods' to smuggle drugs bound for the U.S., prosecutors say. In one instance, authorities say González Valencia invested in a shipment of 4,000 kilograms of cocaine that was packed in a semi-submersible vessel to travel from Colombia to Guatemala. Other methods employed by 'Los Cuinis' include hiding drugs in frozen shark carcasses, prosecutors say. He's also accused of directing the killing of a rival. He appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit and listened to the hearing through an interpreter over headphones. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sealed part of the hearing, keeping the press and public out of the courtroom while lawyers argued over the sentence. It was not clear why the judge determined it had to be sealed. González Valencia's lawyer declined to comment after the hearing. In the other case, Gutiérrez Ochoa was wanted in Mexico on allegations that he kidnapped two Mexican Navy members in 2021 in the hopes of securing the release of 'El Mencho's' wife after she had been arrested by Mexican authorities, prosecutors have said. Authorities have said he faked his own death and fled to the U.S. to avoid Mexican authorities, and 'El Mencho' told associates that he killed Gutiérrez Ochoa for lying. 'El Mencho's' son, Rubén Oseguera — known as 'El Menchito' — was sentenced to March to life in prison after his conviction in Washington's federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for U.S. importation and using a firearm in a drug conspiracy. ___

Reuters

5 hours ago

• Reuters

Brazil to push for corporate, local government climate targets at COP30

BRASILIA, June 20 (Reuters) - COP30 president Brazil on Friday proposed expanding emissions reduction commitments to include pledges from companies, states, and cities, aiming to bolster global climate efforts following the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Brazilian diplomats preparing for the climate summit have been working closely with the U.N. to encourage countries to submit updated targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by September, after many missed the February deadline. The Paris accord, in which almost all nations agreed to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, requires countries to submit such targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and update them every few years. In a letter released Friday, COP30 President Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago proposed widening the path for reducing emissions by creating a "global NDC" that would incorporate targets from various actors, not just countries, to transform the Global Stocktake - the process for reviewing Paris Agreement progress. "Our aim is to bring a new dynamic to global climate action, aligning the efforts made by businesses, civil society and all levels of government in coordinated action," Lago wrote, proposing the term "GDC," or "globally determined contribution," for the expanded initiative. While Lago did not explicitly frame the initiative as a response to U.S. policy changes, he acknowledged it would allow participation from U.S. companies and local governments that have kept their commitment to help curb climate change despite the Trump administration's formal exit from the Paris Agreement. "Our action agenda is opening up a lot of space for the U.S. side that wants to participate," Lago said, adding the proposal would also encourage countries with conservative emissions targets to be more ambitious. The Brazilian diplomat said private sector actors often move faster on climate action than governments, which are vulnerable to complex considerations such as the role of oil companies in spurring economic growth or the costs of transforming electricity grids. Dan Ioschpe, a Brazilian businessman appointed as COP30's "climate champion," said the initiative would provide clarity for non-state actors to align with Paris Agreement goals. "Not only in the United States, but in general in countries where the national government is not so involved in the issue, we are seeing governors, mayors, and the private sector extremely involved," Ioschpe said. COP30, to be hosted in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris accord.