Daily Headlines: May 5, 2015

* South America: Chilean representatives requested the International Court of Justice to dismiss landlocked Bolivia’s long-standing claims of access to the Pacific Ocean.

* Mexico: The U.S. and Canadian embassies in Mexico issued travel warnings for tourists visiting a Jalisco state that has been the setting for a recent uptick in violent drug-related crime.

* Cuba: Alan Gross, the former contractor who spent over three years in a Cuban jail, will lobby for a new political action committee seeking stronger ties between the U.S. and the Caribbean nation.

* Brazil: Brazil will likely fall into a deeper recession and also raise interest rates according to financial analysts reporting to the Central Bank.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – Bloomberg, CBC News, MercoPress, Voice of America

Alan Gross Freed Amid Historic U.S.-Cuba Rapprochement

Cuban authorities freed imprisoned U.S. subcontractor Alan Gross on a day when the leaders of both countries vowed to improve bilateral relations.
 

The sixty-five-year old was released on humanitarian grounds as part of a prisoner exchange that also included an unnamed U.S. intel agent. Three convicted Cuban spies were let out of prison as part of a purported deal between the U.S. and Cuba. 

Gross was detained in 2009 on charges of spying and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. His detention served as one of the main points of diplomatic tension in recent years between Washington and Havana. 

"What a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country," exclaimed a relieved Gross in a press conference from Andres Air Force Base.

"Today is the first day of Hanukkah, and so far it's the best Hanukkah that I’ll be celebrating for a long time," added Gross who also thanked all those who helped secure his release.
 
Cuban-American Senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio heavily criticized the prisoner swap as well as the Obama administration's push to reestablish diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba.  For Gross, however, the White House's actions were the correct actions to take:

Daily Headlines: August 11, 2014

* Cuba: A letter from 300 U.S. rabbis sent to President Barack Obama last week urged the White House to push more strongly for the “immediate release” of U.S. government subcontractor Alan Gross from a Cuban prison.

* Argentina: Judge Thomas Griesa, the U.S. magistrate overseeing the legal tug-of-war between the Argentine government and holdout creditors, threatened the South American country’s representatives with contempt of court.
 
* Brazil: A poll conducted roughly ten weeks before Brazil’s presidential election found that incumbent Dilma Rousseff’s strong lead over her rivals remains unchanged and she would win a possible run-off over her closest opponents.

* Bolivia: Researchers concluded that a recently discovered yellow bat in Bolivia is its own species and will receive the scientific name of Myotis midastactus.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube (“Former U.S. Agency for International Development subcontractor Alan Gross has said goodbye to his family after being held in Cuban prison for the past five years.”)

Online Sources – ABC News; Bloomberg; CNN; National Geographic; The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: June 27, 2014

* Venezuela: A group of university students have sewn their mouths shut as part of a hunger strike since June 20th to protest the detention of over 100 students involved in anti-government protests.

* Cuba: The wife of U.S. contractor Alan Gross claimed that his health is rapidly deteriorating and that he is losing faith of being released from a Cuban prison.

* Ecuador: Ecuador's Constitutional Court has forty-five days to decide how to go forward with a series of reforms that could allow for the indefinite reelection of President Rafael Correa.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla proposed a plan to restructure about $22 billion in debt owed by public entities on the cash-strapped commonwealth.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube

Online Sources – El Universal; CNN; ABC News; The New York Times

Daily Headlines: June 3, 2014

* Mexico: Representatives of numerous Latin American governments including Mexico’s foreign secretary praised King Juan Carlos I of Spain who announced yesterday that he will abdicated his throne.

* Cuba: Could the exchange of a U.S. soldier held captive in Afghanistan for five Guantanamo detainees serve as a precedent for a possible swap of a U.S. civilian jailed in Havana for three imprisoned Cuban spies?

* Peru: Peru’s government postponed a planned coca eradication program that would’ve been partially funded by the U.S.

* Brazil: The Foreign Minister of Brazil rejected U.S. intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden’s claims that he has formally sought asylum in the South American country.

Video Source – Associated Press via YouTube

Online Sources – USA TODAY; Time.com; LAHT; ABC News; Xinhua

Daily Headlines: May 6, 2014

* Cuba: A delegation of four U.S. legislators visited Cuba and called on the Castro regime and U.S. President Barack Obama to “make a serious commitment to engage in negotiations” for the liberation of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

* Mexico: In his latest full-page advertisement in Mexican newspapers, acclaimed film director Alfonso Cuarón called for public debates in order to discuss a major energy reform proposal supported by President Enrique Peña Nieto.

* Latin America: Former U.S Secretary of State George Schultz, British deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and five Nobel-prize winning economists became the latest prominent voices to speak out against the “war on drugs.”

* Brazil: Brazil’s main stock index rose to its highest point in nearly five months yesterday after polls showed that President Dilma Rousseff’s odds of winning reelection in the first round have decreased.

Video Source – YouTube user JewishNewsOne (Alan Gross, a U.S. contractor serving a fifteen-year prison sentence in Cuba following a 2011 conviction, went one a seven-day hunger strike last month).

