VOA NEWS

June 10, 2019

This is VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.



U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that "for many years" Mexico has not been cooperative to curb the surge of migrants traveling through it to reach the United States. He said he believes a new agreement will alleviate the problem.

AP's Ben Thomas reports.

In a series of Sunday morning tweets, President Trump hails Mexico's commitment but says "if for some unknown reason" such cooperation fails, "we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position on (of) Tariffs."

On "Fox News Sunday," acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan underscored the point.

"There's a mechanism to make sure that they do what they promised to do, that there's an actual result, that we see a vast reduction in those numbers."

Mexico's U.S. ambassador Martha Bárcena Coqui told CBS's "Face the Nation" the U.S., Mexico and Central American nations are all working together on the migrant crisis.

"... we will continue to have technical talks almost weekly and then to evaluate constantly what is going on in these 90 days."

Ben Thomas, Washington.

And President Trump has said that he doesn't think resuming tariffs would be necessary.



U.S. Representative [Jay] David Cicilline has defended remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she did not want to see President Trump impeached but rather imprisoned.

Cicilline told Fox News on Sunday he has no difficulty with that statement. He noted that during the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump called for the imprisonment of former Secretary of State and New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

"These are criminal acts - obstruction of justice - clearly impeachable offenses. And so, you know, it's kind of rich to hear the president complain about this when began a campaign with 'lock her up' as his bumper sticker."

Pelosi [remain] made her remark last week during a meeting with the House Judiciary Committee.



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A lawyer for prominent Russian journalist detained on drug charges in Moscow has filed a complaint with the country's top investigative body, saying police used violence against him while he was in custody.

AP correspondent Sarah Bassett reports.

Ivan Golunov was taken to a Moscow court after he complained of feeling poorly in police custody. During the hearing, he denied being involved with drugs.

Following his release, one of Golunov's lawyers filed a complaint, saying police used violence against him while in custody, which they deny.

Police are alleging they found four grams of a synthetic stimulant in Golunov's backpack. But many journalists suspect the arrest was retribution for his investigative reporting.

I'm Sarah Bassett.



It was a beautiful day for a parade in New York City as thousands came out for the 62nd annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade along 5th Avenue.

AP correspondent Julie Walker.

Puerto Rican pride was on display everywhere you looked with flags waving and people cheering as notables went by on floats like Ricky Martin, who was the Grand Marshal. Actor ??? was marching with his city flag. "I'm proud of my heritage, proud to be from the most beautiful city in Puerto Rico, Loíza."

And Puerto Rico's devastation by Hurricane Maria was not forgotten. Governor Andrew Cuomo says the city will erect a permanent memorial.

"Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and what the federal government did was a disgrace."

Other politicians taking part included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But one notable absence was Mayor de Blasio, who was out of town campaigning for president.

At the Puerto Rican Day Parade, I'm Julie Walker.



On Saturday in Washington D.C., hundreds of people ran from a public park where the D.C. Pride celebration was being staged. They feared a gunman had opened fire.

A man was arrested on charges of weapons possession and disorderly conduct after he threatened another person with a BB gun, which is a type of air gun that shoots very small [parents] pellets designed to hit birds.

As it turned out seven people were injured from the crush of crowds fleeing the scene.



Thousands of people crossed from Venezuela into Colombia Saturday to buy food and medicine after Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro reopened the border between the two countries. It had been shut tight for four months.

A flood of people seized the opportunity to cross into Colombia to take up supplies that are no longer available in Venezuela.

Venezuela's borders with Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Brazil were also closed in February when the political opposition tried to deliver food and humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela.



You've been listening to VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.