Florida man sentenced for helping baseball star Puig flee Cuba

Reuters

Gilberto Suarez/
www.telemundoboston.com

(Reuters) - A Florida man who pleaded guilty to helping smuggle Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig out of Cuba was sentenced to one month in prison followed by five months of house arrest, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
Gilberto Suarez received $2.5 million sometime after Puig, now 24, arrived in the United States in 2012 and signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers.
Court records said the money came from a Dodgers player but did not say it was Puig.
Suarez faced up to 10 years in prison for conspiring to bring in or harbor aliens but received a lighter sentence as part of a December plea agreement.
Under the deal, Suarez agreed to hand over a bank account, a house, a condominium, a 2014 Mercedes-Benz and three handguns.
His attorney could not be reached for comment. The sentencing took place in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.
Suarez paid $250,000 to a group connected to a Mexican drug cartel to get Puig from Cuba to Mexico's east coast, according to an indictment.
He later told the ballplayer to rent a car in Mexico and drive 750 miles (1,200 km) to cross into the United States at Brownsville, Texas, the plea agreement said.
Major League Baseball has voiced concerns about human traffickers smuggling Cuban players into United States, although the league also says its policies are not to blame.
One of the latest high-paid players to defect from the island is 27-year-old Rusney Castillo, who was signed by the Boston Red Sox to a seven-year, $72.5 million contract last year.
(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson in Miami; Editing by David Adams, Karen Brooks and Bill Trott)

Coyote mexicano estafa a esposa de emigrante cubano retenido en Comitan

Oscar Suarez

Ver tambien Cubano emigrante narra como fue capturado en Comitan, México >>

Cubano emigrante narra como fue capturado en Comitan, México

Oscar Suarez

Conversacion con un "Coyote" en Tapachula para sacar cubano hasta frontera

Oscar Suarez

1er Resultado de los Acuerdos Obama-Castro: Guardacostas cubano hunde embarcacion de balseros

es solo el primero. el gobierno norteamericano no se ha pronunciado al respecto y posiblemente sea una de las clausulas secretas que cuba impida la emigracion ilegal por cualquier medio incluyendo el de la fuerza bruta. duras jornadas aguardan a los disidentes y opositores de la isla, pues la represion del regimen cuenta con carta blanca.

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AmericaTeVeCanal41

Was Castro Regime Complicit in Human Trafficking Ring?

cubaconfidential

By Chris Simmons

Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin

14-Plus Years For Cuban Ballplayer Smuggler

By Curt Anderson, AP Legal Affairs Writer

MIAMI — The convicted ringleader of a smuggling organization that brought more than 1,000 Cubans into the U.S., some of them baseball players including Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin, was sentenced Monday to more than 14 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard rejected a request for leniency by Eliezer Lazo, whom she noted was paid $22,000 a month through the scheme — not counting the percentages of any professional baseball contracts the players signed. Prosecutors say Martin paid the Lazo group $1.2 million after signing with the Rangers in 2011.

"That's a lot of money," Lenard said.

Lazo, 41, will begin serving the sentence after finishing an unrelated five-year prison term for money laundering in a Medicare fraud case. In the smuggling case, he pleaded guilty in August to extortion conspiracy.

The Lazo organization smuggled Cubans by boat to Mexico for $10,000 each, more for the baseball players, according to court documents. They would then usually travel to the U.S. border crossing at Laredo, Texas, and ask to be permitted to stay in the U.S.

Under the U.S. "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the U.S. are generally allowed to remain while those intercepted at sea are returned to the communist island. Lazo's attorney, William Clay, said many of Lazo's customers were overjoyed to make it to the U.S. despite the costs.

"They had gotten what they bargained for," Clay said.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Davidson said migrants who couldn't pay were held for ransom by armed guards, often threatened and sometimes beaten. Although Lazo himself did not participate in any violence, Davidson said he was well aware it was going on.

"This man is not a freedom fighter," Davidson said.

