Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-07-09 Thursday

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

Democracy Now! Thursday, July 9, 2026

From New York, this is Democracy Now. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit ten times harder. Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly. And we'll only make it safer, including for oil. The U.S. and Iran have returned to open conflict trading airstrikes for a second day. We'll talk to Iranian-American analysts Treata Parsi with the Quincy Institute. then to Houston where a family and community are reeling after ICE agents shoot and kill Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three U.S. citizens.

I am Ronaldo Salgado, the oldest son of Lorenzo Salgado Arauco. I want to tell you about my dad. He was a hardworking family man who never wanted his name to be known by anyone outside of his family. He wanted nothing else in life but to provide for his wife and see his sons become great people. We'll hear from his son, Ronaldo, and go to Houston for the latest. Then to the case of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban immigrant whose death in ICE custody was ruled a homicide, we'll look at a ProPublica, Texas Tribune investigation called, He didn't need to die.

How an immigration detention center repeatedly failed to address a mental health crisis. Finally, to Albania, thousands have filled the streets to protest a luxury resort development deal with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. It's been too long with this kind of political culture, well, where the prime minister and the political parties of this country think they can do anything. There are no barriers to what they think is acceptable. It's called the Flamingo Revolution. Could it take the Albanian government down? All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now, DemocracyNow.

Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. The United States bombed Iran for a second consecutive night after President Trump declared the ceasefire over. Blast were reported near the Boucher Nuclear Power Plan. and in multiple cities across Iran, with the U.S. saying it struck 90 targets, including near the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Iranian Health Ministry, at least 14 people have been killed since the U.S. resumed bombing. Meanwhile, Iran says it's retaliated by attacking

U.S. bases and strategic centers in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. And Jordan's military said it intercepted eight missiles in its airspace. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohamed Bahra Khalivaf, says the United States, quote, still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free, unquote. On Wednesday, President Trump spoke at the NATO summit in Turkey and threatened to strike Iran's civilian infrastructure, saying, quote, they really deserve it. their electric manufacturing facilities right their electric plants where they make their electricity in there

we will we have to we'll take them out i don't want to do that but if we have to we'll take them out they have desalitization plants we'll take them out if we have to i hate to do that that's probably the one i would like not to do least we attacked cargile in last night we knocked out a piece i said don't don't touch the oil. President Trump was speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodemar Zelensky during the same news conference, Trump mistakenly confused Iran and Japan. I told the story yesterday we had 111 missile shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.

We'll have more on Iran after headlines with Quincy Institute Vice President, Trita Parcy. The body of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali-Hamini is being laid to. rest today at a shrine in the city of Mashad. It's the culmination of a multi-day funeral procession that's drawn millions of mourners, including foreign dignitaries, and at least eight heads of state. On Wednesday, massive crowds joined funeral processions in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbalah for Khomeini, who was killed in a U.S. Israeli airstrike on February 28th, along with his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and 14-month-old granddaughter. Israel's continuing its attacks on southern Lebanon with reports of heavy bombings in the town of Teabbi.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's national news agency reported two men were killed in an Israeli drone strike in Nabatia, Israel's latest violation of its ceasefire deal with Lebanon. This follows an Israeli strike on Monday that killed four people, including public school principal Esperanza Gondor and her mother. Ghandor had returned to Nabatia to check on repairs at her war damaged home following months of displacement when Israel bombed her vehicle in Gaza. Health officials report at least nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunfire over the last 24 hours. Among the victims Ahmad Nasir Salim, a driver who is delivering food for the U.S.-based non-profit World Central Kitchen, And Khan Yunus and Israeli missile hit a tent for displaced people in the Amoasi area, killing at least four people, including a 10-year-old child.

One survivor said he was asleep when the strikes hit. We were staying in the tents on the understanding that this area was safe, and people live in tents. By God, I was asleep when suddenly a missile struck. We came here and found the impact. There were martyrs and wounded. People were carrying them to ambulances, and they loaded them onto carts, and took them all to the hospitals.

A friend of mine, whose tent was next to mine, was injured, and his mother was injured, too. Meanwhile, human rights group say a photo apparently taken by an Israeli soldier and shared on social media, corroborates widespread reports of torture. The image shows a man stripped to his underwear, blindfolded and bound, face down to a pole with his arms tied painfully behind his back. The soldier captioned the photo, Good Friday. morning in Hebrew and later deleted the post. On Wednesday, Amnesty International appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking

him to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Husama Abu Safia. The prominent Palestinian pediatrician director of Gaza's Kamal-Edwin Hospital has been held by Israel without charge since his abduction by Israeli troops 18 months ago. Amnesty says Abu Safeghesee says Abu Safeghwin. Fes an imminent threat to his life due to torture and medical neglect by his Israeli captors. It's calling on the State Department to bring the U.S. into compliance with the Leahy law, which prohibits U.S. financial or military aid to foreign security forces that commit gross human rights abuses. To see our coverage of Dr. Abusafia, go to DemocracyNow.org.

