* Brazil: Brookfield Asset Management or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mall.
* Guatemala: Local health authorities claimed that as many as 2500 people may’ve been infected with sexually transmitted diseases during a series of medical experiments conducted in the 1940s by U.S. researchers.
* U.S.: As part of a court settlement the Environmental Protection Agency admitted that there was discrimination against Latino schoolchildren who were exposed to toxic pesticides in California.
* Peru: The government is expected soon present a plan that would raise mining royalties in order to pay for new social programs backed by President Ollanta Humala.
Image – LAHT (Outdoor facade of the Sambil shopping mall in Caracas, Venezuela. Foreign firms like Brookfield Asset Management and the Westfield Group are behind a boom in the construction and development of shopping malls in Brazil.)
Online Sources- The Globe and Mail, Fox News Latino, Reuters, BBC News, The Latin Americanist
* Chile: Three months after Chilean police came under fire for using tear gas against protesters officers are again embroiled in controversy after a demonstrator was killed.
* U.S.: Spanish-language media sources are enjoying greater financial stability and growth compared to their mainstream counterparts according to the Pew Research Center.
* Mexico: The Nuevo Leon state government will launch a corruption investigation in light of last week’s deadly casino fire arson that killed 52 people.
* Colombia: Legislators approved a law that punishes people found guilty of discrimination based on areas like gender, race, sexual orientation and religion.
Image – Reuters via BBC News (“Manuel Gutierrez's death came amid heightened social tensions.” Despite initial denials by police, investigators discovered that the sixteen-year-old anti-government protester was killed by a police weapon.) Online Sources- UPI, Voice Of America, Fox News Latino, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC
* U.S.: Kenneth Melson resigned from his post as chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in response to criticism over the ill-fated "Operation Fast and Furious" gun trafficking program.
* Haiti: A Human Rights Watch report found that thousands of impoverished Haitian women continue to face great economic and health hardships since a major earthquake struck in January 2010.
* Latin America: The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean concluded that regional economic growth for this year will be slightly less than originally prognosticated.
* U.S.: According to the Pew Research Center population growth and increased high school graduation rates have helped boost Hispanic college enrollment.
Image – Matt York/AP via CSMonitor.com (“A cache of seized weapons is on display at a news conference in Phoenix in January. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is under fire over a Phoenix-based gun-trafficking investigation called 'Fast and Furious,' in which agents allowed as many as 2,500 high-powered firearms into the hands of straw purchasers in hopes of making a bigger case. Some of those weapons have turned up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico.”)
Online Sources- Huffington Post, Monsters and Critics, CNN, Reuters
* Libya: Rebels gave besieged leader Muammar Gaddafi a deadline of the Saturday to "peacefully surrender."
* Asia: The Food and Agriculture Organization warned of a possible resurgence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in several Asian nations.
* South Africa: Police in Johannesburg clashed with backers of Julius Malema, the head of the African National Congress' youth wing.
* India: A court ordered the postponement of the execution of three people convicted of participating in the 1991 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Image Source - AP via MSNBC ("Libyan rebel fighters prepare to patrol the village of Heisha on Tuesday.") Online Source - BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN
Last year it was revealed that U.S. government researchers exploited thousands of Guatemalans for a series of experiments on sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s. President Barack Obama subsequently apologized to his Guatemalan counterpart, Alvaro Colom, and ordered a bioethics panel to investigate the experiments and they revealed some of their preliminary findings yesterday. What they discovered was absolutely jaw-dropping:
Approximately 1300 people including prison inmates and mentally disabled individuals were used as guinea pigs in the experiments that members of the panel described as a "shameful piece of medical history" and terribly unethical even for its time.
In some of the worst cases seven women with epilepsy were injected with syphilis in the back of their heads while a dying female syphilis patient woman was infected with numerous diseases including gonorrhea.
The actions in Guatemala led by head researcher Dr. John Cutler from 1946 to 1948 were amazingly similar to a 1943 experiment where Indiana prison inmates were deliberately infected with gonorrhea.
Guatemala's Vice President Rafael Espada told BBC News that his country's government will extend a public apology since local doctors were involved in the gruesome procedures.
The video below via PBS News Hour from last October includes an interview with Wellesley College professor Susan Reverby who ironically uncovered documents on the Guatemalan experiments while researching the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study:
* Venezuela: Human Rights Watch urged the Venezuelan government to protect Umberto Prado, an activist who has been highly critical of the country’s prison system.
* Haiti: Political infighting and gridlock have hindered Haiti's reconstruction in the three months since President Michel Martelly was inagurated.
