A very big deal we haven’t been paying attention to: Russia is building an electronic intelligence-gathering facility in Nicaragua.
ARGENTINA
Argentina raises Falklands negotiations at UN meeting – is that why Macri is so desperate to have Malcorra named as UN Secretary General?
A Cautionary Tale of ‘Stem Cell Tourism’
Ephedrine Traffic: Kirchner’s Cabinet Chief in the Crosshairs Again
BOLIVIA
Sex, lies and paternity claims: Bolivia’s president reels amid tumultuous scandal
The Jewish year is 5776, and the Chinese is 4712; now Bolivia’s leader wants you to know: It’s the year 5524. Set Your Clocks Forward: Bolivia’s President Says That It’s the Year 5524
BRAZIL
As the Olympics Near, Brazil and Rio Let the Bad Times Roll
WADA Suspends The Only Doping Lab in Brazil
Brazil’s Shuttered Anti-Doping Lab
Come to the Olympics in Brazil — Zika is under control, says Brazil’s health minister.
#Rio2016: World is ready, but is Brazil?
CHILE
Chile to preserve Colonia Dignidad cult archive
Colonia Dignidad’s documents spelling out the torture and other abuses that happened in the cult are important in investigating crimes of the Chilean military dictatorship, the National Monuments Council said while announcing its decision to preserve the archive.
The closed, cult-like community was set up in 1961 by former Nazi and convicted pedophile Paul Schäfer, ushering his decades-long rule over hundreds of mostly German expats. Schäfer and other cult members molested children and prevented adults from leaving the estate in central Chile.
After General Augusto Pinochet took power in Chile in 1973, the cult leadership started cooperating with the regime and offering their premises as a torture camp and a warehouse for weapons and poison gas.
Chile returned to democracy with Pinochet stepping down in 1990, leading to a public shift on the status of the German enclave. Schäfer was forced to flee the country in 1997, but was arrested in 2005 and died in prison in 2010.
COLOMBIA
Peace, at last, in Colombia
Historic Peace Agreement in Colombia
Let’s hope it holds.
CUBA
House lawmakers blocked from visiting Cuba. Chairman McCaul’s Cuban Visa Crisis
Obama dispatches Shaquille ‘Kazaam’ O’Neal to apartheid Cuba as ‘Sports Envoy’
ECUADOR
Venezuela vs. Ecuador (Chavismo vs. Chavismo Dollarized)
Sweden asks to meet Julian Assange inside Ecuador embassy
MEXICO
From Mexicata:
New Criminal Justice System now in effect throughout Mexico, Office of the Mexican Presidency
‘The Vulture of Impunity’ casts a Shadow over ‘Mexico’s Moment,’ by J. Tadeo (openDemocracy)
As Cartels Ebb, Kidnapping is on the Rise in Mexican States, by Patrick Corcoran (InSight Crime)
Russia and Nicaragua have agreed a deal for an electronic spy base
Moscow will also give Nicaragua 50 tanks as part of the deal
In the 1980s Nicaragua’s Sandinista regime was a sworn enemy of US
Russia has also announced plans to deploy missiles in Kaliningrad enclave
PANAMA
Panama Canal Expansion Opens Tomorrow
Redone Panama Canal deepens port rivalries
Panama Canal expansion will affect shipping — but how?
PARAGUAY
Drug Czar Steps Down After Deadly Anti-Cannabis Operation
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Governor suspends payments on infrastructure debt
URUGUAY
CHAIRMAN ROYCE: FORMER GITMO DETAINEE’S ESCAPE FROM URUGUAY UNDERSCORES NEED TO HALT FUTURE RELEASES. He was in Brazil, doing what?
Mass Famine Is Imminent as Neighbors, Washington Stand By
UPDATE
Linked to by Da Tech Guy. Thank you!
This is not a spy facility but a GLONOSS (Russian GPS) control station GLONOSS is used by IPhones and Android phones for Map locations,
The US has several Control stations around the world also.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GLONASS
OOPS GLONOSS should be GLONASS sorry
And the ships? http://abcnews.go.com/International/russian-spy-ships-arrival-cuba-raises-eyebrows/story?id=28377558