Daily Headlines: September 1, 2016

* Venezuela: Several hundred thousand people are marching at a protest in Caracas against the regime of President Nicolas Maduro and calling for his resignation from office.

* South America: Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup resume today with matches including the latest battle between neighbors Uruguay and Argentina, and Ecuador looking to continue their historic home field advantage in Quito versus Brazil.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rica has been running its electrical grid using renewable energy sources for at least 121 days and officials are hoping to stretch that out to a full year.

* Latin America: A new report found that operations by special U.S. military forces including Green Berets and the Navy SEALs have tripled in Latin America between 2007 and 2014.

YouTube Source – Agencia EFE 

Online Sources – Reuters, Xinhua, Goal.com, The Independent, Common Dreams

Daily Headlines: August 4, 2016

* Colombia: The neoconservative Democratic Center political party announced their opposition to a peace plebiscite regarding the FARC even though nearly three out of four Colombians in a recent poll would vote for the “Yes” option,

* Venezuela: In what seems to be the latest concession by the Venezuelan government to the military, a general accused by the United States for drug trafficking was named as interior and justice minister for the South American state.

* Panama: The newest batch of documents uncovered via the Panama Papers leak has implicated businesses in at least fifty-two African countries including Egypt, Nigeria, and Algeria.

* Puerto Rico: Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s lone member of Congress, suggested that genetically modified mosquitoes could be used to combat the spread of the Zika virus on the commonwealth.

YouTube Source – euronews (From June 2016: “Three years of historic peace talks between Colombian government and FARC negotiators have resulted in a ceasefire agreement.”)

Online Sources – Reuters, teleSUR English, Business Insider, allAfrica.com, ABC News

Daily Headlines: August 2, 2016

* Cuba: The Cuban government accused the U.S. State Department of attempting to rush to settle billions of dollars of claims between both countries.

* Venezuela: Electoral officials have approved the first step in a possible recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro, while Amnesty International blasted a decree that is reportedly shifting more power to the military.

* Argentina: Could the appointment of Edgardo Bauza as new coach of the Argentine men’s national soccer team lure Lionel Messi back into the fold for los albicelestes?

* Mexico: The mayor of a town in Michoacán state and four police officers were arrested and charged with the massacre of ten people purportedly in relation to the local drugs trade.

YouTube Source – Associated Press (From March 2015: “Nearly 60 years after Fidel Castro took over Cuba, American families and companies who have claims on billions worth of confiscated property are wondering if the communist government will pay up as the U.S. and Cuba restore diplomatic ties.”)

Online Sources – ESPN FC, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC News, CNN Money

Daily Headlines: June 8, 2016

* Brazil: A Brazilian Supreme Court justice could allow for the arrest of four members of interim President Michel Temer’s political party over their alleged obstruction in the “Lava Jato” corruption probe.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan electoral officials approved a petition with 1.3 million signatures seeking a referendum for the possible removal of President Nicolás Maduro, while police and National Guard troops fired tear gas at anti-government protesters yesterday.

* Mexico: A new report by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Mexican human rights groups admitted that an “immense majority of violent crimes have been committed by criminal organizations” but accused government security forces of purportedly committing crimes against humanity.

* Peru: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski leads with tens of thousands of votes ahead of Keiko Fujimori in the presidential runoff that continues to be much too close to call.

YouTube Source – France 24 English

Online Sources – BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Voice of America, ABC News, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: May 25, 2016

* Cuba: The Cuban government announced a plan to legalize small and medium-sized private businesses following the success of allowing self-employment in areas like restaurant ownership and hairdressing.

* Colombia: At least three journalists have gone missing and a rumored to have been kidnapped by rebels in a region of northeast Colombia devastated by armed conflict.

* Guatemala: Officials of the neighboring countries of Guatemala and Belize reportedly agreed to coordinate the training of their troops following the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in a border region.

* Chile: Security guards at Chile’s presidential palace in Santiago clashed with student protesters seeking greater reforms to the educational system.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (Video uploaded in April 2015).
 
