NewzIntel.com

Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI Security: 413 New Immigration Cases This Week in the Western District of Texas

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 413 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 23 through May 29.

    Among the new cases, Salvadoran national Jaqueline Del Carmen Aleman-Aguilar was charged with one count of illegal re-entry in San Antonio. According to a criminal complaint, Aleman-Aguilar was convicted for transportation of aliens in June 2015 and sentenced to six months in federal prison. She was then removed from the United States to Mexico in July 2015.

    Christian Ruben Corea-Benavides, a Nicaraguan national, was charged in El Paso with attempting to transport illegal aliens. U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed Corea-Benavides pick up five illegal aliens just over four miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, the investigating USBP agent observed a female passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, and four additional passengers lying on top of one another in the backseat—all appearing to be wet and muddy.

    Mexican national Sabino Renteria-Alvarado was arrested May 28 at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry after he attempted to enter through the pedestrian entrance and allegedly presented the Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) with a false claim that he had been a Legal Permanent Resident, but that police in Nevada possessed his LPR card. The CBPO referred Renteria-Alvarado to Passport Control Secondary, where records revealed he had been previously removed in January 2024 through Nogales, Arizona. His criminal record includes a 15-year prison sentence for a sexual assault of a minor conviction in 2017. Renteria-Alvarado is currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry.

    Two U.S. citizens were arrested in the Del Rio area as the result of separate human smuggling attempts, as alleged in criminal complaints. Nancy Anna Gwyn, of Houston, was encountered during a May 22 traffic stop near Carrizo Springs. USBP agents allegedly uncovered three passengers in her vehicle who were identified to be citizens of foreign countries and illegally present in the U.S. On May 24, an immigration checkpoint inspection near Eagle Pass allegedly revealed that Anastasia Lee Daneill Godfrey, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was attempting to transport two illegal aliens to San Antonio in the trunk of a sedan.

    Honduran national Walter Alonso Martinez-Chandias is charged with illegal re-entry. He has one prior removal—in June 2013 through Alexandria, Louisiana—and a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions in Birmingham, Alabama for drug trafficking and homicide, for which he was sentenced in 2018 to five years and 20 years in prison, respectively. In 2017, he was convicted in Birmingham for unlawful transport of firearms and sentenced to 81 months in prison. A criminal complain alleges that when he was arrested on May 25, Martinez-Chandias refused to comply with Border Patrol agents’ commands and resisted attempts to be placed in custody and handcuffs by running and kicking.

    Luis Alberto Olivarez-Hernandez, of Mexico, was arrested May 27 near Eagle Pass for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Feb. 25 through Laredo, five days after a felony conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon in prohibited places. Additionally, Olivarez-Hernandez was convicted in 2010 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    Armando Vazquez-Ruiz, also a Mexican national, is charged with illegal re-entry after being found near Eagle Pass less than two weeks after his most recent removal. Vazquez-Ruiz had been convicted in Georgetown May 7 for assault causing bodily injury and was deported May 8 through Laredo.

    In Austin, Mexican national Basilio Luna-Luna was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Travis County Jail May 24, where he was detained for what would be his seventh DWI, if convicted. Luna-Luna was previously removed from the U.S. in November 2014 and voluntarily returned to Mexico twice—once in 1998 and once in 2009.

    Juan Alberto Zarate-Salgado, also of Mexico, was encountered at the Travis County Jail as well and is charged with illegal re-entry. Zarate-Salgado has two prior removals and multiple convictions for assault of a family/household member and assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

    These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: DHS Releases Statement on Major SCOTUS Victory for Trump Administration and the American People on Ending the CHNV Parole Program

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    CHNV was an unlawful scheme to unleash over 530,000 poorly vetted aliens into America

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secured a legal victory in its effort to terminate parole for more than 530,000 illegal aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) who were released into the country by the Biden Administration. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 order, staying a District Court’s order pending appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

    With this decision, DHS can once again start removing illegal aliens under the disastrous CHNV parole programs as the case progresses. This order comes after an activist judge ruled that DHS could not outright end the CHNV program.

    DHS released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump Administration to keep Americans safe: 

    Statement Attributable to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin 

    “Today’s decision is a victory for the American people. The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed,”  

    “Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First.” 

    Read the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling here. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How seaweed is a powerful, yet surprising, climate solution

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mike Allen, Associate Professor of Single Cell Genomics, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter

    Picture a place at the centre of a global seaweed revolution. I’ll bet the small English seaside town of Paignton in south Devon is not what comes to mind. A decade ago, I moved from the edge of Dartmoor to the coast. It was about a simple change in work-life balance, but what followed was more surprising.

    The kids were four and seven. I’d always tried to inspire them with my scientific research. Moving to Paignton and walking along Broadsands beach one day, I started noticing piles of seaweed.

    I’d spent my entire professional career researching microalgae (microscopic marine plants) but knew next-to-nothing about their bigger macroalgal cousins, the seaweeds. This felt like an opportunity to have some fun and for all of us to learn together.

    So I bought us a seaweed guidebook, some stickers and set the Allen family the task of finding ten different seaweeds on our local beach. We’d mark a page with a sticker when we found it – the ultimate scientific reward chart. A few weeks later, we’d found 30 and exhausted our sticker sheet.

    I was amazed at the diversity that I had never previously noticed. The colours, the textures, the structures – it was like I’d never really seen seaweed properly before. The professional scientist in me kicked in.

    My kids and I started taking samples home. I built the kids a lab in a lean-to on the back of the house. We dried them out and put them in little jam jars, akin to a seaweed spice rack. It got me thinking of useful or sustainable things I could do with them.

    One day, I posted a picture of these jars on Twitter, with the hashtag #SeaweedApothecary. It started something I could never have predicted.

    Seaweed has an astonishing number of uses. It can be used to produce biofuels and fertilisers, foods such as laverbread, nori sheets for sushi and crisps, cosmetics and toothpaste, pharmaceuticals and food supplements like omega-3. I’d also been incorporating seaweed in my day-to-day research at the University of Exeter, trying to convert it into a biofuel.

    Then, my colleagues in the broader academic and industrial science community started asking for samples. Like me, they’d been ignoring seaweed too – until they saw my social media posts and realised the potential.

    The kids (now both teenagers) are acknowledged on at least a dozen scientific research articles and have continued to help me unlock the potential of seaweed. We’ve done degradation experiments in the raised beds in our garden, tested different seaweeds as feeds for a friend’s chickens, trialled them as fertilisers for our tomatoes – even mixed dried seaweed powder in with cement, to see if it can be used as a structural material filler. All fun, simple science that anyone can do at home.


    Local science, global stories.

    This article is part of a series, Secrets of the Sea, exploring how marine scientists are developing climate solutions.

    In collaboration with the BBC, Anna Turns travels around the West Country coastline to meet ocean experts making exciting discoveries beneath the waves.

    Swamped by sargassum

    Then came a call from a Mexican friend, asking me to take a look at a seaweed problem. Every year, Caribbean islands and Mexican coasts are inundated with 30-40 million tonnes of floating sargassum seaweed washing ashore.

    Rotting sargassum causes ecological and economical devastation, destroying livelihoods and the environment. I started converting it into fuels and fertilisers, trying to turn a massive problem into a positive opportunity. Ten years on, I’d become a seaweed expert.

    Paddy Estridge and Mike Allen in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, surveying potential sites to monitor seaweed blooms.
    Mike Allen, CC BY-NC-ND

    I was asked to do a podcast on the subject. The presenter, Paddy Estridge, and I chatted about seaweed’s problems, opportunities and potential – and by the end of it, we were both pretty inspired. Together, we founded a company called SeaGen to harness the power of seaweed using autonomous robotics that can seed, cultivate, monitor and harvest it.

    Seaweed holds huge potential to create a more sustainable future. But at the moment, this industry lacks the ability to safely seed, grow, monitor, harvest and process seaweed at scale. Solving these challenges is what SeaGen is all about. We’re designing a suite of automated robotic solutions to make abundant, sustainable supply an economic reality.

    Our mission is a long way from those initial experiments with the kids, but the joy and pursuit of knowledge remains the same. The sticker chart perhaps holds less appeal to teenagers, but we’ve nearly hit 70 different species and I’m always on the look out for the next.

    Those initial seaweed samples paved the way for a whole new aspect to my research portfolio, led to millions of pounds in grant funding, and the creation of a company employing a dozen people. Now, I’m part of a global seaweed and robotics revolution.

    Not a bad outcome from a walk along the beach.

