Daily Headlines: November 1, 2016

* Brazil: A study from the Getulio Vargas Foundation public policy think tank concluded that the Brazilian economy will continue to be mired in an economic crisis into 2017.

* Cuba: The discrepancy in pay between workers of different nationalities laboring on three major hotel projects in Cuba has not sat well with residents.

* Argentina: Approximately $4.6 billion was reportedly declared by Argentines as part of a tax amnesty plan in effect until November 21st.

* Venezuela: Five imprisoned opposition politicians were released from jail after Democratic Unity Roundtable representatives first met with government represntatives in Vatican-mediated talks .

YouTube Source – Bloomberg (Video uploaded in September 2016).

Online Sources – UPI, Reuters, Xinhua, BBC News

Daily Headlines: August 10, 2016

* Brazil: Amid the fervor of the Rio Games, Brazil’s Senate voted in favor of holding an impeachment trial against suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

* Puerto Rico: Tourism in Puerto Rico has weakened over the past few months reportedly as a result of the Zika virus outbreak that has affected most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet in a televised address proposed reforming the private pension system created under the rule of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

* Venezuela: Opposition politicos are none too pleased with the Venezuelan electoral commission’s decision to likely hold a possible recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro in 2017 instead of later this year.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources – euronews, Travel Weekly, Deutsche Welle, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: March 14, 2016

* Cuba: The Cuban Tourism Ministry said that some one million foreign visitors traveled to the country in the first three months of 2016, which represents a 14.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s “brain drain” of skilled workers leaving the island has hit the health care sector hard as an average of one doctor immigrates away from the commonwealth each day.

* Peru: A new poll showed greater support for Keiko Fujimori ahead of next month’s presidential election but not enough to avoid a runoff.

* Uruguay: “There could be an elephant out there,” claimed an optimistic executive at French company Total regarding exploration of what could be a very promising Uruguayan offshore oil field.

YouTube Source – AJ+

Online Sources – Xinhua, NPR, Reuters, MercoPress

Daily Headlines: February 11, 2016 (Updated)

* Latin America: A pair of recent polls found that most Latin Americans are pessimistic over the region’s governments handling of the Zika virus outbreak, and 41% of people in the U.S. are less likely to take a trip to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Update: On a related note, Brazilian health officials claimed that it can take a year to develop a vaccine against Zika. Doing so, however, will be a major challenge.

* Mexico: At least fifty-two inmates died following a riot and a fire at the Topo Chico prison located near Monterrey in northern Mexico.

* Peru: Peru’s copper output is expected to grow by 19% this year, which will allow the country to leapfrog China and become the world’s second-largest copper producer.

* El Salvador: Former El Salvador President Mauricio Funes will become the next ex-Central American leader to face a trial over alleged wrongdoing while in office.

YouTube Source – Bloomberg Business

Online Sources including Update – The Guardian, Reuters, CNN, Bloomberg, Vox

Daily Headlines: January 21, 2016

* Venezuela: The OPEC oil cartel will likely rebuff Venezuela’s latest appeal for an emergency meeting even though the economy of the Latin American state has been battered by the plummeting price of crude.

* Puerto Rico: “Now is the time to act,” declared U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew as he urged Congress to take steps and help pass a deal to restructure Puerto Rico’s multibillion dollar public debt.

* Mexico: The U.S. State Department issued a new travel warning for visitors going to Mexico though the advisory appears to be unrelated to the recent arrest of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Brazil: A diplomatic tiff has developed between Brazil and Israel over the naming of an ex-West Bank settler leader to serve as ambassador to the South American country.

YouTube Source – euronews business

Online Sources – Reuters, Washington Post, ABC News, Forbes

Daily Headlines: January 15, 2016

* Brazil: Police charged officials with companies including Vale SA and BHP Billiton over a November 2015 dam collapse that caused major environmental damage in southeast Brazil.

