Daily Headlines: March 18, 2009

* Cuba: Cuban human rights group Ladies in White held a prayer meeting in Havana to protest the detention of dozens of journalists and dissidents.

* El Salvador: President-elect Mauricio Funes said that it “would be a priority” for El Salvador to strengthen economic and political links with the U.S.

* Venezuela: The country’s crude oil reserves increased to 172 billion barrels; thus placing Venezuela in the world’s top three.

* Panama: The country has become a prime meeting area for Mexican and Colombian drug cartels according to Panama’s chief counternarcotics prosecutor.

Image- AP (“Relatives of jailed dissidents, members of the group called "Ladies in White," pray during a meeting in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2009.”)
Online Sources- LAHT, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Al Jazeera English, MSNBC