The “Who painted it?” Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your post included in next week's Carnival please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.


I chose the "Who painted it?" theme for today's Carnival since it's yet another sign of the current administration's ignorance of the history and traditions of the region. "You have a marvelous virgin!" indeed.

LATIN AMERICA
Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade

The 'Axis of Lula' vs. the 'Axis of Hugo'

Nuclear Watchdog Inks South America Deals, U.S. Congress Should Scrutinize Closely

“New Eve” encounters her snakes?

Changes in Earnings in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico: Disentangling the Forces Behind Pro-Poor Change in Labor Markets

Biden travels South

Commentary: Can fading Caribbean island-states thrive in the world of alternative energy?

Latin political calendar puts recovery at risk

Americas summit's draft declaration is hard to take seriously

Has the G-20 Learned the Lesson?

ARGENTINA
Argentina's election: The Kirchners make a dash for it, Hoping it’s not the exit

BOLIVIA
Bolivia Military Makes Biggest Drug Bust in a Decade

BRAZIL
Lula knows he screwed up on Venezuela and Chavez

Via The Anchoress "Excommunication" in Brazil

Rogues Gallery – the PMDB Comes "Clean" at Last

Governors under fire: A rash of impeachment cases against state governors is probably a good sign

COLOMBIA
FARC plot to kill Colombia defense minister foiled

A un año de la muerte del "faraon" de las FARC

Colombia's FARC Drops Condition For Hostage Negotiations

The siege of “Mono Jojoy”

CUBA
Youth unemployment

No AARP in Cuba

Embargo stays but 'review' of bans is on

Ahhh..That Fiendish “Blockade!”

Rodolfo Barthelemy Cobas and Alejandro Jiménez Blanco, Cuban Political Prisoners of the Week, 3/29/09

ECUADOR
Correa Threatens Jail for Spreading Rumors on Ecuador Currency

Ecuador's Correa Rejects De-Dollarization; Warns On Rumors

Ecuador's Correa: Dolarization Stays

Correa Leads Ecuador Electoral Vote

EL SALVADOR
Obama curtails successful drug interdiction program in El Salvador

MEXICO
Another Blooper... Hillary Lays Flowers at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine Asks "Who Painted It?"

Washington continues to play ostrich about Mexico

A Mexican standoff with reality

The Southern Neighbor

LOWRY: The big truck turnaround
Teamsters prove borders can be policed, despite treaties

Mexico Goes Medieval

Mexico's Juarez surge is working so far

Via Instapundit Obama targets flow of guns, profits from U.S. to Mexico

Via Instapundit, Drug cartels' new weaponry means war

Army desertions hurting Mexico's war on drugs

US to Boost Forces on Mexico Border

Mexico's Dinosaurs Exploit the Crisis
A cautionary tale for those who see an opportunity to take over key elements of the economy.

Hezbollah uses Mexican drug routes into the US.

Hillary's Mexican Reality Check

John Kerry:
Mexico's war must be our war
Helping Mexico take on the drug cartels helps us, but the effort will require unprecedented cooperation between our two countries.

NICARAGUA
The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Chamorro

PUERTO RICO
Jury clears Puerto Rico police in Marine's beating

Puerto Rico Gets a Little Richer With New Quarter from U.S. Mint

VENEZUELA
Tirofijo honored in Caracas

Yes, Hugo cheated

Venezuela's budget cuts
Hard landing: President Chávez’s spending cuts will bite deeper than he admits

As expected swap market ground to a halt, here is why…

Venezuela to take over 30 fishing boats

Panic in the swap market

Alí, meet Bernie. Bernie, Alí.

Special thanks to Ada, Dymphna and the Baron, Eneas, Maggie and SamK.

