Fausta's Blog

The big news this week, Fascist Venezuela: The end of the National Assembly

ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Lures Foreign Buyers
A hunger for stable U.S. dollars is creating opportunities for buyers to nab steeply discounted properties. As long as the properties are owned by sellers willing to do a foreign-account-to-foreign-account sale, that is.

BOLIVIA
Bolivia throws out USAID

BRAZIL
Dams in the Amazon
The rights and wrongs of Belo Monte
Having spent heavily to make the world’s third-biggest hydroelectric project greener, Brazil risks getting a poor return on its $14 billion investment

Shock over latest Brazil bus rape
Police in Brazil are looking for a man who raped a woman on a moving Rio de Janeiro bus, in a case that has shocked the host nation of the football 2014 World Cup.

CHILE
Statistics in Chile
How many Chileans?

COLOMBIA
Colombian government FARC peace talks, first 6 months

CUBA
Political Change in Cuba so that Everything Remains the Same

FBI Adds Cop Killer Joanne Chesimard To Most Wanted Terrorist List
She Was Convicted Of Gunning Down A New Jersey State Trooper In 1973

In poor health, Cuban prisoner of conscience Marcos Lima released from jail

COSTA RICA
Costa Rica Declares Obama Visit a National Holiday

ECUADOR
Judge dismisses $19B Ecuador judgment against Chevron’s Canadian subsidiary

MEXICO
Obama In Mexico Gives Cartels Short Shrift

Evolving U.S.-Mexico Relations and Obama’s Visit

Mexico’s Drug War and Booming Economy

THE GANG OF EIGHT’S TORRENT OF IMMIGRANTS: IS THE REAL NUMBER 57 MILLION?

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua cloud forest ‘under siege’
Indigenous communities say that illegal logging and land speculators are threatening Central America’s most important tropical forest.

PUERTO RICO
Another top university official in Puerto Rico resigns amid protest

URUGUAY
‘Breaking the wall of impunity’ in Uruguay
Uruguayan judges and prosecutors begin to defy the Supreme Court of Justice’s closure of human rights investigations.

VENEZUELA
For foreign non-illustrated media and chavista supporters: chavismo media lock up

Mario Vargas Llosa: La muerte lenta del chavismo
PIEDRA DE TOQUE. Al mismo tiempo que el Gobierno de Nicolás Maduro convertía el Parlamento en un aquelarre de brutalidad, la represión se amplificaba y se detenía a funcionarios por votar a la oposición

The week’s posts and podcast:
About cinco de mayo, the American holiday

Venezuela: 50 shades of crazy

Obama in Costa Rica

Cuba sheltering Most Wanted Terrorist

Venezuela: The Cuban perp?

Obama heads to Mexico

Fascist Venezuela: The end of the National Assembly

Bolivia: No term limit for Evo

Ecuadorian Ambassador to Peru allegedly kicks a woman in public

Cuba’s message to dissidents: You had your trip, now we’re coming after you

Immigration from south of the Mexican border

Podcast: In Silvio Canto’s podcast.

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s Betrayal
The Kirchner government has decided to whitewash Iranian terrorism

The IMF and Argentina
Motion of censure
The fund blows the whistle

BRAZIL
U.S. Corn-Ethanol Producers: Curb Imports From Brazil
The U.S. corn-ethanol industry is urging the Obama administration to cut down on imports of a different type of ethanol from Brazil, in a bid to reduce competition and improve its bottom line.

CHILE
Chile orders Neruda exhumation
A Chilean judge orders the exhumation of the remains of the poet Pablo Neruda, as part of an investigation into claims he was poisoned in 1973.

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s peace talks
Trying to stay the course

ECUADOR
Ecuador’s election
The man with the mighty microphone
Having mixed the good, the bad and the ugly during six years in power, Rafael Correa is heading for another term

Ecuador’s Permanent Mob-Rule Campaign
By demonizing opponents and changing voting law, President Rafael Correa assures his re-election.

