Daily Headlines: August 19, 2015 (Updated)

* El Salvador: At least 28 people died during a violent 24-hour span in El Salvador according to data from the Attorney General’s office.

* Colombia: Representatives of Colombia’s FARC rebels once again expressed their willingness to meet with Pope Francis during his trip to Cuba in September.

Update: Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedettini on Wednesday said that the pope doesn't have any plans to meet with FARC envoys next month.

* Latin America: The capitals of Argentina and Chile – Buenos Aires and Santiago – were named by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the best Latin American cities to live in.

* Brazil: Former Petrobras executive Nestor Cervero was sentenced to twelve years in prison in relation to one of the corruption scandals that has hurt President Dilma Rousseff’s administration.

YouTube Source – Al Jazeera English

Online Sources including Update – Catholic News Service, CNN, Latin American Herald Tribune, The Guardian, Colombia Reports

Daily Headlines: July 5, 2013

* Brazil: A Brazilian judge placed under house arrest Rayfran das Neves Sales, the convicted murderer of U.S. nun and environmental activist Dorothy Stang, after serving only eight years in prison.

* Bolivia: “This was an open provocation toward a continent, not just a president,” declared Bolivian President Evo Morales regarding the forced diversion of his presidential plane in Europe this week.
    
* Ecuador: A British security firm denied allegations that they bugged the Ecuadorian embassy in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been residing in.

* Argentina: Buenos Aires, Argentina beat out Medellin, Colombia and Glasgow, Scotland to win the chance to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Video Source – YouTube via user sisterdorothy (Trailer for a documentary on murdered U.S. nun and environmental activist Dorothy Stang).
 
Online Sources- France24; The Latin Americanist; Reuters; Al Jazeera English; SI.com

Daily Headlines: April 5, 2013

* Brazil: Two of the three men suspected of killing Brazilian environmental activist couple Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espiritu Santo in 2011 were convicted and sentenced to over forty years in prison.

* Argentina: The death toll caused by a powerful, once-in-a-century storm that hit Buenos Aires province this week increased to at least 57 fatalities.

* U.S.: Immigration officials extended for an extra eighteen months Temporary Protected Status benefits for eligible Honduran and Nicaraguan expats.

* Venezuela: According to new data from OPEC, Venezuela’s oil output has gradually decreased in recent months despite contradicting information from the government.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- El Universal, Hispanically Speaking News, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Businessweek

Stormy Weather Kills Dozens in Argentina

At least forty-six people have reportedly died after a quick and powerful storm led to flash flooding in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“Now we are facing the worst part of the situation,” said Buenos Aires Provincial Governor Daniel Scioli after approximately a foot of rain fell in only three hours.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.  It’s unprecedented”, added Scioli who warned that the death toll would likely rise as more corpses are found from the gradually receding waters.

Some 2,500 people have been evacuated from their homes while about 290,000 residences are without electricity.   Meanwhile, hundreds of people in La Plata are trapped in houses, businesses and train stations as they desperately wait to be rescued.

“I’m stuck in my car since six o’clock Tuesday night with a ten-month-old baby.  We’re flooded, the batter is dead, there’s no light and nobody is coming to help,” said Vanesa Silleti according to Clarin.com.

The storm, which Buenos Aires official claim was the heaviest April rainfall in a century, flooded the city’s oil refinery.  Firefighters took about nine hours to put out a blaze at the facility, which was caused by said "an extraordinary accumulation of rainwater and power outages in the entire refinery complex."

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner visited several flood-ravaged zones on Wednesday where she tried to provide support by explaining how her house was flooded when she was a child. 

Residents in the La Plata neighborhood of Tolosa cheered and jeered the president who tried to comfort them.

“You’re the only one who has come to help us!” exclaimed one person while another replied, “My wife is dead but yours was saved!”

Local meteorologists warned that the flooded areas could be affected by strong yet isolated thunderstorms that could occur later this week.

Weekend Headlines: March 11, 2012

* Brazil: A report in the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper today claimed that federal prosecutors are looking into over 150 cases of disappeared people during a twenty-year period of military rule.

* Argentina: Buenos Aires officials announced that Tuesday would be the reopening of a street that had been closed after a nightclub fire in 2004 but near the site of a rail accident last month.

* Venezuela: According to intelligence cables unearthed by Wikileaks, senior Venezuelan military officials urged the extradition of suspected drug trafficker Walid Makled to neighboring Colombia instead of the U.S.

* Mexico: Could there be a link between 167 decomposed bodies recently found in a southern Mexican cave and Guatemala’s civil war?

Video Source – YouTube via gaires

Online Sources- Boston.com, Buenos Aires Herald, The Latin Americanist, Miami Herald, MSNBC

Today’s Video: One Street, Two Tragedies

We'll be back over the weekend to look at several news stories from the Americas that took place over the past week.

One of the biggest headlines from the past few days was the train crash in Buenos Aires on Wednesday that killed fifty-one people and injured over 670.

In December 2004 another tragedy took place near the site of Wednesday's accident: the fire at the República Cromañón nightclub. A portion of the Bartolomé Mitre Street was subsequently closed after a makeshift memorial was built in honor of the 194 concertgoers who died in the Cromañón blaze. Yet it was claimed in a few Argentine press articles that closing the one-block stretch impeded the quick access of rescuers and emergency services to the Once train station.

In the aftermath of the accident Buenos Aires authorities announced that they would reopen the closed part of Mitre Street to traffic and relocate the memorial. Some relatives of the victims of the Cromañón fire were not pleased with the decision such as one who asked the local press "Why don't they show some respect and search for those still missing in the crash?"

On Friday afternoon local officials and some of the victims' families of the Cromañón fire reportedly reached a compromise. The temporary monument would remain undisturbed while a new parallel road would be created that would allow for vehicular traffic.

Is the creation of the new road next to Mitre Street a fair and just resolution or a problematic solution? We'll let you judge for yourselves with the help of the following video from Argentina's Noticias C5N:

Video Source - YouTube via c5n

Online Sources - BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Buenos Aires Herald, Todo Noticias, La Razon, Diario Panorama

Fifty dead, scores injured in Argentina train crash (Updated)

At least forty-nine people are dead and approximately six hundred are injured after a train derailed during the morning rush hour in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province:

Police spokesman Fernando Sostre told the local press that the train from the neighborhood of Moreno crashed into a platform at the Once train station at approximately 8:30 AM. Moreno added that the collision “caused all the inertia and energy to impact the first eight railcars with the greatest impact hitting between the first and second cars.”

Eyewitnesses reportedly told the local press that first car, reserved for passengers who use bicycles, was a “tangled mess of steel and glass” as a result of the accident. “There were a lot of people hurt, a lot of kids, elderly,” said one person to Reuters.

According to Transport Minister Juan Pablo Schiavi the accident occurred when the train’s brakes failed as it approached the station and the convoy crashed through the buffers at the end of the line. Nonetheless, Schiavi noted that “everything was filmed” by closed circuit cameras at the station and this will “facilitate the investigation” into the crash.

The train involved in today’s crash was allegedly imported to Argentina forty or fifty years ago and was not properly maintained according to local labor leaders. “We have been denouncing for many years the (poor) state of the rolling stock,” said Rubén Sobrero with regards to the supposedly outdated and poorly maintained equipment in the Argentine rail system.

Over the past year there have been a handful of train crashes and derailments that have killed at least thirty people and left hundreds injured. This year alone two people died in reportedly overcrowded trains though it's unknown if the train involved in this morning's crash held more passengers than it's intended to carry.

Until today the deadliest accident from the past twelve months happened last September when eleven people died in a collision at a train crossing in the Buenos Aires suburb of Flores.

Update: The death toll from Wednesday's train accident has increased to fifty and their are officially 676 people injured.

"There are amputees and people who have had cardiorespiratory arrests. Everything you can imagine from a situation like this," said Alberto Crescenti, the president of Argentina's emergency care system.

According to the EFE news agency, the eight-car train that crashed held approximately 1200 passengers and traveled at about thirteen miles per hour when it entered the station. Furthermore, "hundreds of passangers traveled standing up and near the train's doors" in order to quickly jump off the train and onto the platform of the very busy Once station.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner cancelled several official events including one that was reportedly going to address Argentina's claims to the Falklands Islands. She also declared Thursday and Friday as dual days of mourning.

