Spy scandal hits Colombian intelligence

Colombia’s beleaguered intelligence agency (DAS, in Spanish) has come under fire over allegations that rogue agents illegally wiretapped politicians, members of the press, and judges.

"I have ordered a probe of the DAS interception systems and controls," Attorney General Mario Iguaran said yesterday after an article in local newsmagazine Semana detailed how DAS agents illicitly worked for criminal groups.

As Colombia Reports mentioned:

According to this week's publication, judges of the Supreme Court, the directors of Caracol Radio, W Radio, Noticias UNO and weekly Semana were bugged, as well as a respected columnist from newspaper El Espectador. The investigated media all operate relatively independently and at times are very critical of the government.

The judges allegedly were tapped when the Supreme Court was clashing with the Presidency over the bribery investigation of (former) ministers and the investigation of mostly coalition congressmen with ties to paramilitary groups.

In response to the allegations, DAS’ head of counterintelligence resigned along with other senior officers. DAS director Felipe Munoz Gomez (image) didn’t quit and appears to be safe in his post for the time being.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said this morning that he denied ordering the DAS wiretaps and was, in fact, a “victim” of said events.

This is not the first time that DAS has been caught in scandal under the Uribe administration. His first director- Jorge Noguera- quit in 2005 and is currently in jail for his alleged ties to right-wing paramilitaries. Anther DAS director- Maria del Pilar Hurtado- resigned in November after a key opposition senator accused the agency of secretly monitoring his actions.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Reuters, Colombia Reports, Al Jazeera English, AP, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: February 23, 2009

* U.S.: Spaniard Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for best supporting actress while "Slumdog Millionaire" dominated the 81st Academy Awards with eight honors.

* Mexico: The police chief of Ciudad Juarez quit after receiving death threats from drug gangs.

* Haiti: Earlier this month Swiss officials announced that they will return over $ 6 million in frozen assets belonging to ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

* Ecuador: Was a U.S. diplomat expelled last week from Ecuador really “the head of the CIA” in that country?

Image- AP (“Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her work in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," arrives for the 81st Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, AHN, CNN, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

Today's Video: An Oscar surprise

With the Oscars coming up on Sunday, we end our week with a quick look at one of the Awards' most controversial moments.

Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Oscar in 1973 for "The Godfather" but refused to accept it. In his place, Sacheen Littlefeather spoke out on the mistreatment of Native Americans in film and entertainment:

Marlon Brando Refuses His Oscar | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Littlefeather was born as Maria Cruz in 1947 and some sources have said that she is of Mexican descent. Her official website denies Roger Ebert's reported categorizing of her as a "Mexican actress" and goes on to say that she's partly descendant of "the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes of Arizona".

Online Sources- Guardian UK, Spike, sacheenlittlefeather.net

Irish FM: U.S. should change policy to Cuba

Should the U.S. change its policy towards Cuba? One Irish official gave his two cents:

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, has said he would like to see a change in US policy towards Cuba.

Speaking during an official visit to the island, the Minister said “an evolution in policy” would be a good thing, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by Radio Habana Cuba.

“I don’t propose to tell the American administration how to proceed but certainly from our view and our background we believe that dialogue and contact are important and for the welfare of the people both in Cuba and the United States, it would be a good thing to see a change in policy and an evolution in policy,” he said.

Martin also said that he was able to discuss human rights issues with the Cuban government though no other details were reported.

Martin’s visit is the first by an Irish foreign minster to Cuba since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1999.

Image- RTE News
Online Sources- EUbusiness.com, Irish Times, Xinhua

ICE forced to meet arrest quotas?

A Maryland-based immigrants rights group has accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of being forced to meet arrest quotas.

CASA de Maryland released what they claimed to be an internal ICE report on a 2007 raid in Baltimore. The study found that two dozen Latinos were arrested by ICE agents who were instructed to meet their annual quota of 1000 arrests per team. "I don't care where you get more arrests, we need more numbers," said the agents’ supervisor according to the internal investigation.

"We need just and humane immigration reform," said the executive director of CASA at a press conference on Wednesday who also called for an immediate halt to immigration raids. An ICE spokesman denied that arrest quotas were used and claimed that ICE uses “goals to measure the effectiveness of its teams.”

The Migration Policy Institute released a study earlier this month claiming that nearly three in four immigrants detained by ICE were nonviolent offenders.

Image- WTOP.com (“Justin Cox, a lawyer with CASA de Maryland, shows a surveillance video of an ICE raid that occurred in Baltimore in 2007, during a media event in Langley Park, Md. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).”)
Online Sources- washingtonpost.com, AP, Baltimore Sun, The Latin Americanist, WJLA

Bolivia: Seven detained over Pando massacre

Bolivian officials arrested seven people in connection with a massacre last September in the northern province of Pando. A mayor, civic leaders and two journalists were reportedly among the group who were arrested for the killings of twenty Bolivians on September 11th.

A November 2008 report by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) blamed local authorities for the massacre of pro-government supporters. Opposition politicos in Pando rejected the report as biased and as only presenting “one side as truth”.

The Pando massacre was one of the bloodiest episodes of a conflict between supporters and detractors of Bolivian president Evo Morales. The incident highlighted the divisive nature of Bolivian politics:

The unrest flared during a bitter power struggle between leftist President Evo Morales and conservative rivals opposed to his drive to implement a new constitution…

His government declared martial law in Pando and arrested provincial Gov. Leopoldo Fernandez, accusing him of inspiring the violence. It lifted the state of siege late (last November).

Bolivians would go on to back the new Magna Carta via a referendum last month.

Image- CBC (“Supporters of Bolivian President Evo Morales protest in La Paz on Sept. 12. (Juan Karita/Associated Press).”)
Online Sources- Prensa Latina, LAHT, Reuters, The Latin Americanist

Bank runs hit LatAm over Stanford fraud

Billionaire tycoon Sir Allen Stanford gave himself in after F.B.I. agents found him in Virginia. Stanford has been accused of bilking customers out of over $8 billion dollars via his investment fund and other financial entities.

Stanford’s alleged scam led to bank runs in several Latin American countries and forced governments in the region to take drastic actions. Panamanian branches of Stanford bank were closed while Colombian authorities are seeking details over Stanford’s dealings in that country. Mexican officials are looking into Stanford's supposed links with violent drug gangs.

Venezuela’s government quickly intervened to “stem fears of investors”:

Venezuela has seized a local bank owned by Allen Stanford…after panicked investors withdrew millions of dollars worth of deposits.

Ali Rodriguez, the Venezuelan finance minister, said on Thursday that Stanford Bank SA would be sold and the government would back all deposits, after at least $26.5m was withdrawn in two days.

The move comes despite the Venezuelan government trying to reassure depositors that the local bank was healthy.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- AFP, Reuters, The Telegraph, BBC News, Monsters & Critics, Al Jazeera English

Daily Headlines: February 20, 2009

* Canada: U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about free trade and the slumping economy but not Gitmo detainees during Obama’s state visit north of the border.

* Argentina: Weeks after an Argentine seminary removed Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson the country’s government yesterday ordered him to return to Britain.

* U.S.: Is the Chamber of Commerce behind an ad campaign against Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis?

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer will lay off over 4000 employees due to the global economic decline.

Image- AP (“Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with President Barack Obama during a photo opportunity on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday Feb. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, washingtonpost.com, Mother Jones, BBC News, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist

GOP to get “hip-hop makeover” says Steele

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said that the GOP will undergo a “hip-hop makeover” in order to appeal to Latinos and others.

Steele had this to say in an interview with the Washington Times published today:

(...) Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

The RNC's first black chairman will “surprise everyone” when updating the party's image using the Internet and advertisements on radio, on television and in print, he told The Washington Times.

Steele rightfully acknowledged that the Republican Party “missed the mark in the past, which is why we are in the crapper now.” However, he did not provide details as to how it will go about doing so beyond the public relations campaign.

The GOP will need to do a whole lot more beyond commercials possibly featuring Daddy Yankee. Despite my center-left leanings allow me to provide some suggestions:

• How about pushing for real immigration reform and shunning the poisonous anti-immigration rhetoric espoused by some in the GOP?
• Effectively tackling the problems of the weakening economy would certainly help though so would addressing social concerns that are important to Latinos.
• Try using convincing and thoughtful arguments rather than shining the light on uninformed, one-dimensional caricatures.
  

Ads and endorsements can only go so far. For the Republicans to bounce back they will have to emphasize substance over style.

Image- Voice of America
Online Sources- Washington Times, Wonkette, New York Daily News, The Latin Americanist

Update: Brazilian faked “skinhead” attack

A Brazilian woman allegedly admitted that a xenophobic assault against her by Swiss skinheads was all a hoax.

According to Swiss prosecutors, Paula Oliviera confessed not only to faking the attack against her but also lied about being pregnant and having miscarried her twins due to the assault. Police also said that the cuts on her abdomen bearing the initials of the right-wing Swiss People's Party corroborate claims made by local forensics experts that her wounds were self-inflicted.

Swiss officials have removed Olivera’s passport while they investigate her for misleading police. Prosecutors have not revealed any possible motives behind her allegations.

Olivera’s case led to outrage in her native Brazil and a renewed focus on racist attacks in Europe. (The 2007 assault of an Ecuadorian teen on the Barcelona metro comes to mind).

Despite the change in Olivera’s story, Brazil's Foreign Minister said that his government will keep providing her with “all necessary support”:

Amorim said he was not officially informed of the investigation, but the government will keep on supporting one of its citizens.

"We must give attention and support to our fellow citizen," the minister said. "That is what we have been doing and what we will keep on doing, following international norms."

