Daily Headlines: January 25, 2016

* Haiti: “We are ready for war…we will divide the country,” declared former coup plotter and suspected drug smuggler Guy Philippe over the chaos resulting from the latest delay in the Haitian presidential elections.

* Ecuador: Chevron welcomed a judicial ruling at The Hague against Ecuador in relation to a years-long environmental damages lawsuit.

* El Salvador: Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores is hospitalized under a coma and reportedly in critical condition after he was found unconscious in his home last night.

* U.S.: Latino rights groups such as LULAC are trying to push Iowa’s growing Hispanic population to participate in the February 1st presidential caucuses.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Al Jazeera America, The Latin Americanist, Fox News Latino, NPR, teleSUR English

Today’s Video: Postville’s aftermath in Iowa and beyond

How has the May 2008 immigration raid on a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa affected those who were arrested and deported? PBS’ Frontline/World examined how the raid inexorably changed Postville and the lives of dozens of Guatemalans and their families:

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Postville plant seeks bankruptcy

The Iowa meat packing company involved in a massive immigration raid filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

The bankruptcy filing for Agriprocessors stated that the firm owes between $50 million and $100 million to approximately 400 creditors. First Bank had planned to foreclose the factory located in Postville though that was prevented by the bankruptcy filing.

Agriprocessors is one of the largest purveyors of Kosher meat in the U.S. and its closure could be “potentially devastating” to the Jewish community. Also “devastating” was the impact of the May 12 raid where nearly 400 illegal immigrants were arrested by authorities. A court interpreter claimed allegations of abuse against the workers who were mostly from Mexico and Central America. Additionally, the costs of the raid and subsequent proceedings have been estimated by on Iowan daily to be a minimum of $5.2 million.

Image- New York Times
Sources- The Latin Americanist, New York Times, WSJ.com, AP

Daily Headlines: August 29, 2008

An all follow-up edition of Daily Headlines this morning looks at updates to news stories we’ve recently covered:

* Mexico: By an 8-3 vote Mexico's Supreme Court voted to uphold Mexico City’s abortion law that has been in place since April 2007.

* Cuba: The trial of Cuban punk rocker Gorki Aguila is expected to start today after he was detained on Monday supposedly for his outspokenness against the Castro regime.

* Caribbean: The death toll from Tropical Storm Gustav has grown to 60 as the storm continues ravaging through the Caribbean.

* U.S.: In the wake of the Postville raids residents of another Iowan town worry that theirs could be the site of the next immigration crackdown.

Image- Associated Press (“A doll representing a fetus, right, and crosses displayed by anti-abortion activists sit at Mexico City's central Zocalo square during a protest against the legalization of abortion, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008... Signs next to the doll read in Spanish "I want to live" and "Vote for me, vote for life." (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)”).

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Associated Press, Guardian UK, Reuters, Los Angeles Times

Raided Postville plant faces new charges

Iowan officials have issued new citations against a meatpacking plant which was the site of a massive immigration raid in May. The Iowa Division of Labor Services proposed over $100,000 in fines for new and repeat safety violations committed at the Agriprocessors plant.

The citations come on the heels of a guilty plea by a former supervisor who admitted to have knowingly hired illegal immigrants, while earlier this month plant management was accused of employing underage workers.

Of the nearly 300 people arrested in the May raid most were undocumented and came from countries like Mexico and Guatemala. One Iowan newspaper suggests that more could’ve been caught:

Nearly 70 percent of people targeted for arrest in a May raid at a meatpacking plant in Postville escaped prosecution, according to a copyright story Friday in The Des Moines Register.

The Register also found that immigrants prosecuted after the raid used Social Security numbers stolen from people in at least 25 states…

Of the 697 people identified in federal warrants, the documents used to justify the raid, only 220 were arrested. Another 85 immigrants prosecuted by the federal government were arrested after being discovered through the raid.

As we noted last month, one of the court interpreters for the arrested workers alleged that the plea agreements most of them signed were “coerced” despite language problems and illiteracy issues.

Image- New York Times (“After nearly 300 illegal immigrants were taken into custody in May in Postville, Iowa, they were tried, convicted and sentenced, based on scripts prepared by the court and prosecutors.”)

Sources- Chicago Tribune, Newsradio 1040 WHO, Guardian UK, BBC News, The Latin Americanist