Daily Headlines: September 28, 2016

* Peru: Vladimiro Montesinos, the shady former Peruvian intelligence chief who was instrumental in the rise and fall of Alberto Fujimori from the presidency, was sentenced to twenty-two years in prison for the kidnapping and burning of three people.

* Panama: Panamanian officials formally sought the extradition from the United States (US) of ex-President Ricardo Martinelli who is accused of using public funds for illegal surveillance.

* Puerto Rico: US Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen warned that Puerto Rico is facing a fiscal crisis and claimed it’s up to Congress or the White House to formulate an adequate solution.

* Latin America: The Pan American Health Organization declared the Americas are free from all endemic cases of measles “after years of intense efforts to vaccinate children under the age of five.”

YouTube Source – Journeyman Pictures (Documentary from December 2003.)

Online Sources – UPI, Reuters, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: July 20, 2016 (Updated)

* Peru: President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski rejected the possibility of pardoning Alberto Fujimori, the former leader imprisoned over crimes against humanity and embezzlement during his decade in power.

* Brazil: Does an group of Brazilian extremists with alleged ties to the Islamic State really exist or is it instead “the work of an ISIS social media activist”?

Update (07/21/16): Brazilian police arrested ten extremists though authorities underlined that the suspects never traveled to meet with anyone connected to ISIS or detailed any specific targets of attack.    

* U.S.: A quick poll of Latino registered voters taken after the first night of the Republican National Convention found that nearly four out of five respondents have an unfavorable view of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

* Latin America: Jose Miguel Insulza, the former Organization of American States chief and Chile's representative before the International Court of Justice, blasted the foreign minister of Bolivia for visiting Chile.

YouTube Source – Associated Press (From April 2009: “A special tribunal convicted former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori of murder and kidnapping on Tuesday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for death squad activities during his autocratic 10-year rule.”)

Online Sources including Update – Xinhua, NBC News, Fox News Latino, ABC News, CBS News

Exit Polls Show Dead Heat in Peru’s Presidential Election

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Keiko Fujimori are locked in a neck-and-neck battle to decide who will be Peru’s next president according to exit polls taken during today’s runoff election.

Two of the three exit polls revealed a slight lead but within the margin of error for the ex-economics minister ahead of the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. GfK gave Kuczynski a 51.2% to 48.8% advantage, while Ipsos Perú reveled a tighter margin of 50.4% versus 49.6%. In contrast, pollster CPI claimed that Keiko would be ahead by a slim 2.3% margin with 51.1% support against 48.8% for Kuczynski.

Keiko easily won the first round of elections on April 10th with nearly double the percentage of the second-place Kuczynski. Neither candidate established a significant advantage in the polls in the nearly two months of additional campaigning. Although a CPI survey carried out on May 23rd and 24th gave her 7.1% lead, polls taken over the past week showed a virtual draw between the two. 

In the run up to today’s runoff, Keiko has been the target of accusations alleging her campaign and Fuerza Popular political party has been tainted by corruption. For example, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allegedly investigated Fuerza Popular chairman Joaquin Ramirez for purportedly laundering $15 million and for possible ties to suspected drug trafficker Miguel Arévalo Ramírez. Keiko defended Ramirez and accused her detractors of mounting a “dirty war” against him, which may not have been seen so favorably by Peruvians wary of corruption.

Daily Headlines: May 24, 2016

* Guatemala: Guatemalan prosecutors are considering a inaugurating a new office specializing in dealing with femicides in response to the 222 gender-based murders of women in the first four months of 2016.

* Puerto Rico: Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders railed against a bipartisan congressional plan backed by the White House to help restructure Puerto Rico’s $70 billion public debt.

* Peru: Polls indicate that Keiko Fujimori has widened her lead ahead of the June 5th presidential runoff despite corruption allegations within her campaign and concerns over the relation to her imprisoned father, ex-president Alberto Fujimori.

* Venezuela: Brazil’s acting foreign minister said his country and Argentina reportedly agreed to help mediate in Venezuela’s worsening political crisis.

YouTube Source – DW (English)
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English, Politico, Reuters, ABC News

Peru: Unofficial Results Show Keiko Forced Into Presidential Runoff (Updated)

Unofficial quick counts of the votes in Sunday’s Peruvian presidential election shows gave Keiko Fujimori the advantage but not enough to prevent a runoff on June 5th.

According to Ipsos, the daughter of imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori received 39.1% of the vote with 71.1% of the vote tabulated. Keiko got 38.5% backing with 77% of ballots counted based on an analysis from GfK. As a result, she would gain a plurality but not the majority required to be rewarded with an outright win.