The case also provided a glimpse into how Mexican drug cartels get their cut of the migrant smuggling business. Court documents show that in the Cancun area, the Zetas cartel charges Cuban smugglers $10,000 per boat and up to $3,000 per migrant to allow them to pass through their territory and assist in paying bribes to local officials.

No evidence surfaced in the case that Martin or any of the other valuable Cuban ballplayers were mistreated. Only Martin has been identified by name in the Lazo case, but other Cuban stars such as Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig have also been smuggled through Mexico.

Read more here: Human Trafficking

14-plus years for Cuban ballplayer smuggler

usatoday

Curt Anderson

MIAMI (AP) — The convicted ringleader of a smuggling organization that brought more than 1,000 Cubans into the U.S., some of them baseball players including Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin, was sentenced Monday to more than 14 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard rejected a request for leniency by Eliezer Lazo, whom she noted was paid $22,000 a month through the scheme — not counting the percentages of any professional baseball contracts the players signed. Prosecutors say Martin paid the Lazo group $1.2 million after signing with the Rangers in 2011.

"That's a lot of money," Lenard said.

Lazo, 41, will begin serving the sentence after finishing an unrelated five-year prison term for money laundering in a Medicare fraud case. In the smuggling case, he pleaded guilty in August to extortion conspiracy.

The Lazo organization smuggled Cubans by boat to Mexico for $10,000 each, more for the baseball players, according to court documents. They would then usually travel to the U.S. border crossing at Laredo, Texas, and ask to be permitted to stay in the U.S.

Under the U.S. "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the U.S. are generally allowed to remain while those intercepted at sea are returned to the communist island. Lazo's attorney, William Clay, said many of Lazo's customers were overjoyed to make it to the U.S. despite the costs.

"They had gotten what they bargained for," Clay said.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Davidson said migrants who couldn't pay were held for ransom by armed guards, often threatened and sometimes beaten. Although Lazo himself did not participate in any violence, Davidson said he was well aware it was going on.

"This man is not a freedom fighter," Davidson said.

The case also provided a glimpse into how Mexican drug cartels get their cut of the migrant smuggling business. Court documents show that in the Cancun area, the Zetas cartel charges Cuban smugglers $10,000 per boat and up to $3,000 per migrant to allow them to pass through their territory and assist in paying bribes to local officials.

No evidence surfaced in the case that Martin or any of the other valuable Cuban ballplayers were mistreated. Only Martin has been identified by name in the Lazo case, but other Cuban stars such as Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig have also been smuggled through Mexico.

Aside from being free from Cuba, baseball players from that country have an incentive to go to a third country such as Mexico before signing MLB contracts. If they came directly to the U.S., they would be subject to the MLB draft and likely sign a less lucrative deal. Going to Mexico first makes them free agents looking for the highest bidder.

Martin, a speedy outfielder, signed a five-year, $15.5 million contract with the Rangers in 2011. Last year he batted .274 and stole 31 bases.

Clay indicated he may appeal Lazo's sentence, calling it "unreasonable" because Lazo offered to cooperate with investigators before he was indicted and had only a limited role in the extortion. For his part, Lazo apologized for his crimes through a Spanish interpreter.

"I am very repentant and remorseful for the crimes I have committed," Lazo said. "I am so sorry I got involved in these issues."

Cuban Baseball Players Being Interviewed by Feds

Sports

On Tuesday it was reported that federal authorities in the United States have been interviewing Cuban baseball players in the MLB to obtain more information about alleged smuggling rings that have brought a number of them to the United States.

A man by the name of Gilberto Suarez was charged for his alleged role in smuggling Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig out of Cuba and into the U.S. The 40-year-old pleaded not guilty to a charge of alien smuggling conspiracy last week and investigators are seeking millions of dollars in cash and purchases that Suarez allegedly received from Puig's $42 million contract.

