Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

April 18, 2011 By Fausta

The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Argentine Government Takes Larger Role in Private Companies

Obama vs. Perón: In Their Own Words

U.S. denies visa for German journalist who investigated baby thefts in Argentina

Today’s Video: The long arm of the law

BOLIVIA
Bolivia socialist hit with demand for 15% pay increase

BRAZIL
Link in Portuguese: Iranian cleric wanted by Interpol for the AMIA bombing in Argentina is in Brazil recruiting poor men for “religious instruction”

Something Real, For A Change, via Real Clear World

CENTRAL AMERICA
Central America
The tormented isthmus
Big-time drug trafficking has arrived in Central America. Its poor, politically polarised countries must now try to cope

CHILE
Clarity in Chile

Chile is the first nation whose return to democracy was based on economic freedom. On global economic freedom rankings, Chile stands near the top — in part because its public employees can’t run up debt or corrupt the political process.

The existing constitution makes Chile a full right-to-work country and expressly prohibits government collective bargaining and public employee strikes.

The idea is to prevent the ugly anti-democratic dynamic — now seen in Wisconsin and elsewhere — of public employee unions extorting concessions from politicians in exchange for campaign support.

Female labour participation in Chile
Taking leave of his senses
An extension of maternity leave is unlikely to get more women working

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s Santos: accomplice in drug trafficking and terrorism

CUBA
Former Al-Jazeera and NPR Reporter Now Working for Castro

More suffering in Cuba

Granma: State spends more to subsidize food, so local producers must do their part

‘Last Congress’ for Cuba’s old guard, Laughter and the Congress

GUATEMALA
A MURDER FORETOLD Unravelling the ultimate political conspiracy. via Clifton

MEXICO
Number Of Dead Near Border Up To 122

Mexican soldiers arrest drug cartel suspect in connection with slaying of poet’s son

Prosecutor slain in Mexican border city

PANAMA
Who Is Your Angel?

PERU
Via Real Clear World, Peru’s Ghost Election

Whoever wins on June 5, Peru’s next president will be an admirer of one of the two living ghosts that haunt this election, each a political leader who has undermined democracy and shown strong authoritarian tendencies.

Most Peruvians are worried, even if not everyone agrees with the assessment that the choice is between two deadly alternatives. The election will come down to which specter Peruvians fear most, the ghost of Hugo Chávez or the ghost of Alberto Fujimori.

Peru’s presidential election
The masses blow a raspberry
Voters engineer an unappealing choice between two contrasting populists, Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori

It’s show-me time for Peru’s Humala-investors; Vargas Llosa’s [sic] supports Ollanta Humala, with reservations

PUERTO RICO
Augusto Marin, a Puerto Rican painter and muralist, dies at 89

VENEZUELA
Chavez Policy Sends Venezuelans on Cross-Border Cash Hunt

The master plan

Inadequate Management Everywhere Under Chavismo

The week’s posts:
Drinking our milkshake: Cuba’s Deep-Water Drilling Proposal Raises Concern
3 on Mexico
EPA pays to upgrade unsafe Mexican trucks

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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, drugs, Fidel Castro, Guatemala, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: AMIA, Augusto Marin, Fausta's blog, Keiko Fujimori, Ollanta Humala, Rodrigo Rosenberg

May 19, 2009 By Fausta

The Guatemalan revolution Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included in the next Carnival, please email me.

The top story: The murder of Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg. Check out the links below, particularly Mary O’Grady’s excellent article on the ProReforma project.

(For posts on Padre Alberto click here)

LATIN AMERICA
Via Dymphna, The growing Afghanization of Latin America

ANTIGUA
Stanford Bank’s Antigua receivers can seek bankruptcy in US

ARGENTINA
¿El principio del fin de la “era K”?

Argentina: Shiny, Happy Jews Brutally Beaten at Street Fair

Argentina’s legislative election
Double or quits: The Kirchners’ electoral gambit

BOLIVIA
Standoff between Evo Morales and media outlets escalates

Bolivian Court Orders Arrest of Fugitive Officials

BRAZIL
Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar

CARIBBEAN
BBC Caribbean report (audio)

COLOMBIA
Will Uribe change the constitution and run again? The Economist says “yes,” while a member of his cabinet says “no:”
Presidential re-election in Colombia: Uribe edges towards autocracy
A popular president seems to be heading towards a third term, despite the damage this would do to democracy

Tiene la “intuición” de que Uribe no buscará una segunda reelección

CUBA
Wanted: Cambio We Can Believe In

Things are getting better in Cuba

U.S.-Cuba Sanctions: Bitter Pill, Good Medicine

Careful with the spontaneity

ECUADOR
Is the Obama administration condoning Ecuador’s default?

In Ecuador, Resentment of an Oil Company Oozes

Correa and U.S. Democrats Must Quit Claim its Specious Lawsuit, Correctly Called an Extortion Racket, against Chevron Texaco

GUATEMALA
Guatemala murder scandal deepens

President, Murderer, or Both?

Ni familiar, ni amiga, ni complotista… ni apatrida

Finally, a Real Revolution
A civil-society movement emerges in Central America.

HAITI
Bill’s new gig: Clinton to be named UN special envoy on Haiti

MEXICO
Mexican Bank Pays $355,340 Above Cost in Dollar Sale

Mexicans fear America is becoming the land of unemployment not opportunity
In good years, the US runs on Mexicans but the American Dream is losing some of its most devoted fans, says Tom Leonard

PERU
No gay police in Peru

Bolivia estudia demandar a Perú ante La Haya

URUGUAY
Mario Benedetti: Retrato Critico

VENEZUELA
The Chavez bubble: The increasing probability of the country’s default

Chavez Seizes Oil Infrastructure

Pro-Chavez Web site Features Anti-Semitism

Unintelligent Design: Chavez and PDVSA

No more separation of Church and State in Venezuela

Venezuela’s oil industry
Skint: Expropriating accounts payable

Vargas Llosa: “Desde luego que en Venezuela expondré mis ideas”

Radical OPEC members cheat the most

Así, así, así es que se gobierna…

The week’s posts and podcasts
Brazil and China eye plan to axe dollar
Benedetti and the south
Guatemala: The Twitter arrest and the Rosenberg murder
“The rich are not human” and Globovision’s troubles: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Guatemala and the Rosenberg tape
Guatemala: The Rosenberg video
“No progress” at EU-Cuba meeting

At Real Clear World:
Guatemala: The strange case of Rodrigo Rosenberg

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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Carnival of Latin America, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Fausta's blog, Guatemala, Haiti, Hugo Chavez, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Antigua, Rodrigo Rosenberg

May 15, 2009 By Fausta

Guatemala: The Twitter arrest and the Rosenberg murder

A new development, somewhat related to the strange case of Rodrigo Rosenberg, Twitter http://twitter.com/jeanfer has been arrested for twittering on the case:

Twitter Tweeter Arrested in Guatemala

One minute, you’re telling people “what you are doing,” the next minute, you’re getting hauled off to jail. That’s what happened to a man in Guatemala who police say could have “incited a panic” with his viral Tweeting.

Jean Ramses Anleu Fernandez was taken into custody after suggesting on Twitter that everyone who had money in the Banrural bank should withdraw it all. The reason?: “to break the control that corrupt entities” have over the state-run bank.

Sounds innocent enough until you know the background. Long story short – the bank has been at the center of a political controversy that has involved the murders of an attorney and a finance expert, as well as accusations that the government has been complicit in those crimes. One of the victims even recorded a video warning of his impending death.

Banrural is the bank that Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was killed last Sunday while riding his bicycle, advised his client Khalil Musa not to join the board of directors. Rosenberg, in the video released after his murder, claims that Musa and his daughter were killed after Musa refused to take part in money laundering and other criminal activity at the bank. No arrests have been made in the three murders.

U.S. officials in Guatemala confirm that the FBI is investigating Rosenberg’s murder:

”This is one of the most dangerous countries in the world,” said Jose Rodriguez, who rallied against Colom. “Anything is possible.”

Gangs and drug traffickers have turned Guatemala into one of Latin America’s most dangerous countries. Still struggling with the aftermath of a 36-year civil war that claimed 200,000 lives, the country counts an average of 18 murders a day, making its homicide rate more than eight times that of the United States.

Only 2 percent of crimes go solved, according to the United Nations.

But back to jeanfer, he has not tweeted since yesterday at 2:39AM.

UPDATE
BoingBoing has a screen capture of the tweet that got jeanfer arrested:

jeanfer

It means, “First real action: “pull the dough out of Banrural” break the corrupt bank.”

jeanfer02

Prensa Libre has a photo of http://twitter.com/jeanfer being fingerprinted at the police station. He was accused of creating a financial panic.

Jeanfer was sentenced to a $6,500 fine, and will be held in jail until he can raise the amount. Here is his blog El blog de jeanfer

The tag for the Rosenberg case is #escandalogt
I’ll be using it from now on.

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Filed Under: Guatemala Tagged With: #escandalogt, Banrural, Fausta's blog, Rodrigo Rosenberg, Twitter

May 14, 2009 By Fausta

The Strange Case of Rodrigo Rosenberg

rosenberg

My latest article, The Strange Case of Rodrigo Rosenberg, is up at Real Clear World.

rcwlogo_sec

Prior posts:
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Guatemala and the Rosenberg tape
Podcast
Guatemala: The Rosenberg Video

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Filed Under: corruption, crime, drugs, Guatemala Tagged With: Álvaro Colom, Fausta's blog, Rodrigo Rosenberg

May 13, 2009 By Fausta

Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Guatemala and the Rosenberg tape

In this morning’s podcast:

colom12

Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was killed last Sunday in Guatemala while riding his bicycle, left a tape accusing president Alvaro Colom of his death. Rosenberg also left a letter left a three-page long letter accusing Colom of money laundering, use of public funds, and fronting businesses for narco-traffickers. In the tape, Rosenberg stated the country’s vice-president was not involved in these crimes.

I posted the original video, but here’s the video with subtitles,

The “more info” section at this YouTube translates the rest.

Noticias 24 reports that a journalist taped the video. The Guardian:

In the recording Rosenberg, appearing calm and wearing a suit and tie, said a former client, businessman Khalil Musa, angered the government by refusing to collaborate in alleged deals involving a development bank and “non-existent” social programmes headed by Sandra de Colom, the president’s wife. In March the businessman and his daughter, Marjorie Musa, were shot dead.

In addition to the first lady, Rosenberg named Gustavo Alejos, the president’s private secretary, and Gregorio Valdez, a businessman with links to the government, as accomplices in the alleged conspiracy which involved drug trafficking, money laundering and front companies.

Guatemala rejects allegations of role in lawyer’s death; the Wall Street Journal reports that the Dead Lawyer’s Video Pitches Guatemala Into Crisis

I’ll talk about this in this morning’s podcast. Chat’s open at 10:45AM.

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Filed Under: crime, drugs, Guatemala Tagged With: Álvaro Colom, Fausta's blog, Rodrigo Rosenberg

May 12, 2009 By Fausta

Guatemala: The Rosenberg video

Like something out of an episode of Mystery,

Slain lawyer accuses Guatemala’s president in tape

GUATEMALA CITY — A lawyer slain by gunmen over the weekend appears in a video tape that emerged Monday alleging that if anything happened to him it would be at the behest of Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.
…
Lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg was shot to death by unidentified assailants while riding his bicycle Sunday, the newspaper El Periodico de Guatemala said.

In the video distributed to local media, Rosenberg says: “If you are watching this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom with help from Gustavo Alejos,” the president’s private secretary.

Former interior minister Adela de Torrebiarte, who knew Rosenberg, said he was the man on the video.

The director of El Periodico, Juan Luis Font, said the accusation was distributed to media in audio format at Rosenberg’s funeral and later in the video.

Rosenberg says on the tape that officials might want to kill him because he represented businessman Khalil Musa, who was killed along with his daughter Marjorie in March. Rosenberg alleged those killings were in retaliation for Musa’s refusal to engage in acts of corruption that Colom purportedly invited him to participate in.

Noticias 24 quotes Rosenberg saying, “with the approval of Mr. Álvaro Colom and of [his wife] Sandra de Colom.

Here’s the full video in Spanish,

Declaraciones de Rodrigo Rosenberg (Completo) from Prensa Libre on Vimeo.

Rosenberg also left a three-page long letter accusing Colom of money laundering, use of public funds, and fronting businesses for narco-traffickers.

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Filed Under: drugs, Guatemala Tagged With: Álvaro Colom, Fausta's blog, Rodrigo Rosenberg, Sandra Colom

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