    Listen to episode two of Secrets of the Sea here on BBC Sounds, presented by Anna Turns for The Conversation.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Mike Allen works for Exeter University and is Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer for Seaweed Generation Ltd (SeaGen). He currently receives funding from Innovate UK, Natural Environment Research Council, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, The Leverhulme Trust, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

    – ref. How seaweed is a powerful, yet surprising, climate solution – https://theconversation.com/how-seaweed-is-a-powerful-yet-surprising-climate-solution-251195

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: President Trump Participates in a Press Conference with Elon Musk

    Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)

    The White House

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAv3PaMnme8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Dan Goldman’s Statement After Witnessing and Confronting Masked ICE Agents Detaining Immigrants in the Lobby of His 290 Broadway Manhattan District Office

    Source: US Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)

    Video and Photos of the Confrontation Here 

    “For the past several days in New York’s 10th Congressional District in Lower Manhattan, masked, plain-clothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been stationed in the lobby of the federal building that houses immigration court in order to arrest immigrants coming out of court so they can be deported on an expedited basis. These arrests are part of a coordinated effort within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where DHS lawyers move to dismiss deportation proceedings against these immigrants – most of whom do not speak English nor have legal representation — in order to place them in a different, “expedited” deportation proceeding.  

    “In effect, instead of targeting convicted criminals as the Trump Administration has repeatedly said, DHS is using these immigrants’ good faith efforts to appear in court and follow proper procedures to surprise them with an end-run around the law to tear them away from their families and communities via immediate detention and deportation.  

    “The immigrants attending their court hearings are doing exactly what the law asks of them: they are showing up, complying with the process, following our laws and going through the immigration system the right way, often asserting their legal right to seek asylum – which is a lawful pathway to enter this country. However, it appears DHS is exploiting a procedural technicality to fast-track deportations far away from the border where this authority is primarily used.  

    “Today, I confronted these masked ICE officers after they detained multiple immigrants in the lobby of the federal building that also contains my Manhattan District Office. These officers were carrying printed-out papers with immigrants’ names and faces, wearing masks, and attempting to intimidate reporters on site – all while avoiding questions I asked them as a duly-elected Member of Congress carrying out my oversight responsibilities as a member of the Homeland Security Committee. 

    “We are a nation of immigrants, founded by successive waves of people from across the world seeking the American dream and the promise it offers. These egregious, authoritarian tactics by the Trump administration stand in stark contrast to our values as a nation, founded upon the rule of law and due process for all.” 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Video, Photos, and Rush Transcript: Rep. Dan Goldman Calls Emergency Press Conference After Observing and Confronting Masked ICE Agents Detaining Immigrants Coming in for Routine Court Appearances

    Source: US Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)

    See Video and Photos of the Press Conference HERE
    See Video of Goldman Confronting ICE Officers HERE

    Congressman Goldman: “This is Gestapo-like behavior where plain-clothed officers, wearing masks, are terrorizing immigrants who are doing the right thing by going to court, following up on their immigration proceedings, and trying to come into this country lawfully, which is through asylum.”

    Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) today held an emergency press conference after witnessing and confronting masked ICE agents detaining immigrants attending routine immigration court appearances in the lobby of his 290 Broadway Manhattan district office. The press conference followed Congressman Goldman attending an immigration court proceeding this morning at the Executive Office for Immigration Review New York – Broadway Immigration Court in Manhattan where ICE agents have been detaining both immigrants and observers, including a pastor from Queens.

    VIDEO: The event is available to stream on Youtube and can be downloaded HERE
    PHOTOS: Photos of the event can be found HERE

    A rush transcript of the Congressman’s remarks is available below:

    Dan Goldman: We’re standing in front of 290 Broadway, which is a federal building where my district office is and where immigration court is. Today, I had the opportunity to both observe immigration court and observe plainclothes officers wearing masks, arresting and detaining immigrants who were here to appear in front of a judge as part of their court case.

    The Department of Homeland Security has implemented, over the last week, a coordinated effort to do an end run around our legal system in order to remove nonviolent, non-criminal immigrants trying to come into this country through a lawful pathway of immigration proceedings, and in many cases, asylum proceedings.

    By recommending dismissal of their cases, the Department of Homeland Security is essentially taking jurisdiction away from the court, removing the asylum application from going forward, and then allowing the immigration agents to arrest these people and put them in a deportation proceeding under a different authority than the one that they just dismissed, which has fewer rights and applies in very few circumstances. 

    This is Gestapo like behavior where plain-clothed officers, wearing masks, are terrorizing immigrants who are doing the right thing by going to court, following up on their immigration proceedings, and trying to come into this country lawfully, which is through asylum. 

    I observed the courtroom today, where there was one proceeding where the Department of Homeland Security moved to dismiss the case judge granted dismissal. The gentleman left the courtroom and then was arrested.

    As I was leaving the courtroom, there were about 15 other people there, and I asked if anyone spoke English. There wasn’t a single person who spoke English. There did not appear to be a single lawyer there representing them.

    These are routine appearances. They’re updates. They’re administrative. There is no reason for anyone to have expected anything unusual to happen today. And yet they’re ripped away from their families, from their communities, even though they’re trying to do the right thing and pursue the American dream as so many of us and our ancestors have. 

    I was a federal prosecutor for ten years right there. I worked with the Department of Homeland Security. I worked with ICE agents. I worked with Homeland Security Investigations. I have never seen any plainclothes officer wearing a mask.

    And, when I asked them, ‘Why are you wearing a mask?’ One person told me, ‘Because it’s cold.’ I asked him if he would testify to that under oath, and he walked away and wouldn’t respond to me.

    Another person admitted that they were wearing masks so that they are not caught on video. And my question to them is: ‘if what you are doing is legitimate, is lawful, is totally aboveboard, why do you need to cover your face?’ 

    Law enforcement officers do not cover their faces. And in fact, the Trump administration is cracking down on universities for allowing protesters to wear masks. So, apparently it is not okay to wear a mask if you are protesting the government, but it is okay if you are the government.

    This is not America. This is not who we are. And if you are a violent criminal, if you’re a convicted criminal, then you should be deported. I 100% agree with that. But these people are doing it the right way. They’re not criminals. They’re not murderers. They’re not rapists. They’re trying to seek a better life. They’re trying to escape horrific conditions at home and come to this great democracy and pursue the American dream. This is not who we are.

    This is not how our government should behave. And we will continue to demand answers from the Department of Homeland Security about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and why they are doing this end run around the legal process.  

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ciscomani Pushes for Increased Transparency in Medicare Billing Codes

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)

    ‘As we continue the meaningful work of safeguarding these vital benefits while reducing waste and increasing efficiency, we need to understand CMS’ processes and what is driving up Medicare costs and premiums’

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani reintroduced legislation to increase transparency with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s (CMS) billing codes.  

    Specifically, Ciscomani’s legislation, the Oversight of Medicare Billing Code Cost Act (H.R. 3580) directs the Office of Inspector General within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a study of the processes and procedures used by CMS when determining Medicare billing codes. This would help identify inefficiencies, increase transparency, and provide patients, physicians, and policy makers greater insights into how billing decisions by CMS impact healthcare costs.  

    “Seniors in my district, and across the U.S., who are on Medicare deserve full transparency about their healthcare costs and coverage,” said Ciscomani. “As we continue the meaningful work of safeguarding these vital benefits while reducing waste and increasing efficiency, we need to understand CMS’ processes and what is driving up Medicare costs and premiums. My bill is a commonsense solution to identify trends and inefficiencies, reduce waste, and provide greater transparency to CMS’ process and the factors they consider when altering, removing, or approving new billing codes.” 

    Ciscomani is joined by Reps. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) in this effort. 

    “We can’t allow unaccountable federal bureaucrats to jeopardize the well-being of Medicare beneficiaries,” said Harshbarger. “Even as Medicare faces financial instability, CMS has been expanding services without input from Congress—driving costs sky-high. The Oversight of Medicare Billing Code Cost Act is a practical solution that will help control runaway spending, bring much-needed transparency to the billing system, and ensure that Medicare patients and their benefits remain protected.” 

    “Congress and the American public deserve greater transparency into how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) modify billing codes,” said Smucker. “Understanding what drives program costs is essential—especially as Medicare faces insolvency in just over a decade. We must act urgently to shed light on CMS’s billing and coding processes, delivering an accountable system that the American people can fully trust.” 

    Find the full text of the bill here.  

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • First round of India-Chile CEPA negotiations concludes in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The first round of negotiations for the India-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) concluded successfully in New Delhi, marking a major step towards enhancing bilateral economic cooperation. The negotiations began on May 26, following the signing of the Terms of Reference on May 8. 

    The opening ceremony was inaugurated by India’s Commerce Secretary, Sunil Barthwal, in the presence of the Ambassador of Chile to India, H.E. Juan Angulo.

    During the inauguration, Barthwal emphasized that the CEPA would pave the way for a deeper economic partnership between India and Chile and contribute to the creation of strengthened global value chains. 

