The Brazilian diplomacy 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 the next Carnival, please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big story: Brazil continues its ascendance as a diplomatic powerhouse for the hemisphere. Last week thirty-three countries met in Brazil for the first Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development. Today president Lula hosts French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who's visting the country to bring about bilateral cooperation in several areas, including the production of defense submarines. I'll be discussing Sarko's visit in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern, which you can listen to here.

LATIN AMERICA
Via Pat, Latin America’s Deafening Silence by Jorge Castañeda.

Interesting post (in Spanish) on the UnoAmérica pro-democracy NGO meeting in Bogota; their website here.

Only in Argentina

ARGENTINA
Nestor Kirchner is unwell

Argentina and the drug trade

Confuso triple juego hispano-ruso-argentino

ATFA Condemns Ecuador's Debt Default Decision Defaulting on Foreign Debt

Austroraptor cabazai: They Just Don't Make Big Scary Dinosaurs Like They Once Did

Argentina Seizes Assets of Iranian Terrorist-Diplomat

BELIZE
Commentary: One Belizean's perspective on agreement between Belize and Guatemala

BRAZIL
Slide show: Brazilians in Ireland

Comments on Bloomberg News' Brazil Defence Story

Brazil Fails to Earmark Budget Money for Sovereign Wealth Fund

CHILE
FruityRumPunch update

COLOMBIA
Pass FTA and amend Plan Colombia

Combined with a revamped Plan Colombia, the FTA can then promote both human rights and the overall quality of life in Colombia. One of the loudest proponents for the FTA is Asocolflores, Colombia's flower exporters association. Dependent on the U.S. market, its companies employ 200,000 Colombians. This and other export industries create jobs and opportunities that provide poor Colombians alternatives to growing coca, the plant used to make cocaine.

Real change will not come from bulletproof armor, helicopters, and tanks, but will depend on Colombia's institutional capabilities and the economic opportunities it can offer its citizens. The United States should focus Plan Colombia on improving justice and human rights, and pass the FTA to improve economic opportunities for both countries' citizens. President-elect Obama's campaign promised change; our regional partners could use some, too.

COSTA RICA
New World Post-pandemic Reforestation Helped Start Little Ice Age, Say Scientists

CUBA
Russian warships bound for Cuba in new show of strength

Blogger and Castro kin clash on the Web

EL SALVADOR
Will El Salvador Veer Left?

MEXICO
Iraq is safer than Mexico

Mexico - US – Italy cocaine connection

NICARAGUA
Now Nicaragua can't just blame the Empire

PANAMA
The Dry Season Has Arrived

PARAGUAY
¿Quiere Lugo imitar a Salvador Allende? - ABC Color

PUERTO RICO
Pharma-Bio acquires assets and operations in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico governor elect heads to New York to meet with credit agencies

TOBAGO
Now that the price of fuel is down, airline carriers are returning to the region: Non-stop Delta service returns to Tobago

VENEZUELA
OPEC cuts production, Venezuela lies, oil drops yet again

The Chavez permanent show: 170 hours of cadena

HRW v Hugo Chavez et sycophants

Yet another Russia-Venezuela joint venture: Government to install gold refinery at Las Cristinas – Venezuela

Chavez After the Oil Boom

Chavez Latin America Allies Escalate Rhetoric on Debt

Venezuela's foreign policy loses its gas

AMERICAN POLITICS
Fixing Border Security

ENTERTAINMENT
Che Guevara was a murderer and your t-shirt is not cool

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

This week’s posts and podcasts
Iran using Venezuela ties to duck UN sanctions
Latin America: Summits and Crisis, at Real Clear World blog
Report: Drug cartels move beyond borders
From the Mexican war zone: Kidnapping Negotiator Is Now a Victim in Mexico
Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development excludes Bush, as China, Russia loom







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The “Cuban oil” 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 two big stories: Cuba and oil, and Obama on Colombia.
Cuba claims massive oil reserves.

The BBC ran the story last Friday, and the numbers come from - where else - the Cuban government, which claims more than double the previous estimate of oil reserves:

The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently estimated that as much as 9bn barrels of oil and 21 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could lie within that zone, in the North Cuba Basin.

However, Cubapetroleo exploration manager Rafael Tenreyro Perez said his company's estimate was higher because it had better information about Cuba's offshore geology.

