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Once in Oaxaca: meet Australian artist and gallerist Jaime Levin

photo: Levin, an expat artist and architect, is making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. (@Bucketlistbri/Instagram)

 

Jaime Levin is a 29-year-old expat artist and architect making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. In this profile, Levin talks about why he swapped the Australian coast and an architecture career in Denmark for living the Mexican dream in Oaxaca

 

Shared from/by Gordon Cole-Schmidt

 

From murals adorning stone walls of several city hotspots, to hand-drawn city maps in bustling cafes and restaurants, Levin’s work is never far from the view of keen-eyed tourists and residents of the city.

In March, he celebrated one year since opening his own gallery, and he has exciting plans for expansion across Mexico.

On the table at his café where we meet to chat, there are two elegant carrot cupcakes from chef Miri Cole and an espresso from local coffee roasting company Nómada. Next to the coffee machine, I can see Levin’s famous city maps, his illustrated children’s book and custom-designed mezcal bottles.

We’re in Barrio de Jalatlaco — the second oldest, and arguably, the most trendy neighborhood in the city.

“When I first arrived in Oaxaca in 2019, I was delivering sandwiches for a coffee shop and had a rough plan to stay and learn Spanish. Then I discovered the architecture here, and it blew me away. The buildings, streets, ceramics, everything … I spent my free time drawing the city in my sketchbook,” Levin explains.

“I was meeting lots of different local people on my delivery runs and started speaking to them in broken Spanish about my drawings. I found the people of Oaxaca were really taken by my drawings of buildings they grew up with. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I felt there was a connection there.”

Running his own gallery and creating his artistic brand, which has garnered thousands of followers on Instagram, wasn’t a formal plan. It started when Levin decided to turn his sketches into postcards.

He stands up from our table to dash inside to bring me his first collection of pocket-sized drawings.

“I showed cafés these drawings of their buildings, and they were very happy to put them for sale next to the bread and pastries.”

Six months later, the onset of the pandemic caused Levin’s life — like most of ours — to take unexpected turns. With cafés and restaurants closing, the demand for his drawings fell and he needed to adapt quickly.

“For several long evenings, I talked for hours with friends who owned cafés — which were forced to close — about what we could do to keep their businesses alive,” he said. “The conversations all seemed to point to one avenue — growing a social media presence.”

This marked a turning point in Levin’s career in Mexico. Under the name “Once in Oaxaca,” he began uploading his illustrations on Instagram, growing a loyal following of local people, businesses and tourists. At the same time, he started an Etsy shop and began selling his art and accepting commissions for larger works.

“It was a crazy time, but it helped me realize [that] opening my own physical gallery had to be the project’s next step.”

During the summer of 2021, he found the ideal location for his first gallery.

“This space was a blank canvas. It was the first time I could design a commercial space in Oaxaca, and my architectural mind was going wild! I designed every detail in there, from the chairs [and] tables to individual shelves and wall hangings,” he said. “I loved meeting people who could help me realize the vision, and this really showed me the huge potential in collaborating with other creatives here.”

Almost an hour into our conversation, as he begins to tell me about his favorite collaboration — a children’s book illustrated and launched with speech therapist, Viri Pacheco to help young children overcome speech impediments — we’re interrupted by two friendly faces who congratulate Levin on his one-year anniversary.

A steady flow of locals and tourists have been arriving since the café opened an hour ago at 8 a.m. The place won’t close its doors for another 12 hours — a routine Levin keeps seven days per week, all year round.

“It’s hard work, but I love the process of growing, and my team is fantastic. I need to give my time to give it the best chance of success,” he said.

Following the rapid growth of Once in Oaxaca, Levin opened his second creative space — Micha — six months later in October 2022 with his girlfriend Ingrid Flores, a designer who is working on clothing and furniture design. He says that he hopes to expand nationally, into Mexico City and Mérida.

I ask what drives his obsessive work ethic and what motivates him.

“I’m not from here, but when Oaxacan people come by who know the buildings I’ve drawn and tell me they love the way I’ve captured it, in a way a photo can’t … to me, that’s the coolest thing ever,” he said.

“I don’t think the project would have been possible in Australia or in Denmark,” he added. “I feel so much more free to work creatively here, and the support and guidance has been fantastic.

“I feel like anything is possible!”

  • Once in Oaxaca is located at Curtidurias 121C, Barrio de Jalatlaco, 68080 Oaxaca de Juarez. 

Gordon Cole-Schmidt is a public relations specialist and freelance journalist, advising and writing on companies and issues across multi-national communication programs.

USPS warns against using their blue mailboxes

Shared/by Dave Basner

 

When you have a stamped letter to send, you don’t always have to take it to the post office thanks to the thousands of blue mailboxes the United States Postal Service has installed on streets and corners across the country. However, even though the collection bins are incredibly convenient, it turns out they can also be a bit risky – so much so that the USPS has issued a warning to would-be mailers that the blue boxes might not be the best option.

