The Indian helicopters that Ecuador bought keep falling off the sky, but the bigger story is Iran’s continued presence in the region.
ARGENTINA
China to supply Argentina five “Malvinas Class” offshore patrol vessels
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is expected to sign agreements with China to increase military co-operation, including construction of new warships for the Argentine Navy, during her current state visit to Beijing, according to media reports and Jane’s Defense Weekly.
BOLIVIA
Stranger in a Strange Land: An Internship Gone Bad
CUBA
A Tally of What Cuba Owes the World
FPI Bulletin: More Questions than Answers at Cuba Hearings
IMMIGRATION
Obama administration issues 5.5M work permits to non-citizens; critics call it ‘shadow’ immigration system
POPE FRANCIS: APPLY RULE OF LAW WHEN DEALING WITH IMMIGRANTS
Two US Army Vets Missing In Mexican Border City With Raging Cartel War
Conflict of interest in Mexico
A false start
Mixed messages in a new anti-corruption campaign
NICARAGUA
Can a Chinese billionaire build a canal across Nicaragua? Depends on who else is backing him up.
PANAMA
Panama Becomes First Latin American Nation to Join Coalition Against ISIS
PERU
Peru’s no-convictions politician
A failed labour reform exposes the limits of pragmatism
PUERTO RICO
It’s called “rule of law”: Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win
Investment funds of Franklin Resources Inc. and OppenheimerFunds Inc., which hold more than $1.5 billion in bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, convinced a federal judge in San Juan that bankruptcy law and the U.S. Constitution trump the commonwealth’s legislation.
The law, passed under threat of a fiscal emergency, would have allowed public utilities such as the power authority, or Prepa, to negotiate with bondholders to reduce their debt loads, potentially forcing investors to accept unfavorable terms, according to the funds’ complaint.
Running Out of Time: Dimming Prospects for Reform in Venezuela
Venezuela Maduro: State seizes supermarket chain
The week’s posts and podcast:
Separated at birth?
Sunday evening tango: Mario Bournissen & Laura Rusconi
Uruguay: Iranian diplomat expelled after bomb explosion near Israeli embassy
Argentina: And now the spy is missing
Moral equivalence strikes again
Cuba: Next, O will give away Gitmo
Colombia: Is that a Russian RPG in your pocket?
China: Cristina’s twit UPDATED
Argentina: #Nisman is front-page news at the NYT
Argentina: Nisman wanted Cristina’s arrest UPDATE
At Da Tech Guy Blog:
A few thoughts about Bruce Jenner
Univision plays the world’s smallest violin
Podcast:
On Silvio Canto‘s
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