Online Sources – ABC News, BBC News, GlobalPost, Reuters

Daily Headlines: May 23, 2016 (Updated)

* Mexico: The Mexican Foreign Ministry approved the extradition of imprisoned drug capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to the U.S. though legal appeals could delay the transfer for months.

* Venezuela: The largest military exercise in Venezuelan history took place over the weekend amid increased discontent over the ailing economy and heightened political tensions.

* U.S.: A recent poll of nearly 900 Latino voters have showed respondents overwhelmingly prefer Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders over likely Republican nominee Donald Trump.

* Argentina: Will Argentina’s top diplomat, Susana Malcorra, be the successor to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after he steps down on New Year’s Day 2017?

Update: The head of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alicia Barcena of Mexico, could be another female option to be the next Secretary General. (Link in Spanish).


YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Business Insider, The Latin Americanist, UPI, SBS, The New York Times, Economiahoy.mx

Daily Headlines: May 9, 2016

* U.S.: Immigration authorities in the U.S. might grant Temporary Protected Status to the members of the Ecuadoran expat community in the wake of a major earthquake last month in the South American country.

* Mexico: Does the transfer of Sinaloa drug cartel head Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to a prison in Ciudad Juarez mean that he will soon be extradited to the U.S.?

* South America: The border dispute between Bolivia and Chile heated up after President Evo Morales claimed that the Chilean military established a base near the disputed Silala River.

* El Salvador: Mauricio Funes of El Salvador could soon be the next former Central American president to face a trial over potential corruption.

YouTube Source – AFP (At least 660 people died following a 7.8-magintude earthquake on April 16, 2016 that devastated areas of Ecuador near the Pacific coast).
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latin, The Atlantic, Deutsche Welle, JURIST

Daily Headlines: May 2, 2016 (Updated)

 
* Vatican: During his Sunday Angelus prayer from the Vatican yesterday, Pope Francis condemned pedophilia by Catholic priests, called on a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria, and suggested a “model of development that takes into account human dignity.”

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla affirmed that Puerto Rico will fall into default today by being unable to make a $422 million payment on its approximately $70 billion public debt.

Update: Padilla and White House officials have urged the U.S. Congress to promptly approve a debt restructuring plan, especially prior to a July 1st deadline for payment of some $2 billion.
 
* Peru: Suspected Peruvian drug cartel leader Gerson “Caracol” Galvez was deported back to his home country following his arrest in Medellin, Colombia on Saturday.

* Nicaragua: The first twenty of fifty military tanks sold by Russia to Nicaragua were sent to the Central American country last week.
YouTube Source – teleSUR English (May Day rallies to honor workers were held worldwide last Sunday and Latin America was no exception). 

Online Sources including Update – Buenos Aires Herald, The Tico Times, Business Insider, Deutsche Welle, ABC News

Daily Headlines: April 29, 2016

* Colombia: Colombia became the fourth Latin American state to legalize same-sex marriage following a series of recent rulings by the country’s Constitutional Court.

* Peru: Polls have placed Keiko Fujimori back as the favorite in June’s presidential race even though she faces stiff competition from rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, controversy over the authorities rule of her ex-president father and a new spat with her congressman brother.

* Mexico: A Mexican general received the stiffest punishment against a senior military official after a court sentenced him to 52.5 years in prison for torture.

* Cuba: The Cuban government ruled out eliminating a ban on defectors from playing with the national baseball team despite improving ties between the island and the U.S.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, ABC News

Daily Headlines: April 15, 2016

* Panama: Panamanian authorities reportedly agreed to follow international tax reporting standards outlined by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development chief Angel Gurria even though they had blasted him for comments made following the Panama Papers leak.

* Brazil: The lower chamber of the Brazilian Congress began three days of debating today over whether President Dilma Rousseff should be impeached over money laundering allegations.

* U.S.: The crisis hitting newspapers in the U.S. might lead to the end of El Diario/La Prensa, the longest-running Spanish-language daily and in circulation for 102 years.

* Puerto Rico: The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the surviving Puerto Rican soldiers of a U.S. Army regiment known as the “Borinqueneers” who fought both World Wars and the Korean War.