Earlier in the evening, exit polls from both Ipsos and GfK showed economist and ex-Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a statistical dead heat for second place with legislator Verónika Mendoza. Yet the quick count results have given Kuczynski a thin but widening margin of roughly 3% over Mendoza.

Update (April 11th): A Keiko-Kuczynski runoff will surely be held in about two months following an official count of nearly 83% of votes.
 
Polls in the weeks prior to today’s election have demonstrated rising support for Mendoza, the 35-year-old leftist candidate of the Frente Amplio who has pledged to “tighten environmental supervision of mining companies and…proposed ditching Peru's constitution for one that enshrines access to water as a right, protects the environment and weakens a ‘corrupt’ business elite.” Yet a CPI study conducted from March 25-27 demonstrated that the former energy and economics minister commonly known as PPK would be the only hopeful able to beat Keiko in a one-on-one electoral matchup.

Daily Headlines: April 4, 2016

* Peru: Poll frontrunner Keiko Fujimori flip-flopped and pledged to not pardon her father, imprisoned former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori, if she wins the presidency in elections scheduled for next week.

* Venezuela: A Human Rights Watch report assailed Venezuelan law enforcement for extrajudicial killings of suspected gang members as part of a crackdown against crime.

* Haiti: Several hundred protesters including disabled rights activists and human rights advocates marched in Port-au-Prince last Friday to condemn the murders of three deaf Haitian women.

* U.S.: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the current “one person, one vote” rule to decide voting districts in a decision that prevented shifting “political power away from fast-growing communities of immigrants”.

YouTube Source – NTDTV (Ex-president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison in 2009 for human rights abuses during his decade as Peru’s president).
 
Online Sources – Reuters, InSight Crime, CBS News, The Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: February 5, 2016

* Colombia: U.S. President Barack Obama proposed increasing foreign aid to Colombia by more than 50% to around $450 million in order to help end “half a century of wrenching conflict” in the Latin American country.

* Peru: The odds of Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former leader Alberto Fujimori, winning Peru’s presidential election in April could become stronger with the possible disqualification of two campaign rivals.

* Brazil: The first Palestinian Authority embassy in the Americas was inaugurated this week in the Brazilian capital city of Brasilia.

* Venezuela: A congressional plan to free political dissidents has become the newest battleground issue in the acrimonious relations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition.

YouTube Source – AFP
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Forward, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: January 27, 2014

* Mexico: Acclaimed Mexican poet and novelist Jose Emilio Pacheco died on Sunday at the age of 74.

* U.S.: Puerto Rican Robi Draco Rosa, Los Angeles-based group La Santa Cecilia and jazz collaboration Paquito D'Rivera and Trio Corrente were among the Latino winners at yesterday’s Grammys.

* Peru: A court cleared several former senior Peruvian officials including ex-President Alberto Fujimori of planning the forced sterilizations of some 2000 women in the 1990s.

* Honduras: High levels of violence, economic inequality and political divisions are some of the challenges to be faced by Juan Orlando Hernandez who will be inaugurated today as the next president of Honduras.

Video Source – Europa Press via YouTube

Online Sources- Bloomberg; CNN; GlobalPost; Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: October 18, 2013

* Peru: Disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori was once again in court and could receive another eight years in prison on top of the 25-year sentence he’s currently serving for human rights abuses during his rule.

* Caribbean: The Caribbean Community gave its “regret” over a recent Dominican court decision that could eliminate the citizenship of thousands of citizens with a Haitian background.

* Chile: With roughly a month to go in Chile’s presidential election, former leader Michelle Bachelet leads the polls but may not be able to avoid a runoff.

* Mexico: Mexican officials admitted that they would likely miss a second deadline to certify hundreds of thousands of police nationwide.

Video Source – YouTube via Univision Noticias 

Online Sources- Los Angeles Times; Reuters; The Latin Americanist; Caribbean Journal; ninemsn

Daily Headlines: June 10, 2013

* Peru: What do former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Shining Path guerilla leader “Comrade Artemio” have in common?  Both men will likely spend their rest of their lives in prison.

* Argentina: China approved the importation of four new strains of genetically modified soybeans and corn from Argentina days after worldwide protests were held over the use of genetically modified food.

* Mexico: Authorities believe the Knights Templar drug gang is behind the attack on a Guerrero prison where nine inmates escaped and two prison guards were killed.

* Brazil: According to a new poll, President Dilma Rousseff popularity has fallen though a majority of Brazilians would vote for her if she chooses to run for reelection next year.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews (Shining Path guerilla leader “Comrade Artemio”, who was captured in a february 2012 military raid, was sentenced to life in prison and fined $183 million). 

