Daily Headlines: July 27, 2016

* Latin America: Analysts with the International Monetary Fund and the U.N.  Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean believe the economy of the Latin American region will contract this year by 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively.

* Central America: The White House announced a series of measures aimed at helping refugees from Central America but also attempting to discourage the migrant flow from that area.

* Panama: Operators of the newly expanded Panama Canal claimed bad weather was to blame for a “damaging scrape” caused by a Chinese container ship on the waterway.

* Venezuela: Opposition politicians called on their supporters to march in Caracas today and demand that electoral officials validate efforts to hold a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

YouTube Source – Al Jazeera English (This video examines the Argentine economy, which both the International Monetary Fund and the U.N.  Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean believe will weaken this year along with those from Brazil and Venezuela).
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English, Fox News Latino, NPR, The New York Times, Reuters

Daily Headlines: July 12, 2016

* Uruguay: An World Bank arbitration panel ruled against an appeal by tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris over Uruguay’s strict anti-smoking laws that include placing a health warning on 80% of cigarette packs.

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro claimed Citibank “with no warning” will close several key Venezuelan government accounts, and ordered the seizure of the only local factory belonging to the departing Kimberly-Clark personal care firm.

* United States: A new poll of Latino voters found that immigration is the most important issue while nearly three out of four respondents back Hillary Clinton in the race for the United States presidency.

* Panama: Interpol warned drug traffickers could take advantage of the anticipated boost in maritime shippers using the expanded Panama Canal.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, ABC News, Latino Decisions, InSight Crime

Daily Headlines: June 27, 2016

* Panama: After months of construction delays, cost overruns and worker strife the expanded Panama Canal reopened on Sunday and is expected to generate $2 billion in annual revenue.

* Chile: Chile’s golden generation of soccer players steered the men’s national team to second consecutive Copa America victory in the span of twelve months.

* Colombia: While Colombia is on the cusp of a historic peace deal with the FARC rebels, the government has offered tax breaks to companies investing in projects located in regions ravaged by armed conflict.

* Paraguay: Fernando Lugo, the former president who was ousted in 2012, said he would run again for Paraguay’s highest political office in 2018.

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – USA TODAY, The Huffington Post, Fortune, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: June 7, 2016

* Panama: Suez Canal operators are offering discounts to container lines in an attempt to stem an expected increase of traffic on the soon to be reopened and expanded Panama Canal.

* Puerto Rico: A bill to provide relief for Puerto Rico’s $70 billion public debt moves gradually through the U.S. House of Representatives but that didn’t stop Boricuas from selecting an opponent of the proposal as the gubernatorial candidate representing the pro-statehood party.

* South America: In the latest chapter of the decades-long dispute between Chile and Bolivia over coastal access, the former sued the landlocked state over rights to the Silala River.

* Ecuador: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected hearing an appeal by the Ecuadoran government to avoid paying $96 million in arbitration to Chevron.

YouTube Source – Financial Times (Video uploaded in March 2015).
 
Online Sources – GlobalPost, The Street, Reuters, JOC.com, NBC News

Daily Headlines: March 23, 2016

* Argentina: Following his historic three-day visit to Cuba, U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Argentina to meet with his counterpart, Mauricio Macri, though one excluded issue from the official agenda will be the sovereignty battle over the Falkland Islands.

* Panama: The $5.3 billion Panama Canal expansion will be completed in late June to early July after two years of delays, while construction on an interoceanic waterway in Nicaragua will reportedly begin this August despite being originally planned for December 2014.

* Guatemala: President Jimmy Morales admitted that his country is facing a “serious insecurity problem” and accused organized crime groups of trying to “destabilize” the government. 

* Puerto Rico: The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments yesterday over whether Puerto Rico should be allowed to restructure its debt in a manner similar to Chapter 9 bankruptcy laws on the mainland.

YouTube Source – C5N

Online Sources – MercoPress, Bloomberg, Global Construction Review, InSight Crime, Business Insider

Daily Headlines: January 4, 2016 (Updated)

* Colombia: Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas criticized the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries for combat in several Middle Eastern states including Saudi Arabia and, as we mentioned in 2011, the United Arab Emirates.

