Daily Headlines: November 20, 2015

* Colombia: On the third anniversary of the start of peace talks, the Colombian government and the FARC rebels claimed that they are very close to signing off on a final agreement.

* Caribbean: Amnesty International accused the Dominican Republic of human rights violations by stripping the citizenship of tens of thousands of “stateless” residents with a Haitian background.

* Mexico: According to a Pew Research Center report, 149,000 more Mexicans departed from the U.S. between 2009 and 2014 than those entering the country.

* Venezuela: Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro said that he would review the already fractured relations with the U.S. over allegations of surveillance against PDVSA employees.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – Business Standard, The Guardian, Pew Hispanic Center, UPI

Reports: Ex-Chilean Soccer Chief Becomes Informant In Corruption Probe

While World Cup qualifiers took place this past week throughout the continent, the real action may have taken place off the field regarding the corruption investigation known in some news reports a “FIFA-gate.”

According to the Chilean press, the former chief of Chile’s soccer federation (ANFP) plead guilty today in a U.S. federal court as part of a plea deal. Sergio Jadue admitted to playing a role in a bribery scheme where an estimated $150 million was paid for the allocation of television rights to regional tournaments and buying votes for the sites of competitions like the 2010 World Cup. He also agreed to act as an informant for the FBI in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

Jadue on November 13th took a 30-day leave of absence after returning from a trip in Brazil where he was beloved to have met with U.S. authorities. At the time he claimed that his trip was for private reasons unrelated to soccer though the Chilean police issued a subpoena against him related to the allocation of salaries in the ANFP. Jadue flew on Tuesday from Santiago to New York where, according to an anonymous ANFP official, he was “traveling as a protected informant of U.S. justice.”

The 36-year-old officially quit from his post yesterday though the ANFP refused to publish the resignation letter. Chile’s Radio Cooperativa revealed the missive earlier today, where he did not explain why he resigned but instead claimed that his job was a “mission accomplished.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last May issued indictments against fourteen soccer officials and marketing executives (most from Latin America) for their alleged role in the corruption scandal. The U.S. has sought the extradition of most of these figures although Jeffrey Webb, the ex-vice president of global soccer governing body FIFA, voluntarily appeared in court this past July.

Daily Headlines: November 19, 2015

* Mexico: A new study found that the first year of Mexico’s Southern Border Program has led to a spike in the capture of migrants but also increased violence and “widespread abuse.”

* Honduras: Honduran migration officials affirmed that the six Syrians detained yesterday for carrying stolen Greek passports do not belong to any terrorist or extremist groups.

* Puerto Rico: Legislators will be convened to an emergency session in the first week of December to discuss an $8.2 debt-restructuring proposal for Puerto Rico’s main electric utility.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa rejected running for reelection in 2017 but that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from attempting to remove presidential term limits.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English

Online Sources – Reuters, teleSUR English, Bloomberg, CBS News

Daily Headlines: November 18, 2015

* Haiti: The anticipated runoff in the race for Haiti’s next president could be in danger after electoral officials refused to appoint an independent board to verify the first round of elections held last month.

* Central America: Costa Rica proposed a “humanitarian corridor” for Cuban migrants in their journey to the U.S. though it’s unknown if such a proposal will calm a diplomatic row with Nicaragua.

* El Salvador: Despite an uptick in gang violence Salvadoran police concluded that roughly two out of every three murders were unconnected to groups like MS-13 and Barrio 18.

* Mexico: TransCanada, the firm whose planned expansion of the Keystone pipeline network was rejected in the U.S., is looking at Mexico for increased investment opportunities.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Miami Herald, CBS News, InSight Crime, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: November 17, 2015

* Venezuela: Recent polls show that the opposition would more than likely retake the Venezuelan legislature following Congressional elections on December 6th.

* Latin America: Several hundred protesters in Rio de Janeiro marched last week against a proposal to restrict abortions in Brazil, while a conservative backlash is sounding off against a plan to legalize first trimester abortions in Colombia.

* Argentina: A $15 billion agreement was reached on Sunday that would allow China to build two nuclear power plants in Argentina.

* U.S.: The number of students from Latin American and the Caribbean enrolled in U.S. universities jumped by 19% last year to 86,378 according to a new survey.

YouTube Source – euronews (Video uploaded on July 2015).
 
Online Sources – Folha.com, U.S. News & World Report, Christian Science Monitor, MercoPress, Vice News

Daily Headlines: November 16, 2015

* Argentina: Mauricio Macri and Daniel Scioli sparred in a head-to-head televised debate held one week before the November 22nd presidential runoff.

