Daily Headlines: April 15, 2013

* Cuba: In op-ed piece published in the New York Times, Guantanamo inmate Samir Naji al-Hasan Moqbel claimed that he has been detained without trial since 2001 and described his participation in a hunger strike at the U.S.-run military prison. 

* Mexico: Europol warned last week that Mexican drug gangs are allegedly trying to become “key players in the European drugs market.”

* Argentina: Golfer Angel Cabrera fell short of winning his second Masters tournament and ended as runner-up to Adam Scott of Australia.

* Latin America: Guatemala filed a dispute at the World Trade Organization against Peru regarding import duties on several foods.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews
 
Online Sources- The Atlantic, Bloomberg, ESPN, LAHT

Argentine Ambassador Rebukes Italian Newspaper

Over the past few weeks Argentina’s government has been at loggerheads with several countries across the Atlantic.

Several days ago, Argentine Foreign Minister Hectór Timerman clamed that his country will control the disputed Falklands Islands “within twenty years.”  Last week Timerman and Israeli officials criticized each other after Argentine and Iranian diplomats agreed to creating a joint “truth commission” to investigate the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center.

In the latest incident, Argentina’s ambassador to Italy criticized a recent opinion article that appeared in the Corriere della Sera entitled “The Creative ‘Lies’ of Our Argentine Friends”.

In a letter sent to the chief editor of the influential newspaper, Ambassador Torcuato Di Tella called for “a little more balanced news coverage.”

“I know very well that your newspaper doesn’t treat Italian politics tenderly…Anyway, among so many news stories a little fun isn’t too bad.  But I expected the Corriere, which I read and keep many articles written by teachers, colleagues and friends as Sartori, Panebianco, Sapelli, a little more balanced news coverage," Di Tella said in his communique.

The article in question was originally published on Monday’s edition of the Italian daily and was a tongue-in-cheek critique of Argentina’s fudging of key economic data. 

The article that was written by a Corriere’s correspondent in Brazil did not pull punches:

Notable Quotable: Trashcan of the Americas?!

More than ever before, Miami continues to be the great continental trash can for all the defeated oligarchies.

---A scathing op/ed piece in the Cuban state-run daily Granma aimed at who they consider as the “strong nucleus of right extremists from various Latin American countries” that call Miami home.

The article centered on the lack of extradition from the U.S. of Luis Posada Carriles- a former CIA operative wanted by Venezuela and Cuba for alleged terrorist activities. According to the piece, Posada is part of a massive conspiracy centered in Miami that is targeting the Venezuelan and Cuban governments.

Posada currently stands on trial facing immigration fraud and perjury charges relating to his accused lying to an immigration judge over his previous activities. His defense team argued for a delay and that request was granted today by a federal justice in El Paso who postponed trial until February 2010.

Image- South Florida Sun-Sentinel (2007 file photo of Luis Posada Carriles)
Online Sources- Granma International, UPI, AP

Irony thy name is Gonzales

Ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales penned an op/ed article in the Houston Chronicle last week discussing the increasingly violent situation in Mexico. He described his support for the White House’s border plan for Mexico though not without spinning that the “Bush Administration worked hard to provide the government of Mexico with law enforcement assets, training, and intelligence.”

The latter half of his article highlighted the need to control the flow of illegal arms across the border into Mexico. Yet it’s his views on “correctional reforms” which should raise some eyebrows:

He also said Mexico should have oral, public trials of major organized crime figures rather than having trials consist of written testimony read by a judge behind closed doors.

Doing things in private breeds corruption, he said.

That coming from one of the main backers of the controversial procedures at the Guantanamo Bay jail and who reportedly called the Geneva Conventions "obsolete.”

As we mentioned yesterday, Gonzales and five others have been named by Spanish officials in a criminal investigation regarding human rights abuses at Gitmo.

Image- BBC News (circa 2007 photo of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales)
Online Sources- Houston Chronicle, rawstory.com, The Latin Americanist, ABC News

Daily Headlines: March 16, 2009

* Mexico: Members of the “emo” youth subculture continue to be harassed and discriminated according to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission.

* Bolivia: “It is time for the international community to reverse its misguided policy toward the coca leaf” wrote Bolivian president Evo Morales in a New York Times opinion piece published on Friday.

