Houston Activists from the League of United Latin American Citizens demand Justice for Pablo Velez Jr., who has been “wrongfully imprisoned” for more than 18 years outside of the Mickey Leland Federal Building on Aug. 2, 2024. Photograph by Edward Saenz / Que Onda Magazine
By Indira Zaldivar & Edward Saenz
Houston activists called attention to Pablo Velez Jr., a Houston man incarcerated for more than 18 years who they claim is innocent and wrongfully convicted referencing a lack of evidence such as video footage, DNA, or a found murder weapon, calling for his immediate release.
On Velez’s birthday, his girlfriend Lisa Brat Martinez, joined by activists from the Houston chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, raised awareness on Velez’ case and on what they called systemic issues within the legal system targeting their Latino community on Friday outside of the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston.
“I’ve been fighting for him for the past four years, but he’s been there almost 19 years in prison for something that he had no affiliation with whatsoever,” Martinez said.
In 2006, Velez was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a crime that happened 20 years ago on July 15, 2004 outside of a sports bar located at 2033 Mangum Road in Houston, Texas. A fight ended in a fatal shooting killing 17-year-old Emerson Bojorquez and wounding Adrian Payan.
Photograph by Edward Saenz / Que Onda Magazine
An eyewitness picked Velez out of a face-only, photo line-up, and the two unidentified shooters were seen driving away in the 1998 Gold Cadillac Deville Sedan that was registered in Velez’s name, that he said he sold to a neighbor in the Heights area. However, the eyewitness in 2017 during the court trial said that Velez was not the shooter.
Velez, who was a truck driver, told Univision 45 he happened to be in Houston the morning of the crime because his truck broke down.
“We have the clear cut facts, evidence, and witnesses recanted their testimony,” Martinez said.
I don’t know what else it takes besides evidence, the facts, and falsified testimony from the detectives.”
Martinez said that four years ago she presented the evidence before Harris County District Attorney Kim Ago, but Velez’s has not been set free or granted parole.
Ed Rodriguez, director of LULAC District 18 denounced the lack of accountability from the system.
“This is an injustice,” Rodriguez said. “Not only is it an injustice, it’s showing us that the system still fails our community.”
A Chevron Corp. flag flies outside an office building in Midland, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Chevron, the world’s third-largest publicly traded oil producer, is spending $3.3 billion this year in the Permian and an additional $1 billion in other shale basins. Its expansion will further bolster U.S. oil output, which already exceeds 10 million barrels a day, surpassing the record set in 1970. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
SAN RAMON, California (KTRK) — Chevron announced Friday morning it is moving its headquarters from San Ramon to Houston, Texas.
The oil major says there won’t be much immediate relocation and expects all corporate functions to migrate to Houston over the next five years.
“Chevron Chairman and CEO, Mike Wirth, and Vice Chairman, Mark Nelson, will move to Houston before the end of 2024 to co-locate with other senior leaders and enable better collaboration and engagement with executives, employees, and business partners,” the company said in a statement.
Positions for its California operations will remain in San Ramon.
Chevron currently has about 2,000 employees in San Ramon and 7,000 employees in the Houston area.
The company also announced several leadership changes, including several corportate retirements. Among them is Executive Vice President Nigel Hearne, who is retiring after 35 years of service to the company.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Professional Firefighters Association has received $650 million in settlement money from the City of Houston.
Union President Marty Lancton confirmed the boxes of paper checks were signed for at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, adding that auditors were “working to verify.”
Controller Chris Hollins told ABC13 that the median lump sum payment check an individual firefighter will receive is $165,000, though some will receive up to twice as much.
The checks are backpay for seven years of work without a contract due to a stalemate between the union and the city. Hollins noted that Houston firefighters were underpaid during that time compared to firefighters in other similarly sized cities. When broken down over the seven-year stalemate, Hollins said firefighters are being paid, on average, roughly $20,000 per year.
When considering interest, Hollins estimates it will cost the city more than $1 billion.
