Obama faces political trouble if Hoerig case isn’t addressed

With Ohio as a battleground in the November presidential election, the predominantly Democratic Mahoning Valley will be crucial to President Obama’s re-election bid. But, Obama will have to do some heavy political lifting in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to secure a large enough margin of victory to overcome the Republican vote elsewhere in the state.

One of the ways the president can win over wavering Democrats is by becoming personally involved in the effort to bring to justice the accused killer of Trumbull County resident Karl Hoerig.

It has been five years since Claudia Hoerig, the victim’s wife, fled the United States for her native country, Brazil. Karl, a major in the Air Force Reserve and a pilot for Southwest Airlines, was found shot to death in the couple’s Newton Falls home.

By the time Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who has been unyielding in his effort to see justice done, secured a grand jury murder indictment against Claudia, she was living an open, care-free life in Brazil.

She correctly concluded that the Brazilian government would refuse to honor any extradition request. Despite the involvement of the State Department, the Justice Department and Congress, the effort to bring the U.S. citizen back to Trumbull County to stand trial on a charge of aggravated murder with a gun specification has failed.

The Brazilian government notes that a constitutional amendment prohibits the extradition of a Brazilian citizen to be tried in a foreign country. But as Watkins has consistently noted, Claudia Hoerig renounced her Brazilian citizenship when she became a U.S. citizen.

Even so, the authorities in Brazil continue to protect her. They have suggested that she stand trial in Brazil, which Watkins says is not an acceptable solution.

There is no way the prosecutor and his staff would be operating on a level playing field. It is inconceivable that the Brazilian system of justice — a misnomer if ever there was one — would permit her conviction. And even if she were found guilty, her sentence would be a tap on the wrist.

Deception

It’s time to end this deception. President Obama has the influence with Brazil’s leaders to make extradition a reality.

Prosecutor Watkins sent a letter to the president last week urging his direct involvement in the matter and noting that any increase in the number of visas granted to Brazilians to visit the United States before the Hoerig matter is resolved will not sit well with the residents of the Mahoning Valley. The prosecutor has written several letters to administration officials and members of Congress presenting the facts in Karl Hoerig’s murder case and demanding that his wife be brought to justice — in America.

Congressman Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have been diligent in pursuing avenues of influence, such as attempting to place holds on trade deals, but the White House has the key.

Obama, who risks losing the all-important state of Ohio in the November general election if Democrats in the Valley sit on their hands, must deliver a stern message to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff: No Claudia Hoerig, no visa and trade deals.