The Postal Service explained in a press release that their blue bins have become hot spots for criminals looking to steal residents’ identities as well as their mailed checks. The crimes tend to happen at specific times and on specific days. The agency stated, “The biggest variable enticing these criminals to steal are customers depositing mail into blue collection boxes after the last collection of the day or during Sundays and federal holidays.”

So what should customers do? The USPS advises, “If customers simply used retail service or inside wall drop slots to send their U.S. Mail, instead of depositing it to sit outside overnight or through the weekend, blue collection boxes would not be as enticing after business hours to mail thieves for identity theft and check-washing schemes.”

In a list of tips, they also suggest, “The most secure way to send mail is through the local Post Office retail counter. If that is not feasible, the next safest way is to use the inside collection slots that deposit mail directly into the Post Office. If using the Postal Service’s outside blue collection boxes, never deposit mail after the last dispatch time. Each box has dispatch times printed on a label, and it will point you to the location for the latest pickup time in your area. Avoid depositing mail during the night, Sundays, and federal holidays.”

Since mail theft has become such a big issue, the Postal Service is hoping to incentivize customers to help put an end to it. They are offering rewards of up to $10,000 for anyone who submits a tip that helps them catch the bad guys. So stay alert and if you happen to see someone who doesn’t look like a postal employee rummaging through a collection bin, especially during non-postal work hours, report it to your local police or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.

 

Consumer Groups Question Bill to Regulate Car Sales, Repair

por Suzanne Potter

California News Service

 

Consumer groups are calling for changes to a proposed bill – needed to make sure drivers can continue to get free computer upgrades to repair serious car safety issues remotely. One of the provisions of Assembly Bill 473 would forbid car manufacturers from competing with car dealers regarding sales or service.

Rosemary Shahan, president, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the measure could have unintended consequences.

“So it’s a concern that it could be construed to mean that consumers could no longer get over-the-air repairs from the manufacturer. They’d have to take their car into the dealership, ” she said.

Over-the-air fixes are software updates that can be done remotely by the manufacturer. Other sections of the bill prevent manufacturers from charging subscription fees for things such as heated seats that are built into the vehicle. The bill would not apply to entertainment subscriptions such as Sirius-XM radio service.

The bill was sponsored by the California New Car Dealers Association. The group’s president, Brian Maas, said he is open to amendments to make it clear that over-the-air safety fixes are allowed.

“If it has to do with safety, and the manufacturer is not charging the customer, no problem, update the software over the air. But if it’s a feature of the car, that isn’t related to safety and they want to charge for it, the consumer should pay for that upfront when they buy the car,” he said.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a manufacturers’ trade group, said in a statement that “By prohibiting manufacturers from offering consumers subscription services for vehicle features, this bill limits consumer choice, stifles innovation, increases costs to consumers, and negatively impacts used car buyers.”

Shahan noted that car dealers are sponsoring similar legislation in multiple states. The bill’s author, Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar Curry, did not respond to a request for comment.

California approved $300 million in state-backed home loans. Who got the money?

por Alejandro Lazo and Ben Christopher

 

April 11, 2023 – California Democrats carved out the Dream for All money to help first-time buyers. The funds ran out after just 11 days with the average loan hitting $112,000.

California lawmakers marketed its new loan program for first-time home buyers as a “Dream For All.”

But just 11 days after applications opened, the initial pot of money is tapped out, sucked dry by eager house hunters. It turns out the dream was only for a lucky couple thousand borrowers — a disproportionate number of them white, non-Latino and living in the Sacramento area.

The Dream for All program was paused on April 6, less than two weeks after the California Housing Finance Agency said it would make the program available to lenders. About $288 million in initial funding will be provided to 2,564 homebuyers, according to an internal document obtained by CalMatters.

The complicated program involves the state paying some or all of the upfront costs for buying a home — namely, the down payment — in exchange for a share in the home’s value when it is sold, refinanced or transferred. If the home appreciates in value, those gains to the state would then be used to fund the next borrowers.

The program was meant, in part, to help address California’s ethnic and racial wealth gap, with Black and Latino families having fewer net assets than the national average. Participation in the program was limited to households earning less than 150 percent of median earnings in their county. According to the initial characteristics shown in the agency document obtained by CalMatters, roughly two-thirds of the beneficiaries went to those making less than $125,000. The average loan was a little more than $112,000.

But those figures also show that the program was disproportionately used by white homebuyers. Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, of San Diego, said in a statement Monday that the program was intended to reach those historically shut out of the housing market.

“While this program has been immensely successful in getting new homebuyers into the market quickly and in places with low homeownership rates like the Central Valley, clearly more work needs to be done to make sure that there is statewide awareness, particularly in communities of color,” Atkins said.

The fact that the program ran out of cash in a two week spree speaks to just how voracious demand is for housing in California. It also suggests that some of the people who made use of the program were already well into the house hunting process.