    The initiative follows the momentum generated during the State Visit of the President of Chile, H.E. Gabriel Boric Font, to India in April 2025, where both countries welcomed the launch of CEPA negotiations. President Boric described India as a priority partner for Chile and stressed the importance of developing strategies for enhanced and diversified trade.

    Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Boric expressed support for an agreement that is balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial, with the goal of achieving deeper economic integration between the two countries. 

    Over the course of the round, discussions were held across various thematic areas covering trade, services, investment, economic cooperation, and strategic sectors. The CEPA is envisioned to unlock the full potential of India-Chile trade and commercial ties, leading to increased employment, stronger bilateral trade, and sustained economic growth.

    The two sides have agreed to continue engagement through intersessional virtual discussions to address outstanding matters ahead of the next round of negotiations, which is expected to take place in July or August 2025. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to a constructive and consultative negotiation process that involves industry feedback and stakeholder participation, aiming to deliver a meaningful and impactful agreement.

  • MIL-OSI Global: Veterans’ protests planned for D-Day latest in nearly 250 years of fighting for their benefits

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jamie Rowen, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

    The Bonus Army demonstration at the U.S. Capitol on July 2, 1932. Underwood and Underwood, via Library of Congress

    Veterans across the United States will gather on June 6, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the slashing of staff and programs throughout the government. Veteran-led protests will be held at the National Mall, 16 state capitol buildings and over 100 other venues across 43 states.

    Veterans are disproportionately affected by federal cuts, in part because they make up only 6.1% of the U.S. population but, because of “veterans preference” in federal hiring, they compose 24% of the 3 million federal workers facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration.

    Veterans also depend on comprehensive, free, federally funded health care through VA clinics throughout the country. But that care is deteriorating due to cuts, rule changes and return-to-work policies that make it impossible for many VA workers to effectively provide care.

    Looming cuts to the VA may cause an irreversible blow if the VA stops providing comprehensive care to veterans and, instead, pushes veterans into seeing doctors in private practice.

    This is not the first time that veterans have engaged in mass mobilization. Veterans groups in the U.S. have successfully mobilized for centuries, crossing traditional political divisions such as race, class and gender. They are powerful messengers, and their actions in the past have helped secure back pay and pensions for veterans, a Social Security and welfare system for U.S. civilians, and foreign policy changes to end wars abroad.

    I’m a scholar of law, social movements and veterans benefits. Here’s a brief history of veterans’ campaigns that illustrates how veterans developed their political clout and effectively advocated to protect themselves, and many others, from harmful federal policies.

    Veterans are an important political constituency. On Nov. 7, 1932 – the day before Election Day – Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New York governor running for president, visited the veterans hospital at Castle Point, near Beacon, N.Y.
    Bettman/Getty Images

    Fighting for pensions

    Veterans were not always politically popular, nor were they treated well by the federal government.

    After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Gen. George Washington lobbied Congress to offer lifetime half-pay to officers who served until the end of the war. Given the federal government’s financial precariousness at the end of the war, this effort failed. Veterans were unable to successfully mobilize to advocate for the pensions, given their small numbers and internal divisions between more privileged officers and less privileged soldiers.

    During the Civil War, Congress passed numerous laws designed to support veterans. The 1862 pension law allocated payouts in proportion to a soldier’s permanent bodily injury or disability caused by their service. The benefits were generous in comparison with prior allocations, and more veterans began applying for them.

    Yet, by 1875 only 6.5% of veterans had signed up for pensions. Veterans began to organize to increase awareness about these benefits and to lobby for more.

    The Grand Army of the Republic became a leading veterans organization that demanded better pension and disability benefits. At the end of the 1800s, earning veterans’ votes became a priority for aspiring politicians. The Grand Army of the Republic directly lobbied Congress to pass bills expanding veterans pensions, one of which Democratic President Grover Cleveland vetoed in 1887.

    The organization then successfully mobilized its members to vote against Cleveland in the 1888 election, securing victory for presidential candidate William Henry Harrison and for Republicans in both houses of Congress. This secured the 1890 Arrears Act, which expanded veterans’ pensions and disability payments.

    By the turn of the 19th century, over 40% of federal expenditures went to veterans.

    Getting back pay

    As more veterans returned in 1898 from fighting in the Spanish-American War, and with a huge influx of veterans 20 years later from World War I, veterans mobilized to streamline and expand pension and disability benefits.

    In the 1920s, the two most prominent veterans organizations, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, or VFW, formed a national legislative committee dedicated to lobbying for improved benefits. Each group boasted thousands of members whom they could call on to “barrage”– a veterans term – congressmen with letters. By 1929, even as the federal budget ballooned, veterans benefits still represented 20% of the total federal budget.

    The 1924 “Bonus Act,” which Congress passed after overruling Calvin Coolidge’s presidential veto, offered WWI veterans a deferred “bonus” payment available in 1945. But veterans suffered immensely in the Great Depression, along with the rest of the country.

    Veterans tried a new campaign tactic in 1932, creating the “Bonus Expeditionary Forces,” or “Bonus Army,” march on Washington, D.C., to demand their promised pay be delivered sooner.

    Over the course of three months, from May through July 1932, 40,000 veterans set up encampments throughout the city. During their stay, they crowded congressional galleries and plazas during debates on the bill. When President Herbert Hoover called on the military to disband the encampments, he set himself up for electoral defeat later that year.

    It took another four years for Congress to pass a law offering an immediate payout, but the veterans got their bonuses in 1936, not 1945.

    Campaigning to prevent cuts

    Building from public support bolstered by the Bonus Army march, veterans fought publicly to protect their benefits in the Great Depression.

    In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to cut veterans’ benefits to help finance other relief programs during the Depression, but veterans successfully lobbied Congress to rescind the cuts.

    A 1933 VFW encampment in Milwaukee attracted 10,000 veterans who openly decried Roosevelt’s economic policies. The event featured left-wing Louisiana populist Sen. Huey P. Long and former Marine turned anti-Wall Street populist Smedley Butler.

    The U.S. entered World War II in December 1941. To avoid another spectacle, FDR began developing a compensation program for World War II veterans even before the war’s end. During debates about these expenditures, veterans activism helped ensure the generous educational, housing and vocational benefits from the so-called GI Bill developed by FDR, and the soldier vote helped secure FDR’s fourth-term election in 1944.

    Scholars credit the GI Bill with creating a booming U.S. economy from the 1950s through the 1970s and creating the contemporary middle class, an economic and social group now shrinking and under threat.

    Beyond benefits

    Vietnam veterans hold a silent march down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House on April 22, 1971, to protest the Vietnam War.
    Bettman/Getty Images

    After World War II, veterans’ mobilization expanded from a focus on benefits to foreign policy.

    Most famously, after its founding in 1967, Vietnam Veterans Against the War engaged in street theater and gathered testimonies about U.S. military abuses to condemn the U.S. government for violence against the Vietnamese.

    Vietnam Veterans Against the War helped organized a four-day protest in 1971 in Washington, D.C., including camping on the National Mall. The organization continued to mobilize in more traditional ways, drafting congressional legislation for benefits and promoting investment in psychological support for Vietnam veterans.

    Veterans have continued to protest wars, particularly the Iraq War, engaging in street protests and also through mainstream politics such as elections and television advertising.

    Given their experiences, veterans today know what they are standing up for on June 6: their own freedom and prosperity, as well as the country’s and the world’s.

    Jamie Rowen receives funding from National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Veterans’ protests planned for D-Day latest in nearly 250 years of fighting for their benefits – https://theconversation.com/veterans-protests-planned-for-d-day-latest-in-nearly-250-years-of-fighting-for-their-benefits-255346

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: One lawsuit just helped melt the fossil fuel industry’s defence against being held accountable for climate change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Benjamin Franta, Associate Professor of Climate Litigation, University of Oxford

    There was a time when oil and gas companies happily linked themselves to the idea of planet-wide environmental changes. “Each day Humble supplies enough energy to melt 7 million tons of glacier!” boasts the headline from a 1962 double-page spread in Life magazine for Humble Oil, now part of ExxonMobil.

    Fast forward 60 years and that advert takes on a prophetic quality. Millions of people have experienced first-hand the tragic consequences of how burning fossil fuels is overheating our planet beyond recognition. Not just by melting glaciers but fuelling storms, fires and floods.

    The fossil fuel industry today would never dream of linking its activities to melting glaciers. Instead, it actively denies responsibility for the consequences of extracting and selling some of the most harmful products ever known to humanity.

    For the decades we have known about climate science, this narrative has been core to how the fossil fuel industry maintains its social legitimacy: that the industry is not responsible for climate change, but everyone else is through their individual actions.

