Fausta's Blog

This week’s big news item is the spotlight on a subject I’ve posted about for years: Iran’s Latin American networks.

Mary O’Grady has the background information:
Uncovering Iran’s Latin Networks
A prosecutor in Buenos Aires finds Tehran’s fingerprints region-wide.

In October 2006, Mr. Nisman indicted seven Iranians and one Lebanese-born member of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia for the AMIA murders. Interpol notices for their arrest were issued but none was captured. Then, late last year, the Argentine government of Cristina Kirchner announced that a “truth commission,” to be chosen by Argentina and Iran, would examine the viability of the prosecutor’s case.

To many Argentines, that seemed like letting the fox decide the fate of the chickens. But Mrs. Kirchner forged ahead, getting congress to agree. On May 20 Ahmadinejad approved Iran’s participation on the commission.

Mr. Nisman’s response was to release a mountain of evidence against Tehran into cyberspace for all the world to see.

Video:

My posts on the subject this week:
Roundup: More on Iran in Latin America

Argentina: Iran’s infiltration in Latin America

ARGENTINA
Color Dekadencia

Argentina’s Elected Autocracy
Faced with growing public opposition, the Kirchner government is stepping up its attacks on democracy.

An Argentine Dictator’s Legacy

CHILE
Maria Corina Machado went to Chile. Juan Cristobal Nagel is charmed.

COLOMBIA
Colombia says Maduro claims ‘crazy’
Colombia rejects as “crazy” allegations made earlier this week that it is trying to destabilise Venezuela, in the latest diplomatic row.

CUBA
Iran and Cuba: The Real “Mad Men”

All Eyes on Yoani’s Return

Cuban dissident says security forces are studying Vladimir Putin’s rule

An Honor Roll

I did not mention this — that he named the embassies in Havana that allow dissidents and democrats to come in and use the Internet. Would you like the complete list? The embassies of the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Holland, and the U.S. interests section (which is housed in the Swiss embassy). That’s it. “The rest of the diplomatic corps in Cuba does not give us any type of help,” said Roberto.

Che Guevara was no hero, he was a racist (h/t Babalu)

ECUADOR
Ecuador: Concern for Rights of WikiLeaks Founder

EL SALVADOR
A Salvadoran at Risk Tests Abortion Law

Salvadoran woman allowed C-section
A seriously ill Salvadoran woman says she will undergo a Caesarean section following the Supreme Court’s decision to deny her an abortion.

GUATEMALA
Ex-President of Guatemala Faces Judge in Manhattan

HONDURAS
Honduran gang truce begins

JAMAICA
Police: American killed in Jamaica during robbery

LATIN AMERICA
Meet Latin America’s Serious Side: The Pacific Alliance

MEXICO
Murder of Mexican reporter in Veracruz spotlights official hostility toward press

Immigration Reform: Compassion for Mexican Elites

PERU
Wedding bells for Van der Sloot in Peru prison

PUERTO RICO
Annals of the Security State: ‘Is Puerto Rico in America?’

VENEZUELA
The Dead Voted Massively Last October in Venezuela

Venezuelan Military “Technology”: It’s All Kid’s Stuff

The True Intentions of Iran in Latin America are Questioned

The week’s posts:
Mexico: 11 kidnapped in broad daylight

Good news Sunday: The Pacific Alliance

Venezuela: Bayly entrevista a Capriles, 2a. parte

El Salvador: Abortion denied

Venezuela: Capriles travels to Colombia

Mexico: Iron Man? No, Peatónito!

Venezuela: 2 Americans shot in strip club

Cuba: Would you spend a week’s salary for an hour on the internet?

Paraguay: Nueva Germania, and Nietzsche’s sister

Podcast:
US-Latin America: Free trade agreements

In Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, at least according to the chavista-controlled board of election, won last night. Henrique Capriles Radonski demanded a recount, asserting that electoral fraud had taken place. Here’s his speech last night (in Spanish),

In his speech, Capriles said he wants the Cuban military out of Venezuela’s government and institutions. As Mary O’Grady said, The Castro regime wasn’t going to allow an easy victory for the opposition candidate who has pledged to stop sending oil to Havana.