* Honduras: According to the country’s Human Rights Commissioner roughly 2400 women “died violently” since 2002 including twelve femicide victims whose bodies were found over the past week.
* Bolivia: Seven members of a Bolivian Mennonite community where sentenced to twenty-five years in prison after being convicted of raping over one hundred girls and women.
Image – AP via BBC News (“An inmate's relative argues with national guardsmen outside the El Rodeo I prison.” Venezuelan prison authorities were heavily criticized after twenty-two people died in a riot at that facility last June.) Online Sources- Honduras Weekly, AlertNet, Voice of America, BBC News
According to the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM) a “forced disappearance consists of a kidnapping, carried out by agents of the State or organized groups of private individuals who act with State support or tolerance, in which the victim ‘disappears’.” The plights of these victims and the pain their families face will be remembered on the annual International Day of the Disappeared, which is this Tuesday.
Latin America has had a sordid history with disappearances such as the victims under the former authoritarian military regimes in countries like Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Yet the unfortunate issue of the disappeared continues to manifest itself in the Americas. Yesterday approximately one hundred protesters in the Mexican state of Coahuila urged authorities to do more in resolving the over 200 disappearance cases since 2008. Last month roughly 600 people including the families of dozens of disappeared Central American migrants marched from Mexico’s southern border to Mexico City.
According to the International Red Cross (IRC) governments throughout the region to either prevent or solve disappearances have not done enough. As Guilhem Ravier, collaborator for the IRC’s on the disappeared in Colombia, said to EFE:
“The magnitude of this problem is huge. There is no other way to describe it. We don’t even know exactly how many people have disappeared but we think it’s a lot. There are many families who, throughout the recent decades of armed conflict, wait for news about their loved ones and suffer in the uncertainty of not knowing.”
One of the most notable instances of a disappearance in the Americas is the case of Argentine teen Luciano Arruga. His whereabouts are unknown since January 31, 2009 when Buenos Aires police intercepted him. Several eyewitnesses have come forward and claimed that they saw him being harassed and beaten at a police station. There are too many questions that have been unanswered in the over thirty months that Arruga has gone missing though he continues to be remembered by friends and family as seen in the following video from last January:
Video Source - YouTube Online Sources- BBC News, Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared, NACLA, Milenio, Diario ABC Color, Global Voices Online
* Mexico: Over 1000 demonstrators took to the streets of Monterrey to denounce political leaders in the aftermath of last week's deadly arson attack. (Update: Authorities arrested five suspects linked to the attack and claimed that they are supposedly linked to the Zetas drug gang.)
* Central America:El Salvador and Honduras became the latest Latin American countries to urge state recognition of Palestine.
* Puerto Rico: Local Sen. Roberto Arango quit from his post after sexually explicit photos supposedly of him appeared on "an iPhone application for gays and bisexuals."
* Guatemala: Increasing violence and how to combat organized crime were two of the main topics discussed at last week's debate between Guatemala's three leading presidential candidates.
Image Source - Reuters via BBC News ("Casino staff who survived gathered a day after the attack to pray for those who died." At least 52 people died in the incident last week that authorities blamed on drug gangs.)
Online Sources - CNN, PRESS TV, MSNBC, Boston.com
* India: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare said that he will end his thirteen-day hunger strike after the Indian parliament agreed to his main demands.
* World: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde urged governments to "act now" in order to avoid "seeing the fragile recovery derailed."
* Pakistan: According to an unnamed "senior Obama administration official" Al Qaeda's second-in-command was killed in a raid in Pakistan.
* Japan: Prime Minister Naoto Kan resinged from his post amidst dismal approval ratings and anger over the government's handling of March's earthquake and tsunami.
Online Sources - BBC News, CBS News, Reuters Image Source - AP via New York Times ("A girl waved an Indian flag and another sang a patriotic song beside Anna Hazare, who was on a hunger strike in New Delhi against corruption.")
There are some news stories from Latin America that are covered by covered by the local press but overlooked or ignored by the English-language mainstream media sources. Here are just a few of these stories that have caught our attention:
* Argentina: Camila Sanchez, a two-year-old girl in a vegetative state since her birth, has been in the center of the debate over the right to life in Argentina. Legislators have discussed several proposals that would permit a "dignified death", which has been strongly advocated by Sanchez' mother. The bills have run into some opposition such as the mom of ex-Soda Stereo front man Gustavo Cerati.
* Mexico: There has been increased criticism of President Felipe Calderon's anti-drug offensive in the aftermath of an arson attack that killed at least 52 people. In an interview given to the EFE news agency acclaimed author Carlos Fuentes called on "help from Israeli, French or German police to combat crime" in Mexico. Fuentes also called on the decriminalizing of some drug use; a position he has stated before as part of a working group of intellectuals and former leaders critical of regional counternarcotics policies.