* Latin America: Over 300 journalists were killed in the Americas from 1987 to 2008 according to the Inter American Press Association.

* Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega and U.S. officials are at loggerheads over the withholding of $62 million in aid to the Central American nation.

Image- Rolling Stone
Online Sources- New York Times, eTaiwan News, miamiherald.com, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC

Editorial by ex-presidents criticizes “war on drugs”

A trio of Latin American ex-presidents called for a revaluation of the “war on drugs” in an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal.

"The war on drugs has failed," said the opinion piece by former presidents Fernando Enrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico) and César Gaviria (Colombia). They suggested that U.S.-led counternarcotics efforts change their focus towards a more humane and efficient approach:

(…)Cardoso, Gaviria and Zedillo defend in their article the importance of creating informative campaigns about drug use among the public in order to attack the problem at its roots, as was done with tobacco.

The ex-presidents believe that the policy of repression and criminalization of consumption practiced in recent decades has failed both in eradicating the habit and in combating the trafficking rings.

"The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime. And the corruption of the judicial and political system is undermining the foundations of democracy in several Latin American countries," the three men wrote in the Journal.

The editorial mentioned the conclusions of a report presented earlier this month by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy on the “war on drugs”. (Cardoso, Zedillo, and Gaviria are part of that group.)

The editorial coincides with a rift between Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his attorney general over resuming penalties for the personal use of illicit drugs.

Image- javno.hr (Farmer tending to coca leaves)
Online Sources- LAHT, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, El Espectador

Daily Headlines: January 1, 2009

* Mexico: Mexican immigration agents commit a litany of abuses against Central American migrants according to a damning report by the country's National Human Rights Commission.

* Chile: Chilean unions vow to boycott the country’s biggest grocer which was recently purchased by Wal-Mart.

* Venezuela: A Venezuelan man is suing U.S. immigration authorities after he claimed that he was illegally deported twice.

* Nicaragua: Could President Daniel Ortega become Latin America’s version of Robert Mugabe or is the author of this op/ed piece exaggerating?

Image- boston.com (“Illegal immigrants travel in a train heading north, on their way to the U.S. in Arriaga, southern Mexico, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008.”)
Online Sources- Brownsville Herald, Bloomberg, csmonitor.com, MSNBC

Editorial praises Venezuelan elections

A recent op/ed piece in the Seattle Times claimed that Venezuelan elections are more free and fair than those in the U.S.

The article- penned by a pair of electoral observers- noted that the U.S electoral process is improving but could learn a lot from Venezuela. “Believe it or not, we found a system far more transparent, inclusive and accountable than what we observed in the past as monitors in the U.S.” claimed Larry Hildes and Karen Weill who served as observers in Florida four years ago and November’s local elections in Venezuela. The pair praised a public education campaign in the weeks before the election, the lengthening of electoral hours to accommodate long lines of prospective voters, and the use of a “paper trail” to backup electric voting machines.

The article concluded with the following:

The truth is hard to find, unless you can go search it out on the ground, as we did in Venezuela. From every attempt we made to assess the conduct of the government, we found a process that was trusted and reflective of the will of the people. We in the U.S. can still stand to learn some lessons about how to run a fraud-free and protected election, if only we are willing.

What do you think? Is the opinion piece fair and accurate or are the authors off the mark in their observations?

Image- Xinhua (“People line up to cast votes at a polling station in Caracas November 23, 2008.)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Seattle Times

CANF head advises McCain, Obama

The head of one of the country’s most important Cuban exile groups penned a must-read opinion piece in Saturday’s Washington Post.

Cuban American National Foundation chairman Jorge Mas Santos criticized U.S. policy toward Cuba as “at best static and at worst counterproductive.” “Just as a democratic Israel is a key U.S. friend in a critical region, a democratic Cuba would be a crucial ally in furthering democracy in Latin America” wrote Mas Santos. He also claimed that the next president needs to take a more active approach in dealing with Cuba, and provided the following recommendations to John McCain and Barack Obama:

• Change the rules that make it impossible to send cash aid and allow direct, substantial and unfettered aid to Cuba's dissidents.

• Lift the 2004 restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban Americans. Removing the handcuffs that have prevented us from becoming active participants in the development of Cuban civil society will make us agents of change.

