Fausta's blog

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The swine flu Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Yes, everybody is talking about the Mexican swine flu, and ironically I had to delay this Carnival since I was down with a cold.

No need to panic over this flu, but make sure to take any flu seriously.

LATIN AMERICA
Final declaration of the Summit of the Americas

No mas venas abiertas para America Latina

The war on mining: Fighting back

Obama goes south: An analysis of the Summit of the Americas

Alvaro Vargas Llosa: The Idiot’s Bible

Selenium Overdose Caused Deaths of Polo Horses

FARC guerrillas charged with conspiracy to aid foreign terrorists

BOLIVIA
Chabad House in Bolivia raided by police

Croatia: Morales murder plot suspect 'wanted to form separatist army'

Biometric Voter Registration: the Ace Up the Sleeve of Evo Morales

BRAZIL
Ahmadinejad to Visit Latin America Next Month

Ahmadinejad no Brasil (link in Portuguese)

COLOMBIA
FARC guerrillas charged with conspiracy to aid foreign terrorists

Finnish connection found on computer of Colombian guerrillas

Kidnapping in Colombia How many hostages? More than the government claims

CUBA
The short night of the long knives

Venezuela names new envoy to Cuba

The Right Deal on Cuba

How Fidel Snookered Everyone: The summit exposed Castro's peers in Latin America, not Obama, as the real innocents abroad. Jorge Castañeda is an idiot - Part 2

Mijail Capote Aranda, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 4/26/09

Castro brothers' power struggle may doom Obama's overtures

ECUADOR
Ecuador president claims poll win

Ecuador's election: Revolution! Please give generously. Rafael Correa has his country’s politics firmly under control, its economy much less so

JAMAICA
Strangeways here we come

MEXICO
Is that an anti-aircraft gun in your pocket?

Experts probe deadly Mexico flu

The flu and the festival

Swine flu started at Vera Cruz pork processor?

Plan Would Deploy Guard Near Mexico
$350 Million Effort Aimed at Drug War

NICARAGUA
Judge throws out Dole “bananeros” cases, citing fraud

PARAGUAY
Lugo pide perdón por escándalo de paternidad

Paraguay President asks for forgiveness over paternity claim scandal
Fernando Lugo, the President of Paraguay and a former Roman Catholic bishop, has asked for forgiveness over a scandal in which he is facing paternity claims.

La telenovela que desconcierta

Fernando Lugo pede perdão por escândalo

Le président du Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, confesse avoir eu un enfant quand il était ecclésiastique

Bayly on Lugo (in Spanish):

And then Fernando Lugo’s brother, Pompeyo, on the rumors about Fernando and the Argentinian chorus girl, plus Alan Garcia’s poncho:

PERU
Peru grants asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader

TRINIDAD
The Fifth Summit of the Americas - Ego vs Cuba vs Rhetoric

VENEZUELA
Venezuela - Iran Foreign Relations

In praise of Rosales

In Defense of Appeasement

Government shows its true colors now that Rosales has been neutralized

No 10's Venezuelan 'workie' could write next Budget

Obama and the Pundits: Wrong on the handshake, wrong about Chavez

Surprise!... HuffPo Blogger Sean Penn Defends His Buddy Hugo Chavez

Interpol seeks arrest of opposition leader

Heroes

Red Notice for Rosales

Fist-bumping with despots

CULTURE
Poland 'to ban' Che Guevara image
The iconic image of Che Guevara found adorning students' walls and t-shirts across the world could be banned in Poland under a government proposal to outlaw materials that incite "fascism and totalitarian systems".

IMMIGRATION
Cyber Attacks and Our Southern Border

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

Labels: Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Iran, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela.

Monday, March 09, 2009

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

Labels: Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fidel Castro, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Lugar Report Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

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

Two big stories last week:
Allen Stanford, resident of St. Croix and holder of dual US-Antigua citizenship, managed to bilk thousands of investors across Latin America, and went missing for a few days. He eventually was located in Virginia. I did a background post for Real Clear World and will continue to follow the story in months to come.

The second big story is the (pdf file) "CHANGING CUBA POLICY -- IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL INTEREST" report by the committee headed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Richard Lugar (Rep. - Indiana). The report - as the title says - recommends a change in US foreign policy with Cuba. Don't miss today's podcast on the Lugar report.