Online Sources- Al Jazeera English; Xinhua; Reuters; Los Angeles Times; Businessweek

Daily Headlines: April 30, 2013

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala indicated that he might pardon Alberto Fujimori, a disgraced former leader who is serving prison sentences for corruption and human rights abuses.

* Venezuela: A political ally of opposition leader Henrique Capriles was charged with promoting post-electoral violence days after U.S. filmmaker Timothy Tracy with conspiracy, falsifying public documents and other crimes.

* Bolivia: The Bolivian constitutional court gave the green light for President Evo Morales to run for a third term in elections scheduled for December 2014.

* Puerto Rico: Several Puerto Rican politicians backed presenting a resolution to the Congress aimed at “achieving the admission of Puerto Rico as a (U.S.) state”.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (In 2009, “a special tribunal convicted former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori of murder and kidnapping on Tuesday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for death squad activities during his autocratic 10-year rule”.)
 
Online Sources- Businessweek; Huffington Post; Al Jazeera English; The Latin Americanist; AFP

Peru: Imprisoned Ex-President Cancer Free Says Doctors

The odds that imprisoned former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori could receive a pardon may have gotten a lot slimmer after the results of a medical report were published yesterday.

According to a study conducted by twelve specialists, the ex-president “was suffering from tongue cancer…although no current evidence of the disease exists.”

The report on Fujimori, who is serving prison sentences on charges ranging from bribery to human rights abuses, also concluded that he was going through various ailments such as chronic gastritis and hypertension.

Furthermore, three of the five psychiatrists who examined Fujimori found that he is suffering from a “deep depression with suicidal tendencies.”  The psychiatry team was nevertheless divided as to whether Fujimori’s mental state is “recurring but moderate” or requiring “constant surveillance” over him.

The report was revealed by the local Cuarto Poder television newsmagazine program days before the Commission on Presidential Pardons is expected to emit its recommendation over the imprisonment of the former president.

The Fujimori family claimed they would not provide a public comment to the report even though last year they filed the request for a pardon.  Yet congressman Kenji Fujimori insisted in an interview that his father does have cancer and that the combination of maladies affecting him justifies a presidential pardon.

As to be expected regarding such a divisive figure like Fujimori, getting him to undergo a comprehensive medical exam was not without its controversy.  The ex-president failed to convince prison authorities to allow his personal physicians to take part in the group of doctors examining him.

Unsurprisingly, the results of the medical report have had its share of supporters and detractors in Peru.  Among the former is Fujimori’s personal doctor, Alejandro Aguinaga:

Daily Headlines: November 14, 2012

* Colombia: Peace talks between the government and the FARC eebela that was supposed to begin today were delayed until next Monday.

* Peru: Chile’s high court approved another corruption trial against Alberto Fujimori, the imprisoned former president of Peru.

* Latin America: Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela will occupy seats on the the U.N. Human Rights Council.

* Mexico: The senate backed a controversial labor reform bill that was strongly opposed to by trade unions.

Video Source: YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources: Reuters, Washington Post, Voice of America, Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: October 24, 2012 (Update)

* Latin America: At least three people are dead in Panama after police clashed with protesters opposed to the selling of state-owned land in a duty-free zone, while thousands of Paraguayans took to the streets to demonstrate against the government.

Update: "If the people of Colon don't want the land in the duty-free zone to be sold, the sale will be cancelled," tweeted Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli after days of violent protests.

* Caribbean: As much as twelve inches of rain could fall on Cuba and Jamaica today as Tropical Storm Sandy strengthens into a hurricane.

* Puerto Rico: The race for Puerto Rican governor could be affected by a U.S. appeals court’s verdict removing about 330,000 potential voters from next month’s electoral rolls.

* Peru: Is a self-portrait by imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori a genuine plea for forgiveness or a shameless media tactic?

Video Source – YouTube via ITN News
 
Online Sources (including Update)- BBC News, Prensa Latina, MSNBC, Fox News Latino, Peruvian Times, Al Jazeera English

Daily Headlines: October 12, 2012

* Peru: Human rights activists in Peru rejected the formal request made this week of a full pardon for disgraced and imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori.

* Guatemala: Nine members of the military were arrested yesterday and charged with the  "extrajudicial execution" of several indigenous protesters last week.

* Uruguay: The Uruguay Soccer Federation blasted FIFA vice president Jim Boyce who referred to Luis Suarez as a “cancer within the game.”

* Argentina: A Ghana court rejected Argentina's appeal of an order regarding the detention of a naval ship due to a dispute with creditors.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- CNN, Los Angeles Times, ESPN, Bernama

Daily Headlines: September 26, 2012

* Mexico: Trade unions and the #YoSoy132 student movement are among the groups protesting against a labor reform proposal backed by President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto.

