Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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The impending disaster Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

There’s always an impending disaster. In the case of the Rio Olympics, it looks more likely than most.

ARGENTINA
Argentina gripped by mystery: the ex-minister, a convent and bundles of cash. Ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the church face tricky questions after José López was found trying to stash $8.9m in cash at a nunnery at 4am. Cristina says she doesn’t know who gave him the money:

BOLIVIA
Why Bolivia turned away Bill Gates’ chicken donation. It’s about more than a few ruffled feathers

BRAZIL
Brazil ‘mass rape’ video: Seven suspects to be charged

Brazil’s Rio state declares financial disaster before Games

New Plan to Fix Brazil’s Royal Mess: Restore the Monarchy. How did that work out the first time?

Brazil Gets Worst Possible Resignation On Eve Of Olympics

Brazil President Michel Temer Says Graft Claims Are ‘Lies’

CHILE
Chile’s government, in major defeat, will cease work on key labor reform

The reform, aimed at strengthening organized labor in the South American country, was initially passed by the Senate in March after a bruising battle that opened divisions within the governing Nueva Mayoria coalition.

But Chile’s Constitutional Tribunal in April rejected a provision of the bill that said companies could only negotiate with legally designated unions during collective wage talks.

It also struck part of a measure that prohibited companies from extending many benefits to non-unionized employees.

COLOMBIA
Colombian President Threatens Bloodshed if FARC Peace Deal Fails. Critics Claims Juan Manuel Santos Has Become Too Close with Guerrilla Leaders

Colombia’s pilot crop substitution program to begin on July 10

On the one hand, Colombia sheds cocaine capital image as economy grows

On the other hand,

World Economic Forum in Medellin, Colombia

CUBA
FedEx Downsizes Cuba Ambitions in Amended Flight Request

Stonegate Bank is Breaking the Law by issuing a credit card for use in Cuba.

“Check it out, Mildred!” Rejoice, Cubans, Rejoice! Hark, Hark! Dolce & Gabbana coming soon to the historic center of Old Havana!

GUATEMALA
Guatemala ex-president and deputy face fresh corruption charges

JAMAICA
IMF approves US$80-m disbursement for Jamaica. From the IMF statement,

Jamaica’s economic reform programme supported by the fund’s Extended Fund Facility has made major strides in restoring macroeconomic stability, pursuing fiscal consolidation, reducing public debt and undertaking significant tax policy reforms, building financial sector resilience, and tackling structural issues.

MEXICO
Mexican minister says ties with Canada could strengthen if Trump elected

PANAMA
Panama Papers awarded Investigation of the Year

‘Panama Papers’ firm demands prosecution of suspect in Switzerland

PARAGUAY
Killing of Mysterious Figure Part of Larger Narco War in Paraguay?

PERU
Mrs. Ollanta Humala, Peru: first lady banned from going abroad (emphasis added)

A judge in Peru has banned First Lady Nadine Heredia from leaving the country while she’s investigated for allegedly hiding undeclared campaign contributions. The order handed down Thursday night prevents Heredia from travelling [sic] abroad for four months, as her husband, centrist President Ollanta Humala, leaves office in July.

Heredia has been dogged for years by accusations that she hid large contributions from socialist Venezuela that funded her husband’s 2006 and 2011 campaigns.

PUERTO RICO
Orlando shooting victim’s death takes a toll on Puerto Rico town

Puerto Rico could see hundreds with Zika birth defects, CDC says

URUGUAY
Uruguay: ex-Guantanamo detainee traveled legally to Brazil. He gets around.

VENEZUELA
Beautiful essay: The Last Flight



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The Rolling Stones Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

The weekend’s top story: Lots of dollars, and fifty years late, the Cuban communist regime finally allowed the now septuagenarians Stones to play in the island-prison, while still persecuting the local rockers. As expected, it was largely attended by foreigners who could cough up the admission price.

ARGENTINA
Can Mauricio Macri Save Argentina’s Economy? With Obama’s trip offering new access to international markets, Argentina’s new president will have to be tough to survive the bold reforms he seeks.

Macri’s macroeconomic challenges are vast, however, and success will depend on his administration’s ability to curb a 5.4 percent GDP budget deficit (the biggest since 1982), temper soaring inflation (current annual levels are about 36 percent), and stimulate economic growth. But necessary fiscal and monetary tightening could actually hurt economic improvement in the near term, risking the government’s ability to pay for the costs of implementing longer-term reforms. Already, Argentina’s economy is set to contract 1 percent this year.

