Slingshot

Hoy 5 de enero del 2009, la sinrazón continúa queriendo anclarse en lo transitorio para llegar al cielo.

The Lone Cypress

The Lone Cypress on Pebble Beach, California's 17 Mile Drive is a famous landmark of the area.

YA LLEVAMOS 10 MUERTES VIOLENTAS EN 4 DÍAS

Alonso Brenes Mora (en recuadro), de 29 años, recibió al menos dos balazos en su cuello y nariz. El hecho se dio en el sector conocido como “El Codo del Diablo” en Alajuelita. Según las autoridades, se trató de un aparente ajuste de cuentas cuando dos hombres a pie se acercaron y le dispararon sin mediar palabra alguna. (Foto: Oldemar Siles)

• El Codo del Diablo, Alajuelita:

LO EJECUTAN EN SU VEHÍCULO

El cuerpo inerte de Brenes Mora quedó dentro del vehículo en que viajaba, con un balazo en la cara y otro en el cuello.

Un hombre identificado por las autoridades como Alonso Brenes Mora, de 29 años, murió a consecuencia de dos impactos de bala en la cara y el cuello.

El hombre, quien viajaba en su Honda blanco, placas 731176, venía de un mirador cuando dos pistoleros la emprendieron a tiros contra él. El hecho se produjo el sábado a las 9.30 de la noche.

Según varios testigos, al momento de cometer el crimen los asesinos venían a pie pero al parecer a varios metros los esperaban dos hombres en un carro para emprender la huida.

Las autoridades judiciales recolectaron evidencia para tratar de esclarecer este crimen. Se desconoce si el ahora fallecido venía solo, el caso está bajo investigación.

¿QUIEN ERA?

Nombre: Alonso de los Ángeles Brenes Mora
Edad: 29 años
Vecino de: Los Cuadros, Goicoechea
Ocupación: Estudiante

---

Pro 25:28 He that [hath] no rule over his own spirit [is like] a city [that is] broken down, [and] without walls.

6 of 9 People Killed at California Party Are Identified

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: January 3, 2009

COVINA, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has identified six of the nine people killed when a man dressed as Santa Claus attacked his former wife’s family on Christmas Eve, an official said Saturday.

The gunman, Bruce Pardo, who was distraught over his divorce, opened fire at the Covina home where his former wife and her family had gathered, the authorities said.

Mr. Pardo then sprayed the house with flammable gas. He was burned when the gas ignited, and he later fatally shot himself.

The coroner’s office official, Lt. Larry Dietz, said Saturday that the bodies of the parents of Mr. Pardo’s ex-wife had been identified. They were Joseph Ortega, 80, of Covina, who died from multiple gunshot wounds, and Alicia Ortega, 70, who was shot in the abdomen.

Also killed were Teresa Ortega, 51, who was shot in the leg but died from burns and smoke inhalation; Alicia Ortiz, 46, of Upland; Charles Ortega, 50, of West Covina, and his wife, Cheri, 45.

Ms. Ortiz, Charles Ortega and Cheri Ortega died of multiple injuries, including burns, gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation.

Three bodies remain unidentified.

The Covina police said three people were listed as missing: Mr. Pardo’s ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo, 43; Teresa Ortega’s husband, James, 52; and Michael Ortiz, the 17-year-old son of Ms. Ortiz.
source : NYT

Larry's Central American Travels

Por un lado este "post" de Larry en su blog Larry's Travels in Central America debería aparecer en el blog de turismo Costa Rica en la Red, pero el ángulo fascineroso denunciado por Larry, lo hace también, a este artículo, un buen candidato para aparecer en este blog dedicado a la recopilación de "noticia negra", y decidí ponerlo aquí. Pos, ahí les va!

The View From The Hotel Balcony

Some Things Never Change

Greed, investment schemes, and naivety never seemed to go away - or change significantly with time or location.

Five days ago, the Panamanian Justice Department shut down an investment corporation operating in Panama as DMG Investments. DMG's CEO, David Guzman a 26-year old Colombian who resided for the last two years in a $9,000 per month rental luxury condo in Panama City, was arrested and deported by request of the Colombian government where Guzman is under indictment for fraud, running a Ponzi scheme and money laundering.

In the last five days, in addition to the luxury yacht and three autos confiscated last week, officials have seized three Maserattis, two Lamborghini, two Ferrari, and two Hummers. Officials say they are "making some progress" on untangling the web of 200+ shell companies used to run Guzman's operations in Panama. The shells were established to make it difficult to determine the sources of funding or the individuals involved. For example, each of the vehicles was registered to a different one of the shell companies. Officials also noted that many of the companies where operating without licensing, which raises the additional questions about how/why they were able to open bank accounts in banks in Panama.

The basic model of DMG's core company has been characterized as a "classic Ponzi scheme." The explanation example provided by officials is that "a person would invest any amount of money, say for example $10,000, and would receive a 'redemption card' for $10,000 with which they could make purchases of any kind, virtually anyplace in the country that accepted credit cards. When the investor had exhausted their purchase limit, they would be issued a 'black redemption card' good in six months from issue for (in this example) $5,000 in additional purchases (a 150% interest rate), or a similar card good a year from now for $10,000 (a 200% rate)." The model must have worked since DMG had thousands of happy investors in it's over three years of operations in Panama.

But, how could it work? Well, it turns out it was not a 'classic' Ponzi scheme - the money to pay old investors was not coming just from new investors. Panama's investigators are now in agreement with Colombian officials that the whole business was a very elaborate and sophisticated scheme to launder drug money. Welcome to modern crime!

It is interesting to note that the Colombian government officially notified the Panamanian government over three weeks ago that Guzman was wanted in Colombia and several other Latin American countries for operating the exact same illegal business model that he was now operating in Panama. The Panamanian government's only action at that point was to issue a 'Consumer's Alert' stating that "DMG's business might not be a good investment for consumers." The shut-down action did not occur until Colombia petitioned Panama to extradite Guzman to Colombia for prosecution.

