More Than 3,000 Men Deployed Against Criminal Gangs in Colombia
Over the weekend, more than three thousand members of the Army, the Marines, and the police began an offensive aimed at arresting the leaders of criminal gangs in the service of drug traffickers in northern Colombia, a police spokesperson revealed on 6 February. “What we estimate is that acting directly against the criminal gangs, independently of the security detachments in the area, there are at least three thousand personnel,” nearly one thousand of whom are from the police, the director of that institution, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, told Bogotá radio station Radio Caracol. The operation, named “Troy,” is planned for the next ninety days and is an action that should make it possible “to arrest the criminal gangs’ leaders and bosses, but also members of the rank-and-file and common criminals in the gangs’ orbit,” Naranjo indicated. The general affirmed that “the priority is neutralizing these criminals, who are posing a grave threat to the communities and defying the authorities, and who, in addition, generate not only violence, but also processes of corruption in the regions.” According to Naranjo, the operation will cover an extensive area in the departments of Antioquia, Córdoba, and Sucre (in northwestern and northern Colombia), where there is a strategic corridor that drug traffickers have traditionally sought to control in order to move drugs to the Pacific. The three thousand personnel from the police, the Army, and the Marines are being joined by units from the Investigative Technical Corps (CTI) of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the intelligence service, and the Judicial Police. The operation was ordered by President Juan Manuel Santos, who on 6 February, upon establishing a National Security Council, said that the issue of criminal gangs (Bacrim) required “comprehensive and effective action by the entire state” and lamented the lack of effective law enforcement against their members. “Out of the total number of members of those gangs who are arrested, only 12% are convicted, and of that 12%, only a small percentage are convicted of belonging to those criminal gangs,” he specified. After indicating that those criminals are often convicted of crimes not punished by mandatory prison terms, Santos said that his administration has observed “failure at every stage of the state’s action.” “And for this reason, what we’ve proposed in this council is to strengthen the weak links in that chain,” the president announced. The Colombian Catholic Church also made a statement about these gangs on the same day, at the beginning of the Colombian bishops’ annual conference. The secretary of the conference, Msgr. Juan Vicente Córdoba, said that in the case of the Bacrim, “there wouldn’t be a possibility other than that they submit to justice,” a reference to messages that gang leaders have conveyed to high-ranking Catholic clergy with regard to possible negotiations with the government for their demobilization. Msgr. Julio Cesar Vidal, the bishop of Montería, the capital of the department of Córdoba (in northern Colombia), the most impacted by these criminal groups, said in this regard that “they (Bacrim members) don’t want a situation similar to the one in Mexico; they just want the Church to help them open a space for them to turn themselves in to the government.” The Catholic prelate explained that “they’re not asking for dialogue commissions, as was done with the United Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC, extreme right-wing armed groups), nor for special laws; they’re asking for a space, and that space needs to be given to them, because they’re not one, two, or three people, they’re more than five thousand people.” According to the government, these gangs, the majority of which are made up of members of demobilized extreme right-wing paramilitary groups and which are in the service of drug traffickers, are present in at least sixteen of the country’s thirty-two departments. By Dialogo February 09, 2011
August 17, 2018 After Touring Damage, Governor Wolf Declares Recent Flooding a Disaster, Will Seek Federal Aid SHARE Email Facebook Twitter
Press Release, Weather Safety Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Tom Wolf signed a proclamation of disaster emergency for the commonwealth in response to a series of severe rain storms over the past week that caused flash flooding and ensuing damage to homes and businesses throughout much of north and central portions of the state. Governor Wolf has personally toured communities hit hard by the storms in Schuylkill, Bradford and Delaware counties.“Pennsylvanians in portions of the state hardest hit by heavy rains and subsequent flooding need to know that the state is doing all that it can to help and for that reason I am signing this disaster declaration,” Gov. Wolf said. “This allows the state to seek federal funding for damages and frees up the red tape that can be associated with procuring necessary supplies and services during emergency clean-up.“Touring these flooded areas and speaking with those affected only confirmed my decision that we need this declaration to enlist all possible help.”The proclamation is a necessary step in order to ask for a federal disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency if damages meet the federal threshold criteria.“Over the past few days, Governor Wolf and I have heard firsthand the stories of these survivors and I am amazed by their resilience,” said PEMA Director Rick Flinn. “At the same time, I know that some people have been hit with flooding more than once this summer, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to help them.”It is important to note that the proclamation does not restrict vehicular travel on commonwealth roads, but motorists in areas impacted by flooding are encouraged to allow extra time for travel if roads have not yet been opened.The proclamation authorizes state agencies to use all available resources and personnel, as necessary, to cope with the magnitude and severity of this emergency situation. The time-consuming bidding and contract procedures, as well as other formalities normally prescribed by law, are waived for the duration of the proclamation.In addition, the proclamation authorizes the Department of Transportation to waive regulations related to drivers of commercial vehicles in order to ensure the timely movement of commodities, particularly food.It also provides consumer protections against price gouging by prohibiting companies from charging a price for consumer goods or services that exceeds 20 percent of the average price that the consumer goods or services were sold for in the seven days preceding the effective date of the governor’s proclamation.