Currently, the news is dominated by news of Covid-19 and US politics. The BBC has stepped away from these two looming topics and brings an interesting article detailing the capture of a Brazilian fugitive caught in Mozambique. Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos or Fumino has been caught in Mozambique after being on the run for more than 20 years. He was finally caught after a sting operation led by Interpol, US drug officials, and Brazilian federal police in a country almost 6000 miles away. Fumino is accused of being the largest supplier of cocaine for a Brazilian gang, shipping cocaine around the world, being a leader of the PCC drug gang, and financing a breakout attempt for another leader of the PCC. The PCC is considered to be Brazil’s largest and most powerful drug gang. This could be a big blow to the PCC’s leadership because they now have two of their leaders behind bars. However, knowing Brazil’s prison system, Fumino will still be able to run the PCC behind bars. The PCC have been at war with the Red Command for four years. Fumino’s capture may lead the Red Command to see an opportunity and attack the PCC leading to more violence. However, Covid-19 may have an influence on how things plays out. Even though the US and Brazil may disagree on certain political subjects they will almost always work together to bring criminals to justice.
- Do you think Fumino will be extradited to Brazil to stand trial or be tried in Mozambique?
- Why do you think the US was involved in the capture of Fumino and the Mozambique police were not?
- How do you think Covid-19 will affect Brazil and especially its overcrowded prisons?
I think covid will affect how this trial and punishment is carried out due to the world being on lock down and many things are restricted such as the Judaical system. I think this however will just delay the process of charging Gilberto and they wont let him get away with his crimes.
ReplyDeleteI think that Covid-19 will have a big affect on his trial because it has caused everything to be put on hold until the situation gets better. I do think that they will to every thing they can thought to make sure he is unable to escape. I am sure that the Brazilian government will work hard to get to his trial as soon as the Covid-19 situation gets better so he will be punished for his actions.
ReplyDeleteI think the US is able to contribute more just because we have way more resources and means to help. The Mozambique police might not have been able to help because of situations that are happening where they are stationed. I think that since he is apart of a Brazilian gang he will be tried in Brazil. The fact that the Mozambique police were not involved also makes me believe that he will be tried and held in Brazil.
ReplyDeleteI think the US was involved but the Mozambique police wasn't is because the Mozambique police doesn't want to become involved in Brazil's issue of drug dealers. It also maybe that Covid-19 is causing Mozambique's govt to be more caution with contact around foreign people. Covid-19 is also an issue in the prisons as there isn't much distancing in prisons, and coronavirus spreads like wildfires. The trial will probably be in Brazil as the Mozambique police weren't involved in the capture.
ReplyDeleteCovid 19 will certainly affect how the trial goes, but there is also the question of where should he be tried. He was not captured in his home country, but he was doing illegal things in that country. Is it more fair to sentence him to trial in his homeland, where he committed crimes, or where he was captured, committing crimes? In this case, I believe it would be best to have a trial that consisted of people from both countries so that he was being tried in both places for his crimes.
ReplyDeleteI Think that fumino should be sent to Brazil for trial rather then monzambique. it may cost more resources and be much harder to send people to another countries especially in the current situation but i think that the princible of a country having the ability and soverighty to judge and try their own criminal is important to have and there should be no exception even in face of a pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI believe that COVID-19 will definitely have an interesting affect on the whole situation. However, I don't think they will hold back on putting Fumino in trial or behind bars because of COVID-19. He has been one of the most wanted criminals for twenty years, so the government will not allow COVID 19 to interfere with the trial in a significant way. They will not give him an opportunity to escape the hole that he has dug for himself.
ReplyDelete-Danielle Sipes
DeleteThe Mozambique police were most likely corrupt and inefficient, and that's why Interpol, US drug officials, and Brazilian police forces took the lead. Many police officers in rural communities and third world countries are easily swayed by money, so third party oversight by the US was necessary to make the sting operation a success. In regards to overcrowding in the prisons systems, many non-violent offenders have been released gradually across the US, but it may be different with how Brazil orders its justice system.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that travel is very limited right now and it is better not to travel too far, I think he will just be tried in Mozambique. I think it is interesting that he has been on the run for so long ans has only been caught just now. I think it's interesting to consider how COVID-19 might be affecting prison life because on one hand, it is crowded and technically "public" and you can't just send all of the inmates home to self quarantine (obviously), but on the other hand a prison is a very easy environment to isolate (if no workers leave or enter) because all of the inmates are already forced to stay inside.
ReplyDeleteThe police of Mozambique may have been tentative to arrest the criminal given his status as a major figure in organized crime, as well as him being a fugitive from Mexico, an entirely different country. The concern that COVID-19 may affect overcrowded prisons is legitimate, with efforts being taken around the world to get prisoners out quickly, trying to shorten certain sentences due to COVID-19. Despite these efforts, prisoners will most likely be among those most vulnerable to the virus, and it will be important to keep an eye on them during these times.
ReplyDeleteIt would make the most sense to have him tried in Brazil since that is where he's from and where he committed his crimes. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak it's not likely that officials will be able to transport him back to Brazil. Covid-19 should not have a big impact on jails if none of the officers are contaminated since many prisoners haven't been in contact with the outside world anyways. The only problem would be where to sort the transported inmates .
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be best for Fumino to be tried in Brazil as that is where he is from. It will definitely be interesting to see how the trial goes as the spread of Covid-19 is most likely to have a big impact on the situation, especially with everything on lockdown. Despite this however, I do think that Fumino will be tried regardless of the situation as he is a huge criminal.
ReplyDeleteI think that covid-19 will have a big impact on how this case is treated as it isn't safe to travel anywhere right now. And I think that as long as the officers inside of the prison do their job and attempt to keep everything uncontaminated things will be okay in the prison. But that isn't totally realistic unfortunately and I feel that Covid will reach the prisons and there could be a massive outbreak there.
ReplyDeleteI think Covid-19 will have a large impact on how Fumino's trial will be treated. Due to social distancing across the world, trails and "solving" the case will be severely delayed. As for the prison situation, I believe since inmates and officers are in such close proximities, there is a possibility of a massive outbreak. However, if officers and inmates remain clean and hopefully "social distancing".
ReplyDeleteIn response to the last question I believe that Brazil will have to release non-violent criminals or ones that are close to the end of their sentence. Other than that not much else can be done to prevent spread. Although this is an incredible difficult situation to navigate for government officials
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