Chefs pose for a photo during South Padre Island's Tacos & Tequilas Festival in this undated photo. (Courtesy: Visit South Padre Island/Facebook)
Tequila is served during South Padre Island’s Tacos & Tequilas Festival in this undated photo. (Courtesy: Visit South Padre Island/Facebook)
A festival aimed at celebrating Mexico’s rich culinary traditions and cultural heritage is set to return next weekend.
The city of South Padre Island announced Tuesday that its “much-anticipated” Tacos & Tequilas Festival will return Sept. 14 and 15 at the city’s convention center.
“We are excited to welcome visitors from near and far to the Tacos & Tequilas Festival,” Visit South Padre Island Executive Director Blake Henry said in a news release. “This event is a celebration of the rich culinary heritage of Mexico and the vibrant culture that makes South Padre Island a unique destination.”
In addition to food, the festival will feature live performances from Grupo Solido, Los Garcia Brothers, Los Palominos, “Let It Rock” Bon Jovi Tribute, “Dirt Road” Jason Aldrean Experience, “Keith as Kenny” Kenny Chesney Tribute and “Chad Collins” A Tribute to Luke Bryan.
Attendees enjoy live music during South Padre Island’s Tacos & Tequilas Festival in this undated photo. (Courtesy: Visit South Padre Island/Facebook)
There will also be various competitions such as a taco eating contest, a jalapeño eating contest and a grito contest, where contestants showcase their best Mexican shout, the release stated.
Other festivities include Lucha Libre matches, an arm-wrestling competition, a Loteria area and kid-friendly activities such as mini golf, face painting, and a piñata station. There will also be shows from authentic Voladores de Papantla during both days of the festival.
Furthermore, the two-day festival was awarded “Best Food Festival” during the 2024 Texas Travel Awards, according to the release.
A Lucha Libre match is seen during South Padre Island’s Tacos & Tequilas Festival in this undated photo. (Courtesy: Visit South Padre Island/Facebook)
“We’re proud to host this award-winning festival and look forward to an unforgettable weekend of food, fun, and festivities,” Henry said in the release.
Grand Prairie’s new superintendent was placed on administrative leave Wednesday, just weeks into his tenure.
Trustees voted 5-2 during a special meeting to place Superintendent Jorge L. Arredondo on paid administrative leave, effective immediately. No reason was given except to protect the district and Arredondo, trustees said.
A district spokesman declined to provide additional comment.
“Because this is an ongoing investigation, there will be no additional comment from this board,” trustee president Amber Moffitt said in a statement. “We believe all parties will be treated fairly with a high level of professionalism by the outside third-party law firm that is conducting the investigation.”
Deputy Superintendent of Business Operations Tracy Ray will serve as acting superintendent.
While trustees had little discussion — and provided no public details — about the scope of the investigation, one board member expressed concern that the probe was political.
“I believe we need more substance in this investigation. I believe this seems like a witch hunt and driven by political motives,” said trustee David Espinosa, who voted against the decision.
Reached by phone on Thursday, Espinosa emphasized that he doesn’t think Arredondo did anything wrong.
“He’s a new superintendent with experience, and some people don’t like change,” he said. Trustees unanimously approved hiring Arredondo in June.
A 47-year-old Matamoros man with a history of federal convictions has been sentenced to prison after admitting to illegally entering the country for the fourth time and to smuggling nearly 450 pounds of marijuana.
Ricardo Rios-Alanis, who pleaded guilty on June 13, was sentenced Wednesday to five-and-a-half years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release.
Rios-Alanis landed back in federal custody on Feb. 21 when Border Patrol agents spotted a blue sport utility vehicle traveling away from the Rio Grande toward Water Tower Road in Brownsville at a high rate of speed, according to a criminal complaint.
He fled at a high rate of speed, but agents caught up with him after the vehicle lost its right rear tire.
Border Patrol agents found 10 bundles of marijuana weighing a little more than 448 pounds inside the vehicle.
“Rios-Alanis told law enforcement in return for transporting the narcotics within the United States, he expected to not have to pay for his illegal entry into the country,” the release stated.
This wasn’t his first time being caught with a load of marijuana.
