Daily Headlines: September 27, 2016

* Colombia: “In the name of the FARC, I sincerely apologize to all the victims of the conflict for any pain we may have caused during this war,” admitted rebel commander alias Timochenko as he and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a historic peace deal yesterday.

* Mexico: The Mexican peso, which has hit record lows over the last past week, has sharply rebounded following the United States (US) presidential debate on Monday night.

* Argentina: In a surprising move, former Argentina men’s national team coach Gerardo Martino was named as manager of Major League Soccer expansion club Atlanta United.

* Venezuela: According to a State Department spokesman, US Secretary of State John Kerry “spoke of our concern about the economic and political challenges that have affected millions of Venezuelans” after meeting President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.

YouTube Source – AFP (“Colombia's leftist FARC rebel force signed a historic peace accord with the government bringing the country a step closer to ending their half-century civil war.”)

Online Sources – Goal.com, Reuters, SBS, Fox News Latino

US, EU to Remove Terrorism Status from FARC?

United States (US) and European Union  (EU) diplomats have given indications that the FARC might be rescinded of its status as a terrorist group for both entities as Colombia’s president and the leader of the rebels will soon sign a historic peace agreement.

EU Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia Eamon Gilmore confirmed that the bloc will soon commence actions to eliminate the status of the FARC as a terrorist organization and claimed it was an action “that had been considered for a long time.”

“The peace process is on its journey. We hope the process ends with the signing of the (peace) agreement,” affirmed Gilmore in an interview earlier to Colombian media outlet RCN.

The comprehensive pact gives the FARC a 180-day deadline to disarm and move to disarmament zones monitored by the United Nations. A judicial mechanism was established in order to place rebels on trial for crimes against humanity, torture, and rape, while the guerillas must also provide reparations to victims of an armed conflict that over a fifty-two year period claimed an estimated 260,000 lives and led to seven million displaced people.

As part of the accord, the rebels may be allowed to form their own political party, will receive aid to return into civil society, and cannot be put on trial for "political crimes". 

US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, listed numerous conditions the guerillas must meet as part of the peace deal before they’re removed from the terrorist blacklist.

Daily Headlines: March 11, 2016

* Honduras: Representatives of more than 200 conservation and human rights groups signed a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling on the U.S. to back an investigation into the recent death of renown Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres.

* Chile: A Chilean judge halted the sixteen-year probe looking into a U.S. professor missing and possible abducted by state agents, while former “Caravan of Death” Gen. Sergio Arellano Stark died at the age of 94.

* Latin America: The gender pay gap in Latin America has narrowed by 12% from 1990 to 2014 but women still earned 26% less than men according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Brazil: Some twenty Syrian refugees claimed that they are being hurt by the bureaucratic process in order to obtain local work permits.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English (Honduran human rights activist Berta Cáceres was shot on killed at her home on March 2nd).

Online Sources – The Hill, The New York Times, BBC News, Reuters, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: February 26, 2016

* Argentina: Argentine investigators believe that the mysterious death of crusading prosecutor Alberto Nisman was a homicide rather than the suicide theory presented last year by the government of then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

* Brazil: Fifty families of the Villa Autodromo favela in Rio de Janeiro are holding out against eviction for construction and development of Summer Games venues.

* Colombia: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry could meet as soon as next week with Colombian government and FARC rebel negotiators working out a final peace agreement. 

* El Salvador: Several hundred protesters marched in San Salvador against the extradition from Spain of former military members accused of the massacre of six Jesuit priests in 1989.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (“Nisman was a prosecutor who was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85 people, when he was found dead from a gunshot. Alberto Nisman was about to present evidence that then Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had covered up Iran’s role in the bombing.”)

Online Sources – Business Insider, ABC News, NBC News, The New York Times, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: May 8, 2014

* Venezuela: 243 anti-government protesters were arrested on Thursday morning as part of a crackdown on tent camps in Caracas while the U.S. Congress is considering several proposals to raise sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

* Brazil: Federal police have threatened with going on a 24-hour strike in the middle of the World Cup unless the government raises their pay and improves their working conditions.