    Yet a ten-year climate lawsuit brought by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide has challenged this narrative. In March this year, Saúl Luciano Lliuya’s case against the European coal-giant RWE was heard in a regional court in Germany.

    And while the court has now dismissed Lliuya’s specific claim – finding the flood risk to Lliuya’s particular property is not yet sufficiently great – it did confirm that private companies can in principle be held liable for their share in causing climate damages. This finding has major ramifications for the wider legal battle to make fossil fuel companies accountable.

    Farmer vs coal giant

    Lliuya lives in Huaraz, a city in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. He and the 120,000 residents of this city live in constant danger. The melting glaciers caused by climate change are causing the water levels in Lake Palcacocha above their home to rise. Peru’s disaster management agency warns that a flood could occur at any moment.

    Huaraz is one of many cities in the Andes at risk of flooding as temperatures rise and glaciers melt.
    Christian Vinces / shutterstock

    For Lliuya, it is not a matter of if but when – and how bad the flood will be.

    He therefore embarked on his lawsuit against RWE with this simple premise: as one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, it should help pay for flood defences to protect Hauraz. The total cost of a new dam would have been US$4 million (£3 million), and Lliuya was demanding that RWE pay 0.47% of that total, which is US$20,000.

    This proportional amount was based on a calculation of RWE’s contribution to historical global greenhouse gas emissions – most of which have occurred since the 1990s, long after fossil fuel companies were aware their products would cause dangerous climate change.

    RWE’s revenues are measured in the tens of billions. It could have accepted Lliuya’s request and paid for not just its share of the cost, but the full cost of flood defences for Huaraz. Yet the company fought tooth and nail to prevent the case getting as far as it did.

    When asked by the court much earlier in the process if it would be willing to settle, the company’s lawyers declined, revealing exactly what was at stake: “This is a matter of precedent.”

    On May 28 2025, the court ruled that the flood risk to Lliuya’s home was not sufficiently high to uphold his specific claim. However, its confirmation of the principle that private companies can be held liable for climate damage shows that RWE was, in fact, correct to fear the precedent that Lliuya’s case has now helped set.

    Liability – across national borders

    Despite RWE’s attempts to argue otherwise, the case’s outcome has far-reaching implications that could shape similar cases in countries such as Switzerland and Belgium, and which may be relevant for other jurisdictions including the UK, Netherlands, US and Japan.

    Crucially, the case confirms that proportional liability for climate harm is legally possible, even across national borders. And this will still remain a possibility, even if a higher court overrules the German district court in favour of the fossil fuel companies.

    Why does this matter so much to RWE and other fossil fuel companies, who argue time and again in court that they should not be held responsible?

    For years, fossil fuel companies have operated as if they would not be held responsible for the emissions from their products. But as the world continues to warm, the harmful impacts of climate change and extreme weather will only intensify, resulting in mounting costs – both those we can calculate, such as damage to infrastructure, and those we cannot, like the loss of our loved ones.

    With the growing number and accuracy of climate science attribution studies, legal pressure on companies to contribute to climate costs is likely to keep growing.

    And when you consider that the legal basis for this “polluter pays” principle exists in a similar form in at least 50 nations around the world, then the scale of liability facing the industry becomes clear.

    More examples are already emerging. In 2024, a Belgian farmer filed a lawsuit against French fossil fuel major TotalEnergies, seeking compensation for damage to his farm as a result of extreme weather.

    In 2022, four residents of Pari island, Indonesia, started legal proceedings in Switzerland against the Swiss cement firm Holcim. The residents are seeking a 43% reduction in Holcim’s carbon emissions by 2030, and around US$4,000 in compensation each for damages caused by flooding.

    Since 2017, dozens of cities, counties and states across the US have sued fossil fuel producers for climate change-related damages and adaptation costs, potentially totalling trillions of dollars – pointing to the industry’s increasingly well-documented historical and ongoing deceptions about climate change.

    And policymakers across countries including the US, the Philippines and Pakistan are working to enact laws that would directly hold polluting companies financially responsible for climate damages.

    The new ruling in Germany provides a shot in the arm to all these cases, and the future suits yet to be filed. Perhaps most consequentially of all, public opinion is hardening: growing numbers of people understand that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for climate change, and lawsuits to compel big carbon to pay for climate damages enjoy widespread public support.

    When Lliuya launched his case nearly a decade ago, the idea of linking an individual corporation to the impacts of its emissions seemed implausible to some. Yet scientific research now makes it possible to link the emissions of individual companies to particular, quantifiable damages caused by climate change.

    This, coupled with the German court’s ruling, makes it increasingly clear that the fossil fuel industry’s longstanding deflection of responsibility for planetary warming is doomed to melt away.



    Read more:
    A Peruvian farmer is trying to hold energy giant RWE responsible for climate change – the inside story of his groundbreaking court case

    Benjamin Franta has served as a consulting expert for various climate-related lawsuits. His research has received funding from foundations in the environment and climate space.

    – ref. One lawsuit just helped melt the fossil fuel industry’s defence against being held accountable for climate change – https://theconversation.com/one-lawsuit-just-helped-melt-the-fossil-fuel-industrys-defence-against-being-held-accountable-for-climate-change-257840

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bergman, USDA Official Announce Disaster Relief for Michigan Farmers and Forest Landowners

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-1)

    On Saturday, U.S. Representative Jack Bergman joined Michigan USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Director Joel Johnson to meet with maple syrup producers and announce critical federal relief for farmers and forest landowners impacted by the late March ice storm.

    Speaking with local producers, Rep. Bergman and Director Johnson confirmed that assistance through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) is on the way for Northern Michigan. Both programs are designed to help landowners recover from severe storm damage and restore their operations.

    “This is about getting real help into the hands of our people. Folks who grow our food, manage our forests, and contribute to the economy of Northern Michigan,” said Rep. Bergman. “I appreciate Director Johnson’s leadership in pushing for the flexibility and federal approvals needed to make these programs work on the ground, especially for unique operations like our maple syrup producers.”

    “We requested critical flexibilities to ensure producers can proceed with recovery efforts immediately and still retain critical ECP and EFRP access in the coming months” said Joel Johnson, State Executive Director for FSA in Michigan. “These flexibilities include a waiver of onsite inspection to expedite determination of need and approvals of restoration work and to forego the requirement of a producer request for work starting prior to submitting an application for certain emergency non-ground disturbance activities such as surface debris removal and fence repair. Before taking any other type of action, please call your local office.”

    Director Johnson emphasized that his office has been actively working with federal partners to secure the necessary waivers that allow the ECP and EFRP to be applied effectively in Michigan’s unique agricultural and forestry contexts.

    The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) provides funding to restore agricultural production on land damaged by natural disasters — including a new provision specific to Michigan’s maple sap operations that suffered significant damage to taps and tubing.

    Learn more about the ECP here: Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) | Farm Service Agency

    The Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) assists owners of nonindustrial private forest land (NIPF) with recovery efforts. Eligible plots must be at least one acre in size, 120 feet wide, and at least 10% forested.

    Learn more about the EFRP here: Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) | Farm Service Agency

    Bergman encouraged all affected producers and forest owners to contact their local FSA offices immediately to learn more and determine their eligibility: “If you think these programs might apply to you, don’t wait – reach out today. Help is available.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Local 83’s member earns May NABTU Tradeswomen Hero award

    Source: US International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

    Jess Mendenhall is the most recent Boilermaker sister to be recognized as a Tradeswoman Hero by North America’s Building Trades Union. Mendenhall, who was honored in May, is a journey worker at Local 83 (Kansas City, Missouri).

    She embodies what it means to be a Tradewomen Hero by blazing trails, breaking barriers and demonstrating exceptional leadership and skill as a Boilermaker. Since indenturing into Local 83 in 2012, Jess has forged an impressive path in a male-dominated field, earning respect through hard work, fortitude and a drive for excellence. Her dedication to the trade and commitment to lifelong learning have made her stand out not just among her peers, but also to instructors and leaders across the country.

    Mendenhall recently became only the second woman in 20 years to complete the Boilermaker MOST Project Management course—which speak volumes about her ambition and perseverance. MOST instructor Gerry Klimo noted her strong presence and potential: “She’s outgoing and knowledgeable. I’ve taught 30 or more of these classes, and sometimes there are people who really stand out.”

    Her career has spanned coast to coast, including leading teams as a foreman in California and taking on complex emergency projects, such as a high-stakes, on-the-fly refinery rebuild in Toledo, Ohio. She’s also held roles as a project coordinator and instructor, giving back to the trade by sharing her knowledge and supporting others.

    Jess holds a Certified Associate Welding Inspector credential and is close to completing her associate degree in business management, with her sights set on earning a PMP certification. Because she works in the trades, she’s able to pay her school tuition in full each semester.

