Accountability demanded in death of ten Haitians

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. The Dominican Republic’s Human Rights Commission requested the government to investigate the deaths of ten Haitians killed by Dominicans last week.

CARICOM calls for ending embargo on Cuba

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. The states representing the Caribbean Community urged the U.S. to stop imposing an embargo on Cuba as well as allow Cuba to have input on a possible Free Trade Area of the Americas. Castro met with CARICOM delegates during a conference held last week.

*"The Cuban regime does not represent the people," says chief U.S. diplomat

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. The highest-ranking U.S. diplomat in Cuba blasted the Cuban government in a speech to dissidents and foreign diplomats. U.S. mission chief Michael Parmly went so far as to compare the prosecution of opponents of the Castro regime to practices done by in Nazi Germany or by the Ku Klux Klan.

Guatemalan police under scrutiny due to corruption

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. Approximately three thousand of the nineteen thousand members of Guatemala’s police force are under investigation for corruption, according to the country’s Interior Minister. The accusations range from demanding bribes to theft. (CNN)

Brazil sells military aircraft to Colombia

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. In a deal valued at $235 million, Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer sold 25 military planes to the Colombian Air Force. (Xinhua)

Trial of slain nun about to begin in Brazil

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. The trial of the murder of U.S.-born nun and environmentalist Dorothy Stang will begin this week in Belem, Brazil. Two men are accused of being hired hitmen and killing Stang last February in a dispute over land. The trial will decide whether Stang’s death was a premeditated plan by ranchers or a lesser degree of murder.

Bachelet still leads as campaigning in Chile ends

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. Ex-defense minister and socialist Michelle Bachelet continues to lead polls before presidential elections this weekend in Chile. (Reuters) However, it seems like she will not have enough support to avoid a runoff against businessman Sebastian Pinera or former Santiago mayor Joaquin Lavin. (BBC)

Colombian court refuses to rule on abortions case

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. Colombia’s Constitutional Court decided not to rule on a lawsuit advocating abortion in extreme cases. Colombia, Chile and El Salvador are the only countries in Latin America that ban abortion under all circumstances. (Mainichi)

Survey: Most Salvadorans against CAFTA

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. A poll by Universidad Centroamericana showed nearly half of those surveyed believe that the Central American Free Trade Agreement will be bad for El Salvador.

Jamaican gay rights activist killed the night before World AIDS Day

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. Steve Harvey, a prominent Jamaican gay rights advocate, was kidnapped and killed last week. Even though homosexuality is illegal in Jamaica, Harvey worked with sex workers and homosexual individuals to combat the high rates of HIV in Jamaica. (Guardian)

Update: UN admits to Haitian police shooting; kidnapped politician freed

To update a recent entry, a UN spokesman admitted that peacekeepers did shoot and injure two Haitian police officers last week. Also, a kidnapped senior member of ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristede’s party was freed on Tuesday after his family paid a ransom of about $25,000. (NewsFromRussia)

Pro-Chavez politicos accuse U.S. of assassination plot

-Contributed by Erwin Cifuentes. Several Venezuelan politicians, including the National Assembly President, have accused the CIA of creating a plot to kill Hugo Chavez shortly before last weekend’s legislative elections. The CIA and Venezuelan opposition members have denied such rumors. (AlertNet)

The free market vs regional integration

By Raúl Zibechi. The difficulties regional integration faces come from distortions caused by the free market--asymmetries, inequalities, and contradictions--that are virtually insurmountable. Free trade policies prevent regional integration that would benefit Latin America and permit the implementation of policies to overcome poverty and the systematic degradation of the continent’s quality of life and environment. Instead, these policies generate severe regional inequalities--both between countries and within them--and polarization between islands of strong growth with cutting-edge technology and pockets of poverty and environmental plunder. (IRC)

Bronx residents happy to receive Veneuelan oil

Residents of the South Bronx began receiving shipments of heating oil today, a move by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the Washington Post said 'may be nothing more than a chance to tweak the nose of the Bush administration.' (WAPO)

NJ to have first Hispanic Senator

Former New Jersey Senator and Governor-elect Jon Corzine is expected to announce fellow Democrat Robert Menendez as the replacement for his post, making Menendez the state's first Hispanic Senator. (WAPO)

Passenger arriving from Colombia killed by air marshal- update

An air marshal shot a man on an American Airlines jetway today after he arrived from Medellin, Colombia. Authorities said the man claimed to have been carrying a bomb, though a woman accompaning him said he was mentally ill. (WAPO)