Uruguayan President José Mujica Agrees to Host Guantánamo Bay Detainees

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Article from NotiSur, April 25

Uruguay is expected to receive a group of between eight and 10 prisoners from the US military’s Guantánamo Bay detention camp in southeastern Cuba. The decision follows a series of long conversations between Uruguayan President José Mujica and his US counterpart, President Barack Obama. The talks had been kept strictly confidential until March 20, when Mujica decided to leak the story to the opposition weekly Búsqueda. The US Ambassador in Montevideo Julissa Reynoso later confirmed that negotiations had taken place. Uruguayan press sources suggest other countries around the world may also be in talks to accept as refugees the more than 100 detainees still being kept at the infamous prison, which is within the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in an area the US military has occupied since 1903. Andrés Gaudín Read More

LADB Perspective - While former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was likening water-boarding terrorists to baptizing terrorists, President Obama, via several Latin American leaders, may have found a route to begin the downscaling of the detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Even though Mr. Obama’s campaign promises to close the detention centers have largely been marginalized post-election season, a deal between the U.S. and Uruguay in particular may offer a route for those who support the closing of the prison. Uruguayan President José Mujica has offered to accept between 8 and 10 prisoners as asylum seekers based upon, according to Mr. Mujica, “humanitarian reasons.”  There are approximately 120 inmates in Guantanamo who have been refused a trial. If Uruguay does indeed accept these prisoners, it opens a route for Mr. Obama and his supporters to circumvent the deadlocked Congress’s approval. While the US media and the political opposition has yet to confront this issue, the Uruguayan opposition parties have already pounced upon Mr. Mujica’s offer, painting it as publicity for Mr. Mujica and his party. Mr. Mujica, however, was jailed in total isolation for 13 years during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. It is difficult to believe that someone who spent more than a decade imprisoned alone would propose an offer like this simple for publicity. If this becomes an issue in U.S. politics, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Obama’s opponents – politicians and media alike – will not see this as further executive overreach.  -Joe Leestma

U.S. Producers Seek Countervailing Duty on Imports of Mexican Sugar

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Article from SourceMex, April 9

The dispute between the US and Mexico on sugar trade has erupted again following a request by the American Sugar Coalition (ASC) to the US government to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties against imports of Mexican sugar. In a petition filed before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the ASC alleges that the Mexican government is subsidizing sugar production, costing the US sugar industry about US$1 billion in net income for the 2013-2014 crop year. The complaint points out that government subsidies have resulted in a bumper sugarcane crop and large surplus of sugar in Mexico, which has led the Mexican industry to increase exports significantly. Mexico produced a record crop of 7 million tons of sugar in 2012-2013 Carlos Navarro Read More

Joaquín Chapo Guzmán Arrested in Mexico, Nicaragua’s Extreme Constitutional Makeover Takes Effect, Hague Resolves Peruvian-Chilean Maritime Dispute

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for February 26-28

Sinaloa Cartel Expected to Survive Arrest of Joaquín Chapo Guzmán

The capture of Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán Loera, also known as El Chapo, is almost certain to change the landscape for organized crime in Mexico. Guzmán Loera’s organization, the Sinaloa cartel, was clearly the best organized drug-trafficking organization in Mexico and overseas. The organization, also known as the Cartel del Pacífico, was structured like a global business, acquiring raw materials from Mexico, Asia, and South America and selling the finished product primarily in the US and Europe. Many experts believe that the organization, while weakened with the arrest of El Chapo, is powerful enough to survive the loss of its leader. One of Guzmán Loera’s lieutenants, Ismael Zambada, also known as El Mayo, has amassed enough power and responsibility to take over the mantle of leadership.Carlos Navarro Read More

Nicaragua’s Extreme Constitutional Makeover Takes Effect
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega put the finishing touches this month on a thunderous political power play that could extend his already lengthy stay in office until 2021--and beyond. Late last year, the Ortega administration presented a set of reforms that, among other things, called for an end to presidential term limits. At the time, Nicaraguan presidents were limited to two nonconsecutive terms, a rule Ortega ignored when he participated in--and then won--the 2011 election. Three weeks ago, the Asamblea Nacional, Nicaragua’s legislature, gave the sweeping amendments final approval. Ortega is now free to seek re-election as many times as we wants. A win in 2016, should he run again, would give the wily Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional leader his third consecutive presidential term and fourth overall. Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More

The Hague Resolves Peruvian-Chilean Maritime Dispute
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Jan. 27 resolved a six-year maritime border dispute between Peru and Chile. However, the decision sparked a new conflict regarding a triangle of land in the border area. The ICJ verdict last month, which is final and binding, states "that the maritime boundary between the Parties starts at the intersection of the parallel of latitude passing through Boundary Marker No. 1 with the low-water line, and extends for 80 nautical miles along that parallel of latitude to Point A. From this point, the maritime boundary runs along the equidistance line to Point B, and then along the 200-nautical-mile limit measured from the Chilean baselines to Point C." While Chile had argued that the limit began at Marker 1, Peru had countered that the beginning was at the Punto de la Concordia, 300 meters southeast of the coastal border. Elsa Chanduví Jaña Read More

Government Downplays "Silver" Anniversary Of Dictator Alfredo Stroessner’s Departure
Paraguay marked the 25th anniversary earlier this month of its return to democracy following three and one-half decades of bloody civic-military dictatorship under Gen. Alfredo Stroessner (1954–1989). Stroessner’s was the longest-running single-leader dictatorship in Latin American history. The Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua lasted longer (43 years) but involved three different heads of state (a father and two sons) and was interrupted at various times. And yet for all its significance, reactions to the anniversary, on Feb. 3, were markedly subdued, particularly by the government. There were a few academic events and a few television news items dedicated to the issue. Andrés Gaudín Read More

