LATIN AMERICA
LatAm targeted in Wikileaks document dump (updated)
ARGENTINA
Is Argentina Washing Dirty Money?
WikiLeaked cable 1257 suggests that it is.
The cable leads with a summary that states “the FATF operational team leader is skeptical of the [government’s] intentions” to deal with these problems. “Some embassy contacts argue that the current [government] leadership, including the president, stands to lose from honest and vigorous pursuit of money laundering.”
More worrying is where the embassy believes this could lead. “The near complete absence of enforcement coupled with a culture of impunity and corruption make Argentina ripe for exploitation by narco-traffickers and terrorist cells,” the cable says. “For the most part, [embassy contacts] insist that terror financing is seldom, if ever transacted in Argentina. Most maintain, however, that narcotics-trafficking is becoming a real problem and that, increasingly, the dirty money sloshing through the financial system originates in the drug trade.”
One notable opinion in the report allegedly comes from “Fabio Contini, the Italian national who heads the [FATF’s] operational review team [and] has spent over a year in Argentina as the Economic and Financial attaché at the Italian embassy.” Mr. Contini, the report claims, “has a sober view of the [government’s money-laundering/counter-terrorism financing] efforts, which he deems little more than a fig-leaf.” According to the cable, he maintains that Argentina’s actions “are calculated for minimal compliance with international standards and evince little real enthusiasm for cleaning up the financial system.”
Argentina’s president
Tiptoeing to the centre
A quiet approach to the IMF
BARLOVENTO
“EL BARLOVENTO QUE NO QUEREMOS VER”
CUBA
Trying to forget: Torture haunts freed Cuban journalist
Cuba, Bush and “The Lives of Others”
Positivity: Exiled Cubans discuss role of faith in prison
France, Cuba resume cooperation
Obama Blocks US Companies From Drilling Off Coasts – Cuba Will Proceed With Drilling Plans
Cubacel, In Bed With The Censorship
Cuban Blawger Uses the Law to take on the State
ECUADOR
Ecuador to Wikileaks Douchebag: On Second Thought, Maybe It’s Not a Good Idea to Come Here
GUATEMALA
Guatemalan journalism increasingly threatened by organized crime
HAITI
As bad as advertised
HONDURAS
Presidente de CSJ: “No le tengo miedo a la verdad”
Five more naturalized citizens to lose their status
Blogicito: Honduras attacks freedom of speech
Blogicito: Freedom of expression is a human right, not a Honduran right
Pensieve: President Lobo vs. Free Speech
Honduras: Libre Democratica Independiente: I condemn the attempt on the freedom of expression of Mr. Federico Alvarez
El Peragrimo: Nationality versus Civil Rights: The Curious Case of Honduras
MEXICO
Standing Up to the Drug Cartels in Mexico
. . . And paying the ultimate price
20 Bodies Found In Mexico ‘Mass Grave’
Tourism in Mexico
Can’t keep them away
The drug war fails to deter holidaymakers
PANAMA
Christmas for the Kids
Consumption or production; What’s a better indicator of a healthy economy?
PERU
Peru has lowest exchange rate volatility in Latin America
Peru’s archaeological heritage
Homeward bound
An agreement to return Inca treasures
VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s having disastrous mud slides caused by heavy rains. The following YouTube shows some of the damage (ignore the Chavista propagandist yammering on and on)
Damage at Tamanaquito, where 158 houses collapsed, and the rubble removal has to wait until 100+ gas tanks have to be removed,
Venezuela politics: New geography of power
Wikileaks: Caracas Chronicles Full of Expletive If Wikileaks is right, Hugo Chávez is an American Stooge
Post re-edited to add an omitted item.
