Daily Headlines: February 20, 2015

* Cuba: A new Gallup poll found that roughly three out of five Americans want the U.S. to normalize relations with Cuba and also end the decades-long trade embargo against the island.

* Mexico: The Mexican economy grew at its fastest rate in two years according to new data revealed by the country’s the national statistics institute.

* Dominican Republic: Convicted Dominican drug trafficker Quirino Ernesto Paulino claimed that he donated about $4.6 million in cash to ex-president Leonel Fernandez.

* Chile: A Chilean judge dismissed the case against a Catholic priest who had facilitated the illegal adoptions of at least two babies during the Pinochet military regime.

Video Source – YouTube via Council on Foreign Relations
 
Online Sources – Reuters; Gallup; The Guardian; Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: February 19, 2015

* Argentina: Hundreds of thousands of Argentines participated in a “March of Silence” demanding justice in the investigation into the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman last month.

* Uruguay: Despite backing the resettlement of six former Guantanamo detainees in Uruguay, President Jose Mujica was critical of their alleged lack of work ethic.

* U.S.: The February 10th shooting death of an unarmed undocumented migrant by police in Pasco, Washington has reportedly “galvanized” the small city’s Latino community.

* Bolivia: The Bolivian government provided details of its planned nuclear energy program and that includes “employing gamma irradiation with Cobalt-60 to improve seed quality and decrease the rate at which food spoils.”

Video Source – YouTube user BBC News

Online Sources – The Latin Americanist; ABC News; Fox News Latino; Reuters; The Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: February 18, 2015

* Central America: Officials from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador expressed their disappointment with a U.S. judge’s order this week to temporarily suspend planned relief for millions of undocumented migrants.

* Cuba: The State Department confirmed that the second round of diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Cuba will take place on February 27th in Washington, D.C.

* Mexico: Pemex will not ship finished gasoline or diesel through the company’s vast network of pipelines in order to prevent fuel from being stolen.

* Argentina: France’s top appeals court blocked Argentina’s extradition request for a former police officer accused of torture, kidnappings and murder during the “Dirty War” era.

Video Source – YouTube user Bloomberg Business

Online Sources – World Bulletin; RFI; CBC News; Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: February 17, 2015

* Latin America: Victims of child abuse from several countries in the Americas including Argentina, Mexico and Peru and urged Pope Francis to take stronger actions against clergy suspected of abuse.

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner vowed that she will “endure” despite the pressure against her stemming from the death of special prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

* Venezuela: Organization of American States chief Jose Miguel Insulza suggested liberating imprisoned opposition activists Leopoldo Lopez and Maria Corina Machado in order to help overcome Venezuela’s political crisis.

* Haiti: At least twenty people have died after a freak electrocution accident during Carnival celebrations in Port-au-Prince.

Video Source – YouTube user euronews (Video uploaded in 2013).
 
Online Sources – USA TODAY; The Latin Americanist; MercoPress GlobalPost; Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: February 15, 2014

* Cuba: Nearly three out of four Latinos back the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba while a 43% plurality are opposed to the trade embargo according to a new poll.

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales reaffirmed Bolivia's claim to access to the sea that was lost to Chile nearly 150 years ago.

* Nicaragua: "We are all dying from it, it’s a total epidemic," said one of the thousands of sugarcane harvesters diagnosed with the same chronic kidney disease that has claimed at least 20,000 lives in Nicaragua over the past two decades.

* Latin America: Moscow: Russian defense officials claimed that there are no plans to establish military bases in Latin America but Moscow is considering potentially creating "resupply and technical support points" in parts of the region.

Online Sources -South Florida Sun-Sentinel; The Guardian; teleSUR English; Zee News