It is also interesting, and enlightening, to note that there have been large demonstrations by DMG investors in both Colombia and Panama prompted by the company's shut-down. The demonstrations were not at DMG's shuttered offices, but at government offices. Demonstrators are irate that the governments messed up a good deal for the happy investors.

My Video About Children´s Smiles Seems Appropriate For The Season

The Cruise Season In Panama Has Started

Panama's Tourism Bureau has opened an investigation to determine why visitors on cruise ships stopping in Panama are not disembarking to sample the local color. The Coral Princess docked overnight last weekend in the port of Colon, the first major cruise ship to arrive this cruise season. The Coral Princess was in port from 11AM on Friday until 3PM on Saturday, and only 700 of the 1,930 passengers got off the ship to 'play tourist.'

Do you suppose that the investigation may 'uncover' that the world-wide infamy of the crime problem in Colon may have something to do with it? Duh! Dear Tourism Bureau: Read any popular tour guide book or pamphlet published in the last 4-5 years. Over!

Till Next Time. Pura Vida.

Source : Larry's Travel in Central America

Editorial

Op-Ed Columnist

The Evil Behind the Smiles

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: December 31, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times

Sina Vann

On the Ground

Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels.

Go to Columnist Page »

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof

Western men who visit red-light districts in poor countries often find themselves surrounded by coquettish teenage girls laughingly tugging them toward the brothels. The men assume that the girls are there voluntarily, and in some cases they are right.

But anyone inclined to take the girls’ smiles at face value should talk to Sina Vann, who was once one of those smiling girls.

Sina is Vietnamese but was kidnapped at the age of 13 and taken to Cambodia, where she was drugged. She said she woke up naked and bloody on a bed with a white man — she doesn’t know his nationality — who had purchased her virginity.

After that, she was locked on the upper floors of a nice hotel and offered to Western men and wealthy Cambodians. She said she was beaten ferociously to force her to smile and act seductive.

“My first phrase in Khmer,” the Cambodian language, “was, ‘I want to sleep with you,’ ” she said. “My first phrase in English was” — well, it’s unprintable.

Sina mostly followed instructions and smiled alluringly at men because she would have been beaten if men didn’t choose her. But sometimes she was in such pain that she resisted, and then she said she would be dragged down to a torture chamber in the basement.

“Many of the brothels have these torture chambers,” she said. “They are underground because then the girls’ screams are muffled.”

As in many brothels, the torture of choice was electric shocks. Sina would be tied down, doused in water and then prodded with wires running from the 220-volt wall outlet. The jolt causes intense pain, sometimes evacuation of the bladder and bowel — and even unconsciousness.

Shocks fit well into the brothel business model because they cause agonizing pain and terrify the girls without damaging their looks or undermining their market value.

After the beatings and shocks, Sina said she would be locked naked in a wooden coffin full of biting ants. The coffin was dark, suffocating and so tight that she could not move her hands up to her face to brush off the ants. Her tears washed the ants out of her eyes.

She was locked in the coffin for a day or two at a time, and she said this happened many, many times.

Finally, Sina was freed in a police raid, and found herself blinded by the first daylight she had seen in years. The raid was organized by Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who herself had been sold into the brothels but managed to escape, educate herself and now heads a foundation fighting forced prostitution.

After being freed, Sina began studying and eventually became one of Somaly’s trusted lieutenants. They now work together, in defiance of death threats from brothel owners, to free other girls. To get at Somaly, the brothel owners kidnapped and brutalized her 14-year-old daughter. And six months ago, the daughter of another anti-trafficking activist (my interpreter when I interviewed Sina) went missing.

I had heard about torture chambers under the brothels but had never seen one, so a few days ago Sina took me to the red-light district here where she once was imprisoned. A brothel had been torn down, revealing a warren of dungeons underneath.

“I was in a room just like those,” she said, pointing. “There must be many girls who died in those rooms.” She grew distressed and added: “I’m cold and afraid. Tonight I won’t sleep.”

“Photograph quickly,” she added, and pointed to brothels lining the street. “It’s not safe to stay here long.”

Sina and Somaly sustain themselves with a wicked sense of humor. They tease each other mercilessly, with Sina, who is single, mock-scolding Somaly: “At least I had plenty of men until you had to come along and rescue me!”

Sex trafficking is truly the 21st century’s version of slavery. One of the differences from 19th-century slavery is that many of these modern slaves will die of AIDS by their late 20s.

Whenever I report on sex trafficking, I come away less depressed by the atrocities than inspired by the courage of modern abolitionists like Somaly and Sina. They are risking their lives to help others still locked up in the brothels, and they have the credibility and experience to lead this fight. In my next column, I’ll introduce a girl that Sina is now helping to recover from mind-boggling torture in a brothel — and Sina’s own story gives hope to the girl in a way that an army of psychologists couldn’t.

I hope that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will recognize slavery as unfinished business on the foreign policy agenda. The abolitionist cause simply hasn’t been completed as long as 14-year-old girls are being jolted with electric shocks — right now, as you read this — to make them smile before oblivious tourists.

I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.

Girls For Sale

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: January 17, 2004

One thinks of slavery as an evil confined to musty sepia photographs. But there are 21st-century versions of slaves as well, girls like Srey Neth.

I met Srey Neth, a lovely, giggly wisp of a teenager, here in the wild smuggling town of Poipet in northwestern Cambodia. Girls here are bought and sold, but there is an important difference compared with the 19th century: many of these modern slaves will be dead of AIDS by their 20's.

Some 700,000 people are trafficked around the world each year, many of them just girls. They form part of what I believe will be the paramount moral challenge we will face in this century: to address the brutality that is the lot of so many women in the developing world. Yet it's an issue that gets little attention and that most American women's groups have done shamefully little to address.

Poipet, 220 miles on bouncy roads from Phnom Penh, is a dusty collection of dirt alleys lined with brothels, where teenage girls clutch at any man walking by. It has a reputation as one of the wildest places in Cambodia, an anything-goes town ruled by drugs, gangs, gambling and prostitution.