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, Xinhua, AP, earthtimes.org, The Latin Americanist, Expatica Switzerland

Ecuador expels second U.S. diplomat

For the second time in two weeks Ecuador’s government expelled a U.S. diplomat.

At a press conference yesterday, Foreign Minister Fander Falconi accused Mark Sullivan- first secretary in the U.S. embassy's regional affairs office- of meddling in internal affairs. “Sullivan…placed conditions on logistics cooperation with the police," Falconi said as he ordered the diplomat to leave by Friday.

Last week, Ecuadorian officials ordered U.S. customs attaché Armando Astorga to leave the country for similar reasons to that of Sullivan. Both Astorga and Sullivan had been accused of interfering with Ecuadorian police in exchange for counternarcotics aid.

The State Department denied the allegations and called the expulsions “unfair”:

Acting Deputy Spokesman Gordon Duguid said the expulsions stem from the fact that certain Ecuadorian police were banned from taking part in U.S. counternarcotics training programs, but rejected "any suggestion of wrongdoing by embassy staff"…

Asked whether the State Department would reciprocate the expulsions by kicking out Ecuadorian diplomats from the United States, Duguid would say only, "We will respond as appropriate."

Anti-drug aid hasn’t been the only point of disagreement between the governments of the U.S. and Ecuador. Last year Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa declared that his government will not renew the U.S. military lease to the Manta air base.

Image- javno.hr
Online Sources- BBC News, Xinhua, AFP, CNN, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Today’s Video: Feliz cumpleaños Esquivel!

This Friday would’ve been the 91st-birthday of “space age pop” legend Esquivel. (He died in 2002).

Born Juan García Esquivel, the Mexican musician/composer was best known for his trippy 1960 instrumental pop music. One of the best examples of Esquivel’s unique, tiki-bar style is this original number entitled “Mini Skirt”:

Online Sources- YouTube, Wikipedia

Daily Headlines: February 19, 2009

* Mexico: Several local officials and media outlets have claimed that recent protests in northern Mexico are organized by violent drug gangs.

* U.S.: "We are all human beings and we don't have a right to take a life," said the mother of slain Ecuadorian Marcelo Lucero after attending initial proceedings against two of the eight defendants.

* Puerto Rico: Scientists examining unexploded bombs off the former Naval base on Vieques concluded that those munitions release dangerous cancer-causing toxins.

* Nicaragua: The owners of a Managua nightclub apologized for being racist after turning away a black woman who just so happens to represent Nicaragua in the Central American Parliament.

Image- BBC News (A banner held during a recent demonstration in northern Mexico read “The soldiers do not let us live in peace we are scared” [sic]).
Online Sources- LAHT, The Latin Americanist, newsday.com, New York Times, U.S. News and World Report

Today's Video: Still loving Soda

Enjoy this blast from the not-so-distant past via this 2007 reunion performance by Argentine rock legends Soda Stereo:

Online Sources- YouTube

Salvadorans enjoy private U2 gig

Some stories speak for themselves:

Three Central American U2 fans who delivered a 60,000-name petition pleading for the band to play in El Salvador were rewarded last week with a private concert. The planet's biggest rock group played a short impromptu gig for the trio in Dublin last Thursday evening.

Frankie Rivas, a DJ and exile from El Salvador during the country's civil war of the 1980s, said...

"When we got (to the band's studio) Bono and the lads said hello and all of us were stunned. Then they played [new songs] No Line on the Horizon and Breathe for us. I couldn't believe it." He said the band had refused to give an answer as to the possibility of playing El Salvador on the world tour but would think about it….

U2 are adored in El Salvador because they dedicated a song - Bullet the Blue Sky - to the country and the plight of its people during its bloody civil war on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree.

Image- Sydney Morning Herald (AFP file photo)
Online Sources- Guardian UK

Venezuela to slash public spending

Yesterday we mentioned that one of the obstacles to Hugo Chavez’ possible bid for a third presidential term could be the global economic slowdown. In the aftermath of Venezuela's referendum to drop term limits for political offices, the country’s government said that it would take steps to cut public spending. The aim: preventing domestic economic problems.

Venezuela relies on oil for 94 percent of exports and nearly half the government budget. Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said the government has enough savings to avoid serious problems this year but nevertheless plans cutbacks.

The world financial crisis "keeps brewing darker clouds that are affecting us through oil prices," he told Union Radio.

Rodriguez did not provide specific figures but said the government will be "more rigorous" with tax collection to help balance the budget. Some "unnecessary imports" will be eliminated to conserve foreign currency, he said.

On Sunday, Rodriguez said that he was unsure of what other economic steps the Chavez administration would take until crude oil prices stabilized. Meanwhile, energy minister Rafael Ramirez warned said that OPEC may have to institute new output costs next month.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Bloomberg, IHT, The Latin Americanist