Latest news with #U.S.DrugEnforcementAdministration
3 days ago
DEA informant charged in alleged scheme to extort high-level cocaine traffickers
MIAMI -- A drug informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration build some of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort major cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Jorge Hernández, 57, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. He remains in custody after being arrested and making his initial court appearance Wednesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Court papers allege that Hernández operated a scheme starting in 2020 in which he pretended to be a paralegal who, for the right price, could obtain lighter sentences for drug kingpins, according to 17-page FBI affidavit. The FBI alleged that Hernández demanded payments of $1 million from six suspected drug traffickers who ended up surrendering or being extradited to the U.S. In exchange for the payments — which came in the form of cash, jewelry, properties and vehicles in Colombia — Hernández guaranteed short prison sentences that would be served 'in an apartment similar to being on house arrest,' the court papers said. But Hernández never delivered on his promises, nor did he have authority to offer such leniency. As the traffickers who thought they were buying influence grew upset, he would deny responsibility and shift blame to the traffickers' attorneys, the FBI said. Nestor Menendez, an attorney who represented Hernández at his initial appearance, declined to comment. In two decades as a confidential informant, Hernández had been one of federal law enforcement's most prolific case-makers, providing the types of tips and information that led to prosecutions of high seas drug smugglers, a former University of Miami money laundering expert and a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Better known in law enforcement circles by his Spanish nickname Boliche — bowling ball — the beefy, bald-headed Colombian was also the star witness in the 2023 bribery trial of two former DEA supervisors convicted for leaking information on ongoing drug investigations. He got his start as an informant in 2000 shortly after he was arrested in Venezuela, where he had fled to escape drug dealers seeking to kill him, according to a 2023 investigation by The Associated Press. After bribing officials to secure his release, he approached the DEA, admitting to killing three people during his days as a drug runner near his home along Colombia's Caribbean coast. He then began helping the DEA build some of its biggest cases. Agents grew so reliant on Hernández's network of criminal associates across the Western hemisphere that they set him up with a phone and desk at a federal anti-narcotics task force, the AP found. The DEA terminated his cooperation agreement in 2008, court records show, after authorities discovered he had threatened to expose informants as snitches unless they paid him to keep quiet. But he kept close to some of his former DEA handlers and eventually returned to Miami. In 2016, he met DEA agent John Costanzo, who was supervising agents investigating Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a suspected bag man for Venezuela's Maduro. In 2023, Hernández testified against Costanzo and another former DEA agent convicted of taking bribes from narco defense attorneys. Hernández turned the tables on the DEA around the same time he was charged alongside University of Miami professor Bruce Bagley for helping move $3 million on behalf of Saab, who prosecutors said was secretly negotiating a deal to betray Maduro. Those charges remain under seal. In the complaint unsealed Wednesday, the FBI that Hernández is serving a term of probation on a federal conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering that is set to end in May 2027.
Gulf Insider
3 days ago
- Health
- Gulf Insider
Cannabis Use Linked To A Doubled Risk Of Heart Disease Death, New Study Finds
With growing marijuana use across the country, studies have looked at the link between cannabis use and cardiovascular problems — but new research is showing the magnitude of such risk. In the study, published Tuesday in the journal Heart, researchers found cannabis use is linked to a doubled risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 29% higher risk for acute coronary syndrome and 20% higher risk for stroke. The authors analyzed data from 24 studies published from 2016 to 2023. 