On July 6, 2011, Border Patrol agents in Brownsville spotted two men in Mexico standing on trees south of the Amigoland area, which at the time was a notorious entry point for drug smugglers and people entering the country illegally, according to a complaint.
While conducting surveillance, agents saw a gray four-door Cherokee approach the Amigoland Event Center before abruptly leaving.
Like his most recent case, a chase ensued and Rios-Alanis lost control of the vehicle and crashed. He was not injured and agents found four bundles of marijuana weighing a little more than 100 pounds.
He was sentenced to a little more than four years in prison in that case.
In the recent sentencing, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera heard about his lengthy criminal history with convictions dating back to 1997, the release stated.
“The convictions include assaultive conduct, two for felony drug offenses and three for illegal reentry after removal,” the release stated. “In handing down the sentence, the court noted that in 2021 he granted Rios-Alanis a ‘sentencing variance,’ lowering his sentence to 30 months after Rios-Alanis promised not to return and not continuing to violate the law.”
That was his third illegal reentry conviction.
Rios-Alanis, who has remained in custody since his arrest, will be deported after serving his sentence.
A gavel and handcuffs on wooden table background (Adobe Stock)
A woman who was set to plead guilty to smuggling more than $500,000 in “inflatable devices” more than 13 years ago, but skipped out on the hearing in a McAllen federal courtroom has been arrested in Laredo.
Court records indicate Leticia Pineda was arrested in Laredo on Wednesday. She’s scheduled for an initial appearance in a Laredo federal courtroom on Thursday. The details of her arrest aren’t immediately clear.
She has been a fugitive since June 7, 2011 when she was scheduled to plead guilty, court records show.
Pineda was initially arrested on Feb. 23, 2011 along with Lilia Camacho-Torres and Yeraldin Jimenez-Ruiz.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers encountered the trio that day on a commercial passenger bus at the Hidalgo Port of Entry that was destined for Mexico, according to a criminal complaint.
“The passengers were then instructed to exit the bus and claim their luggage and possessions,” the complaint stated. “Several items were recovered by three of the passengers, Leticia Pineda, Lilia Camacho-Torres, and Yeraldin Jimenez Ruiz.”
CBP officers inspected their luggage and found cardboard boxes containing “several inflatable devices.”
Pineda claimed ownership of one of the boxes, which is where CBP officers found $554,121, according to the complaint.
During an interview, she told a Homeland Security Investigations special agent that she was recruited to transport an unknown amount of currency from Atlanta to Mexico City, according to the complaint.
She said she was paid $3,500 up front and would receive another $3,500 upon delivery of the cash.
Camacho-Torres, meanwhile, claimed ownership of two of the boxes containing the inflatable devices where CBP officers found an additional $500,676.
“While obtaining the biographical data of Camacho as well as names of relatives traveling with her, Camacho uttered she had involved a relative of hers, Ruiz, in the situation she was in,” the complaint stated.
She then asked for an attorney. Camacho-Torres was later sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison.
Jimenez-Ruiz spoke with a special agent after her arrest and said she was going to be paid $10,000 for her participation in the bulk cash smuggling attempt, including a $1,000 up front payment for travel expenses.
She told investigators Camacho-Torres took care of most of her arrangements.
“Ruiz further stated Camacho encouraged Ruiz to bring her four-year-old minor daughter with her to appear less suspicious,” the complaint stated. “According to Ruiz, she and Camacho were unaware of Pineda’s circumstances and/or arrangements.”
The indictment said authorities found her to be in possession of $404,126.
She was later sentenced to one-and-a-half years in federal prison.
In all, authorities found a total of $1,458,923 concealed in their luggage during the smuggling attempt, according to the indictment.
S.S. United States is moored on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
In many ways the Rio Grande Valley is a land of dreams. It goes beyond the dreams of the countless people from other countries dreaming of new lives and whose first steps in the land of opportunity were trod here. Despite our humble conditions we have always dreamed big, celebrating others who dreamed and succeeded. We still hear stories of the visits of aviation pioneers Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart — a statue of Earhart recently was unveiled in Brownsville.
Some of our own dreams have succeeded, such as the all-too-recent wish of having a top-notch institute of higher education; now both major state universities building respected campuses here — including a medical and research school, and Division I college football will be seen here within a year.
