A June 1 trial date has been set for Nicolás Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in New York. The trial date was set on Wednesday during a brief hearing in Manhattan federal court. His lawyer says he plans to contest the charges against his client on sovereign immunity grounds, among others. Defense lawyers have objected to the U.S. military action that snatched Venezuela’s president from power. Maduro was being returned to a Brooklyn jail. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to charges that they sided with drug dealers in a multidecade scheme to ship large quantities of drugs to the United States.
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Ex-Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada denounces violence as he's sentenced to life in prison
Former Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was sentenced in a U.S. court to life in prison. At his sentencing on Monday, he called for an end to the brand of brutal violence he used for decades to grow the Sinaloa cartel into the world’s largest drug trafficking organization. Zambada’s punishment was guaranteed by his guilty plea last year to drug trafficking charges that carry a mandatory life sentence. His sentencing was the culmination of the U.S. government’s yearslong fight to bring the long-elusive drug lord to justice. He was arrested in 2024 after he said he was kidnapped in Mexico and flown to Texas.
Nigeria is known for mass abductions of schoolchildren by armed groups in the volatile north, but now that threat is moving south. Newly freed children and their parents described the latest abduction to The Associated Press. The children were taken into one of the country's forest reserves that fighters use to move around and hide captives. The move south has been caused by competition for territory and natural resources. It adds to the pressure on the government of President Bola Tinubu to respond more effectively to the militant threat. Now some of the children fear going back to school.
AP Wire
The Nigerian government has announced the rescue of students abducted by militants in Oyo state in May. Authorities initially reported over 40 people were taken on May 15. A teacher was killed shortly after the abduction. Eight militants were arrested, and an unspecified number were killed during the operation. This incident marked an escalation in Nigeria’s security crisis, as such abductions usually occur in the north. President Bola Tinubu praised the operation, which ended a 50-day standoff. Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, with militant groups using them to pressure the government and demand ransoms.
Authorities rescue schoolchildren abducted in May by Muslim militants in southwestern Nigeria, government says.
AP Wire
The FBI has discounted some of the ransom notes that surfaced after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as extortion attempts. But the agency said Wednesday it's still evaluating others that might be legitimate. The FBI did not specify how many ransom notes have been received, other than saying it's “several.” Guthrie is the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. The Pima County Sheriff's Department also is investigating the case but declined to comment on the ransom notes. Nancy Guthrie has been missing for five months.
Detroit Lions release cornerback Terrion Arnold following the NFL player's arrest on kidnapping and robbery charges.
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A Grayson County man pleaded guilty to holding a local realtor at knifepoint over a house contract.
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Moises May, who is standing trial on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking and assault, among others, said he and Jonna Wilson had an agreement that if she didn’t go to rehab, she would chain herself up, according to police testimony.
Authorities believe the men were taking the teen to California.