Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

December 30, 2016 By Fausta

Today’s news, in 1 tweet

Putin Stunner: "We Will Not Expel Anyone; We Refuse To Sink To 'Kitchen' Diplomacy" | Zero Hedge https://t.co/cS5l1R7AMi #Russia

— Fausta (@Fausta) December 30, 2016

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Russia, Vladimir Putin Tagged With: Fausta's blog

November 7, 2016 By Fausta

Will the Cuban vote decide FL for Trump?

Mary O’Grady posits an interesting scenario,
The Cost of Obama’s Cuba Policy. Exiles who oppose normalization could give Trump Florida’s 29 electoral votes.

Cuban-Americans who initially supported Mr. Obama’s outreach are increasingly disillusioned with an administration strategy that helps the Castros but leaves out the Cuban people. This could affect turnout among left-of-center voters who care about human rights.

The Obama policy also seems to be energizing greater numbers of conservative and independent Cuban-Americans to rally behind the Republican candidate. A New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll released on Oct. 30 had the New York real-estate developer leading Mrs. Clinton 52% to 42% among Cuban-Americans. Some read this as a result of recent Trump efforts in south Florida to make himself a champion of Cuban exiles. But it is more likely a rise in the protest vote.

Carlos Eire posted the full article.

I have observed the following here in Miami, a city unlike any other in the nation:
1. No Hillary bumper stickers, lawn signs, or buttons. Not one to be seen.
2. Several Trump lawn signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts (including the guy where I voted), red hats, and a few trucks with banners.
3. Dismal turnout for Hillary or Kaine rallies, thousands for Trump.
4. Spanish-language pro-Hillary door-to-door canvassing that is outright deceitful.
5. Hillary’s campaign approach for the Hispanics: Pandering, pure and simple. Issues such as the economy or national security are rarely, if ever, mentioned.

In spite, or even perhaps because, of #4 and #5, the enthusiasm is with Trump.

Spanish-language television is diehard pro Hillary Clinton, incessantly, referring to her in obeisance as “Mrs. Hillary”, while Donald Trump is called “Trump” at best, usually in hostile terms.

As far as the Puerto Ricans siding with Hillary, I’ve yet to find any whi would admit to it. Instead, several Puerto Rican women are appalled that Hillary showed up with gangster moll Alicia Machado. Likewise with Venezuelans who are U.S. citizens.

Speaking of which, Obama’s answer to Gina Rodríguez’s question didn’t get him any points with anyone who has legally undergone the process to become a U.S. citizen. It was the talk at last night’s dinner.

Regarding Hillary’s famous get out the vote efforts, her campaign did not return the calls of one steadfast supporter.

We’ll find out soon enough how it all works out.

Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.



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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Cuba, Democrats, Fausta's blog, Hillary Clinton Tagged With: Donald Trump, Fausta's blog

September 7, 2016 By Fausta

Some of that Iranian money coming soon to our hemisphere

I posted this morning on how the Most Transparent Administration™ conducts itself in the era of Smart Diplomacy™: Launder $400 million in exchange for five hostages, refuse to call it a ransom, and then launder $1.3 billion more. Make sure it’s all in cash, à la Breaking Bad, load it in pallets, and fly it in, so you bypass the international banking system and Constitutional prohibitions.

That’s only $80million – one hostage’s worth

Must I remind you, Obama took to the airwaves last month and bare-faced lied to all, smirking,

“We announced these payments in January. Many months ago. Th-that wasn’t a secret; we announced them.”

Iran is using that money already. Last month Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif toured Latin America with an entourage of 120 “politico-economic” delegates, stopping in Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela.

Algemeiner interviewed Ilan Berman, vice president of the Washington, DC-based conservative think tank the American Foreign Policy Council (emphasis added),

A vast majority of the hundreds of trade and economic deals Iran has signed with Latin American countries “haven’t amounted to anything, because the Iranians didn’t have any money,” Berman said. “But now, for the first time, Iran has the ability to put its money where its mouth is. Its economy is stabilizing, and it can now capitalize on all those promises it made to solidify its position in the region — and make those trade deals real.”

Iran, Berman stated, is taking a long-term approach to its relationship with Latin America.

Berman discussed how Hugo Chávez saw Iran as an anti-American strategic partner with like-minded countries like Bolivia and Ecuador, which matched Iran’s plans.

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Latin America,” he said. “And what you discover if you spend time down there is that it is like the third inning of a baseball game. Iran has all sorts of strategic interests in the region. Ten years ago, it was worried about Western sanctions; it wanted trade partners that would help it blunt the effect of sanctions. Now the Iranians are out of the box, and they’re looking for where they can increase their legitimacy and where they can increase their cooperation.”

in contrast,

Berman said, “The Obama administration doesn’t have a Latin America strategy at all. All it cares about is resetting relations with Cuba. So it has scoped down what it is interested about in Latin America. There is really no appetite in the White House to start talking about what the Iranians are doing there.”
. . .
“The Obama administration talks a lot about how the deal is tactical — that it is not intended to address Iran’s terrorism or human-rights violations, just strictly to deal with its nuclear program. But the benefits that are conferred to Iran as a result are strategic and transformative. The sanctions regime is a thing of the past; the era of macro sanctions is over. Iran is getting infused with multiple, billion-dollar trade and military deals, and its global ambitions are expanding. The nuclear deal is a gateway drug for Iran to do all sorts of things. Yes, it slows down Iran’s nuclear program, but at the expense of empowering everything else.”

