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Utah immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, other countries push anti-communist message bill

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Utah immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, other countries push anti-communist message bill


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SALT LAKE CITY — Living in Cuba, says Gabriela Puckett, was anything but idyllic.

Now living in Orem, some people remark enthusiastically about the beaches and sun when she tells them she’s from the Caribbean island nation. Her memories, though, are of scarce food, government control and limited professional opportunities.

She ultimately fled the communist nation and is now part of a contingent of immigrants in Utah, most from Latin America, pushing a message bill in the Utah Legislature calling for the condemnation of socialism and communism.

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“It’s like a cancer that’s spreading all over the country,” Puckett, a naturalized U.S. citizen, told KSL.com. “We need to teach children and young people about communism, the reality, the truth.”

The aim of SJR5, she and others behind the measure say, is to shed light on what they believe to be a slow creep toward socialism in the United States and to stop it. Sen. Michael Kennedy, R-Alpine, is the sponsor, and the resolution received a favorable recommendation in a 3-1 vote of the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee last week.

Carlos Moreno, originally from Venezuela and now living in West Jordan, reached out to Kennedy to get the bill on the lawmaker’s radar screen. In Venezuela under the late socialist President Hugo Chavez, Moreno said, guns were taken from private residents and school curriculum was changed to reflect socialist values. Cuban revolutionaries like Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Fidel Castro were put forward to kids as heroic examples to emulate. President Nicolás Maduro now leads Venezuela, following the footsteps of Chavez.

“When you escape from that type of regime, you don’t want to see it in your new home,” said Moreno, a naturalized U.S. citizen running as a Republican for the District 2 seat on the Salt Lake County Council. The other hopefuls for the seat, now held by Republican Dave Alvord who’s not running again, are Republican Daniel Thatcher and Democrat Katie Olson.

After coming to Utah as a student in 2009, Moreno said, he created a student group challenging changes implemented by Venezuela that impacted the finances of students abroad, incurring the wrath of the government. “Overnight, I became an enemy of the state and I had to apply for political asylum,” said Moreno, who, like Puckett, testified on behalf of SJR5 at last week’s committee hearing.

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SJR5 doesn’t call for any specific action — it has no teeth. It reads as a statement of resolve by the Utah Legislature that the body “celebrates the enduring principles of the United States Constitution, reaffirms our commitment to the free market system and condemns the destructive and oppressive nature of socialism and communism.”

But it reflects the concerns of some immigrant newcomers about what’s happening around the world and their contentions that socialism is gaining a foothold in the state. Among other things, Moreno pointed to the creation of a Salt Lake branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which espouses “the socialist transformation of society,” and, on a larger scale, moves toward socialism in Latin America.

“Socialism doesn’t come overnight. It’s a process like what happened in Venezuela,” said Moreno, who runs an energy consulting firm.

Venezuela and Cuba may be the most overt countries in their embrace of socialism and communism, but Moreno said other nations in the region are making incremental policy changes in the same direction. In fact, other backers of the push for SJR5, he said, include immigrants, asylum seekers and naturalized citizens originally from Paraguay, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Alvin Guo, originally from China but now living in Provo and studying at Brigham Young University, is also involved in the effort. He spoke at the committee hearing of repression by the Chinese government against Christians — burning of crosses, jailing of people for showing the Bible — and Uyghurs, among other things. “Communists are the biggest adversity for humankind and the (Chinese Communist Party) is the alpha wolf of the global threat to America,” he said.

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An anti-communist message may resonate strongly in a conservative place like Utah. Kennedy, the resolution sponsor, said the measure “is vital in protecting the American dream and ensuring that our nation remains a symbol of freedom and opportunity for all.”

But Utah Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, voiced reservations about SJR5 during the committee hearing, ultimately voting against recommending approval of the measure. She proposed a substitute version of SJR5, changing some of the language though maintaining

She doesn’t support communism or socialism, she said, but questioned the timing of the measure, drawing parallels to the recent legislative debate about HB261 and overhauling diversity, equity and inclusion programs at universities. That contentious measure, signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday, espouses academic freedom on college campuses and prohibits discrimination.

“I do have a lot of concerns just on the timing and as we are evolving on some of these difficult conversations. Like I said, I certainly agree in concept with some of these pieces. But It’s when they connect to everything else that is happening … that’s hurting many members of our community that I do have a big hesitation,” she said.

Puckett, meantime, touted the import of pushing back hard against communism, alluding to the toll it takes on the people of Cuba.

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“We don’t want people to lose the hope like in Cuba,” she said. “They don’t even dream. … The only dream in Cuba is to leave Cuba because you’re not living.”

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL.com. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Utah Falls to Edmonton, 5-2 | Utah Mammoth

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Utah Falls to Edmonton, 5-2 | Utah Mammoth


It was a close game through the first 30 minutes; however, 11:24 into the second period the floodgates opened. There were several quick momentum shifts as all four goals in the middle frame were scored in a span of 3:40. After Matt Savoie scored shorthanded and put Edmonton up by a goal, associate captain Lawson Crouse’s 20th of the season evened things up 35 seconds later, 2-2. However, Oilers Captain Connor McDavid’s 400th career NHL goal eight seconds after Crouse’s tally took back momentum for the visitors. Jack Roslovic scored his second goal of the game three minutes later which gave Edmonton a two-goal lead.  