LATIN AMERICA
Annals of government intervention: Pemex, Argentina, and Brazil

More Bayly, in Spanish,

MEXICO
Some good and bad news from Mexico

A Poor Decision…

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua Aims to Become New Luxury Hotspot

PARAGUAY
The last caudillo
Lino Oviedo’s death may help the Colorados return to power

PERU
Peru, Chile and Bolivia hit by floods after heavy rain

PUERTO RICO
36 Hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s economy
Out of stock
The cost of postponing an inevitable devaluation

The week’s posts & podcast:
Venezuela: Pining for the fjords?

Ecuadorian minister lies about Cory Booker

The real scandal in the Menendez story…

Podcast:
The latest from Spain & Latin America

ARGENTINA
Energy in Argentina
Sparks in the dark
A half-hearted policy retreat

BOLIVIA
VIDEO SURFACES OF BOLIVIAN LAWMAKER ALLEGEDLY RAPING WOMAN INSIDE PARLIAMENT

Nationalising utilities in Bolivia
From tap to socket
Can the government do a better job than the private sector?

U.N. ruling heartens Bolivian coca growers

BRAZIL
Wrong numbers
More inflation, less growth

COLOMBIA
Colombian Rebels Kidnap Five Mining Workers

As Colombia aims for peace, some see the guerrillas diversifying
As Colombia and the FARC guerrillas negotiate peace in Havana some fear the rebel group is diversifying beyond the drug trade.

COLOMBIA
Central America’s tiny states caught in deadly crossfire of battle with cartels
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and even tourist-friendly Costa Rica are now caught up in the drugs trade

CUBA
On revolutionary icons and news not fit to print

ECUADOR
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DARWIN

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Falkland Islanders to hold referendum on their future March 10-11

LATIN AMERICA
COUNTERING IRAN: A BILL SIGNED, SEALED, BUT WILL IT DELIVER?, via Joel Frewa.

MEXICO
China Plan Raises Ire in Mexico

Plans to build a large, permanent exposition center for Chinese-made goods near Cancún have triggered an outcry from Mexican industrialists who struggle to compete with Chinese manufacturing.

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua sentences 18 Mexicans to 30 years

PUERTO RICO
Despite Advocates’ Claims, No Clear Consensus on Puerto Rican Statehood

Puerto Rican Stars Gear Up for World Baseball Classic, via Dick.

VENEZUELA
Pablo Medina denuncia presencia de 4.500 militares cubanos en Fuerte Tiuna

Is Hugo Chavez Schrödinger’s Cat?

Chávez’s useful idiots
The demagogue of Caracas has helped sustain a long tradition of left-wing fellow travelling

Another day, another scandal. Or is it all planned provocation?

ezuela’s presidency
Brotherly love in the Bolivarian Republic
With the president ill, who is really running the country?

Tweet of the week:

Dios bendiga a Venezuela que tiene ahorados presidentes… uno maduro y el otro podrido..

— Willie Colón (@williecolon) January 16, 2013

The week’s posts:
Venezuela, Cuba: Chavez deathwatch.

Holder withholding Fast & Furious docs

Ampuero now in translation

In Silvio Canto’s podcast

Hagel on Cuba: Feel the love

ARGENTINA
Argentina Media Group Suffers Reversal in Court

Ghana Ordered to Release Argentine Ship

BRAZIL
Brazil’s Graft Probe Now Targets Ex-Leader
Da Silva Denies Wrongdoing in Vote-Rigging Scheme Under His Tenure, but Supreme Court Justices Call for Another Look

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Cayman Islands leader arrested in corruption probe

CHILE
Mysterious mass whale graveyard unearthed in the Chilean desert
Scientists are baffled after finding fossil remains of 75 whales that died within yards of one another, more than a kilometer away from the sea.

