by tyler | May 17, 2023 | americas, CNN
A member of the security team protecting Prince Harry and Meghan has described a “chaotic” chase in New York involving paparazzi photographers on Tuesday, saying it could have ended with fatalities.
Speaking exclusively to CNN, Chris Sanchez said the Sussexes were chased by photographers after leaving the Women of Vision Awards at the city’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. In the end, no-one was injured and the couple arrived safely, but shaken, at the apartment where they were staying, he said.
“I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles,” Sanchez told CNN’s Max Foster..
“The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. They were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine (carrying the couple) and started taking pictures until we were able to get out,” he added.
Police said the incident was “challenging” but there were no collisions and no-one was hurt.
Sanchez said he “was concerned about the principals (Prince Harry and Meghan) but more about the public because they (the paparazzi) were being so erratic. People were on sidewalks and crossing streets and the (paparazzi) were crossing red lights. We did everything by the letter of law.”
After the incident, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “were scared, exhausted, but relieved to be back,” he added.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said it had been assisting the Sussexes’ private security team on Tuesday evening and that “there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging.”
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,” said Julian Phillips, Deputy Commissioner for Public Information at the NYPD.
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | americas, CNN
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were involved in a chaotic car chase with paparazzi in New York on Tuesday night that could have resulted in a “catastrophic” outcome, their spokesperson has alleged.
The Sussexes were pursued by photographers after leaving the Women of Vision Awards at the city’s Ziegfeld Ballroom in a convoy that also included Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother. The couple were left shaken by the incident, although ultimately no-one was hurt, their security detail told CNN.
Police said “numerous” photographers made the Sussexes’ transport “challenging,” but that there were no reported collisions, injuries or arrests.
According to couple’s account, the altercation with photographers was prolonged and involved multiple traffic violations. “Last night, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi,” the couple’s spokesperson said.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.”
A member of the couple’s security team, Chris Sanchez, speaking exclusively to CNN, said the incident was alarming. “I have never seen, experienced anything like this,” he said. “What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles.”
The Sussexes were scared – but were relieved when they returned to the apartment where they were staying, he said. “The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal,” Sachez told CNN’s Max Foster.
In a statement, the New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed the outline Sussexes’ account but described it in less colorful language. The NYPD “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” on Tuesday evening and “there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” said Julian Phillips, Deputy Commissioner for Public Information at the NYPD.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,” he said.
The couple’s spokesperson said that while “being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety” and urged the media not to publish photographs from the incident. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”
According to the account provided by the couple’s team, the incident involved around half a dozen blacked-out vehicles with unidentified people driving recklessly and endangering the convoy and everyone around them.
A local law enforcement source corroborated some of the couple’s account, telling CNN that the couple were followed by a “swarm” of paparazzi in cars, motorcycles, scooters after they left the event on Tuesday. A protective team from the New York Police Department (NYPD) followed Harry and Meghan in another car, and was forced to make some avoiding maneuvers to get away from the paparazzi, the source said.
Paparazzi on scooters and bikes zoomed down the sidewalk to keep up, the source said. There were many close calls, including short stops between front and backs of cars, but none resulted in a crash, the source added.
The couple’s convoy was escorted to a police precinct, where they were able to regroup, the source added.
Buckingham Palace told CNN on Wednesday that it would not be commenting on the incident.
The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams said the incident was “reckless” and “irresponsible.”
“You shouldn’t be speeding anywhere, but this is a densely populated city, and I think all of us, I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how his mom died,” Adams told reporters when asked about the incident at an unrelated briefing.
“It’s clear that the paparazzi want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront,” Adams said.
The Duke of Sussex has been vocal about the security of his family, often highlighting parallels between his wife’s treatment to that faced by his mother, Diana. The late Princess of Wales died in 1997 after suffering internal injuries resulting from a high-speed car crash in Paris.
In the couple’s Netflix six-part docuseries Harry pushed back against critics who have said the couple has a problem with paparazzi.
“Back in my mum’s day, it was physical harassment – cameras in your face, following you, chasing you,” he said.