YouTube Source – BBC News (Video uploaded on April 3, 2016).

Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, the Latin Americanist, USA TODAY, Fox News Latino, CNN

Daily Headlines: March 28, 2016 (Updated)

* El Salvador: “We have ordered all of our people . . . to halt all types of homicides nationwide,” said a masked figure purportedly representing the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs in a video claiming that both groups will renew an anti-murder truce.

Update: El Salvador's police chief and a spokesman for President Salvador Sánchez Cerén each rejected the possibility of negotiating with the gangs.
 
* U.S.: Santiago Erevia, a former U.S. Army sergeant who in 2014 received the Medal of Honor after decades of racial discrimination, passed away last week at the age of 69.

* Cuba: Ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro blasted U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the island last week even though Obama held multiple talks with current Fidel’s brother and current Cuban President Raul Castro.

* Mexico: Authorities have reportedly arrested a man nicknamed “King Midas” who allegedly laundered up to $400 million yearly for Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel.

YouTube Source – Vice News (Video uploaded on December 2015).
 
Online Sources including Update – The Toronto Star, Fox News Latino, BBC News, CNN, ABC News

Daily Headlines: February 24, 2016

* Latin America: The Zika virus outbreak has shined a light on the debate over abortion and birth control to the forefront across the Americas including in Puerto Rico where officials have capped the prices of condoms.

* Cuba: The two Republican presidential candidates of Cuban background – Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz – are vehemently opposed to White House plans to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales conceded defeat following a referendum where a majority of voters opted against a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to run for a fourth straight term.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rica’s nickname of being the “Switzerland of Central America” may come into question after police reported a record 558 murders in 2015.

YouTube Source – AFP (“The United Nations (earlier this month) urges countries hit by the dangerous Zika virus to let women have access to contraception and abortion.”)
 
Online Sources – NPR, Scientific American, Reuters, The Tico Times, CBS News

Daily Headlines: January 11, 2016

* U.S.: Mexicans Gael Garcia Bernal and Alejandro González Iñárritu received individual Golden Globes last night while the Pablo Larraín-directed Chilean movie “The Club” lost in the top foreign film category.

* South America: The Dakar Rally reached its halfway point on a tragic note after a spectator was run over and killed during the seventh stage between Bolivia and Argentina.

* Cuba: White House chief-of-staff Denis McDonough confirmed the Obama administration’s plans to close the U.S. military base at Guantanamo, Cuba.

* El Salvador: Gen. José Guillermo Garcia-Merino, El Salvador’s former defense minister, was deported back to his homeland over his likely role in human rights violations during the civil war era.

YouTube Source – TIFF Trailers

Online Sources – Reuters Africa, Business Standard, NBC News, Latin America Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: January 4, 2016 (Updated)

* Colombia: Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas criticized the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries for combat in several Middle Eastern states including Saudi Arabia and, as we mentioned in 2011, the United Arab Emirates.

* Panama: Panama President Juan Carlos Varela assured that problematic expansion of the country’s famed canal will be delayed and completed in May.

* Mexico: Researchers in Mexico are set to commence clinical trials of a “cocktail” of vaccines that could prevent the recurrence of several types of cancers.

* Venezuela: “Outspoken” opposition veteran Henry Ramos Allup was selected over Julio Borges of the “newer, moderate” Justice First party as the new chief of the next Venezuelan legislature taking office tomorrow.

Update: Ramos Allup on Monday said that the new congress would not "declare war" on the government but strongly suggested that President Nicolás Maduro should resign. (Link in Spanish).

YouTube Source – CCTV America

Online Sources including Update – El Universo, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, ABC News, Fox News Latino, International Business Times

Daily Headlines: December 28, 2015 (Updated)

* South America: The El Niño weather phenomenon has been blamed for massive flooding in Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina as well as an elevated alert of forest fires in Colombia.

* Central America: Pope Francis called on Central American leaders to bring about a “timely solution to (the) humanitarian drama” of an estimated 5000 Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica.

Update: The SICA bloc of Central American states agreed to start a pilot program next month to help the stranded migrants travel legally northward to Mexico. (Link in Spanish).