That raises an important question: How many of the people who benefited from the loan program actually needed the help and how many would have purchased a home anyway?

“I would guess that 30 to 50 percent of the people who are using it could qualify or buy without it because I had plenty like that,” said Matt Gougé, a Sacramento loan officer, referring to his own clients.

California prohibits affirmative action, limiting the housing agency’s ability to direct the money to communities of color.

“We’d like to do something we’re not allowed to do in California, and this is not the fault of CalHFA or anybody else,” said Micah Weinberg, chief executive of California Forward, a nonprofit hired by the state treasurer to create an initial framework for the program. “When those of us outside of government talked about what the intention of the program is — it is to really, very specifically, target those demographic communities, African Americans and others — who have been locked out of the homebuyer marketplace for a variety of different reasons.”

“You actually can’t do that directly in California“

Who got California first-time homebuyer loans?

Demographic data in the document obtained by CalMatters showed that 65 percent of initial buyers identified as white, 18 percent as Asian, 4 percent as Black, 1 percent as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and 1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native. Ethnically, 62 percent of homebuyers identified as not Hispanic or Latino while about 34 percent did. The document indicated that some of the data was preliminary and might change once all the transactions closed.

Eric Johnson, an agency spokesman, confirmed on Monday that the program would be paused until more funding could be allocated. He pointed to the fact that 25 percent of homeowners in California are of Hispanic or Latino origin, and said the fact that 34 percent of the loans were made to these groups meant the program was “outperforming in that category.” Asian families make up about 16 percent and Black families about 4 percent.

That means the program initially outperformed with white and Latino homebuyers and did a bit better than average with Asian families but only matched the average with Black buyers.

“The program is doing a pretty decent job of representing California,” Johnson said, though he agreed that there is “definitely a gigantic wealth and homeownership gap” and that the program is aimed at addressing that issue.

Sacramento leads the pack

Geographically, the funds weren’t spread out evenly across the state either.

Sacramento County, home to the state capital, received 11 percent of the program’s funds, despite making up just 4 percent of the state population. Los Angeles County, in contrast, received 9 percent of the money, despite being home to a quarter of all Californians. Johnson, of CalHFA, said Sacramento County consistently sees higher participation rates than other counties, and that the overrepresentation of loans from the county “tracks with our other loan programs.”

That geographic disparity is hard to explain. Ryan Lundquist, a Sacramento appraiser and real estate analyst, said the demographics and current price trends across the region make Sacramento County “a prime target for first time buyers” and therefore a natural beneficiary of the program.

Gougé, the local loan officer, said news of the program spread by word-of-mouth throughout the capital community in the days before the state officially launched the program on March 27. The regional rumor mill may have been churning especially quickly given how much more plugged-in locals are to matters of state bureaucracy.

“Sacramento and the surrounding area’s loan officers and Realtors probably got a jump start,” he said.

While the initial funding for the program might be tapped out, the size and scope of the Dream for All program will likely be a subject of negotiations between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature. In January, Newsom proposed a significantly smaller version of the 10-year, $10 billion program originally envisioned by Sen. Atkins. The governor proposed spending an initial $300 million on the program, a cut from the $500 million compromise signed last year.

Atkins, in her statement, told CalMatters that she was seeking to get more funding for the program in upcoming budget negotiations. The governor is expected to offer a revised state spending plan and a new financial forecast in May. Lawmakers must pass a balanced budget by June 15 in order to get paid.

Alejandro joined CalMatters from The Wall Street Journal, where he covered the West Coast for eight years.

Ben covers housing policy and previously covered California politics and elections.

 

Number of Mexicans deported from US up 41 percent from 2022

photo: Migrants attempting to cross the Mexico-U.S. border in Ciudad Juárez. (Nacho Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

 

by the El Reportero‘s wire services

 

The number of Mexicans deported from the U.S. increased by 41 percent during the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2022.

According to the Interior Ministry (Segob), 43,152 Mexicans were deported during January and February. Just over half of those deportations, or 23,860, occurred in February, up from 19,292 in January.

Segob data indicates that Chiapas was the top state of origin for people repatriated in the first two months of this year, at 5,110, followed by Guerrero, with 4,088; Oaxaca, with 3,665; Puebla, with 3,514; Veracruz, with 3,451; and Guanajuato, with 2,575.

Deported individuals are returned to Mexico’s northern border states. So far this year, the most common point of repatriation has been Baja California, where 17,216 were recorded. This is equal to nearly 40 percent of all repatriations.

Almost all of those Baja California repatriations, 14,882, occurred through the El Chaparral Tijuana-San Diego port of entry. Tamaulipas follows closely behind, with 13,036. The other border states of Sonora and Coahuila saw 7,336 and 4,003 repatriations respectively.

In total, there are 12 official repatriation points, with exceptions made if the deportee is a resident of certain border communities that are not an official point of return, in which case the return will occur there.

