Negros (island)

Negros (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈneɡros]) is an island of the Philippines located in the Visayas. It is the fourth largest island in the country, with a land area of 13,309.6 square kilometres (5,138.9 sq mi). Inhabitants of the island are called Negrenses (and less often Negrosanons), the name of the Filipino island means Blacks in the Spanish language

Geography

Politically and linguistically, Negros is divided into two provinces: Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, comprising the Negros Island Region. This division of the island, which roughly follows the mountain range in the center of the island, corresponds to the two ethno-linguistic groups. The western part (Occidental) is where the Ilonggo or Hiligaynon-speaking Negrenses are located, and the eastern portion (Oriental) is home to the Cebuano-speaking population, although other places in Negros Occidental majorly speak Cebuano, while other places in Negros Oriental speak Ilonggo as well. Together, they are all called as Negrenses.

Los Negros

Los Negros ("The Black Ones") was a criminal organization that was once the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel and after a switch of alliances, became the armed wing of the Sinaloa splinter gang, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. In 2010 it went independent and had been contesting the control of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. It was then the criminal paramilitary unit of Édgar Valdez Villarreal (a.k.a. "La Barbie") in Mexico. Valdez was arrested on August 30, 2010 near Mexico City. Los Negros was led by "La Barbie" an American from Laredo, Texas with blue eyes and blonde hair at the time they merged with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Background

The group was originally formed to counter Los Zetas gang and government security forces. Los Negros used to work with the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel but following Arturo Beltrán Leyva's death in December 2009 during a shootout with Mexican Marines, infighting broke out for the control of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. One faction was led by lieutenants Édgar Valdez Villarreal and Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez, while the other is led by the current cartel leader Héctor Beltrán Leyva and his 'enforcer' lieutenant, Sergio Villarreal Barragán. Los Negros then worked with Edgar Valdez Villarreal's organization until his arrest on August 30, 2010, then the gang collapsed.

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Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental (Filipino: Kanlurang Negros; Hiligaynon: Negros Nakatundan), also known as Occidental Negros or Western Negros is a province in the Philippines located in the Negros Island region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half. Across the Panay Gulf and the Guimaras Strait to the northwest is the island-province of Guimaras and the province of Iloilo on Panay Island. Known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", Negros Occidental produces more than half the nation's sugar output.

The primary spoken language is Hiligaynon (also known as Ilonggo) and the predominant religious denomination is Roman Catholicism. With a population of 3,100,651, it is the most populated province in the Negros Island Region, the second-most populous province in the Visayas after Cebu and the fifth most populous province of Philippines.

History

Negros Island was originally known to the natives as "Buglas". When the Spaniards arrived in April 1565, they named it "Negros" because of the dark-skinned natives they found. Two of the earliest native settlements were Binalbagan and Ilog which later became towns in 1572 and 1584, respectively. Other settlements were Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Bago, Marayo (now Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan) and Candaguit (a sitio in San Enrique).

Los Negros Island

Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus Island via a highway and bridge across the Lonui Passage, which separates Los Negros from the larger Manus Island.

History

Los Negros was formerly a Japanese base during World War II, and was heavily assaulted on February 29, 1944 by Allied forces, during the Battle of Los Negros which was the spearhead for the Admiralty Islands campaign.

After its capture by allied forces, Los Negros was developed over the spring and summer of 1944 into an important air and sea base that was used by allied forces until September 1945. Allied development included the creation of an advanced naval base at Seeadler Harbor, a seaplane base at Lombrum Point and an extended airfield to accommodate heavy aircraft built at Mokerang Plantation.

The Australian War Crimes Court held a series of trials of accused war criminals at Los Negros between June 1950 and April 1951.