Daily Headlines: August 24, 2016

* Chile: “(Latin America) doesn’t take the issue seriously or dedicate the resources it deserves,” claimed a Chilean AIDS rights activist after the government issued a health alert over 1.2 million faulty Chinese-made condoms distributed via a public health program.

* Latin America: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit six Latin American states this week and sign numerous agreements with countries like Cuba and Bolivia.

* Argentina: Declassified British intelligence documents apparently showed Israel sold weapons to Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982.

* Central America: The presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala pledged to launch a new joint force aimed at curbing drug traffickers and criminal gangs.

Daily Headlines: October 14, 2014

* South America: An Italian judge ruled that twenty-one officials from former military dictatorships in four South American countries should be put on trial for their alleged role in Operation Condor.

* Bolivia: Newly reelected President Evo Morales promised to not enact anymore major nationalizations and claimed that he will pursue “realistic, practical” economic policies.

* Venezuela: The U.N. Human Rights Council called on Venezuelan authorities to “immediately release” imprisoned opposition politician Leopoldo López.

* Mexico: Two gunmen murdered a Sonoran activist and radio show host while he was presenting his program live on the air.

Video Source – YouTube user JourneymanVOD
 
Online Sources – spyghana.com; Reuters; MercoPress; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: October 10, 2014

* Mexico: Federal authorities captured suspected Juarez drug cartel chief Vicente Carrillo Fuentes days after the detention of Hector Beltran Leyva, boss of the Beltran Leyva Cartel. 

* Bolivia: Polls indicated that Bolivian president Evo Morales is expected to easily triumph in Sunday’s general election and will be reelected to a third straight term in office.

* Venezuela: A World Bank arbitration board ruled that the Venezuelan government must pay ExxonMobil around $1.6 billion in compensation for a 2007 nationalization.

* Ecuador: Did the European Union “bully” Ecuador in order to sign on to a free trade agreement?

Video Source  – Noticieros Televisa via YouTube (Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, seen here after he was arrested on Thursday, was one of Mexico's most wanted criminals and he faced a number of charges in the U.S. including drug trafficking and money laundering).

Online Sources – CNN; The Latin Americanist; LAHT; Voice of America; teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: February 26, 2014

* Mexico: Spanish flamenco guitar master Paco de Lucia died in Cancun, Mexico today at the age of 66.

* Argentina: Repsol’s executive board approved a plan that would permit the Argentine government to pay the Spanish firm $5 billion in compensation for the 2012 nationalization of energy company YPF.

* Chile: Scientists believe that whale fossils in Chile‘s Atacama desert and dating back millions of years might be the first example of repeated mass strandings of marine mammals.

* Brazil: The Brazilian tourism board asked Adidas to stop selling World Cup t-shirts with double entendre phrases and sexualized images on them.

Video Source – YouTube user slowhand44dz
 
Online Sources- Businessweek; LAHT; The Latin Americanist; The Independent; Reuters

Bolivian President Nationalizes Airlines

The Bolivian government declared that all of the country’s privately-run airlines will be nationalized.

Aerocon and Amaszonas, two small air carriers that mostly operate in Bolivia could soon become incorporated into the state-run Boliviana de Aviación.

“I’ve already named an airport after me so why not control the airlines, too?” said President Evo Morales at a press conference on Monday. 

The leader referred to the controversial renaming of the Oruro airport that was originally dedicated to aviation pioneer Juan Mendoza.

The president added that he might “choose a snappy new name for the airline” such as Moralestrellas, which he claimed would be a combination of his name and the Spanish word for stars (estrellas).  But Oruro Mayor Rossio Pimentel claimed that both the nationalization plans and the renaming are “terrible ideas” since Moralestrellas could be translated as “crashing morale.”