"I'm almost certain that if [USGS officials] ask for all the data we have, their estimate is going to grow considerably," he told a news conference in the capital, Havana.

If correct, Cuba's oil reserves would be almost the same as those of the US - 21bn barrels, according to the Oil & Gas Journal - and nearly twice the size of Mexico's - 11.7bn barrels.

I asked oil industry expert and former PDVSA board member Gustavo Coronel his opinion on these figures and he replied,

No country can claim oil reserves unless some basic requirements can be met:
sufficient geophysical exploration,
successful exploration,
drilling,
sufficient number of confirmatory wells,
clear definition of the dimensions of the reservoir,
certainty that the production of the oil can be economically done.

All of this and more is necessary before a country can claim to have X barrels of oil reserves.

Cuba, so far, has done NO one of these things. In fact, one of the very few companies looking for oil in this area of Cuban territorial waters, SHERRITT, a Canadian company (I think) just CALLED IT QUITS, gave up its rights to continue exploration. Why would a company do this
if there were the enormous oil "reserves" claimed by Cuba?

Sherritt indeed has canceled its agreement for operations in Cuban waters, saying the ventures were not viable:

Sherritt's evaluation was that exploration activity was not worth continuing, an option available within its contract, said Cupet Exploration Director Rafael Tenreyro. "They have their reasons for not continuing," he said.

That's the same Rafael Tenreyro Perez who claims that Cuba has twice as much oil as anyone else's estimate. Earlier this year Sherritt had relenquished its deepwater blocks off Cuba because it could not attract a partner to share the development costs and risks.

So much for the facts on the Cuban claims. But don't be surprised if you hear about it in the media. After all, they keep praising Cuba's healthcare even when Fidel himself had to import a gastroenterologist/oncologist to save himself.

Oil? More like snake oil.

Obama Is Wrong About Colombia: Labor unions are much safer under Uribe.

It is far safer to be a union member today in Colombia than to be a member of the general population. This is a fact, and it would be interesting to know why Mr. Obama has repeatedly refused to acknowledge it.

Is it because of his heavy reliance on campaign contributions from the antitrade AFL-CIO? Or perhaps, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Obama has an ideological bias in favor of Colombia's hard left. If it's the latter, then it is worth asking whether an Obama presidency would change U.S. foreign policy to look more favorably on insurgents of the FARC variety.

Here's Mary Anastasia O'Grady:



CARIBBEAN
Trade winds: Finally, a deal with Europe

LATIN AMERICA
Bad Bets: Currency worries in Brazil and Mexico

Rediscovering Latin America

ARGENTINA
Argentina faces court battle over airline

Live search maps for Argentina

BOLIVIA
Letter of the Civil Society of Cochabamba to the International Community - Comite Civico de Cochabamba

BRAZIL
Brazil's Future Going the Way of Oil

Police battle police in Sao Paulo. video

COLOMBIA
The FARC’s shrinking world

CUBA
Defector Recounts Escape: Alcantara One of Two Players to Leave Team During U.S.

Via Babalu, The Ghosts of Communism

The sounds of tyranny



ECUADOR
Ecuador’s New Constitution First to Guarantee Rights to Nature

Correa warns against “illegitimate” debt

Ecuador is not a democracy

Cardenal ecuatoriano ataca al gobierno frente al Papa

Ecuador vs. Democracy

MEXICO
Cae una importante red de narcos colombianos en México

Via LGF linkviewer, State Department warns against travel to Mexico: Deadliest drug zone invites Americans to tour 'land of encounters'

Mexico to deport Cuban migrants

NICARAGUA
Periodistas de Nicaragua cargan contra Daniel Ortega por “dictador”

PERU
Return of Peru's Shining Path as terror movement kills 19 soldiers

Peru’s unloved president: Pursued by the ghosts of the past

PUERTO RICO
A minor earthquake hit Puerto Rico on Saturday, Magnitude 3.0 - PUERTO RICO REGION causing no damage.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Enill: T&T has 64 years worth of oil and gas reserves

VENEZUELA
Just as the country is hit by a huge electrical blackout (the third one this year), Sean Penn is back in Venezuela for an unannounced visit: Sean Penn llega a Venezuela y se reúne con Hugo Chávez (+ Fotos) If you’re fluent in Spanish, you’ll love the comments (most not suitable for work!) .

