The 2014 killing of Laude drew widespread attention, particularly on the long-standing alliance between the Philippines and its former colonizer, the United States. ADPemberton met Laude at an Olongapo bar in October 2014 after the Marines arrived for joint military exercises. Local media reported that Pemberton, then 19, admitted choking Laude, 26, after discovering she was transgender. “ ‘So I will release him.’ ”ADADPemberton’s lawyer Rowena Flores told CNN Philippines that she was surprised by the news. The arrangement owed to the Visiting Forces Agreement, a bilateral accord that governs procedures involving U.S. military personnel in the Philippines.

Source: Washington Post September 07, 2020 12:12 UTC