What the “everything else” may turn out to be, we’ll soon find out.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Iran, Latin America, terrorism, Venezuela Tagged With: Fausta's blog

August 15, 2016 By Fausta

The #Rio2016 Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, week 2

While the pools turn green, the athletes are breaking records and earning medals, even if some (like Ryan Lochte and four teammates) get mugged at gunpoint by men in police uniforms.

ARGENTINA
Theresa May reaches out to Argentina with ‘mutual respect’ as she works to ease restrictions on the Falkland Islanders exploiting their oil reserves

BOLIVIA
Evo Morales Confirms Bolivia’s Economic Downturn

BRAZIL
Brazil Mourns Olympics Guardsman Shot in Ambush.Out-of-town officer was part of large security contingent deployed to Rio for Games

Israeli Wrestler Takes Olympic Gold Without Winning Single Match After All Muslim Opponents Forfeit‘

NBC PANIC: RIO RATINGS HIT LOW…

From green pool to missing pontoon, problems won’t go away…

At The Economist, they’re not into records:

Why few records will be broken in Rio: The human body may have reached its limits
The factors fuelling America’s dominance of gymnastics
Why Pacific-island nations are so good at rugby
Olympians have discovered new fads and superstitions

CHILE
Chile’s privatized social security system, beloved by U.S. conservatives, is falling apart

COLOMBIA
Good luck with that: Colombia wants involvement of pope and UN in post-conflict courts.

CUBA
The fruits of “smart diplomacy”: Fidel Castro Lambasts US And Obama On 90th Birthday. The veteran Communist firebrand mocks attempts by America to kill him during Havana’s long Cold War stand-off with Washington.

Judicial Watch Investigates Starwood’s Hotel Deal With Cuban Military

MEXICO
Jorge Ramos Moves Towards Hitting Campaign Trail for Hillary. He will continue to call himself a “journalist,” which brings to mind this,

Mexico’s President Faces New Scrutiny. President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose past two years in office have been shadowed by a conflict-of-interest scandal linked to a Mexico City mansion, is facing new scrutiny linked to the first family’s use of a luxury apartment in Miami.

Ricardo Pierdant, a Miami-based businessman, in 2013 paid close to $30,000 in property taxes on behalf of first lady Angélica Rivera for an apartment she owns in Miami, according to tax records seen by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Pierdant is a close friend of Mexico´s first family, according to Mr. Peña Nieto´s office.

The first lady purchased her apartment in the wealthy island enclave of Key Biscayne in 2005.

Mr. Pierdant subsequently purchased another apartment directly above Ms. Rivera’s, according to Miami property records.

Texas Family Among Those Kidnapped by Los Zetas Cartel in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua’s president makes a farce of democracy

Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega shows his true colors. Since taking office in 2007, the president has concentrated power in his family’s hands

PANAMA
IDEAS PANAMA PAPERS Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mark Pieth: Why We Left the Panama Commission

PARAGUAY
Murders Add to Fears of Narco War in Eastern Paraguay

Paraguay recalls ambassador in diplomatic dispute with Venezuela

Earlier this week, socialist Maduro accused Paraguay of being part of “an extreme right wing alliance” aimed at blocking Venezuela from assuming its role as head of Mercosur as scheduled during the second half of the year.

PERU
PPK works out: Peru’s 77-year-old new president isn’t acting his age. And Peruvians love it.

PUERTO RICO
1 in 4 Puerto Ricans will have Zika by end of year…

URUGUAY
Montevideo Is Considering Joining The Pacific Alliance Trade Bloc, since Peru and Colombia issued an invitation.

VENEZUELA
Again, Venezuelans cross into Colombia after border is reopened

Invictus, via Miguel Octavio,



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Filed Under: Argentina, Barack Obama, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pacific Alliance, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: #Rio2016, Enrique Peña Nieto, Fausta's blog, Jorge Ramos, Panama Papers, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Ricardo Pierdant, Starwood Hotels, Theresa May, Zika virus

August 3, 2016 By Fausta

US paid $400million ransom to Iran

Double-dealing behind Congress’ back, the WSJ article goes on to describe that the Obama administration

procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland

because it is illegal to do so in the U.S.

Read my post, US paid $400million ransom to Iran



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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Iran Tagged With: Da Tech Guy Blog, Fausta's blog, smart diplomacy

July 28, 2016 By Fausta

Cuba: Now that Venezuelan oil runs dry, Cuba wants reparations from the U.S.