Those exquisite little moments that bring you a big smile on your face

Oil-Fueled Nation Feels Pinch
As the Price of Crude Plunges, Venezuela Is Poised to Face a Lot of Pain

Venezuelans have no Electricity nor Water this October 19, 2008

Feeling the pinch: Chavez Says Oil Between $80 and $90 Is `Sufficient'

What will Chávez do without Castro?

Vivanco speaks out

Terrorist worship in Venezuela

Hugo Chavez Celebrates End of Free Markets, Demands Recipe for Chicken-Fried Bacon

NPR Touts Hugo Chavez, End to 'Free Market Fundamentalism'

Venezuela's government looking to establish new 6-hour workday

VIRGIN ISLANDS
Hurricane fears ease in Caribbean

AMERICAN POLITICS
Palin Thwarts The Gas Cartel

Stances on trade are worlds apart

On trade agreements, Obama's playing with fire

Special thanks to Eneas, GoV, Maggie, and Maria.



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The fourth Monday in June Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

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

The week's big stories: Chavez threatens to stop oil sales to EU, EU says he "misunderstood", and the US Treasury Department designated Venezuelan diplomat as a Hizbollah supporter (see links under Venezuela).

We discussed this and other Latin American topics with Monica Showalter of Investor's Business Daily in last Friday's podcast.

BLOG OF THE WEEK
Inside South America

LATIN AMERICA
LAC news for 17 June

ARGENTINA
La Plaza del Amor: The Kirchners

Argentina's farm dispute: Cristina's climbdown: Calling Congress back to life

Para ustedes que siempre quisieron...

BOLIVIA
Bolivian Tensions, Part 3

BRAZIL
Brazil's IPO Rush Hits Rough Patch

CHILE
A whale of a week ahead for Chile

COLOMBIA
Prince of Thieves

The unstoppable crop: A big rise in coca in Colombia

COSTA RICA
Travel: Costa Rica Vacation - Arenal Volcano!

CUBA
Another sad day for the plight of Cuba's political prisoners

What we didn't know about the Cuban Missile Crisis

ECUADOR
Sorry, Che, we blew it

La HRF Responde a Acusaciones del Presidente Correa y Declara a Guadalupe Llori como Prisionera Política del Gobierno del Ecuador

Bayly (in Spanish): Las dos viudas de [Raul] Reyes

Chavez wants to work with next US leader: We ask - WHAT AS? Montaner Declares Ecuador has No Compass

MEXICO
Deadly stampede at Mexico disco

A Wary Friendship: Amid bad temper and wounded pride, Mexico and the United States inch towards compromise on a plan to boost the fight against drug crime

Welcome for US aid for Mexico’s drug war

Travel: Ultimate Vacation Guide: Laguna Miramar - Mexico

NICARAGUA
Thwarting democracy in Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega Compara a los europeos con "moscas que se paran en la inmundicia" (compares Europeans to "flies that stand on filth").

PERU
Just a kid babe edition

Brrrr... Peru Declares Emergency -- Record Cold Kills 61 Children & 5,000 Alpacas

PUERTO RICO
The Incredible Shrinking Airlines
They're cutting back flights, routes, and services. How business travelers can be prepared for the upheaval.

TRINIDAD
Freakonomics, Crime and Trinidad and Tobago

VENEZUELA
Venezuela 'taking control' of mines

US designates two Hezbollah operatives in Venezuela as terrorists
Treasury Moves on Hezbollah in Venezuela
US Treasury Dept: Venezuelan diplomat helped Hizbollah

CHAVEZ WILL BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, THE HAGUE

A funny way to beat inflation: Hugo Chavez invites the private sector to help him build socialism

Hugo of Hezbollah

Venezuela Goes to the Dogs

Via American Sheepdogs blog, the town of Macon Georgia and a member of Americans for Peace salute Chavez

Chavez Guisonomics 101, part IV: Why did the Government stop the use of structured notes to buy a bank?

IMMIGRATION
Report: McCain calls for comprehensive immigration reform at private meeting with Hispanic Republicans? Update: In newspaper interview, too?