* Latin America: At least five Mexican and Chilean nationals were among the 129 fatalities from last Friday’s attacks in Paris, while security was reinforced at the Panama Canal following the incidents in France.

* Brazil: Chamber of Deputies President Eduardo Cunha could be the next head to roll as part of the investigations into corruption among Brazil’s political elite.

* Mexico: Mexican officials extradited suspected Sinaloa drug gang trafficker Gastelum Serrano to the U.S. though the cartel’s chief, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, continues to be on the lam.

YouTube Source – AFP 

Online Sources – Reuters, The Inquisitr, Fox News Latino, Deutsche Welle

Daily Headlines: November 13, 2015

* South America: Ecuador continues to be the surprise team of World Cup qualifiers for the South American region while stormy weather postponed the match between historic rivals Argentina and Brazil.

* Peru: Peruvian authorities announced the creation of a new 5500-square mile national park in the rainforest though it may be in danger over plans to construct a nearby freeway.

* Puerto Rico: The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, with debts of up to $8.2 billion, reached an agreement to extend its deadline to repay bondholders.

* Brazil: Brazilian immigration officials will grant permanent residency to nearly 44,000 undocumented Haitian migrants who have entered the country since a 2010 earthquake.

YouTube Source – TV Pública Argentina
 
Online Sources – Goal.com, ESPN FC, teleSUR English, Bloomberg, GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: November 12, 2015

* Chile: Groundbreaking commenced yesterday in the construction of the supersized Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile’s northern Andean region.

* Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro blamed “imperialist ambushes” for the arrest of two nephews of first lady Cilia Flores for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

* Puerto Rico: The homicide rate in Puerto Rico has fallen by 15% compared to last year and 40% in relation to 2012 according to Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla.

* Mexico: A new exhibition at a Mexico City museum attempts to link the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre with the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students missing for nearly fourteen months.

YouTube Source – Marca Chile

Online Sources – Reuters, Latin American Herlad Tribune, Endgadget, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: November 11, 2015

* South America: Polls this week have given Argentine opposition candidate Mauricio Macri a minimum six-point lead ahead of the November 22nd runoff, while Organization of American States chief Luis Almagro blasted Venezuelan officials for failing to guarantee the December 6th legislative elections.

* El Salvador: A media probe found that authorities have not looked into the murders of fourteen people by death squads despite El Salvador’s high homicide rates.

* Honduras: Indigenous people living on the Caribbean coast of Honduras claimed that their land is being illegally seized by squatters and narcotraffickers.

* Latin America: Leaders at the Summit of South American-Arab Countries called for a political settlement in Syria and condemned Iranian interference in the Middle East.

YouTube Source – Financial Times
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Gulf News, NBC News, InSight Crime, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: November 10, 2015

* Argentina: “This is a result of our struggle, which we will continue until the other hundreds that are missing are found,” said Delia Giovanola de Califano after her grandson was positively identified as a victim of forced adoption during Argentine military rule.

* Mexico: In light of a Mexican Supreme Court ruling last week, President Enrique Peña Nieto expressed his willingness to open a “national debate” on drug use but is opposed to marijuana legalization.

* Uruguay: French firm Total and Exxon Mobil of the U.S. will collaborate to drill Uruguay's first offshore oil well that is located some 250 miles near Montevideo.

* U.S.: A new poll showed that Latino voters in fourteen battleground states prefer Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton as their presidential nominees for the Republicans and Democrats, respectively.

YouTube Source – Agencia EFE

Online Sources – Buenos Aires Herald, The Guardian, The Latin Americanist, Fox News Latino, Reuters

Daily Headlines: November 9, 2015

* South America: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos apologized the military’s role during the deadly 1985 Palace of Justice siege, while Ecuador will start its first trial for crimes against humanity relating to state actions some three decades ago.

* Peru: Diplomatic tensions have heightened between Peru and Chile over a disputed border area that has a population of approximately 15,000 people.

* Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan government gave permission for an environmental impact assessment on a planned interoceanic canal that critics claim will damage land and displace thousands of people.

* Mexico: Were remains of some of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students missing since September 2014 located in a shallow grave in Guerrero state?

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – The Guardian, Fox News Latino, The Yucan Times, BBC News, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: November 6, 2015 (Updated)

* Brazil: At least one person is dead and fifteen others are missing after a dam holding mine waste burst in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.

