Daily Headlines: November 3, 2016

* United States: The latest Latino Decision tracking poll estimates that as many as 14.7 million Latinos will vote in elections this month, which would represent a 5% jump compared to the turnout rate for the prior presidential election in 2012.

* Argentina: Representatives at the recent Ibero-American summit backed Argentina’s claim to the Falklands Islands while also supporting a United Nations resolution for dialogue with Britain over the disputed archipelago.

* Nicaragua: The final national survey prior to this Sunday’s presidential election indicates that incumbent Daniel Ortega and his running mate, first lady Rosario Murillo, will easily triumph.

* Brazil: Volkswagen appointed a German university professor to look into claims of torture and human rights abuses against the automaker’s employees in Brazil during military rule from 1964 to 1985.

YouTube Source – CBS Sunday Morning (Video uploaded on October 2016). 

Online Sources – Huffington Post, MercoPress, Reuters, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 2, 2016

* Mexico: Mexico’s “sugar tax” on carbonated beverages enacted in 2013 could prevent as many as 500,000 cases of diabetes and save up to $2.5 billion in ten years, according to a new report.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos indicated that a reworked peace deal with the FARC rebels would be ratified by Congress rather than risk defeat at a second referendum.

* Bolivia: Spanish energy giant Repsol extended its agreement for exploration and operation of Bolivia’s largest oil bloc to 2046.

* Chile: The race for 2018 World Cup qualification in South America became much tighter after a decision to dock points from Bolivia allowed Chile to leapfrog Argentina in the standings.

YouTube Source – Euromonitor International (Video uploaded on November 2013).

Online Sources – Vocaticv, Colombia Reports, Goal.com, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: November 1, 2016

* Brazil: A study from the Getulio Vargas Foundation public policy think tank concluded that the Brazilian economy will continue to be mired in an economic crisis into 2017.

* Cuba: The discrepancy in pay between workers of different nationalities laboring on three major hotel projects in Cuba has not sat well with residents.

* Argentina: Approximately $4.6 billion was reportedly declared by Argentines as part of a tax amnesty plan in effect until November 21st.

* Venezuela: Five imprisoned opposition politicians were released from jail after Democratic Unity Roundtable representatives first met with government represntatives in Vatican-mediated talks .

YouTube Source – Bloomberg (Video uploaded in September 2016).

Online Sources – UPI, Reuters, Xinhua, BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 26, 2016

* Brazil: Tributes from the soccer world have poured in for Carlos Alberto, the captain of Brazil's World Cup-winning men’s national team in 1970, who died on Tuesday at the age of 72.

* South America: The Vatican announced it will soon released records linked to the infamous “Dirty War” era, while political tensions remain high in Venezuela days prior to Church-led negotiations between the government and opposition.

* Honduras: Some member of the United States Congress are not seeing eye-to-eye with the State Department over around $55 million in aid to Honduras despite the country’s dismal human rights record.

* Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan government accepted observers from the Organization of American States to monitor elections on November 6th where polls indicate President Daniel Ortega will easily win another term in office.

YouTube Source – Classic Football 

Online Sources – Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Sports, Reuters, CBC, The Washington Post

Daily Headlines: October 21, 2016

* Brazil: Twenty-one mining executives were charged with homicide in relation to the November 2015 collapse of a Brazilian dam that killed nineteen people and polluted miles of waterways.

* Latin America: A Mexican judge rejected an appeal to prevent the extradition of imprisoned Sinaloa drug cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, while Argentine officials requested the extradition of an ex-Iranian foreign minister potentially involved in the deadly 1994 AMIA bombing.

* Nicaragua: A recent poll gave President Daniel Ortega a commanding lead in a presidential race marred by controversy over the removal of opposition politicos from the legislature.

* United States: The Organization of American States for the first time will send observers to monitor the United States presidential election in fifteen states including Georgia and Ohio.

YouTube Source – CCTV News 

Online Sources – Fox News Latino, teleSUR English, Business Insider, Yahoo News, UPI

Daily Headlines: October 10, 2016

* Haiti: Doctors warned that Haiti could face its second cholera outbreak in recent years following the more than 1000 fatalities and towns still isolated by Hurricane Matthew.

* Argentina: An estimated 70,000 people marched in the Argentine city of Rosario for women’s rights and against all forms of gender violence including femicides.