The only way to have access to the girls is to appear to be a customer. So I put out the word that I wanted to meet young girls and stayed at the seedy $8-a-night Phnom Pich Guest House -- and a woman who is a pimp soon brought Srey Neth to my room.

Srey Neth claimed to be 18 but looked several years younger. She insisted at first (through my Khmer interpreter) that she was free and not controlled by the guesthouse. But soon she told her real story: a female cousin had arranged her sale and taken her to the guesthouse. Now she was sharing a room with three other prostitutes, and they were all pimped to guests.

''I can walk around in Poipet, but only with a close relative of the owner,'' she said. ''They keep me under close watch.They do not let me go out alone. They're afraid I would run away.''

Why not try to escape at night?

''They would get me back, and something bad would happen. Maybe a beating. I heard that when a group of girls tried to escape, they locked them in the rooms and beat them up.''

''What about the police?'' I asked. ''Couldn't you call out to the police for help?''

''The police wouldn't help me because they get bribes from the brothel owners,'' Srey Neth said, adding that senior police officials had come to the guesthouse for sex with her.

I asked Srey Neth how much it would cost to buy her freedom. She named an amount equivalent to $150.

''Do you really want to leave?'' I asked. ''Are you sure you wouldn't come back to this?''

She had been watching TV and listlessly answering my questions. Now she turned abruptly and snorted. ''This is a hell,'' she said sharply, speaking with passion for the first time. ''You think I want to do this?''

Another girl, Srey Mom, grabbed at me as I walked down the street. She wouldn't let go, tugging me toward the inner depths of her brothel -- but she looked so young and pitiable that I couldn't help thinking that she really wanted me to tug her away.

So I did. I paid the owner $8 to spring her for the evening and then took her away for an interview. (Photographs of both girls are at www.nytimes.com/kristof.)

The owner let Srey Mom go out unsupervised, it turned out, partly because she had been a prostitute for several years and was trusted to return -- and partly because her dark complexion meant that she was of little value anyway. The brothel sold her to men for just $2.50, compared with the $10 commanded by the lighter-skinned Srey Neth.

I asked Srey Mom what her freedom would cost. Payment of about $70 in debts to her brothel owner, she said. Two girls in her brothel had been freed after they found boyfriends who paid their debts, she said, and she spoke of her longing to see her sisters and the rest of her family in her village on the other side of Cambodia.

''Do you really want to leave the brothel?'' I asked.

''I love myself,'' she answered simply. ''I do not want to let my life be destroyed by what I'm doing now.''

That's when I made a firm decision I'd been toying with for some time: I would try to buy freedom for these two girls and return them to their families. I'll tell you in my column on Wednesday what happens next.

E-mail: nicholas@nytimes.com

possible leads:
-"el extraño retorno de Diana Salazar"- Ernesto Alonso
-"Punta Mona"- geografía Caribe Sur Costa Rica
• A taxista en La Unión, Cartago

ANTES DE MATARLO LE QUEMAN TESTÍCULOS

• Taxista “pirata”, Calle a Corís, La Unión, Cartago:

LE QUEMAN GENITALES Y LO MATAN DE 4 BALAZOS

CARLOS VARGAS SOLANO
cvargas@diarioextra.com
Fotos: Randall Sandoval

El cuerpo de Olivares fue arrojado a cuatro metros de la calle.

Boca arriba, tendido en un pastizal a la orilla de la calle, con los genitales quemados y cuatro impactos de bala fue hallado el cuerpo sin vida del taxista informal Jefrey Olivares Calvo, de 29 años.

Cuando lo encontraron de su pantalón tipo “short” aún salía humo y la sangre caliente le recorría la cara y el pecho; en ese momento eran pasadas las 10 de la mañana de ayer, en una propiedad solitaria, en Calle a Corís, Río Azul de La Unión, Cartago.

Según la Fuerza Pública, el hombre presentaba cuatro impactos de bala, dos en la cabeza, uno el pecho y otro en un brazo. Además exhibía quemaduras de la cintura para abajo.

Vecinos de la zona divisaron el cuerpo y dieron aviso a las autoridades policiales, la noticia llegó rápidamente a un grupo de taxistas “piratas” amigos de Olivares, quienes se apersonaron al sitio antes de que la policía llegara.

A varios kilómetros, en Calle Las Yeguas, Higuito de Desamparados, fue hallado el Hyundai Euro Accent azul que conducía Olivares. El carro apareció a las 6 de la mañana y para despistar los asesinos fueron a tirar el cuerpo a Calle a Corís.

MUERTE PLANEADA

La muerte de Olivares fue un acto planeado. Los asesinos actuaron por algún motivo de desquite que las autoridades policiales aún investigan.

Según indicaron conocidos y familiares del taxista, el hombre arrastraba algunos problemas con dos nicaragüenses conocidos como “Chino” y “Paisa”, a quienes supuestamente les debía dinero.

La víctima mortal salió de su casa en Linda Vista de Río Azul, la noche del domingo, según dijo iba para Zapote a buscar clientes, sin embargo su salida de trabajo no tuvo regreso.

“Llegó a la casa como a las 8 de la noche, cenó con nosotros, ya había trabajado todo el día, dijo que iba a dar una vuelta y salió en el carro”, indicó el suegro de Olivares, Carlos Quesada.

La última vez que amigos y colegas lo vieron fue el domingo a las 11 de la noche. “No sabíamos si andaba haciendo un viaje o qué pero no había llegado a dormir a la casa y su esposa ya estaba preocupada”, dijo Gary de la O Calvo, primo del asesinado.

VIERON EL CARRO

A las 3 de la madrugada de ayer varios compañeros de Olivares vieron el taxi pirata de su amigo pasar a alta velocidad por las calles de Desamparados. Lo que les preocupó fue que el carro era conducido por otra persona que no pudieron identificar y adentro viajaban otros hombres.