Border patrol seeks recruits in Salem: Career opportunities lure prospects in Northwest

ELECTION
Outraged Cuban Americans Protest Obama in Miami

ENTERTAINMENT
The perfect Cuba libre

Special thanks to Eneas, Larwyn, Maria, Monica and Siggy



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The Saint Patrick's Day Edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Saint Patrick's Day Edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. Starting the week in a festive mode, today's big story is the concert at the Venezuela-Colombia border.

Juanes, other stars stage concert for peace on Colombian-Venezuelan border

Tens of thousands of Colombians and Venezuelans flocked to a border bridge on Sunday for a free concert that Grammy-winning rocker Juanes organized to help heal the worst crisis in Andean relations in decades.

Held atop the Simon Bolivar bridge connecting the northeastern Colombian town of Cucuta with San Antonio in Venezuela, the show also featured Colombian singer Carlos Vives, Dominican Juan Luis Guerra and Spain's Miguel Bose and Alejandro Sanz on the playbill.

As you may recall, Alejandro Sanz had cancelled a concert in Venezuela due to pressure from Chavistas.

The BBC has more


If you would like your posts included in the Monday Carnivals, please email me the link: faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

LATIN AMERICA
Rice Urges South America To Keep Terrorists Out

Bush and Uribe v. Chavez and Correa

A natural gas disaster

The FARC Files

U.S.: An unreliable ally
Center for Strategic and International Studies (pdf file) Tension in the Andes

Tension in the Andes

BOLIVIA
Bolivia court suspends constitution vote

BRAZIL
Portrait In Red: One of the world's most successful AIDS programmes faces new problems

CHILE
Chile: Palestinians look for a new future in South America

COLOMBIA
Bush to push vote on Colombian FTA?

Colombia Has Earned Its Trade Pact

Peace in our time, on the box, But it may well prove to be as phoney as the war

Obama and FARC

The pattern of pursuit

FARC looking for anti-aircraft missiles

Chiquita Sued By U.S. Families for Support of the FARC

COSTA RICA
Costa Rica finds FARC funds

CUBA
Babalu Blog has been on the story about the Defecting Cuban soccer players
7 Cuban soccer players abandon free health care

La amnesia del Vaticano by Maria Werlau of Cuba Archive

Cuba Lifts Ban on Computers, Other Electronics

Wall Street Journal reports Cuban link to FARC

Center for Security Policy's study (PDF file) Implications of the recent Change in Cuban Leadership

DOMINICA
Dominica: The Caribbean's Next 'Terror Island'?

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
La lección de diplomacia de Alvaro Uribe ante el 'pobre patán' de Rafael Correa

ECUADOR
Introducing U.S. Congressional Directives Resolving to Tell the Truth about Chavez's FARC Cartels

Guardian Angels of Evil

Correa calls on to establish new OAS without U.S. participation

JAMAICA
Crown and Anchor: The staying power of the British monarchy in its Caribbean ex-colonies

MEXICO
The Mexican milk problem

Opposition Party May Tone Down Radical Voice

Canuck Cook Caged in Guadalajara

Mexico police capture top Tijuana hitman

PERU
Peru meteorite may rewrite rules

PUERTO RICO
Fortuno Wins Puerto Rico Primary

TRINIDAD TOBAGO
Joseph: American paid $55m for police reform

VENEZUELA
Hugo's own Emperor's Club

Sad acts of anarchy surface in daily life in confrontational Venezuela

Le discours belliqueux du Lt. Col. Chavez permet de resserrer les rangs et de disqualifier les opposants, aussitôt accusés de trahison de la patrie

An important week for Hugo Chavez

The American Friends of Hugo Chavez

Pedro M. Burrelli:
What do we do now with Mr. Chavez?

Smuggling is thriving despite Chávez policies
One of President Hugo Chávez's key efforts to prevent smuggling and put food on the shelves in western Venezuela is failing.

The FARC's Guardian Angel

US considering adding Venezuela to states sponsoring terrorism list Venezuela & the terror supporters list: Pros and cons

Gobiernos auspiciadores de terrorismo

PODCAST
Raices de Esperanza interview

Special thanks to Maggie, Larry, Larwyn, Siggy, Armando and Eneas



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The Spring Daylight Savings Time edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Spring Daylight Savings Time edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included in the Carnival, please email me the link: faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

The hot news of the week was Chavez's threatened war with Colombia, a crisis which, in typical Latin American fashion, was neatly wrapped on Friday afternoon, in time for a swim and a nice dinner at the Dominican Republic. Chavez has resumed diplomatic relations with Colombia, thus being able to continue importing food to ease food shortages arising Chavez's price controls.