Crying in Argentina update: false number of “dictatorship” victims exposed

Nisman Case to Be Investigated as Political Murder, Argentine Court Rules

Nobody promotes freedom abroad like Obama! ‘Decide what works’ between communism, socialism or capitalism and go with it Also at Gay Patriot.

OBAMA ON FREEDOM VS. TOTALITARIANISM — WHATEVER WORKS

Video of the whole speech (41:00 for capitalism vs, communism),

Barack Obama is to tango what Yogi Berra was to water polo.

BOLIVIA
Bolivian State Threatens to Close Down over 500 Radio Stations. Decree by President Morales Hinders Renewal of Licenses

Gabriela Zapata es presa política, dice su abogado. ICYMI: Bolivia Arrests President’s Former Mistress

BRAZIL
Brazil Economic Woes Deepen Amid Political Crisis. Country is heading for one of its worst recessions ever, yet its political straits draw all the attention

Brazil’s Rousseff slams ‘fascist’ attempts to oust her. Brazilian president says in newspaper interview her removal would be a coup

CHILE
Harvest time begins at Latin America’s largest marijuana farm. The pioneering plantation in southern Chile produces about 1.5 tons a year for medical use

Chile’s Future: On the World Stage. What can Chile’s Santiago a Mil festival tell us about the country?

COLOMBIA
“Army searches for explosives buried by the FARC in the areas surrounding schools in Baraya, Huila. More information at 12:30PM”

CUBA
Dissidents’ Delight? New York Times Heaps Praise on Obama, Its Man in Havana

ABC’s Muir Wonders to Obama: Does Castro ‘Have a Point’ Criticizing U.S. for No Universal Healthcare?

ECUADOR
Ecuador Plans to Hike Taxes on Cigarettes, Alcohol and Soft Drinks

GUATEMALA
Guatemala’s CICIG: An Experiment in Motion Gets a Report Card. Two recent reports on Guatemala’s CICIG illustrate the international’s body’s potential to affect powerful shifts in the status quo, as well as its broad limitations.

HONDURAS
Residents Flee Honduran Capital Neighborhood after Gang Threats

MEXICO
How Mexico Awarded $30 Million to Juárez Cartel Operator. A former executive of the Bank of Mexico received government contracts worth over $30 million despite his conviction years earlier of being a financial operator for the Juárez Cartel.

Turning the tables: Mexicans Should Reject Trump’s Populism at Home. Bravado, Victimization, Nationalism All Belong to Mexico’s Political History

Mexican ex-president posts video attacking Trump over planned wall“. Running a business does not mean having the leadership to run a nation,” Fox tells mogul. May I remind you, Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony.

NICARAGUA
As Venezuela Falters, So Too Will Nicaragua

PANAMA
Panama: The Next Big Country for Latin American Films? An exponential surge in the quantity and quality of films has come out of Latin America over the past few years

PERU
Peru’s Electoral Jury Rejects Barring Presidential Candidate Keiko Fujimori

PUERTO RICO
Plan to Rescue Puerto Rico Advances, Led by House Republicans (emphasis added)

The plan, being drafted as legislation by House Republicans, would not grant Puerto Rico’s most fervent request: permission to restructure its entire $72 billion debt in bankruptcy. It would, however, give the island certain crucial tools that bankruptcy proceedings can offer — but only if it first comes under close federal oversight and meets other conditions.

VENEZUELA
Inside Venezuela’s ‘top children’s medical unit’ where patients are dying. Quality health care for everyone in Venezuela was one of the great promises of the revolution but even in the best equipped paediatric unit, there’s a shortage of drugs and medical supplies

Lying about Margarita. Sumito Estévez wants to persuade you Margarita is a swell place to vacation in 2016. In doing so, he makes himself an accomplice to an outright swindle.



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The leap year Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Judge Calls on Ex-Argentine President Kirchner to Testify in Derivatives Case. Request comes as part of probe into allegations central bank sold dollar futures contracts at artificial lows

BOLIVIA
LATIN LEFTY MELTDOWN: Bolivians Reject Evo Morales’s Bid to Lift Term Limits

Gabriela Zapata: Bolivian leader’s former lover arrested.A former lover of Bolivian President Evo Morales is arrested as part of an inquiry into alleged corruption involving government contracts.

