Colombia: Guerillas compared to Al Qaeda, Nazis

Colombia’s largest rebel faction was compared to Al Qaeda and Hitler’s concentration camps according to declarations made by Colombia’s government. “The FARC are as terrorist as Al Qaeda” said vice president Francisco Santos during a political conference held in England. On Monday, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe compared the FARC’s hostages to this held in World War II concentration camps:

'The hostages have really suffered, as much as the Jews in Hitler's concentration camps,' Uribe told Europe 1 radio just hours before he was to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He said that former FARC hostage Clara Rojas, liberated on January 10, had talked to him about 'the torture.'

Uribe’s remarks were similar to those made last year on Adolph Hitler and FARC spokesman Raul Reyes.

Meanwhile, Uribe responded without hyperbole to barbs hurled by Hugo Chavez; yesterday, Chavez accused Uribe of being a “coward,” a "pawn of the U.S.", and “suitable to be a mafia boss."

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

Sources (Spanish)- RCN, El Tiempo

Image- Digger History

Border Patrol agent killed near Mexico

A U.S. Border Patrol officer was struck and killed by a car driven by a “suspected smuggler” according to authorities. Senior Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar died as he set up spike strips to stop the vehicle that was trying to return to Mexico after having illegally crossed the border in the U.S.

The incident- which happened on Saturday- reflects the increasing tensions around the U.S.-Mexico border. Controversy has been raised over the use of pepper spray and other chemical weapons by Border Patrol agents, for instance. Nevertheless, Aguilar’s death has lead to increased vigilance on both sides of the border:

"I am outraged by this tragic loss," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Saturday. "I have spoken to the Mexican ambassador, who gives me both his condolences and deep assurance that their government will be resolute in tracking down the perpetrators and bringing them to swift justice."

Federal, state and local authorities are working with Mexican police and military authorities to apprehend the suspected killers, he said.

Image- 10news.com

Sources- Los Angeles Times, CNN, the Latin Americanist, SignOnSanDiego.com, CBS News

A “presidenta” for Paraguay?

Paraguay’s ruling party selected Education Minister Blanca Ovelar as its presidential candidate. Ovelar’s candidacy faced a court challenge from within the Colorado Party yet that appeared to be defeated earlier today.

Should Ovelar win in April’s elections she would be the first woman elected to Paraguay’s presidency. Though the Colorado party is currently the world’s longest ruling at 47 years, Ovelar faces an uphill battle as corruption allegations have hurt president Nicanor Duarte and Paraguayans lean increasingly towards the opposition.

Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Chile’s Michelle Bachelet are the only two current female presidents in Latin America.

Image- CNN (“Blanca Ovelar holds up a dyed finger after voting last month in the Colorado Party's internal elections.”)

Sources (English)- miamiherald.com, Wikipedia, Angus Reid Consultants, Al Jazeera, The Latin Americanist

sources (Spanish)- ABC Digital, Ultima Hora

L. American stocks suffering

Latin America’s finances have been hurt as anxiety increases over a slowdown in the global economy. Last week, Brazil’s Bovespa index tumbled by over 7 percent while Mexico’s Bolsa index hit its lowest weekly point in nearly a year. Asian stocks decreased this morning and this affected trading throughout the Americas this afternoon:

The Bovespa index of most-traded shares on the Sao Paulo exchange dropped 3,988.22 to 53,518.25 at 12:22 p.m. New York time. Mexico's Bolsa fell 1,042.72, or 3.9 percent, to 25,671.11. The MSCI EM Latin America Index sank 7.9 percent, the most since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, to 3,540.94, extending its fall since Oct. 29 to 23 percent…

“The perception that the U.S. will face a recession has spread,'' said Luiz Sedrani, head of equity at Sao Paulo-based Banco Votorantim, the financial arm of Brazil's largest diversified industrial group. “Brazil will suffer because a slowdown in the U.S. will reduce demand for commodities, which make up most of our exports.''

In addition, currencies in the Americas have steadily decreased in value which is a worrying sign for export-oriented economies in the region.

The subprime mortgage mess has influenced the downturn in the U.S. economy, yet ironically Mexico’s housing market seems to have undergone a boom.