COLOMBIA
El riesgo populista

COSTA RICA
30 Years Of Recipes Down The Drain: Ex-Pats in Costa Rica Try Cooking Up A New Life

CUBA
Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression

Jailed Spanish activist Angel Carromero may leave Cuba

Obama’s Vision for Cuba Turns a Blind Eye Towards History

Cuban political prisoner Calixto Ramon Martinez ends hunger strike

Projects Fair

EL SALVADOR
MS-13 Leader Sentenced in Juvenile Prostitution Case

HONDURAS
Press freedom group in Honduras denounces “censorship” of radio ad supporting the democratization of the broadcast spectrum

‘Technical’ coup against Supreme Court (Part 2)

MEXICO
Obama Ignores Ex-Marine Wrongly Held In Mexican Jail

Mexico’s crime wave has left about 25,000 missing, government documents show

NICARAGUA
Back in Sandinista Days . . .
John Kerry now talks a moderate game; but what does the record say?

Today’s Video: Telenovelas for Change

PANAMA
Panamanian held in Spain with cocaine breast implants
A Panamanian woman has been arrested in Spain with fake breast implants that turned out to be plastic bags containing 1.4kg of cocaine.

PARAGUAY
Children discover Mozart in Paraguay landfill, playing instruments made from recycled garbage

PERU
IPYS condemns change in law that classifies national security information in Peru

PUERTO RICO
Moody’s downgrades University of Puerto Rico bonds

Puerto Rico family mourns death of girl, 6, in Connecticut school shooting

URUGUAY
Mujica reconoció haber estado internado en un psiquiátrico porque se “figuraba voces”

VENEZUELA
Will the State Department Legitimize a Narco-Authoritarian Regime in Venezuela?

Chávez’s Outlook Darkens, Doctors Say
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s cancer is most likely terminal given the disease’s recurrences, say several leading cancer specialists not involved in the treatment.

With Hugo Chavez cancer-stricken, regional elections in Venezuela suddenly hugely important

Trying (Not) To Look At Venezuela’s Sunday’s Gubernatorial Elections

Post Chávez Surgery, Venezuela Warns of ‘Difficult’ Days

Nicolas Maduro, bus driver turned vice president, could succeed Hugo Chavez

Post Chavez scenarios

The week’s posts:
BBC Four – La Confiteria Ideal

Iran, McAfee, Litvinenko in the news; and don’t overdo the Gangnam

Post-Chavez Venezuela: Corruption and chaos

Chavez: “I do not surrender political power, I delegate it.”

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s debt default
The noose tightens

Argentina rejects US ruling over foreign debt repayment
Argentina will appeal against a US ruling ordering it to pay $1.3bn (£800m) to foreign creditors holding bonds that it defaulted on in 2001.

I was in Buenos Aires the day Kirchner died, and the graffiti read, “Evita and Nestor, together in heaven”; Make room, Evita: Argentine leader seeks to put late husband Nestor Kirchner on Peron pedestal. The only surprising thing is that it’s taken Cristina two years.

BRAZIL
Brazil busts corruption ring

CHILE
Chile Faces Hurdles to Sustain Robust Economic Growth

COLOMBIA
Land reform in Colombia
Peace, land and bread
The hard bargaining start

FARC rebels release 4 Chinese oil workers

Colombia Farc rebels optimistic about Cuba peace talks
Negotiators from Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Farc, say they are highly optimistic about peace talks currently under way in the Cuban capital, Havana.

From Colombian evangelicals to Jews in region with a hidden Jewish past

CUBA
As predictable as a soiled diaper on a newborn baby

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic’s Taxing Turn
Servicing its debt will take 44% of government revenue by 2015, despite steep new taxes.

A rum do
The new president faces a tax revolt

HAITI
Haitian ex-soldiers in hiding renew call for president to restore disbanded military

MEXICO
Lame-duck lameness: Mexico’s President Calderon seeks to change country’s name
Profile: Felipe Calderon
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent a bill to congress to change the official name of the country.

Chinese-Mexicans expelled during xenophobic period celebrate anniversary of repatriation

From darkness, dawn
After years of underachievement and rising violence, Mexico is at last beginning to realise its potential, says Tom Wainwright

1 of FBI’s 10 most wanted arrested in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Colombia awaits government´s San Andrés reaction (h/t Silvio Canto)

PANAMA
Angry Panama
The earthbound bite back
Why is Latin America’s fastest-growing country so furious?

