Daily Headlines: February 24, 2014 (Updated)

* Venezuela: Will a planned meeting today between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition figure Henrique Capriles help quell some of the unrest in major Venezuelan cities?

Update: "I will not attend the Federal Council meeting and wash Maduro's face while he's repressing (the people)", declared Capriles regarding his decision on Monday afternoon to skip the meeting with Maduro.  

* Bolivia: At least fifty-nine people have died and tens of thousands of families are homeless due to heavy rains and flooding that have affected Bolivia over the last few weeks.

* Mexico: Mexico is expected to surpass Japan and Canada in order to become the largest exporter of cars to the U.S. by the end of this year.

* Haiti: A Haitian appeals court reversed a 2012 ruling and found that ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier can be tried on charges of crimes against humanity.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube

Online Sources including Update - El Universal; Bloomberg; The Latin Americanist; Reuters; LAHT; USA TODAY

Daily Headlines: March 1, 2013

* Latin America: Will the Vatican agree with attendees at a recent Brazilian bishops' conference and elect a Pope from Latin America?

* U.S.: The sequestration cuts expected to go into effect today could hit Latin America’s economies hard and affect tourism into the region.

* Venezuela: A recent poll found that 57% of Venezuelans believe that President Hugo Chávez will recover and defeat the cancer hurting him.

* Guatemala: President Otto Perez Molina urged the U.S. government to grant Temporary Protected Status to about 700,000 undocumented Guatemalans.

Ex-Dictator ”Baby Doc” Skips Haitian Court Appearance

Former strongman Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier refused to attend a court appearance today to decide if he should be tried for crimes against humanity.

The hearing was first scheduled last October but had been delayed numerous times and Duvalier had previously skipped his appeal court hearing twice.  Ironically, it was Duvalier’s lawyers who sought the latest delay two weeks ago after seeking Haiti's Supreme Court to overturn the court order.

Despite the bravado of one of Duvalier’s attorneys who boasted, “I'm Haiti's Johnnie Cochran,” Judge Jean-Joseph Lebrun ordered the ex-ruler to appear in front of him on February 28th.  

“There are grounds for the court to declare that Jean-Claude Duvalier's appearance is imperative. It is therefore appropriate that he be brought here to appear before the court,” declared Lebrun in front of a packed courthouse that included relatives of his victims, attorneys and journalists.

Haitian authorities opened an investigation against Duvalier shortly after he retuned from exile in January 2011 and subsequently charged him with corruption, theft, and crimes against humanity.  A court dropped these charges last year though human rights observers and victims’ families lodged an appeal to that decision.

Daily Headlines: February 8, 2013

* Mexico: Mexico’s Yaquis de Obregon won the Caribbean Series over the Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido in a nail-biting eighteen inning marathon game that took nearly 7.5 hours to play. 

* Venezuela: Ailing President Hugo Chavez might soon be able to rule by decree after an opposition lawmaker changed party affiliation.

* Haiti: A judge ruled that ex-President Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier must appear in court later this month to face charges of human rights abuse.

* El Salvador: The Salvadoran military will reportedly be withdrawn from several “peace zone” municipalities where the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs agreed to a non-violence truce.

Video Source – YouTube via user iPhoneActualidad

Online Sources- ESPN, Christian Science Monitor, NBC News, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: January 31, 2012

* Haiti: Haitian human rights groups as well as the U.N. criticized a judge’s decision yesterday to try former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier only on charges of embezzlement and corruption.

* Latin America: According to the Iranian state-run media, the government has launched a 24-hour Spanish-language television network.

* Cuba: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff arrived in Cuba yesterday and is expected to meet with President Raul Castro before traveling to Haiti later this week.

* South America: Could South America serve as the next major market for India’s Bollywood movies?

Video Source – YouTube via telesurenglish (Note that this video was first posted on January 20, 2012).

Online Sources- Boston.com, Christian Science Monitor, BBC News, 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

Daily Headlines: May 3, 2011

* Latin America: Rising global food prices could lead to increased inflation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean according to an Inter-American Development Bank study.

* Haiti: Swiss officials began legal proceedings to return the frozen assets of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier by using a law nicknamed after him.

* Colombia: Researchers concluded that there has been a 35% spike in child labor in Colombia over the past five years.

* Puerto Rico: Rest in peace Emilio “Millito” Navarro; the Puerto Rican ballplayer who was nearly the first Boricua to play in the major leagues died over the weekend at the age of 105 years.

