Daily Headlines: November 2, 2016

* Mexico: Mexico’s “sugar tax” on carbonated beverages enacted in 2013 could prevent as many as 500,000 cases of diabetes and save up to $2.5 billion in ten years, according to a new report.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos indicated that a reworked peace deal with the FARC rebels would be ratified by Congress rather than risk defeat at a second referendum.

* Bolivia: Spanish energy giant Repsol extended its agreement for exploration and operation of Bolivia’s largest oil bloc to 2046.

* Chile: The race for 2018 World Cup qualification in South America became much tighter after a decision to dock points from Bolivia allowed Chile to leapfrog Argentina in the standings.

YouTube Source – Euromonitor International (Video uploaded on November 2013).

Online Sources – Vocaticv, Colombia Reports, Goal.com, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: October 13, 2016

* El Salvador: Lawmakers of El Salvador’s ruling political party backs a proposal to ease the total ban on abortion while an opposition legislator countered with a bill to punish anyone involved with abortions with fifty years in prison.

* United States: A poll of Latino registered voters taken show 58% respondents prefer Hillary Clinton in the race for the presidency, while the support for third party candidates Jill Stein (6%) and Gary Johnson (10%) both nearly equal the percentage who back Donald Trump (19%).

* Colombia: Tens of thousands of protestors advocating for peace took to the streets of Colombia’s major cities for the third time since voters narrowly rejected an accord between the government and FARC rebels.

* Haiti: In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the United States government suspended deporting Haitian migrants back to their home country.

YouTube Source – France 24 English (Video uploaded in March 2016).

Online Sources – UPI, CNN, ABC News, The Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: October 7, 2016

* Colombia: The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in recognition of “his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end”, and underlined that the recent electoral defeat of an accord with the FARC rebels “does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead”.

* Mexico: The National Human Rights Commission called on officials in the central Mexican state of Morelos to offer an official apology over their botched handling of 119 victims located in mass graves in 2014.

* United States: Polling firm Latino Decisions believes Hillary Clinton will win the Latino vote in next month’s United States presidential election by the widest margin in recorded history.

* Haiti: Authorities in Haiti claimed the death toll from Hurricane Matthew has reached at least 280 lives but worry that there may be more fatalities in communities isolated by the storm.

YouTube Source – Ruptly TV (An estimated 60,000 people in Colombia’s major cities on Wednesday night marched silently in rallies organized by university students calling for an end to the decades-long armed conflict.)

Online Sources – The Indian Express, The Guardian, Business Insider, Nobel Prize

Daily Headlines: September 29, 2016

* Argentina: Nearly one in three residents in Argentina live below the poverty line according to the first data on the subject published by the government since October 2013.

* Colombia: Days after a peace accord was signed with Colombia’s largest guerilla army, the ELN rebels claimed to be ready to officially start peace talks with the government.

* Chile: “I believe that women should have legally the possibility of making their own choices,” said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet over a proposal that would relax the country’s ban on abortion under all circumstances.

* United States: A PricewaterhouseCoopers study concluded that Hispanic television viewers prefer English-language programs over those in Spanish with stronger preference in each subsequent generation for shows in English.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (New data from the Argentinian government seems to confirm the findings of a 2014 World Bank report warning that a third of the population is vulnerable of falling into poverty.)

Online Sources – Voice of America, The Latin Americanist, Deadline, BBC News, ABC News

Daily Headlines: September 27, 2016

* Colombia: “In the name of the FARC, I sincerely apologize to all the victims of the conflict for any pain we may have caused during this war,” admitted rebel commander alias Timochenko as he and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a historic peace deal yesterday.

* Mexico: The Mexican peso, which has hit record lows over the last past week, has sharply rebounded following the United States (US) presidential debate on Monday night.

* Argentina: In a surprising move, former Argentina men’s national team coach Gerardo Martino was named as manager of Major League Soccer expansion club Atlanta United.

* Venezuela: According to a State Department spokesman, US Secretary of State John Kerry “spoke of our concern about the economic and political challenges that have affected millions of Venezuelans” after meeting President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.

YouTube Source – AFP (“Colombia's leftist FARC rebel force signed a historic peace accord with the government bringing the country a step closer to ending their half-century civil war.”)

