Puerto Rican Cop Filmed Killing Unarmed Man

From WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
ISSUE #912, AUGUST 19, 2007

1. Puerto Rico: Cop Filmed Killing Unarmed Man

On Aug. 14 Judge Ana Rivera Vicenty of Hato Rey, Puerto Rico,
formally charged police agent Javier Pagan Cruz with first-degree
murder in the shooting death of Miguel A. Caceres Cruz on Aug. 11
in the eastern city of Humacao. The authorities hadn't decided
whether to charge the two agents who accompanied Pagan Cruz
during the incident, Zulma Diaz de Leon and Carlos Sustache
Sustache. The judge set bail at $500,000 for Pagan Cruz, who was
in the Rio Piedras medical center being treated for a bullet
wound in the leg. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
opened a separate inquiry into the incident on Aug. 13.

The arrest and investigation came after Channel 11 television
aired a videotape an Humacao resident made of the incident, which
reportedly started when Caceres Cruz insulted the police in an
argument over a traffic jam caused by a 15th birthday party.
There was scuffle during which Pagan Cruz's gun went off,
striking him in the leg, according to police. The video appears
to show Caceres Cruz, who was unarmed, on the ground as Pagan
Cruz shot him four times at close range. The two other agents
watched, and then all three agents left the scene.

On Aug. 15 human rights organizations, unions and political
groups held a demonstration at police headquarters in San Juan to
protest police brutality in Puerto Rico. According to the Puerto
Rican Bar Association's Civil Rights Commission, police brutality
has caused six deaths since 2000. FBI spokesperson Harry
Rodriguez said on Aug. 13 that the agency had opened 55 civil
rights violation cases from January 2003 to May 2007; only one
led to an indictment. [El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 8/14/07 from
correspondent, 8/15/07 from AP, 8/16/07 from EFE; International
Herald Tribune (France) 8/13/07 from AP]

On Aug. 16, police agents shot Luis Andres Rodriguez Maya dead in
his home in the southwestern village of Cabo Rojo, apparently
during an early-morning drug raid. Police said that they had been
fired on and a weapon was recovered; some agents told a reporter
that Rodriguez Maya had been shot in the back. [ED-LP 8/17/07
from correspondent]

Also in WNU #912:

--Colombia: Kin Threatened in 1985 Case
--Haiti: Demand Report on Capsize
--Haiti: Two Politicians Missing
--Mexico: 1 Killed in Mining Clash
--Mexico: NY Too Hot for Oaxaca Gov?

More breaking stories from alternative sources:

Pollution in Peru Linked to US Corporation
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/858/1/
Latin American and Caribbean Countries Approve "Quito Consensus"
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/853/1/

For more Latin America news stories from mainstream and
alternative sources:
http://americas.org/news_and_info
http://nacla.newsvine.com/

For immigration updates and events:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com

ISSN#: 1084-922X. Weekly News Update on the Americas covers news
from Latin America and the Caribbean, compiled and written from a
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