Cabrera and Happ help the Cubs beat the Angels 7-2 in series opener

CHICAGO (AP) — Edward Cabrera pitched six shutout innings, Ian Happ hit a solo homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Monday night.

Cabrera allowed one hit and walked one in his Chicago debut, delighting the crowd of 36,702 on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was acquired in a January trade with Miami.

Carson Kelly and Moisés Ballesteros each drove in two runs for the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series.

Yoán Moncada hit a two-run homer for the Angels in their third consecutive loss. Ryan Johnson (0-1) allowed six runs and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings in his first career start.

Angels star Mike Trout went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts after collecting six hits and walking seven times over the first four games of the season.

Johnson struggled with his control in the first, walking the bases loaded. Pete Crow-Armstrong reached on an 11-pitch walk ahead of Nico Hoerner's sacrifice fly. Kelly made it 3-0 with a two-out flyball that landed just out of the reach of a lunging Trout in shallow right-center for a two-run single.

The Cubs added three more in the third. Happ extended his homer streak to three games, and Ballesteros grounded a two-run single into right field.

Cabrera (1-0) struck out five while throwing 80 pitches, 49 for strikes. Colin Rea worked three innings for his first save of the season, striking out Moncada with two runners on for the final out.

Right-handers José Soriano and Jameson Taillon start on Tuesday night. Soriano (1-0) pitched six sparkling innings in the Angels' 3-0 win at Houston on opening day. Taillon will be making his season debut for the Cubs.

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Chicago Cubs' Moisés Ballesteros hits a two-run single against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning in a baseball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Johnson (32) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning in a baseball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ is greeted in the dugout after scoring against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner (2) is greeted at the dugout after scoring against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera (30) pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning in a baseball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Former Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, an ex-police commissioner who investigated the 1982 killings of more than a dozen political opponents that deeply scarred the South American country, has died. He was 67.

Santokhi, who was also known as "Chan,” led the country as president from 2020 to 2025, and previously served as minister of justice and police from 2005 to 2010.

Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons confirmed Santokhi’s death in a statement on social media, writing that “his years of service in various public functions will be remembered.”

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Rob Jetten, the prime minister of the Netherlands, wrote on X that he was “grieved and shocked by the sudden passing” of Santokhi: “As president, and in his other roles, he meant a great deal to Suriname. He also tirelessly worked to strengthen the ties between the Netherlands and Suriname.”

Suriname is a former Dutch colony.

Also mourning Santokhi's death was Caricom, a Caribbean trade bloc that saw him as chairman from July to December 2022: “The community has lost a dedicated regionalist.”

Irfaan Ali, president of neighboring Guyana, described Santokhi as a “man of quiet strength” who served his people and country “with dedication and conviction.”

“The region has lost a fine statesman, one who carried the mantle of leadership with grace and humility,” he wrote on X.

Santokhi took over a bankrupt Suriname from his predecessor, former dictator Desi Bouterse, and led the country to economic stability, partly supported by an International Monetary Fund program. However, austere measures implemented to comply with the program translated into big sacrifices for the Surinamese people, including the phasing out of fuel, water and electricity subsidies.

In February 2023, hundreds of demonstrators stormed Suriname’s Parliament to protest high fuel and electricity prices as they demanded Santokhi’s resignation.

Voters denied Santokhi a second term following the May 2025 general election.

Earlier, as minister of justice and police, Santokhi cracked down on drug trafficking and other crimes, earning him the nickname “The Sheriff.”

Before entering politics, Santokhi was a police commissioner, leading the investigation into the so-called “December killings,” in which 15 political opponents of the military regime led by Bouterse were shot and killed in December 1982.

Bouterse faced a criminal trial that began in 2007, a quarter-century after the killings took place. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted twice in the killings but remained a fugitive up until his death in late 2024.

Bouterse had accepted “political responsibility” for the killings but always denied he was present for them.

Even before the trial began, Bouterse accused Santokhi of wanting to imprison and kill him. The two were fierce political opponents.

Santokhi’s success as a police officer and later as a minister paved the way for him to claim the chairmanship of the Progressive Reform Party in 2011 following the resignation of then-chairman Ramdien Sardjoe.

FILE - Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi speaks during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 12, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)