Daily Headlines: May 13, 2014

* Venezuela: Dr. Jacinto Convit, a Venezuelan researcher who helped develop vaccines against leprosy and leishmaniasis, passed away at the age of 100 in Caracas.

* Panama: No major damage or casualties have been reported from a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit off the Pacific coast of Panama on Tuesday morning.

* Mexico: Mexican officials claimed on Monday that the co-founder of the Zetas drug gang was killed in a shootout along with five other people.

* Latin America: Job security, the economy and crime are the "top three concerns" for Latin Americans according to a new Nielson survey.

Video Source – Noticiero Venevision via YouTube 

Online Sources – Reuters; NBC News; ABC News; Nielson

Mexico: Cartel Capo Captured

Security forces captured Mario Ramirez Trevino, the head of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel drug gang, this on Saturday morning near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The man known by the nicknames of X-20 or "The Bald One" was nabbed in in Tamaulipas state by a joint operation between the Mexican police and Attorney’s General Office according to Mexican Interior Ministry spokesman Eduardo Sánchez.

Sánchez added at a Sunday press conference that two alleged bodyguards of Ramirez Trevino were also detained along with weapons used by the Mexican military and $38,000 Mexican pesos.

"The government has reinforced the security strategy with the aim of neutralizing any eventual actions by other criminal organizations with a presence in this region," Sánchez observed in anticipation of a possible backlash by the Gulf Cartel that reportedly controls key smuggling routes in eastern and northeastern Mexico.

The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Ramirez Trevino who was accused of trafficking cocaine and marijuana through several border crossings. 

Ramirez Trevino was the chief of the Gulf Cartel for nearly one year after the gang’s former boss, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, was arrested in September 2012.

This weekend’s actions come roughly a month after the head of the Zetas drug cartel was arrested in the northern state of Nuevo Laredo.  The Zetas were originally hired to provide protection to the once powerful Gulf Cartel.  Yet the former turned on the latter and would eventually take over most of their former employer's territory via a bloody turf war.

Daily Headlines: September 27, 2012

* Colombia: A Colombian anti-landmine campaign group concluded that over ten thousand people in the South American country have been either injured or killed due to landmines.

* Peru: Coca production in Peru increased for the sixth consecutive year despite government efforts to promote alternative cash crops according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

* Mexico: The Mexican navy announced the capture of Ivan Velazquez Caballero, one of the suspected co-leaders of the notorious Zetas drug gang. 

* Cuba: A bipartisan group of forty-four U.S. senators sent a letter to Cuban President Raul Castro calling for the release of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.

Video Source – YouTube via user unmineaction
 
Online Sources- Fox News Latino, BBC News, Reuters

Daily Headlines: May 21, 2012

* Cuba: In a possible setback for future oil exploration off the Cuban coast Spanish firm Repsol claimed that the first well they drilled in Cuban waters came up dry.

* Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff will receive compensation for the human rights abuses she suffered during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, while she formally inaugurated a “truth commission” to investigate violations committed during that era.

* Mexico: Police arrested a suspected member of the Zetas drug gang accused of being behind the recent massacre of forty-one people.

* Peru: Did the military secretly execute over a dozen rebels in 1997 during a raid to rescue hostages in the Japanese ambassador's residence?

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (From January 2012 – “An oil rig is ready to begin drilling off Cuba's coast. The area is believed to have billions of barrels of oil under the sea floor, and Cuba is hoping that oil will provide an economic boost.”)

Online Sources- BusinessWeek, GlobalPost, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Time

Daily Headlines: May 10, 2012

* Argentina: The Senate overwhelmingly backed a "dignified death" law that has raised questions and concerns over issues of health and bioethics.

* Latin America: Honduran radio reporter Alfredo Villatoro was kidnapped after reportedly receiving numerous death threats, while the Colombian government rejected the FARC’s conditions for the possible release of French journalist Romeo Langlois.

* U.S.: Will President Barack Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage have a major effect on Latino voters or will it get buried under other topics like immigration and the economy?

* Mexico: Authorities believe that the Zetas drug gang may have been behind the beheading deaths of fifteen people whose corpses were found in Guadalajara.

Video Source – YouTube via TVPublicaArgentina (Among those interviewed in this clip from Argentine TV is Selva Herbon, a vocal supporter of the "dignified death" law and mother of a three-year-old child in a vegetative state).

Online Sources- The Guardian, BBC News, Huffington Post, Fox News Latino, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: April 18, 2012

* U.S.: A study by the American Association of University Women found that Latina women earned only 61% of what white men earn, on average.

* Central America: Fears of an alliance between Mexico’s Zetas drug gang and Guatemala’s MS-13 may be “unfounded,” while a rumored pact between Salvadoran street gangs may have led to the country’s first murder-free day in three years.

* Cuba: A Cuban human rights group claimed that authorities detained over 1100 dissidents in March including some who were kept away from visiting Pope Benedict XVI.

* Mexico: Police in the border town of Nuevo Laredo found the dismembered bodies of fourteen people yesterday.