* Panama: Panama President Juan Carlos Varela assured that problematic expansion of the country’s famed canal will be delayed and completed in May.

* Mexico: Researchers in Mexico are set to commence clinical trials of a “cocktail” of vaccines that could prevent the recurrence of several types of cancers.

* Venezuela: “Outspoken” opposition veteran Henry Ramos Allup was selected over Julio Borges of the “newer, moderate” Justice First party as the new chief of the next Venezuelan legislature taking office tomorrow.

Update: Ramos Allup on Monday said that the new congress would not "declare war" on the government but strongly suggested that President Nicolás Maduro should resign. (Link in Spanish).

YouTube Source – CCTV America

Online Sources including Update – El Universo, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, ABC News, Fox News Latino, International Business Times

Daily Headlines: November 26, 2015

* Brazil: The Australian Senate has called on mining firm BHP Biliton to provide compensation for the Brazilian community devastated by a “toxic” mudslide earlier this month.

* Panama: Work on the already beleaguered Panama Canal expansion was delayed over calls for an independent inspection of leaks in some of the locks.

* U.S.: The number of unaccompanied and undocumented child migrants entering via the U.S.-Mexico border spiked last month though it remains to be seen if it reaches the levels seen in mid-2014.

* Venezuela: Venezuela’s opposition claimed that Democratic Action party member Luis Diaz was “assassinated by gunshot” roughly two-and-a-half weeks before legislative elections.

YouTube Source – Wall Street Journal
 
Online Sources – Sky News Australia, JOC.com, The Independent, The Guardian, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 24, 2015

* Mexico: Parents of some of the 43 missing (and possibly killed) Ayotzinapa college students who disappeared nearly one year ago went on a hunger strike.

* Central America: The expanded Panama Canal is still scheduled to reopen next April despite multiple setbacks, while the start of construction on a Nicaraguan interoceanic waterway has been delayed to early 2016.

* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s debt-ridden economy may explain why the number of residents who left the island for the U.S. mainland in 2014 spiked by 31% to a record 64,000 people.

* Argentina: Canadian mining firm Barrick’s operations in Argentina were partially suspended following the spill of some 35,000 cubic feet of cyanide.

YouTube Source – EFE

Online Sources – ABC News, Fox News Latino, Latin American Herald Tribune, HIS Maritime,
Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: August 25, 2015

* Latin America: China’s recent economic woes could have major financial repercussions to Latin American states that rely heavily on trade with the Asian country and are heavily dependent on oil exports. 

* Caribbean: Tugboat operators are concerned over potential safety hazards regarding the expansion of the Panama Canal, while the U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua criticized potential land expropriation for the construction of a new interoceanic waterway.

* Brazil: The Brazilian government will eliminate 10 of its 39 ministries as part of “President Dilma Rousseff's commitment to an unpopular austerity plan.”

* Puerto Rico: The number of murders in Puerto Rico dropped by 40% since a record high 1164 homicides in 2011 according to the FBI.

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – PRI, Tico Times, International Business Times, Reuters, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: June 23, 2015

* Panama: The expansion of the Panama Canal is about 90% complete after engineers this week began filled water on the Pacific locks of the project.

* Latin America: The number of billionaires in Latin America increased by 38% last year, which was more than any other region in the world.

* Brazil: A pair of Singaporean shipbuilders could be involved in a widening corruption scandal involving Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras.

* Venezuela: Facing mounting pressure from international observers and opposition activists, Venezuelan electoral officials set December 6th as the date for the country’s congressional vote.

YouTube Source – Financial Times (Video uploaded in March 2015).

Online Sources – American Journal of Transportation, Bloomberg, Voice of America, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: September 11, 2014

* Brazil: New government data indicated that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest increased for the second consecutive year due to illegal logging and the expansion of major infrastructure projects.

* Central America: Panama’s president claimed that a major expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to be completed in December 2015 while construction of a planned interoceanic waterway in Nicaragua will reportedly commence later this year.

* U.S.: Homeland Security senior officials denied rumors of ISIS terrorists trying to cross the border from Mexico into the U.S.

* Haiti: Over one million doses of a treatment for the chikungunya virus as authorities worry that the rainy season could worsen the outbreak of the disease.

Video Source – YouTube user EarthOutreach

Online Sources – BBC News; ABC News; Inside Costa Rica; TVNZ; New York Daily News

Daily Headlines: July 3, 2014

* Mexico: Approximately $9.5 billion in remittances were sent to Mexico from January to May of this year and representing nearly 8% more than the same period in 2013.

* Brazil: Authorities arrested eleven people accused of illegally selling tickets to the World Cup while a “massive cybercrime ring” may have stolen billions of dollars in Brazil.

* U.S.: The unemployment rate among Latinos rose slightly in June to 7.8%, which is 2.3% less than the rate in June 2013 yet 1.7% higher than the overall unemployment rate for last month.

* Central America: Senior Nicaraguan ruling party legislator Edwin Castro claimed that the planned interoceanic canal in that country will not “compete” with an expanded Panama Canal.

Video Source – YouTube via ExcélsiorTv

Online Sources – NBC News; La Prensa; BBC News; Fox News Latino; LAHT

Veep Varela Victorious in Panama’s Presidential Election

Voters in Panama gave Vice President Juan Carlos Varela a promotion and elected him as the Central American country’s next president.

Panama’s electoral tribunal declared Varela the winner on Sunday night after deciding that he held an “insurmountable” lead over his main rivals, ruling party candidate Jose Domingo Arias and former Panama City Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro.  At the time Varela was declared president-elect, he had 39% of the vote compared to Arias’ 32% and Navarro’s 28%.

Varela won even though the last polls taken in the weeks prior to the election placed him behind Arias and Navarro in the three-way dogfight for the presidency.  Yet much like Costa Rica’s presidential race, enough voters were apparently swayed by Varela’s strong anti-corruption platform.  In addition, there may have been discontent that if Arias were to win then he would be a puppet controlled by current President Ricardo Martinelli.  (Indeed, Arias’ vice presidential pick was First Lady Marta Linares while Martinelli crisscrossed the country over the last few weeks actively campaigning for Arias).

“This government is going to fight against inequality and is not going to tolerate corruption,” Varela told supporters shortly after he won the election.  “Better days will come to Panama, with a government that is human, decent and visionary,” he added.

Sunday’s election, which was marked by a peaceful and high turnout, was the latest chapter in the ugly rivalry between Varela and Martinelli.  Both were partners when Martinelli was elected to the high office in 2009 but that relationship quickly unraveled:

Daily Headlines: February 20, 2014

* Panama: Work on a major expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to resume today after a two-week hiatus due to disputes over cost overruns and financing the project.

* Latin America: According to a new Gallup poll 58% of people in the U.S. have a favorable view of Mexico compared to 47% of respondents last year.

* Haiti: “I am going to share with the pope the reality of Haiti: speak to him of our riches, of our weaknesses and our limits,” said Chibly Langlois, who on Saturday will become Haiti’s first Roman Catholic Cardinal.

* Bolivia: How did unrest in Bolivia eleven years ago affect a recent Indian court ruling regarding water services?

Video Source – euronews via YouTube

Online Sources- Reuters; Gallup; GlobalPost; Business Standard

Daily Headlines: February 12, 2014

* El Salvador: Jose Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who claimed to have spent thirteen months adrift in in the Pacific Ocean, returned to his native El Salvador last night and could soon be reunited with his family.

* Panama: Negotiations are purportedly taking place in order to restart the stalled Panama Canal expansion, while the blame game has heated up over who is at fault for a series of project delays and cost overruns.

* Cuba: According to a newly released poll 56% of respondents in the U.S. and 62% of Latinos support normalizing relations with Cuba. 

* Honduras: President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced the suspension of eight Honduran consuls in the U.S. and the start of an investigation into the possible illegal issuing of documents.

Video Source – NTDTV via YouTube (Jose Salvador Alvarenga arrived at the Marshall Islands earlier this month and claimed that he ate raw fish and drank bird blood in order to survive the thirteen months he was adrift at sea).
 