LATIN AMERICA
Reality intrudes on drug war

Is Obama Planning a North American Common Market?

CARIBBEAN
The restless Caribbean: Unhappy islanders
Troubles strike far-flung satellites of France and Britain

ANTIGUA-BARBUDA
$8bn 'missing' from Allen Stanford's offshore bank

ARGENTINA
Embarrados

Por qué tenemos el futuro hipotecado?

Argentine farmers start protest

BOLIVIA
Bolivia pays a high price for nationalization

Gobierno nacionalizará tres empresas eléctricas

BRAZIL
Lime Slime's Brazil: Skinheads and Celsos

Carnival queen sambas with Obama's face on thigh

CHILE
Fidel, Raúl at odds, Chilean editor says

Bachelet vexed by Fidel's article

Chile's economy: Stimulating
Cashing in the fruits of rigour

COLOMBIA
Colombia's Uribe Seeks Brazilian Oil, Milk, Beef Investments. Colombia Seems a Better Client than Ecuador, Venezuela or Bolivia for These Sectors

Hugo Chavez seguirá protegiendo a las FARC

Colombia police in wiretap probe
Colombia's secret police is under investigation over claims rogue agents may have intercepted phone calls and passed on information to criminals.

CUBA
Lugar, GOP Senate Report Urge Fresh Look at Relations With Cuba

PDF file Changing Cuba Policy – in the United States National Interest. Staff trip report to the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate

Still waiting

José Manuel de la Rosa Pérez, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 2/22/08

ECUADOR
Ecuador says expelled diplomat was 'CIA chief'

Hedge Funds for the Few & Socialism-Communism- Labor Union Populism for the Many

Ecuador Police Raid Stanford Office

EL SALVADOR
El Salvador and the Chávez Model
With the presidential election approaching, chavismo weighs heavily on voters' minds.

GUADALOUPE
Race, class fuel social conflict on French Caribbean islands

Economic Riots In Guadalupe Turn Racial

GUATEMALA
Presidente de Guatemala conoce proyectos con Chavez y aumenta nexos con Cuba

HONDURAS
Hallan avioneta venezolana abandonada en Honduras Authorities found Venezuelan airplane abandoned in Honduras. The plane was believed to have carried nearly a ton of cocaine.

MEXICO
Earth to President Obama: Our neighbor Mexico is in dire straits

Bret Baier Reports on Problems with Mexico, Drug Cartels, and Kidnappings (VIDEO)

Must-read report on the Mexican drug wars at the Wall Street Journal: The Perilous State of Mexico
With drug-fueled violence and corruption escalating sharply, many fear drug cartels have grown too powerful for Mexico to control. Why things are getting worse, and what it means for the United States.

The New York Times and Terror Tourism

Mexico's ceramics industry: A clean plate
A battle for lead-free pottery

NICARAGUA
Political tension in Nicaragua: The new Somoza
Daniel Ortega’s slide to autocracy

PANAMA
Chavez holds Venezuela

RV Caravan From Texas To Panama

PUERTO RICO
In Bronx, Little Houses That Evoke Puerto Rico

VENEZUELA
Abrogation of the soul

Chavez on despots' term-cutting edge

The consequences of the 2009 vote

Some parting shots on Chavez, Venezuela and Stanford

Antisemitism in Venezuela: troubling findings

Is a Venezuelan diplomat promoting antisemitism?

Venezuela: Expectations & Challenges 2009 - The Opposition's Perspective . Part 1 here, continues at YouTube

ENTERTAINMENT
Che's image and its perception

IMMIGRATION
EDITORIAL: Illegal-alien outrage

audio feature: How migrant workers from El Salvador risk their lives to get to the US

TRAVEL
Vacation Rental Homes in Costa Rica

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

Share on Facebook

Labels: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, FARC, Guatemala, Honduras, Hugo Chavez, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.