Online Sources – GlobalPost; NBC News; Reuters; Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: April 10, 2014

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro and opposition figures are expected to meet today in live televised discussions that could help quell some of the political unrest that has claimed 39 lives over the past two months.
 
* South America: Three of Argentina’s five main labor unions are planning a major strike on Thursday while several thousand people in Sao Paulo marched on Wednesday calling for workplace reforms.
 
* Cuba: Cuban officials are reportedly “concerned” over the hunger strike undertaken by Alan Gross, a U.S. government subcontractor imprisoned in Havana since 2010.
 
* Latin America: According to the World Bank, economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to slow down this year to approximately 2.3%.
  
Video Source– euronews via YouTube

Online Sources – Miami Herald; Tico Times; BusinessWeek; LAHT; GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: January 16, 2014

* Guatemala: Vice President Roxana Baldetti was released from a medical clinic after a powder that may have been lime was thrown on her following the president's state of the nation speech.

* Cuba: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on the Vatican to help push for the release of Alan Gross, a contractor imprisoned in Cuba since 2009.

* Mexico: Most “self-defense” groups in Michoacán state have strongly refused the government’s call to lay down their arms and allow an influx of federal troops to combat drug traffickers.

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro declared that the Venezuelan currency would not be devaluated despite high inflation and shortages of some consumer goods.

Video Source – YouTube user CadenaTres
 
Online Sources- Fox News Latino; Reuters; BBC News

Daily Headlines: December 3, 2013

* Venezuela: For the second time in the last three months a major blackout affected most of Venezuela including major cities like Caracas where people had to be evacuated from stores and offices.

* Cuba: The U.S. State Department called on the Cuban authorities to free Alan Gross, a former U.S. government contractor Alan Gross detained on this date for years ago and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. 

* Haiti: Bahamian officials are expected today to return the 111 Haitian migrants who survived a deadly ship accident last week that killed thirty of their compatriots.

* Mexico: Miguel Herrera was permanently hired as coach of the Mexican men’s national soccer team after he helped guide El Tri to qualify for next year’s World Cup.

Video Source – YouTube via Univision Noticias

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist; BBC News; Voice of America; Goal.com; Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: August 19, 2013

* Brazil: The Brazilian government criticized as “unjustifiable” the nine-hour detention in Britain of the partner of a journalist who received leaks from ex-U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

* Latin America: The Venezuelan opposition criticized a legislator who used a homophobic slur against ex-presidential candidate Henrique Capriles while human rights groups denounced dozens of recent attacks against gays in Haiti.

* U.S.: According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the number of “credible fear” asylum requests from migrants along the southwest border with Mexico has more than doubled over the past three years.

* Cuba: The attorney for Alan Gross, a U.S. contractor jailed in Cuba after bringing banned communications equipment to the island, said that his client recently received his first visit by U.S. doctors.

Video Source – YouTube via user BBCWorldNews225
 
Online Sources- Defend Haiti; Fox News Latino; Reuters; CNN

Daily Headlines: February 21, 2013

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales helped kick off the U.N.’s Year of Quinoa and praised the grain’s nutritional properties though the popularity of the food may be hurting Bolivian farmers.

* U.S.: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected applying retroactively a 2010 ruling that obligates lawyers to tell immigrant clients that they can be deported if they plead guilty to certain crimes.

* Cuba: A group of U.S. legislators returned to the U.S. from Cuba but not before having separate meetings with President Raul Castro and imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

* Puerto Rico: In a 5-4 decision, Puerto Rico’s top court upheld a law banning gay couples from adopting as well as barring “second-parent adoptions.”

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish (Video uploaded in December 2012).

Online Sources- VOXXI, ABC News, Voice of America, New York Times

Daily Headlines: February 19, 2013

* Cuba: A group of seven U.S. congressmen arrived in Cuba yesterday in order to lobby on behalf of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross who has been behind bars for about three years.

* Caribbean: Representatives of the Caribbean Community trading bloc urged U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to push for greater arms control.
 
* U.S.: The Tea Party Express is reportedly planning a Latino outreach campaign aimed at improving the political group’s image within the Hispanic community.

* Bolivia: Spain’s foreign minister warned that diplomatic relations with Bolivia could be hurt after President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of the Andean country’s airports operator.

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- Reuters, The Guardian, Miami Herald, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: December 6, 2012

* Cuba: The Cuban foreign ministry rejected U.S. government allegations over the deteriorating health of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

* Latin America: Is Syrian President Bashar Assad planning on seeking political asylum in Latin America?

* Guatemala: Wanted software company founder John McAfee was arrested in Guatemala and could be deported to Belize.

* Haiti: The Haitian government introduced a comprehensive plan to overhaul the country’s adoption system.

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- UPI, Huffington Post, CBS News, CNN

Daily Headlines: December 4, 2012 (Updated)

* Honduras: At least 149 people were murdered by Honduras’ National Police over the past 23 months according to a report presented yesterday.

Update: Police spokesman Héctor Iván Mejía criticized the report as inaccurately "generalizing" the police as "criminals".  But in his remarks to the website of Honduran daily La Tribuna, Mejía did not touch on the data presented in the report blaming the police for 149 murders in nearly two years.   