BRAZIL
Brazil-Europe undersea cable to hide web traffic from US snooping

CHILE
Argentina and Chile after friendly settlement over extradition of former guerrilla

Argentina will seek a friendly settlement with Chile regarding the long-standing bilateral conflict over the extradition of Galvarino Apablaza before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Apablaza is accused of involvement in the murder of a conservative Senator and kidnapping of a newspaper executive.

COLOMBIA
Colombia Police Director Resigns Amid Prostitution Scandal

CUBA
Halliburton Fined for Cuba Sanctions Violations that took place in 2011

Must-Watch: Kerry Woefully Uninformed, Can’t Name Human Rights Improvement in Cuba

ECUADOR

GUATEMALA
Guatemala military sentenced for rape

JAMAICA
Bad idea: Woman arrested at JFK for smuggling half pound of cocaine in vagina from Jamaica (h/t Ed Driscoll)

LATIN AMERICA
Point: Central America’s Gangs are More Dangerous Than Ever
Counterpoint: International Terror and the Gangs of Douglas Farah

MEXICO
What Drives Crime in Mexico City’s Most Dangerous Areas?

PANAMA
Snubbing Malta for Panama secrecy

PERU
Peruvian President Investigated in Brazil Petrobras Probe

The 44-page federal police report dated Feb. 5 now moves the sprawling corruption probe beyond Brazil’s borders, saying investigators suspect Humala received $3 million in bribes from the large Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for contracts in Peru.

PUERTO RICO
With CDC Help, Puerto Rico Aims To Get Ahead Of Zika

URUGUAY
Uruguay VP Admits He Faked College Degree. Contrary to Official Documents, Interviews, Raúl Sendic Does Not Hold Bachelor’s Degree from University of Havana

VENEZUELA
Venezuela puts off default by shipping tons of gold to Switzerland

Dollar Today: U.S. Court Dismisses Venezuela’s Case Against Currency Website. Venezuela has seven days to amend its case



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The January blizzard Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Mid-Atlantic and North Eastern states are digging out from the snow, while the Southern Hemisphere enjoys its summer.

Just as they do every year.

Here are the week’s headlines:

ARGENTINA:
Macri at Davos: For the first time in a decade, an Argentine president visits the World Economic Forum. Argentina Eyes $20 Billion in Investment in 2016, Macri Says

BOLIVIA:
Evo Morales celebrates 10 years in powerThe president will be remembered as the country’s first indigenous head of state

BRAZIL
Another Capt. Louis Renault moment: Brazil’s Former President Defends His Handpicked Successor, and Himself. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vows to preserve legacy of Workers’ Party, credited for taking millions out of poverty

CHILE
Chile losing ground as top copper producer as metal price in the pits

COLOMBIA
A new plan for Colombia: Juan Manuel Santos seeks support for peace in Washington. I’ll be very surprised if Uribe shows up,

All being well, the talks will culminate in an agreement by March 23rd, and the FARC’s demobilisation. So it is appropriate that Barack Obama has invited Messrs Santos, Uribe and Pastrana to Washington on February 4th to commemorate “15 years of bipartisan co-operation through Plan Colombia”, along with George W. Bush and Mr Clinton. Mr Pastrana, a largely forgotten figure, was quick to accept. The election campaign in the United States may make it hard for Messrs Bush and Clinton to do so. According to Semana, a newsweekly, Mr Uribe, too, may stay away, vitiating one of the meeting’s tacit aims—to shore up bipartisanship in Colombia

Bomb Sniffing Dog Dies but Saves 30 Soldiers in Colombia

CUBA
Without Free Speech, Cuba Remains Trapped in Totalitarian Unanimity. A Simple Compromise Can Satisfy All Sides of the Embargo Debate

ECUADOR

Zika virus: women in Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador advised to postpone pregnancy

Recommendation made by countries’ health ministers after sharp increase in babies born with brain defects in Brazil as US extends travel warning for pregnant women

GUANTANAMO
Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al Sawah: Obama releases top al Qaeda explosives expert from Guantanamo
HAITI
Haiti elections postponed a third time

GUATEMALA
11 Guatemalan Soldiers Indicted for Disappearances of 558 Indigenous People

MEXICO
Murders Jumped 8.7% in Mexico in 2015; First Increase Since 2011. Statistics seen as a blow to President Enrique Peña Nieto’s efforts to contain crime

Thousands of Americans Losing Jobs as Factories Shutter, Move to Mexico

A cry from Tamaulipas, Mexico: Life in a Militarized State

Lucero Sanchez: ‘El Chapo’ Mexico: Regional lawmaker quizzed over ‘jail visit’

