Daily Headlines: July 28, 2014

* Chile: A series of “violent attacks” this month in southern Chile have increased tensions between the government and the indigenous Mapuche community.

* Nicaragua: Did a bus driver plan recent deadly attacks against Nicaraguan political activists or is he being used as a “scapegoat”?

* Bolivia: Workers at a construction site in the Bolivian mountain city of Potosi uncovered a mass grave with the remains of some 400 people.

* Mexico: Thirty-two police officers including the former top public safety chief of a town in Michoacán were arrested over alleged ties to drug gangs.

Video Source – YouTube user canaltvu tvu (At least two Chilean police officers were injured during a confrontation with members of the Mapuche community.)

Online Sources – New Zealand Herald; VICE News; NDTV; BBC News

Daily Headlines: May 3, 2012

* Mexico: Mexican expats sent $5.37 billion in remittances to their home country in the first quarter of 2012, which represents a 5.3% increase compared to the first three months of 2011.

* Bolivia: A U.S. State Department spokesman said that the Bolivian government’s takeover of the main power grid could “really dampen the investment climate in Bolivia.”

* Guatemala: Officials declared a state of siege in the northwestern province of Huehuetenango after two hundred armed people briefly took over an army outpost.

* Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega called for three days of national mourning after the death of former Sandinista figure Tomas Borge.

Image Source – YouTube via teleSUR (Remittances are a major source of dollar inflows into Mexico and most of the money transfers are sent from the U.S.)

Online Sources- LAHT, AFP, Boston.com, Los Angeles Times

Nicaraguan boxing great Arguello dead

One of the greatest Latin American boxers of all time died on Wednesday of an apparent suicide.

Legendary Nicaraguan pugilist Alexis Arguello died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The 57-year-old had problems with depression, alcohol and drug use including almost killing himself in front of his young son in 1984.

During the 1980s, Arguello allied himself with the anti-Sandinista Contras after the revolutionary government seized his assets and homes in Nicaragua. In recent years, however, he had a change in heart and was elected as Managua mayor last November while running on the Sandinista party ticket. (The current Sandinista government declared three days of national mourning in Arguello’s honor).

Nicknamed “El Flaco Explosivo” ("The Explosive Thin Man"), Arguello was one of the few pugilists to be a champion in three weight divisions (featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight.). His career spanned over 25 years where he amassed an extraordinary 82-8 record with 65 knockouts. Yet Arguello’s most famous bout was one he lost: his unforgettable fight against Aaron Pryor in 1982.

Nearly three decades ago, a ferocious puncher and a brilliant ring tactician waged one of boxing's epic brawls under the twinkling lights of the Orange Bowl in Miami, a fight so big that few remember Roberto Duran was on the undercard.

After 14 back-and-forth rounds, Aaron Pryor brutally knocked out Alexis Arguello to retain his junior welterweight title. The fight on Nov. 12, 1982, left an indelible impression on the 23,000-plus who crowded near the ring in the aging football stadium in Little Havana.

"That was something I will never, ever forget as long as I live," said 77-year-old Bob Arum, who promoted the bout. "That was one of the most memorable fights I ever did”…

"It was a great fight we had," Pryor told The Associated Press, not long after learning of Arguello's death. "This was a great champion."

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- AP, BBC Sport, AFP, Deadspin, Guardian UK

U.S. blasts Nicaragua over elections

U.S. officials sternly criticized the Nicaraguan government of voter fraud during local elections this month. "The election was not transparent, and there were many problems," said U.S. Ambassador Robert Callahan who echoed claims made by Nicaraguan opposition candidates. On Thursday, the U.S. representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) called for an outside audit of the electoral results and implied that President Daniel Ortega rigged the election.

Nicaragua’s ambassador to the foreign body replied by accusing the U.S. and OAS of interfering in his country’s affairs:

"It is unheard of that the (OAS) secretary-general would usurp the state's authority, when neither the government nor the people of Nicaragua have given him that authority," (Nicaraguan OAS ambassador Denis Moncada) said.

He went on to say that Insulza had joined the U.S. campaign to "delegitimize Nicaragua's municipal elections and destabilize President Ortega's government."

He asked the council to call on the U.S. government to "cease its meddling in Nicaraguan affairs."

Tensions over the electoral results have resulted in “low-scale violence” all over Nicaragua including attacks on candidates. One report accused government supporters who “snuffed out opposition protests earlier this week, leaving dozens injured.”

Image- Guardian UK (“A masked supporter of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front party, FSLN, holds a homemade mortar during a protest in Managua. Photograph: Esteban Felix/AP”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, AP, washingtonpost.com, Bloomberg

Today’s Video: On this day…

It was twenty-nine years ago today that Sandinista rebels took over the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. President Anastasio Somoza Debayle (the third member of the Somoza dynasty to rule the country for over sixty years) fled to the U.S. and the Sandinistas would establish their own government two days later. Daniel Ortega- who led that government for over a decade before losing in an election- is currently Nicaraguan president.

The following video is a 1983 documentary looking at Nicaragua and the effects of the Sandinista regime. Produced by John Pilger, (who Wikipedia describes as a supporter of Hugo Chavez and a fervent critic of U.S. foreign policy), the film praised the “generosity of spirit” in Nicaragua under the Sandinistas and blasted the growing influence of the U.S.-backed Contras.

(Warning: Some scenes Not Safe for Work).

Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Wikipedia, YouTube

Daily Headlines: February 12, 2008

* British junior foreign minister Kim Howells took a photo (image) with a Colombian army division accused of ties to paramilitaries. Diplomatic snafu or much to do about nothing?

* Former members of the Contras aren’t too happy with the Daniel Ortega-led Nicaraguan government.

* The “anti-Mexican or anti-immigrant perception of people” is the “worst thing” to happen to the U.S. according to a speech given by Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

* The Pew Research Center estimates that the number of Latinos residents in the U.S. will more than double to 29% in 2050 from 14% in 2005.

Sources- AFP. Wikipedia, MSNBC, Associated Press, International Herald Tribune

Image- Guardian UK (“Kim Howells with troops of the High Mountain Battalion of the Colombian Army including General Mario Montoya (behind him and left of Howells)”)