Russian missiles and drones rain down on Ukraine. biggest cities overnight. Officials in Kiev report three people were killed and several others injured among civilian sites hit was a 25-story residential high rise. Elsewhere, Russian strikes killed four people in Odessa and three others in Kharkiv. Dozens were injured by the bombings. Elsewhere, Ukraine's military said its drones attack three more Russian oil refineries, along with pipeline pumping stations and Russian tankers operating in the Black Sea. Ukraine's attacks on Russian energy sites have triggered acute fuel shortages. On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced a ban on diesel exports to support the domestic fuel market.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a series of high-level meetings at the NATO summit and anchor on Wednesday, including with President Trump, who said the U.S. plans to license Patriot missile technology to Ukraine. Trump also said the U.S. would support Ukraine's efforts to strike deeper inside Russian territory. Russia's foreign ministry denounced the decisions made at the NATO summit, saying they could lead to a catastrophe. At one point, President Trump called Zelensky, President Putin. In Maine, Democratic Senate nominee, Graham Plattner, has suspended his campaign following a report. he raped a former girlfriend in 2021. In recent days, most of Plattner's most high-profile supporters withdrew their endorsements,

including senators, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Congressmember Roe Kana. Democrats had been hoping the populist Marine veteran and Oisterman would unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. In a video message posted Wednesday night, Platterner denied the rape allegation. said it was part of an effort to crush his campaign. We live in a political system that is not built for normal people. It is a system that is built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish. That if they begin to succeed, they can be crushed. The main Democratic Party says it's planning a nominating convention of hundreds to choose a new,

Senate nominee. The party has until July 27th to name a candidate. Possible senatorial contenders include Maine Governor Janet Mills, Maine Secretary of State, Shennebello's, and Dr. Narav Shah, a public health official who led Maine's response to COVID, as well as progressive Troy Jackson, a lifetime logger and former president of Maine's state Senate. In other Senate news, questions continue to swirl about Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell's health. He's been hospitalized since June 14th. McConnell heads the Senate Defense Appropriation Subcommittee and is the former Senate majority leader. McConnell is set to retire after his term ends in January.

On Wednesday, Kentucky's Democratic governor, Andy Bashir, sent a letter to Senator McConnell demanding he provide a health update. Meanwhile, McConnell's wife, Elaine Chow, the former U.S. Labor and Transportation Secretary, has returned home from a trip to China. She had faced criticism for remaining in China after McConnell was hospitalized. In a statement, she wrote, quote, The Senator's health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S., she said. A federal judge has ruled that E. Jean Carroll can collect five percent, million dollars from President Donald Trump, the money has been held in escrow since a jury

found Trump sexually abused and defamed her. The judge's ruling comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's appeal of the verdict. E. Jean Carroll had sued Trump for sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The family of Lorenzo Salgado Araro is demanding an independent investigation into his death. The Mexican father was fatally shot in Houston, Texas on Tuesday by an ice agent who was driving an unmarked vehicle. Lorenzo Sagado Aroujo had lived in the United States for decades and was driving a construction crew to a job site. His son Ronaldo spoke Wednesday. He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline

of Mexican men shot and killed by ice. He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father, and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream. That's right.

I would be doing his memory a disservice if I didn't recognize the other three men who were with him, one of which was my uncle. All three men were rounded up. I have not heard from them. We'll go to Texas for more on the story later in the broadcast. In Tennessee, a DEA agent shot and killed a man at a Memphis Motel Wednesday as members

of the Federal Task Force attempted to serve an arrest warrant. The U.S. Marshal Service alleges the suspect had pointed a gun at agents. The victim has not been identified. It's the fourth deadly shooting by agents with the Trump administration's so-called Memphis Safe Task Force, which includes members. members of the Tennessee National Guard and officers for more than a dozen federal agencies. On Monday, two National Guard soldiers fatally shot 20-year-old Tyron Johnson as he was being pursued by Memphis Police. His families demanding video evidence corroborating the police claims

