Anti-Corruption Watchdog Flees El Salvador Amid Crackdown
A human rights group in El Salvador reports at least 427 people have died in Salvadoran prisons since President Nayib Bukele imposed a “state of emergency” in March 2022. The following year, Bukele’s government authorized mass trials, with people accused of crimes systematically denied due process under the guise of combating gangs. There have been numerous reports of abuse and torture in El Salvador’s prisons.
In related news, the long-standing anti-corruption watchdog Cristosal says it has evacuated its staff from El Salvador amid Bukele’s crackdown on dissent. Authorities arrested prominent Cristosal lawyer Ruth López in May. She remains in detention. This is Cristosal’s executive director, Noah Bullock.
Noah Bullock: “You know, we have persisted through espionage monitoring, legal administrative harassment, defamation, but when it became clear that the government was prepared to persecute us criminally and that there’s no possibility of defense or an impartial trial, that makes it unviable to take those risks anymore.”
French Troops Withdraw from Senegal, Ending Permanent Presence
French troops completed their withdrawal from Senegal Thursday, the last West African country and former colony where France maintained a permanent military presence. Senegal has said it will continue collaborating with France, in contrast to the military governments of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which ousted French forces in recent years.
DOJ Requests One-Day Sentence for Louisville Cop Convicted over Breonna Taylor’s Killing
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer, convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, to one day in prison. Last year, a federal jury convicted Brett Hankison for using excessive force as he discharged several gunshots through Taylor’s apartment window during a botched raid that killed Taylor inside her own home in 2020. Taylor was a Black, 26-year-old emergency room technician, whose killing sparked nationwide racial justice protests.
Judge Lifts Domestic Travel Restrictions on Columbia Student Activist Mohsen Mahdawi
A judge has lifted all domestic travel restrictions on Columbia University Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi. He’s reportedly the first student activist targeted by ICE to be granted such freedoms. Mahdawi was arrested by federal immigration agents in April and detained in Vermont for over two weeks.
CBS Cancels “The Late Show” After Stephen Colbert Skewers $16 Million Settlement with Trump
CBS has announced it’s canceling the long-running “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The network called it “purely a financial decision,” despite the show being consistently the highest rated among its late-night competitors. Trump has previously called Colbert, who frequently skewers the president on air, “a complete and total loser.” The news came amid CBS parent company Paramount’s impending and controversial merger with Skydance, and just three days after Colbert called out Paramount for agreeing to pay Donald Trump $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Stephen Colbert: “As someone who has long been a proud employee of this network, I am offended. And I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”
CBS’s “The Late Show” has been on the air since 1993, with Colbert taking the reins in 2015.