In the aftermath of the accident, the Kirchner administration has come under fire by opposition politicians including legislators who called for the prompt resignation of Transport Minister Juan Pablo Schiavi.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources (including Update) – La Nacion, El Universal, BBC News, El Tiempo, 20minutos.es, Clarin, GlobalPost, El Pais, Diario ABC Color, lanacion.com, Cadena 3

Argentine rockers convicted in nightclub blaze

An Argentine appeals court convicted a local rock band in the infamous “Caso Cromañón” (“Cromañón case.”)

In their decision handed down today, the Criminal Appeals Court found the members of Los Callejeros “criminally responsible” for the deadly 2004 nightclub fire that killed 194 people. All six men were also found guilty of negligence and face sentences of five to eleven years of prison.

The tribunal thus reversed a 2009 verdict that initially absolved the band members and placed the main verdict of guilt on the owner of the Cromañón nightclub, Omar Chaban. Chaban, who originally faced twenty years in prison, could be behind bars for as much as eleven years after the court reduced his charge to negligence.

Other figures, including the group’s current manager and several former local officials, also had their sentences reduced. A separate tribunal will soon decide the definitive sentences for all the defendants.

Tensions were high at the courtroom as police officers clashed with soon of the relatives of the deceased who were barred from entering the main courtroom. Their pain was worsened by the ruling that some of them viewed as “incomplete justice” while others criticized the court’s decision to remove a massive makeshift memorial built in memory of the victims.

Most of the dead from the 2004 blaze were teens and young concertgoers though the tragedy could’ve been averted. According to a Spanish-language article from the AP:

According to eyewitnesses the fire in the nightclub occurred after a flare was lit and hit the ceiling.

Most of the young concertgoers died asphyxiated and trapped while trying to flee the packed disco which had its emergency exit closed shut. Los Callejeros were in charge of security and the entry of concert attendees.

The nightclub was allowed to be open and functional despite not complying with safety regulations. The uproar over the incident cost then-Buenos Aires mayor Aníbal Ibarra to lose his post.

Image- AFP via BBC News (Nearly 200 people died in the República Cromañón nightclub fire in December 2004.)
Online Sources- Buenos Aires Herald, eldiario24.com, Clarin.com, La Nacion, El Nuevo Herald

Latin American Cities vs. The World

Foreign Policy Magazine loves rankings, and so do I. They also love big, gorgeous photographs, and have some great ones in their new list of the world's top cities. So without further ado, check out the Latin American cities from "Metropolis Now" ranking.

• #22, Buenos Aires: Sandwiched between Shanghai and Stockholm, the Argentine capital is noted for progressive politics and "longstanding cultural affinity with Europe."
• #30, Mexico City: El D.F., apparently not nearly as smoggy, though still sinking.
• #33, Miami: I (and TIME magazine in 1993) call it "the capital of Latin America" - 67.9% of the people in Miami-Dade County speak a language other than English at home and 57% identify themselves at Latin@. Plus it's the hub for business and entertainment across Latin America.
• #35, Sao Paulo: The most helicopters per capita of any city in the world. What more do you need to know?
• #49, Rio de Janeiro: Some of the World Cup in 2014, the Olympics in 2016. The jewel of Brazil and skimpy bathing suit aficionados the world over.
• #54, Bogota: Colombia's bustling capital and model of the "new Colombia" was reminded of the horrors of the not-too-distant past with last week's bombing outside the Caracol Radio offices.
• #55, Caracas: Could it be any coincidence it's one spot behind Colombia's capital?

Running through the list it's easy to note the rise of Asian cities to global prominence. Being pragmatic, the only city in the region I think that has a legitimate gripe about being left off the list is Santiago - the home of the vibrant Chilean economy and a growing hub for entrepreneurship.

Please chime in if you feel anybody else got snubbed.

Image Source: Foreign Policy ("

Known to some visitors as the "Paris of the South," Buenos Aires shares a longstanding cultural affinity with Europe. More socially progressive than its neighbors, Argentina in July became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. Here, a tourist looks at Caminito Street from a window on Aug. 18)

Online Sources: Foreign Policy, AFP, Google News, AZ Central, TechCrunch, TIME, Census.gov, The Guardian, Financial Times

Gay Argentine Couple Gets Marriage License

A gay couple received a marriage license in Buenos Aires today, becoming the first couple in the South American nation to take the legal steps toward full marriage. An Argentine judge ruled last week that a ban on gay marriage violates the Argentine constitution and the mayor of Buenos Aires said the city won't take steps to block the couple from wedding on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.

