Today’s Video: The Fernando Lugo cumbia

It was bound to happen.

Fresh off the rumors surrounding Roman-Catholic-bishop-turned-Paraguayan-president Fernando Lugo’s alleged peccadilloes, a local band decided to poke fun at the situation.

How’s the song? It’s a catchy cumbia with the opening lyrics saying “what a change in my country/ but it’s really just the changing of diapers”. In short, it’s so bad that it’s good.

(Hat tip: BoRev.net).

Online Sources- YouTube, BBC News, BoRev.net

Venezuela to return island to the U.S. (updated)

Update:

Apparently Gov. Corazine skipped appearing at the handover ceremony due to fears over being labeled as a "socialist." (Link via FP Passport).

Original Post:

The Venezuelan government will give back an island near Philadelphia that had been used as an oil storage facility.

Petty's Island – a 300-acre island in the Delaware River- will be transferred from Citgo to the government of New Jersey for use as a wildlife sanctuary. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the move at last week’s Summit of the Americas as a gesture in favor of environmental conservation.

In a news release issued on Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine welcomed Citgo’s decision:

"Earth Day is a fitting time to consummate the donation of this special place," Corzine said in the news release. "Petty's Island has become an important home to bald eagles, kestrels and a wide variety of waterfowl. We are opening a new chapter in the island's long history by restoring it and giving it back to nature and the people of New Jersey."

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection must certify that Citgo's cleanup of the island has met state standards before the title can be transferred, the news release said.

According to Corazine, Citgo pledged to create a $2 million fund for the Natural Lands Trust to manage the island which is home to endangered black-crowned night herons and a pair of bald eagles.

Image- New York Times (2005 photo of Petty's Island is with the Philadelphia skyline in the background).
Online Sources- FOX News, CNN, BBC News

College Board to Congress: Pass DREAM Act

"There are few things as fundamental to the American dream or as essential as a good education," said U.S. President Barack Obama earlier today while unveiling his latest plan to make higher education more affordable. The association best known for administering the SAT and AP exams hope that Obama and Congress will follow that advice.

In a report released this week, the College Board called on the government to pass the DREAM Act- a proposal that would permit undocumented students to legalize their immigration status. "Undocumented students in the United States are currently trapped in a legal paradox," said one of the study’s co-authors who observed that tens of thousands of students were unfairly falling through the cracks. The report also decried the recent push by several states to ban illegal immigrants from paying in-state tuition and even from enrolling in their public colleges.

The DREAM Act- which was re-introduced into Congress last month- provides very specific criteria for promising and bright young adults who aspire to continue learning or courageously serve their country in the military. Nevertheless, the bill has its detractors:

(...)Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the Dream Act allows illegal immigrants to take scholarship opportunities away from native U.S. residents. It's unfair, he said, to reward those who violated the law to get to this country.

"If you ask any illegal alien why they came to America, the answer, invariably is, 'Well, I wanted to do better for my family,' and this gives them precisely what they broke the law to achieve," Mehlman said.

The bill would allow students who illegally entered the U.S. when they were 15 or younger to apply for conditional legal resident status if they have lived in the country for five or more years and graduated from high school or received a GED. If they attended college or served in the military for two or more years, they could be granted citizenship.

Image- savingadvice.com
Online Sources- CNN, The Latin Americanist, College Board, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times

A New Reason To Panic

Move over Bird Flu, here comes Swine Flu. As if it were written by disaster movie writers in Hollywood, I woke up this morning with a new thing to fear in life. A few years back there was a panic over bird flu, and there was even a movie called "Bird Flu Disaster" at one point. The media flooded our homes with any instance of a death related, or closely related to bird flu and the world was in a panic.

Then the news about that dwindled and we moved onto food poison and random scrutiny over peanut allergies and things that seem to not have existed in my neighborhood growing up. They seemed to prevail in higher class neighborhoods, but that's neither here nor there.

The new nightmare that is growing, as of the 24th is Swine Flu. The World Health Organization (Oddly enough called WHO) stated that an outbreak of swing flu in the United States might be the end of the world! I mean, if Bird Flu was as bad as they said it was, and if African Bees were going to mop us up, surely 800 cases of Swine Flu and 60 deaths is cause enough for you to panic, right?

