International

Relatives of the Menéndez brothers press for their release

The family members of Erik and Lyle Menéndez, the brothers who are serving a life sentence for killing their parents in Beverly Hills more than 35 years ago, asked the Los Angeles Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday to consider releasing them, after the new evidence that came to light in the case.

The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life imprisonment for the murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, in a controversial case in which the young people reported being sexually abused by their father.

“I had no idea of the magnitude of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law. None of us knew,” Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menéndez’s sister, said in a choppy voice at a press conference in Los Angeles where more than 20 family members attended.

Menéndez brothers, victims of abuse

The woman described the couple’s death as “tragic,” but warned that it is now known that the abuse “has lasting effects and that trauma victims sometimes act in ways that are very difficult to understand.”

He added that at the time of the trial “the whole world was not prepared to hear that boys could be raped … and today we know more.”

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For her part, Ana Maria Baralt, Erik and Lyle’s cousin and family spokesperson, said that “if the case had been heard today, with the understanding we have now about abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, I have no doubt that the sentence would have been very different.”

Mark Geragos, the brothers’ lawyer, believes that the brothers must regain their freedom after the new evidence presented in the case to the office of the Los Angeles prosecutor, George Gascón.

The new tests

Among the new evidence is “a letter that one of the brothers allegedly sent to another family member confessing that he was a victim of abuse,” long before the murder.

Added to this are the statements of a member of the famous group Menudo, who claims that José Menéndez abused him on a visit to his home.

At the beginning of the month, Gascón said that although the Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the brothers committed the murders, it considers reviewing this evidence and making a decision on whether a new sentence is necessary.

After the crime, which occurred on the afternoon of August 20, 1989 at their home, located in a luxurious Beverly Hills neighborhood, with shotguns that they had bought days before the attack, the brothers told the authorities that they found the lifeless bodies of their parents after having spent the afternoon away from home.

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The details of the crime

The case gained special relevance when the brothers began to follow a life of luxury and excesses after accessing their father’s fortune, which raised the suspicions of the authorities.

Shortly after, Erik’s psychologist’s girlfriend warned the Police of the existence of recorded sessions in which she admitted and discussed her guilt.

Although the Prosecutor’s Office argued that they sought to inherit the family fortune, the brothers affirmed, and today they maintain, that their actions were due to a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by their father.

The brothers’ lawyer, Mark Geragos, also highlighted today that during their time in prison the brothers created programs to advise and guide other inmates, and were part of the first class of 22 prisoners who obtained their university degree while they were imprisoned.

The family also opened a website to seek public support in the release of the two brothers, of Cuban roots.

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International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.