Image Source – Flickr via Images_of_Money (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- USA TODAY, InSight Crime, Huffington Post, MSNBC, MiamiHerald.com

Daily Headlines: April 4, 2012

* Peru: The federal government approved a new law aimed at improving consultation with indigenous communities before the development of mining and oil projects.

* Brazil: A Brazilian federal prosecutor launched a second multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Chevron and Transocean regarding a recent offshore oil leak.

* Guatemala: Police captured Horst Walter Overdick, an suspected drug trafficker accused of working as the Guatemala contact for Mexico’s Zetas drug gang.

* Venezuela: The Venezuelan foreign ministry rejected an E.U. safety ban on state-run airline Conviasa.

Image Source – Flickr via destacadoshuancayo (Peruvian indigenous dancers). (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Reuters, LAHT, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 3, 2011

* Colombia: Ex-Soviet military officer Viktor Bout faces life in prison after being convicted in a U.S. court for attempting to smuggle weapons to Colombia’s FARC guerillas.

* Cuba: Authorities detained dissident Guillermo Farinas on Wednesday while he was trying to visit a hospitalized political activist.

* Mexico: Is there really a “dispute” among members of the Anonymous hackers group over possibly revealing personal information of alleged Zetas drug gang collaborators?

* South America: The planned merger between Chilean airline LAN with Brazil’s TAM will supposedly be completed early next year.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources - MercoPress, The Telegraph, Fox News Latino, Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: October 14, 2011

* Cuba: A Chinese-made oil rig is expected to arrive in Cuban waters in December and commence drilling in January according to Spanish company Repsol.

* Mexico: Police detained the alleged third-highest ranking member of the Zetas drug gang who is also accused of a deadly arson attack at a Monterrey casino.

* Argentina: Some members of the U.S. Congress are pressuring to block development loans from entities like the World Bank to Argentina.

* Guatemala: Authorities issued an arrest warrant against ex-president Oscar Mejia who is wanted on charges of genocide.

Image – Via Flickr user kenhodge13 (“Oil rig platform anchored in Darwin Harbour, Australia for maintenance purposes. These rigs are towed into Darwin from time to time for maintenance.”) (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Reuters, BBC News, BusinessWeek

Daily Headlines: September 16, 2011

* Latin America: Seventeen Western Hemispheric nations including all of Central America, Bolivia, and Venezuela were placed on a White House narcotics watch blacklist.

* Mexico: Authorities reportedly believe that the Zetas drug gang may’ve been behind the murders of three relatives of a policeman detained in relation to last month’s arson attack on a Monterrey casino.

* South America: Tensions over areas such as energy and trade have led to deteriorating diplomatic relations between Argentina and Paraguay.

* Cuba: The Cuban government has become increasingly upset at ex-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s visit to the island in order to negotiate the release of jailed contractor Alan Gross.

Image – AP via BBC News (“The blacklisting came on the day El Salvador celebrates independence from Spain.”)

Online Sources- CNN, MiamiHerald.com, BBC News, UPI

Today’s Video: Violence in El Salvador

It has been roughly twenty years since civil war tore El Salvador apart. Nowadays another threat is hurting the Central American country: violent street gangs that have reportedly been the target of recruitment by some of Mexico's powerful drug groups. The following Not Safe for Work video via Al Jazeera English delves into the topic:

Video Source - Al Jazeera English

Daily Headlines: August 4, 2011

* Latin America: Rest in peace Baruj Benacerraf; the Venezuela-born immunologist who was a co-recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine died this week.

* Mexico: Authorities captured two members of the Zetas drug gang including the group’s “alleged number two financial operator.”

* Panama: Ex-strongman Manuel Noriega will reportedly be extradited from France to Panama where he’s expected to serve a twenty-year prison sentence.

* Costa Rica: The country’s ban on in-vitro fertilization could be lifted after a legal challenge was filed with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

* Argentina: Nearly seven million pensioners are expected to benefit by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s proposal to raise the minimum pension by 16.8% this year.

* Caribbean: Several hundred homes in Haiti were damaged as Tropical Storm Emily continues advancing through the Caribbean.

Image – AP via ABC News (“This undated photo released by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute shows Dr. Baruj Benacerraf, a Venezuela-born immunologist who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and served as president of the Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.”)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, MSNBC, AFP, Hispanically Speaking News, The Scientist, BBC News

Daily Headlines: July 6, 2011

* Mexico: In an action praised by U.S. counternarcotics officials Mexican law enforcement captured the suspected third in command of the violent Zetas drug gang.

* U.S.: South American investors buying and renting out apartments in South Florida is one example of how foreign buyers are reportedly boosting the sagging housing market in some areas of the U.S.

* Chile: President Sebastian Pinera proposed the creation of a $4 billion higher education fund in response to several weeks of student protests.

* Bolivia: According to Bolivian officials the governments of that country and the U.S. are close to reestablishing diplomatic relations that have been broken for nearly three years.