that Johnson first attempted to fire a gun at the soldiers. Just weeks earlier, a Homeland Security Special Agent shot 25-year-old. old Jonah Neal and his Memphis home. Neal's family had called 911 to report he had a gun and was threatening to harm himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene. And on May 13th, the DEA agent fatally shot 41-year-old Darren Pigram as he worked his shift at a Memphis Burger King. Authorities say the officer opened fire after Pigram reached into his waistband for a gun. His family says he was unarmed and shot in the back. And a former Wisconsin County judge has been spared prison time after she was convicted in federal court of obstructing federal agents from arresting

an undocumented immigrant. Hannah Dugan was accused of helping the immigrant leave her courtroom in April 2025 to avoid arrest by agents waiting in the hallway. Instead of serving prison time, Former Judge Dugan was fined $5,000. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warrant Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. The United States bombed Iran for a second consecutive night after President Trump declared the ceasefire over.

Blasts were reported in multiple cities with the U.S. saying it had struck 90 targets across Iran, including sites along the Strait of Hormuz. Blasts were also reported near the Boucher nuclear power plant. According to the Iranian Health Ministry, at least 14 people have been killed since the U.S. resumed its attacks. Another 70 people were wounded. Meanwhile, Iran says it's retaliated by attacking U.S. bases in strategic centers in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.

In addition, Jordan's military said it intercepted eight missiles in its airspace. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohamed Bahar Galibaf, says the United States, quote, still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free, unquote. On Wednesday, President Trump spoke at the NATO summit in Turkey and threatened to strike Iran's civilian infrastructure, saying, quote, they really deserve it, unquote. On the flight back to the United States, Trump spoke more about the U.S. attacks. We just hit him very hard. And I say we hit up 20 to 1. Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20. And we did it last night.

They did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night. They hit actually three boats, not two. And when they hit, we hit back much harder. We have many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily. They have very little left, and they want to make a deal so badly.

They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so big. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's not wrong. Meanwhile, during a press conference on Wednesday at the NATO summit, Trump mistakenly confused Iran and Japan. I told the story yesterday.

We had 111 missile shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan. President Trump was sitting next to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as he confused. used Iran in Japan and then referred to Zelensky as President Putin. We're joined now by Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest piece on Substack headlined, how the U.S. Iran fight in the Strait of Hormuz can be resolved before it blows up the MOU. That's the memo of understanding. Trita, talk about what's happened and President Trump saying the ceasefire is over. What does this mean? Well, this is obviously a disastrous development and a huge risk to the survival of the

MU and the entire diplomatic track that could put an end to this war and also give birth to a completely different relationship between the United States and Iran if it was successful. I'm not entirely sure as to whether this is completely over or not because at the end of the day, both countries are in dire need of an end to this war. We have seen an exchange of fire before, after which they did return to talks. But this time, obviously, it is worse because the United States is now escalating beyond just striking southern Iran has also started striking civilian targets in other parts of Iran. And there's a significant risk, of course, that there will be massive further Iranian retaliation

against this. What is really frustrating with all of this is that prior to all of this, after the first round of exchange of fire, the two sides were converging towards an understanding on how to handle the strait. The Iranians did not want to see any ships travel through any corridor of the strait without coordinating with them. That's their interpretation of the MOU. The U.S. has a different interpretation. But they were converging towards an understanding in which essentially all ships would have

to notify both the Iranians as well as one party in the GCC. And if that were to happen, both sides would essentially walk away and the Iranians. the strait would be open without any problems. But before they managed to get to that agreement, the Iranian funeral of the former Supreme Leader took place and talks were suspended. In the meantime, additional ships with their transporters off traveled through the southern corridor without coordinating with Iranians. The Iranians gave them several warnings, eventually shot at them, and that's what then precipitated this exchange of fire that we see right now, which the U.S. struck Iran two nights ago and then again last night. But this is now gone to such a high level

that it is much worse than the previous exchange and may very well be the end of the MOU altogether. The front page of the New York Times says U.S. bombs Iran again as truce breaks down, Trump-Moll's blockade. Talk about exactly what that would mean. And that clip we just played of him saying he's going after the civilian infrastructure. We don't know how many people. have died in Iran, but there are a number in these latest attacks. And then, of course, you have Bahrain, Kuwait, perhaps Jordan is saying that they intercepted Iranian missiles? Yes, we have seen a pattern in which the Iranians do strike back at American bases in the region. I believe that last night they also struck at the base outside of Doha in Qatar, creeping process back to

to the US were to reimpose the blockade of the Persian Gulf, then we will see the Iranians probably not only closing the straits, but also pushing the Houthis to close the Red Sea as well. And that would not only be a return to war, but that would be a worse situation than what we saw before. Moreover, if Trump falls through on his threats of targeting energy infrastructure in Iran, that's when the Iranians are likely to start striking, not just at bases in the GCC countries,

