Venezuelan Expats Protest Against Government

Scores of Venezuelans residing abroad have participated in protests amidst the heightened poetical tension in their homeland.

In Miami, approximately 700 people participated in a rally that was held days after three people were killed following an anti-government protest in Caracas. 

The marchers, who were mostly made up of the growing Venezuelan diaspora in south Florida, reportedly held signs denouncing the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro.

“I went to the protest because I'm a student and I identify with what young people in my country are going through,” said one of the demonstrators at Sunday’s event.  “Venezuelans have already gone through so much and it's a shame that this is happening”.

Hundreds of other expats in other parts of the U.S. as well as in Latin America held protests in solidarity with Venezuelan university student marchers opposed to the Maduro regime. 

“In this age of technology neither Venezuelans or the world could understand what was going on (in Venezuela) because there are no more independent and free media outlets,” denounced María Fernanda Flores, the former vice president of het Globovisión TV network who took part in a protest over the weekend in New York city.  (Globovisión, whose editorial content showed opposition to the Venezuelan government, was sold last year to a group allegedly with close ties to the government.)

“You’re on Your Way Out, Maduro”, “SOS Venezuela” and “No More Lies” were the slogans of the signs held by 300 protesters who gathered at Mexico City’s iconic Angel of the Independence statue on Sunday.

Similar events where held in major cities in Europe and Asia such as in Paris where 200 demonstrators rallied in front of the Eiffel Tower over the weekend.

Social media has played a key part in helping to spread the word about the protests, which was the case in Philadelphia where demonstration organizers relied on Facebook and Twitter to promote their event.  Social networking has also been vital in disseminating information into and out from Venezuela but it has also led to a “virtual battle” between backers and detractors of the Maduro regime.  Despite denials from Venezuelan officials, a spokesman for Twitter accused the government of being behind a disruption in service last week. A global campaign of hackers was then formed and they infiltrated numerous government websites:

On Friday, government domains were plastered with the branding of Anonymous, LulzSec and several other lesser-known groups and individual hackers. By Saturday, it seemed as if the Maduro government could do little to contain the online onslaught…
 

Over the weekend, hackers coordinated their attacks by communicating on a number of IRC (internet relay chat) forums in a blur of English, Spanish and Portuguese. With each passing moment, new links to defacements and downed sites made their way from IRC to social media…
 

The PSUV account was (hacked and) then used to circulate images of the police repressing anti-government protesters. Party officials regained control of the account on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, supporters of opposition activist Leopoldo López accompanied him as he surrendered to authorities and was placed under arrest for his supposed role in last Wednesday’s post-protest violence. 

“I am handing myself over to an unfair justice system,” said López in front of a reported crowd of 10,000 individuals mostly clad in white.  “May my imprisonment serve to wake the people up,” he added.   

López, whose tactics of street protests and direct confrontation with the government has put him at odds with others in the opposition, is expected to be taken from prison to a court hearing on Wednesday.

Maduro lashed out at his Colombian and Chilean counterparts after the former, President Juan Manuel Santos, called on the government and opposition to engage in peaceful dialogue.  President Sebastián Piñera of Chile, meanwhile, called on all actors in Venezuela to respect freedom of expression and human rights.

“Do you really believe you can come to me and give me lessons on democracy President Santos when what I’m doing is defending Venezuela?” asked Maduro in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of sympathizers and employees of state-owned oil firm PDVSA.

“That’s enough, dammit!” declared Maduro at the pro-government demonstration where he also labeled López as the “political head of Venezuela’s fascist right.”

Maduro did not mention the U.S. State Department, which blasted the Venezuelan government’s recent decision to expel three consular officials accused of conspiring.

“We have seen many times that the Venezuelan Government tries to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States or other members of the international community for events inside Venezuela,” according to a State Department statement issued on Tuesday. “These efforts reflect a lack of seriousness on the part of the Venezuelan Government to deal with the grave situation it faces”.