    While Jess has faced significant challenges—especially when it comes to access to advancement opportunities—she continues to advocate for mentorship and equity in training for women in the trades.

    For a full list of May winners and instructions on making a nomination visit https://nabtu.org/twbn/.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: “We are all going to die:” 6 catastrophic ways Trump’s Big Ugly Bill threatens Californians

    Source: US State of California Governor

    May 30, 2025

    SACRAMENTO — In a callous moment during a townhall this morning, Republican U.S. Senator Joni Ernst shrugged off the devastating human toll of President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to fund tax breaks for the rich by gutting Medicaid and food assistance — saying, “Well, we all are going to die” when warned by her own constituents that slashing these programs would cost lives.

    Unfortunately, she’s right about one thing: people will die if President Trump’s Big Ugly Bill becomes law. President Trump’s bill is an all-out assault on America’s safety net, targeting the most vulnerable communities in every state, including California. 

    Here are 6 catastrophic cuts in the bill that would do real damage to Californians:

    ❌ Eliminate coverage for up to 3.4 million Californians, largely among those covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion

    ❌ Cut at least $22 billion in federal Medicaid funding by imposing burdensome job loss penalties on low-income adults

    ❌ Punish states like California that use state funding to cover undocumented residents for non-emergency benefits by slashing federal support by at least $4 billion annually

    ❌ Restrict vital funding mechanisms, such as provider taxes and certain other payments that support hospitals and providers across California, that would result in the loss of billions of dollars

    ❌ Shut down nonprofit providers like Planned Parenthood by cutting them off from Medicaid funding

    ❌ Cut federal funding for SNAP in California by at least $2.3 to $4.9 billion annually, with at least 250,000 recipients likely to lose this benefit

    Governor Gavin Newsom recently spoke about the impacts of the Big Ugly Bill on the MeidasTouch Network: “No state, incidentally, has more to lose on that. 3.4 million Americans will lose support if that bill passes in its existent form in the United States Senate, here in California.”

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    May 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: With unprecedented speed, Governor Newsom is today announcing the availability of $800 million in competitive grant funding as part of Proposition 1 Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 2 to develop a wide…

    May 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: CAL FIRE is awarding $72 million to projects across the state that help reduce catastrophic wildfire risk across California. Governor Newsom also announced 13 vegetation management projects spanning nearly 7,000 acres have already been…

    May 29, 2025

    News What you need to know: California is launching CalHeatScore – a groundbreaking tool to help protect vulnerable populations from dangerous heatwaves. The state’s new tool provides localized warnings and resources for extreme heat events. Governor Newsom is also…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Lamont Statement Regarding U.S. Department of Homeland Security List Falsely Labeling Connecticut a ‘Sanctuary’ Jurisdiction

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding the list from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that falsely labels Connecticut as a “self-identified” state sanctuary jurisdiction:

    “We want local law enforcement focused on maintaining the safety of our neighborhoods and helping to get those who commit serious crimes off our streets. Connecticut’s Trust Act, which was originally bipartisan, is consistent with federal constitutional standards and reflects sound public safety priorities. I am focused on making sure people feel safe in our schools, churches, and elsewhere. Nothing about this makes Connecticut a ‘sanctuary’ in any legal or practical sense – it makes our state one that upholds the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and prioritizes the safety and well-being of our communities.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement on DOT Highway Maintenance Supervisor Death

    Source: US State of New York

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    May 30, 2025

    Albany, NY

    “New York’s public employees play an essential role in the health and safety of all New Yorkers, and our highway maintenance workers do their jobs every day in all weather, in the face of high-speed traffic, to keep all of us safe. The death of Department of Transportation Highway Maintenance Supervisor Robert Bornt, who passed away this morning after suffering from catastrophic injuries related to a work zone crash in Pittstown yesterday afternoon, is nothing short of a senseless tragedy. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility, and this fatal crash underscores the importance of slowing down and paying attention in highway work zones — not only for the safety of the traveling public, but for the workers who are out there every day keeping us safe. I extend my deepest condolences to Robert’s family and friends, as well as his coworkers at the Department of Transportation, during this difficult time.”

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    The State of New York does not imply approval of the listed destinations, warrant the accuracy of any information set out in those destinations, or endorse any opinions expressed therein. External web sites operate at the direction of their respective owners who should be contacted directly with questions regarding the content of these sites.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Changes Made to Beer Markup for Small and Medium Sized Breweries

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on May 30, 2025

    Today the Government of Saskatchewan announced changes to the markup structure for beer to encourage small and medium-sized breweries to grow their production levels.

    As part of these changes, markup rates for most production levels were reduced to create a more gradual ramp for small and medium-sized breweries as production volume increases. The limit for qualifying for these rates was increased from 400,000 to 500,000 hectolitres. 

    “Small and medium-sized breweries employ many people locally and are a source of pride for Saskatchewan and across Canada,” Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) Alana Ross said. “Encouraging them to grow is particularly important in a time where consumers are increasingly interested in supporting Saskatchewan and Canadian businesses.”

    Markup is applied to products sold in the province and distributed through SLGA and third-party warehouses. The markup rates are applied to products produced not only in Saskatchewan and across Canada, but also internationally.

    The changes announced today have been communicated to industry, including producers, distributors and will come into effect for industry on July 1st.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada signs statement of intent with CERN to strengthen scientific collaboration

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    Government of Canada partners with world’s leading physics research organization to advance scientific discovery

    May 30, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario 

    Science and research have the power to solve the world’s greatest challenges, drive innovation and economic growth, and unravel fundamental questions about life itself. That is why the Government of Canada is supporting international scientific collaboration and investing in research that pushes the boundaries of human knowledge.

    Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Economic Development Canada for Quebec Regions, announced that Canada has signed a statement of intent with the European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN, to strengthen collaboration on future planning for large research infrastructure facilities, and on novel and advanced techniques and tools. The statement of intent was signed in April by Canada’s Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Philip Jennings, and CERN’s Director-General, Fabiola Gianotti.

    CERN is a world-leading research facility in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on fundamental physics, with a mission to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. Canada contributes to CERN’s work through advanced equipment, scientific expertise and top talent, with TRIUMF—Canada’s particle accelerator centre—serving as the primary bridge for these efforts. The statement of intent ensures Canada will continue to be a world leader in physics, contributing to and advancing research on fundamental questions about the mysteries of the universe.

    By signing the statement of intent, Canada and CERN signalled their intent to enhance collaboration in planning future projects to foster breakthrough scientific discoveries. This includes ongoing studies on the Future Circular Collider (FCC), CERN’s next flagship project. This proposed higher-performance particle collider would eventually replace CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, which is helping scientists study the basic building blocks of the universe. Should the FCC be selected to move forward, Canada intends to collaborate on its construction and the physics experiments that will take place at the research facility, subject to appropriate domestic approvals.

    Canada and CERN also intend to promote joint efforts in developing advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, and their use in particle physics research and beyond. Through this partnership, Canada is advancing human understanding of our universe and ensuring Canadian researchers and scientists are leading the way.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Sidhu to advance Canada’s trade priorities in Paris, France

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    May 30, 2025 – Ottawa, Canada – Global Affairs Canada

    The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, will be in Paris, France, from June 2 to 4, 2025, to attend the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM), participate in meetings with WTO ministers and host a G7 trade ministers’ meeting.

    At the OECD MCM—chaired by Costa Rica with Canada, Australia and Lithuania as vice-chairs—Minister Sidhu will advance Canada’s trade priorities, including reinforcing open and stable markets, diversifying our trading relationships and leveraging the digital economy. These priorities will help Canada foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth, benefiting Canadian businesses, workers and communities right across the country.

    As Canada holds the G7 presidency this year, the Minister will host a trade ministers’ meeting, where he will emphasize the G7’s critical role in promoting economic prosperity for citizens and businesses and strengthening economic security and resilience amid evolving global trade challenges.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Joanne Levy to the annual conference of the Western Association of Broadcasters

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Banff, Alberta

    May 29, 2025

    Joanne Levy, Commissioner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan
    Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

    Check against delivery

    Thank you for that kind introduction. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Treaty 7 First Nations, including the Stoney and Siksika First Nations. I thank them and pay respect to their Elders.

    It is a pleasure to be here with you all today to bring you the annual CRTC update. My colleague, Nirmala Naidoo, Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories has delivered this address for the past few years. She is away doing some of the work I will be speaking about. So, while I may be a different face and voice, I hope you will find what I have to say just as informative and timely.

    But before I get to our ongoing activities – and trust me, there is plenty – I wanted to begin today by recognizing the instability in the world today. There is a great deal of it, and we know that the broadcasting industry is not immune to the currents of change that are transforming the world around us.