“I thought (the) first half of the game was good, showed some compete and then obviously the power play goal that we tied up was big,” MacKenzie Weegar shared. “Then they scored right after that, and then again quickly right after that, and then I thought we lost the momentum. We didn’t have the energy after that. The compete level in 50/50 battles wasn’t really there either. Definitely something that comes within, it’s not something that you can teach. That’s definitely look yourself in the mirror type stuff, but I trust in this group, and we’ll bounce back the right way.”

“We obviously just didn’t have enough of a pushback, in the third especially,” Kerfoot explained. “We’re down two goals in a game, fighting for a playoff spot against a team who’s also fighting, and we didn’t even make them work for it, didn’t make them earn it. Disappointing. It’s on us.”

Utah was held to 18 total shots and Edmonton blocked 24 of Utah’s attempts. The Mammoth were kept outside due to the Oilers structure, and they needed to get more pucks through to challenge Edmonton goaltender Tristan Jarry.

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“Just putting more pucks on net,” Kerfoot said. “Don’t even know about quality. We didn’t even really get many looks. Against a team like that, who kinds of allows you to have a little bit of possession on the outside, you have to break them down by shooting, recovering pucks, getting them out of structure. We allowed them to be in structure way too much.”

 “Your biggest enemy when you trail is you think you want to score, Tourigny said. “So, instead you keep your tank, your energy for to go on offense … you defend because you don’t have the same aggression, you don’t create a stop, you don’t create a hit where there’s a battle then you can recover the puck and go on offense. So, you end up spending all your energy defending instead (of spending) quick energy defensively, recovering pucks, and then you can go on the offense.”

Center Barrett Hayton was hurt on his first shift of the game and did not return. He played 0:17. Postgame, Tourigny said there will be more tests tomorrow and they will figure out “what’s the nature” of his injury.

Utah’s final game in a four-game homestand is on Thursday against the Washington Capitals. Tickets are available here!

Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)

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  • Tonight was Tourigny’s 400 NHL game as a head coach. He started his head coaching career with the Arizona Coyotes during the 2021-22 campaign, and this is his fifth season as a head coach. 154 of his 400 games have been with the Utah Mammoth franchise. 
  • Crouse scored his 20th of the campaign against the Oilers. He has reached the 20-goal mark four times in his last five seasons. He is currently fifth on the Mammoth with goals.
  • Karel Vejmelka played the first two periods before Vítek Vaněček took over for the third period. Vejmelka stopped 11 of the 15 shots he faced while Vaněček turned away all 10 shots he saw in the final frame.
  • The Mammoth did not take a single penalty in tonight’s game. Utah is 173-for-219 this season on the penalty kill (79.0%).
  • Utah has five skaters with 20 or more goals. They are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights for most in the NHL.

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How Big Was Jordan Clarkson’s Impact on Utah?

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How Big Was Jordan Clarkson’s Impact on Utah?


SALT LAKE CITY–Who knew that the number double zero would become so iconic in the state of Utah? Jordan Clarkson recently made his return home to Salt Lake City in a game against the Utah Jazz on March 11, 2026–His first time back at the Delta Center since being bought out by the team. 

“That’s a home for me,” Clarkson told the New York Post before his homecoming game at the Delta Center. “I loved the organization. I love the coaching staff. Yeah, I love the city. All I had was love there.”



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Utah mom accused of kidnapping autistic son’s 11-year-old bully until he apologized

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Utah mom accused of kidnapping autistic son’s 11-year-old bully until he apologized


A Utah mother allegedly kidnapped her autistic son’s bully and kept him at her home until he apologized — then threatened to have her husband beat him up.

Shannon Tufuga, 40, was slapped with kidnapping charges Monday after she rolled up on her son’s 11-year-old bully while he was riding his bike around his neighborhood in early September, according to charging documents obtained by KSL.com.

Tufuga was “driving around looking” specifically for the boy, whom she confronted and corralled into her car without his parents’ knowledge, the documents alleged.

Shannon Tufuga allegedly kidnapped her son’s bully and kept him at her home until he apologized — then threatened to have her husband beat him up. Facebook

She allegedly hightailed it back to her home in Provo, Utah, and kept the boy there until he apologized to her son.

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The boy readily apologized, but even then, the vengeful mom wouldn’t let up, according to the police report. She “threatened to have her husband beat up” the accused bully and sneered that he “was lucky she did not run over his bike,” the documents alleged.

Tufuga eventually drove the shell-shocked boy back to his home.

The alleged kidnapping caused the boy “serious emotional distress” over the following months, and he now suffers from “high anxiety and has had to alter his daily routines significantly,” according to the charging documents.


Tufuga was
Tufuga was “driving around looking” specifically for the boy, whom she confronted and corralled into her car without his parents’ knowledge, the documents alleged. Facebook

Tufuga was charged with child kidnapping and aggravated child abuse on Monday, both as second-degree felonies. The charges were lowered from first-degree felonies after the Utah County Attorney’s Office determined that a “reduction would be in the interests of justice.”

Tufuga’s son is on the autism spectrum, according to a post on her Facebook.

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