* Cuba: The U.S. State Department urged Cuban officials to release ill, imprisoned contractor Alan Gross and “return him to his family where he belongs.”

* Mexico: Doctors in Mexico confirmed that retired Colombian soccer goalkeeper Miguel Calero is brain dead and on life support machines.

Update: Miguel Calero was declared clinically dead by doctors overseeing him according to a statement from Mexican soccer club Pachuca.  The forty-one-year-old Calero appeared in fifty games for the Colombian national team, and won three CONCACAF Champions Cup and a Copa Sudamericana in his eleven years as Pachuca goalkeeper. 

* U.S.: Two suspected Mexican drug smugglers were accused of killing a U.S. Coast Guard officer on California's seas.

Video Source – YouTube via user Vox Populi (Honduran police officers were accused of abuse while trying to break up a teachers’ occupation of a Tegucigalpa school in 2010).

Online Sources including Updates - CNN, The Huffington Post, ESPN Soccernet, Fox News Latino, LaTribuna.hn, RCN Radio

Daily Headlines: November 28, 2012

* Mexico: A report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded that Mexico’s economy growth is expected to diminish by 0.5% to 3.3% next year but will then rebound in 2014.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez, who has been largely out of the public spotlight since winning reelection nearly two months ago, traveled to Cuba to seek medical treatment related to his cancer.

* U.S.: A new study found that Latinos lag behind other racial groups in the use of technology such as the Internet and cell phones.

* Cuba: Cuban government officials claimed that imprisoned U.S. contactor Alan Gross does not have a cancerous tumor and that his “general health condition…is normal.”

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English (Video uploaded in February 2012).
 
Online Sources- Reuters, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Fox News Latino, ABC News

Daily Headlines: November 12, 2012

* Guatemala: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook off the Guatemalan coast days after a stronger tremor killed at least fifty-two people and was felt as far away as Mexico City.
 
* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa officially launched his bid for reelection during a rally with thousands of his supporters in Quito.

* Cuba: Five hundred rabbis from around the world wrote a letter to Cuban president Raul Castro urging the release of imprisoned U.S. contractor Alan Gross on “humanitarian grounds.”

* Paraguay: Suspected Bolivian drug capo Marco Antonio Rocca Ali was nabbed by Paraguayan authorities along with over 3700 pounds of cocaine.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- USA TODAY, Reuters, AFP, ABC News

Daily Headlines: October 2, 2012

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he would undergo surgery on Wednesday in order to treat a “non-aggressive prostate cancer.”
 
* Caribbean: A “Border of Lights” commemoration will be held in the Dominican Republic this week in memory of the thousands of Haitians killed in the "parsley massacre" seventy-five years ago.
 
* Mexico: Remittances to Mexico fell by 11.6% in August according to new central bank figures.

* Cuba: A lawyer for Alan Gross claimed that the imprisoned contractor might have a “potentially life-threatening” cancerous growth on his shoulder.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- Reuters, NPR, LAHT

Daily Headlines: September 27, 2012

* Colombia: A Colombian anti-landmine campaign group concluded that over ten thousand people in the South American country have been either injured or killed due to landmines.

* Peru: Coca production in Peru increased for the sixth consecutive year despite government efforts to promote alternative cash crops according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

* Mexico: The Mexican navy announced the capture of Ivan Velazquez Caballero, one of the suspected co-leaders of the notorious Zetas drug gang. 

* Cuba: A bipartisan group of forty-four U.S. senators sent a letter to Cuban President Raul Castro calling for the release of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

Video Source – YouTube via user unmineaction
 
Online Sources- Fox News Latino, BBC News, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 13, 2012

* Peru: On the twentieth anniversary of the capture of Shining Path founder Abimael Guzman, President Ollanta Humala said that he will not negotiate with the guerillas.

* Cuba: Cuban officials said that they would be willing to talk with the U.S. government over possibly releasing imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

* Latin America: Latin American governments condemned the violent attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya that left four people including Ambassador Christopher Stevens dead.

* El Salvador: Ex-senior Salvadoran military officer Inocente Orlando Montano pled guilty in the U.S. to immigration fraud and could be extradited to Spain over his alleged role in the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- NPR, RTT, Reuters, infosurhoy.com, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: June 14, 2012

* Peru: Authorities released the mayor of Espinar, Oscar Mollohuanca, who was jailed after being accused of inciting anti-mining riots two weeks ago.

* South America: Bolivian President Evo Morales said that a 108-year old territorial treaty with neighboring Chile is “dead because Chile has failed.”

* Mexico: The U.S. State Department issued a warning regarding traveling to Mexico due to the recent arrests of several people linked to the Zetas drug gang.

* Cuba: A lawyer for U.S. contractor Alan Gross claimed that his client’s health has greatly deteriorated in the two years he has been imprisoned in Cuba.

Video Source – YouTube via telesurenglish (The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in Espinar last month after two people were killed during anti-mining protests.)

Online Sources- CBS News, ABC News, Bernama, BBC News