* Mexico: Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez and U.S. Justice Department officials supposedly met on Tuesday in order to advance the possible extradition of reprehended drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Cuba: Cuba allegedly received over 3.5 million tourists last year including a 76% increase in visitors from the U.S.

* Colombia: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim called on the international community to guarantee greater financial assistance to Colombia as it tries to reach a peace deal and end decades of armed conflict.

YouTube Source – ODN

Online Sources – Yahoo News, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Jamaica Observer

Daily Headlines: December 7, 2015

* Colombia: The Colombian government claimed to have found the world’s largest sunken treasure, a 300-year-old vessel carrying an estimated $17 billion, though the question of who owns the spoils could become a costly legal battle.

* Mexico: Seven countries including the U.S., Canada and France issued travel warnings to visitors journeying to Mexico after authorities believed that two missing Australian surfers were killed in Sonora.

* Nicaragua: “We do not want to be accomplices to the death, damages and destruction that a 3C or 4C world will represent,” declared Nicaragua’s representative to the COP21 summit after the Central American state became the first to publicly reject a global blueprint to combat climate change.

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet reportedly signed a decree eliminating marijuana from a list of hard drugs in anticipation of an expected Congressional debate to reform Chile’s narcotics laws.

YouTube Source – euronews (“Colombia claims to have discovered what's been described as the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks of the coast of Cartagena”.)
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English, Financial Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: October 30, 2015

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala lifted a state of emergency order for regions in southern Peru affected last month by violent clashes between police and protesters opposed to a planned copper mine.

* Venezuela: The U.S. could push for more sanctions against Venezuelan officials despite President Nicolas Maduro’s threats of suing the Obama administration.

* Puerto Rico: Will Puerto Rico run out of money as early as this November and fall into default?

* Costa Rica: The Costa Rica government and children’s rights advocates are planning to expand an online marketing campaign aimed at discouraging child sex tourism.

YouTube Source – AFP (“Demonstrators gather in Lima (weeks ago) to protest against a big Chinese copper mining project in the provinces of Cotabambas and Grau.”)
 
Online Sources – Reuters, GlobalPost, La Prensa, Seeking Alpha, Tico Times

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: September 4, 2015

* Cuba: A Florida International University study found that the push towards normalized relations would help U.S. tourism to Cuba though the embargo against the island serves as a major obstacle.

* Latin America: The number of Internet users in Latin America has nearly doubled from 2006 to 2013 according to a new report yet “local (Web-based) services and applications have not grown at the same rate as connectivity.”

* Brazil: The government rejected rumors alleging that Finance Minister Joaquim Levy was resigning over planned austerity measures backed by President Dilma Rousseff.

* Mexico: A U.S. appeals court ruled against deporting an undocumented transgender woman back to Mexico where she was under threat of being sexually abused again.

YouTube Source – AFP 

Online Sources – Latin American Herald Tribune, Fox News Latino, Voice of America, SFGate.com

Daily Headlines: May 26, 2015

* Cuba: Tourism in Cuba grew by 14% between January and May including a 36% boost from U.S. visitors traveling to the island despite restrictions.

* South America: Police are looking into alleged e-mail threat made last month by the Islamic State against the presidents of Argentina and Chile.

* Puerto Rico: Legislators in Puerto Rico continue to hammer out the final details of a $1.2 billon tax proposal that could be signed into law as early as next week.

* Brazil: At least eight people died following a riot at a Brazilian prison built for 644 inmates but housing over 1400 prisoners.

YouTube Source – Bloomberg Business (Video uploaded in March 2015).
 
Online Sources – International Business Times, Reuters, ABC News, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: April 28, 2015

* Uruguay: Six former Guantanamo detainees could have their public assistance withdrawn as a result of a rift between them and the Uruguayan government.

* Peru: A recent report found that more than five million international tourists traveled to the Peruvian capital of Lima in 2014 and this made it the most visited Latin American city last year.

* Colombia: The alleged recruitment of underage girls for the fugitive leader of the Urabeños criminal organization has highlighted the “ongoing child sexual exploitation in Colombia's gang culture.”
 
* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s debt woes continue to worsen, which increases the odds of a government default in a few months time.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources – ABC News, Reuters, Peru this Week, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: November 17, 2014

Note: Before we list some of the main stories from the Americas, we would like to apologize for not publishing this post earlier in the day. Unfortunately we were affected by technical difficulties.  Thank you for your kind attention.

* Colombia: The Colombian government suspended peace talks with the FARC after President Juan Manuel Santos blamed the rebels for kidnapping an army general.

* Mexico: The disappearance and possible massacre of forty-three university students is reportedly hurting tourism in the state of Guerrero.

* Brazil: The head of Petrobras claimed that the company would full investigate with the latest corruption scandal to rock the Brazilian state-run oil giant.

* Haiti: A one report found that Haiti is the country with the world's third-highest proportion of slaves compared to their population.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube
 
Online Sources – BBC News; The Latin Americanist; Christian Science Monitor; NPR; Reuters

Daily Headlines: August 12, 2014 (Updated)

* Haiti: Officials vowed to capture more than 300 inmates who recently broke out of a Haitian prison including convicted kidnapping ring leader Clifford Brandt.

Update: Police recaptured Brandt near the Haiti-Dominican Republic border but most of the escaped inmates are still fugitives.
 
* Honduras: At least eight people died in a shootout on Saturday night reportedly caused by gang violence between the Mara 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha groups.

* U.S.: A three-judge federal panel started hearing legal arguments yesterday over the possible gerrymandering of Congressional districts that hurt Latino voters in Texas.

* Ecuador: The Ecuadorian capital city of Quito was named as “South America's Leading Destination” at an event deemed as the “Academy Awards of the tourism industry.”

Video Source – euronews via YouTube
 
Online Sources including Update – ABC News; Miami Herald; Latina; LAHT; Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: April 8, 2014

* Latin America: Researchers warned that the chikungunya virus that has already been detected in several Caribbean countries could soon cause a “catastrophic” epidemic in the Americas.
 
* Brazil: More than 2000 construction workers at Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Park have been on strike since last Thursday as part of the latest delay to affect preparations for the 2016 Summer Games.

* Mexico: The mayor of Tampico, Mexico believes that rival drug gangs attempting to “settle scores” may be behind the deaths of at least eighteen people over the weekend in the northern border state of Tamaulipas.
 
* Cuba: According to a Havana Consulting Group report, the number of U.S. tourists visiting Cuba continues to grow in the first three months of this year despite a decades-long trade embargo against the island.

Video Source– YouTube user CARPHACampus (The chikungunya virus is spread by the same Aeges infected mosquitos that can carry dengue.  Victims endure severe joint pains that could lead to permanent disability and, in some cases, death).

Online Sources –news.com.au; GlobalPost; NET Website; Dominican Today; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: March 13, 2014

* Venezuela: Three people were killed in Venezuela on Wednesday on the one month anniversary of clashes between opposition protesters and pro-government activists in Caracas.

* Mexico: Some areas of Mexico may be hit by drug-related violence but that hasn’t stopped international tourism in the country from increasing by 17.4% in January 2013.

* Haiti: A new class action lawsuit was filed in a U.S. federal court this week against the U.N. to hold the international body responsible for a cholera epidemic that killed thousands across the Americas.

* Chile: “Chile must value the diversity that characterizes Latin America and effectively tackle the challenges presented by our relations with neighbors,” declared new president Michelle Bachelet during her inauguration address on Tuesday.

Video Source – YouTube user ExcelsiorTV (“Venezuela marks one month of protests and the violence has apparently not ceased.  24 people have died.”)

Online Sources- Reuters; SBS; The Guardian; Xinhua

Reports: Increase in Argentines Smuggling Pot from Uruguay

“Marijuana tourism” has allegedly boomed in the U.S. state of Colorado ever since a law permitting the recreational use of the drug went into effect on January 1st.  A similar case appears to be occurring several thousand miles away in Uruguay where a major marijuana legalization proposal became law nearly one month ago.