The real news (as Austin Bay said) is Colombia's successful war against the FARC.

I recommend to all my readers this must-read from The Economist: On the warpath: Colombia is moving closer to breaking the FARC -unless Venezuela stops it

The posts and articles below are in addition to the posts I included on March 5 and 4.

Latin America and the US elections
Latinos Seek Citizenship in Time for Voting

LATIN AMERICA
Thugs, demogogues and Latin America

S. American Leaders Resolve Crisis

BOLIVIA
Lynching, Communal Justice, and Bolivia's New Constitution

4 Provinces Reject Court Ruling On Autonomy Referendums

BRAZIL
Betting the fazenda

COLOMBIA
Presidentes Uribe, Chavez, Ortega y Correa se aprietan la mano y alivian grave crisis diplomática Presidents Uribe (Colombia), Chavez (Venezuela), Ortega (Nicaragua) and Correa (Ecuador) shake hands and ease the grave diplomatic crisis.

Grand Master of Masons of Venezuela Murdered in Kidnapping Attempt

La ultima carta de 'Raúl Reyes' a las Farc

Gobiernos auspiciadores del terrorismo



Fighting FARC: On Strategy and Satellite Phones

Colombia offering a democratic alternative to Chavez

Despite setbacks, FARC far from out

NRO editorial Uribe!

Gruesome End... FARC Saws Off Leader's Hand After Assassination

Terrorists, Marxists, Leftists and the Democrats

Rescues in Afghanistan, sitting out elections and border troubles in Colombia

Alvaro Uribe keeps outchavezing Hugo Chavez

Another FARC leader killed

El Carcelero, via No pasaran

The Latin Israel

Colombia Is Criticized For Raid Into Ecuador

CUBA
Pluck and luck save smuggled photos

Statement of the Municipalities of Cuba and Human Rights

PDF file: De la mesa de trabajo de Martha Beatriz Roque

Your no-good brother in law

Cuba's underground internet rebellion

Is there a cure for Cuba?

ECUADOR
Documents show FARC ties to Venezuela, Ecuador

More hostages to be freed

Real Crisis in Andes Escalates: Democracy and Courage Shot in the Back Once Again by Latins

HONDURAS
Gunmen disguised as police kill 8 in Honduras
Massacre at billiards hall; effort under way to halt wave of violence

MEXICO
Wrong about Mexico

Mexican police net huge weapons cache in Tijuana

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua breaks diplomatic relations with Colombia

PANAMA
Panama Caught up in FARC Crisis

PUERTO RICO
Desperation and the Puerto Rico primary

Via Maria, Scrutiny for Puerto Rico Over Animal Treatment

TRINIDAD
T&T Jazz Festival begins

VENEZUELA
Via Siggy, Allies of Terrorism
The presidents of Venezuela and Ecuador are revealed as backers of the criminals who fight Colombia's democracy.

Venezuela pleads guilty in a cash case

Venezuela reopening embassy in Colombia

The kind of war we're going to have...

Venezuela's not-show show of force

(Fotos) En camiones van los tanques

Via Instapundit Does Hugo Chavez help the poor?

The American Friends of Hugo Chavez

Incidente fronterizo entre la DISIP, GN y habitantes de Paraguachon

No sooner did the army get to the area that the soldiers started calling in sick: Avalancha de peticiones de baja y permisos médicos en la FAN

Must-read (in Spanish) El Tiempo's special supplement on the contents of Reyes's computer
Baduel le dijo que no (for background on Baduel, see my Dec. 4, 2007 post)

Chavez Moves Toward War

Via Maggie's Farm, Ricochet in the Andes

The Corruption of Democracy in Venezuela

FARC ships through Venezuela to Guinea-Bissau in West Africa to Europe

Special thanks to Larwyn, Maggie, Maria, Siggy, Alek and Wretchard



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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 in the Monday Carnivals, please email me your links, faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

Last week's big story was Castro's resignation. I did a huge roundup and follow=up, but Babalu did an excellent job covering the story. Babalu's Val Prieto was in our podcast.

Let's start with some humor:
Top Ten Reasons Fidel Castro Is Retiring

MEDIA:
New Spanish TV channel – online and totally free

BAHAMAS
How Castro's Exit will Affect Cuba and the Bahamas

BRAZIL
Raul prefers Lula over Hugo? Lula and McCain are on the same page

Whodunnit? A strange theft of oil and gas secrets

COLOMBIA
Betancourt: 6 Years As Colombian Captive

Big Labor Can't Handle the Truth About Colombia

No Mas Farc, by Mario Vargas Llosa (in Spanish)

Kouchner in Colombia gets told by Uribe

Colombia rebels get foothold in Venezuela

COSTA RICA
Costa Rican National Parks, and Costa Rican Food.

CUBA
Freed dissidents expose Castro's brutal regime

Perhaps Michael Moore could talk with these gentlemen

Attention Gitmo protesters, the only one torturing political prisoners on the Isle of Cuba is Castro

RAUL CASTRO'S LONG HISTORY OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

Ending Embargo Won't Free Cuba

MARK FALCOFF: CASTRO RAISES A TOAST

Castro Resigns! Sanctions Work!

Council on Foreign Relations: Manners Over Life?

By Tottenpundit, Golf courses will return to Cuba

Cuba Warms to the US

Raul Disses Hugo

Cuba's Phony Transition: Fidel Resigns, Raul Reigns, also at HACER

Castro's Legacy, the Economist's cover story.

Fidelistas forever

La victoire des barbudos a réveillé en l'intelligentsia française une vieille passion française pour la révolution

Via Larwyn, Selective Ignorance

El cadáver insepulto de Fidel Castro

Statement on Cuba's Transition from Secretary Condoleezza Rice

Fidel Castro urges changes in U.S., not Cuba
Retired leader says democracy in Cuba would mean 'annexation' by U.S

CUBA LIBRE: NEXT STEP FOR ISLAND SHOULD BE DEMOCRACY

History will never absolve Castro

Models for Cuba

People Don't Improve What They Don't Own

ECUADOR
Correa is Truly Aligned in Every Sense with Chavez

MEXICO
Mexico under siege, via Real Clear Politics.

NICARAGUA
Ortega burps: "Castro is still the leader"

PARAGUAY
Mengele in Paraguay
On the jungle trail of the Nazi doctor. Via Meganpundit

Paraguay in a panic over yellow fever

PUERTO RICO
McCain gets Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s Political Melodrama Plays On, With Its Governor in the Lead Role

London Times Story Urges Travel to Cuba Before 'Golden Era' Ends

Castro: Not a president

TRINIDAD TOBAGO
Radical Islam in the Caribbean

VENEZUELA
The Bolivar obsession

Tragedy strikes one more time on Venezuelan air

Chavez Officially Merges with Iran

Rationing cards, another smart Chavista invention coming soon at a PDVAL market near you

An interesting series of events:
Los lodos que traen los polvos de Hugo Chávez, Estalla artefacto explosivo en sede de Fedecámaras - Un muerto, and Fuente: Carlos Arreaza director de PoliChacao

Exxon v PDVSA? Hugo Chavez v Venezuela actually

Special thanks to Siggy, Larwyn, Maggie, Maria and Elisa.

I started this Carnival with humor, and I'm ending it with humor: Yesterday Pat's Carnival featured the dancing Fidel:


UPDATE
Commenter Joated requested news on Guyana:
Guyana's crime challenge
Massacres cutting into Guyana tourism
Guyana struggling to cope with tragedy
I'll make sure to include Guyana news in all future carnivals.

Blogging about the Carnival
GM Roper



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The MLK Day edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Martin Luther King Day edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Today's top story is that Brazil's president Lula visited Cuba last week and said that Castro is 'ready to return' while at the same time Castro Says He's Too Unhealthy to Speak. And then some wonder why there's incredulity in this world.

Don't miss also the video of Chavez saying he chews coca every day.

If you would like your links on Latin America to be included in the Monday carnivals, please email me by Sunday evening: faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

SPANISH-LANGUAGE WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Un millon de voces contra el FARC

LATIN AMERICA
Translating Obama

France has nuclear energy deals in the works with Argentina and Chile.