* Colombia: An anti-violence protest in solidarity with some twelve local theater groups will be held this Tuesday in Bogota. These groups, including some from the most impoverished neighborhoods of the city, were the aim of intimidation allegedly by the "Aguilas Negras" (Black Eagles) criminal gang. "It's a threat against our culture, civil society, and the country," said one of the targeted actors who will participate in the march on the same day that the gang ordered the actors to leave the Bogota.
* Peru: The mother of a Peruvian nanny jailed in the U.S. urged President Ollanta Humala to intervene on her behalf. Luz Fernandes claimed that she has felt "abandoned" by the Peruvian government in the legal battle to help her daughter, Ada Cuadros. A retrial is expected to start soon for Cuadros who was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly killing a fourteen-month-old child that she was babysitting.
Video Source - C5N via YouTube Online Sources - La Republica, Trme, Milenio, El Universal (Mexico and Venezuela), Clarin.com, Radio Santa Fe, El Observador, El Espectador
* Mexico: President Felipe Calderon deemed as "true terrorists" those responsible for a deadly arson attack in Monterrey on Thursday but would it be better to heed ex-leader Vicente Fox's suggestion of negotiating with drug gangs?
* Chile: Chilean police have come under fire after authorities confirmed yesterday that a teen was killed during major anti-government protests.
* South America: A six-year-long diplomatic quarrel between Argentina and Uruguay over a Finnish-owned pulp mill seems to have come to an end.
* Guatemala: The country's Constitutional Court gave the green light for the extradition of ex-President Alfonso Portillo to the U.S. where he awaits trial.
* Argentina: An agreement was reached that would allow for a 25% increase of the minimum wage.
* Venezuela: Central bank data indicated that the Venezuelan economy is supposed to grow by 2.5% in the second quarter this year, which is 2.3% less than the first quarter.
Online Sources - Xinhua, Sacramento Bee, Voice of America, Reuters, El Universal, Bloomberg Video Source - YouTube via Al Jazeera English
We hope to be back over the weekend in order to look at some news stories from recent days that have caught out attention. Hopefully we'll also be posting on Monday if the oncoming Hurricane Irene doesn't cause too many problems.
In the meantime we'll leave you with this question: why is Emmett "Doc" Brown in Argentina?
The answer, according to the local press, is that the above video is part of an ad campaign for the local electronics store that the DeLorean "crashed" into.
* Mexico: At least 52 people died in Monterrey after several individuals burst into a casino, doused it with a flammable liquid and started a massive fire. (Update: The above video from Mexican authorities shows how the incident started. At the 0:50 mark, at least nine people suspected of starting the blaze emerged from three autos at the entrance of the casino. Two minutes later some flames and heavy black smoke can be seen).
* Brazil: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Brazilian ethanol exports will likely be surpassed U.S. exports in the second half of this year.
* Latin America: Representatives from thirty-six Latin American and Asian states at a conference in Argentina called for greater economic cooperation between the two regions.
* Caribbean: At least six people on the island of Hispaniola including four on the Dominican Republic died due to heavy rains and winds from Hurricane Irene.
Video Source - poliiticamx1 via YouTube (Hat tip: El Espectador).
Online Sources- AFP, Xinhua, Reuters, MiamiHerald.com
* Africa: Donors at the African Union summit pledged $351 million in aid to combat a spreading famine though some activists expressed doubts over the figure.
* World:Typhoon Nanmadol is expected to bring heavy rains and whipping winds to Taiwan and the Phillipines while the East Coast of the U.S. is bracing for Hurricane Irene.
* Libya: The search continues for Moammar Gadhafi while rebels continue to make progress in Tripoli against loyalist forces.
* Sri Lanka: President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that he would end the country's emergency wartime laws that have been in the books for nearly three decades.
Online Sources - Voice of America, CBS News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters Image Source - AP via The Guardian ("Muslim clerics walk along a dirt road outside Dadaab, eastern Kenya. A forthcoming interactive will look at the relief effort in the area.")
* El Salvador: The country’s Supreme Court rejected arresting or seeking the extradition of nine men accused of murdering six Jesuit priests in 1989.
* Latin America: A two-day strike in Chile calling for education reform began yesterday while the Colombian government rejected a proposal that would’ve permitted the private financing of public universities.
* Mexico: One person was killed and four were wounded after gunmen fired into a crowd outside of a Ciudad Juarez elementary school.
* U.S.: According to a study published this week “high-achieving” black and Latino students are particularly vulnerable to obtaining worse grades due to bullying.