Over 85 percent of the individuals returned to Mexico were male, and nearly all (90 percent) were over 18 years of age.

Of the 4,298 repatriated minors, their ages broke down along the following lines:

– 3,656 were between the ages of 12 and 17. 423 of this group were not accompanied by an adult.

– 642 were children younger than 11, and 35 of them had traveled to the U.S. border alone.

The number of deported individuals under 18 increased 2.65 percent during the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2022.

The repatriation of Mexicans from the United States has risen substantially in recent years, showing a 60.1 percent increase between 2021 and 2022.

With reports from El Economista and Infobae.

 

Nicaragua’s housing project with China: what it means for the country’s future

 

Share from/by Tico Times

 

April 17, 2023 – Nicaragua on Sunday began building thousands of subsidized housing units with Chinese aid in the first such major project since the countries established diplomatic relations in 2021.

The plan – launched with China’s International Development Cooperation Agency, whose director Luo Zhaohui arrived in Nicaragua Friday — calls for building just over 12,000 housing units around the country.

“This is a truly historic day. This is a program that is going to benefit thousands of Nicaraguan families,” Laureano Ortega Murillo, a presidential adviser on trade and investment and the son of Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Nicaragua and China established diplomatic relations in 2021 after Managua severed ties with Taiwan and switched its recognition to Beijing.

Since then the two sides have signed memoranda to promote Chinese investment in the impoverished Central American country.

In addition to the $60 million housing project, China has said it will also build power plants and has other plans in the areas of culture, health and education, among others.

Chinese diplomacy has made headway in Central America, most recently in March when Honduras switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

The move prompted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to visit Guatemala and Belize, its only remaining allies in the region, two weeks ago.

Once in Oaxaca: meet Australian artist and gallerist Jaime Levin

photo: Levin, an expat artist and architect, is making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. (@Bucketlistbri/Instagram)

 

Jaime Levin is a 29-year-old expat artist and architect making a name for himself in Oaxaca city with his gallery and café, Once in Oaxaca. In this profile, Levin talks about why he swapped the Australian coast and an architecture career in Denmark for living the Mexican dream in Oaxaca

 

Shared from/by Gordon Cole-Schmidt

 

From murals adorning stone walls of several city hotspots, to hand-drawn city maps in bustling cafes and restaurants, Levin’s work is never far from the view of keen-eyed tourists and residents of the city.

In March, he celebrated one year since opening his own gallery, and he has exciting plans for expansion across Mexico.

On the table at his café where we meet to chat, there are two elegant carrot cupcakes from chef Miri Cole and an espresso from local coffee roasting company Nómada. Next to the coffee machine, I can see Levin’s famous city maps, his illustrated children’s book and custom-designed mezcal bottles.

We’re in Barrio de Jalatlaco — the second oldest, and arguably, the most trendy neighborhood in the city.

“When I first arrived in Oaxaca in 2019, I was delivering sandwiches for a coffee shop and had a rough plan to stay and learn Spanish. Then I discovered the architecture here, and it blew me away. The buildings, streets, ceramics, everything … I spent my free time drawing the city in my sketchbook,” Levin explains.

“I was meeting lots of different local people on my delivery runs and started speaking to them in broken Spanish about my drawings. I found the people of Oaxaca were really taken by my drawings of buildings they grew up with. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I felt there was a connection there.”

Running his own gallery and creating his artistic brand, which has garnered thousands of followers on Instagram, wasn’t a formal plan. It started when Levin decided to turn his sketches into postcards.

He stands up from our table to dash inside to bring me his first collection of pocket-sized drawings.

“I showed cafés these drawings of their buildings, and they were very happy to put them for sale next to the bread and pastries.”

Six months later, the onset of the pandemic caused Levin’s life — like most of ours — to take unexpected turns. With cafés and restaurants closing, the demand for his drawings fell and he needed to adapt quickly.

“For several long evenings, I talked for hours with friends who owned cafés — which were forced to close — about what we could do to keep their businesses alive,” he said. “The conversations all seemed to point to one avenue — growing a social media presence.”

This marked a turning point in Levin’s career in Mexico. Under the name “Once in Oaxaca,” he began uploading his illustrations on Instagram, growing a loyal following of local people, businesses and tourists. At the same time, he started an Etsy shop and began selling his art and accepting commissions for larger works.

“It was a crazy time, but it helped me realize [that] opening my own physical gallery had to be the project’s next step.”

During the summer of 2021, he found the ideal location for his first gallery.

“This space was a blank canvas. It was the first time I could design a commercial space in Oaxaca, and my architectural mind was going wild! I designed every detail in there, from the chairs [and] tables to individual shelves and wall hangings,” he said. “I loved meeting people who could help me realize the vision, and this really showed me the huge potential in collaborating with other creatives here.”

