Daily Headlines: December 10, 2008

* Panama: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Panama yesterday in order to attend hemispheric trade talks.

* Venezuela: Hugo Chavez’ push for additional presidential terms is “something very dangerous” according to Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa.

* Latin America: According to a U.N. study poverty levels throughout the region could rise next year due to the global economic crisis.

* Brazil: Protestors yesterday tried to call attention to the reported 9000 people disappeared since January 2007.

Image- AFP
Sources- Reuters, IHT, CNN

Today’s Video: Ros-Lehtinen can work a pole

Remember the tidbit last week regarding Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hanging up twice on President-elect Barack Obama? Monday evening’s “The Colbert Report” poked fun at the incident. The video below is 04:45 long but it’s best to skip ahead to the final 45 seconds to view Ros-Lehtinen’s recent stunt on a Miami vacilon radio show.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Barry & the Stump

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Sources- The Latin Americanist, colbertnation.com

Ex-hostage Betancourt thanks Hugo Chavez

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt met with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as she came to the tail end of her tour of Latin America.

During the meeting on Monday she thanked Chavez for his previous mediation in the conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas. Despite his removal as liaison last year, Betancourt said that his aid was vital in securing the freedom of several former hostages.

Betancourt had more to say on Chavez during a press conference on Tuesday:

"President Chávez is a leftist, revolutionary president who has conducted a peaceful revolution in Venezuela. Obviously, I do not share some things. For instance, a square in Venezuela was named after (deceased guerilla chief) Manuel Marulanda," said Betancourt, AFP quoted.

"I think that the fact that President Chávez has these feelings of ideological proximity to the FARC is a blessing after all, because somebody is to talk to the FARC," she added.

Betancourt also called for other global leaders to be more active in finding a peaceful solution to Colombia’s armed conflict and demanded that the FARC lay down there weapons.

Betancourt- who was liberated in a rescue mission last July- is heading for France. She will be accompanied by an ex-FARC rebel who fled camp in October along with an elderly politico held hostage.

Image- PRESS TV
Sources- The Latin Americanist, El Universal, BBC News, Voice of America, AP, Xinhua

Deportations to Haiti resume

There’s a Spanish saying: llover sobre mojado (rough translation - raining where it’s already wet). Such a cliché applies to Haiti.

Haiti’s one of the most impoverished countries in the Americas and in the recent months the country has had to face additional troubles. A wave of summer storms and a food crisis have led to more misery and suffering in that Caribbean country.

As a humanitarian gesture the U.S. government placed a moratorium on deportations to Haiti three months ago. Starting this week, however, the suspension was removed and deportations have resumed.

''We determined that it was appropriate to resume based on the circumstances in Haiti,'' declared a U.S. immigration spokeswoman to the miamiherald.com. Yet leaders of the Haitian community in Florida denounced the measure based on the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, some politicians have entered the fray and have called on the federal government to stop the deportations:

(Reps. Alcee Hastings and Robert Wexler)…took the opportunity to call for granting temporary protected status to Haitians in the United States. That designation, generally bestowed upon countries experiencing severe economic or political problems, allows noncitizens to live and work in the United States for a limited period of time.

“Haiti has long met the qualifications for TPS, and it is now more urgent than ever that the United States provide them with this much needed, long overdue, temporary assistance,” they said.

Image- Voice of America
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, Palm Beach Post, AP, miamiherald.com

Update: Ecuadorian dies after brutal attack

Yesterday we mentioned how a pair of Ecuadorian brothers was the targets of a cowardly attack in Brooklyn. Sadly, the incident has taken a fatal turn:

One of the two Ecuadorian brothers beaten in Brooklyn while their attackers screamed anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs has died, the New York City Police Department confirmed today.

Investigators say Jose Sucuzhanay, 31, was walking home with his brother Romel at the intersection of Kossuth Place and Bushwick Avenue early Sunday morning…

According to police, that's when four men jumped out of a burgundy Ford Explorer and began attacking the brothers.

Police say the men were beaten with a bottle and a baseball bat while the attackers yelled anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs.

Jose Sucuzhanay’s murder marks the second death of an Ecuadorian in the New York metro area in recent weeks. Last month, Marcelo Lucero was beaten to death by a group of teens on Long Island.

As more information has emerged of what will likely be treated as a hate crime, so have details of the deceased:

The victim…the co-owner of Open Realty International, a real estate agency in Bushwick, was described by family members as a gentle, generous man, a father of two children who live with his parents in Azogues, Ecuador, his native town…

Diego Sucuzhanay said that his brother, one of 12 siblings, came to New York 10 years ago “because there were job opportunities.” He said Jose worked as a restaurant waiter for seven years, and founded his real estate agency several years ago. “He helped this community,” he said. “He loved Bushwick.”

An immigrant; a hard worker; a dreamer; an entrepreneur. And now a dead man in a heinous attack.