At first, I thought that this was just a very isolated incident. I mean, how many times did Bird Flu hit the West and take out thousands of people? Better yet, how many times have we heard of medical scares? I know in my city, there was a Measles scare, because more and more people are scared of getting vaccinated. However, this might be more than an isolated incident. This morning alone there are reports that people in 2 states have Swine Flu now, and some say 11 cases, others say 2, and you start to piece together the panic inducing media trying to pull together a way to cleverly convince you that you could be next!

So before you finish off your Pig Ear Tacos, or your Snout Burritos (my favorite) maybe you too should be concerned. I mean, there have been a dozen cases since 2005 and all of them were in farm workers with direct contact to pigs. This of course has one Country to blame, and that's what really ties up this story. The finger is squarely pointed at Mexico. So not only must we blame Mexico for our East Coast teens overdosing, we must now blame them for Swine Flu, at least that's the first Country to blame in all these news stories. I mean, surely the U.S doesn't have any questionable methods in raising, farming and slaughtering pigs.

Src - Reuters, The New York Times, AFP, CIDRAP, TNMT, Sarcasm

Evo Morales : No Regrets

This past Wednesday, Earth Day, I was supposed to attend a forum with the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales. He ended up not showing up, according to the advice of his doctors, we were told.

Earlier in the day however, President Morales was well enough to speak to CNN en Español to tell them that he had zero regrets about expelling a U.S. Ambassador last year.

I don't regret having expelled the ambassador, Mr. Goldberg," Morales said in an exclusive interview Wednesday with CNN en Español. "And now, with the events we are seeing and we are finding, it is confirmed that he was conspiring against the government, conspiring against the national territory. He is an expert in dividing countries, with external groups and in Bolivia."

Morales also expelled a lower-level U.S. diplomat last month, accusing him of contacting opposition groups.

Sources : Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo, CNN, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: April 24, 2009

* Europe: To some the image of Che Guevara is that of a revolutionary icon; to Polish equality minister Elzbieta Radziszewska his image may be whitewashed and banned.

* Latin America: Despite all the exaggerated criticism surrounding Barack Obama’s recent encounters with Hugo Chavez, the U.S. leader’s presence at the Summit of the Americas may’ve boosted his ratings on foreign policy.

* Peru: Lawyers for ex-President Alberto Fujimori filed an appeal to overturn his recent conviction for human rights abuses.

* Venezuela: The mystery behind the deaths of 21 Venezuelan polo ponies in Florida may’ve been solved.

Image- Time (1962 photo of Che Guevara)
Online Sources- The Telegraph, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, MSNBC, csmonitor.com

Today’s Video: Pistolera concert mañana!

Are you in the Big Apple and interested in attending a great live gig? Then head out Friday night to Joe’s Pub and catch “critically-acclaimed Latin folk-alternative group” Pistolera.

We’ve featured the group before and noted that their music tends to be politically-charged. “Cazador” is no exception as it pokes fun at anti-immigrant groups who patrol the U.S.-Mexico border:

Politics aside, Pistolera always puts on a great show. Please check them out either tomorrow or this summer at several concerts in the U.S. and Europe.

Online Sources- pistolera.net, Joe’s Pub, YouTube

Hackers infiltrate Salma Hayek’s e-mail

Mexican actress Salma Hayek may have her hands full after her hubby was briefly “boss-napped” in France and over her reported re-marrying ceremony to be held in Venice. Now it seems that hackers broke into her personal e-mail records.

As reported by Gawker today, messages of Hayek’s Mac-related e-mail address was “released by habitués of the online bulletin board 4chan (and) appear to be authentic.” Hayek apparently received messages about items including scans of articles from tabloids, iPhone apps, and an invitation to attend America Ferrera's 25th birthday party.

Why are we mentioning this? Not so much for the celebrity angle or to take a voyeuristic look into her life. Rather, a simple tip: don’t make your e-mail password so easy to guess.

Breaking into the account was a simple matter of knowing Hayek's birthday — September 2 — and guessing at her security word (they claim it was the name of her best known movie role) to reset the account's password.

Click here for some great tips on how to create a solid password. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to change the password to our e-mail address!

Image- Javno.hr
Online Sources- Reuters, Gawker, UPI, New York University, Gawker

The Handshake Distraction

All week I've been hit with people talking about the impact of one motion of humanity that has been scrutinized into near parody at this point. It started with right wing pundits getting scared about a book handed to Obama by Hugo Chávez. Right wing and more extreme non-partisan parties were up in arms over the written word. This is the first time I've heard people really squabble in the mainstream over a book, in my life time. Of course, that makes me really young, or really dumb for not referencing "Holy Blood Holy Grail" or "The Da Vinci Code" and the amount of paranoia surrounding those to similar books. However, not since Carter's book about the Middle East has people's interest in a "reading" spiked to epic proportions.

It wouldn't be epic if it were not for the fact that "Open Veins of Latin America" shove "Twilight" from the #2 spot on Amazon.com.

But that's not the focal point of this. I'm talking about the amount of press coverage that was given to the act of a hand shake. That's right, a simple gesture, frozen in time has created a rift in many different places because you now have to side on one of two sides.

The first side will have you backing Obama's decision to talk to Hugo Chavez, even though the meeting seemed obviously coming for some time. Or you're on the side that Obama is shaking hands with what could be the next big enemy for The U.S.

Honestly, by even writing this post, I feel that I'm starting to beat a dying horse. I'm throwing my two cents at this, but as I continue to think about it, I realize what many might have missed. By focusing on the singular activity that might have been a passing moment in time, I have distracted myself from other news stories from around Latin America and even in my home town of Seattle, Wa.

Take this in mind, that this handshake and the discussions that followed, are signs that a myopic view of news and culture will only help us ignore the world around us. Maybe this is the last time I'll visit this, I mean that is really just wishful thinking.

src - Abc News, Sun Sentinel, Idaho Mountain Express, Washington Post, Time, Fox News

Guilty verdict in Angie Zapata murder trial

A small measure of justice was enacted yesterday at the trial of a man accused of the senseless beating and murder of an 18-year-old transgendered Latina (image).

Allen Ray Andrade was convicted and sentenced to life without parole in the landmark hate crime murder case of Angie Zapata. Prosecutors were able to successfully argue that Andrade became enraged after finding out Zapata’s sexual orientation and plotted to kill her. His grisly plan came to fruition after he beat “it” (as he referred to Zapata) by repeatedly punching her and then assaulting her with a fire extinguisher.

Though the defense tried to argue that Zapata’s murder was not premeditated, it took the Colorado jury only two hours to punish Andrade for last July’s murder.

In her assessment of the Zapata case for VivirLatino, fellow contributor Maegan la Mala admonished Latino rights groups and the media for a perceived lack of coverage and outrage.

(…) where was the Latino media, both mainstream and not in covering Angie’s story? The Latino blogosphere and Latino orgs jump on stories when an immigrant is killed or attacked in a hate crime. Where were orgs like the NCLR and where are their statements? Are we as Latinos still so uncomfortable, still so transphobic that we can’t discuss, report, speak on cases like Angie’s? Was she not as much a part of the Latino community as Marcelo Lucero for example.

What do you think?

Image- denverpost.com
Online Sources- VivirLatino, The Latin Americanist, New York Times, ABC News

Bolivian Opposition Deny Involvement in Murder Plot

Guest contributor Lauren Conover looks at the latest development in the alleged plot to kill Evo Morales.

The opposition in Bolivia has come forward to declare that they were not involved in any way with the foiled attempt to assassinate the President, Evo Morales. Last week three people where shot by Bolivian police in Santa Cruz after they were suspected of trying to kill President Morales. "We deplore the tendentious attitude of government authorities in trying to link Santa Cruz leaders with these acts of violence," said Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas. He continued by saying that government's attempt to attribute the events to the opposition was merely a "show".

One of the men that was killed in the shootout was Irish. The Irish government has now become involved, sending an official from its embassy in Argentina to La Paz. The Irish Foreign Minister quoted as stating, ""The Irish government has a legitimate right to seek the facts of how one of its citizens came to be killed by the security forces of another state, particularly where prima facie evidence is sufficient to raise questions in relation to the description of events released by the Bolivian authorities."