Image – CSMonitor.com (“Corn tortillas are for sale in Mexico City in this 2007 file photo.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, LAHT, UPI

Today’s Video: The grim legacy of "Papa Doc" (Updated)

April 22nd is an important date in the history of several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Eleven years ago, the Elian Gonzalez affair came to a stunning climax in a pre-dawn raid in Miami. Meanwhile it was on this day in 1997 that seventy-one hostages held in the Japanese ambassador's residence in Peru were freed in a military operation.

On this day four decades ago Haitian dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier died at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince. The "president for life" ruled the Caribbean country with an iron fist and a cult of personality. His fourteen years in power came with the help of the ruthless Tontons Macoutes militia while his kleptocracy led to worsening poverty for the Haitian populace.

The following is part of a 1966 documentary that gave a critical look at the many problems in Haiti under Duvalier:

Duvalier's death led to the presidency by his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who would continue his father's checkered legacy. A popular uprising in 1986 forced "Baby Doc" to flee Haiti yet he controversially returned in January. Francois may've died in impunity but Jean-Claude could soon face trial on charges of corruption and human rights abuses.

Update: Blogger Kevin Alvarez brings up the possibility that Haitian president-elect Michel Martelly could provide a full pardon to "Baby Doc."

Online Sources - RPP, The Guardian, BBC News, Voice of America
Video Source - Wolfson Archive via YouTube

The money trail

What does a former Haitian dictator deposed in an uprising 25 years ago have to do with an Egyptian strongman who quit his post last Friday? As the saying goes, it’s all about the Benjamins.

Hours after Hosni Mubarak stepped down from the Egyptian presidency, Swiss officials began the process of freezing his assets in that country’s banks. "The (government) intends in doing so to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property,” according to a statement issued by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The communiqué also threatened with retaining assets not only from Mubarak but also members of “his circles.”

Estimates of Mubarak’s personal wealth vary and it’s unreported how much he might have stashed away in Swiss private banks. Yet there is the possibility that those funds could be returned to Egypt as part of the Swiss government’s push to peel away at the historic secrecy of the country's banks.

As we mentioned neatly two weeks ago, a Swiss law has gone into effect that could permit the return of assets stolen by corrupt politicians to be returned to their countries of origin. That law was nicknamed after Haiti’s Jean-Claude Duvalier and was created after a court ruling nearly forced the return of millions of dollars from his accounts back into his hands. Instead, the “Duvalier Law” will help in the transfer of approximately $6 million to "programs of public interest aimed at improving the living conditions of the (Haitian) population."

It remains to be seen if the “Duvalier Law” will be applied to Mubarak’s assets though one Swiss official implied that it could be possible. “If a given government holding banks accounts in Switzerland is ousted and there is evidence of corruption, we will react swiftly to see whether there are chances of returning the property to its rightful owners," said Valentin Zellweger, head of the department for international law at the Swiss government, to IPS.

Duvalier, who recently returned from exile, may face trial in Haiti on several charges including corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

Image- AFP via ABC News (Australia)
Online Sources- NPR, The Latin Americanist, CNN Money, The Telegraph, Slate, IPS

Swiss "Duvalier Law" freezes ex-dictator's funds

While Jean-Claude Duvalier tries to put his spin on Haitian history, some of the foreign assets he allegedly stole during his presidency will not return to his hands.

A Swiss law nicknamed the "Duvalier Law" went into effect today, which blocks millions of dollars worth of assets belonging to the former Haitian strongman. Officially known as the Swiss Restitution of Illicit Assets Act, the law eases the "freezing, forfeiture and restitution" of assets stolen by corrupt politicians. If Duvalier wants his assets back he will have to demonstrate that he got them through legal means; otherwise, the funds could be claimed by the Haitian government.

The law was passed last year partly due to an embarrassing Swiss court decision that would've returned $4.6 million from Duvalier’s accounts that had originally been awarded to Haitian charities. Before that could be done, however, the Swiss parliament swiftly passed the law that came into effect today.

Duvalier, who recently returned to Haiti after being exiled, said in an interview with Univision insisted that the frozen Swiss funds did not belong to him. He claimed that they instead belonged to a foundation established by his family and that a “majority” of that money would be used to rebuild his mother’s city of birth.

Duvalier has been accused of embezzling over $100 million in public funds during his presidency between 1971 and 1986. Reports vary as to exactly how much money he has in Switzerland though one local news source claims that it’s approximately $6.2 million.

Duvalier hasn’t been the only strongman, past or present, recently targeted by the Swiss government:

The Swiss government has faced growing international pressure to change banking regulations after revelations that financial institutions had accepted money from former dictators such as Duvalier and Nigeria’s Sani Abacha. Until now, Swiss authorities insisted the rulers must be convicted at home before considering restituting any assets…

Switzerland on Jan. 19 said it had frozen any holdings of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo to “prevent any possible misuse of the funds.”