but at their energy infrastructure as well. And that would again make the situation worse than what it was during the war itself. Now, apparently, special envoy Steve Whitkoff, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who's being massively protested in Albania for his and Ivanka Trump's development project with the Albanian government on an island there are in Geneva, although the high-stakes talks there, apparently, are for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yes. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. That's old information. But let me go to a clip of President Trump describing to reporters the kind of air strikes and damage he's considering in Iran, what I was talking about earlier. Look, we're not attacking at the highest level. the highest level of the bridges which we can knock down I would say in one day we knocked down every single bridge

in a range. It's not a thing they can do about it. They're electric manufacturing facilities, right? They're electric plants where they make their electricity and if we will if we have to, we'll take them out. I don't want to do that, but if we have to, we'll take them out. They have desalitization plants.

take that matter. We have to. I hate to do that. That's probably the one I would like not to do, at least. We attacked Carg Island last night, we knocked out a piece. I said, don't, don't touch the oil, because maybe we'll take over Cargallet. We may take over Cargallon. It's not a thing they can do about it. So Trita Parcy, President Trump also referred to the people that are negotiating as scum. He was asked by reporters why he is saying that now. given he didn't say that before, and he boasted about taking out the first level of Iranian negotiators and the second level of Iranian negotiators, and now he's on the third level, I think, he said. First of all, I think it's important to recognize that a lot of these different things that Trump is threatening are war crimes,

taking out the civilian infrastructure desalination plans, etc. All of this would constitute war crimes. And, of course, we already have seen plenty of war crimes in this war already. Again, if the United States were to go in that direction, it's important to note Trump made similar threats during the war and stopped short of doing it and executing it. And the key reason for that is, if the United States were to do this, the Iranians likely will retaliate against similar targets in the GCC countries.

And if you go after the energy infrastructure in the GCC countries, then we're not just talking about an oil crisis as a result of a bottleneck in the process. Persian Gulf and industry, but a production problem, which would take much longer to recover from and most likely would throw the entire global economy into a recession. And this is the key reason as to why he didn't do it last time. Probably the reason why he won't do it this time either. But the threats themselves nevertheless are further undermining the atmosphere that is necessary to be able to make diplomacy work and ultimately lead to a deal. Now, the Iranian attacks against

the ship from the U.S. perspective is also actions that are undermining that atmosphere. But this is escalating at a speed at this point in which is very different from the last escalation, but also one that makes it much more difficult to find an exit ramp

from. I also wanted to ask you about a CNN exposé, more about the Minab Girls School, where over 175 people killed overwhelmingly little girls going to school. CNN reporting that military officials knew within days that, quote, senior U.S. military commanders

bypass warnings and critical databases that intelligence about potential targets in Iran was severely out of date and approved some strikes anyway, including the strike on the school. Unnamed sources also cited to CNN that Defense Secretary Pete Hague sets previous decision to cut the civilian harm mitigation and response staff at the Pentagon by over 90 percent. Only one full-time staffer was left to work with development strike teams. Can you talk about the ongoing significance of this? Because we're talking about the U.S. continuing to strike Iran now. Yeah.

This is one of the darkest moments of American military history, I would say, in recent history, what happened to the U.S. the schools in Minab and the young school girls who were all killed. And we've seen how that had a profound impact on the Iranians. This is all part of a larger effort by Secretary of War Hexed in which he wants to undo the norms around the use of force, what he calls no longer fighting woke wars, essentially taking away most of the guardrails that have been put into place by the United States itself over the course of the last couple of decades after the Second World War, to protect civilians in war. Now, there's an systematic effort, both by the Israelis and by the United States under Pete

Hexed, to undo these norms and make it permissible to do things that over the course of the last couple of decades have been considered unlawful in war. And this is one of the first examples, the results of something like that, in which after cutting so many people who would actually review these things, going through all the type of mechanisms and protocols to make sure that these targets were not going to be. civilian. After having undone that, we've seen the direct result of it. And it's important to also understand this happened on the first day of the war. This was not after two weeks, not after two months, in which statistically something atrocious could happen. This happened on the very first day of

war. And I think it is an indication of the direction we will be going in if this is not reversed, if these efforts to undo these norms around the use of force are not undone. Finally, the funeral of Hamani, how massive it's been millions of people going from Iran to Iraq. And if you can talk about the significance, what this means for the future of Iran. One thing I think we saw through these funeral proceedings, particularly the massive crowds that were also showing up in Iraq, is the influence that Iran has. the region, particularly in the Shia community, but not just limited to that. This is something that I think is consistently underestimated in Washington, in which it is not fully appreciated the degree to which Iran is interconnected and has massive influence in many of the neighboring countries. And as a