Online Sources – Goal.com, Reuters, SBS, Fox News Latino

US, EU to Remove Terrorism Status from FARC?

United States (US) and European Union  (EU) diplomats have given indications that the FARC might be rescinded of its status as a terrorist group for both entities as Colombia’s president and the leader of the rebels will soon sign a historic peace agreement.

EU Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia Eamon Gilmore confirmed that the bloc will soon commence actions to eliminate the status of the FARC as a terrorist organization and claimed it was an action “that had been considered for a long time.”

“The peace process is on its journey. We hope the process ends with the signing of the (peace) agreement,” affirmed Gilmore in an interview earlier to Colombian media outlet RCN.

The comprehensive pact gives the FARC a 180-day deadline to disarm and move to disarmament zones monitored by the United Nations. A judicial mechanism was established in order to place rebels on trial for crimes against humanity, torture, and rape, while the guerillas must also provide reparations to victims of an armed conflict that over a fifty-two year period claimed an estimated 260,000 lives and led to seven million displaced people.

As part of the accord, the rebels may be allowed to form their own political party, will receive aid to return into civil society, and cannot be put on trial for "political crimes". 

US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, listed numerous conditions the guerillas must meet as part of the peace deal before they’re removed from the terrorist blacklist.

Daily Headlines: September 6, 2016

* Mexico: Several thousand people lined the streets outside of Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes yesterday to pay their last respects to famed singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel who died last week at the age of 66.

* Venezuela: Oilfield services company Schlumberger announced it would scale back operations in Venezuela including laying off workers and withdrawing from projects.

* Cuba: Dissidents believe the Cuban government has been censoring text messages by removing missives with phrases like “human rights” and the names of opposition activists.

* Colombia: Coca-Cola, Chiquita and Drummond are some of the major multinational firms that could face charges over financing Colombia’s former AUC paramilitary group.

YouTube Source – Associated Press  
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Seeking Alpha, Endgadget, Colombia Reports

Daily Headlines: August 29, 2016 (Updated)

* Mexico: Juan Gabriel, the iconic Mexican singer and songwriter known for such hits as “Siempre en mi Mente” and “Querida”, died on Sunday at the age of sixty-six.

* Colombia: FARC commanders issued a definitive ceasefire to begin on Monday and days after the rebels and the Colombian government reached a historic peace deal that awaits approval via a plebiscite this October.

* Argentina: An Argentine court convicted thirty-eight ex-military officers last week for their role in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of several hundred victims during the oppressive “Dirty War” era.

* Venezuela: A U.S. Department of State spokesman condemned moving opposition figure Daniel Ceballos from house arrest to prison in an action he deemed as trying to “intimidate and impede the Venezuelan people's right to peacefully express their opinion” ahead of a September 1st rally.

Update: The Venezuelan government replied to the criticism by accusing the U.S. of promoting "instbaility" and plotting a coup during the September 1st anti-government march.

YouTube Source – JuanGabrielVEVO

Online Sources including Update – Fusion, ABC Online, The New York Times, Reuters, 20minutos.es

Colombia, FARC Reach Historic Peace Deal

One of the bloodiest and most violent chapters in Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict could soon come to a close after the government and the FARC rebels reached a historic final peace agreement on Wednesday.

“Today we have reached the finish line,” declared lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle who also claimed the agreement will “open doors” to a more open and inclusive Colombian society.

“We can proclaim that the war of arms is over and the debate of ideas begins,” proclaimed alias “Ivan Marquez,” top FARC envoy.

The agreement was announced in the Cuban capital city of Havana following nearly four years of often-tense negotiations between government envoys and representatives of Colombia’s largest and oldest guerilla faction. Thus far, both sides have agreed on subjects including land reform, justice for the victims of conflict, and disarmament.

According to RCN Radio of Colombia, the final details of the deal bar the FARC from any form of amnesty unless they lay down their arms and a strategy to reincorporate guerillas into civil society. Another point purportedly grants the FARC judicial guarantees while the deal goes to a plebiscite and subsequently for congressional review. Speaking of the federal legislature, the deal allegedly allow for the rebels to have up to seven Congressional seats as part of their potential political participation.

“There will be no impunity!” thundered Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos regarding doubts over justice against the rebels and following the historic announcement in Cuba.

Daily Headlines: June 27, 2016

* Panama: After months of construction delays, cost overruns and worker strife the expanded Panama Canal reopened on Sunday and is expected to generate $2 billion in annual revenue.

* Chile: Chile’s golden generation of soccer players steered the men’s national team to second consecutive Copa America victory in the span of twelve months.

* Colombia: While Colombia is on the cusp of a historic peace deal with the FARC rebels, the government has offered tax breaks to companies investing in projects located in regions ravaged by armed conflict.

* Paraguay: Fernando Lugo, the former president who was ousted in 2012, said he would run again for Paraguay’s highest political office in 2018.

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – USA TODAY, The Huffington Post, Fortune, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: June 2, 2016

* Mexico: Many Mexican states are reportedly hurrying to implement judicial reforms including “increasing transparency and better guaranteeing access to fair and timely trials” before a June 18 deadline.

* Honduras: Members of the Honduran indigenous rights group that included assassinated activist Berta Caceres warned of the return of alleged "death squads" that roamed the country during the 1980s.

* Cuba: Jose Daniel Ferrer, a Cuban dissident allowed to travel to the U.S., called on his fellow political opponents on the island to unite and create a shared strategy in light of the rapprochement between the Obama and Castro regimes.

* Colombia: The U.N. agency representing refugees urged Canada to renew an expiring agreement to help resettle Colombians displaced by armed conflict.

YouTube Source – CCTV Americas Now (Judicial reforms in Mexico were started in 2008 but most states have yet to fully implement new measures).
 
Online Sources –The Christian Science Monitor, The Hamilton Spectator, Latin American Herald Tribune, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: May 11, 2016

* Brazil: The Brazilian Senate later today will likely approve holding an impeachment trial against embattled President Dilma Rousseff where she would be suspended from her post for 180 days.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos claimed that a peace deal with FARC rebels can be reached “in the very near future” hours after his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, called for a “civil resistance” against such an agreement. 

* Nicaragua: A new study blasted planned construction of an interoceanic canal though Nicaragua, which would be disastrous for a number of endangered wildlife species.

* Peru: Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, continues to post a slight lead in the polls ahead of next month’s runoff.

* U.S.: At least 875,000 eligible Latino voters could face difficulties voting in the upcoming presidential election according to an analysis by National Association of Elected and Appointed Officials.

* El Salvador: The murder rate for El Salvador in the first four months of this year has reportedly surpassed the rates in other Central American countries for 2015.

YouTube Source – AFP
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino, Colombia Reports, CNN, Reuters, The Tico Times, NBC News

Daily Headlines: February 5, 2016

* Colombia: U.S. President Barack Obama proposed increasing foreign aid to Colombia by more than 50% to around $450 million in order to help end “half a century of wrenching conflict” in the Latin American country.

* Peru: The odds of Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former leader Alberto Fujimori, winning Peru’s presidential election in April could become stronger with the possible disqualification of two campaign rivals.

* Brazil: The first Palestinian Authority embassy in the Americas was inaugurated this week in the Brazilian capital city of Brasilia.

* Venezuela: A congressional plan to free political dissidents has become the newest battleground issue in the acrimonious relations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition.

YouTube Source – AFP
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Forward, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: January 29, 2016

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos called on the U.S. to remove the FARC from its list of terrorist groups in order to help advance peace talks that could end with a full agreement by March.

* Puerto Rico: While the Zika virus continues to spread across the Americas, Puerto Rican health officials warned that the flu reached epidemic levels on the commonwealth.

* Latin America: Caracas, Venezuela supplanted San Pedro Sula in Honduras as the world’s most violent city according to the Mexico-based Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice. 

* Mexico: Should Canada’s new government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau focus on more on strengthening ties with Mexico than the U.S.?

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – NBC News, Reuters, ABC News, The Telegtaph, The Globe and Mail

Daily Headlines: January 26, 2016

* Cuba: The U.S. government announced today new measures to relax regulations against Cuba that include facilitating exports and expanding opportunities to travel to the island.

* Puerto Rico: More Puerto Ricans are reportedly opting to migrate to the Dominican Republic than vice versa in order to flee from the commonwealth’s dire economic state.

* Colombia: In a rare unanimous vote, the U.N. Security Council approved creating a mission of observers to monitor a peace deal between the Colombian government and FARC that may be reached by March 23rd.

* El Salvador: Should El Salvador relax its complete ban on abortion in light of the spreading Zika virus affecting pregnant women and newborn babies?

YouTube Source – Boom Bust

Online Sources – Salon, Bloomberg, CBS News, GlobalPost, CNN

Daily Headlines: January 20, 2016

* Honduras: The Honduran government and the Organization of American States agreed to create an international body aimed at combating political and judicial corruption.

* Latin America: The International Monetary Fund believes that the economy of the Latin America and Caribbean region will contract for the second straight year and shrink by 0.3% in 2016.

* U.S.: A new Pew Research Center study found that the Latino electorate has grown mainly thanks to more millennials and naturalized citizens.

* Colombia: Colombian officials and the FARC rebels requested U.N. monitoring of their bilateral ceasefire roughly two months prior to a self-imposed deadline to reach a final peace deal.

YouTube Source – AJ+ (Video uploaded on July 2015).
 
Online Sources – The Guardian, Financial Times, Pew Hispanic Center, BBC News

Daily Headlines: January 15, 2016

* Brazil: Police charged officials with companies including Vale SA and BHP Billiton over a November 2015 dam collapse that caused major environmental damage in southeast Brazil.

* Mexico: Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez and U.S. Justice Department officials supposedly met on Tuesday in order to advance the possible extradition of reprehended drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Cuba: Cuba allegedly received over 3.5 million tourists last year including a 76% increase in visitors from the U.S.

* Colombia: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim called on the international community to guarantee greater financial assistance to Colombia as it tries to reach a peace deal and end decades of armed conflict.

YouTube Source – ODN

Online Sources – Yahoo News, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Jamaica Observer

Daily Headlines: January 14, 2016

* Chile: Alejandro Aravena of Chile became the fourth Latin American to win the Pritzker Prize, which is the most prestigious honor in the architectural world.

* Central America: Mexico will grant transit visas to the first group of some 8000 Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica for several weeks, while the U.S. State Department announced an expansion of a program helping refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

* Latin America: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control could issue a travel warning for pregnant women against visiting parts of Latin American and the Caribbean due to the spread of the Zika virus.

* Colombia: The final stage of peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC commenced amid doubts by rebel negotiator Joaquin Gomez over reaching a final agreement by the March 23rd deadline.

YouTube Source – Arch Daily
 
Online Sources – Quartz, Reuters, National Geographic, MSNBC, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: October 28, 2015

* Cuba: Despite a diplomatic rapprochement towards Cuba, the U.S. once again opposed a U.N. General Assembly resolution overwhelmingly condemning the trade embargo against the island.

* Mexico: The Mexican Supreme Court may emit a ruling this week that could open the door to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.

* U.S.: Kansas City Royals pitcher and World Series Game 1 starter Edinson Volquez left for the Dominican Republic hours after his father suddenly passed away at the age of 63.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos proposed a bilateral ceasefire with the FARC rebels to begin on New Year’s Day of 2016.

YouTube Source – euronews (191 U.N. member states condmned the U.S. embargo against cuba in a resolution that for the second straight year was only opposed to by the U.S. and Israel).
 
Online Sources – USA TODAY, GlobalPost, BBC News, CNN

Daily Headlines: October 27, 2015

* Brazil: The first-ever World Indigenous Games commenced in Brazil yet much like preparations for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the competition has not been free from controversy.

* Mexico: Residents in Mexico’s Golden Triangle region claimed that they have been unfairly displaced as part of the manhunt to find fugitive drug capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

* Colombia: Preliminary peace talks between the Colombian government and ELN are in jeopardy after at least eleven security agents were killed and two were kidnapped in a guerrilla ambush.

* Venezuela: Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz tried to downplay allegations by ex-prosecutor Franklin Reyes who claimed that false evidence was used to convict opposition activist Leopoldo López.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources – Scotsman, Global Voices Online, Voice of America, BBC News