Stanford Bank

LatinAmer In today’s news, the US Embassy in Caracas is closed due to threats, according to El Universa (h/t Vlad). The nature of the threats was not specified.

While the world’s attention is focused on the Middle East, here are several of the news stories in our hemisphere this week,

CENTRAL AMERICA
Central America, crime, and what the Americas are doing about it

ARGENTINA
Argentine Wheat Exports May Fall to Lowest in Almost 30 Years

ARUBA
Following up on a story from a few years ago, Stanford Judged Incompetent to Stand Trial

BRAZIL
Business in Brazil
Top whack
Big country, big pay cheques

Brazil’s Canny Asia Game
Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva oversaw a period of growing influence in the Asia-Pacific. Will his successor follow suit?

CHILE
Copper Law

COLOMBIA
Colombia economy: Post-flood emergency mode

CUBA
Italian Parliament commits to the freedom of Cuba’s political prisoners

On those New OFAC regulations on Cuba travel released

The interesting thing here is that when originally reported it appeared that remitters would not be able to send more than $500 to Cuba per quarter. It now seems, however, that U.S. citizens can send $2,000 a year to as many qualified Cubans as they like. I’m not a lawyer and I received this information too late to call OFAC, so I can’t say for certain.

Cuba political prisoner Guido Sigler responds with defiance to Castro’s blackmail

EL SALVADOR
Obama’s heading to El Salvador in March. Obama and El Salvador

If there is one thing all media outlets can agree on, it is that they have no idea why President Obama is going to El Salvador.

Salvadoreños al tanto de la visita de Obama antes de su discurso

HONDURAS
Update on Liz

MEXICO
Saddling up for the trail to Los Pinos
Can anyone stop Enrique Peña Nieto restoring the PRI to power next year?

PANAMA
What is economic freedom?

S. Korea to get FTA but not Panama

PERU
State Department says relations with Peru “never been this strong”

PUERTO RICO
Back when I was a student at the University of Puerto Rico, the students were protesting. No change on that front,

VENEZUELA
LOS VENEZOLANOS QUEREMOS SER UN PUEBLO PROPIETARIO, NO UN PUEBLO EXPROPIADO…

After the Flood in Venezuela
Housing the estimated 130,000 homeless people is drastically more difficult thanks to Hugo Chávez’s nationalizations and regulations in the construction industry.

How a bully Dictator like Hugo Chavez runs Venezuela

How people in Taiwan see Hugo,

Venezuela tells foreign oil firms to keep output at 3.1 mn bpd

Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela
Charting a course to irrelevance
The Inter-American Democratic Charter is proven toothless

Investing in Venezuela’s Future

English language chavismo in the web on the decline

The week’s posts,
Chavez says Egpyt embassy briefly taken over by protestors
Muslim cleric catapults to fame by crossing the border
Catapult over the border!
Tanks for Hugo, bankrupt states, the Supremes, and the roundup

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February 19, 2009 By Fausta

The Stanford Bank scam & the missing crook, Part 2

UPDATE
7PM Eastern: CNBC reports that Allen Stanford has been found in Virginia by FBI agents

My news roundup article, Missing Stanford and His Destructive Path is up at Real Clear World Blog. Please read it and leave a comment.

Still on the Stanford subject,

A comparison between Stanford and Madoff at the WSJ:

And a note on the bloggers’ influence in the investigation, from The Economist,

The SEC stepped up its probe after its Madoff mis-steps. But a bigger impetus may have been a deeply sceptical report on Stanford’s investment returns, published in January by Alex Dalmady, an independent analyst. The blogosphere picked this up, and within days it was making headlines worldwide. This offers hope for those who despair of the SEC’s bungling, suggesting that in the internet age forensic vigilantes and devil-may-care bloggers can, to some extent, fill the gap left by dilatory regulators and libel-constrained mainstream media.

Bloomberg

R. Allen Stanford and his employees contributed $31,750 to Barack Obama’s presidential run, making the new president the third-largest recipient of Stanford campaign cash, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

An Obama aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the money was donated yesterday to charity.

UPDATE
Ain’t that the truth

This new scandal, coupled with Bernard Madoff’s pyramid, plus the Colombian pyramids scheme, plus the Brazilian and Mexican derivatives scandals that triggered a tumble in stocks, is helping erode the confidence in financial markets built up for years, and giving another excuse to populist presidents and politicians (most them opportunistic idiots) for launching attacks on banks and free markets and corporate independence.

Check out also The Devil’s Excrement‘s posts on Stanford, which Kate recommends in the comments.

Earlier today: Part 1 & Podcast.

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February 19, 2009 By Fausta

The Stanford Bank scam & the missing crook

Accused Financier Under Federal Drug Investigation

Authorities tell ABC News that as part of the investigation, which has been ongoing since last year, Mexican authorities detained one of Stanford’s private planes. According to officials, checks found inside the plane were believed to be connected to the Gulf cartel, reputed to be Mexico’s most violent gang. Authorities say Stanford could potentially face criminal charges of money laundering and bribery of foreign officials.

Authorities say the SEC action against Stanford Tuesday may have complicated the federal drug investigation.

The federal investigation, however, did not stop Stanford from using corporate money to become a big man at last year’s Democratic convention in Denver.

A video posted on the firm’s web-site shows Stanford, now sought by U.S. Marshals, being hugged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and praised by former President Bill Clinton for helping to finance a convention-related forum and party put on by the National Democratic Institute.

Moe Lane asks, Did Mexican drug money help subsidize the Democratic Convention?