Daily Headlines: April 8, 2009

* Mexico: Singer Manu Chao was nearly kicked out of Mexico after he criticized the federal government for “state terrorism” during the 2006 uprising in San Salvador Atenco.

* U.S.: One out of every two naturalized citizens in 2008 was Latino according to National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

* Haiti: A group of Congressmen has just finished a visit to Haiti where they discussed politics with President Rene Preval.

* Venezuela: Authorities have seized over twelve tons of illegal drugs so far this year according to interior minister Tarek El Aissami.

Image- New York Magazine (Manu Chao performing at a 2007 New York concert).
Online Sources- LAHT, AP, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, Guardian UK

Daily Headlines: February 16, 2009

* Brazil: Swiss police said that a Brazilian woman may’ve faked her claims that she was pregnant and attacked by a trio of skinheads.

* Paraguay: Today is President’s Day in the U.S. and apparently nobody can be prouder of that than Paraguayans.

* U.S.: A Department of Homeland Security report released on Friday concluded that over 100,000 immigrant parents of U.S. citizens were deported between 1997 and 2007.

* Mexico: The country’s Supreme Court ruled that riot police “committed serious human rights violations” such sexually abusing women during 2006 protests in the town of San Salvador Atenco.

Image- AP (“The scarred midsection, allegedly of Paula Oliveira, 26, of Brazil, can be seen in this photo taken in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, and given to a Brazilian newspaper by Oliveira's family. Zurich police on Thursday were investigating an alleged skinhead assault on Oliveira that caused her to miscarry twins and left her scarred with the initials of Switzerland's main right-wing party.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, MSNBC, New York Times, LAHT

95 Members Urge Mexican Authorities to Investigate the Abuses against Women during Police Operation

It's been over two years since the attacks on community members in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, attacks that specifically targeted women, exemplified by the police rape of at least 23 women. The violence was sparked by a combination of land rights and the right to make a living. It's only taken two years for the U.S. government to say something. On Monday, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA), Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) and 94 other members of Congress sent a letter to Mexican government officials expressing concerns and urging resolution to allegations of widespread physical and sexual abuse of women detained by police in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, in May, 2006.

In the letter, congressional members urge that jurisdiction over the investigation into the crimes committed against Ms. Méndez and the 25 other women assaulted in San Salvador Atenco be transferred to the federal attorney general and that any evidence gathered by any federal investigation undertaken so far is used to identify and file charges against those responsible.
The members also encourage the Mexican officials to implement the recommendations made by the National Human Rights Commission which call for effective and impartial investigations into the sexual and physical violence suffered by these women.

Sources : The Latin Americanist, The Narco News Bulletin, Adventures in the Coconut Caucus
Image Source : Daylife.com (MARIO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)