Monday, February 02, 2009

The Groundhog Day Carnival of Latin America & the Caribbean

Cross-posted

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

The big news of the week is the alarming increase of the region, including Venezuela where the country's oldest synagogue was vandalized last Friday. Jews in Venezuela, who have for over two hundred years enjoyed tolerance and peace, over the past few weeks have suddenly found themselves in fear of attack and discrimination. Andres Oppenheimer, writing at Miami Herald points to other incidents in Argentina and Brazil. Meanwhile, Telesur broadcasts

a story entitled ''Gaza's Ruins,'' which accuses Israel ''and the world's Jews'' of failing to denounce alleged atrocities by Israeli troops and ''Jewish planes'' in Gaza

and Fidel Castro (or his amanuensis) writes in Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party that Obama supports Israeli 'genocide'.

I'll be talking about this disturbing trend in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern. Chat's open at 10:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean economies
Lonely beaches: A fall in tourism, and other body blows

Aiming To Shoot Across America's Bow

Populism: The Illusion that Won’t Go Away

Rainforest Resurgence, and New Jungles Prompt a Debate on Rain Forests

Commentary: Is there disunity in CARICOM?

Don't miss also Market Memorandum's news roundup.

ARGENTINA
Fuga de capitales se triplico en el 2008

Women keep disappearing

Argentina Stalling Buenos Aires Bond Plan, Mayor Says

BOLIVIA
DEA presence ends in Bolivia
The last of the U.S. drug agents leaves on President Evo Morales' orders. The U.S. and Bolivia are in a bitter dispute over the South American country's anti-drug efforts.

Facebook will let anybody in these days

Bolivian Christian Group's Ad Against New Constitution

BRAZIL
Dig like Brazil

Lula Raises Brazil’s Minimum Wage 12% as of February

COLOMBIA
Bomb goes off in Bogotá, FARC suspected

Colombia FARC Frees Four Hostages to Opposition Senator Cordoba, three policemen and a member of the Colombian army; The Red Cross verified that the hostages were released; however, Colombia FARC Have Killed Many of Their Captives, Caracol Says

As many as 300 captives taken by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are dead, Caracol Television reported.

The FARC, as the drug funded group is known, were thought to hold as many as 700 Colombians kidnapped for ransom, the TV channel said. Herbin Hoyos, founder and host of “Voices of Kidnapping,” a radio program that relays messages from family members to rebel hostages, said in an interview with Caracol he has the names of many of the victims and their burial sites.

The details were provided to Hoyos by demobilized members of the FARC.

During his state visit to Germany after his trip to Davos, Uribe insists he's not asking to stay in power in perpetuity, but that he wants his long-term policies to take hold (article in Spanish).

CUBA
Castro Betrayed Che With Moscow's Help, Says Former Guerrilla

The finer points of credit

The star that illuminates and goes missing*

Houston we have no problem

Manifestación en Barcelona

Orestes Paino Viera, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 2/1/09

Raúl Castro se reunió con Vladímir Putin en la sede del Gobierno ruso

GUYANA
British sunken ship discovered off Guyana

Hundreds of Guyanese waiting to be deported from Canada

MEXICO
Calderon Says Mexico May Need More Measures to Spark Economy

Killing the lawyers of Juarez

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua Strongmen's Pact Under Strain

PUERTO RICO
1st Puerto Rican astronaut, Ralph Acaba, carries pride in heritage

Puerto Rico's Democratic Party presents measure for tax relief

PERU
Mining in Peru
If a city's the pits, Then move the city

VENEZUELA
Chávez Grabs Again for Life Tenure
Intimidation is on the rise as a referendum approaches.

Synagogue in Venezuela Vandalized in Break-In Israel acusa a Chavez del ataque a sinagoga

Barbarians at the gate: the Caracas Synagogue is profaned

“The Threat closer to Home”: a book on Hugo Chavez's fake revolution

A long term view of monetary liquidity and international reserves in Venezuela

Former PDVSA President Giusti Denies Report of Madoff Losses

PDVSA maula

Here, There and Everywhere: Venezuela Trip Notes from Cartagena, Colombia
Here, there and everywhere

Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Ortega, Honduras's Manuel Zelaya, and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, plus Cuba's vicepresident, Carlos Lage asisten a la cumbre extraordinaria del ALBA.