PUERTO RICO
The 51st state?
America may not want what its Caribbean outpost now does

Ex-boxer Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho dies after shot

TURKS & CAICOS
The Turks and Caicos Islands
Paradise interrupted
A troubled Caribbean territory tries to turn over a new leaf

VENEZUELA
Breaking Bad? Venezuela National Guard finds buried stash of cash
Security forces in Venezuela have found $550,000 (£343,000) buried near the border with Colombia, interior ministry spokesman Jorge Galindo said.

The building up of a FARC/drug corridor in Venezuela

Accomplices Galore

The week’s posts:
Venezuelan immigration to the USA quadrupled over the past 15 years

Argentina: Now on general strike

Mexico: No Iran or Hezbollah here

ARGENTINA
Argentine Death Spiral Watch

Argentine leader defies her critics

Cristina Fernandez ruffling feathers with the Falklands to mask domestic failings
Several British newspapers have turned their eyes on Argentina arguing that the challenging situation faced by President Cristina Fernandez both domestically and internationally is making her increasingly take advantage of the Falkland Islands dispute as a smokescreen to mask domestic failings.

Ghana court refuses to free Argentine warship Libertad
A Ghanaian court has refused to free an Argentine warship seized in a debt dispute involving the South American nation’s creditors. At The Economist, Argentina’s debt default
Caught napping
Hold-out creditors seize an Argentine ship in Ghana. WSJ: Chasing Deadbeat Argentina
A U.S. investor tries to get its money back from Buenos Aires.

BRAZIL
Barbosa made first black head of Brazil’s Supreme Court

Massive Corruption Scandal Is Victory for Brazilian Courts, via Instapundit.

Brazilian politics
Local action
Voters ignore the Workers’ Party’s troubles

Shots fired as police swoop 10 minutes before 100 followers of Brazilian doomsday cult were due to commit mass suicide over end of the world
Authorities believed the group were preparing to drink soup laced with poison
They had barricaded themselves inside house after leader convinced them apocalypse would happen at 8pm yesterday
Luis Pereira dos Santos held as ‘toxic’ fruit tub is found… he claimed angel told him when the world would end
Police removed 19 children after ‘credible’ information about suicide pact (h/t GoV)

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Is Cayman committing economic suicide? (H/T Instapundit)

CHILE
Entrepreneurs in Latin America
The lure of Chilecon Valley
As America shuts out immigrant entrepreneurs, Chile welcomes them

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s Military to Play Crucial Role in Peace Talks

CUBA
Cuba Almost Became a Nuclear Power in 1962
The scariest moment in history was even scarier than we thought.

Three Elections, One Country

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominicans march against proposed tax hikes

ECUADOR
High Court Rejects Chevron Challenge in Ecuador Case

ENERGY
Which Biofuels Hold the Most Promise for the Future – Interview with Jim Lane, along with US Imports from Venezuela of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products, from K.

LATIN AMERICA
Gini back in the bottle
An unequal continent is becoming less so

NICARAGUA
Nicaraguan businessman sentenced to 30 years on drug charges

PANAMA
Message for US Citizens – US Ambassador to hold Town Hall in Panama City

PERU
Journalist working for human rights commission in Peru is threatened and extorted

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico drops plan to build natural gas pipeline that was opposed by many islanders

TRINIDAD
Jack Warner bans Trinidad and Tobago murder figures
Police in Trinidad and Tobago have been ordered to stop releasing murder statistics.