    At the CRTC, as you have likely heard Commissioner Naidoo say before, we are in the process of modernizing Canada’s broadcasting framework.

    Our job is two-fold: we want to do what we can to address the current challenges facing your industry, while also creating frameworks that will sustain a successful broadcasting system years into the future.

    Hearing from you, via our formal proceedings or chatting with you at events like this, are how we learn more and understand what it will take to reach our goals together. So, across our ongoing work, I want to assure you that we are taking into account the lived experiences of everyone connected to Canadian broadcasting.

    And with that, I would now like to turn to some of that work.

    Online Streaming Act and modernizing Canada’s broadcasting industry

    When this conference took place last year, we had just made a landmark decision in our implementation of the modernized Broadcasting Act. We decided that certain online streaming services would have to pay a base contribution of 5% of their applicable revenues, generating roughly $200 million in new funding each year for Canada’s broadcasting system.

    As we stated last summer, this decision is just the beginning. Online streaming services are a part of the broadcasting ecosystem operating in Canada. They have a role to play in supporting Canadian and Indigenous content and creators just as other broadcasters do. We have just finished a major public hearing on the definition of Canadian content for TV and online streaming services, and more public hearings are planned to further define the role of all players in the broadcasting system in the next few months.

    The full scope of our broadcasting modernization plan is broad. We want to create a diverse, competitive, and resilient broadcasting system that can adapt effectively to change and reflects Canadian and Indigenous stories.

    And that means ensuring we modernize the system for all Canadians – including official language minority communities, Indigenous peoples, and members of equity-deserving groups. We want these groups to see themselves in the content our system creates, and similarly we want their creators to have access to tell their stories.

    To meet that goal we have launched 15 consultations to determine the best way forward.

    There are a few radio and audio-specific processes that are ongoing that I would like to mention today but, before I do, I want talk about how our modernization process will support local news – something all the more important given our current climate.

    As you may know, we held a consultaton last fall as part of our review of the Independent Local News Fund, or ILNF. Local news production is an area of immediate need in our broadcasting system, so we want to make sure the fund is effective in supporting independent television stations across Canada as they produce news. We also need to address how the additional funds generated by the contributions decision I mentioned before should be allocated, including who should be eligible to receive that funding. We expect to release a decision on this review in the coming weeks.

    In addition to this decision, we are also currently looking at how to help support local news produced by commercial radio stations.

    Late last year we held a consultation about a potential fund to support local news production by commercial radio stations. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters submitted a plan that would support local stations outside of Canada’s six largest markets. I know many of you submitted interventions sharing your thoughts on the plan, and we are fully considering every one before we issue a decision.

    Additionally, I know several of the stations in attendance today are receiving funding separately through the Canadian Journalism Collective as a result of the Online News Act. For our part, we are putting in place measures to ensure online platforms and news organizations are bargaining in good faith.

    Modernizing audio policy

    Now to turn more directly to the audio side: we have two ongoing processes that are critically important to the future of radio and audio broadcasting in Canada.

    The first consultation focuses on processes that radio stations should follow. Earlier this year we held a consultation to review our processes and reduce the regulatory burden on radio stations operating in Canada. By streamlining our requirements, our goal is to help radio stations remain dynamic and competitive while still ensuring their programming serves the public interest.

    I know many of you intervened and participated in this proceeding, and we thank you for your submissions. We appreciate the level of engagement and are working to arrive at a decision as quickly as possible. 

    Secondly, there is a review of the definition of Canadian content for audio services. In line with our efforts on the audio-visual side, we need to modernize our approach to radio and audio regulatory policy. So earlier this year, we sought comments from a wide range of groups, communities, and industry members to help us update the definition of Canadian content for audio services.

    This included French-speaking and other official language-minority communities. If we are going to ensure our broadcasting system supports and produces Canadian stories, we need to ensure the definition captures the full breadth of our country.

    The final definition will be used to support the creation, distribution, and discoverability of Canadian and Indigenous audio content across radio and online audio streaming platforms.

    Ultimately, we want to ensure our system gives Canadians access to the audio and music content they want, and we intend to update the definition of Canadian content for audio to help ensure that content can be easily discovered and enjoyed.

    The reply period on this consultation closes next week, and we are looking forward to a public hearing in September.

    Conclusion

    There are other ongoing proceedings – such as our consultation on public interest participation – which I will have to leave for another time.

    There are still further proceedings to come and, as with those on audio policy, we hope you will participate and have your voices heard.

    In fact, I would like to emphasize what a tremendous opportunity this is – the last time we made changes this expansive to our broadcasting regulatory frameworks was in 1993. We appreciate the high level of engagement we have seen across our proceedings so far. And for those joining us for hearings later this year – we look forward to having those conversations.

    The regulatory policy decisions we make are based entirely on the public record. When you make your voice heard and participate in our processes – by filing an intervention or presenting during a public hearing, for example – you are playing a vital role in shaping public policy.

    And it’s by working together that we ensure our policies reflect the full scope of views and perspectives.

    That’s how we build a modernized broadcasting framework that is resilient, reflective of the country, and sustainable for years to come.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: B.C. releases second annual Pay Transparency Report

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Government has released its second annual Pay Transparency Report, showing modest improvements to the gender pay gap in the province.

    The biggest improvements in the gender pay gap since 2023 were noted in three sectors, analyzed using Statistics Canada data categorized by the North American Industry Classification System. In agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, there was an improvement from a gap of 45% down to 36%. The gap shrank from 24% to 17% in mining, quarrying and oil-and-gas extraction. Wholesale trade saw a positive shift from 18% down to 11%.

    In addition, the gender pay gap shrank for young women with post-secondary trade certificates and diplomas from 21% in 2017 to 8% in 2024.

    These improvements support B.C.’s overall goal to reduce the gender pay gap of 15%. Future long-term positive trends are anticipated based on initial progress.

    The Pay Transparency Act was passed into law in May 2023, requiring all employers in B.C. to include salary and wage information on all publicly posted jobs. The annual report shows that in 2024, 85% of job postings in B.C. included pay information, compared to 52% in other parts of Canada, according to Indeed, a job-search platform.

    By Nov. 1, 2025, all employers with 300 or more employees in B.C. are required to prepare and post reports about their gender pay gaps.

    The requirement has been introduced in stages to give employers time to prepare.

    • Nov. 1, 2024: all employers with 1,000 employees in B.C. or more
    • Nov. 1, 2025: all employers with 300 employees in B.C. or more
    • Nov. 1, 2026: all employers with 50 employees in B.C. or more

    An online reporting tool is available to support employers with an efficient way to prepare pay-transparency reports.

    Learn More:

    For more information about the pay-transparency tool, visit: https://paytransparency.fin.gov.bc.ca/login

    For more information about the 2025 Pay Transparency Report, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/services-policies-for-government/gender-equity/pay-transparency-annual-report-2025.pdf

    For more information about pay transparency in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/gender-equity/pay-transparency-in-bc

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada recognizes the historic significance of Rockcliffe Park Historic District 

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Located northeast of downtown Ottawa, this district is an example of suburban planning traditions of the second half of the 19th century.

    May 30, 2025                               Ottawa, ON                             Parks Canada

    Today, the Honourable Mona Fortier, on behalf of the minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, commemorated the national historic significance of Rockcliffe Park Historic District at a special plaque unveiling ceremony. National historic designations illustrate the persons, places, and events that have marked history in Canada. Together, they tell the stories of who we are and connect us to our past, enriching our understanding of ourselves, each other, and this country.

    Located at the confluence of the Ottawa, Rideau, and Gatineau Rivers, this residential district covers an estimated area of 1.77 km2. Known to the Anishinābeg as Kishkābikā, Rockcliffe Park is part of an important historical area where Indigenous people have lived, gathered, harvested, and traded for millennia. Following European settlement, this neighbourhood district was designed and laid out in 1864 by Thomas Coltrin Keefer, as part of Thomas MacKay’s large estate purchased in the 1830s.

    Rockcliffe Park is an excellent example of the picturesque English and American suburban planning traditions of the second half of the 19th century. The varied, high-quality architecture was the work of renowned architects, who promoted the use of a variety of styles such as Tudor, Georgian, and Queen Anne. Amalgamated with the City of Ottawa in 2001, Rockcliffe Park retains a high degree of integrity and many of the key elements associated with its original design.

    The Government of Canada, through Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, recognizes significant people, places, and events that shaped this country as one way of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster understanding of and reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada’s past and present.

    The designation process under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration is largely driven by public nominations. To nominate a person, place or historic event in your community, please visit the Parks Canada website for more information:
    https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/clmhc-hsmbc/ncp-pcn/application.