AMERICAN POLITICS
What Obama Can(Not) Do for Latin America

The Latino Republican Forum

The week's posts and podcasts
Meanwhile at at the World Social Forum in Brazil: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Maradona does Caracas
Brave Benicio ran away. Bravely ran away, away.
Today at 11AM Eastern: Iran’s “Subversive” Role in Latin America
Wonder why no countries like to do business in Cuba?
The Battisti asylum in Brazil: 15 Minutes on Latin America

At Real Clear World:
Venezuela: More Anti-Semitism
Gates: Iran's "Subversive" Role in Latin America

Labels: Alvaro Uribe, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Carnival of Latin America, Colombia, Cuba, FARC, Fausta's blog, Guyana, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The “smells like Bush” day Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

It's the day before inauguration day, and contrary to some overly optimistic expectations, t Hugo Chavez said on Saturday Barack Obama had the “stench” of his predecessor as U.S. president. While here in the USA "To trash Bush was to belong," the trend continues with Chavez and his minions. The carnival goes on!

In today's podcast I'll be talking about Pres. Bush's legacy in Colombia. Chat's open at 10:45AM.

LATIN AMERICA
“Lula marcó distancia ante la posición de Chávez” Lula distances himself from Chavez's position; Hillary and Obama aren't happy about Chavez's anti-Americanism, and other brief news today at Noticias24.

ARGENTINA
Argentine President Urges Consumers to Keep Spending while Cristina Fernandez visits Cuba

A U.S. Court's Threatening Ruling

Enrique Dumas, Who Took Tango to Television in Argentina, Dies

BOLIVIA
Oliver Stone entrevista a Evo Morales en La Paz

Book Review: "Los planes A y B de Evo Morales" de Paul Coca - Juventud y Analisis

BRAZIL
Brazilian church roof collapses

Iran wants Brazil’s support for trying Israeli leaders as war criminals

Ex- terrorist gets asylum in Brazil

Italy's Foreign Min Blasts Brazilian Decision On Fugitive

Brazil's army: But what is it for? A philosopher redesigns an army

COLOMBIA
Uribe's Voice: Transcript of a Call

CUBA
Another flare-up of Castro’s death rumors Signs keep adding up, while Fidel still active, Chávez now says yet Report: Fidel Castro in a coma

Come and live it

"Che" Director Has an Eerie Feeling. Wonder Why?

Medvedev hails renewed ties with Cuba

ECUADOR
Ecuador vows partial bond buy-back

GUYANA
Libya to establish People's Bureau in Guyana

MEXICO
Thick-billed Parrot: Mexico and beyond…?

They Kidnap Americans Don't They?

What If Mexico Loses Its Drug War?

Anarchy in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Bad news out of Managua, the Pacto lives on

PANAMA
Cocaine plane trail is open challenge for Obama administration

PARAGUAY
Fundacion Libertad contra el monopolio de internet

PUERTO RICO
University of Puerto Rico begins new environmental education programme

Separatist? PBS Can't Call a Terrorist a Terrorist

URUGUAY
Uruguay Minister Posts Photos of Her Taking Shower on FaceBook

VENEZUELA
Chavez to swipe US$ 12 billion in international reserves for his personal use

Chavez dysfunctional reality

Venezuela's Chavez takes stock

Chavez turns into Palestinian hero

Kuwaiti MP calls to move Arab League to Caracas
Waleed al-Tabtabai says Venezuelan President has proved he is more Arab than some Arabs.

Chavez - a worse threat than bin Laden?

Hugo Crawls Back

Chavez 'part of evil side of politics'

Chavez Chagrined: Will Oil Companies Return to Venezuela?

Hey, what's one little Order of Magnitude between friends?

Venezuela's indigenous people: A promise unkept. Indigenous Venezuelans get welfare but, so far, not much land

ENTERTAINMENT
Part II: “Che:” Bad Movie About A Bad Guy Gets Worse

US POLITICS
Did Barack Obama promise Mexico’s president he would open the borders?