Image- CNN
Online Sources- Reuters, BBC News, Time, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: April 23, 2009

* Paraguay: For the third time in two weeks Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo has been accused of fathering child during his period as a Roman Catholic priest.

* Mexico: The country’s military has been accused of human rights abuses while trying to combat rampant crime in Ciudad Juarez.

* Ecuador: One of the country’s leading pollsters said that President Rafael Correa is expected to easily win reelection on Sunday.

* Latin America: The region’s economy will drop by 1.5% this year said the International Monetary Fund.

Image- the Telegraph
Online Sources- Reuters, The Latin Americanist, BBC News

Today's Video: "El Chileno Vasconcellos" revisited

We've featured him before so why not do so again? Here's Chilean musician Joe Vasconcellos performing at the 2003 Viña del Mar Festival:

Online Sources- YouTube, The Latin Americanist

New Jersey officials want return of fugitive in Cuba

The possibility of normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba has had its supporters and detractors. (In the latest bit of news, Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's remarks on discussing “everything, everything, everything” with the U.S.). Some of the strongest backers hoping for a thawing in relations between the two states are prosecutors in New Jersey.

Joanne Chesimard was convicted over three decades ago for killing a New Jersey state trooper in a 1973 gunfight. She broke out of prison in 1979, changed her name to Assata Shakur, and fled to Cuba where she currently resides.

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced yesterday that she would seek Chesmiard’s extradition to the U.S.

David Wald, spokesman for the attorney general, said Milgram and State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes will write to Obama to request Chesimard's extradition.

"If the president is trying to establish a different relationship, this is something he needs to talk to them about," Wald said.

According to the AP, Fidel Castro “appeared to defend Shakur without naming her” by allegedly referring to her as a victim of "the fierce repression against the Black movement in the United States."

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- miamiherald.com, MSNBC, The Star-Ledger, The Latin Americanist

Argentine oceanic claim may ruffle British feathers

Great Britain and Argentina have not seen eye-to-eye over the Falklands Islands and the Antarctic. Their conflict could worsen after Argentine officials laid claim to a vast seabed area over the Atlantic Ocean.

The international Law of the Sea grants countries “certain rights” when it can demonstrate that its continental shelf extends beyond the established 200-mile limit. Argentina's 650,000 square mile claim handed to U.N. diplomats yesterday would be within the limit yet includes the British-occupied Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Argentine officials have stood by the claim and are anticipating the British response:

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said the documents were the culmination of 11 years of research and diplomatic effort to prove the size of Argentina´s sovereign territory.

He also said that if the United Kingdom wished to present its own claim to the continental platform around the disputed Falkland islands - or Malvinas islands, as they are known locally - Argentina would object formally.

In 1982, Britain and Argentina fought in the Falklands War which left over 900 soldiers dead.

Image- Marketplace (“Argentina's Falklands war veterans, and national and local authorities pay respects to the fallen” in 2007.)
Online Sources- BBC News, Wikipedia, abc.net.au, The Latin Americanist

Haiti, Joe Arpaio stories get Pulitzers

The 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism were announced earlier this week and a pair of stories concerning Haiti and immigration was recognized.

Despite begin laid off in January as part of staff cuts, former East Valley Tribune reporter Paul Giblin won a Pulitzer along with Ryan Gabrielson for covering controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Both reporters were praised for examining the pitfalls of Arpaio employing the much-derided 287(g) program which deputizes local police to serve as immigration agents:

In a five-part series titled ‘Reasonable Doubt,' Gabrielson and former Tribune reporter Paul Giblin examined how Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio focused on combating illegal immigration to the detriment of police protection, resulting in slow emergency response times and lax criminal enforcement.

The Pulitzer Prize committee praised Gabrielson and Giblin for "their adroit use of limited resources to reveal, in print and online, how a popular sheriff's focus on immigration enforcement endangered investigation of violent crime and other aspects of public safety."

Miami Herald photographer Patrick Farrell received a Pulitzer for Breaking News photography for his images of storm-ravaged Haiti. “It is exceptional documentary photography with a purpose” said Luis Rios- the Herald's director of photography. The above image proves Rios’ assertion.

Image- CBS4.com
Online Sources- CBS4.com, miamiherald.com, The Latin Americanist, TheMonitor.com

Daily Headlines: April 22, 2009

* Brazil: Soccer may be king in Brazil though that hasn’t stopped the Tampa Bay Rays from trying to make inroads there.