Image- New York Daily News
Sources- The Latin Americanist, NY1, New York Times

Belize - Guatemala border dispute goes to the Hague

Guatemala and Belize signed an agreement overseen by the OAS yesterday (and negotiated earlier this year) that serves as the first step in the reconciliation of an age-old border dispute between the neighboring Central American countries.

Belize, formerly British Honduras until 1974, shares a large border with Guatemala to the west and a much smaller with the Mexico to the north. Because of lingering border questions, Guatemala became the last nation in the world to officially recognize Belize in 1991, though the border issues remain unsolved to date.

For those curious about the otherwise benign dispute, a website devoted to Belize-Guatemala relations -- by the Belize government -- offers an interesting timeline of a dispute that has played a (small) role in nearly 150 years the region's turbulent past (as well as a link titled "international support" and "the Belize position.")

The agreement signed on Monday will cede jurisdiction the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands, which will determine the final border lines between the two countries. While it appears that Guatemala has been loathe to cede jurisdiction of the border decision, most analysis suggests that Belize has the most to lose in territory.

Sean McCormack, of the Dept. of State, also issued a statement congratulating the negotiators from both countries.

Sources: Amandala, Mercopress, Dept. of State

Daily Headlines: December 9, 2008

* Caribbean: During a one-day summit yesterday, the fourteen–nation Caribbean Community called for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

* Bolivia: Approximately 20,000 families have been hurt by a months-long drought according to Bolivian officials.

* Dominican Republic: A clerk at the Dominican Consulate in New York has been accused of illegally smuggling people into the U.S.

* Peru: Remember the diplomatic spat caused by a Peruvian general’s misguided remarks about Chileans? Gen. Edwin Donayre was replaced as Peru's army chief on Friday.

Image- BBC News (Antigua Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer standing next to Cuban president Raul Castro)
Sources- Reuters, Xinhua, New York Daily Times, IHT, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: Haiti’s continued suffering

Normally I say the following in a facetious tone but this time I’m serious – some stories speak for themselves:

The poorest nation in the Americas is hit by hurricanes and (a) food crisis.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is still recovering from four tropical storms and hurricanes that killed more than 800 people and destroyed 60 percent of its crops in August and September.

Sources- Reuters

NYC Ecuadorians assaulted in possible hate crime

It was approximately one month ago that an Ecuadorian immigrant was killed by a group of teens on Long Island. The murder of Marcelo Lucero brought to light the dark side of racism being faced by the growing Latino population in New York City’s eastern suburbs.

Now comes word of another sickening assault on Ecuadorians; this time, it was in New York City proper and allegedly involved homophobic and anti-Latino insults:

Investigators said 31-year-old Jose Sucuzhanay was walking home with his brother Romel early Sunday morning when one of them stopped to give the other his coat at the intersection of Kossuth Place and Bushwick Avenue.

That's when investigators said a group of men jumped out of an SUV and beat them with a glass bottle and baseball bat while yelling anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs.

Romel was not seriously hurt, but Jose was taken to the hospital where he is on life support.

"My brother is in critical condition. He has to go through brain surgery. He's okay there. But right now he's not moving, he's not talking, he's in very critical condition. And we hope he will recover," said Sucuzhanay.

Hate crime charges could be leveled against the attackers though that will be the least of their problems should Jose Sucuzhanay die.

It should go without saying that such heinous, cold-blooded assaults are inexcusable whether it be in such a diverse metropolis as New York City or in outlying suburbs. We’ll keep an eye out for any further developments.

Image- The China Post (“People file past the open casket bearing the body of Marcello Lucero at the Congregational Church of Patchogue in Patchogue, N.Y., Saturday, Nov. 15.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, NY1, City Room, newsday.com

U.S. immigration snafus…

Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A senior U.S. border patrol official was charged on Friday with hiring illegal immigrants to clean her home and advising one of them on how to avoid detection by the authorities.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security charged Lorraine Henderson, port director for southern New England, with employing an illegal immigrant from Brazil in her Salem, Massachusetts home, following a sting operation.

Henderson, who worked for the department's Customs and Border Protection arm, continued to pay the woman for more than two years, even after a colleague warned her not to, according to court documents.

When the unidentified Brazilian woman asked Henderson for advice on her immigration status, Henderson told her, "You have to be careful, cause they will deport you."

Henderson also advised the woman, "don't leave (the country) ... cause once you leave, you will never be back."

I don’t know whether to call it hubris, stupidity, or what. Assuming the charges are true, stories like the one above are yet another example of why we need comprehensive, and fair immigration reform.

Sadly, those with the power to do something about it prefer to live with their heads in the sand and allow the same broken system to continue. There’s the hope that that could soon change, but the cynic in me doubts it. Such is the sad reality of the immigration debate.

(Just in case you didn’t catch it, here’s the inspiration for the title to this post.)

Image- boston.com (Freight ship traffic at the Port of Boston)
Sources- AP, Wikipedia, Reuters

Do a tourist’s “Confessions” go too far?