“Un taxista me avisó que vio pasar el carro, de inmediato llamé al 9-1-1 y lo reporté como robado. De inmediato pensamos que algo malo había ocurrido y empezamos a buscar a Jefrey”, comentó Leonel Núñez, concuño de la víctima.

Núñez, quien también es taxista informal, indicó que cuando les avisaron que el carro fue encontrado quemado en Higuito esperaban lo peor. “Es algo muy doloroso, Jefrey era un hombre tranquilo y esto que ocurrió es algo muy impactante”, expresó.

TRISTE ANIVERSARIO

La muerte llega en cualquier momento, sin respetar días festivos o celebraciones especiales. Así le ocurrió al taxista Olivares, quien precisamente ayer cumplía tres años de casado con Carolina Quesada Badilla.

Los planes que tenía la pareja para festejar su tercer aniversario de bodas fueron apagados por el ruido de las balas. La madrugada de ayer fue la más larga para la esposa de Olivares, a quien la angustia acorraló al ver que su marido no llegaba a casa.

Olivares era padre de dos niños y adquirió el carro para “piratear” hace seis meses. Fue taxista formal durante muchos años.

¿QUIEN ERA?

NOMBRE: Jefrey Olivares Calvo
EDAD: 29 años
VECINO DE: Linda Vista, Río Azul
OCUPACIÓN: Taxista informal

Muerte de chef mexicana

Piden esclarecer muerte de chef mexicana

Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez, sobrina de Héctor Gutiérrez Cabello, fue encontrada muerta en Filipinas. Foto: Especial

Exigen se aclare la muerte de Elisa. Foto: Especial

De la Redacción

La Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores lamentó el fallecimiento todavía no aclarado de una joven mexicana de nombre Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez, ocurrido en la ciudad de Manila, Filipinas. La mujer era chef de un hotel de esa localidad y fue hallada muerta por asfixia sin que hasta el momento se haya logrado esclarecer las circunstancias en las que perdió la vida. Según determinó la cancillería, Loyo Gutiérrez tenía doble nacionalidad, por lo que las acciones de atención consular se llevan a cabo de manera coordinada entre la embajada de México en ese país y el consulado canadiense en Manila. Señaló que la embajada mexicana presta todo el apoyo necesario a los familiares de la connacional fallecida, que ya se encuentran en Filipinas, mientras que se mantiene contacto con las autoridades de ese país para solicitar el pleno esclarecimiento de los infortunados sucesos.

Hallan muerta a mexicana en hotel de Filipinas

Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez fue seleccionada por el Colegio donde se graduó para laborar como chef en el proyecto del poderoso consorcio turístico de hoteles y casinos Jomei

Hilda Fernández Valverde / Corresponsal
El Universal
Saltillo, Coah. Sábado 27 de diciembre de 2008

Luego de 5 días de desaparecida, ayer viernes 26 de diciembre, encontraron el cuerpo de Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez, de 25 años de edad, quien era cheff y presumen que fue asesinada en un hotel de Filipinas.

Se informó que un trabajador “la encontró” ahorcada en una bodega de alimentos, otra versión indica que estaba en su oficina, pero no se sabe a ciencia cierta donde la hallaron.

Con el apoyo de las embajadas de México y Canadá en Filipinas, la prioridad para la familia es recuperar el cuerpo de Elisa Loyo, afirmó Ariel Gutiérrez Cabello, tío de la joven de nacionalidades canadiense-mexicana.

Así mismo, demandan a las autoridades judiciales de Filipinas una investigación para el esclarecimiento de los hechos.

La familia rechaza tajantemente versiones de la administración del hotel Fontana Leisure Park & Casino, de la cadena Jomei, ( cuya sede está en Hong Kong) que la joven se suicidó porque se le encontraron heridas y sangre en el cuello, estómago, brazos y manos.

“Son huellas evidentes de que fue torturada antes de matarla, quizá porque acaba de denunciar robos en la cocina de su centro de trabajo”, sostuvo el entrevistado.

Gutiérrez Cabello, dijo que sus sobrinas Lucía y Sofía Loyo Gutiérrez, llegaron a las 9:45 horas de este sábado, tiempo de Manila, e iniciaron trámites ante la Embajada de México en Filipinas y han recibido muy buen trato, desgraciadamente les tocó en fin de semana y se pueden topar con una serie de obstáculos burocráticos.

La llevarán a Canadá

Reclaman los restos para trasladarlos a Thunder Bay, provincia de Ontario, Canadá. En ese poblado radican los padres de Elisa, los saltillenses, Luis Ignacio Loyo Martínez y Rosa de Guadalupe Gutiérrez Cabello.

La joven, que además es sobrina del director de la Policía Municipal de Saltillo, Héctor Gutiérrez, fue seleccionada por el Colegio donde se graduó para laborar como chef en el proyecto del poderoso consorcio turístico de hoteles y casinos Jomei.

Hace tres meses, desde el 13 de septiembre pasado, radicaba en el poblado Pampanga, provincia norteña de Filipinas.

A través de Internet o por teléfono, se comunicaba frecuentemente con su madre Rosa de Guadalupe a quien le platicó de las irregularidades que había detectado, le dijo que no estaría con ellos en Navidad ni Año Nuevo, pero se comprometió a ir a casa a festejar su cumpleaños el próximo 8 de enero.

Casi en víspera de Nochebuena, el 22 de diciembre, fue la última vez que “hablaron” por la red.

Ella, comenta su tío, era una joven alegre, entusiasta, trabajadora, con ilusiones y muchos proyectos de vida y honesta, nació en Monterrey, Nuevo León, pero desde pequeña radicó en Saltillo donde estudió primaria, secundaria y preparatoria, esta última en el “Ateneo Fuente”.

Su familia cambió de residencia a Ontario, Canadá, donde ella estudió alta cocina desde el año 2001 en el Culinary Confederation Collage.

“No nos podemos quedar callados o con los brazos cruzados, ni permitir que este caso quede en la impunidad porque se tiene que encontrar al o a los culpables y castigarlos”, remarcó Gutiérrez Cabello.

