In Guatemala, after Fuego Volcanic Eruption, 109 Dead and 200 Plus Missing; United Nations Security Council Sanctions Six Individuals for Human Trafficking in Libya
HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm George Howell. In Guatemala, there is frustration over a tragedy that some say could have been prevented, 109 people are dead, some 200 missing, this after the Fuego volcanic eruption. Critics accused the disaster management agency there of not responding quickly enough to eruption warnings. CNN's Patric Oppman reports from the disaster (ph).</s>PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to believe that this used to be a neighborhood where people lived. There were houses here. This was the main street. And now, it is just tons and tons of volcanic ash that will need to be cleared before to be livable, before anybody could come back. We have a mask on in case the wind changes direction. But the smell makes you somewhat dizzy. It is really just overpowering odor. And you see as they are watering it down, the steam rises. All these days after the volcanic eruption, that rock is still -- that volcanic ash still boiling hot. It is not safe to go there. And this (inaudible) was out spraying it down. It will probably cause them to (inaudible) malfunction. He is trying to cool down that volcanic ash. It gives you an idea of how dangerous this is. That's why they're telling residents not to return because (inaudible) coming off the street. It could still take someone's life. And you look down over here -- and this was someone's house again completely buried by volcanic ash. We don't know if the people who live in this neighborhood that is now one color, the gray color of ash, got out in time. But you can see what a hell escape it has become and you could see how difficult it will ever be for anyone to ever return to this neighborhood in Guatemala. The smoke is coming out there. You can feel the heat emanating. I'm going to step back because it really is quite hot and we're going to leave. We've been told that we should only stay in this area for a short time. It is an incredible sight to see and it makes you wonder if anybody could ever live here again. Patrick Oppman, CNN near the Fuego volcano.</s>HOWELL: Patrick giving us that up close and personal look at what's happening there in Guatemala. Now, we've just learned at least 600 homes have been destroyed since May, this by the ongoing volcanic eruption in Hawaii. And on Thursday, officials reported that Kilauea's eruption has created enough lava to bury the entire island of Manhattan, almost 2 meters deep. Fissure number eight remains the only active fissure at this point producing fountains of lavas spouting into 70 meters high at times and that fissure also feeding a lava channel that is still at Kapoho Bay destroying homes. The United Nations is taking unprecedented action against human traffickers. This, after a CNN Freedom Project investigation exposed the slave trade in Libya. The U.N. is sanctioning six men that says led criminal network trafficking large numbers of migrants through Libya to Europe. Nima Elbagir has this report.</s>NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been more than a year in the making. In an unprecedented move, the United Nations Security Council, acting on a Dutch-led initiative, is sanctioning six individuals, four Libyans and two Eritreans for they say includes profiting from human trafficking, sex slavery, slavery, murder, all to do with the trade in people, the movement of people through Libya up from Africa into Europe. Some of these names are unfamiliar to even those of us who follow Libya closely, but what they do isn't. And specifically, one man is a commander, Abd Al Rahman Al-Milad, in the European Union funded and European Union trade coast guard. He is a commander in the Libyan coast guard in Zawiyah, body that has been really part of the bigger picture in terms of stopping the migrant flow to the shores of Europe. Well, for now, the message that has been sent is that even that is not enough to guarantee impunity. The Dutch foreign minister was gracious enough to credit CNN and saying that our reporting created the momentum that allowed these sanctions to pass.</s>STEF BLOK, NETHERLANDS FOREIGN MINISTER: I'm very glad the Netherlands was able to initiate this important initiative to effectively punish human traffickers active in Libya. It was CNN that draw the attention to this terrible -- well, you may actually call it a slave trade that has been going on in Libya for far too long. And as the Netherlands is currently member of the U.N. Security Council, we proposed to them to impose sanction on six of the worse perpetrators and that will mean that this crime won't be left unpunished.</s>ELBAGIR: So, what now, the sanctions, of course, go immediately into effect? And while there are many critics who would say that because this has taken some time with regard to diplomatic rambling over these sanctions in the U.N. Security Council, has there been enough time to allow those on list to hide away some of those assets but those we're speaking to say that it's not possible to hide bricks and mortars. And yet, unbelievably, trading in people buys you bricks and mortars. Some of it, we understand in the European Union, but this isn't just about sanctioning about those individuals. This is about sending a bigger message to those behind these individuals. These are the kingpins. But most investigators working on this tell us that they know that this is a crime not just of opportunity but also a crime of so attractive that there are so many waiting and willing to fill the shoes of those running these networks. This sends a message to them. The time to make money off the misery of those desperate to come to Europe and fulfill their dreams is running out. Nima Elbagir, CNN London.</s>HOWELL: The time is running out. Nina, thank you with that reporting. The dangerous journey that migrants form the horn of Africa are escaping war and poverty through searching for better lives in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. And to get there, they must pass through war torn Yemen, a land of dust and desolation. CNN obtained exclusive footage of this very dangerous journey. Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, has this report.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At dusk, they're still on the move, small groups of young men from Somalia and Ethiopia.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you going now?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to Saudi.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to work.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which kind of work?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any work.</s>WEDEMAN: This exclusive video shot by freelance cameraman, Gabriel Hyen (ph), for CNN documents the plight of desperate people fleeing war, unrest, and poverty in their native lands to a country already wrapped by violence. According to the International Organization for Migration, every month as many as 7,000 people from the horn of Africa make these careless crossings over the Red Sea to Yemen. Nearly 50 died this week when their boat capsized. More than a dozen are still missing. Despite the dangers of the crossing and their initial destination, the country at war since early 2015, and now threatened by famine and disease, they continue to come. For more money says African-Ethiopian (ph). We don't have any money. We'll take any job. We don't have money for food and water. Our country has nothing. Says 14-year-old, Evan (ph), I came to Yemen looking for work. There's war and sloth (ph). The final destination of many, or so they hope, is oil-rich Saudi Arabia to the north, the land of milk and honey. For those who can't make it that far, stranded in Yemen, the land of dust and (inaudible). The camp where I live has no electricity, nothing, no water, no food, no government says Umpha Tum (ph). We suffer. I come here to beg and then I go back and sleep in a cardboard box. To get here, they paid hundreds of dollars, for them, an astronomical sum. They're brought to Yemen by men like these, fishermen in times like these. Now, (inaudible). Trafficking, he says, actually a test (ph) humans, human trafficking. He asked that we not show his face. They show how they load people onto their boat. It's designed to hold perhaps 30. But sometimes, vessels like these are crowded with as many as 50. The logic of this business is simple, in a day (ph) to make months' wages, he says. Once on shore (ph), the migrants walk for days and days. As night falls, some stopped to pray. The road ahead is long. Ben Wedeman, CNN Beirut.</s>HOWELL: Ben Wedeman tracking that very dangerous journey. We'll talk more news right after the break.