PANAMA
Panama Canal sets sights on transshipment tied to new locks

PARAGUAY
The world’s fastest-growing tourist destinations revealed: Paraguay, Tajikistan and Iceland named as new hot spots

  • Paraguay took home the number one spot after almost doubling tourism numbers and welcoming 1.28million guests
  • United Nations World Travel Organisation released the list revealing where tourism levels rose fastest in 2015
  • The countries making up the top 17 include the Seychelles, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Niue and Colombia

PERU
Archaeologists find remains of women sacrificed 1,000 years ago in Peru

PUERTO RICO
Some days Capt. Louis Renault works overtime:
Talks to Restructure Puerto Rico Power Company’s Debt Collapse

The creditors blamed the utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa, for the collapse of the talks, saying its officials had decided to let an expiration date pass without taking action. Prepa is one of the largest single issuers of Puerto Rico’s $72 billion debt, most of it in the form of municipal bonds.

URUGUAY
Omar Abdelahdi Faraj: AP source: Ex-Guantánamo detainee arrested in domestic violence case in Uruguay. The captive was freed to Uruguay in December 2014

Guess Which South American Nation Is More Democratic than the U.S. Uruguay Is Latin America’s Lone Bright Spot; Haiti, Cuba the Most Authoritarian

VENEZUELA
Fears of Venezuela Default Grow Amid Oil Plunge. The plunge in the price of oil is causing more investors to bet that Venezuela will default on its $120 billion pile of foreign debt, an event that would trigger a messy battle over the country’s oil shipments and deepen its economic and political crisis.

Vile: Venezuelan prison authorities strip-search both wife and mother of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Leopoldo Lopez’s wife and mother have been strip-searched on entry to a Venezuelan prison



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Guatemala: Jimmy Morales landslide

A political outsider who ran on 1 issue: Fighting corruption, wins by a 2:1 margin,
Jimmy Morales Wins Guatemalan Presidential Election in Landslide. Former TV comedian is political outsider who now must meet his promise to tackle country’s rampant corruption

With 92% of ballots counted, Mr. Morales had 70% of the vote, compared with 30% for his rival, former first lady Sandra Torres. If the trend holds, it would be the largest margin of victory in a presidential vote here since democracy was restored in 1985 after a military dictatorship.

“I have been given a mandate, a mandate to clean up corruption that has eaten at this country,” Mr. Morales said in a TV message.

The president, vice-president, the head of the central bank, leaders of several political parties, and the head of the social-security institute, all are investigated brought down by myriad corruption charges:

Polls show corruption is the main concern in Guatemala, above insecurity and unemployment. Guatemala ranks 115 out of 175 countries in the corruption perceptions index of International Transparency—one of the worst positions in the region.

Some businessmen calculate around 30% of the country’s meager annual government spending, $9.1 billion this year, is squandered through corruption.

Here is his acceptance speech (in Spanish),

He will serve one 4-year term. The challenges he’ll face are enormous.

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The Argentinian election Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentinians voted yesterday. There will be a runoff, Scioli vs Macri (more on that later today).

New Scrutiny on Vote Buying as Argentine Elections Near. The practice, which is not illegal, was called a scourge last month in local voting, but raises questions about the frailty of the nation’s democracy.

Is it the end of Kirchnerismo and the start of saner economic policies? There are No Easy Economic Options for Argentina’s Next President.Winner of Sunday’s election will be forced to make unpopular moves to keep inflation-ridden economy ticking

Argentina Election Won’t Make Investors Rush In. International community won’t be wooed easily amid recent retreat from emerging market debt

ARGENTINA
In time for the election, Nisman is being accused of being a spy:
Alberto Nisman: Was prosecutor killed while investigating 1994 bombing of Jewish centre in Buenos Aires moonlighting for the FBI?Exclusive: A new book claims US security services abandoned Mr Nisman as he was about to reveal President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s alleged attempts to cover up Iran’s involvement in the atrocity

Alberto Nisman ‘was working for the FBI’Argentina gripped by a new book which claims that Alberto Nisman, the terrorism prosecutor found dead in January, was working for the Americans

America ‘refused to hand over emails sent by Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman’ before his death. A new book claims the prosecutor, who was found dead earlier this year, was secretly a contact for the FBI. Money quote:

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the president, has laughed at suggestions that she orchestrated his death and instead argues that he was murdered by rogue spies who used him to discredit her, and then killed him.

