chek't quads
Ex-U.S. Marine accused in North Korean embassy raid ordered detained in L.A.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former U.S. Marine accused of stealing electronics from the North Korean embassy in Madrid in a robbery of the diplomatic compound was ordered by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Tuesday to remain in U.S. custody pending possible extradition to Spain.
The judge also ordered the unsealing of U.S. court documents in the case against Christopher Philip Ahn, 38, who was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Spanish authorities have sought Ahn’s extradition from the United States. He is charged there with being among a group of seven intruders who stormed the North Korean mission on Feb. 22, restrained and physically beat some embassy personnel, held them hostage for hours and then fled.
Spanish investigators identified the intruders as self-professed members of a group that calls itself Cheollima Civil Defense and seeks the overthrow of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to U.S. court documents, the raiders removed computers, computer drives and a mobile phone from the embassy before the alleged ringleader, Adrian Hong, traveled to the United States and met with the FBI.
Hong, a Mexican citizen and U.S. resident, was an activist who co-founded the non-profit human rights group Liberty in North Korea but later left that organization. His whereabouts remain unknown.
The anti-Kim group, which also calls itself Free Joseon, has denied attacking the embassy, insisting its members were invited inside.
RAID COINCIDED WITH SUMMIT
Ahn is charged in Spain with breaking and entering, illegal restraint, making threats, robbery with violence and intimidation, causing injuries and criminal organization, U.S. court documents say. He could face more than 10 years in prison if convicted there.
The incident at the embassy came at a sensitive time, just days ahead of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim that abruptly collapsed without the two leaders reaching a deal on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
North Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the incident as a “grave terrorist attack” and cited rumors that the FBI was partially behind the raid. The U.S. State Department has said Washington had nothing to do with it.
Ahn arrived in Madrid on the morning on Feb. 22 and left shortly after the raid, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lulejian told the judge on Tuesday. He was photographed outside the embassy wearing black and carrying a backpack that may have contained weapons, Lulejian said.
The FBI received the stolen material and returned it to the Spanish court investigating the raid, and Spanish authorities have returned the items to Pyongyang’s mission, according to a Spanish judicial source.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-northkorea-usa/ex-u-s-marine-accused-in-north-korean-embassy-raid-ordered-detained-in-l-a-idUSKCN1RZ0X2?il=0
Venezuela's Maduro calls new Citgo financing deal 'illegal'
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday called a recent financing deal for state oil company PDVSA’s U.S. refining unit Citgo by the opposition “illegal” and said the U.S. government was “complicit.”
“Everyone involved, Venezuelan and foreign, in this $1.3 billion robbery and embezzlement of Citgo that is underway will be exposed,” Maduro said in a state television address.
Last month, Citgo said it had raised $1.2 billion through a five-year term loan to cover operating expenses and refinance existing debt.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido in January invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency on the grounds Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. He has been recognized as Venezuela’s rightful leader by most Western countries, including the United States.
The March refinancing took place after a new board of directors named by Guaido, who presides over the OPEC nation’s congress, took control of Citgo, PDVSA’s crown jewel overseas asset.
Opposition politicians are considering making an interest payment on PDVSA bonds backed by shares in Citgo. Failure to pay could allow creditors to seize Citgo as compensation, but efforts by Maduro-linked entities to make the payment, due April 27, could run afoul of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
Maduro calls Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-citgo-idUSKCN1S0060
o7
when you did that originally it freaked the fuq out of me cause it was so quick. thought it came from….
One of my favorites. Use it on desktop at times.
one of our fine baker's products.
chek'd digitzz
well fuck a duck. There's something you don't hear every day.
milkshake anyone…No? Pass?