Main suspect in 2005 Aruba disappearance of woman, 18, to be extradited from Peru to US
Peru will allow the extradition to the US of the main suspect in the unsolved disappearance of student Natalee Holloway on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005.
Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, is charged with extortion and wire fraud concerning payments made to him by the Holloway family after their daughter’s disappearance.
Ms Holloway, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she vanished while on a trip with classmates to Aruba.
She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was then 18 years old.
He was detained and identified as a suspect weeks later, along with two Surinamese brothers.
Her disappearance sparked years of news coverage and true-crime podcasts.
Ms Holloway’s body was never found and no charges were filed in the case.
Read more world news:
Resident ‘triggers blast’ injuring emergency workers in Germany
‘Domino explosions’ in Milan despite van driver’s heroics
Two dead after shooting at Mercedes Benz plant
Years later, van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who was killed five years to the day after Holloway’s disappearance.
He pleaded guilty in 2012 and is serving 28 years in prison for the murder.
Prosecutors accused van der Sloot of killing Ms Flores, a business student from a prominent family, to rob her after learning she had won money at the casino where the two met.
They said he killed her with “ferocity” and “cruelty”, beating then strangling her in his hotel room.
But his extradition to the US stems from an alleged attempt to profit from his connection to the Holloway case.
Beth Holloway, mother of Natalee Holloway, speaking in 2010. Pic: AP
US prosecutors say van der Sloot accepted $25,000 (£19,800) in cash from Ms Holloway’s family in exchange for a promise to lead them to her body in early 2010, just before he went to Peru.
In written evidence, an FBI agent said van der Sloot reached out to Ms Holloway’s mother and wanted to be paid to disclose the location and then receive another $225,000 (£179,000) when the remains were recovered.
During a recorded sting operation, van der Sloot pointed to a house where he said Ms Holloway was buried but in later emails admitted to lying about the location, the agent said.
The young woman’s mother, Beth Holloway, said she was blessed to have Natalee in her life for 18 years.
“She would be 36 years old now. It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off. Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee,” she said.
Attorney Maximo Altez, who represents van der Sloot, said he would fight the decision once he is properly notified by the Peruvian government.
Van der Sloot married a Peruvian woman in July 2014 in a ceremony at a maximum-security prison.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been linked to a second group chat about sensitive military operations, which he reportedly shared with his wife, brother and personal lawyer.
The messages sent via the Signal messaging app are again understood to have contained details of an attack on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in March.
The second chat group, initially reported by The New York Times, included about a dozen people. It revealed details of the schedule of the airstrikes, according to the Reuters news agency.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News there were 13 people in the second chat group, and Mr Hegseth divulged the information despite an aide warning him about using an unsecure communications system.
Mr Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has attended sensitive meetings with foreign military counterparts, while his brother was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser.
Military details from the first chat group were revealed by a journalist from The Atlantic magazine who was accidentally added to the Signal app by national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Mr Hegseth then shared sensitive information with cabinet officials about last month’s airstrike on targets in Yemen, which was later leaked.
Read more from Sky News:
What is Signal?
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Mike Waltz (left) and Pete Hegseth (right) have used Signal to discuss sensitive government matters. Pic: AP
‘A non-story,’ says White House
But the White House has consistently defended Mr Hegseth.
Donald Trump dismissed the original leak as “something that can happen”.
Responding to the latest chat group, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said: “No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared.
“Recently-fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.”
The “leakers” referred to in the White House statement are four senior officials who were ousted from the Pentagon last week as part of an internal leak investigation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Leaked war plans: ‘Fairly serious’
‘Hegseth put lives at risk’
The New York Times reported that the second chat – named “Defence | Team Huddle” – was created on Mr Hegseth’s private phone.
It detailed the same warplane launch times as the first chat.
Several former and current officials have said sharing those operational details before a strike would have certainly been classified, and their release could have put pilots in danger.
Democratic politicians have repeatedly called for Mr Hegseth to step down.
“We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a post on X.
“But [Donald] Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
The latest claims about Mr Hegseth emerged as Yemen’s Houthi rebels reported another wave of US airstrikes on Sunday, including on the capital Sanaa.
The Houthis said at least 12 people had been killed, with 30 more injured.
The US says its bombing campaign is in response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes.
DHL Express is suspending some shipments to the US as Donald Trump’s new tariff regime takes effect.
From 21 April, shipments worth more than $800 (£603) to US consumers from “any origin” will be temporarily suspended.
New rules that came into effect at the start of April made such shipments subject to increased customs checks.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock,” said the parcel delivery service.
Shipments going from business to business worth more than $800 aren’t affected by the suspension, but DHL warned they may also face delays.
Shipments under $800 to either businesses or consumers are not impacted, but one British cycle manufacturer suggested its US customers may need to split orders over $800 into “smaller shipments” to avoid the red tape.
Read more:
The art of doing a deal with Trump
Is there method to Trump’s madness?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump: Tariffs are making US ‘rich’
Trump targeting ‘deceptive’ practices
From May, shipments from China and Hong Kong that are worth less than $800 “will be subject to all applicable duties”, according to the White House.
“President Trump is targeting deceptive shipping practices by Chinese-based shippers, many of whom hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages,” it said in a statement.
Until now, deliveries worth less than $800 didn’t incur any duties, which allowed low-cost companies Chinese like Shein and Temu to make inroads in the US.
Both have warned their prices will now rise because of the rule changes, starting on 25 April.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway