Daily Headlines: September 15, 2015

* Bolivia: The U.S. State Department claimed Bolivia “failed demonstrably” to combat drug trafficking even though coca leaf cultivation has fallen by over one-third since 2010.

* Puerto Rico: A group of eight Latino legislators called on Treasury secretary Jacob Lew to work with Congress and help push proposals that would allow debt-ridden Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy.

* Brazil: The Brazilian government unveiled a $17 billion austerity plan though President Dilma Rousseff may not have sufficient political and popular support to implement the package.

* Cuba: Cuban police detained some fifty dissidents marching in Havana less than a week prior to Pope Francis’ scheduled visit to the island.

YouTube Source – wochit World (“According to a new UN report, Bolivia has reduced coca production by 34 percent in four years…(President Evo) Morales forced the DEA and USAID to leave the country in 2008 and 2013 respectively”.)

Online Sources – Voice of America, Bloomberg View, Time, The New York Times, GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: August 21, 2015 (Updated)

* El Salvador: A U.S. federal court delayed Spain’s extradition request for Col. Inocente Orlando Montano, a retired army officer allegedly involved in the 1989 massacre of five Jesuit priests in El Salvador.

* Guatemala: Former Vice President Roxana Baldetti was arrested today on charges relating to one of the corruption scandals affecting President Otto Pérez Molina’s administration.

Update: Guatemalan prosecutors and investigators on a U.N.-backed panel recommended impeachment proceedings to begin against Pérez Molina over his alleged role in the "La Linea" customs fraud scandal.

* Brazil: Brazilian prosecutors filed charges against ex-President Fernando Collor de Mello and the current Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies related to the Petrobras bribery affair.

* Puerto Rico: The head of Puerto Rico’s Chamber of Commerce claimed that a coalition of twenty private sector firms urged the U.S. Congress to allow the commonwealth to declare bankruptcy.

YouTube Source – AP Archive (“Salvadorans are commemorating the sixth anniversary (in 1995) of a massacre of Jesuit priests by members of the military”.)
 
Online Sources including Update – Inside Costa Rica, BBC News, The Huffington Post, The Latin Americanist, NBC News, INternational Business Times

Daily Headlines: July 29, 2015 (Updated)

* Peru: Peruvian authorities claimed to have rescued thirty-nine people including thirteen children held hostage by the Shining Path rebels.

* Puerto Rico: U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew ruled out a federal bailout for Puerto Rico’s massive debt and instead called on changing the law to allow the commonwealth to file for bankruptcy.

* Mexico: The roller coaster ride of Miguel “El Piojo” Herrera as head coach of Mexico’s men’s national soccer team came to a screeching halt after he allegedly struck a journalist.

* Cuba: Rep. Tom Emmer introduced a bill to end the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against Cuba though his proposal faces stiff opposition from fellow Republican legislators.

Update: U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will urge Congress to remove the embargo on Cuba this Friday in Miami.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English

Online Sources including Update – France24, Bloomberg, SI.com, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Politico