• Maintain sanctions that diminish the Castro regime's access to hard currency, which it uses to help fund its apparatus of repression.

• Engage democratic and reformist forces in Cuba, including those in the military and in the civilian government. They need to know that they can count on the friendship and support of the United States.

• Rebuild our intelligence capabilities in Cuba; they have been dismantled over the past decade, creating a vulnerability in this nation's security.

Will the next president scrap what Mas Santos believes is the current “failed ‘wait and hope’ policy”? We’ll have to see what happens.

Image- The Age (“Maximo Gomez Park in Little Havana, Miami. Hatred of Fidel Castro and memories of the Bay of Pigs have made most Floridian Cubans staunchly pro-Republican.”)
Sources- washingtonpost.com

Marcela Sanchez: Bush LatAm plan too little, too late

President Bush’s latest plan for Latin America is ambitious but “more of a high-profile attempt at a victory lap than anything else” according to washingtonpost.com columnist Marcela Sanchez (image).

Earlier this week, Bush introduced the “Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas” along with representatives of eleven Latin America nations. The initiative is designed to create further cooperation in the region aside from the tiresome clichés on free trade.

Details have yet to be outlined although Sanchez believes that the program is vital in engaging countries with moderate leaders like Chile and the Dominican Republic. “It is as if the United States is recognizing what so many countries in the region have been insisting on for some time: free trade alone doesn't cut it” she wrote though she lamented the timing of the plan:

Had the Bush administration not been caught up in ideological squabbles so early [ed. - i.e. quarrels with Bolivia and Venezuela], the later efforts from moderates might have been received differently. As it stands, the age of prosperity is still out of the reach of the majority of Latin Americans and the Pathways initiative is at the very least an acknowledgement of that fact.

What do you think of Sanchez’ article?

Image- Rocky Mountain News

Sources- washingtonpost.com, The Latin Americanist, as-coa.org

Daily Headlines: September 10, 2008

* U.S.: Should any of us be surprised that the border fence being built along the U.S.-Mexico border could be facing delays and will likely need extra funds to be finished?

* Caribbean: Hurricane Ike moved into the Gulf of Mexico but not before sweeping twice through Cuba and causing widespread damage.

* Latin America: Could a possible “Cold War II” center itself around Latin America? Columnist Andres Oppenheimer thinks so.

* Venezuela: Opening arguments began yesterday in the “Maletagate” money smuggling case.

Image- Fox News (“Utah National Guard help build part of border fence in Arizona.”)
Sources- KTAR.com, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Reuters UK, MSNBC, sacbee.com

Marcela Sanchez: Biden sends wrong message to LatAm

Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez recently tackled Democratic vice presidential pick Joe Biden and his views on Latin America. Sanchez’ piece takes issue with the Delaware Senator’s “protectionist” stance on free trade as well as what she deemed as a “condescending” attitude to the Americas. Sanchez also implied Latin Americans would have been more receptive had Obama tapped Bill Richardson instead of Biden.

Despite her critique of Biden, Sanchez concluded that there is an opening he could take advantage of should he ascend to the vice presidency:

Interestingly, inequality is the one Latin American issue that Biden has seemed to be passionate about. He "has fought to address the root cause of the dissatisfaction and subsequent instability that has plagued the region, particularly in recent years: tremendous social inequality," according to a statement his office sent me on Monday. While this might be interpreted solely as political pandering, it is hard to imagine Dick Cheney's office ever issuing similar remarks.

Indeed, social inequality has not only been a source of conflict within the hemisphere but also of political divisiveness. If the Democrats win in November, and tackling Latin America's inequality gap becomes the basis for a new, well-financed approach to the region, many Latin Americans could start looking to Washington in a new way.

So what do you think of Sanchez’ article?

Image- BBC News

Sources- StatemanJournal.com

Daily Headlines: August 18, 2008

* Chile: Have Chilean authorities unfairly harassed foreign documentary filmmakers researching the indigenous Mapuche community?

* Latin America: “It is high time for the United States to redefine its approach to regional aid, not merely in the name of friendship but also in its own interest,” said Costa Rican president Oscar Arias in a must-read op/ed piece from the Washington Post.

* Paraguay: After meeting with newly-inaugurated leader Fernando Lugo, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez promised to provide Paraguay “with all the oil it needs, right to the last drop”.