The week's posts and podcasts:
If you can call it "vindication"
Hezbollah using Mexican drug routes into the US
"We won't pay for their crisis"
Hiding the story with the headlines
More on Lula's "people with blue eyes"
Lula: “White people with blue eyes” created the financial crisis
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs
Clinton: US shares blame for Mexican drug war
Today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern: Argentina Downgraded to Kazakhstan on Foreign Fund Restrictions
At Real Clear World
Lula's 'White People with Blue Eyes' Spices Up G20
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs

The Sarko in Mexico Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in next Monday's Carnival, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The big stories last week were Hugo Chavez's nationalizing American food producer Cargill in Venezuela, and the change in the Cuban Communist regime. Developing this week: Nicolas Sarkozy's first state visit to Mexico, and Lula's visit to the White House on Saturday.

The Sarko visit, in today's podcast:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni spent the weekend at the beach and touring Aztec ruins with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Sarkozi's first state visit to Mexico starts today. He's expected to discuss the upcoming G-20 meeting, economic crisis and the Florence Cassez case.



Other links from the international media on the Sarko visit:
Le Figaro: Mexique : Sarkozy et Calderon évoquent «l'affaire Cassez»
Libération: Affaire Florence Cassez : transfèrement «probable»
France24: Cassez case casts long shadow over Sarkozy's state visit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting Mexico on a mission to boost trade with the Central American country. He will also plead the case of Frenchwoman Florence Cassez, who is languishing in a Mexican jail on kidnap charges.
El Universal: Calderón-Sarkozy: una cita en tierra de dioses
Sin actos protocolarios, los presidentes de México, Felipe Calderón, y de Francia, Nicolas Sarkozy, recorrieron ayer las pirámides de Teotihucán
UK's Mail: Sarkozys' stay in £3,000-a-night Mexican villa sparks outrage in recession-hit France

LATIN AMERICA
Border lawmakers fear narco-nuke terrorism link

Bad news for Latin America

ARGENTINA
El kirchnerismo analiza nacionalizar el comercio de granos

BAHAMAS
Double digit unemployment recorded in Bahamas

BOLIVIA
Bolivia Exports Decline 32.9% in January From a Year Earlier

BRAZIL
Nine-Year-Old's Abortion Outrages Brazil's Catholic Church

Reaping the rewards of indolence:
Some of the unreformed aspects of Brazil’s economy are now helping to limit the damage from the world downturn—but its prudence in recent years is helping too

Brazil Said to Be Considering Reducing Primary Surplus. Reaction? Negative

COLOMBIA
We Recommend Shunning Shares of Ingrid Betancourt. The Revelations of the Three Americans Finally Break an Absurd Code of Silence

Via IBD Blog, Colombia says troops kill guerrilla commander

An article by Marc Gonsalvez: I Was Held Hostage in Colombia, and My Captors Should Face US Justice

An unmended fence: Colombia gained much and suffered little from its raid into Ecuador

CUBA
The Queen

Fidel not a hands-off political leader

CT Blog: Is Removal of Cuba From “State Sponsors” List Inevitable?

Richard Brown Pérez, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 3/8/09

Como vacas al matadero

Ex-ministers admit “errors”

The other Castro stamps his heel: Two senior figures are dismissed after tasting “the honey of power”

Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold
US companies are queuing up as the president moves to ease restrictions on travel and trade, raising hopes of warmer relations and an end to the embargo

Cuba regime purge may be defensive act

ECUADOR
Narcotrafico de las Farc se beneficio en frontera con Ecuador tras ruptura de relaciones

El Salvador
El Salvador's Presidential Election, March 15th 2009

MEXICO
Via the Baron, EXCLUSIVE: 100,000 foot soldiers in cartels
Numbers rival Mexican army

Make Mexico's War A Higher Priority

Mexican criminal insurgency comes to Houston

Mexico Finally Rises Near the Top of the Agenda

US Federal agent cautions travelers headed to Mexico

Lech Walesa receives the Legion of Liberty Award - IPEA

Hasta la vista, baby

The Financial Storm Hits Mexico : Their politicians aren't doing much to staunch the bleeding.

PERU
A rare victory in the judicial war in Peru

Las casas ALBA en el Perú

PUERTO RICO
Coast guard rescues 1 man, searches for another, while 11 others rescued in Puerto Rico

VENEZUELA
No more arepas for you

Government to “intervene” areperas?

Hugo Chavez Calls On Obama To Follow Path of Socialism

Zombie capitalism

Chavez tightens state control of food amid rocketing inflation and food shortages

Venezuela seizes Irish company's tree farm

Chavez Sets Up Showdown With Mendoza After Seizures

Venezuela May Take Over More Rigs to Allow Drilling to Proceed

Chavez sours Latin American investment climate

Inmates at Venezuelan jail play football with inmate's severed head

Special thanks
to Ada, the Baron, Eneas, Larwyn and Maggie.

The week’s posts and podcasts
In the face of the Cuban cosmetic change, Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold
Viva Maria Conchita
Chavez calls on Obama to follow the path of socialism. UPDATE: “Go wash your *ss, Mr. Obama”
Chavez’s full digestive cycle: First the rice, now the toilet paper - all in today’s podcast!
Today at 11AM Eastern: Unannounced Fidel Sightings
Chavez and the food supply
The real Ingrid Betancourt in captivity, and today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern
¿Por qué no te callas?, part 2

At RCW
The Cuban cosmetic change
Brazil’s Lula to visit Obama
Raúl Castro's House Cleaning

You can also find all the week's tango posts here

The first Monday in March Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links added, please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

Don't miss this afternoon's podcast at 2PM. My guest will be Michael Moynihan.

LATIN AMERICA
The Stanford affair: An $8 billion scandal goes a long way
The allegation of an $8 billion fraud against Sir Allen Stanford is causing financial worries across the region, not least in Antigua, home to his main bank

Del "Informe Mattarollo" a la increible corrupcion en YPFB

Piracy of movies, songs thriving in Latin America

ARGENTINA
Argentine Creditors Said to Swap 3.5 Billion Pesos of Loans

BELIZE
New scholarship holders from Belize to study in Cuba

BRAZIL
The Brazilian Amazon: Preventing pillage in the rainforest
A scheme to regularise land holdings in the Amazon forest faces many obstacles

COLOMBIA
En fotos: estas son las cavernas donde se escondía el ‘mono Jojoy’

Via IBD blog, Colombian VP: Add ecological devastation to cocaine's toll

Spies in trouble: The domestic-intelligence agency is caught misbehaving again

Video: Colombia discovers Farc hideouts

CUBA
Castro's New Republican Friends

Arturo Magín Colomar Puig, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 3/1/09

Ill Castro 'takes walk in Havana'

Jeff Spicoli speaks…

Sanctions, Keeping Things in Perspective

The new Che, same as old

Raúl welcomes special French envoy

ECUADOR
Ecuador's Borja Says Dollarisation is 'Faltering.´ I Wonder What He Means -- Do These Ecuadorean Officials Want a Weaker Currency Than the Dollar?

Ecuador Profits from Dirty Financial & Drug Crimes

Meltdown response: Ecuador erects trade barriers, WTO fears spread of protectionism; Ecuador's response to crisis appears to be world's toughest

MARTINIQUE
French PM says order to be maintained in Martinique

MEXICO
Mexico needs Obama's eye

Mexico’s Foreign Embassies: A Terror Threat to America?
Travelers from Muslim countries are bribing Mexican foreign service workers for travel documents that will get them access to the U.S.

A Stimulus Plan for Mexican Gangsters
Obama's promise not to crack down on medical-marijuana use raises the stakes for traffickers.

PUERTO RICO
In Puerto Rico, Less Is So Much More

UBS in Puerto Rico Pension Gets Fee Bonanza Seen as Conflicted

VENEZUELA
Journalists in Venezuela

Bananas

Leftist Hero Hugo Chavez Takes Control of Rice Plants

Food supply is tied to Brazil, Argentina and Colombia
From 2005 to 2008, the value of food imports heightened 299 percent

Command economy fails in Venezuela

Chavez sends army to rice plants
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the army to take control of all rice processing plants in the country.

Arria versus Weisbrot: Debate at American University

What to Do about Hugo Chávez: Venezuela’s Challenge to Security in the Americas

Chavez Orders Takeover of Venezuelan Rice Mills

Chávez, Ahmadinejad y la nueva "crisis de los misiles”