Daniela Gutiérrez Flores, de 18 años, expuso a EL UNIVERSAL que le recuerda con mucho cariño porque Elisa era su prima hermana, era muy buena, noble, generosa y “muy justiciera” defensora de sus primos, los pobres y los animales, siempre estaba buscando el bien.

“Además tenía muchos amigos y todo mundo la quería”, subrayó.

Familiares y amigos de Elisa orarán y elevarán plegarias a Dios por el eterno descanso del alma de Elisa, durante la misa que se oficiará a partir de las 18:00 horas en la iglesia “Santa María Reina de los Apóstoles”, del fraccionamiento “Los Pinos”.

* El periódico Sun Star, de Pampanga, Filipinas, publicó el 30 de octubre pasado, en su portal On Line, que un hombre coreano se suicidó en el hotel Fontana Leisure Park & Casino (supuestamente) debido a que perdió miles de dólares y contrajo una enorme deuda de juego en el casino. Hecho que no ha sido aclarado aún.

Caso Elisa Loyo: exigen justicia y se solidarizan

A través de internet se extiende la noticia de su muerte

Este es el casino del lujoso hotel donde trabajaba Elisa.

Mientras que en Manila, Filipinas, Sofía y Lucía Loyo Gutiérrez buscan afanosamente vencer la burocracia y corrupción del país que les arrebató a su hermana Elisa, las muestras de solidaridad de amigos, conocidos y hasta de desconocidos no se ha hecho esperar.

En diferentes blogs en la red, la información sobre la misteriosa muerte de la saltillense Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez ha corrido como reguero de pólvora, y la indignación se hace patente, a pesar de que muchos ni siquiera conocían a la joven chef de 25 años que el viernes pasado fue encontrado muerta en el Hotel Fontana, en Pampanga, Filipinas, donde laboraba desde septiembre pasado.

La indignación de los cibernautas se manifiesta exigiendo se aclare el supuesto suicidio de la joven, quien además tenía la nacionalidad canadiense.

“Sé que no suelo hacer este tipo de cosas en el blog.
No son temas habituales, pero es mi blog personal y Sofía bien lo vale. Es esclarecer lo hechos, también.
Por eso, abuso de vuestra confianza y os pido que tratéis de dar la mayor difusión posible a estos hechos para crear cierta presión, para que al menos algo se investigue, para que Sofía pueda estar tranquila después de tanta tensión y llorar a su hermana como merece”, dice en su blog Rosa Jiménez Cano, amiga y colega de Sofía, la hermana de Elisa, quien radica en España desde hace varios años.

Considerado como uno de los países de mayor corrupción en el mundo, nadie confía en las declaraciones que han dado las autoridades de Filipinas sobre el supuesto suicidio de Elisa, por lo que a través de la red exigen justicia.

“También me sumo. Este tipo de países son complicados. Tanto justicia, como Policía, etc, suelen ser completamente corruptos en su funcionamiento. La única forma de que las cosas se muevan es hacer ruido”, dice en un post un visitante del blog de Rosa Jiménez Cano y que firma como “Surco”.

La desconfianza no es para menos, pues además de la burocracia y corrupción que imperan en ese país, los negros antecedentes de este lujoso hotel alimentan las sospechas.

Elisa había denunciado no sólo que los empleados se robaban los alimentos y bebidas, sino la precaria situación en que vivían los trabajadores de su cocina; muchos de ellos chinos indocumentados en condiciones de casi esclavitud. Por esto había recibido amenazas de muerte en mensajes de texto, en su celular.

En 2007, el Instituto de Inmigración capturó a 103 indocumentados quienes laboraban en el Hotel Fontana, de los cuales 70 de ellos trabajaban sin papeles, es decir, como ilegales.

Sin embargo, los dueños y directores de ese consorcio turístico (Grupo Jamei), uno de los más fuerte e importantes del continente asiático, no recibieron sanción alguna, según reporta el periódico Sun Star en una nota publicada en su portal el 27 de agosto del 2007.

En octubre de este año, un ciudadano coreano fue encontrado muerto en el mismo Hotel Fontana, y aunque se confirmó que estuvo jugando en uno de los exclusivos casino de ese grupo, y terminó sin poder saldar una deuda de miles de dólares, se dijo que la causa de su muerte había sido suicidio. Aún no se resuelve el caso.

En Ontario, Canadá, donde vivió Elisa sus últimos años antes de viajar a Filipinas en septiembre pasado, sus amigos consternados llevan flores, tarjetas o simplemente un abrazo a la desolada madre de la saltillense, quien espera con entereza las últimas noticias sobre el traslado del cuerpo de la menor de sus hijas.

En Saltillo, los familiares, amigos y conocidos de la rubia cocinera asistieron a la tercera misa ofrecida en su memoria, reflejando todo el dolor y la frustración de no poder saber la verdad sobre la muerte de Elisa, quien aún permanece en tierras extrañas.

Exige SRE aclarar la muerte de Elisa

El Gobierno mexicano prepara un informe diplomático donde solicitará a Filipinas esclarecer los hechos; ayer el Embajador de ese país visitó el hotel donde murió la saltillense

Luego de casi cinco días de estar desaparecida, y tras un misterioso y velado desenlace, ayer fue encontrada sin vida Elisa Loyo Gutiérrez, sobrina del director de la Policía Municipal de Saltillo, Héctor Gutiérrez Cabello.

La muerte de la joven de 25 años, quien desde septiembre pasado radicaba en el poblado de Pampanga, provincia norteña de Filipinas, país asiático donde trabajaba como chef, es reportada en ese país como un suicidio, pero sus familiares de Saltillo denuncian asesinato.

Loyo Gutiérrez fue encontrada sin vida la madrugada de ayer (tiempo de México) en una bodega de alimentos y bebidas del Hotel Fontana Leisure Park and Casino, donde laboraba desde hace tres meses, y según la Policía de ese país, al parecer un trabajador la encontró colgada del cuello, pero con heridas y manchas de sangre en diferentes partes del cuerpo.

