Last week, phones across Puerto Rico began to ding as members of a private WhatsApp group dedicated to helping others in the U.S. territory stared at their screens in disbelief.

The businessman they knew as the administrator of that chat and as someone who organized philanthropic efforts such as a Christmas toy drive for needy children and renovations for an elementary school had just been arrested.

Conor Vincent D’Monte, known as Johnny Williams in Puerto Rico, was allegedly a leader of a violent gang sought by Canadian authorities on charges including first-degree murder. He had been on the run for more than a decade.

“It’s like a Netflix story,” said Antonio Torres, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for the district of Puerto Rico.

Authorities don’t know exactly when D’Monte, 44, arrived in Puerto Rico, but they believe he had been using the alias “Johnny Williams” on the island for at least several months. The 6-foot-1 fugitive settled into a rural, eastern mountain community near El Yunque rainforest, living in a house in front of a street with no name in a working-class neighborhood, Torres said.

Every month, D’Monte would accompany employees of a nonprofit organization known as Karma Honey Project and attend a farmer’s market in the nearby city of Carolina, said a woman who lived in the same community as him and sold goods next to his stall. She declined to give her name out of fear.

“No one knew anything,” she said, adding that she always was struck by his quiet demeanor. “We were surprised.”

D’Monte remains in federal prison in Puerto Rico as he awaits an extradition process. His public defense attorney declined comment, but she noted in a court hearing on Thursday that D’Monte, who has Canadian and Irish citizenship, requested that the consulates of those countries be notified.

Those who met D’Monte said he never made any efforts to hide. He even met with Puerto Rico’s agriculture secretary and a local senator and was invited to the governor’s mansion last month for his role in trying to save honeybees after Hurricane Maria as part of his involvement with the Karma Honey Project, a nonprofit company created in February 2019. Its president, Candice Galek, is a Miami entrepreneur and former model. Neither Galek nor her company returned messages for comment.

In its 2020 annual report, the most recent one available, the company stated that its volume of business did not exceed $3 million. Its balance sheet noted that it had no assets or liabilities, according to filings with Puerto Rico’s Registry of Corporations and Entities.

“The guy fooled us all,” said a Puerto Rican businessman who asked that his name not be used out of fear.

He said he met D’Monte in the early days of the pandemic after being added to his WhatsApp group, and that D’Monte was known as “Johnny Teeth,” because his teeth were so white and straight. The businessman described D’Monte as a “tremendous sales guy” who was very jovial.

“It struck me that he didn’t have Facebook or any of those things because he truly was a great networker,” the businessman said, adding that D’Monte once called him asking if he could borrow a hammer since he was helping repair a school.

When he was working on the Christmas toy drive, D’Monte messaged his WhatsApp group warning they were 500 presents short and that he was “grinding” to get donations as he noted that the prices went up 40% at the toy distributor warehouse: “Caught us off guard. Will figure it out. Universe conspires,” he wrote, adding three different star emojis.

It’s unclear why D’Monte chose Puerto Rico or if he knew anyone in the U.S. territory.

He is accused in the killing of a rival gang member at a Vancouver strip mall in February 2009, at a time when that part of British Columbia was experiencing one of the worst gang violence outbreaks in its history, according to a police statement.

D’Monte also is accused of conspiring to murder two alleged rival gang members known as the Bacon Brothers, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The United Nations gang that D’Monte belongs to is considered one of the most powerful ones in British Columbia and is best known for exporting one of the most popular marijuana strains in the U.S. mainland: the B.C. bud.

At its height, the gang had an estimated 200 members, and they often sport tattoos of tigers, dragons and Chinese characters. The gang also imports firearms and other drugs including cocaine, making millions of dollars a year, said Keiron McConnell, a criminal justice expert and professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia.

“Anyone thinking that Mr. D’Monte was a street corner hustler, it couldn’t be further than the truth,” he said in a phone interview. “Mr. D’Monte was a fairly sophisticated individual.”

McConnell said it’s highly unusual for fugitives to be on the run for as long as D’Monte and to successfully assimilate themselves into a community.

D’Monte, whom police said has traveled to Spain and Asia and is associated with a drug network in Mexico, was last seen in the Vancouver area in January 2011. After that, he vanished until he reappeared in Puerto Rico more than a decade later.