Court documents also indicated back in April that Puig, and a Cuban boxer who was also smuggled to the U.S. during the same operation, have been receiving death threats from their alleged smugglers because of unpaid debts. Suarez and others allegedly financed the $400,000 smuggling trip, which took Puig and the boxer, Yunior Despaigne, by boat to Isla Mujeres near Cancun, Mexico. The two were then taken to Mexico City by ferry and granted residency by the Mexican government. Puig was then soon signed to a $42 million contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, of which he reportedly owes 20% to both the Cuban- and Mexican-based smugglers.

According to sources, Puig has been interviewed on several occasions and is fully cooperating with federal authorities throughout the investigation. The feds are looking to solve the Suarez case, which almost mirrors that of Eliezer Lazo. The 41-year-old Lazo pleaded guilty in August to U.S. extortion charges involving the smuggling of more than 1,000 Cubans that netted him $1.5 million, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Davidson. His smuggling venture is believed to have included Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin.

In the documents for Suarez's case, Puig is believed to be the person who is referred to as "Y.P." and there are two others - "M.A.G." and "A.D." - that investigators are seeking out to find out what they know. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Aledmys Diaz are two other MLB players who are believed to be paying smugglers a cut of their contract, as it was discovered Puig was doing when "at least one person affiliated with the Mexican-based smugglers who initially got Puig out of Cuba showed up at the Dodgers' team hotel and demanded Puig pay the money they felt they were still owed," ESPN reported back in April.

Both the U.S. and Cuban governments are seeking out these smugglers and are recruiting baseball players to become informants regarding the subject. Secret police in Cuba are believed to be watching the Cuban players within their country to obtain information about the smugglers, while U.S. officials are calling MLB teams to speak with any Cuban players on their rosters.

Eliezer Lazo enters guilty plea for leading human trafficking ring

Read at ESPN >>

Mexico Commits "Act of War" Against USA: Children a tools for secret agenda

Mary Greeley

Red de trafico de cubanos

AmericaTeVeCanal41

Acusan de "chivato" a Yasiel Puig

Martí Noticias

Yasiel Puig of Los Angeles Dodgers has received threats from human traffickers

ESPN

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has received threats from the human traffickers who orchestrated his 2012 defection from Cuba to Mexico, according to a five-month ESPN The Magazine investigation, which uncovers new details about Puig's harrowing escape from Cuba and the complexities of the illegal human trafficking rings that continue to shuttle major league prospects off the island.

The magazine's report, by reporter Scott Eden, to be posted online Thursday, also explores a civil lawsuit filed in a Florida federal court that accuses Puig of wrongfully accusing a man of attempting to set up a defection. The suit was reported on by LA Magazine earlier this week.

Two years ago, Yasiel Puig fled Cuba in the hands of black-market smugglers. Scott Eden details how the cost of Puig's defection -- in money and human lives -- shadows him still. ESPN The Mag »

Much of the information came through interviews with more than 80 sources, in addition to court documents in the civil suits filed against Puig and fellow Cuban Aroldis Chapman, who pitches for the Cincinnati Reds.

ESPN The Magazine's reporting included exclusive conversations with a childhood friend of Puig's, Yunior Despaigne, who was with Puig throughout the escape journey and whose firsthand account sheds new light on Puig's fifth -- and ultimately successful -- attempt to defect.

Puig issued a statement Wednesday on the reports of his trek from Cuba that said: "I'm aware of the recent articles and news accounts. I understand that people are curious and have questions, but I will have no comment on this subject. I'm represented on this matter, and I'm only focused on being a productive teammate and helping the Dodgers win games."

Puig had previously not talked publicly about his defection, other than to once say there would be a movie based on it someday.

According to Despaigne's account, the future Dodgers right fielder was in physical danger numerous times -- diving into dark waters to evade Cuban authorities, hiking through crocodile-infested mangrove swamps and being held captive on an island near Cancun, Mexico.

Puig and three other defectors, including Despaigne, spent several weeks in a guarded apartment on Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of Cancun. The trafficking ring that delivered him from Cuba to Mexico was headed by an escaped felony suspect wanted by U.S. authorities, sources told the magazine. The group was awaiting payment from a Miami middleman who arranged the escape, but when that payment was slow in coming, things escalated, sources said.