“We entered into this agreement without any kind of understanding or any plan of how we’re going to pay for that,” Hollins told ABC13. “At the moment, not only the bond payments that we’re gonna have to pay for throughout this year, and the money for the raises the firefighters are gonna receive this year, those are all being paid for with one-time money from the federal government that came during COVID. That money is running out quickly. And so, we need to right our finances in the city and make sure that our recurring expenses are covered by recurring revenue. And right now, that’s simply not the case.”
When Hollins raised those same concerns before the Houston City Council on Wednesday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire quipped, “I appreciate the job you do, and your personal privilege and political statements are always welcome.”
Hollins insisted, “There is nothing political about looking at the money that’s flowing out of our city, understanding that not enough is coming in and having concerns about it.”
The S&P has put Houston on anegative outlook-meaning there’s at least a one-in-three chance S&P will downgrade Houston’s debt in the next two years.
“Because we are bringing on new expenses without a plan as our fund balance is running out,” Hollins said.
PARIS — Italian boxer Angela Carini came to the Paris Olympics aiming for a medal to honor her late father and coach, who died shortly after she participated in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
But Carini’s performance in Paris lasted just 46 seconds Thursday before she abandoned her bout against Algerian opponent Imane Khelif, with a spot of blood on her trunks.
Even though Carini said she wasn’t making a political statement about Khelif, who was disqualified from last year’s world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, the move reopened debate about Khelif’s status.
The 25-year-old Carini competes in the 66-kilogram (145.5-pound) class, otherwise known as welterweight. She won silver medals at both the world and European championships in 2019.
She was also a gold medalist at the European youth championships. She lost her opening fight in Tokyo.
Carini’s nickname, “tiger,” was given to her by her father, Giuseppe.
Carini was an Italian champion in clay pigeon shooting before she switched to boxing. She made the switch to follow her brother, who also left shooting for boxing.
“My brother and my father taught me boxing,” Carini said. “I owe everything to them.”
Carini exchanged a few brisk punches before abandoning her bout — an extremely rare occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the referee formally raised it. She cried in the ring after sinking to her knees.
Her actions sparked a discussion far beyond Paris about whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test from the now-banned International Boxing Association. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni discussed the issue with IOC president Thomas Bach during a meeting in Paris on Friday.
The IOC has repeatedly defended Khelf’s right to compete this week.
“Despite our requests to have certainties and guarantees, both for the safety of our athlete and for the regularity of the competition, they’ve confirmed that (Khelif) is within these parameters,” Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò said.
Afterward, a still-tearful Carini said she quit because of the pain from Khelif’s opening punches, adding that her nose bled afterward.
“My face and nose were hurting,” Carini said, according to the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport. “I couldn’t breathe anymore. I thought about my family, I looked at my brother in the stands and I went to my corner to retire. … I’ve never been hit with such a powerful punch.”
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini said. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. … If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
Carini was apologetic for not shaking Khelif’s hand after the bout.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini said. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.”
What’s going on: Last night, three Americans released as part of a prisoner swap with Russia arrived in the US. President Biden and VP Kamala Harris greeted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Their arrival came hours after the US announced a 24-person prisoner exchange involving six countries — one of the largest since the end of the Cold War. Whelan, Gershkovich, and Kurmasheva had been detained in Russia on espionage charges denounced by the US. As part of the exchange, eight Russian citizens were released, including Vadim Krasikov — a convicted hit man believed to be linked to Russian intelligence.
What it means: The prisoner swap, which took months of back-channel negotiations, marks a diplomatic success for Biden as he enters his last few months in office. While the Biden administration has engaged in numerous prisoner exchanges in recent years, this one is the most complex by far. Even as the deal is hailed as a win around the world, it has opened the president up to criticism. Some experts warn that such swaps might encourage hostile governments to take American citizens as prisoners in order to gain leverage over the US and bring back dangerous actors. The deal also isn’t expected to thaw icy US-Russia relations, or move the needle on ending the war in Ukraine.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Mayor John Whitmire has named a new chief for the Houston Police Department Thursday.
Former Texas Ranger and Katy Police Chief Noe Diaz is expected to become the department’s new head on Aug. 14 after being confirmed by City Council.
Diaz will be formally introduced on Friday at 11 a.m.