* Haiti: The United Nations Security Council pushed Haitian officials to quickly reschedule a presidential runoff that was supposed to take place yesterday but has been indefinitely postponed.

* Chile: The Chilean government proposed eliminating a law enacted under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet that provides the military with 10% of the country’s yearly copper exports.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources including Update – UPI, NDTV, The Tico Times, teleSUR English, Jamaica Observe, Agencia EFE

Daily Headlines: November 5, 2015

* Colombia: The Mexican Supreme Court’s ruling on marijuana wasn’t the only key judicial decision made in Latin America yesterday as Colombian magistrates legalized adoptions by same-sex couples.

* U.S.: President Barack Obama will reportedly unveil as soon as this week a new plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and transfer inmates to mainland maximum security facilities.

* Latin America: Panamanian authorities claimed to have found a drug trafficking connection between Colombia’s FARC rebels and fugitive Mexican drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Puerto Rico: Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla introduced a plan to restructure the $8 billion debt held by Puerto Rico’s main electricity company.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – NBC News, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, UPI, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: October 20, 2015

* Canada: The incoming Liberal government under Justin Trudeau could affect Canadian mining interests in Latin America as well as the North American state’s growing Latino immigrant population.

* Mexico: Parents of some of 43 Ayotzinapa students missing for over a year have called on a boycott against a documentary that they claim relies on a “false” version of events.

* Cuba: Cuba’s Foreign Ministry rejected unconfirmed claims that troops from the island were sent to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro railed against Lorenzo Mendoza, the head of the Empresas Polar food conglomerate, for suggesting that the country needs an international economic bailout.

YouTube Source – Associated Press
 
Online Sources – Newsweek, Voice of America, Reuters, teleSUR English, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: September 14, 2015

* Mexico: The Mexican government condemned the deaths of at least two nationals killed when the Egyptian military attacked a tour group allegedly mistaken for a terrorist convoy.

* Latin America: Several Latin American countries including Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico are considering following the lead of Argentina and Uruguay by welcoming refugees from war-torn Syria.

* South America: Colombia’s Foreign Ministry is expected to lodge a formal complaint over the incursion of two Venezuelan military planes into Colombian territory.

* Peru: One of Peru’s most wanted suspected drug traffickers, Gerald Oropeza Lopez, was extradited from Ecuador where he was caught after spending four months on the lam.

YouTube Source – euronews
 
Online Sources – The Atlantic, International Business Times, The Guardian, UPI

Daily Headlines: August 24, 2015

* Guatemala: During a televised speech on Sunday night, a defiant President Otto Pérez Molina refused to step down from his post despite being implicated by investigators in a growing customs fraud scandal.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala is expected to sign into law a proposal allowing the Peruvian military to shoot down suspected aircraft attempting to smuggle drugs.

* El Salvador: “An internal dispute involving the feared Barrio 18 gang” is believed to have been the cause of a prison riot that left at least fourteen people dead.

* U.S.: A recent survey found that the environment is a topic that has gained importance among potential Latino voters.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English (“Thousands of demonstrators demanded the ouster of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina on Saturday following the arrest of Vice President Roxana Baldetti in a graft scandal that has rocked the country.”)

Online Sources – Bloomberg, The Indpendent, RTE, NPR

Daily Headlines: August 7, 2015

Note: The below video is Not Safe for Work.


* Guatemala: Five Guatemalan soldiers were detained and accused of abusing their authority and mistreatment of minors after a viral video showed them brutally assaulting two teens.

* U.S.: According to the Labor Department the Latino unemployment rate last month is 6.8%, which represents a 0.2% increase from June but is a 1.1% drop compared to July 2014.

* Puerto Rico: Two major investors in Puerto Rico, OppenheimerFunds and Franklin Advisors, called on the commonwealth to make all of a $58 million debt-service payment that was due on August 3rd.

* El Salvador: Authorities believe that gang members were behind the deaths of four people riding a bus near San Salvador.

YouTube Source – user Criptograma MX

Online Sources – SunHerald.com, Reuters, Labor Department, Bloomberg