By now, ballot boxes are turning up,

(PHOTO) Found in dumpster boxes of votes that Chavistas stole from the centers RT #Venezuela2013 #VenezuelaSomosTodos twitter.com/IvonneKinser/s…

— Ivonne Kinser (@IvonneKinser) April 15, 2013

@douglirodil RT @cynthia823: Por favor RT! Estan botando las cajas! Terminamos d recoger 1 en avenida en Puerto Ordaz twitter.com/Cynthia823/sta…

— ricardo colon (@Riccolon) April 15, 2013

Maduro’s acceptance speech was a double dose of crazy.

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s economy
Gaucho blues
A dollar shortage bites

Via The Argentine Post, a link I missed when it was first posted,
Argentina’s Plan for Iran

BRAZIL
Brazilian state of Acre in illegal immigration alert
The Brazilian state of Acre has declared a state of emergency after a surge of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bolivia and Peru.

CHILE
Chile poet Pablo Neruda’s remains to be tested in US
The family of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda has agreed to send his remains to a laboratory in the United States for toxicology tests.

COLOMBIA
FARC links with Al-Qaeda?

Evidence has emerged of a link between the FARC and Islamist terrorist groups in the North African Maghreb after two Colombian nationals were arrested in Algeria last month by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Spanish intelligence services.

Colombian authorities row over Farc jail terms
Colombia’s attorney-general has said members of the rebel group Farc could escape jail terms should a peace deal be struck.

Colombia’s emerald king
Death of a tsar

COSTA RICA
Via DP, National holiday turns violent as families blocked from president’s speech
Costa Ricans outraged that they weren’t allowed to attend the annual Juan Santamaría Day festivities in an Alajuela park.

CUBA
In Spanish: Jaime Bayly entrevista al bloguero cubano Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo,

Time to Occupy Beyonce and Jay-Z

US Treasury OFAC: Send Beyoncé and Jay-Z an Anniversary Present

Rosa Maria Payá denounces death threats against her and her family.
Rosa Maria Payá holds the Cuban government responsible for whatever may happen to her and her family.

ECUADOR
Quito’s new airport
A tight fit

HONDURAS
Smoke from nearby forest fires forces 4-hour closure of airport for Honduras’ capital

JAMAICA
Puerto Rican jury rejects death sentence in police killing

MEXICO

Mexico Is Picking Up the Peso
Reforms, Search for Risk Are Boosting the Currency; ‘a Cultish Characteristic’

Mexican Proposal to Allow Foreigners to Own Coastal Property

PERU
Rural development in Peru
The Andean connection
Diminishing distance, falling poverty

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico protects top US turtle nesting site long eyed by developers

Puerto Rico Agrees To Pay More Than $35 Million In Back Wages To Thousands Of Workers

SURINAME
Politics in Suriname
Guerrilla, rapper, gold miner…president?

URUGUAY
Uruguay president ‘sorry’ for Fernandez ‘old hag’ quip
The President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has apologised for apparently referring to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as an “old hag”.

Luis Alberto Lacalle, abogado y presidente de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay de 1990 a 1995 envia un afectuoso saludo a la Fundacion HACER de Washington DC desde el 25 Aniversario de la Fundacion Libertad de Rosario

VENEZUELA
Maduro and Capriles: tale of two Venezuelan presidential candidates

Venezuela’s presidential election
Voting in St Hugo’s shadow
In his search for a popular mandate, Nicolás Maduro ascribes divine powers to his predecessor but offers few earthly policies

Venezuelan blogs for their complete coverage:
Caracas chronicles
Devil’s excrement
Venezuela Nr=ews and Views

The week’s posts and podcast,
Venezuela: Maduro wins

Venezuela: two election day live feeds

A word on elected Latin American dictators

Venezuela: How important is tomorrow’s election? UPDATED

If you are in Hialeah tonight: Rosa María Payá event

OLPL en el show de Bayly

G-r-o-s-s: Bolivarian “sanitary” towels

Venezuela: Capriles Campaign Chief killed

Venezuela: The meaning of April 14 UPDATED

Cuba this morning

Venezuela: Violent deaths per 100,000

Podcast:
Talking with Silvio Canto.