result, any effort to try to completely isolate Iran and cut it off from the rest of the region is not going to work and has not worked so far. And I think the funeral, proceedings in Iraq in particular showed what an impossible task that is. And one reason as to why that approach needs to be set aside because the end result of it is now become clear. That type of an effort of isolating Iran only leads to a war. And we've already seen what a disastrous outcome that war would be. I want to thank you for being with us, Trita Parsy, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. We'll link to your piece on Substack. headlined how the U.S. Iran fight in the Strait of Hormuz can be resolved before it blows up the MOU.

Coming up, we go to Houston, Texas, where a family and community are reeling after ice age and shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado O'Rajal, a 52-year-old father of three U.S. citizens. He's been in the United States for decades. Stay with us. I'm a don't know performed by in our Democracy Now studio.

This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman. In Texas, immigration and civil rights advocacy groups are demanding an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Arauj, a Mexican immigrant and father of three U.S. citizens who was killed by an ICE agent in Houston during an attempted traffic stop. He'd been living in the United States for nearly 35 years. Lorenzo Salgado Arrajo

worked in construction. On Tuesday morning, he was starting his workday by picking up other workers in Magnolia Park historically Latino neighborhood when ICE targeted him. This is his son speaking at a news conference Wednesday. I want to tell you about my dad. He was a hardworking family man who never wanted his name to be known by anyone outside of his family. He wanted nothing else in life but to provide for his wife

and see his sons become great people. He was also a man of routine. For the majority of the last 35 years of his life in the United States, he began the day the same way, and always ended it by coming home, sitting on the porch, eating a hearty meal made by my mother, going to sleep, and doing it all over again the next day. Let me tell you about my father's last day alive, with as much detail as possible, because it's vividly replaying in my head over and over again. At 5 a.m., my mom and dad woke up before the rest of the world did. My dad brushed his teeth. He showered. My mom cooked him a huge

meal for him to eat that day. At 5.50, my dad got dressed, grabbed his lunch and coffee, hugged and kissed my mom goodbye, slipped on his hat for the day, loaded his lunch, his work boots, his coffee, and his work van. He patted our dog on his head goodbye and drove off to pick up his crew for work. At 6.45 a.m., he should have been picking up the last of his guys. before heading to North Houston to finish up construction on some houses. Five minutes later, unbeknownst to me at 6.55, unbeknownst to all of us. My dad had been shot inside his van near the intersection of Wayside Canal by ICE agents in unmarked cars. That's Renaldo Salgado, the son of Lorenzo Salgado Arauj.

Rano also said that the three other people in the car, including his uncle, were taken into custody and have not been heard from since. Following the shooting, ICE claimed Salgado Araujo had ignored verbal commands and rammed their vehicle and that an agent fired on him in self-defense. Local elected officials and civil rights advocates are demanding the release of the video footage

in an independent investigation. This is Roman Palomades, the national president of Lulac, That's the League of United Latin American citizens speaking at Wednesday's news conference in Houston. We are here today because in the absence of facts from immigration and customs enforcement, ICE, and we are left with no choice but to conclude that a man was unlawfully killed on the streets of Houston yesterday morning, barely 24 hours ago. His name was Lorenzo Salgado Arajudo.

Say his name because no one else, ICE does not want you to say that name. Today, we stay in here as a community and we demand, okay? Lulag today is demanding, okay? We are not asking, we're not requesting. We are demanding the truth. It is unacceptable. It is un-American to use lethal force against, a human being, then lock away the evidence, hide the video, silence the record, and expect his

family, the people of Houston, and the American public to simply nod and say, we believe you, because we don't. We do not believe you. You have not earned that trust. ICE has not earned that trust from the American people. Your pattern has been one of inaccuracies, of prejudicial. leaks before the facts are known of twisting the narrative to fit your version of events. The fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Arajo came on the six-month anniversary of the ice

killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. For more, we go to Houston to speak with Cesar Espinoza, executive director of the Civil Rights Group, Fiat, immigrant families and students in the fight. He was at Wednesday's News Conference. Thanks for joining us. our deepest condolences for the whole community. Cesar, talk about what you know and how the federal government has responded. Why haven't you been able to see the video of what happened? Well, I mean, it's been really complicated. And we've seen time and time again after ICE does these killings, after they do these acts,

