Daily Headlines: November 20, 2015

* Colombia: On the third anniversary of the start of peace talks, the Colombian government and the FARC rebels claimed that they are very close to signing off on a final agreement.

* Caribbean: Amnesty International accused the Dominican Republic of human rights violations by stripping the citizenship of tens of thousands of “stateless” residents with a Haitian background.

* Mexico: According to a Pew Research Center report, 149,000 more Mexicans departed from the U.S. between 2009 and 2014 than those entering the country.

* Venezuela: Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro said that he would review the already fractured relations with the U.S. over allegations of surveillance against PDVSA employees.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – Business Standard, The Guardian, Pew Hispanic Center, UPI

Daily Headlines: July 1, 2015

* Mexico: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights accused the Mexican government of acting too slowly in the investigation over forty-three Ayotzinapa university students missing since last September.

* Brazil: The presidents of Brazil and the U.S. met at the White House two years after a diplomatic rift over U.S. intelligence surveillance on the South American country.

* El Salvador: The Chalatenango region may be immune from most of the modern-day violence in El Salvador but the scars still remain from the country’s brutal civil war.

* South America: Chile will be seeking its first Copa America title against an Argentine side that walloped Paraguay 6-1 in their semifinal match last night.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino, New Scientist, The Latin Americanist, PRI, CNN

The Weekender – Teruggi and Horman

“The Weekender” is our new feature where every weekend we hope to highlight a short film, movie or documentary pertaining to the Americas.

On January 28th, Chilean officials published a court ruling against two former intelligence agents involved in the murder of U.S. citizens Frank Teruggi and Charles Horman shortly after the 1973 military coup. The decision issued on earlier in the month ordered Pedro Espinoza to serve seven years behind bars while his accomplice, Pedro Espinoza, was sentenced to two years of police supervision.

According to the lengthy 276-page ruling, Chile’s intelligence considered the actions of economics student Teruggi and filmmaker Horman as “subversive” and ordered their detention. Horman was kidnapped six days after Gen. Augusto Pinochet ousted the civilian government and killed “by the Military Intelligence Battalion or the Army Intelligence Headquarters.” Teruggi became one of the thousands of people herded into the National Stadium in Santiago, tortured by the military and murdered.

The tribunal also found that a U.S. military group in Chile led by then-Navy captain Ray E. Davis helped carry out a “secret investigation” on Teruggi and Horman. Davis was indicted by a Chilean court in 2011 and ordered his extradition though it was later revealed that he was living in a nursing home in the South American country. Much like Pinochet, Davis died in impunity but questions continue to linger over U.S. involvement in the deaths of Teruggi and Horman.

“Frank, a charitable and peace-loving young man, was the victim of a calculated crime by the Chilean military, but the question of U.S. complicity remains yet to be answered,” said Teruggi’s sister, Janis Teruggi Page.

Horman’s widow, meanwhile, expressed hope that the Chilean justice system will focus on other suspected human rights abusers from the Pinochet era.

“I hope this ruling will strengthen prosecutions for these crimes and stop these types of crime,” said Joyce Horman in an interview after he ruling was made public.

“The memories are still very fresh in my mind. It’s been almost 42 years and for a longtime everyone resisted pursuing an investigation as long as possible,” she added.

In the following video below the page break, Joyce talks with journalist Bob Herbert about receiving harassment prior to the coup, reacting to her husband’s disappearance and seeking for justice in the deaths of Teruggi and Horman.

Daily Headlines: July 11, 2014

* Cuba: Cuban lawyer Ernesto Vera claimed that he worked for the state security agency and pretended to be an opposition activist in order to “discredit the dissidents.”

* Uruguay: Luis Suárez may be serving a harsh suspension for biting an Italian player at a World Cup match but that hasn’t stopped the Uruguayan from reportedly being transferred from to F.C. Barcelona as part of a $129 million deal.
  