ARGENTINA
Argentina dispatch: the troubled reign of Queen Cristina of Argentina
Beset by economic stagnation, Argentines are growing weary of President Cristina Kirchner’s obsession with the Falklands, reports Philip Sherwell

In Spanish (audio starts right away), HACER: Agustín Rangugni y Eneas Biglione entrevistan a Gonzalo Blousson, Presidente del Partido Liberal Libertario, sobre actualidad y desafíos que enfrenta Argentina

BRAZIL
Andres Oppenheimer: Brazil should stop being self-absorbed giant

A Visit Angers Brazil’s Pro-Cubans
Protests Greet Havana Dissident, Highlighting Latin America’s Still-Strong Love Affair With Castro

CHILE
Chile’s Gen Pinochet ‘tried to cling to power’ in 1988
Pinochet wanted to hold on to power when he lost a referendum on his rule in 1988, newly declassified documents in the US suggest.

Russian inmate joins Chilean club
A Russian inmate is allowed to remain in Chile and play for a local football club after serving three-year prison sentence for drug smuggling.

CUBA
The Old Act of Repudiation

Cuba under Raúl: He’s tinkered but it’s the same old machine

The spirit of freedom is strong in my hometown of Antilla, Cuba

Why Is UN Praising the Castro Regime?

20 Of The Most Embarrassing Moments In The History Of The Democrat Party

11) The Bay of Pigs (1961): After training a Cuban militia to overthrow Castro, Kennedy got cold feet and didn’t give the men all the air support they were promised. As a result, they were easily defeated by Castro’s men and today, Cuba is still ruled by a hostile, anti-American dictatorship.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
If Only CNN had the resources that the Daily Caller Does…

ECUADOR
Ecuador’s presidential election
More of the same, please

EL SALVADOR
Memories of Stolen Children

HAITI
UN rejects Haiti cholera compensation claims
The United Nations has formally rejected compensation claims by victims of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed almost 8,000 people.

JAMAICA
Lenten diet

MEXICO
Will Mexico Welcome Wildcatters?
The new finance minister says his country needs entrepreneurs to find untapped energy reserves.

Mexico’s disappeared
Into thin air

Brewer: Border not Secure, Drug Cartels ‘Ready to Come Across’

PANAMA
Amazing!

PERU
Sendero Luminoso, fragilidad institucional y socialismo del Siglo XXI en el Peru

PUERTO RICO
Bond Investors Wade Back Into Puerto Rico

José Aponte Votaría Por Reforma Legislativa Si Le Hacen Otra Tarja

URUGUAY
Uruguay’s culture of impunity continues to rear its head
Judge Mariana Mota’s transfer shows that the country’s culture of impunity for the crimes of dictatorship still endures.

VENEZUELA
A Mixed Message From Chavismo On President Chávez’ Health

Will they dare to swear in Chavez in the dark?

300 officials from the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Force (FAR) are taking part in strategic decisions made in security and defense in Venezuela.

LETTER FROM CARACAS
SLUMLORD
What has Hugo Chávez wrought in Venezuela? The Tower of David, among other things.

Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas: “The president holds firm to C
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering breathing problems following his return from Cuba where he was treated for cancer, officials say.

The week’s posts and podcasts:
Remembering Brothers to the Rescue

Next thing you know, she’ll be sending Hugo Chavez a get-well card

Ted Cruz and guns

Two questions re: Hugo Chavez

Podcast: US-Latin America: Chavez, and other issues

ARGENTINA
Pensions in Argentina
Now or never
The government drags its feet over compensating pensioners for inflation

BOLIVIA
Bolivia: Morales criticises Chile over sea and soldiers
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has renewed his calls for the release of three soldiers arrested in Chile.

BRAZIL
Brazil’s zombie politicians
Unstoppable?
Despite serial corruption allegations, the old guard just keeps coming back

CHILE
Chile’s Sebastian Pinera visits wildfire victims

COLOMBIA
Colombian Farc releases two hostage policemen
Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Farc, has released two hostages held captive since 25 January.

CUBA
Cuban dissident blogger prepares ‘victory’ tour abroad

ECUADOR
Why Ecuador Matters

Assange: Total cost to police Ecuadorian embassy hits £2.9 million

FASHION

JAMAICA
Jamaica agrees $750m IMF loan terms
Jamaica has agreed terms with the International Monetary Fund to receive a new $750m (£483m) loan.