* Panama: A U.S.-led military exercise involving several countries of the region focused on defending the Panama Canal “from an attack by a fictional terrorist group bent on damaging the world economy.”

Image- elmundo.es

Sources- Upside Down World, Washington Post, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Reuters UK

Daily Headlines: August 12, 2008

* U.S.: Univision news anchor Maria Elena Salinas blasts “Operation Scheduled Departure”- the self-deportation program by U.S. immigration authorities that seems to have been a failure.

* South America: Here’s a unique arrangement – Venezuela provides medical equipment to Cuba and in return gets animals to fill its “depleted zoos.”

* Colombia: The Uribe love-feast continues as election authorities consider a petition calling for Colombia’s president to serve an unprecedented third term.

* Mexico: Mexico City’s government introduced an initiative designed to provide rewards for information on kidnappings.

Sources- Reuters UK, MSNBC, Monsters & Critics, HanfordSentinel.com, The Latin Americanist

Image- New York Times (“María Elena Salinas on the set of the Spanish-language news program, Noticiero Univision, in Doral, Fla.”)

Daily Headlines: August 6, 2008

* South America: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for a regional alliance to be made with Argentina and Brazil as the heads of state for those countries met for an “impromptu” summit on Monday.

* Latin America: Countries throughout the region must do more to prevent crime, according to this op/ed piece by a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

* Dominican Republic: Speaking of crime in the Americas, seven people were found killed execution-style on a Dominican beach.

* Caribbean: Medical schools in New York City are none too please over a contract signed between city-owned hospitals and a school on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

Image- AFP (“Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela” after their meeting on Monday.)

Sources- UPI, miamiherald.com, Reuters, Xinhua, AFP

Daily Headlines: July 25, 2008

* Mexico: Hurricane Dolly may’ve weakened to a tropical storm yesterday but that didn’t stop the storm from causing flooding in parts of northern Mexico and possible flooding in the Rio Grande Valley.

* Peru: Patriotism vs. morality – Peruvians are split over a magazine cover with a nude model photographed on top of the national flag.

* Latin America: Columnist Marcela Sanchez looks at the difficulties of being elderly and living in Latin America.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez signed several energy and trade deals with his counterpart from Belarus, “a fellow fierce critic of the United States.”

Image- New York Times (“Gregoria Lopez sought shelter from the hurricane in Brownsville, Texas.”)

Sources- washingtonpost.com, BBC News, Reuters, AFP

Follow-up: E.U. ignores Evo’s immigration appeal

As we mentioned on Monday, an op/ed piece by Bolivian president Evo Morales on immigration was published in the Guardian UK. Morales criticized a strong anti-immigration proposal by the European Union (EU) and instead called for the region to adopt “a migration policy that respects human rights.”

Ultimately, however, Morales’ appeal fell on deaf ears:

European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to allow countries in the bloc to hold undocumented migrants in detention centers for up to 18 months and ban them from EU territory for five years….

Described by critics like Amnesty International as "severely flawed" and an erosion of human rights standards, but by supporters as a balanced approach, the so-called return directive passed in the European Parliament by a vote of 369 to 197, with 106 deputies abstaining.

The E.U. legislature blocked ten amendments to the proposal including granting detainees the right to legal counsel, while the approved plan is said to be part of a regionwide “immigration pact” to be introduced next month.

According to the E.U. an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants live in the bloc, compared to about 11 million in the U.S.

Image- BBC News (“The Canary Islands are struggling with an influx of migrants.”)

Sources- Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist, Sydney Morning Herald, Southern Ledger, International Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: May 26, 2008

* Peru: Could the 2016 Summer Olympics be held in Peru?

* Cuba: New York Daily News columnist Albor Ruiz finds it “funny” that the White House recently permitted cell phones to be sent to Cuba while the trade embargo remains unchanged.

* Mexico: The government promised to send over $40 million to clean the “sewage-stained beaches” in the resort city of Acapulco.

* Chile: The country’s gross domestic product appears to be growing at its slowest pace since 2003.

Image- The Age (Image of U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos protesting racism during the last Olympics held in Latin America – Mexico City 1968.)

Sources- Bloomberg, Guardian UK, New York Daily News, The Latin Americanist, Living in Peru