“As the clean-up continues, Pennsylvanians need to know that my Administration is doing everything it can to help those suffering from this devastating weather emergency,” Gov. Wolf said.The full proclamation text is below.Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaGOVERNOR’S OFFICEPROCLAMATION OF DISASTER EMERGENCYAugust 17, 2018WHEREAS, an anomalous weather pattern has produced, and continues to produce, slow-moving storms with significant and record-breaking rainfall and subsequent rounds of flash, creek, and river flooding that first began to impact the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on July 21, 2018; andWHEREAS, the series of slow-moving storms impacted, and continues to impact the entirety of the Commonwealth with relentless rain, hitting portions of central and eastern Pennsylvania with up to 23.0” of rainfall; andWHEREAS, this emergency event prompted affected county and municipal governments to declare local disaster emergencies due to the severe flash flooding; andWHEREAS, the emergency event was of such magnitude or severity as to render essential the Commonwealth’s supplementation of county and municipal efforts and resources and the activation of all applicable state, county and municipal emergency response plans.NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to the provisions of section §7301(c) of the Emergency Management Services Code, 35 Pa. C.S. § 7101 et seq., I do hereby proclaim the existence of a disaster emergency in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.FURTHER, I authorized and directed that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director or designee assume command and control of all statewide emergency operations, and that all Commonwealth departments and agencies, under the direction of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director or designee, utilize all available resources and personnel as was deemed necessary to cope with the magnitude and severity of this emergency event.FURTHER, I hereby transfer up to $6,000,000 in unused appropriated funds to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, to be increased or decreased as conditions require for expenses authorized and incurred related to this emergency pursuant to section 1508 of the Act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, NO.176) (the Fiscal Code), 72 P.S. § 1508. These funds shall be credited to a special account established by the Office of the Budget. All Commonwealth agencies purchasing supplies or services in response to this emergency are authorized to utilize the emergency procurement procedures set forth in section 516 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 Pa. C.S. §516. This Proclamation shall serve as the written determination of the basis for the emergency under 62 Pa. C.S. §516; andFURTHER, I hereby directed the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to staff the Commonwealth Response Coordination Center as necessary for the duration of the emergency event and to augment it with personnel from other state agencies and departments. I also authorized the Agency to direct and coordinate the emergency response, recovery, and mitigation activities of other state agencies and departments as deemed necessary to deal with the exigencies of this disaster emergency through implementation of the State Emergency Operations Plan; andFURTHER, I hereby authorized the Secretary of Transportation to use all available equipment, resources, and personnel of the Department, in whatever manner that she deems necessary, to ensure that all state highways in the areas that may be affected by the emergency event are cleared of debris and any other obstructions resulting from this event and to ensure that highways, bridges, roadbeds, and related facilities and structures, including federal-aid highways, that sustained damage in the disaster affected areas are immediately repaired, maintained, reconstructed, or replaced, or that new construction is undertaken where necessary; andFURTHER, I hereby suspend the provisions of any other regulatory statute prescribing the procedures for conduct of Commonwealth business, or the orders, rules or regulations of any Commonwealth agency, if strict compliance with the provisions of any statute, order, rule or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with this emergency event. All Commonwealth agencies may implement their emergency assignments without regard to procedures required by other laws, except mandatory constitutional requirements, pertaining to the performance of public work, entering into contracts, incurring of obligations, employment of temporary workers, rental of equipment, purchase of supplies and materials, and expenditures of public funds.GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, this 17th day of August in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Commonwealth the two hundred and forty-third.Tom WolfGovernor
NBA playoffs 2019: Ben Simmons ‘exceptional’ as Sixers take series lead against Nets Before last game, Joel Embiid said his knee is getting better ‘slowly but surely,’ but that there is a balance between not doing too much & not doing too little.After sitting Game 3, Embiid is listed as doubtful for Game 4.— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 19, 2019Embiid missed 14 of Philadelphia’s last 24 regular season games in hopes of improving the condition of his knee. But according to Embiid, the pain has gotten worse.Despite not being 100 percent, the big man is averaging 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game in two games vs. the Nets. He missed his first game of the postseason on Thursday, when the 76ers claimed a 131-115 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn. Related News In Embiid’s absence, Ben Simmons erupted for a career night. Simmons posted a postseason career-high 31 points, four rebounds and nine assists with Greg Monroe filling in for Embiid in the post. NBA playoffs wrap 2019: 76ers win without Joel Embiid; Warriors bounce back in big way vs. Clippers
Tobias Harris, who’s had a relatively quiet series, totaled 29 points while JJ Redick chipped in with 26. Heads turned when the 76ers were upset by the Nets in Game 1, but now their offensive versatility is baring its teeth. It’s not ideal, but Philadelphia could prove it can be a serious threat, even without the physically imposing Embiid wreaking havoc on both ends.If Philadelphia can steal another game in Brooklyn, it’ll have a chance to shut the series down in the Wells Fargo Center in Game 5. Some extra rest could prove to be beneficial for Embiid and the rest of the team. Joel Embiid could miss his second consecutive playoff game on Saturday.The 76ers star’s knee soreness has caused him to be listed as doubtful for Game 4 against the Nets, according to an NBC Sports report.