Image - AFP via BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, CNN, RTT News, swissinfo.ch, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg

Suspected Guatemalan war criminal arrested

In the twentieth century some Latin American political leaders and military officials abused their power and were behind terrible human rights atrocities. In recent years, however, the long arm of the law caught up with several of these figures and they’ve been forced to pay for their crimes. In the last month alone, for instance:

• Ex-Argentine president Jorge Videla, who ruled for several years during the infamous “Dirty War” era, was sentenced to life in prison.
• The former head of Chile’s secret police under dictator Augusto Pinochet was convicted for the murders of six political prisoners.
• Corruption and misappropriation of public funds charges were raised against former Haitian president Jean-Claude Baby Doc” Duvalier. (Quick aside: where does ex-Congressman Bob Barr get the cojones to serve as Duvalier’s “advisor”?)
  

Jorge Sosa was a former military commander for several years in his native Guatemala during that country’s bloody civil war. He is accused of numerous war crimes including 1982’s Dos Erres massacre where he supposedly ordered troops to kill over 250 villagers. (A “United Nations-backed Truth Commission” found that soldiers killed babies by bashing their heads with hammers while women were repeatedly raped before being murdered).

Since fleeing Guatemala in the mid-1980s Sosa emigrated legally to the U.S. and Canada. While thousands of victims of Guatemala’s war nursed their physical wounds and psychological trauma, Sosa lived in impunity and even managed a martial arts training school in Calgary.

After one too many years living as a free man, Sosa was finally arrested in Canada last week. According to the Calgary Herald, Sosa “was retrained by heavy chains visible from his hands, which were closed and held up by his chest” during his first court appearance on Thursday.

Though he is wanted in Guatemala for his suspected war crimes, Sosa may face extradition to the U.S. where he’s accused of lying on his immigration papers. His son, who left Guatemala with Sosa for the U.S told the Canadian media that his father was innocent of the immigration charges against him. For one Guatemalan human rights activist whose bother died in the massacre, however, Sosa must be punished for the suffering his callousness caused:

"We're not looking for revenge, but we want justice to be applied and for these men to own up for what they've done -- to own up for the lives they took and give some peace to the families that continue to live with voids in their lives that can never be filled," (Aura Elena Farfan) said.

"They destroyed people's humanities, killed the innocent, and we're looking for a way for them to acknowledge the innocents, the lives they destroyed."

The Sosa case has raised serious questions over the Canadian immigration process. (He currently holds U.S. and Canadian citizenship). "I was astounded that war criminals always find a way to get into Canada and people who come in through the legal procedures have to wait like nine years to get all their papers" said Carmen Aguilera, Guatemala's former honorary consul to Canada, to the press.

Image- YouTube via CBC (“Jorge Vinicio Orantes Sosa, 52, seen in a karate demonstration, is wanted in Guatemala on war crimes. He was arrested in Lethbridge, Alta., on Tuesday.”).
Online Sources- Herald Sun, Gawker, The Latin Americanist, EPA, Reuters, Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Sun, CTV News

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

"Baby Doc" to go behind bars? (Updated)

Update:

Haitian authorities have formally charged ex-strongman Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier with several charges including corruption, theft, and the misappropriation of funds. The charges, which stem from Duvalier's abusive rule between 1971 and 1986, will be looked into by an "investigative judge" who could give the go-ahead to a judicial case.

Original Post:

Haitian police detained former Haitian tyrant Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier less than 48 hours after his surprise return to his homeland.

After being warmly greeted by a small crowd of sycophants on Sunday, Duvalier could be formally charged with ransacking the national treasury during his rule between 1971 and 1986. Duvalier had met with Haiti’s top prosecutor and a judge before being escorted this morning from the Port-au-Prince hotel where he was residing to government offices for questioning.

Several human rights groups and Haitian expats living abroad called for the arrest of “Baby Doc” after he returned from his 25-year exile in France. "Duvalier's return to Haiti should be for one purpose only: to face justice," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “I don't know what will be the outcome but this is a plot to get everybody confused,” said playwright Jan Mapou to the Miami Herald. (He was jailed under the Duvalier regime for hosting a Creole-language radio program.)

So why did Duvalier, whose rule was marked by brutality from the secret Tonton Macoute police and widespread corruption, return to Haiti? As reported in CNN, “a Duvalier associate” said that he came back since he was “deeply hurt in his soul after (last year’s) earthquake.” However, Duvalier may look to take advantage of a country in political chaos partly due to allegedly fraudulent presidential elections. (It may be no coincidence that on the same day Duvalier returned Haitian electoral officials postponed a disputed presidential runoff).

