Cuba, Venezuela remain on State Dept. trafficking list

Most of the media attention has been placed on the addition of several Middle Eastern countries to the Department of State’s human trafficking list. However, it is also vital to note the Latin American states that are and are not on the list.

Of the sixteen countries deemed the worst of the worst in human trafficking only two are from the Americas: Cuba and Venezuela. Venezuela has been one of two countries sanctioned by the U.S. since last year’s “Trafficking in Persons Report” was issued.

Criticism has been made over those countries that did not end up as the worse human trafficking offenders such as China and India. Regarding the Americas, Mexico and the Dominican Republic were placed on an intermediate list along with Belize who was on the list of worse offenders last year. Yet according to CNN, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte quarreled over the political consequences of placing India on the list.

Something to consider: could politics be why Cuba and Venezuela- two of the biggest critics of the Bush administration- are on the list while several allies are not?

Sources- TIME, International Herald Tribune, Washington post, BBC News, CNN, The Latin Americanist

Image- USA TODAY (According to the caption: “Florencia Molina, a victim of human trafficking, was able to escape the abusive conditions of a dressmaking shop”)

Poll: Colombians divided over Uribe’s trips to Washington

Despite high levels of public support for Colombia’s president, Colombians were nearly split in their support of President Alvaro Uribe’s visits to Washington according to a poll reported by Colombia’s RCN. In addition, less than one-third of poll respondents admitted to “clearly understanding the details” of Uribe’s trip last Wednesday, which was to garner support of Colombia’s free trade agreement with the U.S. and to ensure continued aid.

As we noted last week, Uribe told the Colombian press that he doubted that his goals would be met on the trip. Yet so far no changes have been made to Colombian assistance in the 2008 foreign aid bill being considered by Congress according to blog Plan Colombia and Beyond.

Image- El Mundo

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa, El Tiempo

Sources (English)- Angus Reid Consultants, Plan Colombia and Beyond, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

U.S. gov’t sued over wrongful deportation of disabled man

The family of a mentally disabled citizen deported to Mexico filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Monday. Though spokesmen for the Department of Homeland Security and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department claimed that proper procedure was followed, the family of 29-year-old Pedro Guzman believes he is missing in Tijuana:

“"My worst fear is that he is no longer living," said Guzman's brother, Michael Guzman.”He doesn't know how to read. He often can't remember the family phone number. He even gets lost if he gets off the main street in Lancaster (California)."”

Guzman has not been heard from for over a month. The American Civil Liberties Union- a partner in the lawsuit- blamed the Sheriff's Department for acting as “de facto immigration agents.”

Update: The Associated Press issued a minor correction to their original story on Guzman. (See second link).

Sources- Reuters, International Herald Tribune, The Washington Times

Image- Tijuana.com (U.S.-Mexico border crossing into Tijuana)

Daily Headlines: June 13, 2007

* Rest in peace Tito Gomez (image); the fifty-nine-year-old Puerto Rican was the lead singer of famed Colombian salseros Grupo Niche.

* The U.S. government is “not supporting, participating in, pushing for or subliminally urging any of the people that march” in favor of RCTV, claimed the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela yesterday.

* El Salvador’s government confirmed that two army units stationed in Iraq came under insurgent fire, while nineteen Mexican soldiers will go on trial for the murders of five civilians who did not halt at an army checkpoint.

* Jamaican police believe that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was not murdered and instead died of natural causes.

* Ecuador’s president defended his economics minister who was caught in a second secret videotape, while ex-Nicaraguan president Arnoldo Aleman refused a planned amnesty for his money laundering conviction.

* Follow-up: Remember in October when we mentioned the rumors surrounding President Bush’s purchase of 100,000 acres of land in Paraguay? Now speculation is running over the purchase of millions of acres of land in Chile and Argentina by U.S. multimillionaire Douglas Tompkins.

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Sources (English)- ABCmoney.co.uk, MSNBC, Monsters & Critics, BBC News, People’s Daily Online, The Latin Americanist, Yahoo! News

Image- RPP

Follow-up: More charges against Fujimori

Chilean prosecutors have added the charge of “usurpation of powers” against former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori- who was put under house arrest while awaiting a possible extradition from Chile to Peru- faces eleven counts of corruption and human rights abuses during his decade in power.

On a related note, the presidents of Chile and Peru are expected to meet later this week despite disagreements by each country’s foreign ministers over boundary issues.