MEXICO
Mexico’s new president
Tearing up the script
Three months after taking office, Enrique Peña Nieto is rewriting his reform agenda

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rican food, beyond rice and beans

US POLITICS
“Cruz has taken the wear-their-scorn-as-a-badge-of-honor approach with his liberal critics.”

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez in first post-surgery images

Devaluating the devaluation

The Gran Inquisitor by Miguel Angel Santos

The week’s posts,
Hugo Chavez reportedly back in Venezuela

Colombia: Good news on the Casona

Mexico develops cheap energy; USA not quite

Pope decided to resign after visiting Cuba and snubbing the Ladies in White

Podcast:
The US & violence in Central America

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s president rocked by biggest protest for a decade

Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez
Brandishing banners and banging on pots and pans, thousands of Argentines take to streets of Buenos Aires to protest against President Cristina Fernandez.

Argentina Puts Pressure on Media Firm

Argentina: Chevron’s Assets Are Frozen

Tango Therapy: A Fun, New Way to Treat Parkinson’s Disease

BOLIVIA
This is what can happen when you are the most interesting man in the world

BRAZIL
Brazil in Africa
A new Atlantic alliance
Brazilian companies are heading for Africa, laden with capital and expertise

Brazil: 13 new deaths in Sao Paulo’s gang battle
More than 90 police officers have been killed this year in the city
At least 13 people have died in fresh violence between police and a gang in Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Cayman allows boat with Cuban migrants to continue to Honduras

COLOMBIA
Colombia President Interrupts Speech for Phone Call from Obama

CUBA
Cuban dissidents detained; Yoani Sánchez released
A group of political dissidents were detained near a Havana police station. Among them: blogger Yoani Sánchez, who was later released.

Whose Brain Is It?

Yaremis Flores, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 11/11/12

GUATEMALA
Guatemala Suffers a Major Quake

JAMAICA
Jamaica approves laws to allow for casino gambling

MEXICO
The Real Victims of Mexico’s Drug War
Not all who die at the hands of the cartels are criminals—and not all who work for them do so willingly.

Mexico moves away from secret military tribunals

Mexico to reconsider joint policies with U.S. amid new state marijuana laws

Organised crime in Mexico
The stakes of marijuana legalisation
Could Mexico’s bandits find themselves undercut by “El Cártel de Seattle”?

PANAMA
Potrerillos Neighborhood Watch Criminal Actively Report: November 7, 2012

PERU
Obama gets endorsement from self-described Peruvian medicine men

Mayor and mafias
A referendum too far

Peruvian Ambassador Resigns After Meeting with Rebel Supporters

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico’s vote for US statehood signals dissatisfaction with status quo
The pro-statehood plebiscite is unlikely to bear fruit, but it does express Puerto Ricans’ anger at being second-class Americans

VENEZUELA
Lying As A Way Of Life In The Chavez Revolution

Miss Venezuela Playboy Bunny Held in Drug Lord Case

ARGENTINA
Argentine Growth Halts as Fernandez Tightens Controls

Paypal suspends domestic transactions in Argentina
Paypal says that international transactions are still possible.
Paypal is to prevent users in Argentina from transferring money between their own accounts.

Argentina mints coin to commemorate Falklands war (h/t GoV)

BRAZIL
Economic policy in Brazil
Sparking recovery
The president cuts taxes again

CHILE
Nuestro Cine: Selling Democracy

COLOMBIA
Michelle Bachelet: Peace cannot be constructed without including women

White House staff involved in Cartagena brothel scandal?

CUBA
JFK Tapes: New Insight Into White House Tensions During Cuban Missile Crisis

Cubans and Americans

ECUADOR
Why Ecuador Is Sheltering Julian Assange
President Rafael Correa continues to follow the Hugo Chávez playbook

HONDURAS
Private city in Honduras will have minimal taxes, government

Vallecito Resists, Satuye Lives! The Garífuna Resistance to Honduras’ Charter Cities (h/t DP)

IMMIGRATION
Immigration Slows, Lowers Proportion of Latin Americans in US

JAMAICA
Jamaica and Zimbabwe
Lovers’ tiff

LATIN AMERICA
Prisons in Latin America
A journey into hell
Far from being secure places of rehabilitation, too many of the region’s jails are violent incubators of crime. But there are some signs of change

MEXICO
President Obama Falsely Claims Fast and Furious Program “Begun Under the Previous Administration”

‘Fast and Furious’ Report Not the End of the Issa-Holder Battle
The chairman says an unprecedented level of cooperation, like that shown to the inspector general, could “perhaps eliminate the need for a protracted fight in the courts.”

IG: WH ‘Made it Impossible’ to Pursue Lead in Fast and Furious Probe

NICARAGUA
Nicaraguan lawmakers approve construction of refinery, pipeline

PDV Caribe, a unit of Venezuelan state oil giant PDVSA, has a 51 percent stake in Albanisa, founded in Caracas on June 17, 2007, while Nicaraguan state oil firm Petronic holds the remaining 49 percent interest.

What could possibly go wrong?

PUERTO RICO

Compartiendo con los empleados del Wendys de Cidra, ya voy de camino para actividad del @pnp_pr yfrog.com/oe29dszj

— Luis Fortuño (@luisfortuno51) September 19, 2012

VENEZUELA
Situación actual de la refinería de Amuay

Venezuelan “Amigos” Upset Over Chavez Ad

Jimmy Carter: Get Lost, Stop Meddling In Venezuela!

ARGENTINA
¡Estamos salvados! Ahora tenemos a Hugo Chávez

YPF-PDVSA partnership

Latin America Gears Up as Bike Hub. I’ve been to Buenos Aires, and I wouldn’t try it. Plus, if Buenos Aires is so intent on “improving quality of life”, they could start by repairing the sidewalks.

BRAZIL
Paulo Coelho v James Joyce
Lost in Translation

Telecommunications in Brazil
The next big blackout?
A swamped mobile-phone network could choke Latin America’s biggest economy

From Poverty to Power
How Good Governance Made Brazil a Model Nation. I wouldn’t call it a model nation yet.

The China Temptation
Why Brazil should reject Beijing’s economic model.

CENTRAL AMERICA
Confronting Drug Gangs in Central America

CHILE
Catholicism Condemns Chileans to Epidemic

COLOMBIA
Acid attacks in Colombia reflect rage

Car bombs cause major blackout in southwest Colombia, via Gates of Vienna.

WHITEWASH IN COLOMBIA, U.S. MILITARY TAKING THE FALL

CUBA
Swede involved in Cuba dissident car crash concerned about fate of Spanish driver

ECUADOR
PDF file H. RES. 745

EL SALVADOR
Rescuing Salvadoran Democracy: Part II
Sen. Marco Rubio wants to suspend aid to the country until constitutional order is restored.

GUATEMALA
Ancient Mayans May Have Sacrificed Earliest Domestic Turkeys, via Gates of Vienna.

JAMAICA
Jamaica at 50: A Caribbean island that has far more to offer than Bob Marley and Usain Bolt…

MEXICO
Schumpeter
Narconomics
From HR to CSR: management lessons from Mexico’s drug lords

Mexico Ousts Brazil as Investors’ Top Choice in Latin America

Mexico rises from the drug ravages

Undefeated
A Mexican demagogue rises again.

PERU
High flying technology to map Peru ruins
Archaeologists in Peru are getting ready to fly an unmanned craft that could radically speed up data gathering at historical sites.

He May Be Leader of Peru, but to Outspoken Kin, He’s Just a Disappointment, via ¡No Pasarán!

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico, Drug Corridor to the Mainland United States

Uncle of Calle 13 hip-hop singer killed in Puerto Rico

URUGUAY
Uruguay Mulls Over Legal Government Marijuana Dealing

VENEZUELA
Sean Penn joins Chavez on campaign in Venezuela

Handles like oil, priced like coal

Venezuela’s army
The vote that counts
Would the generals accept a presidential handover?

The week’s posts:
Crony capitalism: in Argentina, it’s a way of life

Quote of the day

Estas manos/These hands UPDATED

Cuba: Still no offshore oil, but 1 more foreigner taken hostage

Kenya: Venezuelan ambassador murdered

In The Green Room:
Chavez: American “mercenary” detained in Venezuela

ARGENTINA
Diego, Guevara, la Patria amedrentada

Argentina’s dollar deposits down 42.3% from the October peak

British ships banned from docking in Buenos Aires
Ships flying the British ensign have been banned from docking in Argentina’s largest province under a new law passed yesterday. (h/t Gates of Vienna)

BRAZIL
In the Wake of Rio+20, Will Brazil Walk the Talk?