Diaz’s career in law enforcement began in 1987 as a correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 1994, he graduated from the University of Houston-Downtown Police Academy and joined the Harris County Constable Precinct Five Office. In 1996, the Texas Department of Public Safety selected him to attend the DPS Academy A-96. He served as a trooper at the Katy Highway Patrol, and in 2001, he was promoted to the Narcotics Division of the State Police stationed in Houston. In 2008, he was appointed as a Texas Ranger, where he served in Rio Grande City but then returned to Houston.
With the new top cop named, Whitmire also announced that Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite will also take a new assignment as the next director of the mayor’s office of public safety and homeland security. Satterwhite will start his new role on Aug. 14.
“Larry has been an outstanding leader in law enforcement, demonstrating unwavering dedication and commitment to the safety and well-being of Houstonians,” Whitmire said in a letter to council members.
The announcement comes a day after HPD released a report on the 264,000 cases suspended due to inadequate staffing. More than a quarter of a million cases filed by crime victims since 2016 were labeled with a “Suspended – Lack of Personnel” code.
Whitmire said there would be an internal investigation into what went wrong, and on Wednesday, Satterwhite presented the report to the Houston City Council.
The 41-page report found that investigators were using this “SL code” as they were told. And there weren’t guidelines on how to use it based on certain crimes.
The fallout has been tremendous over the past six months. Whitmire accepted the retirement of Troy Finner in May, and the now-former Houston Police Chief recently said he believes he was pushed out to bury the scandal.
“I’m proud to take the blows. But tell the whole story,” Finner told ABC13’s partners at the Houston Chronicle.
Finner previously claimed he first heard of the code on Nov. 4, 2021, and ordered his leaders to never use it again.
However, a 2018 email obtained by 13 Investigates shows Finner knew of the coding being used at least once, meaning he was aware of it three years earlier than he had previously claimed.
The July 20, 2018, email was addressed to several high-ranking HPD leaders, including then-Chief Art Acevedo and Finner, who was an executive assistant chief at the time.
Satterwhite took over after Finner left, but there were many questions about who was going to lead the department permanently going forward.
Over 400 Restaurants Are Participating in the 21ST Year!
HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 1, 2024 –
Houston Restaurant Weeks™ (HRW) begins today, August 1st, and runs through Labor Day, September 2nd, with over 400 restaurants participating this year! For 33 days, diners can enjoy specially priced, multi-course prix-fixe menus for brunch, lunch, and dinner. HRW is the largest annual fundraiser for America’s largest food bank, the Houston Food Bank. Participating restaurants will make donations based on their HRW sales. The 2024 meal prices and donation amounts are as follows:
HRW Meal Prices and Donations
Meal
Price
Donation to Houston Food Bank
Meals Generated per Donation
Dinner
$55
$7
21
Dinner
$39
$5
15
Brunch
$25
$3
9
Lunch
$25
$3
9
“Excitement about this year’s HRW might be at an all-time high from both restaurants and diners,” said Katie Stone. “After the recent storms, this year’s event is incredibly important to the restaurant industry and all those touched by it. Many are still reeling from the impact of being closed, and HRW is a welcome boost for their revenue. Diners are excited about visiting perennial favorites as well as the many new participants this year. It’s heartwarming seeing how our city comes together to Dine Out & Do Good every August!”
