Daily Headlines: October 2, 2014

* Haiti: Police in Port-au-Prince fired tear gas and water cannons at some of the thousands of demonstrators commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the military coup against then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

* Venezuela: Authorities vowed to thoroughly investigate the murder of Robert Serra, a ruling party legislator who was one of Venezuela’s youngest congressmen, and his partner on Wednesday night.

* Peru: A Spanish researcher was hospitalized after he was rescued from a cave in Peru where he was trapped more than 1200 feet underground for twelve days.
  
* Latin America: Organization of American States Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza urged Latin American countries to take in detainees from the U.S.-run Guantanamo military prison.

Video Source – YouTube user No Comment TV

Online Sources – Al Jazeera; Reuters; Mercopress; euronews

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2014

* Mexico: Several politicos allied to Mexico’s ruling National Action Party have come under fire after they were shown on video partying with alleged escorts.

* Uruguay: The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld most of the punishment against Luis Suarez for biting an opponent at the World Cup but allowed him to train and play in friendly matches with new club F.C. Barcelona.

* Brazil: The board of banana giant Chiquita rejected a $611 million takeover bid from a pair of Brazilian firms and found it to be “inadequate.”

* Haiti: U.N. peacekeepers clashed with supporters of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide upset that the former leader could be arrested on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking,

Video Source – YouTube user Reporte Indigo

Online Sources – ABC News; SBS; The Latin Americanist; LAHT; BBC Sport

Daily Headlines: January 21, 2014

* Argentina: Juan Gelman, the renown Argentine poet and political activist whose son and daughter-in-law were killed during the “Dirty War”, died last week at the age of 83.

* Haiti: A Haitian judge charged nine people including several close allies of ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of being involved in the April 2000 murder of radio station owner and journalist Jean Dominique.

* Colombia: The Colombian military claimed that troops killed fourteen members of the FARC guerillas during a raid in the eastern state of Arauca.

* Nicaragua: Nicaraguan officials pledged to mediate in the tense and violent standoff between sugarcane cutters seeking greater medical benefits and their employers.

Video Source – EFE International via YouTube (The late wordsmith Juan Gelman located his granddaughter, Macarena, in 2000 after she was stolen from her parents in 1976 and illegally put up for adoption).

Online Sources- Salon.com; Reuters; The Latin Americanist; ABC News; NBC News

Daily Headlines: October 2, 2013

* Haiti: Police in Port-au-Prince clashed with some of the thousands of backers of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide who protested against the government led by Michel Martelly.

* Colombia: Gen. Flavio Buitrago became the second chief of security for former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to have been arrested over the past year due to alleged ties to drug traffickers.

* U.S.: Could Latino consumers play a decisive role in the potential success of the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare?

* Argentina: The U.S. Supreme Court opted not to listen to an appeal from the Argentine government to avoid possibly paying the holders of billions of dollars of defaulted bonds.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews
 
Online Sources- LAHT; CNN; The Guardian; Bloomberg; Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: October 13, 2011

* Latin America: The U.S. Congress yesterday passed several free trade agreements including pacts with Colombia and Panama.

* Chile: On the one-year anniversary of the rescue of thirty-three trapped Chilean miners Edison Peña is still in rehab and some of his cohorts haven’t fared much better.

* Haiti: President Michel Martelly met separately with former leaders Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier in order to reportedly seek a reconciliation.

* U.S.: The House of Representatives Oversight Committee ordered Attorney General Eric Holder to hand over documents related to the failed “Operation Fast and Furious.”

Image – Via Flickr user roger4336 (Shops and businesses located in the Colon, Panama free trade zone).
Online Sources- Reuters, Deutsche Welle, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist, USA TODAY

Today’s Video: Aristide's arrival

We'll be back over the weekend to publish several posts in order to make up for the lack of articles during the past few days. On Saturday the focus will be on U.S. President Barack Obama's diplomatic trip to Latin America while we'll analyze other stories of interest on Sunday.