Corruption in Brazil
Justice delayed
The politicians accused of involvement in a vast vote-buying scheme, along with their associates, will face trial at last

COLOMBIA
Mining in Colombia
Digging deeper
The government stands by its new regulatory scheme

CUBA
Russia Installs Nukes In Cuba! What Are They Going To Use Them For?

Quick, get ready for another Castro, here, in the Oval Office !!!!

ECUADOR
The WikiLeaks Way

EL SALVADOR
THE SALVADORIAN CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS, DEMOCRACY AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

HONDURAS
Friday funnies

JAMAICA
Jamaican Fraser-Pryce Repeats Women’s 100 Meters

MEXICO
The Narco Tunnels of Nogales

The tunneling boom reflects not only the extent and financial torque of the Mexican cartels’ operations—estimated in a 2010 Rand Corp. report to turn a $6.6 billion profit every year—but also the futile nature of attempts to secure the U.S. border against drug smugglers. A reliable index of the effectiveness of U.S. interdiction work, says Anthony Coulson, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, is provided by the price of narcotics on U.S. streets; when the authorities succeed in impeding the flow of drugs, the price goes up. Coulson began his career in Tucson in the early ’80s and retired as the head of the agency’s Southern Arizona district in 2010. In Nogales, Ariz., the wholesale price for marijuana is currently $400 a pound. “That’s never changed,” Coulson says, “in 30 years.”

Mexican newspaper attacked for third time in a month
The offices of a major Mexican newspaper were attacked on Sunday for the third time in a month, via Gates of Vienna.

Oil theft in Mexico
Black gold on the black market
Stolen petroleum is a growing source of income for Mexico’s bandits

PUERTO RICO
San Juan mayor camps out to prove streets safe

VENEZUELA
Venezuela Cartoonist Compelled to Hire Bodyguards, Risks 30 Months Behind Bars

Chavez’s Diplomatic Coup Deepens Rift in Brazil-Led Trade Pact

Chavez Off To Brazil To Have Venezuela Join Mercosur

A Gringa in Venezuela’s Highest Court?

Hugo Chavez: An uncounted enemy

Venezuela’s Limardo Olympic Fairytale by Jonathan Liew

ARGENTINA
Argentina will plant 22 percent less wheat this season

BRAZIL

Brazil’s Crisis—and Opportunity
The breakdown of the customs union with Argentina could free it to seek better trade opportunities elsewhere.

Mystery of 500 penguins washed up on beach in Brazil
The bodies of more than 500 penguins have washed up on beaches in southern Brazil over the past week.

Corruption Case Roils Brazil
Allegations against political staff in imminent supreme court case raise concerns in ruling party.

CHILE
The Remarkable Story of Chile’s Economic Renaissance, via Instapundit.

Chile child sex abuse to be investigated at 61 schools
Prosecutors in Chile are investigating about 60 schools in the capital, Santiago, over allegations that pupils were sexually abused.

CUBA
Breaking: Sources from Cuba report Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas killed

No More Statues of Che

Silicone Island

ECUADOR
Ecuadorian banks shield Iran’s money

Ecuador’s embassy hires PR firm

JAMAICA
Jamaica at 50
On your marks, get set…oh
Half a century after Jamaica’s independence from Britain, its economy is struggling to get out of the starting blocks (subscription only)

LATIN AMERICA
Latin America’s new authoritarians

More than two decades after Latin America’s last right-wing dictatorships dissolved, a new kind of authoritarian leader is rising in several countries: democratically elected presidents who are ruling in increasingly undemocratic ways.

Unlike the iron-fisted juntas of a generation ago, these leaders do not assassinate opposition figures or declare martial law.

But in a handful of countries, charismatic populists are posing the most serious challenge to democratic institutions in Latin America since the 1980s, when rebel wars and dictators were the norm. In Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and other countries, leaders have amassed vast powers that they use to control courts while marginalizing their opponents and the media, human rights groups and analysts say.