Los padres de Elisa, los saltillenses Luis Ignacio Loyo Martínez y Rosa de Guadalupe Gutiérrez Cabello, rechazaron indignados los argumentos de un supuesto suicidio y las declaraciones ambiguas de los responsables de seguridad del hotel y la Policía.

Para ellos, estos argumentos no tienen sustento y son de alguna manera sospechosos, pues Elisa, quien cumpliría 26 años el 8 de enero próximo, era una chica con muchas ganas de sobresalir en el medio de la gastronomía internacional.

En cambio, sus sospechas apuntan a un asunto más grave y delicado, pues según sus familiares, Elisa había comentado en sus últimos correos y pláticas por chat que denunció varias irregularidades y robos en el restaurante donde trabajaba, y que apenas fue inaugurado el 23 de diciembre.

Desde el lunes 22, la señora Rosa de Guadalupe, quien radica desde hace varios años en Canadá, perdió comunicación vía internet y telefónica con su hija, sin que nadie le diera razón de su paradero, y fue hasta la madrugada de ayer cuando personal del hotel le reportó la muerte de la joven —quien nació en Monterrey pero toda su vida la hizo en Saltillo— argumentando un supuesto suicidio, pero con muchas inconsistencias en las declaraciones de las autoridades filipinas.

“Nosotros no aceptamos la versión que nos ha dado el personal del hotel y las autoridades de Filipinas, pues es imposible pensar que se trate de un suicidio, ella era una niña muy jovial, alegre y con muchas ganas de vivir.
Esperaremos a que se investigue porque es ilógico que estuvo desaparecida tres días y luego fue encontrada en una bodega, y la Policía dijo luego que la habían encontrado en un clóset de su oficina”, dijo la madre de Elisa, vía telefónica desde Ontario, Canadá.

“Es imposible pensar que se suicidara, porque ya teníamos planeado que ella (Elisa) viajaría para acá (a Canadá) para festejar su cumpleaños (26), y hasta le dije que ya le tenía preparado su regalo, sólo que ella me dijo que tenía que cumplir primero con sus compromisos de trabajo propios de estas fechas y luego se vendría a pasar unos días de descanso. En eso quedamos la última vez que hablé con ella, el lunes pasado, estaba muy contenta… ya no volví a hablar con ella después”.

Elisa, ex alumna del Colegio San Lorenzo, del Liceo Alberto del Canto y del Ateneo Fuente, estudió alta cocina desde el 2001 en el Culinary Condeferation College, en Ontario, Canadá.

Luego de haber sido seleccionada a través de la bolsa de trabajo del mismo instituto, viajó a esa bahía asíatica para participar en un proyecto del poderoso consorcio Jimei, emporio turístico que posee y administra lujosos hoteles y famosos casinos en diferentes países del continente asiático.

Según el periódico Sun Star de Pampanga, Filipinas, el pasado 30 de octubre publicó en su versión on line la también misteriosa muerte, en el mismo hotel, de un hombre de nacionalidad coreana, quien supuestamente se suicidó luego de haber jugado en uno de los lujosos casinos de ese consorcio turístico y haber dejado pendiente una deuda de miles de dólares. Hasta el momento no se ha esclarecido el caso.

A Elisa le fueron encontradas heridas en manos, brazos, estómago y cuello y se cree que pudo haber sido torturada y golpeada antes de haber muerto.

Pampanga es una provincia al norte de Filipinas, localizada en Luzón Central. Su capital es San Fernando y se encuentra a casi tres horas de la capital, Manila. Se hablan varias lenguas, entre las más importantes están kapampangan, filipino, inglés y español.

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Comentarios

Mostrando 1-4

• Por: Kary

  Mi màs sentido pèsame a la familia... me alegro muchisimo y me uno a que las autoridades y demàs dependencias pidan esclarecer este acto tan sucio y ruin... pero con eso bastara? Es una làstima que personas tan jòvenes y con ganas de poner en alto el sentimiento Coahuilense tengan que viajar tan lejos para poder trabajar, ya que aqui en Mexico no hay opotunidades de empleo para jovenes emprendedores si no tienen "palanca"... y he aqui las consecuencias...

• Por: Julio Aldape Moncada

  QEPD, Mis Oraciones para la Familia.

• Por: Vladimiro Mal Cava

  Hay que creer en el Karma mi estimado HC, cientos de ciudadanos son atracados, golpeados por su horda de policletos, motonetos y orangutanes, que se siente que no nos hagan justicia a los ciudadanos de a pie?

• Por: jose cabral sosa

  que por favor ya no manden los compatriotas mexicanos para otros países que ya no tienen seguridad para los de allá mismo y si pongan los en México a hacer lo que tratan de hacer en otros países para que dese roan los potenciales de México para que sea un país de la América de norte tao potencial como los demás do norte y que tratan de hacer los mas que pueden por animar los propios mexicanos a se quedar en suyo país que es lindísimo y que tiene tano que explorar ya basta ya es tiempo de México ser un país destacado y no pobre como los que ya tiene América latina por favor que le pongan las pillas y no digan que los demás lo hacen se vos otros mismos no lo hacen que ganan suya independencia que se dejan de sobrellevar por los de estados unidos yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa basta de ser perri........ yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Family says local woman’s death a murder, not suicide Tb News Source Web Posted: 12/29/2008 7:49:23 PM