Sources (English)- Monsters & Critics, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Portuguese)- La Nacion, La Tercera, El Mercurio

Image- El Comercio

Chavez makes surprise visit to Cuba

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was greeted by a crowd chanting “Long live Cuba! Long live Fidel!” as he arrived in Havana this afternoon in a surprise visit to Cuba. Chavez met a few senior government officials (image), and Cuban television reported that Chavez will meet Fidel Castro and brother Raul later today.

Speaking of Fidel, his latest article in Granma criticized U.S. President George W. Bush’s weekend trip to Eastern Europe.

Sources- Monsters & Critics, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Granma

Image- Prensa Latina

Immigration as a vital topic in Latin America

While the U.S. government grapples with the future of immigration reform, several Latin American countries are facing their own immigration debate. According to an article in yesterday’s Miami Herald:

“Driving the changes (in immigration in Latin America) are concerns echoed in the current U.S. immigration debate: that undocumented workers take jobs from locals, raise the crime rate and drain tax dollars through their use of public school and health systems.

In the same vein, business groups in the region have been opposing new laws that might limit uneducated, low-cost laborers from migrating to countries that need them -- just as in the United States.”

Unlike the U.S., however, immigration reform in some Latin American countries has been successfully enacted:

• Argentina passed a proposal four years ago granting illegal immigrants access to public schools and health clinics
• Costa Rica approved a plan allowing Nicaraguans to gain citizenship
  
• Chile’s government is considering their own proposals that would help illegal immigrants

Image- BBC News (A Brazilian immigration official take a picture of a U.S. tourist in 2004)

Sources- Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Miami Herald

News briefs on Cuba

* The judicial proceedings against suspected terrorists at the U.S. base on Guantanamo Bay “is causing us far more damage than any good we get from it,” said former Secretary of State Colin Powell in a televised interview.

* Cuba's Episcopal Church consecrated its first female bishop over the weekend in “a historic act that demonstrates women's possibilities.”

* Cuba’s “premier sexologist” is gradually working to break down taboos regarding homosexuality and transsexuality. (One of the island’s most popular telenovelas has done so, as we mentioned last year).

* “Human rights expert” Catherine Chanet expressed her “concern” for Cuban dissidents, yet also backed the government’s suggestion to overhaul the review system at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

* Lastly, a glimpse of fast food a la Cubana:

“A basket on a rope drops for payment. Money collected, the basket comes down again, bearing hot pizzas, grease soaking through butcher paper wrapping. There is no soda, or napkins.

The basket-on-a-rope delivery method is popular among those who share and sell goods in apartment buildings without working elevators."

Sources- Guardian UK, Newsday, USA TODAY, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, Voice of America

Image- TIME (2001 image of Cubans celebrating the country’s revolution)

Guardian UK: Rio’s Carnaval fixed

An article in today’s Guardian UK claims that the results of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval were fixed by “underworld” criminals. The report alleges that Carnaval jurors were coerced into accepting bribes by the honorary president of the Beija-Flor samba school or else they would have their relatives threatened with death.

According to the article by Tom Phillips:

“Claims that Rio's carnival procession was fixed emerged in April after the police cracked down on a gambling racket allegedly involving the payment of bribes to Brazilian judges. During a raid on an apartment in northern Rio, agents found 4m reals (roughly $2 million) hidden behind a fake wall.

Shortly after the crackdown, known as Operation Hurricane, a parliamentary inquiry was set up. Yesterday, as the allegations grew, the 40 carnival jurors were summoned to testify before the commission.”

I wonder if this happens in Bahia? (Hopefully not!)

Sources (English)- Guardian UK

Sources (Portuguese)- O Globo Online, Estado.com.br

Image- BBC News (Parade float goes through the “Sambadrome” in last year’s Carnaval)

Daily Headlines: June 12, 2007

* Cuban-American senator Bob Menendez (image) will not only support Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for the U.S. presidency but will serve as her campaign co-chair.

* Congrats to Latina actress Ana Ortiz (best known for her role in “Ugly Betty”) who got married over the weekend in Puerto Rico.

* The Christian Science Monitor examines the dangers facing journalists in Mexico.

* The Hugo Chavez-led Bank of the South will have its main office in Caracas with branches in Bolivia and Argentina.

* Mexico’s peso continues to fall in value after investors' worries over the U.S. economy.

* Follow-up: remember the State Department report that blasted Venezuela’s counternarcotics efforts? Guess which country’s law enforcement seized 2.5 tons of cocaine bound for Africa.