Officials in neighboring Argentina have reported an uptick in the number of residents caught trying to smuggle marijuana after having visited Uruguay.  Three to four people per day are allegedly caught with cannabis in their attempt to return to Argentina via points of entry such as ferry terminals and major airports.  This increase is said to be “unprecedented” compared to previous end-of-the-year holiday breaks.

Federal prosecutors subsequently intervened and most cases were rapidly closed since the amount of marijuana found was small and did not break Argentine law allowing “personal doses” of the drug.
As long as the marijuana is “not shown off ostentatiously and found discreetly within the luggage” then it is not a punishable offense, according to unnamed “judicial sources” cited in news reports.

The new law permits the sale of up to 1.4 ounces of cannabis to registered users over the age of 18 via a government-regulated marketplace.  Yet the pilot program is expected to go into effect later this year and it bars tourists from legally purchasing marijuana in the South American country.

“This is not like the Netherlands… (The Uruguayan government) is not promoting in any shape or form tourism related to marijuana” said Uruguayan Tourism Minister Benjamín Liberoff in an interview weeks ago with the Europa Press. 

He also denied that a spike in requests for residency in Uruguay are related to marijuana legalization and could be because of “other laws such as allowing same-sex marriage…or economic growth that we’ve enjoyed in recent years.”

Daily Headlines: November 20, 2013

* Peru: A Peruvian consulting firm found that roughly 40% of people visiting the country this year are foodies interested in gastronomic tourism.

* U.S.: A new study concluded that Latinas under the age of 65 are 1.5 times as likely to die in a hospital of a heart attack than white males.

* Mexico: According to a report by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, 65 of the country's 101 most populated prisons were under the control of inmates instead of the authorities.

* Panama: On a visit to the Panama Canal, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised Panamanian officials for intercepting a shipment of Cuban arms bound for North Korea last July.

Online Sources  - Peru This Week; healthday.com; AFP; FRANCE24

Video Source - YouTube via user Peter Greenberg

Daily Headlines: October 22, 2013

* Uruguay: Government drug chief Julio Calzada said that the Uruguay plans to sell marijuana legally for $1 per gram, or roughly an eighth what it costs at legal medical dispensaries in some U.S. states, in order to combat drug trafficking.

* Haiti: According to the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs about the number of survivors of a major 2010 earthquake living in camps has dropped by 89% since its peak of 1.5 million people over three years ago.

* Cuba: Cuban officials reported an increase in visitors from the U.S. traveling to the island though its still below the number of tourists from countries like Canada, Germany and Britain.

* Venezuela: The Venezuelan stock market is one of the world’s “best performing” despite domestic economic problems such as high inflation and food shortages.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews (Video uploaded last August).

Online Sources- LAHT; The Guardian; Los Angeles Times; ABC News;

Daily Headlines: June 11, 2013 (Updated)

* Costa Rica: Police have yet to identify any suspects in the murder of Costa Rican conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval who was killed two weeks ago while protecting turtle nests.

* Latin America: Tourists from Latin America are among those who most visited the U.S. in 2012, while Mexico is using the recent visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote tourism from China.

* Venezuela: Authorities arrested nine alleged Colombian paramilitaries accused them of purportedly plotting to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

(Update: Leading opposition figure Henrique Capriles responded to the news of the alleged thwarted plot by accusing the government of "putting up a smokescreen" to hide Venezuela's economic and political problems. [Link is in Spanish].)   

* U.S.: The family of Oswaldo Payá, a Cuban dissident who died in a 2012 auto accident, have gone into exile in Miami but will reportedly not seek political asylum.

Video Source – YouTube via user El Periódico cr (Vigils were held throughout Costa Rica last week calling for justice in the death of conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval).
 
Online Sources including update- Tico Times; Los Angeles Times; Miami Herald; Fox News Latino; RTT News; Terra USA