Video Source– YouTube user CadenaTres
 
Online Sources – Reuters; BBC Mundo; U.S. State Department; El Universal; philly.com; La Nacion; The Latin Americanist; VOXXI; Bloomberg; Ultima Hora; Variety; Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: September 27, 2013

* Latin America: The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime found that Peru surpassed Colombia as the world’s top producer of coca, while Guatemalan Otto Perez Molina called for reforming global drug policy during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

* Chile: Chilean President Sebastian Piñera ordered the shutdown of a “luxury prison” where ten ex-senior officials who served under the late dictator Augusto Pinochet are serving sentences for human rights violations.

* U.S.: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists denounced a recent Fox News headline referring to U.S. citizens with undocumented parents as “children of the corn.”

* El Salvador: Two members of the Uighur Muslim ethnic minority who were released from the Guantanamo prison in April 2012 to El Salvador have reportedly left the Central American country.

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- Miami Herald; Huffington Post; Reuters; CSMonitor.com; Al Jazeera America

Daily Headlines: January 7, 2013

* Venezuela: Chavistas and opposition politicos continue to be at loggerheads over the health of ailing President Hugo Chavez who is supposed to be inaugurated on Thursday for a third straight term.
    
* Chile: President Sebastián Piñera announced the application of Chile's tough Pinochet era anti-terrorism law as a result of increased tensions with indigenous Mapuche activists.

* Mexico: Could Canada’s guest worker program for Mexicans serve as an example for the U.S. to emulate?
 
* Colombia: Honduras’ ambassador to Colombia resigned after it was discovered that a bacchanalian holiday party was held at the embassy in Bogota last month.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Businessweek, Huffington Post, VOXXI, The Guardian

Chile quake victims to gov’t: Don’t forget about us

Last month’s rescue of 33 Chileans served as a compelling human-interest story, a global media ratings bonanza, and an amazing feat of technology. In the weeks since the rescue at the San Jose Mine, the freed workers have become a cause célèbre both in their native land as well as abroad.

Despite Sebastián Piñera's promise that he would be Chile’s "reconstruction president", some survivors of last February’s major earthquake have accused the government of ignoring them. A recent poll found that 70% of respondents in the tremor-hit Maule and Bio-Bio regions areas believed that government help has been to slow. 84% of those polled also believed that the rebuilding process has been “too slow”; while over 62% claimed that Piñera has been “inefficient”.

According to the AP, the local media has cited problems that have persisted since the earthquake struck over eight months ago and killed at least 521 people. Obtaining potable water has been a challenge for those residing in makeshift survivor camps while plenty of debris from fallen homes and buildings has not been removed.

In a speech last week, Piñera claimed that the reconstruction has been “the fastest, most efficient, and most profound in the history of this country.” He also said that he “has not forgotten the victims” and pledged that at least half of the reconstruction efforts will be completed by the one-year anniversary of the tremors.

But as reported by The Telegraph, some Chileans who lived through the 8.8-magnitude earthquake are disappointed with the attention the freed workers in Copiapo have received:

"We've been forgotten," said Cecilia Vallejos, 40, the president of the residents' committee at the (El Morro) camp.

"Watching all the attention given to the miners just emphasized that. Of course we, like all Chileans, were so pleased when they came out. But their hell is over after two months. We are still living ours"…

"We are grateful that we survived the earthquake but how long will we have to live like this?" (Maria Vasquez) asked. "The government did everything and more to rescue the miners when the world was looking but no one has come to see us. “

Thousands of minor aftershocks have occurred since February, while no immediate damages or fatalities were reported as a result of a 5.3-magnitude tremor over the weekend. If another major earthquake were to hit Chile in the near future, however, the results could be catastrophic. According to the U.N. officials, Chile lacks proper “inter-institutional and multidisciplinary” coordination between in case another disaster occurs.