which they start, by the way, all of a sudden, you know, everything is hushed. hush, they don't want to release anything. We don't even know if there's body cam footage that exists because ice agents are not mandated to wear body cameras or have them running. And so at this point, and being this soon, there's so many questions that are left unanswered. And at the end of the day, the community, the family, and the United States and every single person in this country deserves an answer. If you can talk about what Rinaldo said that his father was being followed by unmarked cars, likely afraid for his life,

that if he had known he was being followed by law enforcement, he would have followed the protocol. But he had no idea what was going on. Amy, we hear this all the time. People are saying, well, why don't people comply? Why don't they, why don't they just stop? But I want people to put themselves in these immigrant shoes or these people. All of a sudden, they are being approached by unmarved vehicles. These vehicles many times often start ramming vehicles, trying to get them to stop,

trying to get them, force them to stop. And when people jump out, they're not wearing insignia, you know, saying federal agents or ICE or a badge. They're wearing a lot of the times playing clothing with vests that just say police. I mean, we've heard in this entire time that there's people impersonating ice agents and things like that. So I cannot imagine the fear that a lot of people feel when they are being persecuted by somebody that's unknown. And I ask people, you know, put yourself in these folks' shoes and ask yourself, how would you react? So, Cesar, there were three other people in the vehicle with Lorenzo, reportedly rounded up after the fatal shooting.

Where are they? Who are they? We know that one of them is Lorenzo's brother or, you know, Ronaldo's uncle. The other two gentlemen, we don't know who they are, and we don't know where they are at right now. as it happens a lot of the times with immigrants, once they get put into the system, it can take anywhere from 48 to 72 hours to sometimes even weeks for us to be able to find them. What we have heard, though, and it's very troubling to hear this from some of the other family members, is that they're being told to sign voluntary departures, or being told to, you know, cooperate with the version that ICE has released so that, you know,

they can basically threatening them. They're going to follow charges if they don't or that they're going to be deported expeditiously. And what we fear is that this is another effort from ICE to cover up something that they did very, very wrong.

And finally, if you can talk about the rising deployment of federal immigrant agents to Houston and surrounding areas and the role of the Trump ally, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott. Well, you know, one of the things that we've seen over the last year and a half is we've really seen a vamping up of state troopers and forces that are mandated by the governor of Texas trying to emulate what the federal government is doing.

And we've seen that rise in our area. In the last couple of weeks, we had heard reports of more eye sightings. And it was just a matter of time before this happened. And we don't want these things to happen. And we don't, you know, it's unfathomable what this family is going through. And our condolences go to the, to Lorenzo's family. But at the end of the day, we must do everything we can to make sure that they get the transparency and justice that they deserve. Cesar Espinoza, Executive Director of Fiel, immigrant families and students in the fight speaking to us from Houston.

We're going to stay in Texas. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman. as we continue on the issue of immigration enforcement, we're going to talk about the family of Geraldo Lunas Campos. He was a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant whose death in ICE custody was ruled a likely homicide. The family is suing four guards and the companies that oversaw Camp East Montana, a sprawling immigration detention tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso,

Texas at the time of Compos' death. The Washington Post reports is families seeking more than a million dollars and damages from acquisition logistics, the company that oversaw Camp East Montana when Campos was killed, Akima, which employed the guards accused of killing compost, anana regional corporation, Akema's parent company. Earlier this year, an autopsy report released by Opaso County Medical Examiner's Office, concluded Campos died from asphyxia. caused by neck and torso compression, ruling his death a homicide. Before his death,

compost had complained of not getting the right dosage of medication to treat his bipolar disorder and anxiety. He'd also expressed having suicidal thoughts, but instead of receiving proper care, compost was placed in solitary confinement where guards shackled and handcuffed him, repeatedly putting pressure on his neck and chest and hill his body went limp. For more, we go to Philadelphia, where we're joined by Perilla Treviso, reporter with the ProPublica, Texas Tribune investigative unit. Her recent piece headlined, he didn't need to die, how an immigration detention center repeatedly failed to address a mental health crisis. Parallat, thank you so much for joining us. Tell us what you know. Yeah, so we, thank you for having me, first of all.

We've reviewed nearly 300 pages of an extended medical examiner report that has not been published or had not been published before. And in it, you know, as you mentioned, we had heard that Geraldo had continued to ask for his medication. That's actually what led to the altercation according to witnesses the day he died. But for the first time, we can see in writing how, you know, we counted at least eight times from the day he entered Campiesmontown in September to the day he died.

He had requested medication that was helping him, you know, with his anxiety, with depression, that would help him sleep better. And yet he was not getting it, including in one of the medical nodes, a medical provider notes that it's on November 10th, and he hadn't received his medication since November 6th. We also see that there was a previous suicide attempt in October. And we include more details in the story, but basically, you know, he had been put in segregation. He had tied a bed sheet to, you know, wrapped it around his neck, and they were able to talk to him out of it.

And one of the medical experts we talked to said that, you know, he, based on the notes, it seems that that case was minimized instead of taken as seriously as it should have. So the coroner found homicide by asphyxiation. Explain how Geraldo Luna's Campos died. Yeah, so what do we know, again, the FBI is actually investigating the case. So, you know, there's still a lot of details that are, you know, should be coming out. But what we know from witness statements and what has been reported is that he was brought into the segregation unit. They say that he grew combative. Once they were about to go in,

he refused. Witnesses say that they believe he was shackled. There were several guards. They took him down. And as you said, asphyxias, it means like they put some pressure on his chest and he stopped breathing. then medical providers were called. Nurses arrived. Eventually they called 911. 911 came and they tried to do CPR and revive him, but at that point, it was too late. If you can talk about the medical providers who work there

and now who the family is suing, the levels of responsibility here and what they're suing for. So they're suing the guards that you mentioned. and the companies. I think, you know, it's been very hard to get information from people who work at the facility. And you have the main contractor that you mentioned acquisition, who's no longer, who has been since replaced, and then contractors under them that, you know, take care of cleaning, food, medical. We've tried to reach, you know, for months to people who either work there or work there. They've been signing nondisclosure agreements. We weren't able to reach most

And we were able to talk to one, a medical provider who used to work at the facility as well to a current government official. And I think, you know, one of the biggest takeaways for us is that from the very beginning, you could see that there were concerns about mental health and suicides. Very early on, you start getting calls to 911, talking about people who try to commit suicide. and this, you know, the workers, they're not, the medical providers are not part of the lawsuit, but, you know, what my understanding is that they were complaining about, based on this cause, that sometimes they didn't have oxygen, they didn't have AKG paper, that they were having minimum resources. So we know from the beginning that the facility was not fully equipped to deal with,

with the issues that it was facing. Talk about the companies that are being sued, all the different levels of the sprawling detention camp. So acquisition, I mean, most of the companies have not had prior experience dealing with detention centers. So this was a department of defense or war contract. Acquisition was the one that was hired. It was a small company out of Virginia. I think a really veteran owned had gotten the main contract.

Akema is a company that mostly is known for. guard services. So they were providing the guard services for Campes-Montana as well at other detention centers. Loyal Source is not part of the lawsuit, but Loyal Source is a company that was providing the medical care. And so yes, I think the issue with private detention is that you have multiple players that each play a role in, and in this case, you know, the families decided to sue some of them, including the main contractor. And as you mentioned, the guards that we know were directly involved with the moment he died. Parallel, we're going to link to your piece.

Parla Treviso is a reporter with the ProPublica, Texas Tribune investigative unit. Her recent piece headlined, he didn't need to die, how an immigration detention center repeatedly failed to address a mental health crisis, joining us from Philadelphia. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. Could the Albanian government fall over massive protests that are taking place there, called the Flamingo Revolution, over a deal the Albanian government made with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for a luxury resort on an Albanian island? Stay with us.

Joe, you're 10 years dead. I never die, it says me. Never die, says he. Copper bosses. Kill you, Joe. They shot you, Joe, says I. That was Joan Baez singing Joe Hill in 2005 at Camp Casey and Crawford, Texas. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org.

I'm Amy Goodman. We end today's show with the latest from Albania, where thousands have taken to the streets in the capital, Tehrana, for over a month in the biggest unrest since the collapse of communism 30 years ago. The so-called Flamingo revolution began last month over environmental and transparency concerns related to the development of a multi-billion dollar luxury resort linked to President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. The massive development would turn an abandoned Soviet weapons base known as Sazan, into a luxury island resort and threatened one of the last wild areas and its

lagoon that hosts more than 2,500 species. What began as an environmental protestist turned to anger at the entire political system. Over the July 4th weekend, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Albania's capital, Tirana. It's been too long with this kind of political culture, well, where the prime minister and the political parties of this country think they can do anything. There are no barriers to what they think is acceptable in politics. I'm here because I want an end to this Machiavellian political culture where power and greed justify anything. As calls amount for the resignation of the Albanian Prime Minister, who won a fourth term last year,

he's refused to budge on the Kushner-Trump-linked development. This is Prime Minister Rama speaking to Reuters last month defending the luxury resort project. It has never been a question if this will go ahead or not. This is blessed for the country. an investment of 4 billion euro in a country that has 27 and a bit more billion euro GDP speaks by itself. For more on what's unfolding in Albania, we go to the capital, Tarana. We're joined by two guests. Ridi Mucci is a member of the Albanian Parliament representing Tarana, member of the left-wing

political party, Levisia Basque, and its sole representative in the Albanian parliament. And we're joined by Borah Mima, longtime labor organizer, researcher and activist, also a founding member of the left-wing political party, Levisia Basque. We welcome you both to democracy now. Redi, if you can talk about these massive protests, why they're called the Flamingo Revolution, and what this island is all about, and what Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's interest is here. Thank you, Amy.