                                                                                                  -30-

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Supporting young leaders across Alberta

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Province strengthens response to combat downtown street crime, disorder

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Businesses in British Columbia will be better protected against property crimes with the launch of a new public-safety initiative focused on addressing street disorder and non-violent offences.

    The new Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement (C-STEP) program will boost police efforts tackling public-safety challenges that are affecting businesses and communities. Through C-STEP, police can strengthen operations that address street crimes, such as robbery, shoplifting, theft and property damage, and the associated impacts on public safety, community well-being and the growth of B.C.’s economy.

    “Businesses that have been the victims of theft rings and shoplifting are understandably frustrated by the losses they have suffered,” said Terry Yung, Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services. “Building on the proven success of other public-safety initiatives, we are implementing C-STEP to further strengthen these efforts that support safer downtown cores, so people can build a good life in a safe community.”

    The Province is allocating as much as $5 million in new funding for the initiative, which will provide police with enhanced tools, technology and investigative resources to curb property crimes.

    In addition to enforcement, C-STEP will also support police initiatives to develop co-ordinated operational plans that unite law enforcement, businesses, outreach teams and social services to deliver a strategic, preventive approach to tackling street disorder.

    “Our downtown communities are more than just economic hubs. They are the heartbeat of our cities, bringing people together to work, explore, create and connect with culture,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “Our downtowns reflect the energy and diversity that makes our Province unique, and the new C-STEP program is laying the groundwork for safer, more dynamic downtowns, ensuring they remain vibrant spaces for everyone.”

    Funding provided through C-STEP can also support proactive patrols and increased police presence to improve physical and social conditions of public spaces by addressing disruptive or unlawful behaviours, such as open drug use or trafficking, disturbances, obstruction, indecent acts and/or public intoxication.

    Additionally, the initiative will enhance police capacity to effectively work alongside front-line social-service providers, ensuring individuals in crisis are connected to the appropriate and available services.

    “The B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police supports the C-STEP initiative and funding directed toward addressing street disorder across our province,” said Chief Supt. Wendy Mehat, president of the B.C. Associations of Chiefs of Police. “Police leaders continue to raise concerns about repeat offending and the impacts of chronic street-level crime on public safety and community well-being. We recognize that a co-ordinated, multi-agency response is essential, and we are committed to working alongside government and community partners to develop long-term, sustainable solutions. Our shared goal is safer, healthier communities for all British Columbians.”

    C-STEP builds on the existing Specialized Investigation and Targeted Enforcement (SITE) program, with the B.C. RCMP administering the funding to police on behalf of government. Together, these programs will help police agencies implement comprehensive public-safety strategies to tackle violent and non-violent crime, adapt to emerging policing needs and stay responsive to evolving crime trends.

    Quotes:

    Garry Begg, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General –

    “B.C. businesses are the backbone of our province, and it’s essential that they’re supported to deal with public-safety challenges such as theft, vandalism and shoplifting, which threaten their prosperity. C-STEP will prioritize high-incident hot spots, including major shopping corridors and areas where public-safety concerns exist, so law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to address crime and help to build safer, more vibrant downtowns for everyone.”

    Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation –

    “Small businesses are the foundation of B.C.’s economy, and ensuring people and businesses can thrive in safe, welcoming downtown areas is a priority for our government. This new program is a great step forward in the Province’s ongoing commitment to building safer communities, while helping our local businesses to prosper.”

    Deputy Chief Const. Howard Chow, Vancouver Police Department –

    “Open drug use, street disorder and criminal activity has negatively impacted the health of our downtown core and surrounding neighbourhoods, making people feel less safe. Addressing these challenges requires support from all levels of government, and we welcome any new initiative that will help our officers prevent crime, arrest offenders and make Vancouver a safer city.”

    Jane Talbot, president and CEO, Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association –

    “This initiative reflects a clear recognition of the urgent public-safety challenges facing downtown cores, including the growing impact of non-violent and repeat offenders on small businesses. Any step forward is important, and we see this as a significant and encouraging move in the right direction. Downtown Van is committed to continued collaboration with the province and all partners to build a safer, more vibrant city for everyone.”

    Tony Hunt, general manager of loss prevention, London Drugs –

    “We welcome the C-STEP initiative as a meaningful step forward, supporting local projects that address prolific and repeat offenders. Across British Columbia, communities and businesses are facing rising levels of violence, organized retail crime and abuse targeting workers. This growing disorder is eroding safety and public confidence — especially in our downtowns, which are vital to our economy. It’s essential that we track its impact, and we look forward to seeing and celebrating the positive outcomes this program can deliver.”

    Quick Facts:

    • Budget 2025 invests $235 million in new funding over the next three years to help improve community safety through various public-safety and justice programs.
    • The SITE program introduced under the B.C. government’s Safer Communities Action Plan provides operational funding for police departments to enhance proactive enforcement and investigative techniques to target repeat violent offending.
    • The Vancouver Police Department reported that between October 2024 and January 2025, the SITE initiative led to a 27% drop in violent crime in Hastings Crossing and a 45% drop in weapon-related assaults in Gastown, with January 2025 recording the lowest violent- and property-crime rates in Hastings Crossing in over two years.

    Learn More:

    To learn more about government’s action to keep communities safe and strong, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/safer-communities/

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Good-paying jobs, new technology coming to B.C.

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Building on the success of a three-year pilot, through Budget 2025, B.C. is investing $30 million over three years in the Integrated Marketplace program to help more technology companies scale up and bring more good-paying jobs to people in British Columbia.

    “B.C. is home to a vibrant, accelerating technology sector, and Web Summit Vancouver is the perfect place to demonstrate what we have to offer investors, companies and talent looking for new opportunities,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “We want the world to know B.C. is open for business. The Integrated Marketplace program has shown great results and potential for much more. By working with our partners across levels of government, industry and academia, we are continuing to strengthen and diversify our economy, and creating valuable career opportunities for people in B.C.”

    Created to help local companies grow and showcase their technology in the province, the Integrated Marketplace program supports the adoption of B.C. solutions by companies located at strategic partner testbed locations, such as the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) or the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

    “British Columbia’s tech sector drives innovation and job creation across the province and across Canada,” said Gregor Robertson, federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. “PacifiCan is a proud founding partner of Integrated Marketplace, which serves as a powerful launchpad for local companies, accelerating their growth and expanding their reach, helping to build one strong Canadian economy.”

    Testbeds can be physical or conceptual locations where the Integrated Marketplace runs projects that use commercially ready products in real-world settings to confirm benefits and efficacy.

    “The Integrated Marketplace program helped accelerate our path to commercialization and global markets,” said Jessica Yip, COO and co-founder, A&K Robotics. “We are being approached by some of the world’s largest airport operators who want to implement our AI-enabled solution across their sites in Europe and Asia. I cannot wait to show the world the great innovations coming out of Vancouver.”

    To date, four testbeds have been announced: YVR, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the provincial health testbed hosted by Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services.

    “The Integrated Marketplace has been a catalyst for MarineLabs’ growth, proving what’s possible when you invest in homegrown innovation to improve marine safety and climate resilience in B.C. and beyond”, said Scott Beatty, CEO, MarineLabs. “With Innovate BC’s support, we’ve accelerated product development, grown our team and expanded into new markets. It’s a model that’s helping B.C. tech lead on a world stage.”

    Delivered by B.C.’s Crown agency, Innovate BC, the Integrated Marketplace allows B.C. companies to receive assistance and reduce the risks in adopting new technologies, boosting their productivity and competitiveness. At the same time, participating companies establish valuable Canadian references who support the companies’ ability to expand their business and grow into new markets.

    “This additional $30-million investment from the Province is a strong vote of confidence in B.C.’s innovation ecosystem and the real-world impact of the Integrated Marketplace,” said Peter Cowan, president and CEO, Innovate BC. “It confirms what we’ve seen first-hand, that when we give local companies a platform to prove their solutions, we not only create home-grown success stories, we drive job creation, export B.C.-made solutions and help industries become more competitive, sustainable and resilient. This funding will allow us to continue expanding that impact across the province, addressing pressing challenges in productivity, emissions reduction and health and safety, while fuelling long-term economic prosperity.”

    This announcement builds on the Government of B.C.’s initial investment of $11.5 million, and the Government of Canada’s investment, through PacifiCan, of $9.9 million in the Integrated Marketplace.

    Quick Facts:

    • In May 2025, PacifiCan announced an additional $1.8 million investment in the Integrated Marketplace through its Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
    • To date, 17 solution providers have participated in the Integrated Marketplace program.