Morales has nationalized numerous major industries since taking office in 2006.  One of his most recent nationalizations involved the state takeover of three Spanish-owned airports.  Along with last year’s nationalization of a Spanish-owned electric power company, relations between the Andean state and Spain have been tense and uneasy:

Daily Headlines: February 19, 2013

* Cuba: A group of seven U.S. congressmen arrived in Cuba yesterday in order to lobby on behalf of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross who has been behind bars for about three years.

* Caribbean: Representatives of the Caribbean Community trading bloc urged U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to push for greater arms control.
 
* U.S.: The Tea Party Express is reportedly planning a Latino outreach campaign aimed at improving the political group’s image within the Hispanic community.

* Bolivia: Spain’s foreign minister warned that diplomatic relations with Bolivia could be hurt after President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of the Andean country’s airports operator.

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- Reuters, The Guardian, Miami Herald, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: January 4, 2013

* Argentina: British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez' latest push for Argentine sovereignty over the disputed Falkland Islands.

* Puerto Rico: In his inauguration speech on Wednesday new governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla vowed to fix Puerto Rico's economic woes and combat the island's high crime rates.

* Chile: The widow of folk singer Victor Jara called on the U.S. government to extradite a former Chilean military official charged with murdering her husband in 1973.

* Haiti: The Haitian government is none too pleased with the recent strengthening of travel warnings by the U.S. and Canada to the Caribbean country.

Daily Headlines: July 12, 2012

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales announced that the government would take over the Malku Khota mining project after five people died in protests last week.

* Mexico: The Nuevo Laredo-based El Mañana newspaper became the latest north Mexican daily to promise not to report on “narcoviolence”.

* Latin America: A new study published in the journal Nature claimed that the first inhabitants of the Americas came over 15,0000 years ago in three waves of migration.

* Brazil: Indigenous demonstrators agreed to end their three week-long protest at the site of the controversial Belo Monte dam project.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR

Online Sources- Reuters, Fox News Latino, UPI, NPR, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: May 3, 2012

* Mexico: Mexican expats sent $5.37 billion in remittances to their home country in the first quarter of 2012, which represents a 5.3% increase compared to the first three months of 2011.

* Bolivia: A U.S. State Department spokesman said that the Bolivian government’s takeover of the main power grid could “really dampen the investment climate in Bolivia.”

* Guatemala: Officials declared a state of siege in the northwestern province of Huehuetenango after two hundred armed people briefly took over an army outpost.

* Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega called for three days of national mourning after the death of former Sandinista figure Tomas Borge.

Image Source – YouTube via teleSUR (Remittances are a major source of dollar inflows into Mexico and most of the money transfers are sent from the U.S.)

Online Sources- LAHT, AFP, Boston.com, Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: May 2, 2012

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales announced yesterday that the government plans to seize control of the main power grid from a Spanish-owned company.

* Colombia: A woman claiming to belong to FARC called local reporters and said that the rebels were holding missing French journalist Romeo Langlois as a “prisoner of war.”

* El Salvador: The Church-negotiated truce between the MS-13 and Barrio 18 street gangs seemed to have paid dividends after officials reported a 58% decrease in homicides last month.

* Cuba: Will the Cuban government soon eliminate the “much-hated” exit visa and permit residents to travel freely?

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR

Online Sources- Reuters, CNN, The Latin Americanist, InSight Crime, Fox News Latino

U.S. Reportedly Backs Spain in YPF Controversy

On Wednesday we looked at the reactions of several leaders from the Americas and Europe to Argentina’s planned expropriation of energy firm YPF. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted on Tuesday that “having an open market is a preferable model” though she did not take sides. Over the past 24 hours, however, that stance has reportedly changed.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo claimed that his country along with the U.S. “will explore all ways in which we can cooperate to restore international legality.”

In remarks to the press after meeting with Clinton in Brussels, Garcia-Margallo said “all legal and opportune measures” are on the table for both countries to consider. That might include actions via bodies such as “the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G-20, the Paris Club (of creditor countries) and any other institution where we can force action” against Argentina.

Though Clinton has yet to make a public pronouncement today over the YPF issue, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday “frankly, the more we look at this we view it as a negative development.”

In other news related to the possible nationalization of YPF:

Daily Headlines: March 2, 2012

* Guatemala: A court ruled that former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt is not exempt from prosecution on charges of genocide related to his time in power thirty years ago.

* Haiti: Days after rallying on the anniversary of the 2004 coup against ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristide, one of his key supporters said that more anti-government protests will be held next week.

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner rejected calling for the nationalization of Argentina’s biggest energy firm, which is owned by Spain’s Repsol.

* Brazil: Air accidents in Brazil increased by over forty percent last year according to new figures published by the air force.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews (Video from last January showed ex-Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt in court facing genocide charges).

Online Sources- CNBC.com, Bloomberg, MSNBC, CNN, The Latin Americanist

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: August 24, 2011

* Chile: Police protection will be provided to student protest leader Camila Vallejo after she received death threats via social media networks.

* Brazil: Could a Brazilian proposal to grant more rights to stateless people push other Latin American countries to give more help to refugees?

* Cuba: A U.S. federal court ordered that the Cuban government pay $2.8 billion to a former CIA agent.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez signed a decree that would nationalize Venezuela’s gold mining industry.

Image – AFP via BBC News (A Chilean student protester holds up a flag with the words “Five Years Studying (and) Fifteen Years Paying”.)
Online Sources- Reuters AlertNet, swissinfo, Sydney Morning Herald, MiamiHerald.com

Daily Headlines: August 18, 2011

* Latin America: Numerous top Israeli diplomats have allegedly traveled to several Latin American countries in order to discourage support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

* Central America: Diplomatic tensions between neighbors Costa Rica and Nicaragua over Calero Island could be reignited due to rumors of a recent incursion into the disputed territory.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez announced that he would pull $11 billion in Venezuelan gold reserves from foreign banks.

* Brazil: According to a “preliminary analysis of satellite photos” deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased by 15% between July 2010 and July of this year.

Image – Reuters (“Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks to the media before the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 17, 2011.” Lieberman was one of numerous top Israeli diplomats that have reportedly traveled recently to Latin America in order to drum up opposition to Palestinian statehood).
Online Sources- insidecostarica.com, The Latin Americanist, AFP, CNN

Nationality, citizenship, and Hispaniola

Immigration is a complex issue for the dual nations that share the island of Hispaniola: Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Both countries have taken distinct measures relating to nationality rights with Haiti choosing to expand them while its neighbor opted to restrict them.

Haitian legislators on Sunday vote to amend the constitution and permit expats the opportunity to have dual nationality. Haitians abroad would thus gain numerous political privileges including the ownership of land as well as the ability to run for certain public offices.

The vote came on the eve of a May 9th deadline for lawmakers to vote on amending Haiti’s 1987 constitution.

The amendment, which is expected to affect an estimated two million Haitians living abroad, reportedly received support from the U.S. government.

The amendment was short of granting Haitians dual citizenship, which would’ve granted those living abroad the right to vote. But for Joseph Bernadel, an expat interviewed by The Miami Herald, the dual nationality measure “gives a clear message to people of Haitian ancestry who have gone to the diaspora that there is a place for them in Haiti, not only in the reconstruction aspect, but in the everyday life in Haiti.’’

In the Dominican Republic, meanwhile, officials have reportedly upped the ante in denying birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. As written in a GlobalPost article published on Monday, the Dominican Republic since changing their constitution last year has “retroactively applied” a clause affecting offspring born to undocumented parents. The action has affected thousands of residents including those who have lived for decades in the Dominican Republic and others unaware that their parents were undocumented.

“I’ve spent my entire career working for this government and I’m ashamed of it now,” said Carmen Augustine de Santana who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic but was recently informed that she did not qualify for that country’s citizenship since her mother illegally migrated from Haiti.

Dominican immigration officials interviewed by GlobalPost denied that the actions were based on race or specifically targeting Haitian migrants. Yet Haitian expat community leaders in the Dominican Republic alleged that authorities have been unfairly targeting undocumented Haitian migrants over those originally from other countries.