Chavez to Assess Obama’s Policies Before Reaching Out

Obama’s Hispanic Agenda

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

The week's posts and podcasts:
Eeet steeenks...
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America, at 11AM Eastern: Chavez wants the oil companies back
A name from the past: Noriega
Begging after biting the hand that feeds him
Today at 11AM Eastern: That military report on Mexico
“U.S. military report warns ’sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible”
Pres. Bush honors Tony Blair, John Howard and Alvaro Uribe
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Venezuela’s back-door currency devaluation

At Real Clear World Blog:
Venezuela: Can't Take "No" for an Answer
Venezuela: Currency Depreciation Through Back Door

Share on Facebook

Labels: Argentina, Barack Obama, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Fidel Castro, Guyana, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Ecuador default Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

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

This week's big news: Ecuador defaults on its foreign debt, basically because it doesn't want to:

And while developing world economies have taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent months, Ecuador is ceasing payments not because the oil-rich country cannot afford to pay but because it has made a political decision not to.

The default is Ecuador’s second in a decade and seventh in its 178-year history. More links and posts below.

LATIN AMERICA
The Real Latin-American Left: One We Can Work With

Caracas Russians, Managua Misrule

Latin American Democrats Need U.S. Support
Free trade is one way to help prevent the resurgence of autocracy in the region.

ARGENTINA
Economic Storm Batters Argentina's Breadbasket
Sharp Price Drop Brings Sudden End To Good Times

BOLIVIA
Observatorio de Medios de Bolivia reveló que suman 245 los ataques a periodistas en el último año; alarmante crecimiento desde septiembre de 2008

Evo admite que la Unasur no es plenamente legal

Via American Digest, “Coca Si, Cocaina No”. Let’s hope Aldana Cohen is better informed about his topic than he is about Coca Cola. Coca Cola hasn’t contained any cocaine since 1929.

BRAZIL
Israel's El Al plans direct flights to Brazil

CHILE
A heroic pooch

COLOMBIA
Alleged Colombian coke kingpin in U.S.

Reputed one-time Colombian cocaine kingpin Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez is in Florida after being extradited from his South American homeland, U.S. officials say.

Known as "Don Diego," Montoya Sanchez allegedly once commanded the North Valley cartel, a narco-trafficking empire that exported at least 1.2 million pounds of cocaine to the United States. But Friday he was sitting in a tiny federal jail cell in Miami, The Miami Herald reported.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the Colombian's extradition marked a historic point in efforts by the United States to smash the vast cartel, saying Montoya Sanchez's arrest was the most significant since the convictions of brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the 1980s leaders of Colombia's Cali cartel.

CUBA
Allegations of Biological Weapons Research in Cuba Need Clearing Up

Guantanamo’s Jihad: The Show Begins…

Elián González marks his 15th birthday

¿Cumpleaños o aniversario?

Obama Should Put the Castros in Their Place

Vladimir Alejo Miranda, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 12/14/08

Buques rusos atracarán en Cuba por primera vez desde caída de URSS Russian ships landing in Cuba for the first time since the fall of the USSR. Russian navy: Russian warships to visit Cuba

ECUADOR
The return of the 1980s?

Ecuador decides to stiff creditors

ECUADOR DEFAULTS ON FOREIGN DEBT

Ecuador Default May Hit ‘True Monsters’ Harder Than Argentina

What Did the U.S. Congress Do With Correa's Propagandists and Ministra Viteri?

HAITI
Nutritional value of World Food Program rice distributed in Haiti questioned

MEXICO
Arrested: Suspected Killers of Sheriff’s Deputy. But Was It Ordered by the Mexican Mafia?

Mexico: Growing Terror and Close to Collapse

NICARAGUA
More backyard fun

PARAGUAY
Urgent prayer request

PERU
Innocents Die in the Drug War

PUERTO RICO
Who let the big cat out of the bag? Puerto Rico searches for panther prowling suburbs

Wildlife officials patrolled streets and undeveloped lots in a sort of suburban safari Sunday, searching for a nocturnal predator that has mauled a sheep, ripped apart chickens and dominated newspaper headlines in the tropical U.S. territory since last week.

I didn't know there were any sheep or chickens in Rio Piedras, either.