Image – AP via BBC News (“Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar is accused of being a founder of the Zetas.”)
Online Sources- El Universal, BBC News, USA TODAY, Reuters, AHN

Weekend Headlines: July 2-3, 2011

* Argentina: This year’s edition of the Copa America opened with hosts Argentina being held to a 1-1 tie by Bolivia.

* Venezuela: Speculation over Venezuela’s political and economic future has seemingly run rampant since President Hugo Chavez admitted that doctors removed a tumor with “cancerous cells”.

* Cuba: The government enacted new polices that would “simplify the steps” to permit Cubans to buy and sell homes and cars.

* Mexico: Fifteen people were killed in a shootout between the military and alleged members of the Zetas drug gang a day after a Zetas hit man was arrested and accused in the massacre of 72 migrants last year.

Image – Pedro Fosco/Associated Press via CBC News (“Bolivia's Ronald Raldes, left, battles for the ball with Argentina's Carlos Tevez on Friday.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, LAHT, BBC News, MSNBC

Mexico’s Zetas “corrupts” U.S. agents says DHS official

Mexico’s Zetas drug gang has engaged in the “systematic corruption” of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and Customs agents according to remarks made today by acting Inspector General Charles K. Edwards.

As part of testimony grated to the Senate subcommittee on national security, Edwards said that the Zetas offer “cash bribes, sexual favor and other services in exchange for smuggling contraband or illegal immigrants through border inspection areas.” The corrupt agents would “protect or act as bodyguards” for cross-border shipments, tip off suspected Zeta members, and sell intelligence information according to Edwards. He added that this is a national security concern since lax border enforcement could lead to “terrorists” or “weapons of mass destruction” entering the U.S.

Edwards’ concerns were shared by USBP commissioner Alan Bersin who testified that the agency’s “bad apples…betrayed the confidence of the people and their colleagues.” He highlighted that the USBP is cracking down on dirty agents and have arrested or convicted 127 officers for corruption since October 2004.

Bersin was very critical of Mexico’s anti-crime offensive under President Felipe Calderon:

For Bersin, the decision by Mexican President Felipe Calderon to combat drug gangs that used to operate in impunity along with the increase in USBP agents expanded the “incentives and opportunities” to corrupt border agents.

In the meantime, Mexican marines seized several Zetas arsenals over the past week, which includes hundreds of rifles, numerous handguns and even a rocket launcher. Despite the decrease in firepower, the Zetas remain as one of Mexico’s most dangerous drug gangs. Their influence has reached parts of Central America including suspicions of being behind the massacre of 27 Guatemalans last month.

Image- KVOA.com
Online Sources- MSNBC, LAHT, El Universal, ADN.es, Noticiero Televisa

Zetas blamed for Guatemalan massacre

Guatemala has seen its share of mass killings during the country’s civil war that ended in 1996 yet one cannot help but shudder at the latest massacre that occurred over the weekend.

In an incident described by a Guatemalan police spokesman as “the worst massacre we have seen in modern times," at least twenty-seven people were killed on Saturday at a ranch in the northern part of the country. Forensic doctors identified fifteen of the victims and among those killed were three minors and two women. All of those killed in the gruesome incident were bound with rope before being decapitated by the cold-blooded assassins.

Guatemalan authorities have accused the Zetas drug gang from neighboring Mexico as being responsible for the massacre in the hamlet of Caserio La Bomba. “It’s been proven that the victims were farmers and laborers without any links to narcotrafficking or organized crime,” said Guatemalan interior minister Carlos Menocal. Menocal also believed that the killers were targeting Otto Salguero, the owner of the “Los Cocos” ranch, even though “there’s no concrete case against him.”

As part of the investigation into Saturday’s massacre, police are also examining if that incident has any link to the 2008 murder of Haroldo Leon, the brother of alleged Guatemalan drug trafficker Juan Jose "Juancho" Leon, allegedly by the Zetas.

The mass killing highlights the intrusion of Mexican drug gangs across the border into Guatemala. Despite a two-month "military state of siege" in one province last year it appears as if the gangs have a foothold areas of northern Guatemala:

According to the 2010 U.N. World Drug Report, the northern province of Peten has long been a strategic drug-trafficking zone with jungle landing strips used by several cartels. It has one of the highest murder rates in Guatemala, which is one of the most violent countries in the world. Both the Zetas and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel have interests in Peten and may be competing for territory, the report says.

A statement from the U.N’s High Commission on Human Rights in Guatemala condemned the massacre but also urged President Alvaro Colom to help provide greater protection for residents of communities near the Guatemala-Mexico border.

On a related note, a U.S. immigration judge last week ordered the deportation of Pedro Pimental Rios, an ex-member of an elite Guatemalan military force that participated in the infamous Dos Erres massacre nineteen years ago.

Image- AP via MSNBC (“Police agents look at a message written in blood at the site of a massacre at a local ranch in the hamlet Caserio La Bomba, in La Libertad, northern Guatemala, Sunday May 15, 2011.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, Terra Colombia, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, El Universal, Reuters, El Diario de Yucatan, Europa Press