In the meantime, the following video from TeleSUR showed the arrival of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Port-au-Prince on Friday morning:

"Today the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d'etats while peacefully we must move from social exclusion to social inclusion," Aristide said to reporters who gathered at the Toussaint L'Overture Airport. He did not address Sunday's upcoming presidential runoff though he did critique the exclusion of his Fanmi Lavalas party from participating in the elections.

Hundreds of jubilant supporters cheered and held signs of support while he traveled from the airport to his former home in the neighborhood of Tabarre. Aristide backers living in the Miami enclave of Little Haiti also celebrated the return of "Titid" to his homeland.

Aristide returned to the Caribbean country on a flight from South Africa and after having spent nearly eight years in exile. Traveling with him where several family members as well as actor Danny Glover who deemed Aristide's return as "a historic moment for the Haitian people."

The U.S. officials were none too pleased over the past week with rumors over Aristide's return. On Tuesday Obama called his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, and urged him to delay Aristide from leaving until after Sunday's runoff. National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor expressed the government's "deep concerns that President Aristide’s return to Haiti in the closing days of the election could be destabilizing."

Video Source - TeleSUR via YouTube
Online Sources - Reuters, CNN, NPR, MiamiHerald.com, CBC News, IOL

Haiti: Aristide to return on Thursday?

Exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide could be back in his native Haiti this week according to the AFP news agency.

"Aristide is expected this Thursday in Port-au-Prince," reportedly said an unnamed source close to the ex-president in the AFP article published Tuesday afternoon. The article also cited Aristide spokeswoman Maryse Narcisse who claimed that preparations were under way for his return before Sunday.

Aristide’s possible return from South Africa could seriously affect the Haitian presidential runoff set to take place on Sunday between musician Michel Martelly and former first lady Mirlande Manigat. Both candidates gave their reservations over Aristide; Martelly today expressed his hope that “(Aristide’s) return doesn't create instability for the elections” while Manigat said last week that she “would prefer that he comes back after the elections.”

Earlier this week U.S. State Department officials have insisted that Aristide avoid returning to Haiti until elections are over. Yet South African deputy foreign minister Marius Fransman admitted that it is “not our responsibility” to decide when Aristide can return to Haiti. Moreover, Aristide attorney Ira Kurzban told CNN last week that his client “has no interest in meddling or being involved in the election” or with Haitian politics.

Journalist Kim Ives had plenty to say about the Aristide situation in an article in The Guardian. A recent message on his Twitter account was more concise and to the point:

The Martelly & Manigat show faced with Aristide's return is like two 60 watt bulbs burning in a yard when the sun comes up after 7 years.

Aristide was overthrown on two separate occasions including in 2004 after a “popular uprising.”

Image- AP via ABC News (“Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide seen during a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in this Jan. 15, 2010 file photo.”)
Online Sources- Montreal Gazette, The Independent, BBC News, AFP, Independent Online, Twitter

Daily Headlines: March 15, 2011

* Latin America: The Inter-American Development Bank concluded that remittances to Latin American and the Caribbean are expected to increase this year though a weaker dollar and rising inflation could affect its “purchasing power” in some countries.

* Mexico: A judge ruled that "Presumed Guilty", a documentary critical of the Mexican judicial system, can continue its popular run in movie theaters.

* Haiti: U.S. State Department officials have urged exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to avoid returning to Haiti at least until presidential elections take place on Sunday.

* Venezuela: According to a report by a local NGO, 3114 protests (or an average of 8.5 per day) took place in Venezuela during 2010.

Image – LAHT
Online Sources- El Universal, ABC News, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Hispanically Speaking News

Daily Headlines: February 8, 2011

* Brazil: China's undervalued currency was likely one of the topics discussed when U.S. Treasury secretary Tim Geithner met with Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff yesterday.