* Mexico: The Mexican peso has strengthened by 2.3 percent in a reported indication that the market is confident over a Hillary Clinton victory in the United States presidential election.

* Uruguay: Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Uruguay’s Foreign Minister, called on ex-Guantanamo detainee Jihad Diyab to end his two-month-old hunger strike and “continue looking for a better future for him and his family.”

YouTube Source – Al Jazeera English (“The death toll has reached 1,000, but rescue teams are still combing through wreckage in the remote southwest of the country. A number of cholera cases have been reported, raising fears of a renewed outbreak of the disease.”)

Online Sources – NBC News, Financial Times, teleSUR English, Reuters

Daily Headlines: October 6, 2016

* Argentina: “We have 40 years of love to give you," said the brother of the 121st person positively identified by the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo as having been stolen and illegally adopted during the “Dirty War” era of military rule in Argentina.

* Caribbean: At least sixty-nine people died in the Caribbean and authorities once again postponed Haiti’s presidential election as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

* Chile: The Chilean government announced an overhaul of the country’s Sename child services system following reports of 865 minors dying over the past eleven years in network shelters.

* Brazil: The International Monetary Fund indicated that Brazil’s recession may be worse than expected based on economic indicators such as declining industrial activity and a rising unemployment rate.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (Video uploaded in October 2014).
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English, Reuters, Fox News Latino, CNN Money

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2016

* Argentina: “This is a government that governs for the rich and only responds to corporations and multinationals,” proclaimed the head of a Buenos Aires teachers’ union amid growing social unrest that threatens the rule of President Mauricio Macri.

* Caribbean: Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic today with sustained winds as high as 130 miles per hour and potential rainfall of up to forty inches.

* El Salvador: A Salvadoran judge ordered accepted reopening the investigation into the El Mozote massacre of at least 500 villagers by the army during the civil war in 1981.

* Brazil: Political outsiders were among the big winners in local elections on Sunday as voters punished candidates of major parties tainted by corruption scandals.

YouTube Source – AFP (“Argentine farmers give away 10 tons of apples and pears (last August) in Buenos Aires in a protest to denounce a crisis in the fruit growing sector and demand help from the government”).

Online Sources – Financial Times, Voice of America, Reuters, USA TODAY

Daily Headlines: September 29, 2016

* Argentina: Nearly one in three residents in Argentina live below the poverty line according to the first data on the subject published by the government since October 2013.

* Colombia: Days after a peace accord was signed with Colombia’s largest guerilla army, the ELN rebels claimed to be ready to officially start peace talks with the government.

* Chile: “I believe that women should have legally the possibility of making their own choices,” said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet over a proposal that would relax the country’s ban on abortion under all circumstances.

* United States: A PricewaterhouseCoopers study concluded that Hispanic television viewers prefer English-language programs over those in Spanish with stronger preference in each subsequent generation for shows in English.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (New data from the Argentinian government seems to confirm the findings of a 2014 World Bank report warning that a third of the population is vulnerable of falling into poverty.)

Online Sources – Voice of America, The Latin Americanist, Deadline, BBC News, ABC News

Daily Headlines: September 20, 2016

* Mexico: A drill of Mexico City’s earthquake alert system, which was installed following a deadly 8.1-magnitude tremor in 1985, was conducted yesterday on the 31st-annoversary of the quake.

* Argentina: Argentine President Mauricio Macri affirmed his state’s sovereignty claim regarding the Falklands as “standing and non-negotiable” despite improved relations between Argentina and Britain over the disputed islands.

* Haiti: Some 130 Organization of American States observers began arriving in Haiti this week in anticipation of the controversial presidential election rerun scheduled on October 9th.

* Cuba: Iranian and Cuban officials signed several pacts in areas of health, education and science after the heads of government for both countries met in Havana.

YouTube Source – ITN Source (“Mexico City was struck by an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale followed by an aftershock of 7.5 the next day. Thousands of people were killed with many more made homeless in the three minute quake which caused major damage.”)
 
Online Sources – MercoPress, Xinhua, The Guardian, Reuters, The Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: September 19, 2016

* Peru: The San Sebastian Church in Cuzco, which was built in the 16th century, was almost completely destroyed by a fire purportedly caused by a short circuit.

* Latin America: A Mexican boy’s stand at an anti-gay rights demonstration wasn’t the only image at a protest in Latin America that went viral last week.

* Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela said OPEC member states and non-cartel oil producing countries are “close” to agreeing to a plan to stabilize oil prices.

* Argentina: Third time could be the charm for Argentina in the Davis Cup finals after their team knocked out defending champions Great Britain in the semifinals.

YouTube Source – No Comment TV (“The historic San Sebastian church, in Cuzco, Peru has been gutted by fire. Dozens of works of art, including those by celebrated local artist Quispe Tito were destroyed in the flames.”)

Online Sources – The Washington Post, CNN, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, ESPN

Daily Headlines: September 13, 2016

* Nicaragua: A new poll published weeks before the November 6th presidential election showed that incumbent Daniel Ortega continues with a massive lead ahead of his rivals.

* Venezuela: Human rights activists claimed extrajudicial killings in Venezuela have been on the rise since a government-backed crackdown on crime began fourteen months ago.

* Brazil: A spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee claimed that more than 1.9 million tickets have been sold for the Rio Paralympics, and the 170,000 plus attendees last Sunday surpassed any single day of the recently held Olympics.

* Argentina: Former Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner received a subpoena to testify as part of a corruption probe focused on her time in office.

YouTube Source – CCTV News (From August 3, 2016: “Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has picked his wife, Rosario Murillo, as his running mate for November's election.”)
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English, Voice of America, CBC News, InSight Crime

Daily Headlines: September 5, 2016

* Argentina: The indigenous Mapuche community in Argentina is campaigning against fracking at one of the world’s top shale gas producing sites that has caused environmental damage including groundwater pollution.

* South America: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was reportedly chased by demonstrators during a visit to Margarita Island, while tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of several major Brazilian cities yesterday.

* Ecuador: A 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Ecuadoran capital city of Quito nearly five months after a stronger tremor killed at least 700 people and caused some $2 billion in damages.

* Puerto Rico: Now that Congress returned today from its summer recess, will federal legislators soon back a plan to combat the spread of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico?

YouTube Source – AJ+ (“From September 2014: “The Mapuche (people indigenous to Argentina's Patagonia region) have long fought for their land and rights. Now they're witnessing the side effects of fracking, and taking action to keep oil companies off the land.”)

Online Sources – UPI, Fox News Latino, BBC News, Reuters, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: August 29, 2016 (Updated)

* Mexico: Juan Gabriel, the iconic Mexican singer and songwriter known for such hits as “Siempre en mi Mente” and “Querida”, died on Sunday at the age of sixty-six.

* Colombia: FARC commanders issued a definitive ceasefire to begin on Monday and days after the rebels and the Colombian government reached a historic peace deal that awaits approval via a plebiscite this October.

* Argentina: An Argentine court convicted thirty-eight ex-military officers last week for their role in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of several hundred victims during the oppressive “Dirty War” era.

* Venezuela: A U.S. Department of State spokesman condemned moving opposition figure Daniel Ceballos from house arrest to prison in an action he deemed as trying to “intimidate and impede the Venezuelan people's right to peacefully express their opinion” ahead of a September 1st rally.

Update: The Venezuelan government replied to the criticism by accusing the U.S. of promoting "instbaility" and plotting a coup during the September 1st anti-government march.

YouTube Source – JuanGabrielVEVO

Online Sources including Update – Fusion, ABC Online, The New York Times, Reuters, 20minutos.es

Daily Headlines: August 24, 2016

* Chile: “(Latin America) doesn’t take the issue seriously or dedicate the resources it deserves,” claimed a Chilean AIDS rights activist after the government issued a health alert over 1.2 million faulty Chinese-made condoms distributed via a public health program.

* Latin America: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit six Latin American states this week and sign numerous agreements with countries like Cuba and Bolivia.

* Argentina: Declassified British intelligence documents apparently showed Israel sold weapons to Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982.

* Central America: The presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala pledged to launch a new joint force aimed at curbing drug traffickers and criminal gangs.

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2016

* Argentina: Human rights group the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo held their 2000th weekly march in Buenos Aires days after the United States (US) declassified hundreds of documents related to actions during the “Dirty War” era.

* Cuba: Former Cuban president Fidel Castro made a rare public appearance to celebrate his 90th birthday and also penned a letter thanking his compatriots “for the signs of respect, greetings, and gifts” he has recently received.

* Puerto Rico: The US government declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico due to the spread of the Zika virus that has infected at least 10,000 people there.