Image – AP via USA TODAY (“People hold banners depicting six Jesuit priests massacred in 1989, during an act to commemorate the 19th anniversary of their death in San Salvador, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008”) Online Sources- CNN, UPI, Voice of America, Huffington Post, Reuters
* Libya: While rebels continue to make leeway in Tripoli the U.S. proposed that the U.N. Security Council unfreeze $1.5 billion in Libyan assets for humanitarian purposes.
* Sudan: The Sudanese army was accused of killing anti-government opponents after satellite images revealed freshly dug mass graves near the border with South Sudan.
* U.S.: Apple cofounder Steve Jobs resigned from his post as company CEO after claiming that he “could no longer meet my duties and expectations.”
* World: Researchers concluded that the climate changes such as those caused by El Niño could be a factor in civil conflicts.
Image – Hamza Turkia/XinHua/Xinhua Press/Corbis via The Guardian (“Rebels celebrate in Shuhada Square as they capture Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli. Other rebel fighters are advancing to (Gaddafi's hometown of) Sirte.”) Online Sources- MSNBC, The Telegraph, The Independent, BBC News, Voice of America
One year ago Mexico authorities discovered the bodies of seventy-two Latin American migrants buried in a ranch located in the northern state of Tamaulipas. Most of the deceased were originally from Central America and they were reportedly murdered when they refused to be coerced into joining the Zetas drug gang.
In the twelve months since the bodies were found Mexican law enforcement agents arrested over twenty suspects including the alleged coordinator of the mass kidnapping and assassinations. Nonetheless, Guatemalan officials called on their Mexican counterparts to continue their investigative work including attempts to identify thirteen bodies.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that Mexican authorities do not conclude their investigation" over the possibility that more Guatemalans may have been victims of the massacre...
(The Guatemalan Embassy in Mexico) observed that since the San Fernando massacre "there has been a rapid deterioration of the security in the Guatemalan migrant community in Mexico" including numerous kidnappings and two more mass killings in northern Mexico.
Numerous human rights groups and immigrants rights activists were more direct in their criticism of Mexican authorities in the months since the massacre. "We will not allow this massive crime against humanity to join others in which impunity and indifference have prevailed," according to a statement emitted on Tuesday by several non-government organizations in Mexico.
Thirteen Guatemalans have been identified among the seventy-two dead migrants that came from countries including Ecuador, El Salvador, and Brazil.
Online Sources - Fox News Latino, El Universal, The Latin Americanist, CNN Mexico Image Source - AP via Los Angeles Times ("Workers (last September) begin examining the bodies of migrants killed in Tamaulipas at a morgue in Mexico City.")
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Peru near the border with Brazil according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The tremor occurred at 12:46 pm local time near the city of Pucallpa but was strong enough to be felt throughout the country. A report from the AP observed that "an unidentified local woman interviewed by Peru's Canal N television station said the earth shook 'like a hammock.'" A seismologist interviewed on another TV station noted that the tremor was of a magnitude of "two to three" by the time it hit Lima, which is located about 370 miles away from the epicenter. Several small aftershocks have also been reported in Trujillo.
(Update: The earthquake was also felt in parts of neighboring Ecuador including the coastal city of Guayaquil and in tall buildings in Quito).
Thus far there are no reports of major damages or injuries though some readers on Brazil's Folha.com admitted that they felt panicked and alarmed.
This afternoon's earthquake happened four years after approximately 600 people were killed by a magnitude 6.8 tremor in the Peruvian province of Ica.
Peru is one of several Latin American countries located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of increased seismic activity including volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Online Sources - Herald Sun, The Latin Americanist, Folha.com, CSMonitor.com, La Republica Video Sources - YouTube
Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Calle 13 is no stranger to politically charged music whether it is denouncing police brutality or solidarity with Chilean protesters. They are working on their latest project whose goal is to call attention to the problem of urban violence throughout Latin America. As part of this project, the group announced this week that they will record the music video for the single “La bala” (The Bullet) in Mexico and also is reportedly seeking a director for a planned documentary on street violence. More ambitiously, however, the duo reportedly plans to perform at a unique venue: a Guatemalan prison.
During the press conference fellow group member Rene “Residente” Perez also floated the idea of having a “student concert” at the campus of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). He claimed that this notion came about as part of the duo’s solidarity with Chilean student protesters.
It is estimated that hundreds of people each year including disenchanted youth and deportees from the U.S. with criminal records join Central American street gangs.
Image- EFE via El Informador Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Fox News Latino, AFP, El Informador, Milenio, impre.com
* Brazil: Brookfield Asset Management or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mall.
