Daily Headlines: April 11, 2011

* Latin America: Latin America’s strong economic growth contributed to a spike last year in regional arms spending according to an analysis from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

* Mexico: Details emerged of a renewed pilot program agreed to by Presidents Felipe Calderon and Barack Obama last month that would permit Mexican long-haul truckers to transport in the U.S.

* Dominican Republic: President Leonel Fernandez declared that he would not run again next year though he did not discard seeking the presidency in 2016.

* U.S.: Baseball star Manny Ramirez retired on Saturday supposedly after testing positive once again for performance-enhancing drugs.

Image – AP via CSMonitor.com (2008 image where “Venezuelan soldiers shouted as they marched during the country's July 5 independence day military parade in Caracas.”)
Online Sources- Xinhua, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Time, MSNBC

Manny Ramirez to be suspended over drugs

Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez will be suspended for fifty games by Major League Baseball (MLB) due to a positive test for banned drugs.

Ramirez’ anticipated suspension comes after the Los Angeles Times broke the news this morning of his failed test. The outfielder- whose superb play has helped the Dodgers to a major-league leading 21-8 record- took responsibility while also claiming that he did not purposefully take illegal drugs:

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players' union.

"Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."

According to baseball columnist Tom Verducci, Ramirez did not test positive for steroids but for a so far publicly unknown substance that “was clearly defined as a banned performance enhancer according to the drug agreement between baseball and its players association.”

Ramirez will thus becomes the second high-profile MLB star this year to be linked to performance-enhancing drugs after New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez confessed in February to having used steroids.

Image- SI.com
Online Sources- ABC News, USA TODAY, SI.com, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times

Today’s Video: Manny’s sticky wicket

After seeing the Dominican Republic implode in the World Baseball Classic, Manny Ramirez is trying out a secret weapon for the next version of the tournament:

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube