Daily Headlines: November 23, 2010

* U.S.: Approximately 5000 people protested outside the gates of Fort Benning last weekend against the military training center formerly known as the School of the Americas.

* Bolivia: "Democracy, peace and security can only be guaranteed without interventionism, without hegemony," Bolivian President Evo Morales said at a defense conference attended by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

* Venezuela: The owner of “pro-opposition” TV station Globovision, Guillermo Zuloaga, denied government accusations that he’s behind an assassination plot against President Hugo Chavez.

* Cuba: Did Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen quash a “recent diplomatic opening” between Cuba and Israel?

* Haiti: Gunmen reportedly attacked the convoy of leading presidential candidate Jude Celestin on Monday night.

* Peru: The Peruvian government reached a tentative agreement with Yale University for the return of thousands of Incan artifacts taken from Machu Picchu.

Image – Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times via the New York Times (“The crosses placed at the fence represent people who are missing or who are believed to have been killed by death squads.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, Democracy Now, JTA, CNN, Independent

Daily Headlines: November 22, 2010

* Latin America: Upon arriving in Bolivia for a regional defense ministers meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Latin American countries to be “be very cautious and very careful” with their ties to Iran.

* Haiti: "There is no time left for meetings and debate - the time for action is now," said a statement from Doctors Without Borders’ chief in Haiti, Stefano Zannini, regarding the country’s deadly cholera outbreak.

* Venezuela: Pitcher Felix Hernandez became the only second Venezuelan pitcher to win the Cy Young award in the American League.

* Colombia: A “state of calamity” was declared after some of the heaviest rainfalls in decades killed at least 136 people.

Image – Reuters via The Telegraph
Online Sources- CBC, CNN, BBC News, AFP, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: April 14, 2010

* Haiti: First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to Haiti yesterday though that overshadowed the announcement that U.S. troops would leave the earthquake-ravaged country by June 1st.

* Honduras: Is Central America embracing the post-Zelaya Honduran government? Costa Rica president-elect Laura Chinchilla wants Honduras to be reinstated into the OAS while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega “warmly welcomed” the visit of Porfirio Lobo last week.

* Venezuela: Defense Secretary Robert Gates denied that Venezuela is a “military threat” to U.S. interests but also accused the Chavez administration of using Iran to “distract” Venezuelans.

* Brazil: The death toll caused by nearly two weeks of heavy rains, floods, and mudslides in the Rio de Janeiro area rose to 229.

Image – Guardian UK (“Michelle Obama shakes hands with children during her visit to a child welfare project in Port-au-Prince.”)
Online Sources- CNN, Christian Science Monitor, Americas Quarterly, taiwannews.com, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 28, 2009

* Colombia: The country’s FARC rebels pledged to unilaterally free two hostages, while former captive Ingrid Betancourt called for all the hostages to be released.

* Venezuela: First it was "The Simpsons”, but now it’s “Family Guy” that’s undergone scrutiny from the Venezuelan government.

* Mexico: Cris Arreola fought well but ultimately quit in the tenth round of his bout against heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko.

* Cuba: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates implied that the January 2010 deadline to close the Guantanamo military jail will be tough to reach.

Image- BBC News (“Police and soldiers' relatives have been calling for (the hostages) release”. Note that the banner says “Deal yes! War no!”)
Online Sources- Canada.com, BBC News, Guardian UK, Reuters, CNN

Puerto Rican Gov. rejects Gitmo detainees

On Monday, we examined the possibility that detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison could be taken in by European Union (E.U.) countries once the controversial facility closes next year. Some E.U. ministers did express reluctance are the idea, however, based on the possible security risk of the prisoners.

The U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico sits roughly three hundred miles from Guantanamo, crime has skyrocketed on the island, and Governor Luis Fortuño is allied to the Republicans. Perhaps these items factored into this decision:

Puerto Rico is joining a growing list of places in the U.S. opposed to becoming the future home of any Guantanamo Bay prisoners…

A spokeswoman for Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuno, Michelle Cuevas, said Tuesday that he would oppose any proposal to hold them in the U.S. island territory.

His comment came a day after the island's nonvoting member of Congress also voiced his opposition, echoing statements by officials in several U.S. states, including California and Kansas.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates backed the decision to close the Gitmo jail. "I believe that if we did not have a deadline, we could kick that can down the road endlessly," Gates said yesterday before the House Armed Services Committee.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, Lonely Planet, Reuters, CBS News

Iran “subversive” threat to LatAm says Robert Gates

Latin America has become a site of "subversive activity" by Iran, according to statements made today by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Regarding recent inroads made by Iran in counties like Venezuela and Nicaragua, Gates said that the Central Asian country has “a lot of offices and a lot of fronts behind which they interfere” in Latin American states. (He didn't provide further details, however).

Gates’ remarks came during a Senate hearing on last month’s Russian naval exercises in Venezuelan waters. He tried to downplay Russian activities in the Americas and claimed that Iran is a much greater concern:

Gates didn't say just what he thinks Iran is up to militarily. But he called Iran a threat there that Russia, despite high-profile maneuvers, is not.

Gates shrugged off Russian naval tours in places like Venezuela. He said that if Russia hadn't raised alarms by invading Georgia last year, he would have invited Russian ships to dock in Miami as well.

He said the Russian sailors would have had more fun there than in Caracas.

Is Iran as big of danger to the Americas as Gates claims? Is he being to flippant towards Russia? What do you think?

Image- washingtonpost.com (“Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega (L) welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the international airport in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, Jan, 13, 2007”.)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters, AP

Pentagon drafts plan for Guantanamo jail closing

Pentagon officials admitted that plans are being drawn up for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison.

According to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gate has ordered aides to create a plan to close the controversial facility. Morell noted that the preparations were being made in anticipation of president-elect Barack Obama’s possible changes for the prison:

US President-elect Barack Obama says closing the camp "in a responsible way" is one of his top priorities.

Mr. Obama, who takes office on 20 January, said earlier this week he aimed to close the facility within two years.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Mr. Gates - who is to retain his position in the new administration - had wanted to be prepared in case Mr. Obama wished to tackle the issue "early in his tenure".

"He has asked his team for a proposal on how to shut it down, what will be required specifically to close it and move the detainees from that facility, and at the same time protect the American people from dangerous terrorists," he said.

The possible closing of the Guantanamo prison and what legal changes may have to be done is one of Obama’s main challenges upon entering office on January 20th.

According to the Washington Post, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs Charles D. Stimson drew up classified plans in 2006 for how to close the jail.

Image- Al Jazeera English
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Washington Post, Reuters, The Telegraph, BBC News

U.S. Defense Secretary ending trip of Americas

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is winding down his six-day tour of several Latin American countries with a stop in Peru today. Gates will meet with senior Peruvian officials in order to “strengthen bilateral relations.” However, U.S. diplomatic sources denied that Gates’ visit has to do with the possibility of moving a U.S. military base from Ecuador to Peru.

Gates was originally supposed to visit the Americas in July but canceled it in order to face increased domestic criticism over policy in Iraq. Yet throughout his trip he has fielded many concerns over the U.S. occupation of Iraq including the role of private contractors and arms sales to the Iraqi military.

Yesterday Gates met with Chilean counterpart José Goñi Carrasco and praised Chilean peacekeeping efforts in countries like Haiti.

Earlier in the week, Gates visited El Salvador where he praised the country’s deployment of troops to combat in Iraq. He also observed training exercises of the Colombian military though he warned the country’s government to avoid hostage rescue attempts.

Image- Al Jazeera

Sources (English)- Bloomberg, AHN, AFP, Associated Press, Voice of America

Sources (Spanish)- Milenio, La Republica

Daily Headlines: July 10, 2007

* Victor Toro (image)- a well-known New York City community activist and former political prisoner during the Pinochet period- may be deported to Chile.

* Allegations of racism forced the temporary closing of an upscale restaurant in Lima, Peru.

* Citing increased criticism of the conflict in Iraq, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates cancelled a visit of Latin America that was supposed to start today.

* The Colombian guerrilla leader known by the nickname of “Simon Trinidad” was convicted by a U.S. jury on kidnapping charges.

* Follow-up: Nearly a month after Mexico’s government tossed out a legal complaint against the Catholic Church, religious officials are creating a proposal to strengthen the archdiocese’s role in political debates.

Sources- BBC News, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Guardian UK, Newsday

Image- Canal 13 Chile