“Paparazzi still harass people,” he added. “But the harassment really exists more online now. Once the photographs are out and the stories then put next to it, then comes the social media harassment. To see another woman in my life, who I love, go through this feeding frenzy – that’s hard. It is basically the hunter versus the prey.”
by tyler | May 17, 2023 | americas, CNN
Ecuador’s embattled President Guillermo Lasso, who is facing a looming impeachment vote, has triggered a constitutional clause to dissolve government, a politically fraught move that could spark protests with the country already tackling a fragile security situation.
The Ecuadorian leader invoked a procedure known as “mutual death,” whereby the opposition-led National Assembly is dissolved and snap elections will be called, according to a decree published on the website of the presidency.
Lasso, who took office in 2021, is accused of interfering in the negotiation of a shipping contract related to the export of oil products. He has denied all allegations and claims they are politically motivated.
Lasso said his order for snap elections was the “best decision to pave the way for hope.”
“This is a new moment for optimism. Let’s build a better future for Ecuador,” he told the nation in an address on Wednesday.
He argued his decision was the way to stop political confrontation in the country, adding that the crisis cost Ecuador millions of dollars.
“This is a democratic decision not only because it’s constitutional, but also it allows you to decide on your future,” Lasso said.
On Sunday, opposition lawmaker Virgilio Saquicela was re-elected as president of the Assembly with 96 votes while Lasso’s coalition holds 25 seats in the legislative chamber, a scenario that could give the opposition a chance to get enough votes to approve the impeachment.
The president’s decision to instate muerte cruzada means his government will remain in office until a new general election takes place in around six months.
But calls for his resignation have grown louder in recent months, as Ecuador’s opposition and influential federation of Indigenous organizations accused Lasso of negligence in a country engulfed by a cost-of-living crisis and high rates of criminal violence.
Will Freeman, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the application of muerte cruzada “would absolutely cause instability.”
“Lasso is too unpopular to benefit from the impression that he’s overriding checks and balances to finally get something done,” he told CNN, before the announcement on Wednesday.
by tyler | May 12, 2023 | americas, CNN
The prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of the late American teen Natalee Holloway will be extradited to the US to face extortion and fraud charges, said officials in Peru, where Joran van der Sloot has been serving time for the murder of a Peruvian woman.
Peru “decided to agree to the request for temporary surrender … (of van der Sloot) … for his prosecution in the United States for the alleged commission of the crimes of extortion and fraud” against Holloway’s mother, Justice and Human Rights Minister Daniel Maurate Romero said in a statement Wednesday.
Van der Sloot was among the last to see Holloway alive 13 years ago in Aruba. Separately, he was convicted in 2012 of murdering Stephany Flores, 21, in his Lima hotel room and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
A Dutch national, van der Sloot has been indicted in the US on federal charges of extortion and wire fraud in connection with a plot to sell information about the whereabouts of Holloway’s remains in exchange for $250,000, officials said.
The missing 18-year-old’s mother, Beth Holloway, wired $15,000 to a bank account van der Sloot held in the Netherlands and through an attorney gave him another $10,000 in person, the indictment states. Once he had the initial $25,000, van der Sloot showed the attorney, John Kelly, where Natalee Holloway’s remains allegedly were hidden, but the information turned out to be false, the indictment states.
The indictment seeks for van der Sloot to forfeit $25,100, including $100 Beth Holloway initially transferred to van der Sloot to confirm his account.
Holloway was last seen in the early hours of May 30, 2005, leaving a nightclub in Aruba with van der Sloot and two other men.
The three men – van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe – were arrested in 2005 and released due to insufficient evidence. They were rearrested and charged in 2007 for “involvement in the voluntary manslaughter of Natalee Holloway or causing serious bodily harm to Natalee Holloway, resulting in her death,” Aruban prosecutors said at the time.
But a few weeks later, an Aruban judge ordered van der Sloot’s release, citing a lack of direct evidence that Holloway died from a violent crime or that van der Sloot was involved in such a crime. The Kalpoe brothers were also released.