    Learn More:

    To learn more about the Integrated Marketplace, visit: https://www.innovatebc.ca/programs/integrated-marketplace

    For more about Innovate BC, visit: https://www.innovatebc.ca/

    To learn more about A&K Robotics, visit: https://www.aandkrobotics.com/

    To learn more about MarineLabs Data Systems, visit: https://marinelabs.io/

    To learn more about PacifiCan, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/pacific-economic-development.html

    To learn more about Web Summit Vancouver, visit: https://vancouver.websummit.com/

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: SIRT Investigating Officer Involved Shooting Near Canwood

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on May 30, 2025

    On Wednesday May 28, 2025 at approximately 1:10 p.m., the Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) received a notification from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding an officer-involved shooting that had just taken place in a rural area near the village of Canwood. 

    SIRT’s Civilian Executive Director accepted the notification as within SIRT’s mandate and directed an investigation by SIRT.

    On May 28, members of the RCMP’s Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST) located a vehicle associated with an individual wanted in relation to recent firearms incidents on the James Smith Cree Nation. RCMP members attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, a dark-coloured SUV, but the vehicle failed to stop for police and a pursuit was commenced. 

    At various points during the pursuit, the SUV left the road and traveled through fields.  At approximately 12:42 p.m., the SUV again left the road and the pursuit continued through a field into a pasture east of Canwood. At approximately 12:44 p.m., the SUV collided with an embankment in the pasture and came to an abrupt stop. Immediately after the SUV came to a stop, a male exited the driver’s side of the vehicle, and a confrontation took place with the RCMP member operating the lead police vehicle in the pursuit. During that confrontation, the RCMP member discharged two rounds from a service pistol, striking the man in the arm.

    Immediately after being struck, the man went to the ground and was arrested without further incident. A female passenger of the SUV exited the vehicle and was also arrested without incident. RCMP members provided first aid, and both occupants of the SUV were conveyed to hospital where they were treated. The 32-year-old man was treated for a gunshot wound to the left arm, and the 30-year old woman was treated for potential injuries sustained during the SUV’s collision with the embankment. 

    Following the notification, a SIRT team consisting of six SIRT investigators was deployed to Shellbrook and the incident scene to begin their investigation. A community liaison will also be appointed pursuant to S.91.12 (1) (a) of The Police Act, 1990. A handgun was recovered from the ground at the scene of the incident and has been secured as an exhibit for both the SIRT and RCMP investigations. 

    SIRT’s investigation will examine the conduct of police during this incident, including the circumstances surrounding the man’s arrest. The RCMP will maintain responsibility for the investigation of the original firearms incident as well as the actions of the occupants of the vehicle during the incident. No further information will be released at this time. A final report will be issued to the public within 90 days of the investigation ending.

    SIRT’s mandate is to investigate alleged cases of serious injury, death, sexual assault or interpersonal violence arising from the actions or omissions of on and off-duty police officers, or while an individual is in police custody.

    For updates on SIRT investigations, follow SIRT on X, formerly known as Twitter, at: Serious Incident Response Team – Saskatchewan (@SIRT_SK) / X

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Hajdu invites organizations to apply for funding to improve accessibility and inclusion through youth leadership

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    May 30, 2025                  Gatineau, Quebec                  Employment and Social Development Canada

    The Government of Canada is committed to creating more opportunities for persons with disabilities to take part in community activities, programs, and services.

    Today, as part of National AccessAbility Week 2025, Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, launched a call for proposals under the youth innovation component of the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF).

    The EAF supports construction, renovation and retrofitting community and workplace-based projects across Canada. Over 8,100 projects have been funded under the EAF since its launch in 2007. The youth innovation component supports youth in bringing their vision for a more inclusive Canada to life, while developing leadership skills, gaining valuable experience, and fostering culture change.

    Youth between the ages of 15 and 30 are encouraged to apply to become a youth accessibility leader and partner with local organizations to secure up to $12,000 in funding. Eligible youth must submit their application online by 3:00 p.m. ET on October 6, 2025. Organizations partnering with a confirmed youth accessibility leader must then submit their application for project funding by 3:00 p.m. ET on November 3, 2025.

    Together, youth accessibility leaders and organizations alike are supporting the Government’s objective of building a barrier-free Canada in the spirit of “Nothing Without Us.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: AHS third-part investigation – update: DM McPherson

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan National Arrested For Possession Of Child Sexual Abuse Material And Illegal Reentry Into The United States

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Marlon Jefferson Fajardo-Paiz (33, Guatemala) with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. If convicted on all counts, Fajardo-Paiz faces a maximum penalty of 22 years in federal prison—20 years for the CSAM offense and 2 years for the immigration offense. Fajardo-Paiz is currently detained pending the resolution of the criminal case.

    According to the indictment, on April 24, 2025, Fajardo-Paiz was in possession of CSAM depicting a prepubescent minor. Fajardo-Paiz is a citizen of Guatemala and had previously been removed from the United States on July 18, 2018. He never has received the consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States.

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

    The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican National Sentenced To 20 Months In Federal Prison For Illegal Reentry

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Gumersindo Gonzalez-Montoya (31) to one year and eight months in federal prison for illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. Gonzalez-Montoya pleaded guilty on February 26, 2025.

    According to court documents, Gonzalez-Montoya is a citizen and national of Mexico. He was previously removed from the United States on May 8, 2024, and was found back in the United States approximately two months later, on July 14, 2024, when he was arrested in Marion County for a new state criminal offense. Gonzalez-Montoya has never applied for or received permission from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reenter the United States. 

    This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant fled to El Salvador following 2010 murder, illegally reentered U.S. and planned second murder

    BOSTON – A member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to participating in a racketeering enterprise, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.

    William Pineda Portillo, a/k/a “Humilde,” 31, of Everett, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to conduct racketeering affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity. Senior U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for July 8, 2025. In September 2024, Pineda Portillo was charged by a second superseding indictment along with co-defendant Jose Vasquez, who pleaded guilty last week to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering.

    MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members located in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere. MS-13 branches, or “cliques,” operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts. In furtherance of its mission, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, specifically against rival gang members; kill informants; and support and defend fellow MS-13 members in attacks. MS-13 members maintain and enhance their status in the gang and the overall reputation of the gang by participating in such violent acts.

    Pineda Portillo was a member of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha, or TLS, clique of MS-13, which operated in Somerville. Pineda Portillo personally participated in racketeering activity and acts of violence on behalf of MS-13.

    Specifically, Pineda Portillo and Vasquez conspired with others to murder a 28-year-old man on Dec. 18, 2010, in Chelsea, Mass. That evening, law enforcement responded to a 911 call in the vicinity of the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 in Chelsea. There, law enforcement found the victim with approximately 10 stab wounds to his chest and back, along with injuries to his head. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. A recent reexamination of evidence collected during the initial investigation identified members of MS-13, including Vasquez, as having committed the murder.  

    In the week leading up to the incident, Vasquez and other MS-13 members conspired to murder the victim because they believed the victim belonged to a rival gang. Evidence revealed that on the day of the murder, Pineda Portillo picked up Vasquez, other MS-13 members and the victim in Allston. Driving a green SUV registered to his father, Pineda Portillo took the MS-13 members and the victim to Chelsea where Vasquez and the other gang members led the victim to an area under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1. Once in the secluded area under the highway, an MS-13 member hit the victim in the head with a rock and another MS-13 member stabbed the victim with a machete. During the attack, Vasquez stabbed the victim with a knife. Vasquez’s palm print was identified on the handle of a silver kitchen knife recovered from the murder scene. The victim’s blood also was found on the knife.

    Pineda Portillo fled to El Salvador before investigators could interview him about his role in the murder. On or about April 29, 2015, after Pineda Portillo returned to the United States, he arranged to sell a firearm loaded with eight rounds of ammunition to another MS-13 member, who was, in reality, a cooperating witness working with law enforcement, in exchange for money.

    On or about June 1, 2015, Pineda Portillo conspired to murder an MS-13 member he incorrectly believed had been arrested and was cooperating with law enforcement. Specifically, in a conversation recorded by law enforcement, Pineda Portillo said, among other things: “I want that son of a bitch killed, man. . . . You will see, homeboy! We are going to do a complete thing to that son of a bitch, dude.”

    Pineda Portillo originally was indicted in 2017. However, shortly before the indictment was returned, he was deported to El Salvador. Approximately five years later, on May 10, 2022, Pineda Portillo was arrested as he tried to return to the United States, illegally crossing the border into Texas from Mexico. According to court documents, after being arrested at the border, Pineda Portillo admitted that he was a member of MS-13. A fingerprint analysis indicated that there was a warrant for his arrest. Pineda Portillo was then returned to the District of Massachusetts where he remained in custody.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Geoffrey D. Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Shumeane Benford of the Somerville Police Department; and Chief Keith Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; United States Customs and Border Protection; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of the Office’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

    The charge of racketeering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    MIL Security OSI –