* Ecuador: “Prominent U.S. law firm” Patton Boggs accused Chevron of backing a smear campaign in order to prevent them from being involved in a multibillion dollar Ecuadorian environmental damages trial.

* Haiti: Ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide could soon return from exile after authorities reportedly granted him a passport.

* Peru: Former president Alejandro Toledo widened his lead in the polls with roughly two months left until Peru’s presidential election.

Image – Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian (“US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner and Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff during their meeting on Monday.”)
Online Sources- The Guardian, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: February 1, 2011

* Haiti: Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is one step closer to returning from exile after Haitian officials announced plans to issue him a diplomatic passport.

* Bolivia: At least 31 people are dead after floodwaters swept away a bus in a remote area of Bolivia.

* Chile: There is still a risk that an earthquake similar to the one that hit central Chile a year ago could again shake the region according to researchers.

* Mexico: Authorities offer a reward of over $1 million for information leading to the capture of anyone suspected in the gruesome August 2010 deaths of 72 Central American migrants.

Image – AP via BBC News (Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide “fled the country in 2004, but says he is ready to return from exile in South Africa.”).
Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, People’s Daily Online

Daily Headlines: January 20, 2011

* Haiti: Does it make any sense that former tyrant Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was permitted to return to Haiti but authorities have thus far rejected issuing a passport to ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide?

* Brazil: The country’s oil fields may hold twice as much oil as initially predicted according to research by a former Petrobras geologist.

* Mexico: Police arrested a Mexican man suspected of having been involved in the January 2010 shooting of Paraguayan soccer star Salvador Cabanas.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa submitted a number of economic and political reforms that could be listed on a possible constitutional referendum.

Image – Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian (“Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier and his partner, Veronique Roy, leave court.”)
Online Sources- AFP, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, CNN, IOL.co.za

Protesters to Preval: Get out

Anger over government policy and squalid conditions in survivor camps have been cited as two of the reasons behind a demonstration against Haitian President Rene Preval on Monday.

Approximately 2000 people rallied outside of the national palace in Port-Au-Prince in an event described by the AP as “the largest political protest since the Jan. 12 earthquake.” The rally was initially reported as “party-like” yet police would eventually fired tear gas as some tried to break the security perimeter. A few demonstrators were armed and robbed passerby during the protest, which at times became chaotic.

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of forty opposition groups who have accused Preval of trying to abuse power under the guise of post-earthquake political stability. On the same day as the protest the Haitian Senate approved a proposal possibly extending Preval’s time in the presidency. This did not sit well with some of Monday’s protesters:

Elections were supposed to be held in February but will now be delayed. Some fear they could eventually be cancelled. "He is profiting from this disaster in order to stay in power," said Herve Santilus, a demonstrator interviewed by the Associated Press.

He, like hundreds of thousands of other restless citizens, has been unemployed and relying on aid handouts since the disaster struck.

Another protester, Claudy Louis, told reporters: "Preval has used the drama that our country went through and turned it into an opportunity for himself. Instead of looking out for the people, he quickly hatched a plan to benefit the small group of people around him."

The anger against Preval was so much that some at the protest urged a return from exile of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Image- RFI (“Police walk between residents taking part in a protest in Port-au-Prince on 11 May 2010.”)
Online Sources- Independent.co.uk, NPR, BBC News, Xinhua, Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 27, 2007

* Newly released CIA documents detail several intricate yet failed plots in the 1960s to assassinate Fidel Castro.

* Brazil may renew construction of what would be the country’s third nuclear reactor.

* U.S. presidential hopeful Fred Thompson defended his record as a lobbyist which included representing ex-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

* The president of copper firm Codelco said that operations in Chile are running at a normal pace despite a strike by its contract workers.

* Honduran striker David Suazo finalized a transfer deal to Italian soccer giants Inter Milan.

Sources- Guardian UK, ESPN Soccernet, Reuters UK, BBC News, Forbes

Image- RIA Novotsi (Fidel Castro is not looking out for plots to kill him in this early 2006 photo of him)