VENEZUELA
Hugo Chávez accused of spying on rival in runup to presidential election

Impacts of the Venezuelan Crude Oil Production Loss

Venezuela’s presidential election
Stuck with him
After a surprisingly comfortable re-election, Hugo Chávez will have to surmount a shaky economy and the risk his cancer will return

Venezuela’s Chavez hails ‘perfect’ democracy, mocks tyrant image
* Socialist leader re-elected with 55 pct of vote
* Opposition’s Henrique Capriles contemplates future
* Bonds fall on investor gloom at Chavez victory

Venezuela’s Farce Election

Chavez’s Win Proves ‘Elected Autocrat’ Isn’t an Oxymoron

El club de admiradores de Chávez
Las elecciones en Venezuela tendrán repercusiones en toda América Latina y aun más allá

Chávez Taps His Possible Successor

The Devil, The Future, The Past and The Present

Otto Reich: What Happened in Venezuela?

NORIEGA: Chavez victory may be short-lived
Democratic base motivated against ailing dictator

Jaime Bayly’s take (in Spanish),

The week’s posts and podcast,
Sin Zeta*

Venezuela: How Chavez won

Venezuela: Election aftermath

Podcast: Silvio Canto‘s

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
Argentina’s dubious poverty line
The six-peso diet
Rumbling stomachs, grumbling citizens

BRAZIL
Petrobras Seeks Partner for Deep-Water Gulf Operations . . . in the Gulf of Mexico

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s Leader Expects More Violence in Short Term

COSTA RICA
Costa Rica Escapes Major Damage After Most Severe Earthquake in Two Decades
The Wednesday quake proved the sturdiness of the Latin American nation’s structural codes

CUBA
Mauricio Claver-Carone: Cuba’s American Hostage
The White House calls for the release of Alan Gross but puts scant pressure on Havana to let him go.

Something More Than Numbers

MEXICO
Banned in Juarez

Second arrest in “Fast and Furious” killing

NICARAGUA
Iran’s Hezbollah Creeping Toward Our Doorstep

That makes the recent news from Israeli Radio that Iran has set up and supplied a Hezbollah training camp for 30 terrorists in Nicaragua near the Honduran border all the more significant. The base serves as a “meeting point for drug cartels” to acquire weapons and launder money, Israeli Radio says.

PERU
Peru’s Shining Path
Still smouldering
An attempt to form an extremist party

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico money laundering case ends with prison

VENEZUELA
Venezuela Seized a U.S. Flagged Ship and Has Been Holding It For a Week

Lost in the supermarket

Chavez’ Ever Morphing Petrorinoco Investment Instrument

ARGENTINA
With Argentina reeling from economic downturn, the government is recruiting migrant workers and kids to stay in power

Argentine leader’s image falls as inflation soars

Tango world cup slide show at the WSJ

BRAZIL
Electricity taxes in Brazil
Untangling the custo Brasil

Olympic flag taken up to Rio’s Christ Statue
The Olympic flag receives a special blessing from seven different religions at Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer Statue. (h/t Gates of Vienna)

CHILE
In Chile, Jews face new dangers and old fears
President of Chile’s Jewish community tells ‘Post’ neo-Nazi violence, Palestinian anti-Israelism, Islamism on the rise (h/t Gates of Vienna), and Police in Chile guard Jews after anti-Semitic attacks
Many leftists in Latin America have become more vocal in their criticism of Israel.

CUBA
What Castro Does to Peaceful Women

A glimpse behind the curtain

“Boo-Hoo” for Diana Nyad

Terabytes

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Medina’s turn
New rum in old bottles

ECUADOR
Morning Bell: WikiLeaks’ Anti-Americanism Now Backed by Ecuador

THE ASSANGE CASE AND ECUADOR: CORREA POSITIONS HIMSELF AS CHAVEZ’S INTERNATIONAL SUCCESSOR

Ecuador and Julian Assange
An Ecuadorean history of the world
Rafael Correa is using the Assange case to stake a claim to leadership of the Latin American far-left. He may find the spotlight uncomfortable; a seldom-noticed fact,

The right to grant asylum in embassies is not recognised by international law or the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. Latin America is the only region in the world where this practice is established—a consequence of the region’s history of political repression.