Update (October 8): Minas Gerais Gov. Fernando Pimentel claimed that the 28 people missing after the dam burst are unlikely to be found alive.

* Central America: A program introduced last December to curtail the influx of unaccompanied Central American children in 2014 has yet to accept a single minor according to a report originally published in The New York Times.

* Puerto Rico: Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of San Juan to demonstrate against U.S. government cuts to federal health programs.

* Chile: The Chilean government called that it was “possible and highly probable” that acclaimed poet Pablo Neruda was killed days after a 1973 military coup.

YouTube Source – ODN

Online Sources including Update – Business Insider, ABC News, Latin American Herald Tribune, Flavorwire

Daily Headlines: November 5, 2015

* Colombia: The Mexican Supreme Court’s ruling on marijuana wasn’t the only key judicial decision made in Latin America yesterday as Colombian magistrates legalized adoptions by same-sex couples.

* U.S.: President Barack Obama will reportedly unveil as soon as this week a new plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and transfer inmates to mainland maximum security facilities.

* Latin America: Panamanian authorities claimed to have found a drug trafficking connection between Colombia’s FARC rebels and fugitive Mexican drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Puerto Rico: Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla introduced a plan to restructure the $8 billion debt held by Puerto Rico’s main electricity company.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 
Online Sources – NBC News, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, UPI, The Latin Americanist

Mexican Supreme Court Opens Door to Possible Marijuana Legalization

Mexico’s Supreme Court by a 4-1 margin ruled in a case on Wednesday that could open the door to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.

A majority of magistrates of the high court’s criminal chamber declared unconstitutional portions of the national health law that have allowed he government to prohibit personal use of marijuana. The decision thus allows for the “ludic” use, growth and consuming of marijuana exclusively for personal usage.

“The Supreme Court calls on all institutions related to public policy on drugs to revise the current prohibitionist model,” said judge José Ramón Cossío. Doing so would help refocus the problems with drugs as a public health issue, he added.

“The absolute prohibition (of marijuana) is excessive and does not protect the right to health,” noted justice Olga Sánchez Cordero. “Recreational use of marijuana should be authorized in order to respect personal liberties,” she also mentioned.

The decision only applies to the four individual plaintiffs belonging to a cannabis club and who brought up the lawsuit, and the ruling does not have the power to overturn laws currently on the books regarding drugs.

Prior to the ruling, Mexican national security chief Manuel Mondragón expressed his rejection against any proposal to legalize marijuana. “I don’t want to live in a society addicted to marijuana,” said Mondragón, who also claimed that over half of consumers in Mexico are minors.

Despite Mondragón’s criticism, the high court’s ruling could be an antecedent to Congressional action towards decriminalizing marijuana usage. Legislative leaders representing the ruling PRI, conservative PAN and leftist PRD said they would be willing to debate the marijuana issue though refrained from providing any strong opinions. President Enrique Peña Nieto, meanwhile, called on federal health officials to publicly explain the impact of the high court verdict.

Daily Headlines: November 4, 2015

* Mexico: According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, about 150 journalists were murdered in Latin America since 2010 while roughly one in three cases occurring in Mexico.

* Brazil: Brent crude futures jumped by 3.6% to $50.70 on Tuesday partly due to worries over decreased oil production from Brazilian state-run film Petrobras.

* Argentina: Credit agency Moody’s improved Argentina’s credit rating in an apparent sign that the national economy will improve regardless of who wins the presidential runoff later this month.

* Ecuador: Ecuador’s government received another legal victory over the oil industry after arbitrators reduced from $1.77 billion to $1 billion a compensation owed to Occidental Petroleum.

YouTube Source – AJ+ (“Mexican photojournalist Rubén Espinosa was found dead in his Mexico City apartment (last July), along with 4 women”).

Online Sources – Benzinga, Reuters, teleSUR English, NBC News

Daily Headlines: November 3, 2015

* Dominican Republic: The Dominican government seemingly overreacted by stripping acclaimed author Junot Diaz of national honors over his criticism of the mistreatment of Haitian migrants.

* Venezuela: Venezuela will provide additional crude to nations of the Petrocaribe oil alliance according to remarks by President Nicolás Maduro.

* Latin America: The Day of the Dead may be closely associated with Mexico but nationals residing in Peru and Honduras also observed commemorations.

* Chile: Nine of the thirty-three Chilean miners trapped underground for sixty-nine days in 2010 have sued their lawyers over allegations of fraud.

YouTube Source – Big Think

Online Sources – The Guardian, Yahoo News, The Globe and Mail, teleSUR English