And who would have dreamed, just a few years ago, that rockets headed to the moon and even Mars could take off from the mouth of the Rio Grande?
The S.S. United States is moored on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
Of course, not all dreams are realized, such as our efforts to bring Dallas Cowboys spring training and a Major League Baseball spring league to the area. But such dreams are still worth having.
Could a symbol of such dreams make its way to the shores of our Valley?
A historic cruise ship, aptly named the USS United States, now sits on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, and is looking for a new home. If it doesn’t find one it likely will be cut up for scrap or sunk to create an artificial reef. As one of the nation’s top sites in the shipbreaking industry, the Valley could be the final destination for the ship anyway.
But instead of being cut up here, what if it were docked in the Laguna Madre, renovated and used as a tourist attraction — even an events center or floating casino?
The SSUS, as it is known, is one of the last of the classic cruise ships. Longer than three football fields, it’s bigger than the Titanic. Unlike the modern-day floating hotels, this was made for carrying people in luxury from Europe to the United States and back in the days before jet transportation. It was built for speed — it still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record, which it set in 1952.
To be sure, preserving the ship would be a major undertaking. Shipping and renovation coasts, as well as maintenance and staffing, would be costly, and a pier would have to be built to accommodate it.
The S.S. United States is moored on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
A conservancy group dedicated to the ship has been established and has funds to help defray some of those costs.
Once ready for use, the US could compare to the USS Lexington further up the coast. Corpus Christi officials report that the retired aircraft carrier draws more than 300,000 visitors each year, who also stop at local restaurants, hotels and other tourist sites and add millions to the city’s economy.
Could the United States bring similar benefits to South Padre Island?
Depending on its placement, it could be a prime spot for people who want to watch SpaceX rocket launches. And if and when casino gambling is allowed in this state, that could be another use for the vessel.
Costs and logistics might put such an endeavor out of reach of anyone who might bold enough to try bringing the US to the Valley. For the time being, however, it costs nothing to dream.
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Sept. 23, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, lifted a stay on a Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally, while a legal battle over immigration authority plays out. (Eric Gay/AP File Photo)
Perhaps we should look at the influx of undocumented people across our southern border from a different perspective. Some of you are old enough to remember the School of the Americas? Among other things it trained military personnel from Central and South American countries how to kidnap, torture and murder political opponents. This was mainly in the ’60s-’80s, but it impacts us today. Here is what it and the CIA did:
Argentina: overthrew the democratically elected Isabel Peron government and placed dictator Jorge Videla.
Bolivia: Gen. Hugo Banzer toppled President Juan Torres via a U.S.-supported campaign of repression and state-sponsored terrorism as part of Operation Condor, which supported South American right-wing dictators.
Brazil: U.S.-backed coup against social democrat Joao Goulart and replaced with a military dictatorship.
Chile: Democratically elected Salvador Allende was pressured by a U.S. economic war that caused a coup with CIA involvement resulting in the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Cuba: U.S.-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista was in power until the Cuban Revolution. Several assassination attempts were made on Fidel Castro.
Dominican Republic: The CIA supplied weapons to murder dictator Rafael Trujillo and supported Juan Bosch, who lost in elections to Joaquin Balaguer.
Ecuador: CIA tried to overthrow Jose Ibarra via a coup because he maintained relations with Cuba. He was replaced by Carlos Monroy. The CIA then destabilized his government, which was overthrown by another coup by the Ecuadoran junta.
El Salvador: For decades the U.S. trained, advised, funded and supported a military dictatorship with approximately 5,500-8,000 people “disappeared” and 75,000 dead.
Guatemala: Its government, supported by the American United Fruit Co., was revolted against by workers. It led to the democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz, who was then overthrown by a U.S.-supported coup. (Many of these actions were to support U.S. business interests.)
Haiti: There is a long history of U.S. involvement to support economic investment with military occupation that included torture and executions.
Nicaragua: Again there is a long history of U.S. involvement to protect business interests.
Panama: Manuel Noriega dictatorship was overthrown via a U.S. invasion that resulted in democratization.
Venezuela: Another long history of involvement with U.S.-favored Juan Guaido over Nicolas Maduro, but no coup attempt with the use of sanctions, which only hurt the general population.