Almost an hour into our conversation, as he begins to tell me about his favorite collaboration — a children’s book illustrated and launched with speech therapist, Viri Pacheco to help young children overcome speech impediments — we’re interrupted by two friendly faces who congratulate Levin on his one-year anniversary.

A steady flow of locals and tourists have been arriving since the café opened an hour ago at 8 a.m. The place won’t close its doors for another 12 hours — a routine Levin keeps seven days per week, all year round.

“It’s hard work, but I love the process of growing, and my team is fantastic. I need to give my time to give it the best chance of success,” he said.

Following the rapid growth of Once in Oaxaca, Levin opened his second creative space — Micha — six months later in October 2022 with his girlfriend Ingrid Flores, a designer who is working on clothing and furniture design. He says that he hopes to expand nationally, into Mexico City and Mérida.

I ask what drives his obsessive work ethic and what motivates him.

“I’m not from here, but when Oaxacan people come by who know the buildings I’ve drawn and tell me they love the way I’ve captured it, in a way a photo can’t … to me, that’s the coolest thing ever,” he said.

“I don’t think the project would have been possible in Australia or in Denmark,” he added. “I feel so much more free to work creatively here, and the support and guidance has been fantastic.

“I feel like anything is possible!”

  • Once in Oaxaca is located at Curtidurias 121C, Barrio de Jalatlaco, 68080 Oaxaca de Juarez. 

Gordon Cole-Schmidt is a public relations specialist and freelance journalist, advising and writing on companies and issues across multi-national communication programs.

AMLO criticizes DEA for unauthorized operations in Mexico

by Mexico News Daily

 

President López Obrador has accused the United States government of “abusive interference” and espionage after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that it had infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that it had unsealed charges against 28 high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel members, including three known as “Los Chapitos” – the children of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told a press conference that the DEA “proactively infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and the Chapitos network” over the past year and a half. The law enforcement agency “obtained unprecedented access to the organization’s highest levels, and followed them across the world,” she said.

Milgram also said that the Chapitos, one of whom is the recently-detained Ovidio Guzmán, “pioneered the manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl, … flooded it into the United States for the past eight years and killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.”

López Obrador said Monday that the DEA carried out its infiltration operation in Mexico without the authorization of federal authorities. He pledged to raise the issue with the United States.

“There can’t be foreign agents in our country, no. We can share information, but those who can intervene [in Mexico] are elements of the Mexican Army, the Navy, the National Guard and the federal Attorney General’s Office,” he said.

López Obrador said that the DEA’s infiltration of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico amounted to “arrogant” and “abusive interference” that “mustn’t be accepted under any circumstances.”

“How can they be spying! … Acts of espionage cannot be used,” he said.

“It’s not the same time as before. I’ve already said it here — during the government of Felipe Calderón … [the United States] brought everything but the kitchen sink into the country; they were allowed [to]. They had an overly intense relationship with the Ministry of the Navy, and the time came when it wasn’t cooperation but rather subordination of the …navy to the United States agencies,” López Obrador said.

He said that the United States Department of State and Department of Justice need to “put things in order” because “everything is very loose.”

The president questioned how the U.S. government could “blindly trust” DEA agents when “it is proven that many of them — or some, so as not to exaggerate — maintain, or maintained, links with organized crime.”

López Obrador specifically cited the case of the DEA’s former top official in Mexico, Nicholas Palmeri, who was ousted last year due to improper contact with lawyers for drug traffickers.

He also spoke about U.S. government links to Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s former federal security minister under former President Felipe Calderón. García Luna was convicted in New York on drug trafficking charges in February.

López Obrador’s condemnation of the U.S. government’s “interference” in Mexico comes just days after high-ranking officials from the two countries met in Washington D.C. to discuss bilateral security cooperation, especially joint efforts to combat the trafficking of synthetic drugs and firearms.

The president said that the DEA’s unauthorized infiltration operation in Mexico would not affect the ongoing security cooperation, but he rebuked the U.S. government for perpetuating its “bad habits” of the past.

He said last month that the U.S. government thinks it is “the government of the world,” but he has avoided making any direct criticism of President Joe Biden.

 

US brings charges against Sinaloa Cartel, including Los Chapitos

The United States Department of Justice announced on Friday that it had unsealed charges against 28 high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel members, including three known as “Los Chapitos” — the children of jailed former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

To date, Ovidio Guzmán is the only one of the three of Guzman’s sons who has been detained. He is currently in custody in Mexico and has been fighting extradition to the United States.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that seven other defendants named in the indictments were already in custody in other countries and that they were pursuing over 100 more people charged with helping Los Chapitos’ Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl operation “flood the U.S.” with the deadly synthetic drug.

The three “Chapitos” — a nickname meaning “little Chapos” — are Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar. They run a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as its most violent.

The U.S. government is also offering a reward of US $10,000 for information leading to the capture of any one of Los Chapitos.