In the LA Magazine story, Despaigne said, "If they didn't receive the money, they were saying that at any moment they might give him a machetazo," a whack with a machete, "chop off an arm, a finger, whatever, and he would never play baseball again, not for anyone."

Puig and three other defectors spent several weeks in a guarded apartment on Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of Cancun. The trafficking ring that delivered him from Cuba to Mexico was headed by an escaped felony suspect wanted by U.S. authorities.

However, a rival ring executed a successful late-night plan to steal Puig and get him to Mexico City, sources told the magazine. Once there, Puig was granted residency status in weeks, and after his auditions for scouts from several teams, Puig's agent at the time, Jaime Torres, announced that the slugger had signed with the Dodgers for $42 million.

Upon receiving his signing bonus, Puig allegedly paid 20 percent of his total contract value to the Florida group that ultimately brought him to the United States in July 2012. After arriving, Puig joined the Dodgers' farm system and was invited to their 2013 spring training, where he hit .517 in 58 at-bats.

ESPN The Magazine learned from a source close to a smuggler involved in the episode that, during that time, at least one person affiliated with the Mexican-based smugglers who initially got Puig out of Cuba showed up at the Dodgers' team hotel and demanded Puig pay the money they felt they were still owed.

Prior to that, a member of that same ring was found shot to death on the side of a road in Cancun. Later, a member of the rival group that "stole" away Puig was allegedly abducted but later released.

Puig is being sued for $12 million in Florida in an action that alleges he wrongfully accused a man of attempting to set up a prior defection. The plaintiff, a Cuban citizen, was sentenced to seven years in jail as a result of Puig's testimony. The suit has been filed in the United States under the Torture Victims Protection Act, a piece of human rights legislation signed by George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Informant tactics are referred to as denunciations. According to ESPN The Magazine's interviews with Cuban ballplayers in the U.S., both retired and active, former Cuban government officials and former Cuban and American spies, denunciations are common among Cuban athletes trying to avoid harsh penalties from the government following unsuccessful defections.

In a case similar to Puig's, a Florida family seeks $18 million from Chapman. Neither Puig nor Chapman has yet been found liable. The Chapman case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 17. The judge in Puig's suit is deliberating a second motion to dismiss.

North Port couple indicted for smuggling Cuban immigrants

NORTH PORT - A special agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detailed in federal court last week how a North Port couple led an operation to smuggle 150 undocumented Cuban immigrants into the United States.

According to a federal indictment, Carlos Velazquez-Roman, 52, and Jasmine Santos-Martinez, 40, both of the 4800 block of Kendsha Street, helped to organize the human trafficking operation from May 3 of 2007 until at least May 13 of 2013. Velazquez-Roman and Santos-Martinez have a common-law marriage.

Four other Floridians, from Port Charlotte, Miami and Hialeah, were also charged in connection with the smuggling ring.

The operation apparently involved smuggling Cubans by boat to the United States, holding them in North Port. They would then be taken to Miami to “stage” a landing so they could encounter the Border Patrol.

“Cuban migrants want to get encountered by the Border Patrol,” Special Agent Jennifer Silliman said, “because once they have landed here in the United States, they are allowed to stay.”

Silliman testified Tuesday and called Velazquez-Roman the “leader” of the operation.

The human smuggling ring operated out of a bright orange home in a North Port residential neighborhood. Neighbors said Velazquez-Roman and Santos-Martinez kept to themselves.

One neighbor, who did not want to be named, said an older woman whose backyard used to border the couple's backyard would always talk about the commotion she heard from the house.

“She said people were staying in the boat they had parked behind their house,” the neighbor said.

More on HeraldTribune.com >>

Ecuador desmantela una red dedicada a facilitar el ingreso ilegal de cubanos

Diario de Cuba

La Policía de Ecuador informó este martes de la detención de 16 personas durante la desarticulación de una agrupación supuestamente dedicada a facilitar el ingreso ilegal de cubanos en este país andino, reportó EFE.