IMMIGRATION
Symposium: The Immigration Solution

HACER is hosting the international conference US-Mexico Labor Market Dilemma: Overcoming the bi-national political circus in Mexico City on January 24, 2008 - 11:30 AM.

VIDEOS
Chavez Announces: I Chew Coca Every Day
Chávez says he chews coca daily
Analysts said Chávez's comments before National Assembly amounted to a dangerous endorsement and might be an admission of an illegal act.


Two videos in Spanish:
From El Cato, on economic freedom and democracy:


FARC TERRORISTAS ASESINOS


BARBADOS
Thompson: 'much at stake for Barbados'

Sweet Success: A change of power in one of the Caribbean's best-run and most stable democracies

Barbados' time for change

BOLIVIA
Enshrining Mob Rule in Bolivia: Communal Justice and the New Constitution

BRAZIL
This time it will all be different Why Brazil is better placed than it used to be to cope with a world slowdown

CHILE
Chile-Peru spat over sea border

COLOMBIA
Story of Colombian boy hostage emerges

557 Reasong why the FARC is on the international lists of terrorist groups

From the official Colombian government website, a press release on Uribe's trip to the EU: Presidente Uribe viaja a Europa para explicar logros en Seguridad Democrática y avanzar en Acuerdo de Asociacion

Galeras Volcano erupts in Colombia

FARC's 'Gift' To Hugo Chavez

CUBA
Plantados hasta la Libertad y Democracia en Cuba

Demand Medical Attention for Critically Ill Cuban Prisoners

Reality is nothing, perception is everything

Detenido de forma agresiva y abusiva el ex preso político y opositor Raúl Federico Caballero Rodríguez representante de Plantados en la provincia de Camagüey.

Reperecusión en Prensa, Oswaldo Payá-Elecciones Cuba

Will the real Che Guevara please stand up?

Why tourism is no longer promoted

"Simply Freedom"

ECUADOR
Ecuador: La escasez y el Socialismo del Siglo XXI

U.S. SouthCom Pimps for Soros's US AID

MEXICO
Mexico's Cartel War: Calderon in the Cauldron

Is this the next president of Mexico?

NICARAGUA
Chavez in Nicaragua; Absurdity ensues

PANAMA
U.S. Navy Official Exaggerated Terrorist Threat to Arctic & Panama Canal Shipping

Party time: President Torrijos's grip is beginning to falter

PERU
Peru GDP Expanded 8.1% in November From Year Ago

PUERTO RICO
Timothy Olyphant Heads Off on 'A Perfect Getaway'

From a UFO site blog: SETI: " . . . Mystery Signal Has Been Picked Up By a Giant Radio-Telescope in Puerto Rico"

Ricky Martin at Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, and the plena video I linked to on Saturday,


TRINIDAD TOBAGO
30 Murders in 18 Days!

VENEZUELA
The Dangerously High Price of Crossing Hugo Chavez

Judge Monica Fernandez, a Venezuelan human rights advocate, was shot on January 4 in what police ruled a botched car robbery. The night before the attack, she was branded an enemy of the state, a coup-plotter, and a fascist on a state television show which condemns those who dare to oppose the government's actions. Coincidence? Thor Halvorssen doesn't think so.

Via Siggy,
Venezuela's Jews Find Their Voice as Chavez Ramps Up Harassment

Chavez to farmers: Sell within Venezuela or it's 'treason'; Chavez threatens to send in the army to seize farms at gunpoint unless farmers sell all their milk to the government. Udder stupidity. As Ed says,

Chavez has chosen the Mugabe way of state confiscation of farms, and will eventually get the Mugabe result -- taking his nation into poverty and starvation on land that should produce enough for export.

Via Irish Spy
Exit Venezuela?

Chavez and the FARC-The Unveiling

Is Chavez seeking war with Colombia?

U.S. media treats Chavez better than he accords his opponents and Lucianne discussion thread

Chavez and the FARC

A Hollywood Yarn Unravels

Venezuelan government continues attack on independent media; Alberto Federico Ravell is "Caracas Nine" dissident #3

An article from last month I didn't link to Election deception

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For more carnival fun, visit SheBlogs Carnival #13, hosted by Sex and the South.