Diners can visit the Houston Restaurant Weeks website to view the list of participants, their menus, and start making reservations. This year’s participants include long-time favorites such as:
51fifteen
B&B Butchers
Backstreet Café
Bari Ristorante
Bistro Menil
Brasserie du Parc
Brennan’s of Houston
Cafe Benedicte
Carrabba’s – The Original(s)
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
Eddie V’s
Étoile Cuisine et Bar
Fadi’s
Federal American Grill
Hugo’s
Joyce’s Seafood and Steaks
La Griglia
Le Colonial
Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette
Lucille’s
MAD Houston
Maison Pucha
Merlion
Pappas Bros Steakhouse – Downtown
Patagonia Grill & Cafe
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
Rainbow Lodge
Seasons 52
Thai Cottage
The Capital Grille
Toro Toro
Trattoria Sofia
Travelers Table
Many new restaurants have also joined the HRW family this year, including:
1891 American Eatery & Bar
a’Bouzy
Auden
The Audrey Restaurant & Bar
BCN Taste & Tradition
Belly of the Beast
Bludorn
Duchess
Candelari’s Italiano
Cocody Restaurant & Bar
Cultivated F+B
Dante Vini e Cucina Italiana
Enoteca Rossa
HiWay Cantina
Federal American Grill Downtown
KP’s Kitchen – Bellaire
Le Jardinier
MaKiin
Mutiny Wine Room
Navy Blue
Pondicheri Café
Porta’Vino – The Woodlands
RAKKAN Ramen Galleria & Westchase
Zanti Cucina Italiana
2024 Sponsors
BMW Dealers of Houston
DoorDash
ESPN Radio
FOX26 Houston
FOX LOCAL
OpenTable
Stella Artois
2024 Media Sponsors
Buzz Magazines
Hello Woodlands
Houston CityBook
PaperCity Magazine
Que Onda Magazine
River Oaks LifeStyle Magazine
Memorial LifeStyle Magazine
SB+ Magazine
Swoon Magazine
Follow HRW on social media:
Facebook: @HoustonRestaurantWeeks
Instagram: @HoustonRestaurantWeeks
X: @HouRestaurantWk
About the Founder & The Cleverley Stone Foundation
Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW) was established in 2003 by 26-year restaurant correspondent and philanthropist Cleverley Stone, former host of “The Cleverley Show,” a talk show about food, wine, and dining on CBS Sports Radio 650/KIKK-AM and former food segment contributor to Fox 26/KRIV Morning News in Houston. To date, HRW has donated over $21 million to fight hunger in Houston, providing over 63 million meals for those who are food insecure. The Cleverley Stone Foundation now exists to continue her mission and legacy by supporting Houstonians in need by producing Houston Restaurant Weeks, benefiting the Houston Food Bank, and the sister event Eat Drink HTX.
About Houston Food Bank
Serving Houston and southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to more than 150 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers, and schools. Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and racial equity, and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management, and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston County, Brazos Valley, and the Trinity River area. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 12th consecutive year.
Greenspoint Mall will officially close its doors to tenants at the end of the day on Wednesday, marking the end of an era for the iconic, struggling mall.
Part of the area’s expansive campus will be transformed into a new apartment complex called Summit at Renaissance Park, developed by the Zieben Group. It will replace a vacant Sears Auto Center. In 2021, the City of Houston approved a $15 million loan to help fund the 325-unit “affordable workforce” development as part of the Hurricane Harvey Multifamily Program.
The upcoming development is part of a revitalization project funded by the city’s Harvey recovery program. It will consist of a four-story housing project with retail space on the ground floor. The rent for the 325 units will be based on the size and income of the households, making it affordable for low-income families. According to the Houston Chronicle, all 325 units will be reserved for low-income families for a period of four decades.
The mall, located at the northeast corner of I-45 and Sam Houston Parkway, brought joy to generations of Houstonians. It first opened in 1976 and was anchored by department store giants Sears, Palais-Royal, and Foley’s. At one point, it was the largest mall in Houston until the Galleria mall surpassed it with multiple expansions in the late 1980s and early 2000s.
During the 2020s, the mall struggled as many anchor stores either went out of business or relocated to newer malls. A few stores remained, with Premiere Cinemas as the main anchor, until they closed permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The mall then announced its permanent closure on June 30. Tenants were informed by the mall’s leasing firm, Triyar Management, Inc., that they had until July 31 to remove any personal property from the premises.
Some retail stores are moving to nearby CityNorth, located across the street, according to a report by KPRC 2.
CHICAGO — In a case crammed with intrigue, Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges, with his attorney saying his client has made no deal with US officials.
Guzmán López made a brief appearance in federal court in Chicago. Afterward, attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told reporters, “There is no agreement between Joaquín Guzmán and the government. Period.”
Ever since the stunning news that a plane carrying Guzmán López and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cartel’s alleged co-founder, flew last Thursday from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, there’s been rampant speculation about what happened – and why.
Lichtman’s statement Tuesday raises new questions about why Guzmán López flew here if he has no cooperation agreement with American authorities.