* Mexico: One of the country’s leading banks- Banorte- will start offering life insurance to immigrants living in the U.S.

* Paraguay: Health officials claim that a cholera outbreak occurred last month at an isolated indigenous reservation.

* Argentina: The latest edition of the superclasico between Boca Juniors and River Plate ended in a 1-1 tie.

Image- daylife.com (“Brazil's baseball team celebrates a run against Nicaragua during a Pan American Games baseball competition in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, July 15, 2007.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, MLB.com, LAHT, Goal.com

Today's Video: Funk and gas

Q: What do you get when you combine one of Brazil's best-known psychedelic rock bands and a major oil giant?

A: This set of 1960s-era commercials for Shell gasoline by Os Mutantes:

Online Source - YouTube

Manuel Rosales seeks political asylum

One of Venezuela’s main opposition leaders and a former presidential candidate has fled the country to seek asylum in Peru.

Maracaibo Mayor Manuel Rosales was supposed to appear in court to face corruption charges supposedly from his term as governor of Zulia. Yet Peru's foreign minister said that Rosales entered the country as a tourist and his Peruvian lawyer subsequently claimed that he has sought political asylum.

While Rosales fled to Peru, his allies denounced the charges brought against him; “we've decided, in a definite manner, that he won't present himself for a trial that's been converted into a political instrument," affirmed the head of president of Rosales' party.

According to Reuters, several other Venezuelan figures have previously sought and received asylum abroad. Pedro Carmona- Venezuela’s de facto president during the failed 2002 coup- was granted asylum in Colombia while ex-union leader Carlos Ortega and opposition governor Eduardo Lapi were each given asylum in Peru.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, Reuters, LAHT

Canadian, Colombian leaders praise Obama

The enduring image from last weekend’s Summit of the Americas was the encounters between the presidents of Venezuela and the U.S. Since returning from the summit, Barack Obama has received plenty of stick from right-wing commentators like Newt Gingrich and John Bolton.

Aside from the ranting of some talking heads, how did some of the region’s rightist leaders view Obama’s role at the summit? Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised his neighbor for creating a "new era of dialogue" for the western hemisphere. Harper also commended Obama for emphasizing cooperation among the countries of Americas while also acknowledging differing ideological perspectives.

Despite worries that Colombia’s President (and staunch Bush admin ally) Alvaro Uribe would be marginalized, Obama and Uribe were able to square away several key issues. Both leaders pledged to visit the other’s country and Obama said that he would ask Trade Representative Ron Kirk to work with Colombian officials on the stalled free trade deal. “What matters is what is to come, what we can advance, the future meetings, the full agenda," observed Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez.

If two of the region’s main right-wing presidents praised Obama for his work at the summit, then what does that say about some of the exaggerative criticism he has faced at home?

Image- Voice of America
Online Sources- FT.com, FOX News, The Latin Americanist, globeandmail.com, Caribbean Net News, Colombia Reports, People’s Daily Online, GlobalPost

Dole fights back in sterilization case

A case against fruit giant Dole took a sharp turn this week as the accused became the accuser.

Lawyers for Dole claimed that attorneys working for the plaintiffs illegally recruited clients to make fake claims against the company regarding a pesticide known as DBCP. The lawyers contended that a California-based lawyer and his Nicaraguan partner also accused them of falsifying documents and hiding evidence.

(There has been no reported response from the accused attorneys: Juan Dominguez and Antonio Hernandez Ordenana.)

Former laborers for Dole in several Central American countries said that exposure to DBCP while working on banana plantations led them to become sterile. Though DBCP is banned worldwide, the lawsuit claimed that the company continues to illicitly sell it in poor countries.

In 2007 a jury awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to five workers. Yet a judge later dismissed those damages after claiming that Dole couldn’t be monetarily punished for injuries in a foreign country.

Image- CBS News (“A former banana worker walks outside of the shack in front of Nicaragua's National Assembly in Managua, Wednesday, July 11, 2007.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, AP, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: April 21, 2009

* Argentina: Will ex-president (and current First Hubby) Nestor Kirchner soon launch his candidacy for Argentina’s Congress?