Image- Christian Science Monitor (“A resident retrieves some belongings from a building…in Talca, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile (in February). Enrique Marcarian/Reuters”)
Online Sources- Chile.com, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, El Universal, El Mercurio de Antofagasta, The Telegraph

Chilean mining rescue continues (Updated)

Update (5:45 pm): 25 of the 33 trapped Chilean workers have successfully reached the surface in a rescue operation that may conclude roughly 24 hours after the first miner was rescued.

So far all of the miners are in satisfactory health. Health Minister Jaime Mañalich admitted however that seven survivors required "special care" in hospital for ailments including acute pneumonia.

Original Post:

The rescue efforts to free 33 Chilean workers trapped in an underground mine have been almost nonstop since the first miner was liberated late last night.

According to Chilean president Sebastian Pinera the operation has gone on smoothly and ahead of schedule. “As a country, we have so many problems to face (but) I’m sure we’ll be able to do it, just as we’ve taken on this rescue operation,” said Pinera in remarks to the press earlier today. His optimism was shared by mining minister Lawrence Golborne who moments ago expressed his hope that all of the workers could safely reach the surface by the early evening hours.

As of the original publishing of this post eighteen of the workers have made it to the surface after being stuck over 600 meters in an underground shelter for nearly 70 days. Among those who have been freed thus far were:

• Florencio Avalos who was the first miner to reach the surface at 1:00 am Chilean time;
  
• Jimmy Sanchez and Mario Gomez, the youngest and oldest survivors (aged 19 and 63 respectively);
• Mario Sepulveda, whose exuberance after emerging from the Fenix capsule earned him the nickname of "Super Mario" by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio;
• Jose Ojeda, whose note that read "All 33 of us are safe in the shelter" was attached to a drill and found by rescuers on August 22nd;
• Carlos Mamani, the lone non-Chilean worker who was offered a job and home for his family in his native Bolivia from President Evo Morales.
  

All the rescued workers appear to be in exceptional physical condition despite the immense difficulties of being trapped for so long underground. Yet health experts quoted in several newspapers warned that they could face psychological trauma and problems like respiratory illness and eye damage.

The rescue operation at the San Jose mine has captured the attention of international traditional sources as well as blogs and social networking sites. Perhaps the most interesting headline comes from Spain's El Mundo whose headline features black and white photos of the miners that are turned to color with each rescued worker.

The miners' plight has been used as a marketing opportunity for companies like a Greek mining firm that has offered free trips to Europe for the rescued miners. At least one idea made in August, the offer of one-years worth of free sushi, backfired and the company's president was forced to publicly apologize.

Online Sources - The Latin Americanist, LAHT, The Hindu, CBS News, New York Daily News, El Mundo, The Guardian
Image - CBS News ("Thirty-one year old Alex Vega became the tenth rescued miner at the site of the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, on October 13, 2010.")

Daily Headlines: April 10, 2009

* Bolivia: The country’s legislature approved a government-backed electoral law hours after President Evo Morales started his hunger strike.

* Argentina: Health groups worry that there have been over 20,000 cases of dengue in an outbreak that has so far killed three people.

* Panama: Former president Manuel Noriega may be extradited to France where he could face a retrial for money laundering.

* Chile: Presidential frontrunner and billionaire Sebastian Pinera placed his investments in a blind trust rather than possibly be forced to sell some of them.

Image- LAHT
Online Sources- LAHT, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, BBC News, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: December 5, 2008

* Colombia: Paramilitaries still exist in Colombia as new groups have emerged to spread fear into the countryside.

* Mexico: Officials in Mexico have begun repatriating illegal Cuban migrants under an agreement signed in October.

* Peru: Ancient Peruvians ate a diet rich in cultivated crops according to recent archeological findings.

* Chile: Ricardo Lagos’ withdrawal from the presidential race could be a big break for center-right billionaire Sebastian Pinera.

Image- Guardian UK (“A group of paramilitaries in Tulua, about 200 miles south-west of Bogota.”)
Sources- Los Angeles Times, AP, The Latin Americanist, UPI, The Irish Times