'Our results provide a fully comprehensive report of the recent situation towards the cardiovascular health of cannabis users,' the authors wrote, but added there were some study limitations, including potential imprecise dosage measurements. With recreational marijuana legal in 24 states, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to reclassify the drug to a less dangerous category under the Controlled Substances Act. Daily marijuana users now outnumber daily drinkers for the first time ever, according to a Carnegie Mellon University report last year. The preference shift is largely being driven by young people. For example, 69% of people aged 18 to 24 prefer marijuana to alcohol, according to a 2022 survey by New Frontier Data, a cannabis research firm. Due to increased usage, the perception of risk around marijuana has declined, health experts Dr. Lynn Silver of the Public Health Institute and Stanton Glantz, emeritus professor of the University of California at San Francisco, write in an editorial note that was published alongside the research, but the results of the study highlight the potential health effects. In the note, the authors called for the drug to 'be treated like tobacco: not criminalized but discouraged,' including added protection of bystanders from secondhand exposure. They also called for more research on whether cardiovascular risks are limited to inhaled products, which made up the majority of cases in the meta-analysis, or extend to other forms of cannabis exposure.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Cannabis use may double risk of heart disease death, study finds
With growing marijuana use across the country, studies have looked at the link between cannabis use and cardiovascular problems — but new research is showing the magnitude of such risk. In the study, published Tuesday in the journal Heart, researchers found cannabis use is linked to a doubled risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 29% higher risk for acute coronary syndrome and 20% higher risk for stroke. The authors analyzed data from 24 studies published from 2016 to 2023. "Our results provide a fully comprehensive report of the recent situation towards the cardiovascular health of cannabis users," the authors wrote, but added there were some study limitations, including potential imprecise dosage measurements. With recreational marijuana legal in 24 states, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to reclassify the drug to a less dangerous category under the Controlled Substances Act. Daily marijuana users now outnumber daily drinkers for the first time ever, according to a Carnegie Mellon University report last year. The preference shift is largely being driven by young people. For example, 69% of people aged 18 to 24 prefer marijuana to alcohol, according to a 2022 survey by New Frontier Data, a cannabis research firm. Due to increased usage, the perception of risk around marijuana has declined, health experts Dr. Lynn Silver of the Public Health Institute and Stanton Glantz, emeritus professor of the University of California at San Francisco, write in an editorial note that was published alongside the research, but the results of the study highlight the potential health effects. In the note, the authors called for the drug to "be treated like tobacco: not criminalized but discouraged," including added protection of bystanders from secondhand exposure. They also called for more research on whether cardiovascular risks are limited to inhaled products, which made up the majority of cases in the meta-analysis, or extend to other forms of cannabis exposure. Teen questioned after family's quadruple murder Congressional members seek $1 billion for security after deadly lawmaker shootings Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hospitalized after allergic reaction
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana AG Todd Rokita touts 'monumental victory' in Sackler family, Purdue opioid settlement
Indiana will receive up to $100 million to support addiction recovery programs as part of the largest settlement to date holding suppliers accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, according to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. In all, $7.4 billion will be dispersed to dozens of states and territories across the U.S. The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma were ordered to pay for "aggressive marketing of opioid products" that "fueled the worst drug crisis in U.S. history," Rokita said. Rokita called the settlement a "monumental victory" for Hoosiers. In Marion County, fentanyl kills more people than homicides and car crashes combined. Drug addiction in Indiana: What a grieving mother's story shows us about the fentanyl crisis in Indianapolis In 2020, Purdue Pharma admitted to paying doctors to encourage them to prescribe more opioids and impeding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's effort to fight the burgeoning epidemic. The settlement also permanently ends the Sackler family's control of Purdue Pharma, according to the Attorney General's office, and prohibits them from participating in the U.S. opioid industry. Indiana's funds will be released over the next 15 years. Most will be dispersed in the first three years. "This is about accountability and justice," said Rokita. A Marion County program that alerts recipients about bad drug batches or overdose spikes can be accessed by texting SOAR to 765-358-7627. If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health or substance abuse problems, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for help.
7 days ago
- Politics
4 years after Haiti's president was killed, the investigation drags on
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Not one suspect imprisoned in Haiti has faced trial after being charged in the killing of President Jovenel Moïse, who was gunned down at his home in the nation's capital nearly four years ago. Gang violence, death threats and a crumbling judicial system have stalled an ongoing investigation defined by outbursts and tense exchanges between suspects and judges. 'You failed in your mission. And you are not ashamed to declare yourself innocent,' Judge Claude Jean said in a booming voice as he stood and faced a Haitian policeman responsible for protecting the president, who was shot 12 times in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Jean is one of six Haitian judges investigating whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial for the 20 suspects held in the troubled Caribbean country. Authorities said some of the suspects envisioned a coup, not an assassination, leading to lucrative contracts under a new administration. The suspects include 17 former soldiers from Colombia and three Haitian officials: an ex-mayor, a former policeman and a former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee who worked on an anti-corruption unit. Missing are several key Haitian suspects who escaped last year after a powerful gang federation raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, including Dimitri Hérard, ex-head of security at Haiti's National Palace. Three other suspects, all Colombians, were killed hours after Moïse was slain, while a key suspect in the case, Haitian Superior Court Judge Windelle Coq Thélot, died in January while still a fugitive. The investigation was repeatedly halted by the resignation of judges who feared for their lives. Defense attorneys then appealed after the court ruled there was sufficient evidence for trial. Jean and five other judges are now tasked with restarting the inquiry. But determining complicity among 51 suspects is only one of numerous challenges. Last year, powerful gangs seized control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse where the judges were interrogating suspects. The hearings were suspended until the government rented a home in Pacot, a neighborhood once considered safe enough for the French embassy. But gangs controlling 85% of Haiti's capital recently attacked and forced the government to move again. The hearings restarted in May, this time in a private home in Pétion-Ville, a community trying to defend itself from gangs seeking full control of Port-au-Prince. As a fan swirled lazily in the background, Judge Phemond Damicy grilled Ronald Guerrier in late May. One of several police officers tasked with protecting the president, Guerrier insisted he never entered Moïse's home and couldn't fight the intruders because he was dazed by a stun grenade. 'The attackers were dressed all in black. They wore balaclavas and blinded us with their flashlights. I couldn't identify anyone,' Guerrier testified, adding they used a megaphone to claim they were U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. 'The attackers operated as if they were entering their own home. It seemed they knew the place perfectly.' Damicy asked if they shot at drones that Guerrier said were buzzing above the president's home. 'The attackers covered the entire area with their fire,' Guerrier replied. 'There was nothing we could do.' Damicy grew exasperated. 'Under no circumstances should an enemy cross you with impunity to commit his crime,' he said. 'In your place, I would fire on the enemy. I would even die, if necessary.' Inside the investigation's heavily guarded, stone-and-concrete headquarters in a leafy residential community, raised voices have dominated tense interrogations. One judge stood and thundered a question about a gun: 'On the day of the death of President Jovenel Moïse, were you in possession of a Galil?' In another outburst in March, a judge repeatedly pressed Joseph Badio, the former Ministry of Justice official who spent two years on the run, about his call to former Prime Minister Ariel Henry after the assassination. At the time, Henry had only been nominated as prime minister by Moïse. 'You can say whatever you want with your mouth,' Badio told the judge, who ordered him to sit as he rose while speaking. 'There is no prohibition for me to communicate with anyone I want.' The tension has carried over into interrogations of the Colombian suspects, who maintain they were hired by a Miami-based security firm to provide security for power and water treatment plants and diplomatic officials, as well as train Haitian police and soldiers. The Colombians have denied involvement, while their attorney, Nathalie Delisca, said there has been no presumption of innocence during the interrogations. 'The treatment inflicted on the detainees was inhumane,' she said, alleging mistreatment by authorities after their arrest. The former soldiers said they were beaten, threatened with death, forced to sign documents in a language they don't understand and barred from communicating with their lawyers and families for long stretches. 'I have been subjected to degrading treatment. I have been subjected to physical and psychological torture,' Jheyner Alberto Carmona Flores said during a recent hearing. He spoke Spanish in a clear and loud voice, sometimes correcting an interpreter translating his testimony into French. 'I have no involvement because I don't know when or where the president was assassinated,' Carmona Flores said, claiming he was summoned to provide security at the perimeter of Moïse's house and did not know the president had been fatally shot. While the case in Haiti has stalled, the U.S. has charged 11 extradited suspects, with five already pleading guilty to conspiring to kill Moïse. Five other suspects are awaiting trial, which is now scheduled for March 2026. They include Anthony 'Tony' Intriago, owner of Miami-based CTU Security, and Haitian-Americans James Solages, a key suspect, and Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor, doctor and failed businessman who envisioned himself as Haiti's new leader. Moïse's widow, Martine Moïse, is expected to testify in the U.S. case. She was injured in the attack and accused by a Haitian judge of complicity and criminal association, which her attorneys deny. Court documents say the plan was to detain Jovenel Moïse and whisk him away, but changed after the suspects failed to find a plane or sufficient weapons. A day before Moïse died, Solages falsely told other suspects it was a CIA operation and the mission was to kill the president, the documents allege. Bruner Ulysse, a lawyer and history professor in Haiti, lamented how the local investigation has highlighted what he called 'profound challenges' in Haiti's judicial system. 'While international efforts have yielded some results, the quest for justice in Haiti remains elusive,' Ulysse said. 'Judges, prosecutors and lawyers operate under constant threat."