* Latin America: A new U.N. report found that Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil are in the top five of the world’s most populated cities though their ranking is expected to fall by 2030.

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet of Chile criticized landlocked Bolivia’s appeal to the International Court of Justice seeking access to the sea.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube (Ernesto Vera alleged that he infiltrated the Ladies in White protest movement, seen here during a 2010 march, as part of his work as a Cuban state security agent).
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino; Bernama; The Latin Americanist; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: February 25, 2014

* U.S.: According to a recently released U.S. government study, health habits within the Latino population reflect the diversity of cultural backgrounds among Latinos.

* Brazil: European and Brazilian officials announced the creation of a new interoceanic telecommunications cable that could prevent U.S. intelligence surveillance.

* Central America: Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said that her country will file a complaint with the International Court of Justice in order to resolve a border dispute with Nicaragua.

* Honduras: At least thirty-nine people died over the weekend in Honduras including eight fatalities in San Pedro Sula, which is one of the most violent cities in the world.

Video Source – YouTube user VoiceofOCvideo

Online Sources- National Insitutes of Health; LAHT; Reuters; Deutsche Welle; The Latin Americanist

Brazilian Legislators Urge Investigation Into Spying on Diplomats

Brazilian legislators want to look into their country’s intelligence activities after the government admitted to the surveillance of foreign diplomats.

Rep. Ronaldo Caiado will reportedly summon the Ministers of Justice, Foreign Affairs and Domestic Security along with the chief of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) to testify in front of several Congressional committees.  He questioned the Brazilian government’s credibility abroad, particularly in light of alleged widespread surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

“The (Brazilian) government lost a golden opportunity to have entered high-level discussions with the Americans and possibly reach a deal instead of making a big deal over being the target of surveillance,” said Caiado.

“These charges of espionage must be taken very seriously but we have to see the context in which they occurred,” said Sen. Richard Ferraço.  “If not, then it would seem like two different measures: do as I say but not as I do,” admitted the vice-chair of the Congressional committee on intelligence.    

On Monday, a Folha de São Paulo report that described how approximately ten years ago the ABIN monitored office space rented by the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia due to suspicions of maintaining spying equipment.  The Folha report also outlined how Brazilian intelligence agents followed the movements of Iraqi, Iranian and Russian diplomats in their respective embassies as well as their official residences.

A statement from Brazil's Institutional Security Cabinet, which oversees the ABIN, claimed that any surveillance is being done “develop intelligence activities” for the country’s defense and “national sovereignty, in strict observance of constitutional principles and the laws that guarantee individual rights.”  The letter also said that their intelligence operations “follow Brazilian law for the protection of national interests.”

One Russian diplomat in Brazil was supposedly not bewildered by the Folha report:

Daily Headlines: October 23, 2013

* Cuba: The Cuban government will phase out its “unpopular” dual-currency system that has been in place since 1994 in favor of a new single currency.

* Mexico: Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto might launch an official investigation into the alleged hacking of then-President Felipe Calderon’s public e-mail by the U.S. National Security Agency.

* Honduras: Recant polls indicated that Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, and Congressional chief Juan Hernandez are in a statistical dead heat ahead of next month's presidential election.

* Haiti: U.S. immigration officials released from custody four Haitian migrants who were found last week holding on to the hull of a capsized boat near the coast of Miami.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Reuters; CSMonitor.com; The Latin Americanist; Huffington Post; ABC News

Ex-Mexican President Protests NSA "Spying" on Him

Former Mexican President Felipe Calderón issued an “energetic protest” with his country’s government regarding alleged espionage against him by the National Security Agency (NSA).

“I spoke with the Secretary of Foreign Relations and asked that he send an energetic protest against the spying against me,” tweeted Calderón on Monday.

Calderón further criticized the “attacks against Mexico’s public institutions” after German magazine Der Spiegel claimed the NSA reportedly hacked his public email account while he was president.

“I’ll be attentive to the actions by the Foreign Relations office in seeking explanations from the U.S.,” tweeted the man who was Mexico’s president between 2006 and 2012, and who is now a fellow at Harvard University.

“This practice is unacceptable, illegal and against Mexican and international law,” said Mexico’s foreign affairs office in a statement issued yesterday over the “possible spying”. “In a relationship between neighbors there is no room for these practices to occur,” the communiqué mentioned without specifically naming Der Spiegel’s report.

According a 2010 NSA classified report cited by Der Spiegel, U.S. intelligence was able to tap into an “email domain” used by then-President Calderón as well as members of his cabinet.  As a result, the agency had access to “diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability”.  For the NSA, Calderon’s office thus became “a lucrative source.”

The NSA report was the latest document leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and comes weeks after he helped reveal the agency’s supposed surveillance of Enrique Peña Nieto during his successful presidential campaign last year. In response to last month’s report, Mexico’s government summoned the U.S. ambassador in Mexico City, Anthony Wayne, for consultations.

Daily Headlines: October 14, 2013

* Brazil: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that her government is creating a secure email system “to prevent possible espionage” such as actions allegedly committed by the U.S. and Canada. 

* Peru: At least fifty-one people died in the southeastern Cusco region of Peru when a bus plunged off a cliff.

* Venezuela: The seizure of a “U.S.-chartered oil exploration ship” has lead to increased tensions between the neighboring countries of Venezuela and Guyana.

* Colombia: As the latest round of peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC guerillas came to a close, the rebels launched a female-oriented website.

Video Source – YouTube via user CBCTheNational (“Allegations Canada has been spying on Brazil's mining and energy industry have many wondering what Canada would be after.”)

Online Sources- CNN; france24.com; The Latin Americanist; boston.com; BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2013

* Brazil: Brazilian “industry executives and analysts” are supposedly worried over the government’s plans to protect Internet privacy in the wake of spying allegations by the U.S. National Security Agency.

* U.S.: A U.S. appeals court found that the an unknown number of people eligible for citizenship have been denied due to a nonexistent article of the Mexican constitution.

* Latin America:  Will a Colombian-made version of “Breaking Bad” that will air on Univision be as successful as the recently finished original version?

* Venezuela: The U.S. ordered the expulsion of three Venezuelan diplomats as a retaliatory move that has heightened tensions between the governments of both countries.

Video Source – YouTube via user NewsyWorld

Online Sources- USA Today; Voice of America; The A.V. Club; NPR; The Latin Americanist

Brazilian President Blasts U.S. Intel Surveillance

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appeared at the U.N. general assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday and she did not mince words in her criticism of supposed surveillance carried out by the U.S.

“Tampering in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and, as such, it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations,” said a stern Rousseff who was the opening speaker at the UNGA this morning.

Rousseff, who last week postponed a planned state visit to the U.S., accused the National Security Agency (NSA) of having “intercepted indiscriminately” information from Brazilians such as ordinary citizens, companies and even her own office.  She also rejected any justification for surveillance over Brazil by claiming, “We reject, fight and do not harbor terrorist groups.”

“As many other Latin Americans, I fought against authoritarianism and censorship and I cannot but defend, in an uncompromising fashion, the right to privacy of individuals and the sovereignty of my country,” said Rousseff who referred to her detention as a political prisoner under Brazil’s military regime several decades ago.

As we mentioned earlier this month, the allegations of NSA spying have emerged from information said to be obtained from ex-U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and has been shown on Brazilian TV.  Among the revelations were the alleged NSA-run “data-collection base” that tapped phone calls and e-mails of Brazilians as well as the NSA’s infiltration of the private networks of several firms including Petrobras.

Brazil began changing its communications infrastructure this month in order to protect information privacy.  Rousseff went further in her U.N. speech and called for the creation of a new global framework to govern the Internet and guarantee the “neutrality of the network, guided only by technical and ethical criteria, rendering it inadmissible to restrict it for political, commercial, religious or any other purposes.”

Brazilian President Postpones State Visit to U.S.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff postponed a planned state visit to the U.S. amid allegations of surveillance by U.S. intelligence.

“Given the proximity of the scheduled state visit to Washington and in the absence of a timely investigation … there aren't conditions for this trip to be made,” according to a statement issued by Rousseff's office today.

“Illegal surveillance practices intercepting the communication and data of citizens, companies and members of the Brazilian government constitute a serious affront to national sovereignty and individual rights, and are incompatible with democratic cooperation between friendly nations,” the letter also mentioned.

White House spokesman Jay Carney replied by claiming that the postponement was a move mutually agreed upon by Rousseff and her U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama.  

The decision was reportedly reached despite a twenty-minute phone call from Obama to Rousseff on Monday night in an attempt to salvage the trip that was scheduled for October 23rd.

“As the President previously stated, he has directed a broad review of U.S. intelligence posture, but the process will take several months to complete,” Carney said. 

Brazilian officials have not masked their ire over the accusations of spying, which were supposedly obtained from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.  The allegations that have been reported by Brazilian TV over the past two months included:

• a “data-collection base” run by the National Security Agency (NSA) that gathered information from telephone calls and e-mails of Brazilian residents and companies.
• NSA monitoring of communications between Rousseff’s aides and employing software to access all Internet content that Rousseff visited online.
• NSA infiltration of the private networks of several firms including Brazil’s state-run Petrobras oil company.

Daily Headlines: September 12, 2013

* Brazil: The Brazilian government is reportedly looking into creating its own network equipment in order to protect information privacy and prevent alleged surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency.

* Mexico: Thousands of striking teachers took to the streets of Mexico City as part of their protests against government-backed educational reforms.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan officials rejected a recent World Bank arbitration panel decision claiming that the South American country had “failed to act in good faith or properly compensate” ConocoPhillips for the 2007 nationalization of oil projects.

* Colombia: John Leguizamo was selected to play the late Medellin Cartel boss Pablo Escobar in a Hollywood biopic set to begin shooting this January.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- The Guardian; USA TODAY; Reuters; Bloomberg; The Latin Americanist

Mexico, Brazil Seek Answers Over U.S. Spying Claims

The governments of Mexico and Brazil are each looking for answers from U.S. officials over new allegations of intelligence surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA).

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Anthony Wayne, was summoned by the Mexican government to explain the supposed spying of President Enrique Peña Nieto during his campaign for the presidency.

“The Mexican government requested via a diplomatic later that the U.S. government undergo a thorough investigation and, where appropriate, identify those responsible” behind the surveillance, according to a statement from the Mexican foreign minister (SRE in Spanish).

The SRE communiqué also reportedly mentioned that the Mexican government doesn’t prejudge the surveillance allegations but “rejects and categorically condemns any spying of citizens from that country as a violation of international law”.

On Sunday, Brazilian TV network O Globe aired a report where journalist Glen Greenwald divulged several secret documents obtained from former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden.  Some of those papers detailed then-candidate Peña Nieto’s campaign actions weeks before the election including his potential cabinet choices.

The O Globo report also accused the NSA of examining communications between aides of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff as well as the use of software to access all internet content that Rousseff visited online.

Another NSA document on U.S. geopolitical challenges through 2019 named Mexico and described Brazil as a possible “stressor” to regional stability and a potential risk to U.S. interests.

Daily Headlines: May 9, 2013

* Chile: Thousands of students and teachers marched in Santiago, Valparaiso and other major cities resumed their protests in favor of free, high-quality education.

* U.S.: The co-author of a Heritage Foundation report criticizing immigration reform has come under fire for allegedly arguing that Hispanics have lower IQs than the "native white population."

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro visited Uruguay and Argentina as part of his “petro-diplomacy” tour of Latin America while Venezuelan opposition politicos sought support in countries like Peru and Paraguay.

* Vatican: Argentine-born Pope Francis reportedly blessed leading Cuban dissident Berta Soler during a brief meeting at the Vatican on Wednesday. 

Video Source – YouTube via EFE

Online Sources- Miami Herald; USA TODAY, BBC News; ABC News

Daily Headlines: November 1, 2011

* Argentina: New rules took effect yesterday that may make it more difficult to purchase dollars but could also prevent capital flight and tax evasion.

* Venezuela: The government ordered the nationalization of over 716,000 acres of cattle grazing lands controlled by a British firm.

* U.S.: Seventy-six people were arrested in Arizona and suspected of working for a Mexican drug smuggling gang.

* Colombia: The country’s beleaguered domestic intelligence agony was dissolved and will soon be replaced by a new entity.

Image Source – Flickr user Jorge Gobbi (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- ABC News, BBC News, MercoPress, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: October 5, 2010

* Chile: President Sebastian Pinera expressed his hope that 33 miners trapped underground since early August could be freed before the end of next week.

* U.S.: Eleven Latin American countries including Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru filed a legal brief in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of a July ruling on a controversial immigration measure.

* Colombia: The country’s inspector general barred two former intelligence chiefs from nearly two decades of public office due to their roles in an illegal wiretap scandal.

* Haiti: Some Canadian politicos alleged that the government staged a “photo op” by rerouting a post-earthquake flight with 24 Haitian orphans.

Image – BBC News (“Alberto Segovia, outside the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, shows a portrait of his brother Dario Segovia, 48, one of 33 miners trapped inside.”)
Online Sources- CBC, AP, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, Voice of America

World Watch: Gridlock

* China: A “mini-economy” of food vendors and “opportunists” has grown amidst a 60-mile traffic jam that has lasted almost two straight weeks.

* Pakistan: Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis continue to be stranded and in dire need of help as floodwaters continue to rise.

* U.S.: The Wikileaks website published a February 2010 C.I.A. report that examined how nations could view the U.S. as an "exporter of terrorism".

* Afghanistan: 55 people including 49 schoolgirls were treated in a Kabul hospital after supposedly being poisoned.

Image – The Guardian (“A cleaner picks up waste beside the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway in north China's Hebei province. Roadworks are blamed for causing the 60-mile jam that has lasted 10 days. Photograph: Alexander F. Yuan/AP”)
Online Sources- Vancouver Sun, The Guardian, BBC News, CBC

Daily Headlines: July 20 2010

* Caribbean: The possibility of a region wide dengue fever outbreak could be a reality after dozens of deaths in the Caribbean have been attributed to the illness.

* Latin America: A severe cold front has hit several South American countries and has caused the deaths of at least three dozen people.

* Cuba: Nine freed political prisoners are expected to arrive in Spain today while a meeting between U.S. officials and Cuban dissident families has been postponed.

* Colombia: Several E.U. legislators have called on the parliament's human rights commission to look into alleged illegal activity by Colombia’s beleaguered intelligence agency.

Image – CNN (“Dengue patients are treated at a hospital in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The virus has caused a national emergency.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, MSNBC, Deutsche Welle

Daily Headlines: June 30, 2010

* U.S.: Peruvian-born, New York-based journalist Vicky Pelaez was arrested and has been accused along with ten others of spying for Russia.

* Cuba: Will the Obama administration close the prison at Guantanamo by 2013 after initially promising to shut it down this year?

* Brazil: Legislators recently approved a landmark racial equality law yet stopped short of enacting affirmative action policies.

* Ecuador: Allegations of illegal wiretaps against President Rafael Correa could seriously damage improving relations between Ecuador and Colombia.

Image – Grand Forks Herald (“In this courtroom sketch, Anna Chapman, left, Vicky Pelaez, second from left, the defendant known as "Richard Murphy", center, the defendant known as "Cynthia Murphy", second from right, and the defendant known as "Juan Lazaro" are seen in Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, June 28, 2010.”)
Online Sources- WNYC, The Guardian, UPI, Reuters