The mother, Rosa Cabello, and stepfather, Dan Somerfield, of Chef Eliza Loyo Gutierrez speak to media about Gutierrez's death. The parents believe the Thunder Bay woman was murdered while working in the Philippines. /Scott Paradis The mother of a Thunder Bay woman found dead in the Philippines says she doesn’t believe her daughter hanged herself, and argues a proper investigation will reveal that murder is the most likely cause. Police in the Philippines said they found 25-year-old Eliza Loyo Gutierrez of Thunder Bay dead in an unused office inside the Fontana Leisure Park resort, where she worked as a chef. Chief Inspector Rene Aspe told the Associated Press Monday that the woman was found hanging from an electric cable tied to a metal brace in the ceiling. Aspe also told media that two resort workers found the body Friday when they traced a foul odor coming from the unused office. 'There have been lots of irregularities,' said Rosa Cabello, mother of Gutierrez, about the reports about the investigation into her daughter’s death. 'More and more, as the story (is revealed) family and friends in Canada and Mexico are becoming (suspicious).' No suicide note had been found with the body, and Cabello described her daughter as being a happy person who was not known to be suicidal. Cabello said her daughter had spotted people stealing food at the resort. Gutierrez had become unpopular where she lived after being outspoken about the alleged theft she had witnessed, Cabello added. 'Other chefs had received death threats through text messages,' said Gutierrez’s stepfather, Dan Somerfield. Gutierrez, who has been a Canadian-Mexican dual citizen since 2006, started her one-year contract with the resort in September. As the holidays approached she began to express an interest in returning home. The family is suspicious toward the investigation regarding Gutierrez’s death. They believe that corruption in the country may lead authorities to falsely conclude that the death was a suicide. Now both Canadian and Mexican officials are putting pressure on Philippine authorities to ensure that a proper investigation goes ahead, Somerfield said. 'I suspect as this progresses we will see how the Philippine government responds to the diplomatic pressure,' Sommerfield said. Gutierrez’s two sisters, Sofia and Lucia, are now in the Philippines. They both live in Europe and were able to travel to the resort while Somerfield and Cabello stayed in Thunder Bay. Gutierrez’s mother and stepfather intended to go to the Philippines, but staying in Canada turned out to be the right choice, Somerfield said. With so much family in Canada and Mexico, Somerfield said they have been on the phone almost non-stop keeping family up to date. 'We’ve been in constant communication with friends and family in Canada and Mexico,' he said. 'This has been very difficult for the family. It certainly wasn’t the Christmas we were expecting.'

Man in a Santa Suit Kills at Least 8 at a Party

Axel Koester for The New York Times

With eight people known dead in a shooting and an arson fire at a home in Covina, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, the authorities searched through the rubble on Thursday for remains.

By SOLOMON MOORE and ANAHAD O’CONNOR

Published: December 25, 2008

COVINA, Calif. — A man in a Santa Claus outfit opened fire on a Christmas Eve gathering of his in-laws in this Los Angeles suburb and then methodically set their house ablaze, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, the authorities said Thursday.

Skip to next paragraph

Bruce Pardo, identified as the gunman.

The New York Times

The attack occurred during a Christmas Eve gathering.

Shortly after the attack, the gunman, identified as Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, killed himself with a single shot to the head at the home of his brother in the Sylmar section of Los Angeles, the police said.

In addition to the eight people whose bodies were found in the ashes of the house here, none of whom were identified, at least one other person was thought to be missing, and perhaps as many as three. Among the total of dead or missing were the couple who owned the home and their daughter, the estranged wife of the gunman, the police said.

Investigators continued to search the charred structure Thursday, and coroners said dental records would be needed to identify some of the remains.

The frenzied shooting occurred just before midnight Wednesday at the two-story house, set on a cul-de-sac in this middle-class town about 22 miles east of Los Angeles. Lt. Pat Buchanan of the Covina Police Department said Mr. Pardo, armed with one or two handguns and fire accelerant, had gone to the house looking for his former wife, Sylvia, with whom he was finalizing a contentious divorce after only a year of marriage.

People who escaped the house got out by smashing through glass and jumping. One woman broke an ankle when she leapt from a second-floor window.

The house was owned by James and Alicia Ortega, an elderly couple who were retired from their spray-painting business and who often invited their large extended family over for parties, particularly around Christmas.

Relatives said about 25 people, among them many children, were inside the home celebrating when Mr. Pardo knocked on the door around 11:30 p.m. He had apparently disguised himself as a hired entertainer for the children in order to gain access.

When a guest opened the door, Lieutenant Buchanan said, Mr. Pardo stepped inside the house, drew a semiautomatic handgun and immediately started shooting, beginning with an 8-year-old girl who was hit in the face but who survived, as did an older girl who was shot in the back.

As Mr. Pardo unleashed a barrage of gunfire in the living room, relatives smashed through windows, hid behind furniture or bounded upstairs. Then he sprayed the room with accelerant, using a device made of two pressurized tanks, one of which held pressurized gas. Within seconds, the house was ablaze.

Joshua Chavez of Seattle was visiting his mother’s house, which sits behind the Ortegas’, when he heard a loud explosion. “Then I saw black smoke and this large flame,” he said.

Mr. Chavez ran out to the backyard and heard three girls, including the one who had been shot in the back, trying to climb over his mother’s wall. “There’s some guy shooting in there,” he said one of the girls told him.

“About 20 seconds after that,” he continued, “the house was totally on fire. One girl said that a guy dressed as Santa started shooting.”

Another neighbor, Jeannie Goltz, 51, saw three more partygoers fleeing the burning home. One of them, a young woman, had escaped upstairs from the living room but broke her ankle when she jumped out a second-story window.

SWAT teams arrived shortly after Ms. Goltz had shepherded these three survivors into another neighbor’s house, but by that time Mr. Pardo was on his way back to Los Angeles.

Police officers said they could not recall so horrific a crime in Covina, and neighbors said they would never have imagined anything so grisly on their quiet block.

The Ortegas had lived in the house for more than two decades and were known for their family spirit, their generosity and their dog, which frequently escaped their yard.

“I would generally play Santa for the family every year,” said Pat Bower, a neighbor of the Ortegas for 25 years. “The family was always together. Brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles were always in the house. They were a gigantic family. We all envied them, actually.”

Robert and Gloria Magcalas lived next door to the Ortegas for 11 years but were celebrating Christmas Eve with relatives in Los Angeles. Their own home was barely spared the flames.