Duvalier may try to exploit a Haitian populace uneasy with the government’s response to the January 2010 tremor that killed 200,000 people and left millions of survivors either homeless or residing in unsafe tent camps. Hence, as the following news report from NBC News showed, “Baby Doc” could take advantage of younger Haitians who were not alive during his crushing regime but are currently living under very difficult conditions. (Skip ahead to around the 1:55 mark).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Video Source - MSNBC
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Guardian, MSNBC, CNN, Reuters, Voice of America, Miami Herald

Getting away with murder for ”Baby Doc”

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier from the country from 1971 to 1986 and served as the successor to his ruthless, iron-handed dad. Both father and son ransacked Haiti’s treasury, repressed their countrymen via the Tontons Macoutes militia, and have been accused of being behind the deaths of thousands of opponents. Since being exiled in France the over $6 million in Swiss bank assets of "Baby Doc" were frozen and in 2007 allowed portions of it were allowed to fund Haitian humanitarian projects.

One day before last month’s massive earthquake ravaged Haiti, a Swiss court contradicted common sense and good judgment:

In an embarrassment to Switzerland's government, the country's top court said Wednesday that at least $4.6 million from Swiss bank accounts previously awarded to charities must be returned to the family of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

The decision was reached Jan. 12, just hours before the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, killing as many as 150,000 people. The amount of money being contested could feed more than 1 million Haitians for two weeks.

Ugh.

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post

Daily Headlines: August 24, 2009

* Cuba: Fidel Castro appeared “healthier and rested” in footage shown on Sunday of the reclusive former president meeting with visiting Venezuelan students over the weekend.

* Puerto Rico: The island’s economy has fallen on very hard times including shrinking by 5.5% at the end of the 2009 fiscal year and a whopping 16.5% unemployment rate.

* Brazil: Rubens Barrichello moved up to second in the Formula 1 standings after winning yesterday’s Grand Prix of Europe.

* Haiti: A Swiss court ruled that the assets of former strongman Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier should continue to be frozen from his family.

Image- The Telegraph (The Cuban press published a photo yesterday of Fidel Castro meeting with Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa on Friday).
Online Sources- MSNBC, Guardian UK, Reuters, etaiwannews.com, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: February 23, 2009

* U.S.: Spaniard Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for best supporting actress while "Slumdog Millionaire" dominated the 81st Academy Awards with eight honors.

* Mexico: The police chief of Ciudad Juarez quit after receiving death threats from drug gangs.

* Haiti: Earlier this month Swiss officials announced that they will return over $ 6 million in frozen assets belonging to ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

* Ecuador: Was a U.S. diplomat expelled last week from Ecuador really “the head of the CIA” in that country?

Image- AP (“Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her work in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," arrives for the 81st Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, AHN, CNN, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

“Baby Doc”: Sorry for “wrongs” as dictator

In a speech recorded from Paris, exiled former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier apologized for any “wrongs” committed under his rule. “I solemnly take the historical responsibility ... to request forgiveness from the people” said Duvalier who also called for support to his fringe political party which is run by handful of supporters in Haiti.

Some victims of Duvalier’s harsh 15-year dictatorship have not been so tolerant of his quasi-apology:

Bobby Duval, a former soccer star who was starved and tortured while locked up for 17 months under the Duvalier regime for speaking out against human rights abuses, said it was the first time he could recall the former dictator apologizing for his regime's atrocities – but said it did not go far enough.

“He killed thousands of people, stole money and destroyed the psyche and heart of a people. This guy should be in jail and I'm just waiting for him to come back so that can happen,” said Duval, who now runs a sports outreach program. “I don't accept his apology.”

Sources- Newsday.com, Hardbeatnews, SignOnSanDiego.com

Image- BBC News

Swiss will return “Baby Doc’s” funds

Switzerland will return over $6 million that was seized from bank accounts belonging to former Haitian ruler Jean-Claude Duvalier. Most of the assets will be destined for humanitarian projects in the Caribbean nation though the rest will go to his family. The money will be released by June 3^rd unless Haiti’s government divulges evidence tying the money to corruption or criminal activity.

“Baby Doc” Duvalier (image, circa 1970s) served as Haitian dictator between 1971 and 1986, and after seven years of rule by his father, François. The Duvalier duo ruled Haiti via harsh repression of any opposition, and squandered public funds on a luxurious lifestyle while the country lay mired as one of the world’s poorest countries.

“Baby Doc” is allegedly exiled in France.

Image- BBC News

Sources- Voice of America, Reuters AlertNet, International Herald Tribune, Wikipedia, Washington Post, latinamerianstudies.org