Entre los detenidos aparecen funcionarios públicos y empleados de notarías, quienes habrían tramitado documentos migratorios "en forma ilegal para regularizar la permanencia en el país" de algunos cubanos, señala un comunicado del Ministerio del Interior.

Ocho de los 16 detenidos en el operativo, ejecutado por más de 200 miembros de la Policía con el apoyo de quince fiscales, son de nacionalidad cubana, según el Ministerio, que añade que en la acción se logró "una gran cantidad de evidencia documental, tres armas de fuego y aproximadamente 500.000 dólares".

Apuntó que el operativo, denominado "Carta Negra", se concretó luego de tres meses de actividades de inteligencia, así como el cumplimiento de diversas diligencias de investigación en coordinación con la Fiscalía de la provincia de Pichincha, cuya capital es Quito.

"Con este respaldo se identificó la existencia de una organización delictiva de carácter internacional integrada por ciudadanos de nacionalidad ecuatoriana y cubana, que venía operando en la ciudad de Quito", señala.

Detalla que los integrantes de esta red delictiva reclutaban a ciudadanos ecuatorianos de escasos recursos económicos con el objetivo de que estos presten su identidad y firma. A cambio recibían dinero para facilitar cartas de invitación para ciudadanos cubanos, permitiendo así su ingreso en Ecuador.

Se cobraba a los ciudadanos cubanos entre 800 y 1.000 dólares estadounidenses. Se armaba un despliegue logístico que iniciaba con el reclutamiento en Cuba, "desde donde les proveían del transporte, alojamiento, y la obtención de documentos de viaje en forma irregular, para su traslado" hacia Ecuador, dice el comunicado del Ministerio.

República Dominicana desmantela red que transportaba cubanos a EE.UU.

Diario DigitalRD

Agentes policiales, en coordinación con personal de la Armada de la República Dominicana, desmantelaron ayer una red de trata y tráfico de personas, que se dedicaba a gestionar la salida de cubanos desde Cuba con destino a Haití para luego cruzar la frontera y gestionar el ingreso de estos de manera ilegal a territorio norteamericano.

En la operación, coordinada por las divisiones de Inteligencia de la Policía y la Armada (Marina de Guerra), fueron apresados los cubanos Vladimir Meléndez y Mailer Lorenzo, y los dominicanos Ángel Familia Rivera y Carlos Manuel Núñez.

La Policía explicó que en poder de Núñez se ocupó la pistola Ruger P94, numeración 80810276, mientras que a los demás se les encontró dos armas blanca, documentación cubana, entre otras pertenencias,.

Se encuentran bajo control de las autoridades, además, los cubanos Yorelis Pentón BURGOS, Alfredo Zayas Valdez, Bonet Piñeiro Machado, Roberto Felipe Labranza, Yoani Pina Rodríguez y Dianely Velásquez.

El reporte preliminar refiere que la red se dedicaba a la trata y tráfico de personas, cobrando por sus servicios una cantidad indeterminada de dinero.

La operación consistía en transportar los nacionales cubanos desde Cuba a Haití, para luego de manera ilegal cruzar la frontera.

Tras estar en territorio dominicano establecían domicilio en comunidades de Santiago y luego en el momento que estimaran oportuno realizaban la travesía con destino a la vecina isla de Puerto Rico.

Los cubanos luego de penetrar a territorio de Estados Unidos se entregaban a las autoridades norteamericanas, a las cuales solicitan asilo político.

EEUU mantiene a Cuba en la 'lista negra' del tráfico de personas

La Habana, 19 jun (EFE).- El Gobierno de Cuba rechazó hoy "enérgicamente" y tildó de "calumnia" la inclusión de la isla en la "lista negra" de un informe del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos sobre la trata de personas.

La directora de Estados Unidos de la cancillería cubana, Josefina Vidal, divulgó esta tarde una declaración en la cual demandó que "de una vez se ponga fin a esta bochornosa designación" en ese listado en el que aparece desde hace varios años.

