Venezuelans march in memory of those killed in unrest

Venezuelans march in memory of those killed in unrest

CARACAS, Venezuela

Thousands of Venezuelans dressed in white marched in the capital Saturday to pay homage to the at least 20 people killed in anti-government unrest in recent weeks.

Protests have been roiling Venezuela on an almost daily basis since the pro-government Supreme Court stripped congress of its last powers three weeks ago, a decision later reversed amid a storm of international rebuke.

But for the first since the protests began, demonstrators managed to cross from the wealthier eastern side of Caracas to the traditionally pro-government west without encountering resistance from state security.

Finance leaders grapple with globalization fears

WASHINGTON

Global finance leaders Saturday dropped a sharp condemnation of trade protectionism and references to climate change from a closing statement that wrapped up the spring meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

This year’s meetings were dominated by a debate over how to respond to a rising tide of anti-globalization sentiment evidenced in the United States by the election of President Donald Trump, who pledged during last year’s campaign that he would reduce America’s huge trade deficits which he blamed for the loss of millions of good-paying factory jobs.

In its communique, the IMF urged nations to avoid “inward-looking policies,” but it did not include tougher language the IMF had used in an October statement in which it had called on all countries to “resist all forms of protectionism.” The new statement also dropped any mention of the threat of climate change.

Authorities drop 33 cases against protesters

BISMARCK, N.D.

Authorities dropped nearly three dozen cases last month that stemmed from arrests of protesters against the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline, court records show.

The Bismarck Tribune reported Saturday that prosecutors and judges dropped the 33 misdemeanor cases while 14 others were resolved by guilty pleas. Most of the cases dropped last month related to criminal trespass charges from the late summer and fall.

Prosecutors struggled to prove those charges before Judge Allan Schmalenberger, who ruled in multiple cases that the Morton County State’s Attorney office had failed to meet its burden of proving that protesters were given proper notice that they were on private land, either with signs or verbal warnings.

Mexico says 2 drug traffickers killed near US border

MEXICO CITY

Two top drug traffickers were killed in pre-dawn shootouts Saturday with federal forces in the northern Mexico border state of Tamaulipas, authorities reported.

The Tamaulipas security spokesman’s office said the men were killed in separate confrontations, which left highways littered with burned-out vehicles.

Julian Loisa Salinas, better known as “Comandante Toro,” was killed in a clash with marines in Reynosa, a city across the border from McAllen, Texas.

Loisa Salinas reportedly was the Gulf cartel’s local leader in Reynosa. Authorities had tried to capture him a number of times, leading to gunbattles with his gang.

Associated Press