Image- WNYC

Sources- Guardian UK, Christian Science Monitor, Zee News, Wikipedia, Bloomberg, Monsters & Critics, Wikipedia, USA TODAY, The Latin Americanist, Metro

Senate shows doubt over Alberto Gonzales, but not enough to continue debate

The Senate voted 53-38 in a “no-confidence vote” against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, yet fell 7 votes short of moving to full debate. Though Democrats were behind the initiative, 7 Republicans voted against Gonzales. Through it all, President Bush has remained supportive of Gonzales and believes there has been “no wrongdoing” in the Justice Department.

The Mexican-American Gonzales has been accused of firing eight federal attorneys due to purely political reasons. Bipartisan pressure has increased against Gonzales to resign especially after his performance at recent Senate hearings.

Image- CBS News

Sources- Guardian UK, BBC News, Bloomberg, Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post

Gov’t okays Mexican Church involvement in politics

Mexico’s government dismissed a complaint against the country’s Catholic Church over its political involvement during Mexico City’s abortion debate. Though the law bans priests from “partisan politics or holding political meetings at churches”, the legal complaint arose when some clerics “suggested voters should remember who backed the law at election time”.

Mexican cardinal Norberto Rivera celebrated the government’s decision and vowed to campaign to change the Law of Cults and Religious Associations:

“It has been said that we have a law for cults but not an adequate law of religious expression; a topic discussed during President Calderon’s visit to (the Vatican) and one which will undoubtedly need to be worked on.”

Sources (English)- Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- Sol de Mexico

Image- National Geographic (Mexico City’s Zocalo with the Metropolitan Cathedral in the background)

Chile: Bachelet’s daughter hospitalized

Francisca Davalos- the 23-year-old daughter of Chilean president Michelle Bachelet- remains hospitalized after suffering from a cerebral thrombosis. Doctors at the Clinica Alemana in Santiago have assured that Davalos (image) is in “good condition” and without “neurological damage” after being taken to hospital late yesterday. Bachelet cleared her agenda today and has stayed at Davalos’ side. Davalos is expected to remain in hospital for several days.

Sources (English)- Pravda, BBC News

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa, La Nacion

Image- El Mercurio

Ortega and Ahmadinejad establish closer relations

Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega met with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran (image) and both agreed to closer relations between the two countries. “Nothing can get in the way of strengthening the ties between our two countries” said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a news conference earlier today. Ortega met with several important political and religious leaders during his visit to Iran.

As we mentioned last week, a pair of Floridian legislators called Ortega, Ahmadinejad, and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez a “new trio of tyrants.”

Image- PRESS TV

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, ISNA, People’s Daily Online, El Universal

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Weekly Debate: Immigration reform

Note: Originally, our debate was going to look at the finals of the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament. We will post about it later this week.

As we mentioned last week, the bipartisan immigration reform bill was on life-support in Congress. Senators voted against ending debate on the proposal and the House has refused to examine the bill until it possibly gets assed by the Senate. Several key politicos, such as President Bush and leaders for both the Republican and Democrat parties, have vowed to continue working hard for immigration reform.

Still, the failure of the latest proposal has had serious repercussions in Mexico and for local leaders in the border states. Here is what Arizona governor Janet Napolitano had to say in yesterday’s Washington Post:

“If we have no comprehensive immigration reform this year, and if we do not deal rigorously and openly with those already here, silent amnesty will continue. As a border-state governor who has dealt with immigration issues more than any other governor I know of, I am certain that continued inaction by Congress -- silent amnesty -- is the worst of all worlds."

• So what do you think?
• Did you support the bipartisan reform bill that was considered by the Senate? Why or why not?
• Will an immigration reform bill be considered or ignored by Congress before 2008?
• Is immigration reform that vital a topic to begin with or is the status quo fine as is?
• Will the consequences of the bill’s failure hurt relations with Mexico and other Latin American countries?

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment to this post and/or voting in our poll located on the sidebar.

Let your opinion be heard!

Image- The Irish Times (Pro-immigration reform protestors gather in front of the U.S. Capitol in March 2006)

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Yahoo! News, Bloomberg, Washington Post, ABC News

Daily Headlines: June 11, 2007

* New York’s Puerto Rican Day parade drew thousands of boricua supporters along Fifth Avenue, while over 3 million revelers packed the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil yesterday during the city’s gay pride parade (image).

* Several top congressional Democrats warned of “the infiltration of important Colombian state institutions by terrorists and drug traffickers” in a letter written last month to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

* Argentine judges denied India’s extradition request for an Italian businessman wanted in the Bofors arms scandal.

* “I would leave no troops in Iraq whatsoever,” said presidential hopeful Bill Richardson on the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

Image- O Globo Online

Sources- Yahoo! News, Guardian UK, Monsters & Critics, Wikipedia, USA TODAY