The full roster of individuals charged includes operators around the world who the DOJ says are responsible for – among other crimes – drug and weapons trafficking, buying chemical precursors for fentanyl, money laundering, murder, extortion, kidnapping and torture, all in order to operate the complex networks needed to ensure the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking operation continues to function.

The charges have been filed by federal courts in Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia.

“Today, the Justice Department is announcing significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world – run by the Sinaloa Cartel and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies,” Garland announced at a press conference late Friday morning.

Garland said that the charges attacked “every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” seeking arrests of people around the world. In addition to Los Chapitos, the list of those charged includes:

  • Suppliers in China who sell fentanyl precursors to the cartel
  • A Guatemalan-based broker who purchases the precursor chemicals on behalf of the cartel
  • Operators of the Sinaloa Cartel’s clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico
  • A weapons trafficker who supplies the cartel with arms smuggled from the U.S.
  • Money launderers who the DOJ says helps the cartel move money internationally
  • Members of the Sinaloa Cartel who serve as brutal security enforcers

The DOJ also revealed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and has spent a year and a half tracking the highest levels of the group across the world.

“Today’s indictments send a clear message to the Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel, and criminal drug networks around the world that the DEA will stop at nothing to protect the national security of the United States and the safety and health of the American people,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram at a press conference Friday afternoon.

In February, Milgram told reporters that Mexico could be doing more to combat the Sinaloa and the Jalisco New Generation cartels.

Fentanyl seizures in the U.S. have increased by more than 400% since 2019, according to U.S. government officials, and 2023 has already seen more fentanyl seized to date than in the entirety of 2022.

The Department of Justice regards Los Chapitos as a significant piece of the fentanyl trafficking problem. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), they are responsible for the majority of the drug currently in the United States.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the surge of fentanyl into the United States over the last eight years,” Garland said.

The indictments describe in detail the cartel’s brutality and callousness — and its prioritization of financial gain at all times, even when they knew the drugs they were sending to the U.S. would prove fatal.

Los Chapitos’ security forces, said Garland, also regularly engage in torture and brutal acts of violence, Garland said, including injecting victims with massive doses of fentanyl until they overdose and feeding people to the Chapitos’ pet tigers.

The wide-ranging charges come as pressure intensifies on Mexico to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The two countries held high-level meetings on Thursday in Washington D.C. to discuss how best to work together to combat the trafficking of both synthetic drugs like fentanyl and weapons.

According to U.S. government data, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between ages 18 and 39 and led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people from overdoses between 2021 and 2022 — almost 300 per day.

With reporting by the Department of Justice, AP News, Latinus and NPR

US judge orders Peru ex-leader detained for extradition

Shared from/by Olga R. Rodríguez

 

A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique to surrender to federal agents after an appeals court denied his latest motion to stop his extradition back to Peru, where he faces charges he accepted millions of dollars in bribes.

Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson in San Francisco ordered Toledo, who has been under house arrest, to turn himself in Friday to U.S. Marshal agents in San Jose. Toledo will be placed in a San Mateo County jail while he awaits extradition to his native country, where authorities say he accepted bribes as part of a mammoth corruption scandal in which four of Peru’s ex-presidents have been implicated. Toledo denies the charges.
Federal prosecutors have said Peruvian officials will travel to California to pick up Toledo and fly him back to Peru. When that will happen was not immediately known. Hixson’s order comes after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Toledo’s latest effort to stay his extradition.

Toledo, 77, is accused of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a giant Brazilian construction company that has admitted to U.S. authorities that it bribed officials to win contracts throughout Latin America for decades. He had sought a stay on his extradition pending a legal challenge to the U.S. State Department’s decision to send him back to Peru.

On Wednesday, Tamara Crepet, one of Toledo’s defense attorneys, asked Hixson to delay the former president’s extradition until Tuesday so he could see his psychiatrist one last time but the judge sided with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Waldinger who asked that he be placed in custody as soon as possible.

“He is elderly and does have health issues … and he’s always going to have medical appointments coming up no matter when the extradition is,” Waldinger said.

Toledo, who was Peru’s president from 2001-2006, was arrested in July 2019 at his home in Menlo Park, California. He was initially held in solitary confinement at the Santa Rita Jail about 40 miles (60 kilometers) east of San Francisco, but was released in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his deteriorating mental health. He has been under house arrest since then.

The Odebrecht corruption scandal has shaken Peru’s politics, with nearly every living former president now on trial or under investigation.
Former President Ollanta Humala is standing trial on charges that he and his wife received over $3 million from Odebrecht for his presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who left office in 2018, is under house arrest for similar charges.

Former leader Alan García, in office from 2006-2011, fatally shot himself in the head in 2019 as police arrived at his home to arrest him.

 

Stunning Photo Resurfaces of Skyscrapers Lit Up with Crosses on Good Friday in 1956

Faith leaders and ordinary Americans are stunned by a spectacular public display of Christian faith that lit up the skyscrapers of New York City on Good Friday in 1956 and resurfaced on social media this week.