Earlier today on the Vivirlatino blog, fellow contributor Maegan la Mala found what she called “a disgusting piece” in yesterday’s Sunday Times (UK). In the latest installment of the “Confessions of a Tourist” series, the author describes his visit to the “dirty, tawdry stinkpot” that is northern Mexico. “Mexico is a great big beautiful country” starts the piece before the author dives into a night of drunken revelry before being part of “hot Mexican love.”
Maegan did not mince words in her opinion on the article:

This piece of shit article published in the travel section of a mainstream media source may have been published as some sort of hipster style joke which is usually just racism with alleged "style" by a man who didn't use his real name, but the message is clear, Mexico and it's women are dirty, primitive and meant to be used by white tourists.

Maegan has a point; after reading other stories in “Confessions of a Tourist” they come off to me as a backpacker’s lame Penthouse Forums. Generally the tales from around the world involve an unexpected situation between a local and a native leading to some degree of shagging. Some of the stories are relatively innocent and could’ve been written in any locale around the world. Yet others like the one cited by Meagan take on a condescending tone that can turn off a reader (so to speak).

Last October alone “Confessions of a Tourist” highlighted stories from Latin America; one involved a “spontaneous, passionate, hot” tryst in Havana after tango lessons. Another involved a tourist who was alone with a Brazilian man after her bus broke down. You can probably figure out what happened next:

The next morning, exultant and a little hungover, I woke to a blazing sun - but no coach. It had gone, with all the other passengers. I was alone in the Amazon with a beautiful Brazilian man. We spent the next few days thoroughly exploring parts of the forest - and of each other.

What do you think? Are “Confessions of a Tourist” racist, sexist stories presented in the guise of a travel article? Or are they fun pieces that shouldn’t be taken too seriously?

Image- Yahoo Travel
Sources- Times Online, Vivirlatino

Obama's Hispanic appointees monitored

The speculation continues over which, if many, Hispanic advisers Barack Obama will appoint.

Organizations that have encouraged Obama to appoint Hispanics -- including the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus -- say they're optimistic about his appointments.

Obama's pick for commerce secretary is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and other lower-profile posts will have Hispanic heads as well.

Richardson spoke up on Friday about Mexico and the Hispanic community while in Mexico City.

Obama "is well aware of the importance of Mexico and the Hispanic community because it was very important in his victory," Richardson said.

Read his list of appointees so far here.

Source: El Paso Times

Source and Photo: AFP

Leaders mull banana tariffs

Banana suppliers might get a break this week as European Union leaders plan a meeting of world trade ministers to address their complaints of high tariffs.

Reuters reports that suppliers in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador have long complained they do not have enough access to Europe's fruit consumers. They blame high import duties and Europe's dependence on Africa and the Caribbean.

Read more about the history of banana tariffs here.

Source: Reuters

Photo: elements4health.com

Daily Headlines: December 8, 2008

* U.S.: Coming to a television near you – a reality series for Homeland Security. (Migrants not included).

* Paraguay: The hunger for meat in the developed world has led to the widespread clearing of land in Paraguay according to this Guardian UK article.

* Colombia: Could Colombia’s failed pyramid schemes put the kibosh on President Alvaro Uribe’s possible plans for a third term?

* U.S.: A quick piece of advice for pugilist Oscar De La Hoya – please retire now.

Image- wired.com
Sources- CNET News, washingtonpost.com, New York Daily News, Guardian UK

Common currency, credit, and passport for SICA countries?

Following their lackluster meeting to respond to the financial crisis in October, the presidents of Central America came together yesterday and agreed to a 41 point plan including several major stimulus and stabilization plans.

Among them are agreements in principle for common passports allowing freer traffic between the member countries (4 countries have already signed on to this), a credit fund accessible to member governments, and perhaps most notably, a common currency (El Salvador and Panama are currently dollarized, while the other 6 SICA countries use their own currencies; no agreement was made as to what currency would be adopted, or if a new one altogether would be instituted).

Details on each of these have yet to be laid out, and while the proverbial devil will inevitably be found therein, these agreements should be seen as potentially major shifts in moving towards regional financial integration. While international press coverage has been slim so far, I expect the development (if it happens) to become major news in the coming weeks, and for the comparisons to the EU will abound (if not only by the EU countries themselves, with whom the Central Americans just signed a separate agreement, making the EU the largest development aid donor to the sub-region).

In other news to come out of the meeting, Daniel Ortega assumed the SICA presidency for a 6 month term. In his acceptance speech, the Nicaraguan president didn't miss the chance to stick to the world's capitalists, declaring "Nos vendieron un modelo, nos impusieron un modelo, y ese modelo nos tenía y nos tiene amarrado de manos de pies, y nos ha tenido amordazado," and adding "Hoy más que nunca tenemos que unirnos."


Sources: SICA, Univision, El Nuevo Diario, AFP, Deutcshe-Welle

Today’s Video: Fidel’s faux-ad

If Mikhail Gorbachev can do an a post-Soviet Union ad for a crappy pizza chain then perhaps Fidel Castro can do something similar within a few years:

(For the record, we featured this video last year. And Cuban beer is relatively decent).

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, South Florida Business Journal