VENEZUELA
Miguel Octavio was part of a Round Table discussion at the White House on Human Rights Day

Systematic abuse and compulsive lies

A great Venezuelan gets an award

The ultimate idiotic conspiracy theory: The US created credit crisis to get back at Hugo and other revolutionaries

Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape

Venezuela Debt Rating Outlook Cut to Negative by S&P

Black-Out Blights Venezuela for the 4th Time This Year
Power Outage in Caracas Brings Out Social Traits

Via Brazilian Neocon, Jaime Bayly on Chavez's Alo Presidente's diarrhea program, part 1 (in Spanish)

Part 2

AMERICAN POLITICS
Texas Hispanics upset with Democrats

ENTERTAINMENT
Killer Chic: Hollywood’s sick love affair with Che Guevara

Che what

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

This week's podcasts and posts
Obama makes it to the Nativity scene
Soderbergh’s Chegasm

Share on Facebook

Labels: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Che Guevara, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Daniel Ortega, Ecuador, Evo Morales, FARC, Haiti, Hugo Chavez, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela

Monday, December 01, 2008

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

Crossposted

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

This week's focus: China's growing influence in our Hemisphere. I'll be podcasting on China's Latin American influence today at 10AM Eastern. Chat's open by 9:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639.

Listen to Faustas blog on internet talk radio

LATIN AMERICA
China's Latin American Tango
A partnership with benefits for both sides.

Latin American diplomacy: Friends of opportunity
China, rather than Russia, is the new partner that matters

Pay attention to next-door neighbors

Latin America tops murder tables

Challenges in Latin America: Russians in Caracas, Misrule in Managua

Chávez, Correa propose new currency area

ARGENTINA
Harvesting pensions
A pre-election boost for Cristina

Kafka era argentino

Radiografía del kirchnerismo

In today's WSJ, Are Argentina's Cows Happy Eating Grain? This matters because grass-fed beef is Argentina's most famous export.

BOLIVIA
Bush Suspends Trade Accord With Bolivia in Anti-Drug Dispute

President George W. Bush suspended a trade agreement with Bolivia, saying the country provided insufficient cooperation in U.S. efforts against drug trafficking.

The president signed a declaration ending trade benefits under the Andean Trade Preference Act and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement yesterday.

Cutting of trade benefits is the result of Bolivia’s “failure to cooperate with the U.S. counternarcotics efforts,” a condition of maintaining trade preferences, such as reduced tariffs, Perino said.

BRAZIL
Brazil floods are early sign of global warming, expert warns; meanwhile, Brazil mob attacks environmental police in Amazon

La crisis mundial del crédito frena el auge agrícola brasileño

COLOMBIA
DMG, which went under, has its own YouTube channel. The founder of DMG was arrested in Panama two weeks ago. This article (in Spanish) refers to DMG as a Ponzi scheme.

Colombia: Belle Of APEC's Ball

Betancourt makes Colombia return

CUBA
Faltan las marchas

Cuban landmark for Catholic friar

Via IBD blog, "Happy Thanksgiving!" from Fidel

ECUADOR
Ecuador: hopeless

Can pay, might not. Another debt default?

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa is heading to Iran this week

Hopeless, Clueless and Hapless Correa & ALBA Come to Bury Capitalism: Not to Praise It

MEXICO
Mexico Has Made Big Strides on Economic Policy Calderón was smart enough to hedge against falling oil prices

Houston a weapons depot for Mexico criminal insurgency

WAR ON THE BORDER

Success in Mexico

Via Lucianne, House of shattered dreams: US deports more and more Mexicans

PERU
Garcia blames Mexican drug cartels for Peru violence

APEC summit divides bloggers, according to France24 news:

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Governor Promises Changes

The recession now emerging in places like Florida and Ohio has been a fact of life in Puerto Rico for three years. Unemployment has climbed to nearly 12 percent. Taxes have gone up, purchasing power has declined, and the island’s roughly four million residents are unlikely to be patient with their new leader.
…
The structural challenges are immense. Government here plays an outsize role, employing 20 percent to 30 percent of workers on the island, and it is on the verge of bankruptcy. The current administration said this week that it would end the year with a $2 billion budget deficit. One official suggested it was struggling to make payroll, and some institutions — like the Center for Puerto Rican Studies — already report that they have not received government money they are owed.