The complexities of the immigration issue between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are similar to the debate over that topic in the U.S. (A debate likley to be reignited with U.S. President Barack Obama'a visit to Texas today). As written in GlobalPost last August:

Both involve a porous border that separates a wealthier country from a poorer neighbor. Migrants leave in search of a job. They send money home. Many end up staying, illegally. And like the anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S., the Dominican argument against Haitians comes down to economics. The Haitians, they say, are a drain on the government. They take jobs. They strain already overcrowded health clinics and hospitals. Dominican authorities deported an average of 20,417 Haitians a year from 2003 to 2008, according to a report from the Universidad Centroamericana.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- HaitiLibre.com, Americas Quarterly blog, GlobalPost, MSNBC, Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, AFP

Daily Headlines: January 31, 2011

* Bolivia: Thousands of people marched outside of the U.S. embassy in La Paz last week in protest against a global ban on coca chewing.

* Uruguay: Striker Luis Suarez may be best known for his infamous handball in last year's World Cup yet his blinding speed and knack for scoring helped him secure a $36 million deal to play for English club Liverpool.

* Haiti: The country's electoral council announced that on Wednesday it would declare the winners of the first round of the presidential election that international observers claimed was rigged.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez denied that the government has any plans to takeover Spanish-owned Banco Provincial.

Online Sources - MSNBC, BBC News, Reuters, Democracy Now, The Latin Americanist
Image - AP Photo/Juan Karita via Boston.com ("Indigenous gather in front of the U.S. embassy to inaugurate the national day of coca leaf-chewing in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday Jan. 26, 2011. Bolivia has petitioned the U.N. to end an international ban on coca leaf-chewing. A mild stimulant, the leaves have deep cultural and religious value in the region. The U.S. will file a formal objection...to Bolivia’s proposal, according to a senior U.S. government official.")

Daily Headlines: October 12, 2010

* Brazil: Sunday’s TV debate between presidential candidates Dilma Rousseff and Jose Serra got ugly as each exchanged accusations of flip-flopping and lying.

* Cuba: Not everyone in the Americas is happy that Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize in Literature last week.

* Venezuela: The government has ordered the nationalization of a foreign-owned fertilizer plant and also announced a bill that would expropriate certain unused urban lands.

* Honduras: Authorities have ordered residents in low-lying areas to evacuate as Tropical Storm Paula is expected to become a hurricane.

Image – BBC News
Online Sources- NASDAQ, AP, MSNBC, Reuters, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: September 14, 2010 (Updated)

* Chile: Former president Michelle Bachelet could be named as the head of the U.N.’s new agency on women’s rights. (Update: On Tuesday, Bachelet was officially chosen as the chief of U.N. Women.)

* Latin America: Caribbean countries including Haiti and the Dominican Republic are under threat due to several developing tropical storms.

* Venezuela: The government will compensate cement firm Holcim $650 million for nationalizing its Venezuelan operations.

* Brazil: One of the world’s largest oil fields may have been found off the coast of Brazil and could produce about 8 billion barrels of crude.

Image – BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, AP, Bloomberg, Reuters

Daily Headlines: May 4, 2010

* Latin America: Peru, Colombia, and Chile are three of the fourteen countries that will take part in this summer’s Rim of the Pacific military exercises.

* Cuba: With the help of the local Catholic Church dissident group the Ladies In White were permitted by officials to continue their weekly Sunday protests.

* Bolivia: The government nationalized four electricity firms to go along with the 2006 takeover of the hydrocarbon sector.

* Brazil: The Brazilian Supreme Court voted against modifying a 1979 amnesty law that has protected officials from the country’s previous military dictatorship.

Image – Guardian UK (Soldiers guard the streets of Talcahuano, in southern Chile, after (February’s) earthquake.”)
Online Sources- UPI, New York Times, Guardian UK, MSNBC