Daily Headlines: February 7, 2013 (UPDATED)

* Chile: The Chilean Navy was ordered to investigate a group of sailors caught on video chanting, “I will kill Argentines, I will shoot Bolivians, I will behead Peruvians.”

Update: A report from the Chilean Navy said that the chant by a group of sailors in Viña del Mar was an "improvised" form of a "typical" song used by the military in training.

The report, which was ordered by the federal government in response to the controversial video, labeled the chant as "offensive" but called for the leader of the chant to be punished rather than the entire group of 27 sailors.

* South America: Police in Peru nabbed the suspected head of Los Urabeños, a Colombian neo-paramilitary criminal gang involve in drug trafficking.

* Cuba: Lack of demand is reportedly to blame for a decline in the number of charter flights between the U.S. and Cuba.

* U.S.: Can Governors Brian Sandoval and Susana Martinez help attract Latino voters to the Republican Party?

Video Source – YouTube via user Guillermo Rossini

Online Sources including Update- La Nacion, ABC News, UPI, Miami Herald, New York Times

Weekend Headlines: October 1-2, 2011

* Haiti: The U.N.’s top humanitarian official said that "much more needs to be done" in order to help Haitians still suffering after several disasters including last year’s major earthquake.

* Ecuador: Several thousand people marched in Quito yesterday as a show of solidarity for President Rafael Correa on the one-year anniversary of an attempted coup against him.

* Argentina: A report by retired British generals warned that the Falklands Islands are a "plum ripe for the picking" should Argentina contest their sovereignty.

* Mexico: A pact to combat violence was signed at the end of this year's conference of U.S. and Mexican border state governors despite New Mexico’s Susana Martinez serving as the only U.S. governor attending the meeting.

Image – Flickr via user newbeatphoto (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- News24, The Latin Americanist, AFP, The Guardian, Reuters

News Briefs: Immigration

• According to the Los Angeles Times there has been an influx of Indian migrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico. Immigration authorities claimed that the hundreds of migrants make up “the ‘most significant’ human-smuggling trend being tracked by the U.S.” Meanwhile Homeland Security asserts that none of the 1600 Indians caught trying to cross the border last year were classified as terrorists.
• Some immigration rights activists are none too pleased with an iPhone app game depicting smugglers. The app "pokes fun and trivializes the harsh reality of our current immigration policy," said a representative of the New York Immigration Coalition to a local daily. One of the game’s developers claimed, however, that the app is satirical and based on the difficulties his friends had trying to immigrate into the U.S.
• A study by the International Institute for Environment and Development said that climate change will not lead to mass migrations around the world. The report cited studies in countries like Bolivia to conclude that most people displaced by climate change prefer to stay inside their own country.
• In Texas a group of Hispanic Republican legislators are trying to steer the GOP away from backing harsh anti-immigrant measures. In neighboring New Mexico, meanwhile, Republican Governor Susana Martinez has come under fire for her executive order allowing police to seek the immigration status of suspects.
• A U.S. appeals court upheld a $78,000 claims ruling against a rancher who purportedly threatened and assaulted a group of four migrant women. The judge who at one point oversaw the trial, John Roll, received death threats and was killed last month in a shooting that critically injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
• Canada’s Museum of Immigration opened today at Halifax’s Pier 21 which served as a “front door for more than a million immigrants, refugees, troops, wartime evacuees, war brides and their children.”
• Lastly, a Pew Hispanic Center report released last week may have poured some cold water on the “anchor babies” myth.
  

Image- Los Angeles Times (“In Harlingen, Texas, Indian citizens released from an immigration center often are taken to the Greyhound bus station. Many struggle with poor English as they try to call family or friends, or buy travel tickets. (Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times / February 6, 2011).”)
Online Sources- Economic Times, New York Daily News, Bloomberg, UPI, El Paso Times, Houston Chronicle, SFGate.com, CTV, USA TODAY

Major midterm wins for Latino Republican hopefuls

One of the major media narratives regarding Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections was the gain made by the Republican Party. The GOP regained control of the House of Representatives, won several gubernatorial posts and narrowed the Democrats lead in the Senate in part due to the victories of several Latino candidates.

Marco Rubio won in a three-way race for the Florida Senate post vacated by fellow Cuban-American Mel Martinez. He easily defeated Democrat Kendrick Meek and former governor Charlie Crist who ran as an independent after losing the Republican primary to Rubio.

The former Florida state House Speaker strongly allied with the Tea Party movement during the early part of his campaign. Yet tagging him, as a “Tea Party candidate” is a misnomer since after he won the GOP primary Rubio ran on a more moderate platform. He shied away from taking a hard line on immigration and refused to back privatizing Social Security and this probably helped him gain the support from a majority of independent voters according to one exit poll.

Out west, meanwhile, Susana Martinez made history in that she will become New Mexico’s first Latina governor. A former Democrat, Martinez emphasized the needs for local legislators on both sides of the aisle to come and work together in order “to set a new course in New Mexico.” As the AP reported, however, the future successor to Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson will face a major challenge in reconciling “potentially unrealistic campaign promises not to raise taxes while protecting public schools and Medicaid from spending cuts.”

Harry Reid may’ve been one of the few high points for Democrats after holding onto his Senate seat in Nevada (more on that later). But his son, Rory, did not enjoy the same good fortune after losing to Republican Brian Sandoval in the governor’s race. The former federal judge and assemblyman won by double-digits and will thus become Nevada’s first Latino governor.

Much like Martinez, Sandoval’s campaign pledges to veto any tax increase while cutting as little as possible from social services may have to be broken by the time the next state budget is debated.

Several Latino Democrat representatives retained their seats in the House including Silvestre Reyes, Loretta Sanchez, and Raul Grijalva. Their wins were tempered by victories from the likes of Republican Jamie Herrera who will became the first Latino congressman from Washington state and Francisco Canseco who beat 11-year veteran Ciro Rodriguez.

One political pundit on Univision’s electoral coverage last night claimed that Rubio could become a strong national contender and perhaps even “occupy the White House.” While the victories from the likes of Rubio, Sandoval, and Martinez shouldn’t be understated it certainly remains to be seen if yesterday’s electoral shakeup will lead to major political changes for Latinos.

Image- CBS News (Marco Rubio looked pretty darn confident after leaving the polls on Election Day yesterday).
Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, AP, Las Vegas Sun, MSNBC, Chron.com, UPI, Bloomberg, Miami Herald