“They were a big, loving family,” Mrs. Magcalas said. “We usually exchanged gifts with them today. They gave us tamales and cookies every Christmas.”

The police said they had found two handguns in the ruins, and an additional two pistols at the scene of Mr. Pardo’s apparent suicide. Officials said they would continue to search the crime scene Friday, seeking information about the identities of the dead.

Solomon Moore reported from Covina, and Anahad O’Connor from New York.

Attacker at Party Had Escape Plan, Police Say

By REBECCA CATHCART and SOLOMON MOORE

Published: December 27, 2008

COVINA, Calif. — Bruce Pardo had intended to fly to Canada on Christmas morning, hours after shooting his ex-wife, her parents and others at a holiday party here, setting their house on fire and leaving a car nearby, rigged to explode, police officials said Friday.

But despite his careful plans, Mr. Pardo was still in the home when it caught fire, the police said. Instead of fleeing the country, Mr. Pardo, who suffered third-degree burns on his arms and hands, drove 40 miles to his brother’s home in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles and shot himself in the head.

When his brother, Brad Pardo, found him Thursday night, Chief Kim Raney of the Covina police said, Mr. Pardo had $17,000 in cash and a plane ticket strapped to his body with cellophane. Pieces of the Santa Claus suit he had worn on his killing spree were fused to his legs and boots.

“This was a preplanned event,” Chief Raney said. “But he didn’t plan to ignite himself so that he couldn’t leave. His plans changed based on his injuries.”

On Friday, 9 of the 25 guests at the Christmas Eve party remained missing, Chief Raney said. Nine charred bodies had been pulled from the two-story house, he said, but Los Angeles County coroners were waiting for medical and dental records before identifying the remains.

Those missing ranged from 17 to 80 years old, Chief Raney said, and included Mr. Pardo’s ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo; her parents, Joseph and Alicia Ortega; and other friends and relatives who attended the annual holiday party.

Two girls, 8 and 16, remained in critical condition after being shot, and a 20-year-old woman who broke her ankle jumping from a window to escape was in satisfactory condition.

The 8-year-old girl was shot in the jaw when she ran toward the door where Mr. Pardo stood, “excited because she thought Santa had arrived,” Chief Raney said.

“It was chaos,” he said. “People were running for their lives.”

Most of the bodies recovered Thursday and Friday were found in the living room, said Lt. Tim Doonan of the Covina police. But some victims may have been upstairs when the second floor collapsed in flames, Lieutenant Doonan said.

The police said the four handguns Mr. Pardo used in the killings, a fifth one that he used to shoot himself and two shotguns found in his home in Montrose, Calif., were legally registered to him. He had also legally gotten the fuel tanks he used to seed the Covina fire.

On a job résumé the police recovered at his home, Mr. Pardo listed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, jobs at various “medical centers and software manufacturers,” Chief Raney said, and a job as an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1985 to 1994.

“This guy was smart,” Chief Raney said, “but the device did explode. Obviously, with the burns he suffered, he didn’t anticipate that.”

Mr. Pardo was fired in October from a job as an engineer at “a company that makes foreign government radar systems,” Chief Raney said. He would not identify that company or another company he said had dismissed Mr. Pardo a few months earlier, in July.

A spokesman for ITT, Andy Hilton, said that Mr. Pardo worked as a software engineer from February 2005 until last July, when he was fired. Mr. Hilton would not give a reason for the job termination but said it was not related to any violent behavior or mental illness on Mr. Pardo’s part.

A pay stub from the Lockheed Federal Credit Union was visible through a window in Mr. Pardo’s home Friday. A spokesman for the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Jeffrey Adams, said he was unable to confirm that Mr. Pardo ever worked for the company.

After he was fired, Mr. Pardo traveled “to the Midwest and Northeast” for about a month, said Lieutenant Doonan, the lead investigator on the case, before returning to California in December to finalize the divorce from Sylvia Pardo, his wife of two years.

Mrs. Pardo petitioned for divorce last February, according to court papers. Public records indicate that Sylvia Pardo was married at least once before, and had lived in Texas and Oklahoma with a previous husband. After her divorce from him, she moved to California shortly before marrying Mr. Pardo.

Divorce papers state that the Pardos had no children together, though each had at least one child from previous relationships. None of those children were at the Christmas Eve party when Mr. Pardo began shooting, the police said.

Mr. Pardo had been ordered to pay $10,000 in cash to Mrs. Pardo by Dec. 19, though both waived rights to future spousal support. It was not known Friday if that money had been paid.

Mr. Pardo’s modest stucco house sits at the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains. On Friday a desk covered with stacks of court documents relating to his divorce could be seen through a window of a study at the front of the house. One document visible from the window was a copy of a discovery letter from Mr. Pardo’s lawyer to Mrs. Pardo’s attorney, Stanley Silver, requesting information about her assets and income.

Mr. Silver said that Mr. Pardo was trying to get child support payments since he was fired from his job last summer. Henry Baeza, who lives near Mr. Pardo and with his wife owns the Montrose Bakery, which Mr. Pardo visited several times a week, said he and several waitresses there knew him as a friendly loner and an adequate tipper.

“The last time I saw him was on Wednesday,” Mr. Baeza said. “He came in and told me happy Christmas. I was shocked when I heard what happened.”

Standing outside the ruins of the Ortega home on Thursday was Frank Castillo, who identified himself as the brother of Mrs. Pardo’s second ex-husband. Mr. Castillo said that Mrs. Pardo had a total of three children, an 8-year-old, Amanda; another daughter, Selina; and an adult son, Sal. Mr. Castillo said that his brother died several years ago in a car accident.

Mr. Castillo said that the children, especially Sal, complained about Mr. Pardo. “They said they were scared of Bruce, that he was a little bit aggressive,” he said. “Sal said he didn’t trust him. Bruce was a very quiet guy, but Sal didn’t trust him.”

Rebecca Cathcart reported from Covina, and Solomon Moore from Los Angeles and Montrose, Calif.

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