* Guatemala: The increasing threat of drive-by shootings has forced officials to ban motorcyclists from carrying passengers.

* Chile: Three ex-army officials including a retired general were indicted in the murders of fourteen people during the dictatorship of former strongman Augusto Pinochet.

* Mexico: Mexico’s Roman Catholic archdiocese warned that priests have been targeted by drug gangs after one archbishop claimed to know the whereabouts of one of the country’s most wanted drug capos.

Image- New Statesman
Online Sources- Reuters, AP, MSNBC, Bloomberg

Today’s Video: Shootout in Brazil

According to the caption accompanying the video, Brazilian ranchers and “landless activists” were involved in a shootout last weekend that somehow left no fatalities (albeit eight injured).

Video Not Safe for Work:

Online Sources- YouTube

Paraguay’s Lugo in another baby mama drama

Earlier this month, Roman-Catholic-bishop-turned-Paraguayan-president Fernando Lugo publicly confessed that he fathered a child while he was a priest. The affair rocked the country and caused his popularity to plummet.

Surely there is no way that situation could be worse, right? Wrong; Lugo was accused once more of putting his hand in the cookie jar (so to speak):

The 27-year-old woman making the latest demand says her six-year-old is the son of Mr. Lugo.

In a press conference, the woman said her relationship with the then Bishop Lugo had begun in 2001, when she had gone to him for help with trying to contact the father of her first child.

The woman, from a very poor background, said she had wanted help with getting financial support for her child.

She said Mr. Lugo had sent her money until the boy was two years old, but the money had stopped coming.

She also said he had asked her to keep quiet about the issue during last year's election campaign, which he went on to win.

This is getting more and more unusual, no?

Image- Javno.hr
Online Sources- Reuters, The Latin Americanist, BBC News,

Chavez-power vaults sales of another obscure book

Love him or hate him, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sure can sell a book. After gifting the leftist tome "The Open Veins of Latin America" (the Spanish version) to President Obama last week in Trinidad and Tobago, sales of the Eduardo Galeano book have soared, landing the previously unranked book #2 in sales for all books (all categories) on Amazon as of this morning.

Chavez notoriously launched the sales record for Noam Chomsky's decades-old "Hegemony or Survival" at a 2006 UN general assembly meeting, which landed the book atop the Amazon sales list for the following week (and earned the 81 year-old MIT professor a spate of national interviews, to boot).

Summarizing the Summit of the Americas

As the Summit of the Americas ends, a brief wrap up:

President Barack Obama urged nations to work together for peace and endorsed the United Nations.

He said the U.S. could learn a lesson from Cuba and send doctors elsewhere to help others. He also alluded to "steps we can take" to build a better relationships with Cuba, the only country not invited to the Summit after U.S. urging in the 1960s.

Obama also tried to counter some of the anti-American or "imperialist" sentiment exhibited in speeches.

"It's a reminder for us in the United States that if our only interaction with many of these countries is drug interdiction, if our only interaction is military, then we may not be developing the connections that can, over time, increase our influence," Obama said.

He also told the Summit that by admitting when its policies are wrong, the U.S can set a stronger moral standard.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega called Obama "president of an empire" and said he hoped Obama meant what he said about working together.

Bolivian leader Evo Morales remains unswayed in his distaste for America, saying he still sees "policies of conspiracy."

Finally, Obama is still receiving flack for grinning alongside Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the above picture.

Sources: Wash Post, Bloomberg, Seattle Times

Photo: AP via Seattle Times

Daily Headlines: April 20, 2009

* Dominican Republic: Have archeologists found the tomb of famed lovers Cleopatra and Mark Antony? Teams from Egypt and the Dominican Republic hope so.

* Haiti: The threat of violence may’ve been a major reason why there was low voter turnout in Haiti’s senatorial elections yesterday.

* Mexico: Eight officers were killed in a failed attempt to free a suspected drug gang leader being transferred by a convoy.

* Spain: Can anyone stop top ranked tennis superstar Rafael Nadal?

Image- CBC (“Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, displays part of a mask archaeologists believe may have been that of Mark Antony at the Temple of Taposiris Magna.”).
Online Sources- Xinhua, Times Online, MSNBC, AP