So, you can see that much of the turmoil in the south is directly related to what we have done and you reap what you sow, with continued turmoil in many of these countries resulting in millions of refugees fleeing their countries for a chance at a better life.
By the way — it isn’t that mother with a kid on her back crossing the Rio Grande who is bringing drugs into the U.S. We know that happens mostly at the official crossings or via the cartels. But then, why do they come at all? Because of the market. If Americans didn’t buy the drugs, there would be no smuggling. We are the problem.
HARLINGEN — For the second time in about a year, the school board is searching to fill the district’s top administrative post following Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez’s stunning resignation five months after his job review landed him a $10,000 pay increase.
Gonzalez, with two years left on his three-year contract, agreed to resign as part of an agreement which wasn’t disclosed.
“An agreement has been reached which allows Dr. Gonzalez the ability to resign and pursue other interests and permits the board to pursue hiring another superintendent,” the board said in a news release after a special meeting Tuesday.
After a half-hour closed-door session, board members accepted Gonzalez’s resignation while naming Deputy Superintendent Veronica Kortan interim superintendent amid what board President Greg Powers described as a “sensitive personnel matter.”
“The superintendent and board have mutually agreed that separation is in the best interest of the district at this time,” he told the audience packed with teachers during what he described as a “difficult meeting.”
“This board’s primary goal and focus have always been to do what is in the best interest and welfare of our students, our employees and our community,” Powers said. “Please know that this board is fully aware of the responsibilities to this community. We want the community to know that the board is focused on the future and welfare of this district, our employees and students in taking the action that occurred tonight.”
On Sunday, Gonzalez’s $10,000 pay increase took effect, five months after board members gave him high marks during his job evaluation, offering him a one-year contract extension while bumping his salary to $310,000.
“This transition in the district leadership is sooner than expected but we accept Dr. Gonzalez’s decision to resign,” board member Dr. Nolan Perez said as trustees cast their votes Tuesday. “This board is decisive and ready to pivot in a way that will leave our district in great shape for the future. To our Harlingen school community, thanks for your patience during these times as we continue to focus on our goal, which is to always do what’s best for our students, staff and community.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to be able to support our district during this period and during this time,” she told the audience. “It is incumbent on every single one of our leaders in this organization that we continue to move forward and keep students at the heart of all our work.”
“In our district, there’s a core belief that we often reference — first of all, commitment to education, and secondly, a heart for people. We will focus on our commitment to excellence,” she said. “We have some amazing people in our district. It is because of our employees that we have been able to celebrate so many successes along the way. We have an abundance of passion and lots and lots of talent in our organization. Our employees make the difference for all of our students. It is equally exciting to be able to prepare for the future of our district and to move into the next chapter.”
Earlier this week, Marcy Martinez, the district’s spokeswoman, said “serious issues” were leading board members to consider Gonzalez’s employment and resignation.
Last week, officials formed a finance committee.
In the meeting’s audience Tuesday, Lisa Hamburg was among some teachers who blamed Gonzalez for passing them up for pay raises.
“I’m not very pleased with him,” said Hamburg, a Zavala Elementary School teacher working as part of a student behavior program after nine years with the district.
The Harlingen school board on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, accepted the resignation of its superintendent and appointed an interim. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
“I don’t think he’s been looking out for the teachers’ interests,” she said in an interview. “I know a lot of teachers who are upset with not getting an increase this year.”
But Hamburg described the district’s academic level as high.
“I believe the academic rigor is high,” she said. “The teachers are following the lead of the principals.”
But Robbie Galindo, who retired last year after working as a first grade teacher at Treasure Hills Elementary School, said she believed Gonzalez was doing a good job.
“I thought the school was running good,” she said in an interview. “I trust in the teachers and administrators because they make sure to get it done.”
At the high school level, Galindo said, Gonzalez helped instill discipline among students.
“He cleaned it up,” she said. “There were a lot of discipline problems.”
As a story goes, Gonzalez intervened in an altercation between two students, talking with them before taking them out to eat, she said.
After 34 years with the district, Galindo hailed what she described as its “great progress.”
“There’s been a lot of progress,” she said, pointing to the district’s specialized high schools while offering high school students college credit hours.
“My grandson graduated with lots of credit hours so that saved his parents a lot of money,” she said.
The Harlingen school board on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, accepted the resignation of its superintendent and appointed an interim. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
But Galindo questioned officials’ spending, describing the district’s administration as top-heavy with a deputy superintendent’s position on the payroll.
“I think they’re not using their money wisely,” she said. “I don’t understand two people making almost half-a-million dollars for the amount of students we have.”
As a result, enough money isn’t getting into classrooms, Galindo said.
Every year, teachers get between about $120 to $150 to buy classroom supplies, she said.
“They have a new reading program, but they don’t have enough books,” Galindo said. “They don’t have enough workbooks in the classrooms so they have to make copies.”
Gonzalez’s tenure as superintendent marked the district’s shortest in decades.
In July 2023, the school board selected Gonzalez following an “extensive” search after Noyola, who was drawing a salary of $263,619, according to Govsalaries.com, announced her retirement after more than two years on the job.
In McAllen, Gonzalez had climbed the ranks from a science teacher’s job to assistant principal, then worked his way from a principal’s position to associate superintendent for instructional leadership before landing the superintendent’s job.
McALLEN — The trial of two Mission siblings implicated in part of a larger probe into rampant public corruption in Western Hidalgo County has been rescheduled until at least December.
Jorge O’Caña Jr. and his sister, Veronica O’Caña, were scheduled to begin trial this week in McAllen federal court. The trial has had a dozen resets since they were indicted and arrested.
The pair — who are the nephew and niece of former Mission Mayor Armando O’Caña — are facing a combined five counts of witness tampering and obstruction, money laundering, and Travel Act violations.
However, two factors resulted in their trial being delayed — a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that has impacted the prosecution, and Veronica O’Caña wanting new legal representation.
“I believe there are no contentious issues … but a conflict has arisen and a breakdown in communications,” David Acosta, the McAllen attorney who has thus far been representing Veronica O’Caña, said during a hearing Wednesday morning.
Acosta said he and Veronica O’Caña had had a difference of opinion on her defense, and as such, he could no longer represent her.
The attorney said he had been unable to come to an agreement with Veronica O’Caña on potential defense strategies, “in part, as she is unsatisfied with my services.”
Acosta added that O’Caña had already been searching out new attorneys.
A moment later, Veronica O’Caña confirmed that before senior U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez.
“Yes, I agree that I would like to seek other counsel,” Veronica O’Caña said.
The judge acknowledged that O’Caña has the right to choose who represents her, but nonetheless warned the career real estate agent about the risks of obtaining new counsel so close to the start of trial.
“He’s going to be on the fast track. … This case is going to move forward fast,” Alvarez said, noting that the case has been pending since 2022.
Ultimately, Alvarez allowed Acosta to withdraw from the case, citing the prosecution’s need for more time before trial can commence.
There’s “some legal issues, some new cases from the Supreme Court,” Alvarez said.
“The government’s gonna need to go back to amend the indictment,” she added.
Alvarez was referring to a federal statute whose long-held interpretation was recently changed by a June 28 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving a defendant accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
That statute, Title 18, Sec. 1512 of the U.S. Code, deals with witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
Both Jorge and Veronica O’Caña are facing charges under that statute — Jorge in Count 1, and Veronica in Count 5 of the amended superseding indictment.
But both counts lie at the crux of the prosecution’s case against them.
Count 1 alleges that Jorge O’Caña informed his sister, as well as a witness, Antonio Gonzalez III, of the ongoing federal bribery investigation into contracts awarded to an Indiana-based energy infrastructure company called Performance Services Inc., and the Mission school district.
The bribery scheme allegedly occurred between January and March 2018 and involved paying off a Mission CISD school board trustee to sway the board’s vote in PSI’s favor.
In early April 2022 — just three months before a federal grand jury would hand up the first criminal charge against him — Jorge O’Caña attempted “to influence Antonio Gonzalez, III not to cooperate with law enforcement regarding said investigation,” the indictment reads, in part.
Further, Jorge O’Caña allegedly told Gonzalez that he “intended to lie to law enforcement regarding payments he received that were related to said investigation.”
Count 5, meanwhile, alleges that around the same time that Jorge was allegedly pressuring Gonzalez to stymie investigators, Veronica O’Caña tried to convince Gonzalez to lie to the grand jury.
“Veronica O’Caña did knowingly and corruptly attempt to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding … by attempting to influence Antonio Gonzalez, III to state that bribe payments made to Veronica O’Caña were for real estate or interior design consulting,” the indictment reads.
However, federal prosecutors cited a particular section of the witness tampering statute in Counts 1 and 5 of the indictment.
Specifically, the O’Cañas are charged under Sec. 1512(c)(2), which states that is a crime for someone who “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so…”
In this case, the “official proceeding” is the grand jury’s deliberations.
But, in late June, the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors in several Jan. 6 insurrection cases were applying the statute too broadly in indictments that allege those defendants had obstructed the “official proceeding” of the U.S. Congress certifying the results of the November 2020 presidential election.
The high court found that obstruction under that section of the statute should only apply if physical objects used as part of an official proceeding were impacted by the alleged crime.
“(T)he Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or other things used in an official proceeding, or attempted to do so,” the June 28 opinion in Fischer v. United States states.
Alvarez, the judge overseeing the O’Caña case, reset the trial for Dec. 9.
NextDecade Liquid Natural Gas development company continues construction Thursday, April 4, 2024, along Texas State Highway 4 at their Rio Grande LNG export facility in Brownsville. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)
On Aug. 20, attorneys for Rio Grande LNG sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission withdrawing the company’s application for authorization to include a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project as part of Rio Grande LNG, a liquefied natural gas terminal under construction at the Port of Brownsville.
Rio Grande filed the application in November 2021. In April 2023, FERC issued a notice that it was “suspending its environmental review of the (CCS) Project due to (the company) not submitting complete and timely responses to engineering and environmental data requests.”
In its Aug. 20 letter to FERC, Rio Grande said it was unable to respond the agency’s requests for information because the CCS project was not “sufficiently developed” to allow FERC to continue its review. CCS is an experimental technology involving the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from industrial facilities.
The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, an anti-LNG group, issued a press release Aug. 26 linking Rio Grande’s application withdrawal to a “recent legal victory related to the project,” referring to an Aug. 6 ruling by D.C. Circuit Court against FERC approval of LNG terminal and related pipeline projects at the port.
The decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and other LNG foes, who argued that FERC granted authorization for the projects without adequately taking into account opponents’ arguments about the potential for harm to surrounding communities and the environment. FERC now has to reconsider the projects’ potential impact, which will require a new draft supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and public comment period before authorization is granted.
Construction of Rio Grande LNG at the port continues, however, since the D.C. court has not yet issued a mandate enforcing its ruling in the case. Nathan Matthews, the Sierra Club’s lead attorney on the case, wrote in a statement last month that “the Court has said it will not issue the mandate for 52 days, which is seven days after the 45-day deadline for FERC or the developers to seek rehearing.”
The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, or STEJN, noted that the court’s decision requires FERC to do a comprehensive analysis of the CCS project.
“Rio Grande LNG relinquished CCS and may be attempting to expedite a re-evaluation of its application to obtain a new permit approval from FERC,” the group said. “The CCS facility for Rio Grande LNG has been the subject of protests by community organizations, the City of Port Isabel, national environmental organizations and residents.”
One criticism was that a CCS facility would required approximately 2.5 million gallons of water per month in drought-stricken Cameron County.
STEJN member Bekah Hinojosa said the organization recognized years ago that “Rio Grande LNG’s CCS proposal was a scam that was invented to greenwash the project and attract investors. CCS for LNG is a greenwashing PR campaign to make the Rio Grande LNG fossil fuel corporation appear to be environmentally friendly.”
Asked for a response, a spokesperson for NextDecade, Rio Grande LNG’s parent company, essentially restated Rio Grande LNG’s Aug. 20 letter to FERC, but added: “We remain committed to advancing and lowering the cost of utilizing carbon capture and storage and helping companies reduce their facility emissions and achieving their clean energy goals.”
Two Hidalgo County residents are suing Autobuses Ejecutivos and its related companies after they were kidnapped at gunpoint when traveling through Mexico in late May.
The lawsuit alleges that the two residents have “experienced physical pain, severe emotional distress” and “mental anguish” once they were kidnapped and held for ransom on May 29.
Additionally, the defendants, which also include Omex VIP, Omnibus, Omnibus Express, Bus Investors and Dos Naciones, are accused of failing to report the kidnapping to authorities and failing to protect its customers.
The plaintiffs are now seeking over $1 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday.
According to the lawsuit, “the defendants were aware that their passengers were being regularly kidnapped” at gunpoint, were being beaten and held for ransom, but didn’t warn their customers.
“They knew the danger existed, while being transported in their buses, and had a duty to warn and did not,” the lawsuit states.
The document goes on to say that the defendants failed to make traveling in their buses safe despite having the legal “duty to care” which they are accused of breaching.
The lawsuit alleges they neglected this duty by not equipping their buses with cameras or video surveillance, by not having GPS tracking and by not having radio communication.
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants are “grossly indifferent to customers’ … private information” so much so that “kidnappings [occur] on a regular basis.”
“Defendants’ policy of negligent security led to frequently being targeted by criminals due to the fact that defendants do not resist, defendants freely open the bus door, defendants do not try to stop the assailants, defendants do nothing to assist the bus passengers and defendants do not report to police that its passengers have been kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom,” the lawsuit said.
According to the United States Department of State’s website, “violent crime – such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery – is widespread and common in Mexico.”
Tamaulipas, the Mexican State closest to McAllen which is where the bus tickets were purchased, is classified as a “Do Not Travel” area due to crime and kidnapping.
The travel advisories were made in August of last year.
In June of this year, the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros warned of kidnappings targeting Americans on intercity buses in Reynosa.
Commentary: We fed migrant crisis
Perhaps we should look at the influx of undocumented people across our southern border from a different perspective. Some of you are old enough to remember the School of the Americas? Among other things it trained military personnel from Central and South American countries how to kidnap, torture and murder political opponents. This was mainly in the ’60s-’80s, but it impacts us today. Here is what it and the CIA did:
Argentina: overthrew the democratically elected Isabel Peron government and placed dictator Jorge Videla.
Bolivia: Gen. Hugo Banzer toppled President Juan Torres via a U.S.-supported campaign of repression and state-sponsored terrorism as part of Operation Condor, which supported South American right-wing dictators.
Brazil: U.S.-backed coup against social democrat Joao Goulart and replaced with a military dictatorship.
Chile: Democratically elected Salvador Allende was pressured by a U.S. economic war that caused a coup with CIA involvement resulting in the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Cuba: U.S.-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista was in power until the Cuban Revolution. Several assassination attempts were made on Fidel Castro.
Dominican Republic: The CIA supplied weapons to murder dictator Rafael Trujillo and supported Juan Bosch, who lost in elections to Joaquin Balaguer.
Ecuador: CIA tried to overthrow Jose Ibarra via a coup because he maintained relations with Cuba. He was replaced by Carlos Monroy. The CIA then destabilized his government, which was overthrown by another coup by the Ecuadoran junta.
El Salvador: For decades the U.S. trained, advised, funded and supported a military dictatorship with approximately 5,500-8,000 people “disappeared” and 75,000 dead.
Guatemala: Its government, supported by the American United Fruit Co., was revolted against by workers. It led to the democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz, who was then overthrown by a U.S.-supported coup. (Many of these actions were to support U.S. business interests.)
Haiti: There is a long history of U.S. involvement to support economic investment with military occupation that included torture and executions.
Nicaragua: Again there is a long history of U.S. involvement to protect business interests.
Panama: Manuel Noriega dictatorship was overthrown via a U.S. invasion that resulted in democratization.
Venezuela: Another long history of involvement with U.S.-favored Juan Guaido over Nicolas Maduro, but no coup attempt with the use of sanctions, which only hurt the general population.
So, you can see that much of the turmoil in the south is directly related to what we have done and you reap what you sow, with continued turmoil in many of these countries resulting in millions of refugees fleeing their countries for a chance at a better life.
By the way — it isn’t that mother with a kid on her back crossing the Rio Grande who is bringing drugs into the U.S. We know that happens mostly at the official crossings or via the cartels. But then, why do they come at all? Because of the market. If Americans didn’t buy the drugs, there would be no smuggling. We are the problem.
Gerard Pahl lives in Edinburg.