VENEZUELA
Chávez Again Seeks to End Term Limits; Chavez renews reelection ambition
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a plan to seek a constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for reelection

Brief thoughts on Venezuela

The 2008 Venezuelan results: 3 - Yaracuy as the epitome of all that is wrong with the Venezuelan Political System

Hugo Chavez reverts to his usual self a day after the election, blaming everyone but his perfect self

Russia's Challenge On The High Seas

Russia Proposes Nuclear Reactor Plan to Chavez

The Real Hugo Chavez

Alvaro Vargas Llosa writes about Chavez’s Stumble

Venezuela’s regional elections: Checked, but not halted
Some satisfaction for Hugo Chávez but more for his opponents

ENTERTAINMENT
Che Movie Debuts Miami this Week (Dec. 4)

OTHER ROUNDUPS and news in Spanish
WSJ Americas
HACER
Noticias24

The week’s posts and podcasts
The Russia-Venezuela maneuvers in the Caribbean: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Chávez Lets Colombia Rebels Wield Power Inside Venezuela
Nuclear Latin America: Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America

Special thanks to Ada, Maggie, Eneas, GoV, and Sam.

Share on Facebook

Labels: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, crime, Cuba, Ecuador, Hugo Chavez, illegal immigration, Iran, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela

Monday, July 21, 2008

The third Monday in July Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

I'm still on the road but the Carnival goes on! Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in next week’s carnival please email me: faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.

LATIN AMERICA
The New Battlefield in Latin America

La Raza to the bottom

ARGENTINA
Argentina blocks farm export tax

BRAZIL
Mending an icon: How Rio’s first good governor in decades is starting to renew Brazil’s most famous city

COLOMBIA
SWISS HELP FARC COVER UP ITS OWN BLUNDER

FARC, Chavez y Correa: el trio del terror

Love fest: Presidents Chávez and Uribe agree to bury the hatchet—for now

Hard Reality Of 'Soft Power' In Colombia

CUBA
Cuba to Allow Private Farming: Land Will Remain in Government Hands, However

The elephant in the room

ECUADOR
Ecuador assembly approves Constitution

New Ecuadorian Constitution has 494 Articles

Freedom of Speech Killed by Euthanasia in Ecuador

EL SALVADOR
Documentary on Hugo Chavez aired on Salvadoran TV (in Spanish). You can watch it in full at Fuerza Solidaria
Here’s the first part on YouTube

MEXICO
Sicarios mexicanos reciben formacion de extremistas en Iran - Terra Top-ranking Mexican criminals with military background travel to Iran via Venezuela for terrorist training.

VENEZUELA
Chavez pleads for investment as falling output fuels inflation

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wore a suit for the occasion, and, grinning at about 300 business leaders he usually calls "oligarchs,'' asked for help relieving a drought in investment.

Chavez minister anti inflation plan: Haggle!

Deadly massage : How not to tackle a soaring murder rate

Venezuela: Looking ahead

Galp to Receive 1 Million Barrels of Oil From Venezuela Hugo Chavez keeps giving away Venezuela's wealth at our expense

AMERICAN POLITICS
In South Florida Congressional Race, Incumbent and Challenger Have the Ethnic Bases Covered

Special thanks to Maria, Eneas, Siggy, Larwyn, Pat Patterson and Judith

Crossposted.

Share on Facebook

Labels: Argentina, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Latin America, Mexico, politics, Venezuela

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

"UNASUR - A South American EU?"

One of the pleasures of blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to come in contact with very interesting websites. A couple of hours ago I received an email from Adam Kott of the International Affairs Forum, which has recently completed a roundtable on UNASUR that explores the organization's potential to become a strong political and economic bloc similar to the European Union.

The forum participants are:
Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies,
Laura Carlsen, Center for International Policy
Juan Carlos Hidalgo, Cato Institute
Francisco Panizza, London School of Economics
and Michael Shifter, Inter-American Dialogue

You can read their responses here: "UNASUR - A South American EU?". Each response is well thought-out and interesting.

I look forward to more of these forums. The website itself is an excellent resource on foreign affairs, too.

Share on Facebook

Labels: EU, Latin America, South America

Monday, July 07, 2008

Finally, one of the big blogs pays attention to the Venezuela-Hezbollha connection

Little Green Footballs has the link to the Washington Times article.