As they said forty-one years ago, Silence is health.

BOLIVIA
Bolivian Court OKs Vote on Allowing Presidents to Serve 3 Terms

El exembajador chavista que se convirtió en alto ejecutivo ferroviario en Bolivia. No era una imagen que sorprendía a nadie. Sentado junto a Evo Morales en un sinfín de actos públicos aparecía Julio Montes, el delegado de Hugo Chávez en Bolivia. Chavista former ambassador became high-placed railroad executive in Bolivia.

BRAZIL
Brazil Begins Major Security Operation on Northwestern Border

Operation Agata 10 is targeting environmental crimes, illegal trafficking of timber, drug smuggling and illegal fishing along the 10,000 kilometers (6,215 miles) of Brazil’s border with Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana, the ministry said in a statement.

CHILE
Damage control in Chile. Michelle Bachelet’s reluctant retreat towards the centre

Chile grants same-sex couples civil partnership licenses. New law took effect on Thursday following more than a decade of congressional debate over gay marriage

COLOMBIA
Colombia Forces Kill 9 ELN Guerrillas

“Peace without justice benefits only the terrorist leaders, otherwise it’s unstable and engenders more violence. Let’s support the Centro Democrático.”

COSTA RICA
New ferry to connect Costa Rica-El Salvador starting in January

CUBA
Castro Pocketed WHO Funds Destined for Ebola Health Workers

This also violates international labor and human trafficking covenants.

And yet, some still advocate for “dictator-down-economics.”

Apartheid-loving tourists have their fun spoiled by an unruly drunk

Cuba frees ‘prisoner of conscience’. Graffiti artist “El Sexto” was jailed for 10 months after he painted “Fidel” and “Raúl” on pigs to satirize Cuba’s leaders.

CUBAN TROOPS IN SYRIA: ANOTHER FOREIGN POLICY CRISIS

ECUADOR
Ecuador’s president literally wants to fight a politician who criticized him, but it came to naught.

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Promises, promises: Argentina’s presidential hopeful promises better relations with Britain over the Falklands. Exclusive: Mauricio Macri will not appoint a ‘Falklands Minister’ if elected and will work to defrost Argentina’s relations with Britain, his foreign policy chief tells The Telegraph

GUATEMALA
Guatemala’s Presidential Hopefuls Exit the Final Debate as They Went In.Lack of Confrontation, New Plans Leaves Sandra Torres in Catch-Up Mode

MEXICO
Mexico Outdoes the United States for Deporting Central Americans. Southern Border Plan Ushers in 25% More Arrests, 200% More Checks

Patricia, Strongest Landfalling Pacific Hurricane on Record, Downgraded to Tropical Depression

Mexican police uncover secret drug tunnel used by ‘El Chapo’s’ cartel. The 800-meter-long passageway runs under the US-Mexican border from Tijuana

PANAMA
Panama reaffirms open date for widening. All signs point to April startup for expansion of the Panama Canal, agency says. (subscription)

PARAGUAY
Investigation into Paraguay Ex-President Reflects Regional Trend

PERU
Prosecutor: Peru army officer got $10K per cocaine planeload

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico: The Progressive Utopia is Here Now | Scott Ott Thought

URUGUAY
Uruguay’s Mujica to Step Away from Senate, but Not from Public Life

VENEZUELA
Franklin Nieves, the prosecutor in Leopoldo Lopez’s trial, has fled the country, and, a day late and a dollar short (emphasis added),

In a video sent Friday to the Venezuelan news website La Patilla, Nieves said he fled Venezuela with his family to escape pressure from the executive branch and his superiors to stand by while “false evidence” is used to keep an innocent Lopez in jail during the appeals process. He said he would soon present evidence to demonstrate that Lopez’s trial was a premediated “farce.”

Speaking of dollars, Venezuela Central Bank sues US-based DolarToday website

It accuses the website of cyberterrorism and says its managers are sowing economic chaos in Venezuela.

The central bank requested both an injunction and damages, accusing the site’s managers of fanning inflation in the country.

It’s always somebody else’s fault, Organized crime:At least half of the homicides that occur in Venezuela are tied to the organized crime but individuals fail to perceive that, a study found



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The Columbus Day Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Why Does Argentina Keep Shielding Iran?

