U.S. Senator investigated by the FBI for helping Ecuadorian fugitives from justice and the CNN connection. Channel 4 of NBC New York reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched a formal criminal investigation of State Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey for his ties to the Ecuadorian brothers William and Roberto Isaías, both fugitives from justice in their country. The FBI suspects Senator Menendez has helped the Isaías brothers to stay and settle in the USA by making phone calls and sending letters of recommendation to the Department of State and other agencies, all in exchange for donations to his reelection campaign. The Isias brothers were sentenced in abstentia to prision in Ecuador more than 10 years ago; both fled the country and the Interpol have launched international arrest warrants on charges of fraud after the collapse of the financial institution Filanbanco property of the Isaíases, in which thousands of their account holders lost part or all of their money. While the government of President Rafael Correa confiscated all of the Isia´s assets in Ecuador, including banking, TV networks, houses, and even a yacht, the brothers are living in Miami in luxury residences and keep managing several successful businesses there. However, so far the U.S. authorities allege that they have not deported the Isaías brothers to Ecuador yet, because the Ecuadorian government hasn’t sent solid evidence of the alleged felonies. For more details about the FBI investigation to Senator Menendez on this case, check the link below. nbcnewyork/investigations/bob-menendez-federal-probe-nj-senator-i-team-241721381.html The Isaias brothers and the CNN connection. About the Isaias, the writer can confirm that the brothers, since moving to the U.S. -Miami-, have been financing an active lobbying campaign against the government of Rafael Correa of Ecuador; also -we now know- have been financing at least one US Senator in their effort to stay permanently in th US. For years, the Isaiases have been retaining the services of the public relations firm Newlink Group, one of the largest in Miami, to promote awareness against the government of Ecuador through pushing blogs, editorials, reports, and books published by opponents to Correa like Pablo Lucio Gutierrez and Carlos Vera among others; as well as to promote interviews from these and some others, including Fabricio Correa, the elder brother turned enemy of Rafael Correa among the US media outlets such as the Miami Herald, CNN and other news agencies. In this sense, the FBI investigation could be the result of this extended lobbying campaign by the Isaiases; Senator Menendez is a logical goal of the campaign as he is none other than the leader of the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate, and from this position he has been particularly active against Ecuador, applying such pressure for the US to suspend the trade benefits known as ATPDEA that Ecuador finally gave them up uniterally last year due to Menéndez harrasement. But there is yet another chapter in this lobbying strategy and awareness campaign that is being overlooked by the general public and the authorities: the CNN connection. As we have seen, the strategy of the brothers has been broad: the public relations on one side and the political front on the other -in the form of the alliance with Senator Menéndez. But there is yet a third front: the control of a media network, not only an important one, but a key one. The Isaises own several local TV Channels in the US, which for the surprise of the observers managed to affiliate with none other than CNN to launch a new news network named CNN Latino, under the umbrella of CNN en Español. In fact looks as if CNN Latino was made to order by CNN for the Isias Brothers; Of the five local TV Channels that forms the network -Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and NYC- only the L.A. one is not owned by the Isias. But what is really key for them in their strategy: The Isias have full editorial control of the news casts they produce at their channels, all backed by the powerful CNN logo. But how did the Isias brothers achived it? Through one of two possible ways, or both: 1- The Isiases are from Guayaquil, and they prospered during the administration of President Abdala Bucaram in Ecuador, who is also a native from Guayaquil. Like in any average Latinamerican mid size city, the group of wealthy families in Guayaquil is very small, intimate and tight. Isabel Bucaram, cousin of president Abdala, and also form Guayaquil, is a senior executive at CNN en Español, overseeing the CNN Latino franchise. The closeness between Bucarám and the Isaiases is widely known both in Guayaquil and Miami. So much so that was Isabel Bucaram herself, who works for CNN and -allegedly- not for the Isias, who arranged the interviews in Ecuador for the main news anchor of the Isias channels, Maria Elvira Salazar, who was visiting to produce reports on location. Of course those interviews and reports were mainly against the government of Rafael Correa. 2- But according to several sources, also close to Senator Menéndez, who is from Cuban origin, is Cynthia Hudson, none other than the President of CNN en Español, who also is from Cuban origin, and direct superior of Isabel Bucaram, which by the way both are close friends since the time they worked together at MegaTV in Miami several years ago. “My mentor” as Isabel considers Cyntia., Although Senator Menéndez is from New Jersey, he maintains close ties to the Miami Cuban community to which Cynthia Hudson also belongs and through which he got connected with the Isaiases. A very important fact is that once the Isaias brothers signed the agreement with CNN on February of 2013, agreement negotiated and controlled exclusively by Cynthia Hudson, and the news about the creation of CNN Latino news network went public, the press in Ecuador questioned CNN for doing business with international fugitives, required by the Interpol. Only then the top managers at CNN headqarters in Atlanta -the American ones- learned who they were dealing with. Well-informed sources inside CNN assure me the bosses were horrified about the the fact and potential public relations nightmare and brought Hudson to Atlanta for an explanation and even demanded the agreement to be canceled, however it was already signed and its terms prevented its cancelation unilaterally. CNN seems not to be aware of the conflict of interest, or simply and blatantly hides, as It is certainly quite interesting to note that during the CNN coverage when the Snowden case exploded, and with Ecuador reacting to the US cries after offering him asylum pointing that the US had not yet extradited the Isias brothers, CNN never disclosed to the public their partnership with the Isaias. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Given all the facts and analyzing the triangle of personal relationships, as well as the facts that led to the criminal investigation against Senator Menendez, and knowing that the Isias brothers use their vast economic power to push the anti-Correa agenda and to buy support from at least one U.S. Senator -according to the FBI investigation- we can fairly ask: - What was the role Senator Menéndez played helping the Isaías brothers to take control at CNN? - Did the brothers pay Senator Menéndez to help them take editorial control at CNN ?
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 18:13:15 +0000
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