Bill Roggio and I blogged about it last month.

Yes, I flogged the story.

Share on Facebook

Labels: Hizballah, Hizbollah, Hugo Chavez, Latin America, terrorism, Venezuela

The Colombian hostage rescue edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

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

The big news of the year so far is the rescue by the Colombian military of the FARC's four most valuable hostages: French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, Americans Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves, and eleven Colombian officers and NCOs, including the courageous Lt. Malagon who remained unbroken after ten years of captivity.

ARGENTINA
Chavez tied to Argentine bribe scandal coverup

Bolivian president Evo Morales's administration is tottering, and so was he when getting off the plane in Tucuman: No red carpet for Evo at Argentina's Mercosur summit

Argentina's War on Farmers Raises Food Prices Around the World

BOLIVIA
¿Alguien entiende a la Democracia de Bolivia o de Evo Morales? La oposición gana la Prefectura de Chuquisaca.

UK Navy commandos seize huge cocaine shipment; among them, Prince William.

COLOMBIA
Chavez voodoo dolls on the streets of Colombia

Must-read insights: Reflections on 2 July’s rescue

From the Colombian government website: Uribe apoya idea de Chávez de construir ferrocarril colombo-venezolano Uribe supports Chavez's idea of a Colombian-Venezuelan railway, with one line through the eastern plains tying into Ecuador, and another line by the Caribbean.

Uribe's hostage triumph

And how do we thank Colombia?

Kouchner: France paid no ransom for Betancourt Ingrid's liberation seen from Bogota: "The whole room was cheering"

FARC's 'Human Rights' Friends

Since the late 1990s, the NGO practice of dragging the military into court on allegations of human rights violations has destroyed the careers of some of the country's finest officers, even though most of these men were found innocent after years of proceedings. "Judicial warfare" turned out to be especially effective because under legislation pushed by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, "credible" charges against officers put at risk U.S. military aid unless the accused was removed. The NGOs knew that they only had to point fingers to get rid of an effective leader and demoralize the ranks. Given this history, it's not surprising that the FARC thought a helicopter from an NGO was perfectly natural.

With friends like this

Video:

Colombia Rescues the FARC’s Most Famous Hostage

Colombian Press on Betancourt Rescue

Is this truly a farewell to the revolution?

More on the hostage rescue
They're Home: Three American Hostages Rescued by Colombian Military

Rescued Americans feast on pizza, soda

COLOMBIA "ENTEBBE" LIBERATION DAY

Fallout from Colombian Hostage Rescue all Good

Israel Helped in FARC Hostage Rescue Operation

Now this is their kind of crisis

Planning for rescue included a seating chart

Video shows orderly hostage rescue become celebration

Foljder

Comment at Just One Minute on Uribe & human rights.

Some more stuff about the Colombian FARC hostage rescue.

MSNBC host: Was the Colombia hostage rescue a sham designed to benefit McCain?

Speaking of which, a few links John McCain's trip to Colombia (Sen McCain had already left for Mexico when the rescue took place, unlike what this blogger states):
McCain lauds Bogota's fight against drug trafficking
McCain to tour Colombian drug control efforts
McCain Heads Today for Colombia, Where Adviser Has Long Had Ties

CUBA
On this day in history

"Word of mouth"

ECUADOR
Ecuador indulta 1,200 "mulas" y traficantes de drogas. Ecuador pardons 1,200 "mules" and drug traffickers

Ecuador drops visa requirement

Ecuador buys planes, radar for border

Ecuador is Unstable Because the Current Regime is Corrupt

HAITI
The UN says Things Not All That Bad in Haiti. How bad do they want them to be?

JAMAICA
Sick transit: The murder of an anti-corruption campaigner

MEXICO
Markets for the poor in Mexico, with video:

McCain knits trade, security issues

PANAMA
Greenback Is a Reason to Rejoice in Panama

PARAGUAY
James Cason, Ambassador, Paraguay Singing Sensation

PUERTO RICO
Via Sam, Theo Spark

Pfc. Robert Camocho, of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Co. B., 2-6th Inf. Regt., scans a simulated IED lane while training at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch)