Alejandro Toledo speaks at the University of Denver in 2015. (photo: The Nation Report)
Peru’s attorney general Pablo Sanchez is seeking to arrest former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo for asset laundering and “influencing” trafficking. Toledo is accused of taking bribes of approximately $20 million from Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company. The company was the builder of the highly contested highway connecting Brazil with the Peruvian coasts.
Toledo has denied allegations and is thought to be out of the country, specifically Paris.
Human rights groups have longed criticized the president for his support of Denver’s Newmont Mining and his support for sending Peruvian soldiers to the School of the Americas/Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation. Graduates of the school have been documented by the School of the Americas Watch to have returned to Peru to commit human rights abuses against Peruvians including those who oppose Newmont’s projects in Peru.
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California’s Governor Jerry Brown’s is receiving criticism for the reopening of Aliso Canyon natural gas facility after what is thought to be the largest methane leak in US history. Regulators have not reported the source of the leak, leading to public opposition to the reopening.
He is also being criticized for supporting fracking operations and the firing of regulators in these industries.
Consumer Watchdog has evaluated Brown’s environmental record and criticized the governor for mixed scores on fighting climate change, “Brown is not as green as he could be.”
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Mumia Abu-Jamal who is considered a political prisoner by those familiar with his work, has filed a complaint about the safety of the water at SCI Mahanoy, a Pennsylvania prison. The complaint said the water is unsafe to use for drinking, and bathing.
Abu-Jamal submitted five demands with the complaint:
1. the immediate provision of an alternative source for “clean, fresh, safe, and untained water”
2 testing of the water piped into the infirmary tub and shower rooms
3. a clear determination of what substance (or substances) discolored the water
4. immediate steps to correct the water situation
5. a written explanation of the details of the source of the discoloration and when it was corrected.
In his complaint, Abu-Jamal adds that he has repeatedly complained about the tainted water to which he received responses that he believes are “misleading, incorrect, and untrue.”