* Haiti: According to the U.N. a little more than half of the approximately $5.33 billion pledged at a donors' conference after Haiti's 2010 earthquake has been disbursed.

* Ecuador: Several U.S. business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers called on the White House to cut trade benefits to Ecuador.

* Peru: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged Peruvian officials to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that could’ve led to an early release of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Video Source – YouTube via Milenio

Online Sources- MSNBC, Washington Post, Reuters, Mercopress

Today’s Video: Ten and Twenty

The following video clip comes from "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", a documentary on the 2002 attempted coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez:

On April 11, 2002 anti-Chavez demonstrators diverted their march from PDVSA headquarters to the presidential palace where some of them clashed with Chavez sympathizers. That violent confrontation was the spark for the attempted coup that was reportedly carried out by “parts of the military and business class along with support from some opposition political groups, private media outlets and senior Catholic Church officials.”

Today’s Video: 2,211,900 Days Behind Bars

Sometimes it can take a little longer than expected in order for justice to be served. But there are occasions when fugitives will eventually be caught and made to pay for their crimes.

Take the case of Pedro Pimentel Rios, a former instructor for an Guatemalan elite military unit that took part in the infamous Dos Erres massacre. After the Central American country's 36-year civil war ended he resided in impunity for several years in California. In 2010 he was detained by U.S. immigration authorities and the following year he was deported back to his country of birth.

This week a Guatemalan court found Pimentel Rios guilty for his role in the Dos Erres massacre that occurred thirty years ago and sentenced him to 6060 years in prison:

The sentence against Pimentel Rios may have been largely symbolic since the maximum time in prison under Guatemalan law is fifty years. Yet the three-judge panel decreed that he receive thirty year sentences for each of the 201 civilians killed in one of the worst atrocities of the Guatemalan civil war.

Pimentel Rios became the fifth ex-special forces soldier to be convicted for participating in the Dos Erres massacre where troops "systematically killed hundreds of men, women and children, shooting or bludgeoning them to death and throwing bodies down a well".

"We are pleased with the decision beacuse it is a step forward in the fight against impunity in Guatemala," said the president of a local victims' rights group to the AFP.

Earlier this month a judge ruled that former military ruler Gen Efrain Rios Montt cannot receive amnesty and would be tried for genocide and crimes against humanity. (Efrain Rios Montt was briefly in power but it was under his regime that the Dos Erres massacre took place).

In recent years several other Latin American countries have seen former officials who were in power in the 20th century tried and convicted for various crimes. Ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is currently in prison after being convicted in four trials on charges of corruption and human rights abuses. Former Argentine strongman Reynaldo Bignone has been sentenced to prison for numerous crimes against humanity including for helping set up a "secret torture center" inside a hospital in 1976.

Video Source - Al Jazeera English

Online Sources - BBC News, CNN, Huffington Post, enlatino.com

Daily Headlines: February 15, 2012

* Peru: Hundreds of women forcibly sterilized in the 1990s under a program created by then-President Alberto Fujimori continue to wait for to justice to be served.

* Nicaragua: The head of the central bank quit after a disagreement with President Daniel Ortega over how to pay for a regional bank for the ALBA bloc.
* Venezuela: Political opposition groups cried foul after the Supreme Court ruled against the destruction of lists of voters who participated in Sunday’s primary election.

* South America: Chilean president Sebastian Pinera received a “surprise phone call” from British Prime Minister David Cameron and they reportedly discussed the dispute between the U.K. and Argentina over the Falklands.

Video Source – YouTube via telesurenglish

Online Sources- Fox News, Bloomberg, News24, Mercopress

Daily Headlines: December 23, 2011

* Peru: Defeated presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori admitted that her family is seeking a pardon for her father, disgraced and imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori.

* U.S.: A judge blocked several provisions of South Carolina’s staunch anti-immigration law that had been opposed to be over a dozen Latin American governments.

* Cuba: Over 180,00 Cubans could obtain Spanish citizenship via a “grandchildren’s law” though that number could spike ahead of the December 27th deadline to apply for benefits.

* Brazil: The country’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in November; thus making it the lowest mark since records began in 2002.

* Central America: Citing “security concerns” the U.S. Peace Corps program will pull out of Honduras and have cancelled training classes for El Salvador and Guatemala.

Image Source – Flickr via Pedro Rivas Ugaz (“The headlines of Lima-based newspapers one day after ex-president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison” in 2009.) (CC BY 2.0).

Online Sources- MSNBC, Peru this Week, Bloomberg, LAHT, Fox News Latino