Holloway’s body has not been found. An Alabama judge signed an order in 2012 declaring her legally dead.
Van der Sloot’s extradition from Peru to the US was expected to begin Thursday, said George Seymore, CEO of Patriot Strategies, which represents the Holloway family. But Maximo Altez, Joran van der Sloot’s lawyer in Peru, told CNN en Español he will appeal Peru’s extradition decision to face charges in the United States.
Van der Sloot would be returned to Peru after legal proceedings against him conclude in the United States, Peru’s judiciary said.
“The requesting country must keep the defendant in custody during the entire (duration of) proceedings in its territory,” the Peruvian judiciary announced on social media. “Once the criminal proceedings against (van der Sloot) conclude, he will immediately be returned to the Peruvian authorities.”
The US State Department would not confirm details of van der Sloot’s extradition “as a matter of long-standing practice” in such cases, an agency spokesperson said.
News of van der Sloot’s impending arrival in the US brought long-awaited relief to Holloway’s family.
“In May 2005 my 18-year-old daughter Natalee Holloway left Birmingham for Aruba to attend her high school graduation trip and was never seen again,” mother Beth Holloway said in a family statement released Wednesday.
“I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years,” the statement said. “She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called the suspect’s imminent extradition to Holloway’s hometown of Birmingham “significant.”
“Criminals like him are deceptive & vicious. Alabama moms like Beth Holloway are stronger,” Ivey tweeted Thursday. “Her commendable persistence to obtain justice for Natalee is FINALLY paying off.”
Peru has an extradition treaty with the US and previously had agreed to extradite van der Sloot only after he finished serving the murder sentence, the Peruvian news agency Andina reported, meaning US officials may have had to wait until 2038.
Beth Holloway thanked Peru’s new president and supporters near and far.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to President Dina Boluarte, the President of Peru, the warm people of Peru, the family of Stephany Flores, the FBI in Miami, Florida and in Birmingham, Alabama, the US Attorney’s office in Birmingham, the US Embassy in Peru and the Peruvian Embassy in the US, my longtime attorney John Q. Kelly who has worked tirelessly on this case, and George Seymore and Marc Wachtenheim of Patriot Strategies,” the mother said.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported no one was ever charged in Holloway’s death.
by tyler | May 9, 2023 | americas, CNN
China on Tuesday expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai, a day after Canada announced it would expel a Chinese diplomat over allegations he was involved in efforts to intimidate a Canadian politician.
In a statement Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned the expulsion of Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei, and as “reciprocal countermeasure,” would declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, a consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, persona non grata.
Lalonde has been asked to leave China before May 13, according to the statement.
The tit-for-tat move marks a new low in a years-long deterioration of ties between the two countries and comes amid a period of rising concerns in Canada about Chinese influence, including public uproar over allegations that China attempted to meddle in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections.
Hours after Beijing announced it would expel Lalonde, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson at a regular briefing threatened that China would “resolutely and forcefully respond” if the Canadian government “keeps acting recklessly” and accused Canadian media and some politicians of “fabricating false information.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Canada would “not be intimidated” by Beijing’s reaction.
“We will take whatever action is necessary to continue to protect our democracy and show that we’re standing up for our values and our principles. We understand there is retaliation but we will not be intimidated,” Trudeau said.
Canada moved to expel Zhao on Monday, following mounting public pressure on the Canadian government to respond to revelations the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found an accredited Chinese diplomat in the country had taken efforts toward targeting opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and relatives who may be in China.
The alleged targeting took place after Chong sponsored a motion to condemn China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority group. The intelligence was first reported by Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail earlier this month.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Monday said Ottawa “will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.”
Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations of political interference in Canada.
The two countries’ relations have already come under significant strain in recent years, in particular following Beijing’s detention of two Canadians in China in move widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s 2018 arrest of a Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou.
Beijing repeatedly denied that their cases were political retaliation, but the two men, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were released on the same day Meng was allowed by Canada to return to China in 2021.