Behind the scenes, Pope Francis wields clout in Argentina homeland

Following the mysterious death of a prosecutor who had indicted Mrs. Fernandez on conspiracy charges, Francis in January stepped in forcefully to keep the president from being deposed in a “soft coup,” The Washington Times learned from a close personal friend of the pope.

Local magnates had plotted to seize the moment and oust the president after Alberto Nisman was found with a gunshot wound to his head hours before he was due to testify on a supposed top-level cover-up of Iran’s suspected involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

But through calls and intermediaries, Francis persuaded “the right people at the right moment” to let Mrs. Fernandez serve our her second term, set to expire Dec. 10, Gustavo Vera, a Buenos Aires legislator and social activist who maintains a close friendship with the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, said.

Cristina stops by the Vatican frequently, and has had six private audiences with Francis.

Argentina’s La Presidenta Boogies Like She’s Hillary Clinton

BOLIVIA
Bolivia, Russia Sign Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

Rosatom will assist in the establishment of a nuclear research institute, including training for staff, Energy Minister Luis Sanchez said from Moscow in comments reported by official news agency ABI.

The pact also anticipates that Rosatom will advise the Bolivian government on how to educate the population about the nuclear power initiative, seen as necessary in light of the rejection by residents of La Paz of plans to build a nuclear research center in their neighborhood.

Besides power generation, Bolivia will use peaceful nuclear technology for medical applications and devices employed in geological research and prospecting for oil and gas, the minister said.

BRAZIL
Legal Setbacks Buffet Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.Rulings set up possible path to unpopular leader’s impeachment, but prospect remains distant

CHILE
Pope Francis angers victims of sex abuse after calling protesters ‘dumb’. Pope made remarks at Vatican to a group of Chileans who have been protesting against a bishop alleged to be complicit in a sex abuse scandal

Bachelet’s Brand of Austerity Is Too Little, Too Late. Slowing Government Spending Growth to 6 Percent Isn’t Going to Cut It

Augusto Pinochet ordered killing in US, declassified documents reveal. Gen Augusto Pinochet ‘directly ordered the 1976 assassination of a Chilean diplomat in Washington’

COLOMBIA
“War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength;” Uribe loyalists are Colombia’s ‘new terrorists’: Senate peace commission chairman

U.S. Envoy Bernard Aronson Pushes Peace in Colombia. Diplomat says largely secret talks between government and FARC rebels suffered ‘near-death experience’ before last month’s breakthrough

CUBA
Raul Castro’s demands for Gitmo plus reparations show Cuba still a prime enemy

EL SALVADOR
Violence in El Salvador:Rivers of blood. A crackdown on gangs has so far made things worse

GUATEMALA
Risk of new landslide in Guatemala.Guatemalan authorities order the evacuation of some 40 families from an area where a landslide killed at least

GUYANA
Venezuela accuses Guyana of lying about border dispute

HONDURAS
US brings drug charges against powerful Honduran family.The Rosenthals own a large business conglomerate and have important political ties

The indictment charged Jaime Rolando Rosenthal Oliva; his son Yani Benjamin Rosenthal Hidalgo; and his nephew Yankel Antonio Rosenthal Coello.

Honduras football boss Yankel Rosenthal charged in US

MEXICO
Good luck with that: Mexico’s President to Propose Bill to Improve Efforts to Locate 25,000 Missing. Legislation aims to improve coordination between authorities in search for people missing since war on drugs began

PANAMA
Panama engages investors ahead of funding forays

PARAGUAY
Companies Flee Brazil for Paraguay’s Greener Pastures. Businesses Look to Move Investments Off Rousseff’s Sinking Ship

PERU
Peru’s Economic Woes Echo Latin America’s. Chosen by the IMF as host of its annual meeting to celebrate the region’s growth, it’s now a symbol of economic struggle

Just like their counterparts at the central bank, Peruvian government officials are finding that some of the usual ways to propel a developing economy don’t work in this case. In particular, Peru cannot take the common step of expanding its industrial sector to export value-added products rather than raw materials because of globalized value chains and an oversupply of industrial facilities in China, said Piero Ghezzi, Peru’s minister of production.

Hedge funds are threatening Peru with a lawsuit: US hedge fund threatens to sue Peru. A US hedge fund threatens to sue Peru over bonds issued by the country’s former military regime.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico May Not Be Able to Avoid Defaults, Adviser Says. I am shocked, shocked!

VENEZUELA
Here’s What Happened When Venezuela Imposed Gun Control Laws

Venezuela is now the most expensive country in the world; hands down



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