So the reason why it's called the Flamingo Revolution, it relates to the fact that part of the project for the development of the resort is the lagoon, where many flamingos visit every year, and which has to be removed from an area that is environmentally protected with a special law in 24 in order for the projects to carry on. Today is actually the 40th continued day of protests in Tirana. And what started as a wish, let's say, by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to, let's say, invest in the island of Saenzan as well as the lagoon, precipitated into a protest that has the potential.

potential we feel to bring down the government and not just the government of Prime Minister Adirama, but the whole system that has been built for the past 35 years in Albania. And explain who Prime Minister Rama is. So the story involves, let's say, money laundering from drug traffickers, the stripping away of property rights of local residents, as well as environmental destruction because the resort in this lagoon in Vernets is a typical case of touristic mega resorts along the Albanian coastline as well as skyscrapers in the city center designed by famous international architects but allegedly used for money laundering by

drug traffickers prime minister adirama is at the same time ahead of this national council on territory planning which means that he's the one that signs all the these construction permits. And this special anti-corruption unit that we have recently in Albania has issued 20 arrest warrants for people related to drug

trafficking who have acquired more than 1 million square meters of construction permits by Adirama. At the same time as what I would call a process of accumulation of wealth by disappropriation of local residents who

are stripped by their property claims, either by falsifying documents, such as the case of Zvernets, in which the person who claims to be the rightful owner is actually under investigation for drug trafficking and living in the United States, or through this special law on strategic investors, as it's called, through which the government can strip away the property rights for the benefit of the country, all the while destroying the environment as an environment. mentioned earlier, that is why there were these amendments made in 2024 to remove this lagoon area from the environmentally protected areas of Albania in order to pave the way, let's

say, for this construction project. Before we end, I want to bring in Borougham, a long time labor organizer, researcher, and activist. If you can talk about the violence that the protesters have been left with. And the fact that the Prime Minister, Eddie Rama, says that this project, the Trump-Kushner project, is going to happen. Hello. So as it was mentioned before, this is a project that is being influenced, not just by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, but also it's a money-laundry operation, international money-laundry operation. And of course, that the Prime Minister, Adirama will say this, not just because he won't to still be in power and to hold his position,

but also due to the fact that many foreign and not only interests are engaged in this, are engaged and involved in this process. When it comes to the violence of the protest, it was not only in the first day when the community protesters and different activists were protesting in the fences that were enclosed in the area of Zvernetzi, which is a protected area, but also part of it belongs to the community, where one of the community members was dragged down by private security and a gun was held in his hand

and the police was not intervening, which shows where the state's police loyalty lies, and it's not with the Albanian people, and it's not with the law, but it's with the ones who actually are dispossessing us from our private, our public lands and our environment and islands or natural protected areas. There was also a protest held just last week

at the Parliament of Albania, where some protesters were throwing eggs at the MPs cars because the MPs of the both main political parties, such as the Socialist Party or the Democratic Party, they are both supporting Trump's and Kushner's project in Albania. So after this, the police uses as an excuse to attack and to violently intervene and arrest. And not only this, but there were cases of protesters being arrested

and beaten up in the police stations, which is a breach of human rights. there are many institutions, international organizations, but also our MP or other activists who are trying to engage with this. I believe that Adirama is going to say this due to the fact that he's actually in his worst political position he has ever been in the last three decades that he's actually in power in Albania in different positions. I believe that the protests will go on and the people are very determined. So whatever he's saying, if not tomorrow but quite soon,

this is going to be the end of Egerama's political career, but of a whole political system, which is actually serving to the oligarchy. If I can just add something. We're going to have to leave it there because the show is ending. I want to thank you both for being with us, Boroughamemma, long-time labor organizer and founding member of the Levisia Basque Party and Redimucci, member of the Albanian parliament representing Tirana. That does it for our show. I'll be in Kansas City on July 17th and 18th for the screening of Steel the Story, please, at the Glenwood Arts Theater in Overland Park.

Check our website at DemocracyNow.org. I'm Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.