MEXICO
Mexican president to US: You know, you guys should really review your gun laws

HSBC let drug gangs launder millions: First Barclays, now Britain’s biggest bank is shamed – and faces a £640million fine
HSBC moved huge sum from Mexico into the U.S. between 2007 and 2008

In Mexico, Gold Mines Beckon Once More

Fat And Furious: Obama Pushes Food Stamps In Mexico

PANAMA
Boeing Nears Aircraft Deals with Copa Airlines, Aeromexico and Gol.

PARAGUAY
Old article, but still a must-read, In the Party of God
Hezbollah sets up operations in South America and the United States.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands to partner, manage ocean resources

Puerto Rico Governor Signs Package For Tax Breaks Hoping To Lure Hollywood

VENEZUELA
CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANER: Los tres misterios de Hugo Chávez

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2012/07/22/1255871/carlos-alberto-montaner-los-tres.html#storylink=cpy
THE PRESIDENT’S DENIAL OF VENEZUELA’S NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: WILL THE U.S EVER GET IT RIGHT IN LATIN AMERICA?

The week’s posts,
The taxman cometh, at Hot Air.

Silvio Canto’s podcast (auto start).

Ecuador to channel financial operations with Iran through third parties

Colombia: “What do you believe?”

ARGENTINA
Diminishing differences between Kirchner and military dictator that invaded Falklands in 1982
Cristina Kirchner may be more Machiavelli than Clausewitz, but, like Galtieri, she’s using the Falklands to distract from the increasing domestic problems that are festering under her tenure

COLOMBIA
Politics and crime in Colombia
Double agent

FARC Smuggle Explosives into Cities via Ecuador Border: Police

CUBA
WATCHDOGS: Solons worry Medicare billions going to Castro, Cuba

Medicare fraud worth billions may be steered to Cuba

“Subversive monstrosity”: 500 Cubans attend internet festival in Havana

The Cuba Fallacy

Hiding Cuba’s crimes behind gay rights lies

Cuban activist Bismark Mustelier sentenced to 2 years in prison

ECUADOR
WikiLeaks Finds Its True Home In Banana Republic Ecuador

Julian Assange Might Want to Think Twice About Seeking Asylum in Ecuador
The Ecuadorian government has treated media organizations harshly, though its president seemed to show sympathy for Wikileaks during a recent, collegial TV interview with Assange.

WikiLeaks’s Assange, Ecuador’s Correa, and the Politics of Anti-Americanism

Otto Reich: US Should Not Sign New Trade Agreements with Ecuador

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Self-determination in the South Atlantic

HONDURAS
Violence in Honduras
The eye of the storm
Timid steps to tame the world’s most violent country

JAMAICA
Organised crime in Jamaica
Dudus gets his due

MEXICO
OBAMA BOWS TO MEXICAN PRESIDENT

And how did it go at the G20?

Mexico election diary
#YoSoy132 at a crossroads

Mexico ready to vote, watchful for fraud

Will the PRI Retake Mexico?
Mexican progress may depend on who comes in second in July’s presidential election.

PARAGUAY
Paternity suits, cancer, and now, impeachment, for the bishop-turned-president: Paraguay Senate says impeachment trial of president will start on Friday (slideshow).

Paraguay’s president vows to fight impeachment

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo vowed on Thursday to stand and fight rather than resign after his opponents launched an impeachment drive over a land eviction in which 17 people died last week.

Is it a coup in Paraguay?

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico governor presses for bigger federal presence in Caribbean

Crews put boom around freighter grounded off Puerto Rico island, no signs of pollution

Puerto Rican Militant Accepts Plea Deal in Big 1983 U.S. Heist

URUGUAY
Uruguay marijuana sales to be controlled by state
Uruguay is planning a radical approach to the legalisation of marijuana by proposing the sale of the drug be controlled by the state. Well, that’s one way to make sure the politicians get rich. (h/t GoV)

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s presidential election
Hugo’s last hurrah
In an election campaign like no other, Hugo Chávez must vanquish his own illness as well as an invigorated opposition

The week’s posts:
Whittle on Fast & Furious

Obama: Latinos in, utensils out!

Paraguay: Lugo impeached

Holder in contempt

Why executive privilege over Fast & Furious?

Assange wants asylum in Ecuador

Smart diplomacy: As global leaders gather in Mexico, Obama chews gum

The problem with Panama

At Hot Air: Paraguay: Lugo will be spending time with his families.