* Latin America: A new World Health Organization report found that areas of Brazil, Paraguay and Costa Rica have some of the world’s cleanest air.

* Mexico: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will reportedly go ahead with a planned visit to Mexico later this month despite being subpoenaed by Congress over the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Video Source – CNN en Español via YouTube

Online Sources – Latin Times; ABC News; Al Jazeera; Xinhua; NBC News

Kerry, Jaua in Spat Over Venezuelan Internet Access

Internet access in Venezuela has become the latest dispute in the diplomatic tug-of-war between the U.S. and the South American state.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry labeled Russia and Venezuela as countries with “an absolutely unmistakable pattern” of cracking down on the Internet. 

“The places where we face some of the greatest security challenges today are also the places where governments set up firewalls against some of the basic freedoms online,” he said during a speech given as part of the annual Freedom Online Coalition conference.

“In Venezuela, the government has used security forces to disrupt peaceful protests and limit freedoms of expression and assembly. And this has included blocking access to selected websites and limiting access to internet service in certain parts of the country,” added Kerry who spoke via a Google Plus video chat at the conference in Estonia.

Venezuela’s foreign minister, Elias Jaua, said yesterday to the press that he “rejected” the “false” accusations made by Kerry.

“We are all under threat from a (U.S.) government that believes they have the right to intervene and sanction against countries based on the reality they construct from diplomats at their respective embassies,” Jaua mentioned.

Jaua also referred to the recent political unrest in Venezuela and blamed “hackers” for targeting official websites as part of a “fascist intent to oust” Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Internet access and social media campaigns have become important tools for the Venezuelan opposition to espouse their views against the government and to publish alleged cases of brutality by the authorities. Last February that the government was accused of being behind a brief blackout of images on Twitter while street protests against the Maduro regime grew in major cities across the country.

Follow-up: Top Venezuelan Diplomat Blasts “Murderer” Kerry

Yesterday we examined the Congressional testimony of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who urged the Venezuelan government to end their “terror campaign” against the population and warned that the White House was considering enacting sanctions. On Friday several Venezuelan officials pulled no punches in responding to Kerry’s statements.

“Mr. Kerry, we denounce to the whole world, you encourage the violence in Venezuela … We denounce you as a murderer of the Venezuelan people,” declared Foreign Minister Elias Jaua.

Jaua also alleged that every time Kerry makes a public declaration on Venezuela, violence flared up in the “main areas” of unrest in the South American country.

“You saw it on Wednesday (when) Kerry made comments and that evening there was an increase in the number of deaths including a captain of the National Guard,” said Jaua.

In addition, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed that the unrest over the past month that has officially left twenty-eight people dead “unclothed” the “real politics” of the U.S. State Department.

“It is more than evident today that the U.S. government is desperate for intervention (in Venezuela).  If they are successful and our regime were ousted, then Latin America will face its worst economic instability" in the region's history, Maduro said at a press conference this afternoon.

Aside from Kerry, Maduro blamed a “Miami lobby” of politicians for attempting to influence White House policy on Venezuela.  Similarly, Venezuela’s attorney general lashed out at the U.S. Senate for approving bipartisan resolutions condemning the Maduro regime and seeking $15 million in funds to “defend human rights in Venezuela (and) support democratic civil society organizations."

Kerry to Maduro: Halt “Terror Campaign” in Venezuela

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had harsh words to say on Thursday against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the death toll rose amidst weeks of unrest in the South American country.

"We are engaged now with trying to find a way to get the Maduro government to engage with their citizens, to treat them respectfully, to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to hopefully respect human rights and the appropriate way of treating his people," Kerry said during his testimony in front of the Foreign Affairs committee of the House of Representatives.

When asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as to what actions the U.S. is taking to respond to the turmoil in Venezuela, Kerry called on the Organization of American States (OAS) and Venezuela’s neighbors to “ensure accountability” of the Maduro regime.