Venezuela cuts oil shipments to Cuba forcing Castro to consider veering to U.S.

Cuba, a communist country with a weak economy, has alienated itself from the rest of the world and has largely relied on Venezuela to stay financially afloat. But Venezuela’s falling oil prices is causing Cuba to distance itself from the South American country.

So far this year Venezuelan oil shipments to the island have declined by 19.5 percent, forcing an energy rationing that is reminding people of the early 90s, when the Soviet Union dissolved and Cuba lost its top provider almost overnight.

Now with Venezuela’s wealth slowly fading away, the geopolitical chessboard may change in a way that some say will inevitably drive Havana closer to the U.S.

Indeed, it has – Cuba is now demanding reparations over the so-called embargo:

You see, the Castro regime is claiming that it is owed 833.755 million dollars, for “damages” inflicted on it by the U.S. “blockade.”

Yes, you’ve got that right: the Castro regime claims that it is owed roughly SEVEN times more than it owes the U.S.

$5 says Obama caves in before he leaves office.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Cuba, Venezuela

July 28, 2016 By Fausta

Venezuela: Look where the Gitmo guy went! UPDATED

Authorities in seven countries spent the last month or two trying to locate Gitmo alumnus Abu Wa’el Dhiab, a.k.a. Jihad Ahmad Diyab, a.k.a. Abu Wael Dihab, a.k.a. Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab, who went missing from Uruguay.

For brevity’s sake, let’s call him Diyab.

The former member of the “Syrian Group”, which was “comprised of dismantled terrorist cells that escaped Syrian authorities and fled to Afghanistan (AF) in 2000,” was released by the Obama administration from Guantanamo and sent to Uruguay. He went to Argentina last February, and declared himself  “ready to fight“,

After that, Diyab tried to enter Brazil three times but was turned away at the border. Then authorities lost track of him, until now.

And he’s in Venezuela:
Former Gitmo Detainee Shows Up in Venezuela. Abu Wa’el Dhiab unexpectedly left his home in Uruguay, raising concerns (emphasis added)

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee who unexpectedly disappeared from Uruguay last month showed up in Venezuela on Tuesday, saying he wanted help traveling to Turkey, Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry said.

Abu Wa’el Dhiab, who was transferred by the Obama administration to Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2014, appeared at Uruguay’s consulate in Caracas and asked for assistance to fly to Turkey or some other country to be reunited with his family.

“He made it clear he has no interest in returning to Uruguay, but that he needs our country’s help,” the ministry said late Wednesday, adding that Venezuelan authorities were aware of the situation.

A spokesman for the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in Caracas had said earlier that the office had no information about the former detainee’s arrival.
. . .
Mr. Dhiab’s travel plans may raise additional concern, given Turkey’s porous border with Syria and its use as an entry point for volunteers looking to join Islamic State.

How did he get there? He supposedly needs crutches to walk.

Who helped him along the way? Who’s bankrolling him?

Where is he staying? With whom? Doing what?

UPDATE:
The more I think about it, the worse this story looks.

A known terrorist, who supposedly needs crutches to get around, goes missing for several weeks, to eventually turn up some 4,600 miles away from Montevideo (a little under the distance from New York to Moscow), in Venezuela, of all places, just so he can petition the Uruguayan consulate – which he could do in Montevideo – to “ask for assistance to fly to Turkey or some other country to be reunited with his family.”

This simply does not pass the smell test.

Linked to by Gates of Vienna. Thank you!

————————————————
We mentioned Diyab in last night’s podcast, but we did not know of his whereabouts at the time of the podcast,

Live podcast 8PM Eastern: “Olympics in Brazil, US-Mexico…” hosted by Silvio Canto Jr https://t.co/J9Px2UtslT

— Fausta (@Fausta) July 27, 2016

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Communism, Fausta's blog, terrorism, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Abu Wael Dihab, Abu Wa’el Dhiab, Fausta's blog, Jihad Ahmad Diyab, Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab

July 22, 2016 By Fausta

Mexico: Obama meets with Peña Nieto

and Bloomberg news spells it out for you (emphasis added),

Obama Defies Trump as Mexican Leader Visits After Convention

  • ‘No coincidence’ Pena Nieto meeting’s day after Trump speech
  • Mexican president has compared GOP pick to Hitler, Mussolini

Trump has the POTUS in defiance mode?

I’ll add video if I find the full press conference.

Spanish-language media is having hissy fits over Trump. Jaime Bayly, for instance, called the RNC “this picturesque event, this convention of lunatics, this witches’ sabbath of warlocks and medicine men” – and that was just during the first minute of Tuesday’s show (it goes down from there).

Almost makes me reconsider Trump.

Almost.

Related:
Barack Peña y Enrique Obama (in Spanish)



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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Democrats, Mexico, politics, Republicans, RNC Tagged With: Enrique Peña Nieto, Fausta's blog

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