There have also been growing public concern about alleged Chinese interference within the country, including through the operation of overseas police stations and policing of speech in the country, which has a large community of people with Chinese heritage.
Allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian politics have become a growing challenge for the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who earlier this year initiated an investigation to identify and combat foreign interference in Canada’s elections and its democracy.
Trudeau has said intelligence services had failed to brief him about the alleged targeting of Chong. His Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu last week after the media reporting on the intelligence emerged.
Chong, who represents the Wellington-Halton Hills district in Ontario, had called for Zhao’s expulsion and criticized Trudeau’s government for being too slow to act.
In a statement posted to Twitter on May 1, Chong said that he found out about the intelligence – which was referenced in a 2021 CSIS report – through the Globe and Mail report, despite having been briefed on general foreign interference threats by CSIS.
“Like many Canadians, I have family abroad. The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) targeting of family abroad to intimidate and coerce Canadians here at home is a serious, national threat,” Chong wrote in the statement, in which he says he has family in Hong Kong.
Chong was among several political figures sanctioned by China in March 2021 in what Beijing called a response to American and Canadian sanctions against individuals and entities in its western region of Xinjiang “based on rumors and disinformation.”
China has been accused of committing serious human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity in its treatment of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in the region. Beijing denies the claims, and rights groups have documented its efforts to quash international focus on the situation there.
In February 2021, Canada’s parliament passed its non-binding motion saying China’s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region constitutes genocide.
China has yet to specify what “countermeasures” it may take in response to Zhao’s expulsion, but these could include a tit-for-tat expulsion of a diplomat at Canada’s mission in China.
Beijing is also widely seen to have a track record of using economic or trade-related measures to express displeasure with diplomatic partners.
The expelled diplomat Zhao was listed in the Department of Global Affairs’ record of foreign diplomats as working in China’s Toronto consulate, the Globe and Mail reported earlier this month.
His name was not visible in a CNN search of the directory of China’s foreign representatives Monday night.
Prior to naming Zhao as “persona non grata” Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Joly last week said Canada’s government needed to carefully weigh how China might react to a Canadian response.
China would “of course” take action against Canada’s “economic interest, consumer interest and also diplomatic interests,” Joly told parliamentarians on Thursday, adding that, “I know that we are under pressure to go fast, (but) we need to make sure as well that we protect our democracy.”
by tyler | May 4, 2023 | americas, CNN
Canada summoned China’s ambassador on Wednesday to respond to allegations of political interference and intimidation.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly disclosed the news during a heated exchange in Ottawa with opposition lawmaker Michael Chong, now at the center of the accusations against China.
Chong was allegedly targeted for harassment by Beijing, and has fiercely criticized the slow response of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Joly also told members of parliament during a foreign affairs committee session that Canada is considering taking retaliatory action against China and that “all options are on the table” – including diplomatic expulsions.
However, she admitted Canada’s government was carefully weighing the possibility of retaliation by China, which denies interfering in Canadian political affairs.
“Of course China and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) will take action (against) these interests including economic interest, consumer interest and also diplomatic interest, will be affected and therefore–but it’s about also the interests of the country so as we are assessing the interest and I know that we are under pressure to go fast we need to make sure as well that we protect our democracy,” said Joly.
As first reported by the Globe and Mail newspaper, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found that Chong and his relatives in China were targeted for harassment by an accredited Chinese diplomat in the country. CSIS also said that Beijing had tried to sway the outcome of Canada’s federal elections in 2019 and 2021.
China’s embassy in Ottawa did not release a statement and did not respond to a request for comment. CNN asked China’s foreign ministry about the allegations, specifically the accusations made by CSIS about political interference and attempts at intimidation made by a Chinese diplomat.
“China always opposes any country’s interference in other countries internal affairs. We have never had and have no interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs. At the same time, China firmly upholds its own sovereignty, security, and development interests and firmly opposes any act that interferes with China’s internal affairs and harms China’s interests,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a foreign affairs ministry briefing Wednesday.