After approving civil unions in some parts of the country as early as 2002, Argentina may now become the first country in Latin America to allow gay couples to marry. Lawmakers from the Argentine Congress are considering changes that would make gay marriage legal despite strong opposition from religious groups.

Although the developments in Argentina are not likely to start a wave of gay marriage recognition across Latin America, gay rights advocates may be advised to take their fight to San Jose, Montevideo and Quito, cities where the number of gay and gay-friendly establishments per capita is higher than in New York City.

In the same ranking of gay-friendly cities in the region, Port-au-Prince and Tegucigalpa ranked at the bottom of the list.

Image Source: AP
Online Sources: AP, Miami Herald, Foreign Policy

“Wall of Discord” divides Argentines

The building of divisive barriers has been a hot issue for several communities whether it is along the U.S.-Mexico border or to separate wealthy areas and favelas in Rio de Janeiro.

The latest barrier battle is ocurring near the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. Gustavo Posse- the mayor of the wealthy suburb of San Isidro- announced plans to construct a one-mile wall between his area and the neighboring impoverished town of San Fernando. Much like the aforementioned case in Rio de Janeiro, Posse claimed that the wall is meant to combat crime. Posse’s counterpart from San Fernando replied that Posse’s plan is "discriminatory" and a judge yesterday ordered a stop to construction.

While the political bickering continues, residents of San Fernando have taken measures into their own hands against the so-called “Wall of Discord”:

Dozens of people pulled down metal poles and pummeled concrete blocks with sledgehammers on Thursday to destroy a wall being built to separate an impoverished neighborhood from a well-heeled district on the outskirts of the capital…

Congressional candidate Francisco de Narvaez compared the blocks of concrete being raised to the Berlin Wall — in this case an expression not of political divisions but of class tensions in a growing city where shantytowns spring up alongside wealthy neighborhoods…

The spat in Argentina comes as the country wrestles with a crime rate that has nearly doubled in the past two decades. One in every 32 Argentines reported being a crime victim in 2007, according to the Justice Ministry.

Image- AP (“A police officer stands on guard in front of a half-built wall, meant to separate an impoverished neighborhood from an upscale one on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Wednesday, April 8, 2009.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, Reuters, LAHT, Buenos Aires Herald, statesman.com

Daily Headlines: May 9, 2008

* Chile: The massive cloud of ash from the erupting Chaiten volcano in Chile has spread through parts of South America and has raised health concerns as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina.

* Caribbean: Introducing the newest weapon in the “war on drugs” - Britain's Prince William.

* Cuba: Remember the “gala" held by Cuban exiles in honor of Luis Posada Carriles? As was to be expected, the Cuban government was none too happy over the soiree.

* Dominican Republic: The Economist.com gives a positive review of president Leonel Fernández, who is running for a third term.

Image- CNN

Sources- The Latin Americanist, AFP, Economist.com, Reuters

Today’s Video: Arde (cerca de) Buenos Aires

Pardon us for paraphrasing the song by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs but blazing wildfires in northern Argentina have led to thick clouds of smoke all over Buenos Aires. The dense smoke has led to numerous inconveniences around the Argentine capital (as the video below shows) and has even spread to neighboring Uruguay:

Sources- lyrics007.com, BBC News, Bloomberg, YouTube

Daily Headlines: November 2, 2007

* Follow-up: The Council on Foreign Relations delves into a subject we discussed last month: the close relationship between the presidents of Venezuela and Colombia.

* A study released this week confirmed the obvious: U.S. immigration raids have resulted in mental health problems for children of illegal immigrants.

* Buenos Aires took another step forward in attracting gay tourism by opening Latin America’s first luxury gay hotel.

* Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim rejected claims that his country was starting an arms race with Venezuela.

* Racism is a "profound and entrenched" problem in the Dominican Republic according to the U.N.

Sources- Council on Foreign Relations, The Latin Americanist, AFP, Xinhua, stuff.co.nz

Image- New York Times