Did Guzmán López intend to surrender, as the Mexican government said Monday, citing information from US authorities? If so, did he take Zambada along as a bonus for the US? Did Guzmán López and his henchmen serve up the ultimate betrayal by ambushing Zambada and tossing him into the aircraft, as an attorney for the latter said?
US authorities were notified on several occasions Guzmán López was considering surrendering, but it was not until that same day his intention was confirmed without prior notice, according to information from US officials shared with the Mexican government.
The federal government has made no official comment on the circumstances of the flight.
While Guzmán López – known as one of the “Chapitos,” or sons of El Chapo – is charged with several offenses, including one that could provide for the possibility of the death penalty, there is no formal allegation of abduction.
“He’s not being accused of kidnapping,” said Lichtman. “When the government accuses him, then I’ll take notice.”
Lichtman has been cleared to represent both Guzmán López and his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, who also is facing federal charges. The brothers both have status hearings set for September 30.
Guzmán López, wearing an orange jumpsuit and ankle chains, informed the court he is receiving care for thyroid and high blood pressure problems.
He was indicted on the charges by a federal grand jury in Illinois, according to a statement last year from the US Justice Department.
The court appearance comes after Guzmán López, 38, and Zambada were arrested Thursday by US authorities in El Paso. They face several charges for allegedly leading the criminal operations of what is considered to be one of the world’s most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations.
Zambada, 76, pleaded not guilty to all charges at his first federal court appearance Friday morning in El Paso and is being held without bond on seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering. He is scheduled to appear in person in the same court for a status conference Thursday, according to court documents.
US law enforcement officials told CNN the arrest came after Guzmán López duped Zambada and orchestrated their arrest. Zambada thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate, but instead, their small private plane landed north of the border, where US authorities were waiting on the tarmac, officials said.
However, Zambada’s attorney, in a phone conversation and a statement sent to CNN on Sunday, described the incident not as trickery but as a violent kidnapping.
“Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquín. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head,” attorney Frank Pérez said in a statement.
“He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquín, and brought to the US against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín and my client.”
Mexico’s president has called on the United States to explain what exactly happened.
“The government of the United States has to give a complete report. It can’t be just general statements,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said last Friday. “There has to be transparency.”
In a news conference Monday, he said Mexico should be trusted.
“We are not going to hide anything. Nothing. There should be confidence in us that we do not establish complicit relationships with anyone in Mexico or abroad. And people should know that,” he said.
The cartel, one of the world’s most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations, is thought to be responsible for the trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States. US Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram said the arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.”
A law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN US officials were hesitant to brief Mexican counterparts in advance due to fears the operation could have been compromised. Details on the operation were also highly restricted within the US government until Zambada and Guzmán López were taken into custody, the source said.
A look at the cartel and its leadership
The Sinaloa cartel was founded in the late 1980s and led by El Chapo, who twice escaped from Mexican prisons before being detained by Mexican authorities in 2016.
The cartel has been blamed for having a key role in the drug war that plagued Mexico for years, leaving tens of thousands of people dead, as well as contributing to the ongoing high levels of violence across the country.
In the early 2010s, estimates indicated the cartel controlled roughly 40% to 60% of Mexico’s drug trade, earning as much as $3 billion annually, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
El Chapo was extradited to the US in 2017 and convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. He is serving a life sentence in US federal prison.
Since then, experts believe the cartel has faced several challenges after breaking into factions – including some led by Zambada and Guzmán’s sons – and with the rise of rival cartels.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said both Zambada and Guzmán López had “eluded law enforcement for decades.”
Zambada was indicted by a northern Illinois grand jury in 2009, according to the US State Department, and faces various criminal charges. In 2021, the US raised the reward for information leading to his arrest to $15 million.
“Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the long-time leader of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel,” according to the US State Department. “Zambada Garcia is unique in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in jail.”
Meanwhile, El Chapo’s sons are accused of having “repeatedly and consistently transported lethal amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl,” the Justice Department said last year.
Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, admitted during testimony at Guzmán’s 2018 trial to passing along orders for murders and kidnappings. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019 by a federal judge in Chicago. He began cooperating with the US government in 2011, prosecutors said in a May 2019 filing.