How Julian Assange can still outfox Britain

EL SALVADOR
Strong Quake Hits Off El Salvador Coast

MEXICO
The Mexican Press Under Fire
Dozens of journalists have been murdered and media properties attacked in the past six years.

The ‘journalists’ with a cool $7 million

One can only surmise without proof. But don’t be surprised if it turns out that the group was part of a cartel squad sent to strong-arm judges, prosecutors, witnesses and others related to the case.

Related story also in the Nicaragua section below.

Mexico replaces all federal police at key airport (h/t Gates of Vienna).

Mexico Says Police Shot U.S. Officials
Federal Officers Were Among Gunmen Who Pursued, Injured Two Diplomats, Ministry Says; Incident Under Investigation

Mexico’s stock exchange
Elektric shock
Magic realism in Mexico’s stockmarket

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua Seizes $7 Million from Fake Journalists

PANAMA
10,000 Positions Available At “Mega Job Fair” in San Miguelito

This is actually a “bad news” article. There are 10,000 openings available just at this job fair. Only 2,334 people showed up, and most of them are already working somewhere else. They just wanted to see what was available, to see if they could jump from one company to another to improve their position, pay, benefits, or what have you. So, there are still many more jobs available than there are people to fill them. This is not good for a hot and growing economy. It’s nice that there’s now practically zero unemployment (or full employment) in Panama, however if there there no more people, then the economy cannot continue to expand. Need more warm bodies, quickly…

PERU
Peru Protests Slow Mine Plan, Growth

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Ricans reject constitutional changes in upset vote

URUGUAY
Uruguay’s plan to sell pot may not be that crazy

VENEZUELA
Explosion at Venezuela Refinery Kills 19

Another Terrible Tragedy Due To Chavista Mismanagement

Venezuela’s presidential campaign
Gaining ground

The week’s posts:
Venezuela: Refinery explosion

No more “Coca-Cola, Cawy, Materva and Ironbeer”

Isaac? No problem!

The border conspiracy: PJM Videos Show How One Texas County Fakes Crime Statistics to Make the Border Look Safe

Argentina: tango festival in full swing

Venezuela: Protestors charge Chavez’s stage

Puerto Rico: The night of the iguana

BOLIVIA
Bolivia to consider nationalizing embattled silver project

BRAZIL
Credit in Brazil
Maxing out
A spike in defaults signals a need for caution, not yet panic

CUBA
Cholera death toll at 158; Cuba scrambles to fight rare cholera outbreak, and the understatement of the week, An outbreak of cholera tests a much-praised health system

Cuba Seeks Closer Ties With Beijing

Remembering the “13 de marzo” Tugboat Massacre, July 13, 1994

ECUADOR
Ecuador to make ‘sovereign’ decision on Assange: president

Assange and Ecuador: A toxic mix
Analysis: Why WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Ecuador are so bad for each other

HONDURAS
Honduran seizures raise fear of wider conflicts

LATIN AMERICA
South American integration
Mercosur RIP?
Mounting protectionism and the rule-breaking admission of Venezuela have fatally undermined a once-promising trade block

MEXICO
After Mexico’s election
Counted out
López Obrador, sore loser

NICARAGUA
No New Property Waiver for Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega

PARAGUAY
Paraguay’s presidential coup: the inside story

The Significance of Paraguay
It is still a functioning democracy, which is more than we can say about Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Paraguay counts cost of Lugo’s sacking

Franco’s challenge

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Seeks US Help to Fight Crime, Drugs

VENEZUELA
To Power Syria, Chávez Sends Diesel

Venezuela’s presidential campaign
Tilting the pitch
The opposition faces some extraordinary obstacles

US VIRGIN ISLANDS
Virgin Islands governor’s chief of staff resigns after seeking favorable tax breaks

The weeks’s posts:
10 ways Chavez has presented a national security threat

Integration through welfare dependence: SNAP to the Parque Alegría dole

National Drug Intelligence Center closed

Argentina bans buying dollars

Venezuela: Chavez gives China control over oil

Assange comfy…at the Ecuadorian embassy