* Guatemala: A Canadian legal aid group has called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to probe a local mining firm accused of allegedly using legal chicanery to prevent a referendum over a Guatemalan mine.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English

Online Sources – BBC News, The Bubble, Vice News, The Toronto Star, The Atlantic

Daily Headlines: August 11, 2016

* Guatemala: United States (US) immigration authorities deported Santos Lopez Alonzo, a former Guatemalan solider believed to have participated in the Dos Erres massacre of at least 160 villagers in 1982. 

* Argentina: Argentinian Foreign minister Susana Malcorra admitted that her government and British diplomats plan to hold talks over oil exploration off the shore of the disputed Falkland Islands.

* Peru: A 687-mile pipeline in the Peruvian Amazon leaked for the fourth time this year and has spilled an unpublished quantity of crude oil.

* Ecuador: Ecuador will allow Swedish investigators to question Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has been exiled at the South American country’s embassy in London since 2012.

YouTube Source – AP Archive (“In Guatemala 162 bodies discovered in a mass grave were buried Sunday in the northern region of Peten. Among the bodies, are those of 91 women and children massacred in 1982 during the dictatorship of general Efrain Rios Montt.”)
 
Online Sources – UPI, Reuters, MercoPress, CBS News

Daily Headlines: August 2, 2016

* Cuba: The Cuban government accused the U.S. State Department of attempting to rush to settle billions of dollars of claims between both countries.

* Venezuela: Electoral officials have approved the first step in a possible recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro, while Amnesty International blasted a decree that is reportedly shifting more power to the military.

* Argentina: Could the appointment of Edgardo Bauza as new coach of the Argentine men’s national soccer team lure Lionel Messi back into the fold for los albicelestes?

* Mexico: The mayor of a town in Michoacán state and four police officers were arrested and charged with the massacre of ten people purportedly in relation to the local drugs trade.

YouTube Source – Associated Press (From March 2015: “Nearly 60 years after Fidel Castro took over Cuba, American families and companies who have claims on billions worth of confiscated property are wondering if the communist government will pay up as the U.S. and Cuba restore diplomatic ties.”)

Online Sources – ESPN FC, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC News, CNN Money

Daily Headlines: July 26, 2016

* Brazil: Amid the plethora of negative news on the upcoming Rio Olympics there’s a small glimmer of hope –Brazil’s economy could emerge from a deep recession by the end of this year.

* Mexico: In light of free trade becoming a hot topic in the U.S. presidential race, Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu suggested “modernizing and updating” the North American Free Trade Agreement.

* Latin America: LATAM Airlines, Latin America’s largest air carrier, was fined some $22 million over “violating accounting laws connected to a scheme to bribe Argentine union officials.”

* Argentina: Ex-Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner claimed to be unafraid of going to jail over allegations of corruption and compared her situation to that of suspended Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff.

* Ecuador: As part of the latest legal tug-of-war between Ecuador and Chevron, the South American country’s central bank paid $112 million as part of an arbitration ruling favoring the U.S. oil firm.

* Chile: The Chilean Supreme Court last week unanimously lengthened the prison sentences against two former military officers convicted in the 1973 deaths of documentary filmmaker Charles Horman and university student Frank Teruggi.

YouTube Source – CCTV News (Brazil’s economy entered its fifth straight quarter at a loss at the beginning of 2016, but could emerge from its crippling recession by the end of this year).

Online Sources – Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, MarketWatch, Reuters, USA TODAY, Al Jazeera English
 

Daily Headlines: July 19, 2016

* Guatemala: Byron Lima, a former military officer convicted of assassinating outspoken Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi, was killed by a few of his fellow inmates during a prison riot.

* Peru: An arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Peruvian state in its environmental damages case against Renco Group.

* Argentina: On the twenty-second anniversary of the AMIA center bombing, family members of some of the 85 dead called for justice and stronger government support for the investigation into the attack.

* Mexico: President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled a series of measures to combat corruption and also publicly apologized for allegations of wrongdoing linked to the purchase of a luxury home by his wife, Angelica Rivera.

YouTube Source – AP Archive (Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop Juan Jose Gerardi was a strong human rights defender who was murdered in 1998 after he published a report on abuses by the army during the country’s civil war).

Online Sources – UPI, MercoPress, BBC News, Bloomberg