“It’s a very powerful image,” Alex McFarland, president of McFarland Ministries in North Carolina, told Fox News Digital.

“My heart was moved to think about that time when publicly and culturally we were not ashamed to invoke not only God, but invoke Jesus Christ.”

The photo shows three Wall Street skyscrapers emblazoned with bright crosses — lights turned on inside each building to illuminate the image of the cherished Christian symbol against the darkness of unlit rooms and the night sky around them.

Each cross measured 150 feet tall.

The trio of towers with crosses appears to create the effect of Jesus crucified on Calvary on Good Friday beside two thieves, one who mocks the Savior, according to the Gospel of Luke, and the other who repents and asks to be taken into the Kingdom of Christ.

It’s a moment and an image at the very core of Christianity.

But the values upon which the nation was founded appear not only to be waning today, but under direct assault by politicians, pop culture, education and academia.

“My heart was moved to think about that time when publicly and culturally we were not ashamed to invoke not only God, but invoke Jesus Christ.” — Alex McFarland

“A mere 65 years ago, New York City celebrated the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus’ death on Calvary for all to see. There is no question the nation has performed a complete transformation, and not for the better,” Patti Garibay, founder of American Heritage Girls in Cincinnati, told Fox News Digital.

She called the image of the skyscrapers with crosses “otherworldly.”

Last month, a poll from The Wall Street Journal found that just 39% of Americans say their religious faith is very important to them, compared with 62% as recently as 1998.

The nation’s rejection of Judeo-Christian values has been accompanied by a breakdown of basic and once-sacred building blocks of society, including the family.

In 1950, only 5% of U.S children lived in single-parent homes, according to federal data.

Today, that figure is 38% among non-immigrant families, and as high as 50% in some states.

“Religious faith and its public expression were once readily welcomed in American society.” — Fr. Jeffrey Kirby

The breakdown of the family creates a whole slew of related social ills, including crime, poverty and failures in education.

“The fruit of evil is chaos, disorder and confusion,” Rabbi Kirt Schneider of Ohio, author of “Messianic Prophecy Today” and host of the TV program, “Discovering the Jewish Jesus,” told Fox News Digital.

“Everything is compromised. Everybody thinks their moral standing is more compassionate than the word of God.”

He cited the so-called “gender-fluid” movement as an example of this chaos — and conveyed his belief that people are so lost without foundational values they can no longer accept the reality of gender as created by God and defined by science.

“The vacuum is filled by chaos,” he said.

Rabbi Schneider said he was immediately uneasy upon seeing the overt displays of Christian faith in the photos of the New York City skyscrapers — and understands why others might have felt same in 1956.

“The image might have struck in hearts of many Jewish people because they had been persecuted over the centuries” and often by Christians, the rabbi said.

But the image from 1956 sets in relief the state of society today that has swung recklessly too far the other way — not only unwilling to publicly display faith in God, but rejecting and mocking that faith.

“People have drifted away from God’s word,” said the rabbi. “They’re no longer willing to stand on the foundation this country was founded upon.”

The photo of the skyscrapers in the financial heart of the nation was sent over the wire by United Press Telephoto and appeared in newspapers around the United States — often front page center.

“Religious faith and its public expression were once readily welcomed in American society,” Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Indian Land, South Carolina, told Fox News Digital.

“The onslaught of aggressive secularism, however, has sadly robbed us of this aspect of our humanity. Rather than being encouraged, religious expression is actively suppressed and dismissed.”

Said McFarland, “The historical record is that our country was founded by Christians on Christian principles. Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our advocacy for human rights around the world, the foundation of our faith in human rights, were birthed with Christian DNA.”

Poncho Sánchez in concert in California

by Magdy Zara

 

Idelfonso Pablo Sánchez, better known as Poncho Sánchez, is a percussionist (conguero), salsa player and leader of a prominent Latin jazz and Cuban music band, whom you will have the pleasure of meeting at his next performance in California.

This event will also be attended by Francis Mercier, owner of the Moperc drum factory; in addition to Gammy winners Javier Cabanillas and Giancarlo Anderson.

This musical experience with two percussion geniuses will take place on April 14 and 15

at Yoshi’s Oakland, located at 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, CA, beginning at 4:30 p.m. m., the cost of tickets is $30 per person, for more information register at Yoshis.com.

 

California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Hold Annual Business Policy Summit

As is customary for the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, they will host their long-awaited 2023 Business Policy Summit. This annual summit is known as the premier legislative conference for California’s small businesses, Hispanic and diverse communities, in order to learn and participate in the key policy issues and dynamics that impact the growth of California’s economy.

During this activity, business priorities will be raised, key policy solutions will be promoted that benefit their members, communities and small businesses in California.