Blogging about the Carnival
A colombo-americana's perspective.
Obi's Sister



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This week's Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to this week's Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This week's big stories: the governor of Puerto Rico claims that the massive Federal investigation on his wrongdoings is politically motivated, and Hugo gets farked by the FARC.

If you would like to have your posts included in the Carnival, please email me the link(s): faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

New WEBSITE, and new FEATURE
Website: Net for Cuba International

Feature: The Cubanology Biweekly Report

ARGENTINA, VENEZUELA AND AMERICA
Slush and garbage
The imbroglio over a cash-stuffed suitcase

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo join the circus

CARIBBEAN
Audio: BBC Radio's Caribbean Report

LATIN AMERICA
Pace of investment disappoints Latin America

HACER's weekly roundup.

BELIZE
Every time...

BOLIVIA
Bolivia's Dilemma: Democracy v. Authoritarianism

Bolivia looking for heavy investment from oil firms

Second Venezuelan found with suspicious cash

BRAZIL
If redemption fails, you can still use the free bathroom
Edir Macedo and his Universal Church have prospered by offering a religion "of results" to the upwardly mobile

CHILE
Llaima volcano erupts in Chile

COLOMBIA
Colombia Says DNA Links Boy To Woman Held by Rebel Group

Camera, no action

Colombians getting it done

Bogota opens 'museum of laziness'

A museum dedicated to laziness has opened in Colombia's capital, Bogota.
The event features sofas placed in front of televisions, hammocks and beds - anything associated with the avoidance of work.

Sounds a lot like the Princeton Public Library, if you ask me...

COSTA RICA
Scientists discover three new species of salamanders in Costa Rica

CUBA
Cuban divorce is easy, housing is harder

Church and Stare: Cuban Style

El 8 a las 8

Don't forget the axis of evil

ECUADOR
Failed and Incompetent Economist Correa Locks in Cuban Economic Model in Ecuador

A Tale of Two Cities: Ecuadorean Falls 47 Stories off Skyscraper and Lives; Alvaro Noboa Stumbles and is Abandoned

GUATEMALA
I Hate Monkeys And They Hate Me

MEXICO
Border stories

Via Maria, Tourists Shun Crime-Hit Mexico Beaches

NICARAGUA
Gearing up for the electoral season: Nica News for Jan 2

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Leader: FBI Probe Political
in Puerto Rico, the looming threat of an indictment may just help Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila hold onto power

Puerto Rico, Baby

Cockfights canceled due to import ban

Celebrate Three Kings’ Day

TRINIDAD and TOBAGO
Trinidad and Tobago says no to PetroCaribe deal

VENEZUELA
Chavez: Calmer, or just more Convincing?

Chavez "Forced To Reduce Speed Of March"

A new, refurbished, gentler Chavez. A new, reshuffled, more radical Cabinet

The Mighty And Their (Temporary) Fall

Behind Chávez Cabinet Shuffle

Joe Kennedy, Hugo Chavez and That Free Heating Oil

US Democrats Pay Tribute To FARC Terrorists

Chavez punk'd by the FARC: Clara Roja's son was in Colombia all along
Chavez gest farked by the FARC once agan

A FARC'ing Shame... Hugo Chavez Gets Punked

No Honor Among Thieves

The Students of Venezuela, Roaring Like Lions

The first casualty of tyranny is intelligence

Francisco Uson is Free; HRF's First Prisoner of Conscience Conditionally Released

INFLATION CLOSES AT 22.5 PERCENT IN 2007, via Announcement: inflation, crime and a second break

Venezuela cuts three zeros off bolivar currency while I watched The Sopranos

Venezuela's Chavez cools rhetoric after vote loss

A revolution? Awaiting Chavez' changes

Holy Chavistas! Venezuela Violent Deaths Double Iraq's Numbers

Is it safer to walk around in Baghdad than it is in Caracas? Hugo Chávez's socialist "sea of happiness" resembles a war zone.
Where War Deaths Are Worst

The curse of the Pharaoh

Chavez's Baby Rescue Operation is Stillborn

HUMOR
Hugo Chavez to Outlaw Capitalism In Venezuela

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For more Carnival fun, don't miss Haveil Havalim 149: The Impediment to Peace Edition, and SheBlogs Carnival #11



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