"Cuba es reconocida en el mundo entero por su desempeño ejemplar en la protección de la niñez, la juventud y la mujer. No es país de origen, tránsito, ni destino de la trata de personas", afirmó la funcionaria cubana.

Vidal consideró que se trata de una nueva acción del Gobierno estadounidense "para tratar de desacreditar y justificar" su política contra Cuba, "universalmente rechazada".

"Lo que daña a la niñez, la juventud, la mujer y a todo el pueblo cubano es el bloqueo de los Estados Unidos", añadió.

Además sostuvo que EE.UU. incluyó de nuevo a la isla "de manera arbitraria y malintencionada" y en "la peor de las categorías" del informe del Departamento de Estado sobre la trata de personas.

"Estados Unidos no tiene moral alguna para singularizar a Cuba cuando el propio gobierno norteamericano se ha visto obligado a admitir que es un país de origen, tránsito y destino de hombres mujeres y niños, estadounidenses y extranjeros, sujetos a trabajo forzado, esclavitud, servidumbre y tráfico sexual", remarcó.

El "Informe sobre Tráfico de Personas 2012" del Departamento de Estado publicado este miércoles acusa a veinte países de no implementar las acciones necesarias para combatir el problema de la "esclavitud moderna", por lo que podrían recibir sanciones como la congelación de la ayuda no humanitaria y no comercial.

Cuba es el único país latinoamericano que permanece en esa categoría por su carácter de "fuente de adultos y niños que son sometidos a tráfico sexual y trabajos forzados", según esa evaluación.

También y por el hecho de que "su Gobierno no está haciendo esfuerzos significativos para cumplir con los mínimos estándares para la eliminación del tráfico".

El informe, que estudia el tráfico de personas en 188 países y los clasifica en cuatro categorías según su cumplimiento, condena también a Siria, Irán, Corea del Norte, Libia, Yemen, Arabia Saudí, Sudán, República Democrática del Congo y Mauritania, y agregó esta vez a China, Rusia y Uzbekistán.

Según cálculos del Departamento de Estado norteamericano en todo el mundo hay 27 millones de víctimas del tráfico de personas, un término que engloba a quienes están sujetos a servidumbre involuntaria, esclavitud, servidumbre por deudas, trabajo forzoso o explotación sexual.

Violentos enfrentamientos en Argentina por el caso Marita Verón

ActualidadRT

Susana Trimarco con un retrato de su hija, Marita Verón

En Argentina se desarrollan protestas contra el fallo judicial que absolvió a los acusados del secuestro y explotación sexual de Marita Verón. El camarógrafo de RT que cubría las manifestaciones fue inexplicablemente agredido por la Policía.

Violentos enfrentamientos con la Policía empezaron cuando los manifestantes atacaron con piedras la Casa de Tucumán ubicada en Suipacha 140 de la capital argentina. El camarógrafo tomaba imágenes cuando fue herido por la infantería que reprimía a los manifestantes. Él sufrió un fuerte golpe en la cabeza. Actualmente es atendido por los médicos.

Manifestantes se reúnen frente a la casa de la provincia de Tucumán para expresar su repudio por la absolución de los 13 imputados en la causa y para protestar contra "la justicia prostituyente". Numerosas protestas, que se realizan en todo el país, dejaron varios heridos y detenidos.

Los 13 acusados por el secuestro y sometimiento de la joven a la prostitución, seis mujeres y siete hombres, fueron absueltos en un fallo unánime en la Sala II de la Cámara Penal de los Tribunales de la provincia de Tucumán con el argumento de la "falta de pruebas". El polémico fallo ha provocado una gran indignación en la sociedad argentina.

Detalles del caso: Marita Verón, secuestrada hace diez años en Argentina por una red de trata de blancas

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Foto:  rionegro.com.ar

Longtime Missing Child Madeleine McCann Reportedly Sighted In India

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Asian brides for sale

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Jul 22, 2011

A flourishing mail order bride industry in Asia is leading to sex trafficking and domestic violence, even murder. 101 East investigates the dramatic increase in the trend in South Korea, and growing calls for stricter screening of interracial unions.