Torres, with the U.S. Marshals Service, said high-profile fugitives often assume the profile of a very wealthy person because they have the means.

“It doesn’t raise any red flags,” he said. “It will draw attention, but not suspicion. They just act like a businessman.”

Three weeks before federal agents arrested D’Monte, Torres said his agency finally had collected enough information to identify the fugitive, noting they never received any tips.

As D’Monte drove through the popular tourist district of Isla Verde on Feb. 25, the agents closed in.

“He acted surprised,” Torres said, adding that he didn’t resist arrest.

D’Monte was alone, except for a 9mm at his side.

Copyright AP – Associated Press

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CNW- A Jamaican woman living in Florida will serve 14 years in prison for laundering money for an international cocaine ring that distributed the illegal drug by mail in Western Pennsylvania.

A US District Judge ordered the woman, 54-year-old Marcia Cunningham, to serve 178 months in federal prison for violations of money laundering and narcotics laws.

She had pleaded guilty to the charges during a previous hearing.

The Jamaican woman has been linked to a cocaine ring run by Hector Forbes of California.
Forbes who pleaded guilty in 2020 is awaiting sentencing.

According to the police, Forbes’ operations arranged for the importation of cocaine from Mexico. The cocaine was then distributed through the mail to customers.
Cunningham’s role was to launder the proceeds.

According to the criminal investigation division of the Internal Revenue Service, the Jamaican set up a post office box using fake identification and used dozens of bank accounts to take in drug money and then used it to buy cars, property, jewelry, and other items to support her lavish lifestyle.

She also arranged to use drug money to buy assets in Jamaica where she hoped to return to live.

Prosecutors said Cunningham is not a U.S. citizen and is likely to be deported to Jamaica after serving her prison term.

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Zuniga-Brown’s announcement stressed a “limited resumption of some immigrant visa services” in Havana. It added that Cuban immigrant visas will still be processed primarily in Guyana, while Havana offices will focus on other consular services and “limited emergency non-immigrant visa processing.”

The eventual deployment of additional consular officers to Havana, a result of President Joe Biden’s ongoing review of Cuba policy, will begin to address a more than four-year backlog of requests for immigration visas by Cubans with family in the United States.

It also marks a rare step by the Biden administration to ease restrictions on communist-led Cuba imposed by former Republican President Donald Trump, who rolled back the historic rapprochement overseen by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.

Just prior to the announcement, the Cuban government issued a statement to Reuters slamming the Trump-era policy as unjustified and harmful to U.S-Cuba ties.

“Over five years, that decision has had very damaging consequences for the entire Cuban population, as well as for Americans,” said the statement signed by Ines Fors, head of U.S.-Cuba bilateral relations for Cuba’s Foreign Ministry.

The Cuban statement did not directly address the staffing announcement, and Zuniga-Brown did not provide a timeline or numbers for the increase in personnel.

Havana resident Maria de Lourdes Galban, a 35-year old doctor hoping to reunite her two young children with their father in the United States, said she had hoped for more.

“I expected a broader opening and it hurts me because I know that there are thousands of Cubans who are in the same situation and we have been waiting for many years,” she said.

Trump scaled back embassy staff and cut down on visa processing in 2017 after some embassy personnel in Havana became ill with what has become known as “Havana syndrome.” The unexplained illnesses first affected U.S. employees in the Cuban capital but later cropped up in other parts of the world.

The Cuban government has long denied any involvement or knowledge of the incidents.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

In addition to slashing visa processing, Trump restricted remittances to Cuba, scaled back flights to the island and increased hurtles for U.S. citizens seeking to travel to Cuba for anything other than family visits.

The U.S. Embassy on Thursday did not address those issues.

Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president, had promised during the 2020 election campaign against Trump to re-engage with Cuba’s government, and many in both countries expected he would roll back Trump-era restrictions.

The Biden administration instead slapped fresh sanctions on Cuban officials in response to Havana’s crackdown on protesters following widespread marches on the island in July.

Biden officials are mindful that any easing of restrictions on Cuba could lead to political fallout from conservative Cuban Americans, a key voting bloc in south Florida.

But the resumption of visa processing at the embassy is less likely to spur a serious political backlash since a number of Cuban-American lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have backed the idea.

Olga Lidia Pérez, a 67-year old retired doctor in Havana who has waited four years to reunite with her daughters in Florida, said she was left with more questions than answers following the embassy’s announcement this week.

“I still don’t know whether to believe it or not because between Cuba and the United States you never know,” she said. “There is always uncertainty.”

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“Simply put, this means that Russia and Belarus will no longer receive the benefits, particularly low tariffs that Canada offers to other countries that are fellow members of the WTO,” Freeland told reporters at a news conference.

Canada had about C$1.2 billion ($948 million) in imports from Russia and about C$23 million from Belarus in 2020, according to Statistics Canada.

The most favored nation principle is a part of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) rules, and it prevents WTO members from favoring any one country with benefits like lower tariffs without giving all members the same standard

Moscow unleashed an all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 that has prompted Canada, the European Union, United States and others to respond with strict financial sanctions on Russia. Sanctions have also been levied on Belarus, which has been used as a key staging point for the invasion.

Canada has closed airspace and ports to Russian vessels, sent lethal military aid to Ukraine, curbed oil imports, and asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe alleged war crimes by Russian forces.

“The G7 has already imposed the strongest sanctions ever inflicted on a major economy on Russia, and more will follow in the days to come,” Freeland said.

Defense Minister Anita Anand, speaking at the same news conference, said Canada intends to supply more lethal aid to Ukraine, including up to 4,500 M72 rocket launchers and up to 7,500 hand grenades from the Canadian Armed Forces’ existing stockpiles.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada, along with close partners, was calling for the suspension of Russia from the global police agency Interpol.

“We’re supporting this because we believe that international law enforcement cooperation depends on a collective commitment to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and mutual respect between Interpol members,” he said at a separate event.

Thousands are reported to have died or been injured and more than a million people have fled Ukraine amid the biggest attack on a European state since 1945. read more

Canada also announced it would create two separate immigration streams for Ukrainians, one that allows for a temporary stay and one that is permanent.

“Canada is ready to welcome Ukrainians fleeing (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s war, and there is no limit to the number of applications that we are going to be willing to accept,” Canada’s Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said.

($1 = 1.2659 Canadian dollars)

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© Greg Nash

The Biden administration is requesting $22.5 billion from Congress for the COVID-19 response, setting up a tussle with Republican lawmakers who have resisted new funding.

Where the funds would go: In a letter to Congress dated Wednesday, the White House said the additional funds are crucial for efforts around vaccines, treatments and testing. In addition, $5 billion of the funding will go towards the global COVID-19 response, including vaccinating other countries, which is key to helping stop new variants from arising.

“Without additional resources, we won’t be able to secure the treatments, vaccines, and tests Americans need in coming months and fight future variants,” wrote acting Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young. “And critical COVID response efforts – such as free community testing sites and testing, treatment, and vaccination coverage for uninsured individuals – will end this spring.”

The White House is urging that the funding be included in a broader government funding bill that faces a March 11 deadline.

GOP resistance: Passing the funding could be a challenge. Republicans have pushed back on new COVID-19 funds, pointing to the billions already provided for the virus response.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Wednesday led 35 other Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), in a letter telling the administration they want a “full accounting” of money already spent “before we would consider” new COVID-19 funds.

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US TO SHARE COVID TECHNOLOGY WITH  WORLD

The Biden administration is planning to share government-backed COVID-19 technology with the World Health Organization (WHO) to help low- and middle-income countries access crucial medicines.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Health and Human Service Secretary Xavier Becerra and chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci both confirmed that the U.S. was looking into licensing COVID-19 medical technologies owned by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to the WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access pool (C-TAP).

Becerra and Fauci were unable to provide specific details on this new policy.

According to Fauci, the details of this plan are still being “ironed out.” The technologies will be sub-licensed through the Medicines Patent Pool, a Switzerland-based international organization aimed at enhancing access to medicines for low and middle-income countries.

“We’re still in early stages,” said Becerra. “This latest announcement is an effort to try to let low and middle-income countries know that we want them to have capacities as well.”

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WORLD COVID STATS

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By Associated Press

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