Online Sources- CNN; Reuters; GlobalPost; USA TODAY; ABC News

Daily Headlines: February 6, 2014

* Panama: Informal talks are reportedly being held between operators of the Panama Canal and a Spanish-led consortium in order to continue the troubled expansion of the famed waterway.

* Venezuela: Venezuela's main opposition party called on authorities to release seven people arrested over the weekend for protesting in the city hosting the Caribbean Series.

* Central America: The Costa Rican government will file a new complaint against Nicaragua with the International Court of Justice as part of the latest chapter in the diplomatic tug-of-war between the neighboring Central American states.

* Haiti: According to human rights group Amnesty International, Haitian police clashed with survivors of a 2010 earthquake in an apparent attempt to evict residents of a makeshift camp.

Online Sources - Washington Post; Tico Times; Reuters

Video Source - euronews via YouTube ("There are renewed tensions over building work to expand the Panama Canal which has been the subject of a dispute over who should pay up for cost overruns.")

Daily Headlines: January 22, 2014

* Brazil: FIFA officials warned that the Brazilian city of Curitiba could be excluded from hosting World Cup matches in June while International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach noted that work must be sped up ahead of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

* U.S.: A study published this month in the journal “Crime & Delinquency” concluded that about 44% of Latino men and 16% of Latinas are arrested at least once on non-traffic-related crimes by the time they turn 23-years-old.

* Panama: Representatives of the Panama Canal Authority and the consortium contracted to expand the famed waterway negotiated possible ways to make sure work continues on the troubled project.

* Ecuador: Ecuador is reportedly topping Brazil as Latin America’s top cocoa producer and in 2015 could become the number-four producer of cocoa in the world.

Video Source – sntv via YouTube (“World Cup workers in the southern city of Curitiba went on strike (in December) because of late pay at one of the stadiums that will host matches during the 2014 tournament”.)

Online Sources- Bloomberg; CNN; Fox News Latino; Reuters; Washington Post

Daily Headlines: January 14, 2014

* Mexico: Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong announced that federal troops would be sent to an area of Michoacán state where vigilante “self-defense” groups have been combating drug traffickers.

* Central America: While trouble continues to plague the expansion of the Panama Canal, Nicaraguan officials said that construction would commence in December of a “mega-waterway” connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

* U.S.: Technical problems, grammatical mistakes and erroneous translations have reportedly plagued the Spanish version of the federal government’s Obamacare/Affordable Care Act website.

* Colombia: Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez confirmed the ouster of Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro though it remains to be seen if the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will intercede on his behalf.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube

Online Sources- Miami Herald; Fox News Latino; Prensa Latina; The Telegraph; Al Jazeera English

Daily Headlines: May 10, 2013

* Guatemala: Former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt took the witness stand for the first time in his genocide trial yesterday and alleged that he didn’t order the massacre of hundreds of indigenous Ixil.

* Venezuela: U.S. immigration officials were allegedly granted access to Timothy Tracy, a California filmmaker detained last month and accused of conspiring against Venezuelan government.

* Uruguay: Gen. Miguel Dalmao was convicted and sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison for the 1974 murder of professor and political activist Nibia Sabalsagaray.

* Panama: Panama Canal administrators announced a series of water-saving measures as part of energy rationing caused by a drought.

Video Source – YouTube via PBS News Hour

Online Sources- ABC News; The Guardian; Businessweek; The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: April 29, 2013

* South America: Chilean President Sebastián Piñera urged the International Court of Justice to dismiss a lawsuit filed last week by landlocked Bolivia regarding access to the Pacific Ocean.

* Guatemala: Archbishop Oscar Julio Vian praised the late Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi as a “martyr for peace” at a mass held on the fifteenth anniversary of the brutal murder of the humanitarian cleric.

* Argentine: The mother of Argentine rock singer Gustavo Cerati said that there are “small signs of hope” that her son will soon emerge from his near-three year coma.

* Panama: Paleontologists identified what they believe to be fossil remains of the “oldest monkey in the Americas” at the site of the Panama Canal expansion.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- ABC News; GlobalPost; Los Angeles Times; Newsroom Panama