Sources- Bloomberg, AHN, AFP, Associated Press

Image- ABC News (October 2007 image of the New York Stock Exchange)

Daily Headlines: January 21, 2008

* Recent poll results indicated that half of Argentines are satisfied with recently inaugurated President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

* Seventeen films from Latin America are being screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

* Colombia’s second-largest guerilla faction released nine hostages according to local officials.

* Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen traveled to an Iraqi military base to thank soldiers from El Salvador.

* Honduran officials uncovered “three Kalashnikov assault rifles, an Uzi…30 large televisions, (and) five refrigerators” as contraband in a prison cellblock.

Sources- Angus Reid Global Consultants, Xinhua, Voice of America, New York Times, AFP

Image- ABC Online

Video of the Day: "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Just for the heck of it:

Sources- YouTube

Witness: Peruvian prez assassination target in 1992

Peruvian president Alan Garcia was ordered to be assassinated during a 1992 self-coup by then- leader Alberto Fujimori, according to testimony during Fujimori’s trial. Prime Minister Jorge Del Castillo took the stand today, and told that Garcia and he were targets of the army on the night of April 5, 1992:

Del Castillo revealed that Garcia told him years after the coup that “a close person informed him that he was the target of an assassination plot.”

“I am convinced that the (army) group which entered my house did so in order to physically eliminate Garcia” claimed Del Castillo who added that he received “information” from Susana Higuchi. [ed. Higuchi is the now-divorced wife of Fujimori.]

“That’s the information I received; she warned us of the threat via a liaison.” – [ed. Personal translation]

Del Castillo was secretly detained for five days after the autogolpe while Garcia fled to Colombia.

Fujimori is on trial for human rights abuses during his decade of rule and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted.

Image- BBC News

Sources (English)- Associated Press, Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- La Republica, El Diario/La Prensa, El Expreso

Venezuelan MPs support guerillas' political status

Venezuela’s National Assembly approved a measure backing the granting of political status to the Colombian FARC and ELN guerilla groups. The proposal’s text recognizes Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’ declaration last week that the guerillas are "armies" and should be taken off international terrorist lists:

The Assembly agreed with the president’s position “by requesting that the Colombian government recognize the belligerent character of the insurgent movements…as a sign of good faith towards a political status that would create faith in future negotiations…” according to the approved text…

The legislators also rejected the existence of “unilateral lists imposed by the imperialist U.S. government and other colonizing countries which consider freedom movements and other insubordinate states as terrorist.” – [ed. Personal translation]

The Colombian government has yet to reply to the Assembly’s statement though a pair of political analysts interviewed by RCN said that the measure could lead to the FARC and ELN establishing “embassies” on Venezuelan soil.

Image- BBC News

Sources (English)- BBC News

Sources (Spanish)- Clarin, El Tiempo, RCN

Huckabee pledges against immigrant “amnesty”

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee signed a "No Amnesty" pledge touted by anti-immigrant groups. The former Arkansas governor added his signature to an oversized document where he promised that if elected president he would:

“fully implement measures that over time will lead to the attrition of our illegal immigrant population and…also pledge to make security of our borders top priority in my administration.”

Huckabee has increased the rhetoric on immigration while campaigning in South Carolina. During an appearance on Tuesday, he advocated ending all immigration from countries that harbor or sponsor terrorists.

A new poll in South Carolina released yesterday showed that Huckabee and Senator John McCain are in a statistical dead heat.

Sources- Baltimore Sun, FOX News, Washington Times, boston.com

Image- boston.com

Daily Headlines: January 18, 2008

* A three-hour shootout between armed men and police in Tijuana ended with the execution-style deaths of six hostages.

* Latin America could be heading for an arms race according to this article from the Christian Science Monitor.

* A human rights group study found that violence in Venezuelan prisons went up in 2007.

* Follow-up: Chile recalled its ambassador to Peru one day after Peru filed a demand against its southern neighbor at the International Court of Justice.

Sources- Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, Al Jazeera, Associated Press

Image- Guardian UK (“A Mexican policeman guards children during a stand-off against hit men in Tijuana.”)

Video of the Day: Immigration reform lecture

The following video is longer than the average YouTube clip but worth checking out. It is a video of a panel discussion held on Monday entitled “The Future of Immigration Reform in America.” The lecture may be dull at times, yet there are numerous interesting views presented about the immigration debate.

