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The case of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

The death of Mexican Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, on July 7 in Houston after being shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, has generated shock in the Hispanic community.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) launched a GoFundMe campaign to support the family. As of this Thursday, 242,109 dollars (4.2 million pesos) had been raised out of a goal of 350,000. Among the donors, the activist Carlos Eduardo Espina stands out.

“Lorenzo was taken from those who loved him most. He was a husband, father of three children, owner of a small business and the soul of his family,” the campaign states.

The funds will go towards funeral and legal expenses and daily needs of the wife and children.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that Salgado attempted to flee and rammed his vehicle into an agent, who fired in self-defense. However, the family and activists demand an independent investigation. A video spread on social media shows ICE chasing the truck, not the attacking Mexican.

LULAC recalled the case of Renee Good, where a similar version was denied by videos.

Hundreds of people protested Wednesday in the Magnolia Park neighborhood. César Espinosa, from FIEL Houston, declared:

“This is the place where Lorenzo breathed his last. If they come for one of us, they come for all of us.”

Activist Conchita Reyes, on behalf of the family, said:

“My dad was shot and bled to death. He didn’t deserve to die. He deserved to come home to his wife.”

The organization demands that Lorenzo Salgado’s name be repeated and that the facts be clarified.

New attacks and reprisals

Early Thursday morning, the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran. In response, Tehran attacked Persian Gulf countries allied with Washington. The escalation puts at risk a provisional agreement that sought to end the war in the region.

Warning sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain, headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet. Missiles also hit Kuwait and Qatar. Later, Jordan, where the US has troops and aircraft, also raised its alarms.

Iranian reaction and victims

An Iranian official accused Washington of attacking the area around the country’s only nuclear power plant. During the afternoon, more explosions were reported in other areas.

According to Iran’s Ministry of Health, the two days of bombing have left at least 14 dead and 78 injured. The majority belonged to the armed forces.

In Kuwait, one person was injured by debris when air defenses shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain reported that it intercepted incoming fire, without further details. Jordan, through its spokesman Mohammad al-Momani, confirmed that all Iranian fire was intercepted.

Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guard fired missiles at a US base in Jordan. So far there are no reports of damage in Qatar.

The actions come hours after President Donald Trump warned that Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz meant the end of the fragile ceasefire. He threatened to escalate the conflict if the attacks did not stop. The international community fears that the region will once again fall into a multiple war, which could block energy shipments through the strait, vital for the global economy.

A Budapest court sentenced an Irish citizen to 14 years in prison for the death of an American tourist. The victim, Mackenzie Michalski, 31, of Portland, Oregon, disappeared on November 5 after being last seen at a nightclub.

Police reviewed security footage and observed Michalski with a man at several clubs that night. The suspect, identified as L.T.M. and 37 years old, was arrested on November 7 and confessed to the homicide.

According to the authorities, both met at a club, danced and then went to the man’s apartment. During an intimate encounter, the subject hit and suffocated the victim. Subsequently, he tried to hide the crime: he cleaned the place, hid the body in a closet, put it in a suitcase and rented a car to transport it to Lake Balaton, 150 kilometers from Budapest, where he abandoned it in a wooded area.

The Budapest Metropolitan Court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to 14 years without parole. The time in preventive detention will be deducted from the sentence. In addition, he must pay 2.5 million forints (almost $8,000) in court costs. His lawyer appealed the verdict.

The police revealed that the man had conducted internet searches on how to dispose of a body, police procedures and whether pigs or wild boars consume human remains. A video showed the subject leading authorities to the place where he left the body.

After serving his sentence, he will be deported from Hungary.