The Summit is about politics, not partisanship, and will feature leading members from both sides of the political spectrum, who will update participants on the latest actions, initiatives and priorities at the state Capitol. Attendees will participate in briefings on policy issues and network with members of the legislature and Capitol Hill experts, gaining a first-hand perspective on California’s political and legislative environment.

This summit will take place next Wednesday, April 19 of the current year, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Registration will be open from 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, located at 1230 J Street, Sacramento.

 

Open dance floor with Edgardo & Candela

The San Francisco Bay Area-based Salsa Candela band, an orchestra with a track record of over 36 years, is one of California’s most established salsa bands.

How much with the masterful execution of the piano, bass, trombone, sax, flute, guitar, conga, bongo, timbales and vocalists.

Better known simply as “Candela”, their trademark is their high-energy performance, with great vocals, a tight rhythm section and the powerful sound of horns. The band features the Bay Area’s crop of professional musicians, making for an incredible musical experience every time they play!

They narrate that the name of this group comes from the fact that in the past the drummers lit a small bonfire in the street curve, to warm up and tune their congas and other types of hand drums to “give fire to the drum.”

The name Candela has well described the energy and intensity of the live performances of this San Francisco Bay Area Salsa Band.

This open dance class will be prior to the Rueda con Ritmo show, to be held on Friday, April 28, starting at 8 p.m.

 

Venezuelan Conductor Rafael Payare Debuts with the SF Symphony Orchestra

Rafael Payare, after becoming the first Venezuelan and the youngest conductor to conduct the Indian Symphony Orchestra, undertakes a new challenge and soon makes his debut with one of the most important musical groups in North America, such as the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

The 2022 – 2023 season will include a live recording of Strauss’ Don Quixote with the Philharmonia Orchestra for the Pentatone label with his wife, the cellist, Alisa Weilerstein. As well as debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

Payare will conduct the SF Symphony Orchestra, as part of the tour of the violinist Hilary Hanh, who plays the fiery violin concerto by Johannes Brahms. In his San Francisco Symphony debut Rafael Payare conducts Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, an impassioned portrait of the man’s successes and failures, told with dramatic flair. And Darker America, by William Grant Still, depicts the journey of African Americans from grief to triumph.

Payare is characterized by his profound musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic podium presence, which has elevated him as one of the most in-demand conductors.

This concert will be at the Davies Symphony Hall, during the days, 11, 12 and 13 of May, tickets for the Davies Symphony concerts can be purchased through sfsymphony.org or by calling the box office of the San Francisco Symphony at 415-864-6000.

The Davies Symphony Hallis is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

Works by Venezuelan Oswaldo Vigas are exhibited at the Boca Raton Museum in Miami

by Magdy Zara

 

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Venezuelan painter, Oswaldo Vigas, the exhibition named Oswaldo Vigas: Paintings between Latin America, Africa and Europe, a collection of works created by by the artist.

This exhibition has been organized by his son Lorenzo Vigas and shows works that the artist painted in Paris in the 1950s, and in Venezuela between 1969 -1976.

This exhibition is part of a series of tributes in various cities and continents, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Oswaldo Vigas (1923-2014), recognized as one of the most prolific and influential Latin American painters in the world. The exhibition in South Florida will kick off an extensive schedule of activities internationally over the next 12 months, in collaboration with various institutions and museums.

He was a self-taught painter and muralist, whose works by him include paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, ceramics, and tapestries. The artist participated in more than 100 individual exhibitions, and his work is part of numerous public institutions and private collections around the world.

The aforementioned exhibition presents several works never previously exhibited in the United States.

Vigas is known as one of the most prolific and influential Venezuelan painters of the 20th century, who was recognized for his vision of the Americas and his singular pride in his mestizo identity, along with the history, mythology and ancient art of Venezuela, mixed with influences of European modernism.

The artist is considered a towering figure of modernism in Latin America, with a career spanning seven decades. His first solo exhibition in the United States was in 1958 in Washington, D.C.; He was twice awarded the International Association of Art Critics Award (in 2008 and 2014) and received the Latin Union Award in Washington, DC in 2004.

Vigas was a contemporary of Picasso, Ernst, Léger, Calder, and Lam, and lived with these artists while living in Paris during the 1950s and 1960s (especially Picasso, who encouraged Vigas to reflect on his ancestral origins in his work).

He was the first artist to represent Venezuela at the Venice Biennale when its national pavilion was inaugurated in 1954, and again in 1962 when he organized the Venezuelan section. He achieved success in France where his works were exhibited alongside artists such as Jean Arp, Chagall, Giacometti, Laurens, Magritte, Matisse and others.

The artist definitely returned to Venezuela after 12 years because he wanted to contribute to the artistic development of his country using the knowledge he acquired in Europe. Some believe that this decision prevented him from getting the international attention achieved by his contemporaries in Paris at the time.

The Oswaldo Vigas: Paintings between Latin America, Africa and Europe exhibition will be on view through May 21 in South Florida, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, located between Miami and Palm Beach.

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