Daily Headlines: July 7, 2016

* Brazil: A new study concluded that the Rio Olympics starting in less than a month have gone a whopping 51% over budget with a price tag of some $1.6 billion.

* South America: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he will push for the reopening of the border with Venezuela after several hundred women from the neighboring country surged into Cucuta to obtain basic goods and medicine.

* Cuba: The Cuban government will reportedly enact additional energy rationing on top of other austerity measures including cutting work hours and limiting the use of automobiles.

* Argentina: Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner filed a legal complaint a Buenos Aires judge who froze her assets over alleged financial irregularities.

YouTube Source – Get to Know (Uploaded on February 14, 2016).

Online Sources – Colombia Reports, UPI, BBC News, Financial Times, The Globe and Mail

Daily Headlines: August 14, 2014

* Argentina: In the latest chapter of Argentina’s legal battle with holdout creditors, cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich defied a contempt of court threat and claimed, “The proper conditions do not exist to negotiate.”

* Latin America: A International Labor Organization report found that approximately 35 million young Latin Americans are affected by the region’s unemployment crisis including some 27 million who “work in the underground economy with no rights or benefits.”

* Venezuela: Colombia’s foreign minister contradicted claims made by the neighboring Venezuelan government regarding the nightly closing of their 1400-mile border in order to prevent smuggling of gasoline and food.

* Chile: Will a major earthquake more powerful than an 8.2-magnitude tremor that occurred in April soon strike in Chile?

Video Source – Bloomberg News via YouTube
 
Online Sources – The Latin Americanist; Reuters; Xinhua; Smithsonian; Xinhua

Daily Headlines: March 28, 2012

* Latin America: Latin America’s elderly population is expected to increase over the next few decades and overcome the number of children in the region by 2040 according to the U.N.

* Venezuela: A new poll showed that President Hugo Chavez has a double-digit lead over Henrique Capriles though a sizeable number of respondents remain undecided.

* U.S.: A study by the human rights group Amnesty International USA found that Latino residents in the border area near Mexico “are disproportionately affected by a range of immigration-control measures, resulting in a pattern of human rights violations.”

* Dominican Republic: Police arrested six suspected members of a local Anonymous group accused of infiltrating the websites of the government and private companies.

Image Source – Flickr via Inti (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- LAHT, euronews, Reuters, Dominican Today

Remembering the Dead in the Border Region

Around the time of El Dia de los Muertos, it is believed that a closer connection with the departed may be achieved. As many celebrated the Day of the Dead in various forms across the Americas, people in the U.S.-Mexico border region used this holiday to get across some very political messages about some of the dearly departed.

In Ciudad Juarez, where 2,000 people have died so far in drug-related violence, Mexicans came out to mourn those who are victims of drug war violence. Families came out in droves to mourn those killed in the cartel war in Ciudad Juarez, which has become a murder capital.

"We don't play at the cantinas anymore because it is too dangerous. We do two funerals a day instead," said musician Jose del Villar at the San Rafael cemetery after serenading a grieving widow, a black accordion strapped to his chest.

In a mass in the cemetery, Ciudad Juarez's archbishop Renato Asencio called on drug gangs to "put away their guns" and urged city authorities to stop the killings.

In El Paso, Texas, the Border Network for Human Rights held a candlelight vigil and placed wooden crosses along the border to remember the migrants who have died crossing the border.

At the Tijuana border in Mexico, the Pro-Migrant Defense Coalition placed an offering of flowers. Activists came out to address the deaths of migrants crossing into the United States by placing 5,100 wooden crosses in memory of the dead.

Online Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, KFOXTV, Border Network for Human Rights

Image: dismalworld.com

Daily Headlines: September 23, 2009

* Chile: The border dispute between Bolivia and Chile has heated up over “a highland stream” that flows through the Atacama desert.

* Mexico: Representatives of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Trust filed a lawsuit yesterday regarding over 1200 pieces of allegedly forged Kahlo art that appeared in a pair of books.

* Haiti: Mourners in Miami paid remembrance to an 8-month-old girl who died with eight other Haitian migrants at sea last May.

* Latin America: According to some counternarcotics officials in the Americas, “at least nine top-tier Latin American drug cartels have established bases in 11 West African nations.”

Image- New York Times (“Licancabur volcano towers above the high desert Andean plain on the Chilean-Bolivian border.”)
Online Sources- AP, LAHT, CNN, Reuters

Top court rejects border fence, “Cuban 5” cases

The U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) rejected hearing a case regarding the “virtual wall” being constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Several southern Texan communities along with environmentalists and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo indigenous tribe brought up the lawsuit alleging that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overstepped its authority. The order to expedite barrier construction by then-Secretary Michael Chertoff' under the 2005 REAL ID Act “would constitute an unprecedented expansion of agency authority to preempt state and local law without clear congressional authority-and without any oversight by any court" according to the plaintiffs’ brief.

Yet the USSC decided not to hear the case of County of El Paso v. Napolitano; thus, making it the second recent lawsuit related to the border fence that was rejected by the high courtover the past year. In addition, as the lawsuit winded it’s way though the lengthy legal process most of the 670-mile barrier had already been built.

Aside from the border fence case, another lawsuit that got the short end of the stick from the USSC involved the “Cuban Five”:

Five Cubans convicted in 2001 of spying for the Castro regime had their appeal tossed out Monday by the Supreme Court.

The men had sought a new trial in a politically charged case that has attracted international attention. Lawyers for the "Cuban Five" said their trial in Miami was unfairly prejudiced by the larger community.

The justices without comment denied the request, leaving the convictions in place.

Image- AFP
Online Sources- AFP, AP FOX News, CNN

New Strategy for US-Mexico Border

The United States announced its new joint strategy for dealing with drug trafficking on the U.S.-Mexico border today, the AP reports, at a news conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Attorney General Eric Holder.

It is hoped that the strategy will allow the United States to better coordinate with state, local and Mexican police on drug-related issues. Some specific aspects of the plan include: visual shields at the border so lookouts for the drug cartels cannot alert drivers about inspection points, an increase in intelligence analysts and the revival of an interargency working group. Bloomberg reports that the new strategy will give police officers in patrol cars access to federal databases so that they are able to check to see if suspects that they pull over are involved in drug cases. Lastly, the plan proposes $8 million for the hiring of new U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency officers in the next fiscal year.

Online sources: Associated Press, Bloomberg
Image credit: Minnesota Public Radio

Border laptop searches raise eyebrows

Complaints from travelers and privacy advocates has led some politicos to question U.S. Customs policy allowing agents to search laptops, cell phones and other electronics devices at the border.

While the federal government has argued that such extreme measures are needed for national security, critics alleged that Border Patrol agents are engaging in racial profiling and are overstepping their authority. “Congress should not allow this gross violation of privacy” said Sen. Russell D. Feingold during a subcommittee session on Wednesday as testimony was given for and against the Customs measures.

One senator was caught in a bind when he embarrassingly contradicted himself:

As the hearing began, Senator Brownback, a Republican of Kansas, said the rationale for border searches is "obvious." He noted that a conspirator in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, Zacarias Moussaoui, kept information on his laptop "that, if discovered, might have prevented" those strikes.

However, later in the session, Mr. Brownback acknowledged a visceral discomfort with government agents rifling through his digital assistant when he crosses the border. "I don't like the idea of coming across with my BlackBerry and somebody saying, 'I want to root around in your whole BlackBerry.' I got a lot of things on there. I don't know what all is on there, in some cases. I don't want people looking at that randomly," the senator said.

Sources- PC World, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Sun

Image- Think Progress

Make a Run for the Border (for Cheap Gas)

People from the U.S. are heading to the Mexico side of the border. No there isn't a reverse immigration crisis (although the thought makes me laugh), rather they are crossing the border for the a cheap fix of the current drug of choice, gas.

Mexican service stations all along the border report brisk sales in recent weeks as fuel prices in Texas continue to climb. Even Ciudad Juárez has seen a notable increase in customers from the United States, despite escalating drug violence that includes gunbattles in the streets and several decapitations.

Ah, the lengths that people will go to to save some pesos at the pump, even facing scary Mexicans!!!!

Source : Hispanic Tips
Image Source : Boing Boing

Texan county, feds finalize deal on border barrier

There may be some indecision at Homeland Security over what will be done with the “virtual border fence” along the Arizona-Mexico border. Yet the U.S. government reached a final deal with the Texan county of Hidalgo over their plans for a border barrier.

The $113.9 million project will stretch along 22 miles of the Rio Grande and will include a physical wall and a system of levees. The federal government will pay nearly $66 million and construction is estimated to start in two months.

Both the feds and local officials feel that the project will tackle concerns over illegal immigration and flood control. Yet some Hidalgo County businesses have mixed feelings:

Tony Domit, president of Domit Construction and Development…[said that] there were good intentions behind the decision to break the project down into segments to give local companies a shot at being able to afford the smaller projects. But he doubted if a local company could handle even one segment because of the amount of credit required to back the financing…

“It’s impressive. My view: a waste of money by the federal government, but we are going to get a part of that waste down here.”

Image- KVEO

Sources- New York Times, The Monitor, The Latin Americanist

So Much for That Virtual Border Fence : Again

If you can't keep up with the virtual border fence along the Arizona- Mexico border, don't feel bad. The Department of Homeland Security can't seem to make up it's mind on the issue either. First, the virtual border fence was going to be delayed,
then Michael Chertoff, approved the fence. Now, it looks like the whole plan is going to be tossed in the trash. But don't you worry. Homeland Security is going to get those illegals yet (and spend millions more in the process). Now Boeing, who won an $860 million contract to provide the technology, physical fences and vehicle barriers, is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, new cameras and new radar capability, officials said.

Sources : Reuters, Yahoo

Trial of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Accused of Murder

On Wednesday, the trial against U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett for shooting and killing Javier Dominguez-Rivera began. Attorneys for Corbett are claiming self-defense in the January 12, 2007 incident, saying that Dominguez- Rivera was threatening to crush the agents head with rock (rock vs. gun. Hmmm). The prosecution says that the 22 year old victim was surrendering and attacked from behind.

With one hand on the wheel, and the other holding a gun towards them, Corbett swerved his vehicle directly in front of them, frightening Javi and his companions. In a matter of moments Corbett jumped out of his car, gun in hand, and shot Javi at very close range. As he recounted what the eye-witnesses would say, the two brothers and the young woman were on their knees with their hands up or on the side, and Javi was going down towards the ground when Corbett hit him on the back of the neck and then shot him in the chest, downward, left to right, slightly back to front. Javi died almost immediately.

This case is a true test if the justice system in the U.S. really defends the rights of all.

Source : Latino Politico, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos

Eagle Pass, Texas: 0 Vs. Border Fence : 1

Eagle Pass, Texas has lost in a round of fighting against a border fence.
Yesterday the U.S. Justice Department ordered the border city to temporarily give up 233 acres of land (for 180 days), the first step in paving the road for a fence creating a physical barrier between that city and Mexico. The Feds had to sue the city for access because local landowners and politicos refused to handover the land. Right now, the land handover will allow government surveyors to begin assessing sites for construction of the fence.

There are hundreds of other lawsuits against other landowners in Texas, California, and Arizona who refuse to give up their lands to the Feds.

The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is under a congressional mandate to have 670 miles of fencing in place by the end of the year to toughen security on the porous southwestern border. The plan calls for roughly 400 miles of new fencing that will be added to existing barriers.

Source : The Seattle Times

Quote of the Day: “Another Brick in the Wall?” take two

If Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff “is determined to build a wall. I wish Mr. Chertoff would build a wall around his house,” Ahumada said. “We don’t want this wall.”

--Brownsville, Texas Mayor Pat Ahumada gives his opinion on the “virtual fence” to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ahumada is one of many border politicians unhappy with plans to build the fence; McAllen, Texas Chamber of Commerce president Steve Ahlenius gave a similarly-worded opinion a few months ago.

Image- MSNBC (“California National Guard soldiers water down areas excavated for construction of a border fence in May in the Russian Hill area adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego”)

Sources- MSNBC, The Latin Americanist

News briefs on Immigration

* Political commentator Lou Dobbs latest diatribe against immigrants (and a lame one at that)- choosing May Day as the date for pro-immigrant marches.

* Presidential candidate Bill Richardson and Texas officials join a growing list of politicos that have raised doubts over added fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.

* U.S. immigration officials gave an extension to the Temporary Protection Status for another 18 months; the measure affects citizens of Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

* Oops! A case of mistaken identity led to the deportation of a legal immigrant from El Paso, Texas to Guatemala.

* Here’s an interesting statistic- according to U.S immigration authorities there’s been a 20% increase in the amount of deportations in 2007 compared to last year.

Links- International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, El Paso Times, USA TODAY

Image- University of San Diego

Déjà vu: the return of border volleyball

Way back in September we told you of how Californians and Mexicans played impromptu matches of border volleyball on a beach with a 20-foot-tall fence that stretches along a usually deserted beach.

Now border volleyball made its triumphant return several days ago when residents of Naco, Arizona and Naco, Mexico played as part of a goodwill festival between both towns. The fence along the border between both towns served as the net for the games which were enjoyed with the intermittent presence of the Border Patrol.

Jose Lorenzo Villegas- the mayor of Naco, Mexico- made a very astute observation which highlights the camaraderie between both “teams”:

"What's unusual is that both the Mexican and U.S. teams are playing at home, with the fence as the net."

The area around Naco is infamous for being a popular area of crossing across the border as well as the location where a Border Patrol agent killed a migrant in March.

Links- The Latin Americanist, Stuff.co.nz, International Herald Tribune

Image- Palm Beach Post (Fence between Naco, Arizona and Naco, Mexico)

Daily headlines: April 06, 2007

* In remarks similar to those made by Colombian church officials last year, the Archdiocese of Mexico threatened to excommunicate any legislators voting in favor of a federal bill depenalizing abortion.

* Disagreements by Brazil over a proposed Bank of the South may sink the idea before it begins.

* Ecuador’s constitutional court upheld a previous court decision to fire almost 60 legislators against a planned constitutional referendum.

* Peru’s government is getting increasingly upset over a border dispute with Chile.

Links- The Latin Americanist, USA TODAY, Prensa Latina, Voice of America, Bloomberg

Image- azcentral.com (Pro-abortion demonstrator in Mexico City)