(Video link):

Source- YouTube

Brazil: U.S. couple indicted on abuse charges

A Brazilian court indicted a U.S. couple on charges of sexually abusing children while at a nudist colony. The couple has been jailed since December and the indictment was extended to include a Brazilian couple and the parents of three boys who were allegedly abused.

Brazilian police claimed to have sufficient evidence to back their suspicions of the accused:

According to police inspector Juliano Ferreira, the parents "received money in exchange for allowing their sons to be sexually abused by the American and Brazilian couples."

Ferreira said such photos were found in both homes and included images of children allegedly victimized by the couples. He said police have identified 12 of those minors…

All of the boys lived in poor neighborhoods near the colony, police said.

Ferreira said that police found "DVDs and CDs containing hundreds of photographs of young boys posing nude or having sex with each other."

Sources- Associated Press, MSNBC

Image- Greenwich2000

Report examines Cuban human rights

There’s been a recent decrease in Cuban political prisoners but state repression continues according to a report from a human rights group based on the island.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights study on 2007 said that there were 82 fewer political prisoners since Raul Castro took over in July 2006. Nevertheless, the group claimed that there has been no improvement in Cuba’s human rights record during Raul’s rule:

"This sort of provisional government has done nothing to change the very bad situation of civil, political and economic rights that has exited in Cuba for more than four decades," the commission said, adding that authorities still deny freedom of expression, assembly and travel…

"Through its enormous repressive apparatus, the Cuban government continues to silence dissident voices and employs all forms of intimidation against militant opponents or ordinary citizen who speak out," the group said.

On a related note, journalism watchdog group Reporters Without Borders demanded the prompt release of 24 journalists jailed in Cuba.

Sources- Reuters, Reporters Without Borders, pr-inside.com, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News (“Cuban government supporters (R) chant pro-revolutionary slogans as a group of political prisoners' wives known as Ladies in White (L) march in Havana.”)

U.S., Mexico top cops meet

The head law enforcement officials of Mexico and the U.S. met yesterday in order to discuss issues like human trafficking and organized crime. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora emphasized the need for greater cooperation between both countries and Mukasey announced the creation of a special database designed to stem the illegal arms from crossing the border.

In addition, Mukasey talked about a topic we mentioned last month: the use of tear gas and pepper spray by Border Patrol agents.

"We're trying to deal with it. We've talked to the Mexicans about it, and they're trying to deal with it," Mr Mukasey said.

"What happens is that there is organised rock-throwing to divert border guards, who then become involved in whatever exchanges they're involved in, then you get a bunch of backpackers running across the border with backpacks full of marijuana," Mr Mukasey said.

Image- USA TODAY (“Mexico's Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora, left, shakes hands with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey during a news conference in Mexico City, Wednesday.”)

Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Monsters & Critics, New York Times, Reuters

Peru Takes Chile to Court

Yesterday Peru filed a demand against Chile in the International Court of Justice in the The Hague, Netherlands. Peru is claiming that it's maritime border with the Southern Cone nation has never been defined and is requesting that the international court intervene in the dispute. Chile rejects Peru's claim, citing multiple treaties made with Peru in the 1950's.

At least it's not about who rightfully claims pisco.

Source : CNN
Image: Peru's President Alan Garcia addressing lawmakers on the issue yesterday in Lima.

Eagle Pass, Texas: 0 Vs. Border Fence : 1

Eagle Pass, Texas has lost in a round of fighting against a border fence.
Yesterday the U.S. Justice Department ordered the border city to temporarily give up 233 acres of land (for 180 days), the first step in paving the road for a fence creating a physical barrier between that city and Mexico. The Feds had to sue the city for access because local landowners and politicos refused to handover the land. Right now, the land handover will allow government surveyors to begin assessing sites for construction of the fence.

There are hundreds of other lawsuits against other landowners in Texas, California, and Arizona who refuse to give up their lands to the Feds.

The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is under a congressional mandate to have 670 miles of fencing in place by the end of the year to toughen security on the porous southwestern border. The plan calls for roughly 400 miles of new fencing that will be added to existing barriers.

Source : The Seattle Times