“We are taking actions and not just making statements,” Kerry noted and he said that Vice President Joe Biden “talked with leaders of other countries” of the Americas during his visit to Chile this week.

Kerry’s comments came one day after he spoke to a separate House committee and threatened with imposing sanctions against Venezuela if efforts at mediation were to fail.

“We are prepared, if necessary, to invoke the Democratic Charter of the OAS and get involved in various ways, through sanctions or otherwise, but the economy there is already quite fragile,” Kerry mentioned.

Numerous legislators representing the Democratic and Republican parties have urged the White House to raise sanctions against the Maduro regime and ease immigration requirements for Venezuelan migrants.  On Thursday the Senate approved a resolution with bipartisan sponsorship that condemns the Venezuelan government and urges U.S. President Barack Obama to "impose targeted sanctions."

Daily Headlines: November 22, 2013

* U.S.: Legendary Cuban jazz musician Arturo Sandoval and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Mario Molina of Mexico were among the sixteen Medal of Freedom recipients honored this week.

* Latin America: Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that “the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over” but does U.S. policy reflect his declaration?

* Haiti: Haiti's Health Minister said that her country has not received the funds promised by international donors in order to combat a deadly cholera outbreak.

* Mexico: According to new government data, Mexico’s gross domestic product grew by 1.2% in the first nine months of 2013 and is expected to continue rising this year.

Video Source – YouTube via The Daily Conservation (“Arturo Sandoval's performance at the 2013 Medal of Freedom Awards Dinner at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.”)

Online Sources- Fox News Latino; UPI; LAHT; Xinhua

Daily Headlines: August 14, 2013

* Latin America: At a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota blasted a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program monitoring Latin America that “runs the risk of casting a shadow of distrust over our work.”

* Ecuador: Human Rights Watch urged President Rafael Correa to revoke a decree that “grants far-reaching powers to the government to oversee and dissolve nongovernmental organizations.”

* Cuba: Numerous Cuban media outlets commemorated former leader, Fidel Castro’s 87th birthday yesterday though he continues to keep a low profile since stepping down in 2006.

* Chile: Researchers believe that the deaths of twenty condors can be blamed on “poisoning after they were exposed to insecticides used for agriculture.”

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish (“The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (on Monday)…and defended the U.S. spying program as defense against attacks like that which happened on September 11th.”)

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist; Bloomberg; GlobalPost; Huffington Post; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: August 13, 2013

* Mexico: Foreign investors and members of the political opposition are apparently doubtful over major energy reforms that were proposed yesterday by President Enrique Peña Nieto.

* Guatemala: Three of the judges who convicted ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide will reportedly receive protection from an “intense campaign to discredit and stigmatize them”.

* Colombia: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gave his strong support for peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels, and referred to Colombia as one of the world’s “very few success stories.”

* U.S.: Some of the Latino inmates who make up about 35% of the federal prison population could benefit from plans by Attorney General Eric Holder to alleviate severe overcrowding of U.S. correctional facilities.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- Reuters; ABC News; The Latin Americanist; Fox News Latino

U.S. Secretary Kerry Refuses to Take Sides Over Falklands Dispute

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed his country’s position of neutrality regarding Britain and Argentina ‘s competing sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands.

“Our position on the Falklands has not changed. The United States recognizes de facto UK administration of the islands but takes no position on the question of parties’ sovereignty claims thereto,” said Kerry on Monday after holding discussions with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Kerry added that he neither he nor U.S. President Barack Obama would “comment” on a referendum that will take place on the disputed islands next month.  It’s expected that islanders will overwhelmingly choose a resolution supporting the Falklands’ political status as a British colony.

Kerry also condemned the Syrian government for the recent bombing of civilian areas in Aleppo and warned that it would be “simply unacceptable” for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.  Yet it has been his declarations over the Falklands that has not sat well with some British press outlets. For instance, a writer for one of The Telegraph’s blogs accused the White House of caring “more about appeasing a third-rate, declining socialist regime in Latin America than standing with America’s closest friend and ally”.