CELAC Summit in Cuba and Violence in Venezuela
The II Summit of the Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) took place Jan. 28-29 in Havana, Cuba. Thirty-three heads of state from the region took part; however, the US and Canadian heads of states were not invited. Cuban President Raúl Castro said one aim of the summit was to "rethink the relationship with transnational corporations and improve coordination between regional organizations." He also talked about the importance of establishing a new paradigm of integration, based, fundamentally, on greater cooperation between regional organizations such as the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA), Petrocaribe, the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA). Crosby Girón Read More

Meeting of Mexican, U.S., Canadian Leaders Described as Lackluster
On, Feb. 19, President Enrique Peña Nieto hosted his counterparts from the US and Canada for a summit in Toluca, the capital of his native México state. And, as expected, Peña Nieto’s meeting with US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was an uneventful gathering that resulted in no new agreements, at least none that were made public. This has been the case each year since the annual summit was begun under ex-President George W. Bush in 2005 to promote greater economic partnerships and cross-border initiatives. The three North American leaders reportedly did not spend much time on issues that have been a source of friction, including the lack of immigration reform in the US and alleged US spying on Peña Nieto, and Canada’s insistence that visas be required for Mexicans visiting that country. Carlos Navarro Read More

Bullfighting Controversy in Mexico; Slight Thaw in U.S.-Venezuela Relations; Honduras Continues to Suffer Consequences of 2009 Coup

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for July 3-5

Guatemala Hosts 43rd OAS General Assembly

The drug problem should be tackled not as a security issue but as a public health question with policies for "prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation," delegations from the 34 countries participating in the 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) agreed. The theme of the three-day meeting, which opened on June 4 in the city of Antigua, Guatemala, was "For a Comprehensive Policy Against the World Drug Problem in the Americas." The final Declaration of Antigua said the drug problem should be fought "with an integrated, strengthened, balanced, and multifaceted approach, with full respect for human rights and individual liberties, incorporating public health, education, and social inclusion." -Louisa Reynolds   Read More

Is Argentina Going Overboard in Honoring Native Son Pope Francis?

Since March 13, when Jesuit Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio was elected to be the Catholic Church's 266th successor to the throne of St. Peter, many formal changes have taken place in his native country. Streets and avenues in the principal cities have been given his name, as have several large, medium-sized, and small plazas throughout the country. Schools and public offices throughout the country declared holidays, and 38 bills were introduced in Congress with a wide array of unique proposals for honoring the new pope. "It got out of hand, in a totalitarian attitude that the pope surely rejects. They are stomping on the rights not only of those who practice other religions but also those of all citizens who don't agree with using state resources to support the Catholic religion," said Fernando Lozada, an activist with the Coalición Argentina por un Estado Laico (CAEL). -Andrés Gaudín     Read More

Campaign to End Bullfighting in Mexico Draws Mixed Reactions

A growing number of states and municipalities in Mexico have moved to ban bullfighting, in part because of a strong campaign launched by the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM) in 2011 (SourceMex, Nov. 9, 2011). The list of places that recently banned bullfighting includes five municipalities in Veracruz state, the state of Sonora, and the community of Tangancícuaro in Michoacán state. However, some states—Aguascalientes, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas, and Guanajuato—are taking the opposite position, with state legislators and governors taking actions to protect bullfighting, commonly known as the fiesta brava, via declarations declaring the practice "cultural patrimony." - Carlos Navarro    Read More

Slight Thaw in Relations Between Venezuela and U.S

Despite the harsh language used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and high-ranking leaders of the Revolución Bolivariana, the Venezuelan government is practicing a skillful diplomacy that even suggests the possibility for positive change in relations with the US. Diplomatic relations have been frozen since 2010, when both countries reduced their embassy missions to a minimal level. Although Caracas has not stopped accusing Washington of interfering in its internal affairs, Foreign Minister Elías Jaua and Secretary of State John Kerry--who, like Maduro when he speaks of the US, resorts to harsh rhetoric when referring to the South American country--held an amiable meeting during the recent Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in Antigua, Guatemala. -Andrés Gaudín    Read More

Four Years Later, Fallout from Honduran Coup Still Felt in Various Ways, Including in Increased Refugee Requests

At dawn on June 28, 2009, just over four years ago, Honduran President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya’s Tegucigalpa home was stormed by some 200 soldiers in the beginning of a bloody coup that took the country--and Latin America with it--back to the somber, seemingly endless decades of ruthless military dictatorships ..In a worsened scenario of unbridled corruption, violence--including that of organized crime--and lack of opportunities, Hondurans have begun to seek ways to survive, and for some it means refuge abroad. These Hondurans' preferred destination is Costa Rica, a Central American nation that abolished its army more than sixty years ago and whose image as a democratic, safe country attracts an array of foreigners ranging from tourists to investors, and undocumented migrants as well as refugees.  -George Rodríguez    Read More

Foreign Tourism Shows Strong Signs of Recovery in Early Part of 2013

Things are looking up for Mexico’s tourism industry, which has had to overcome a continued sluggish economy in the US and reports of violence and increased crime in popular resorts to attract a steady flow of foreign visitors to the country. In a recent report, the largest organization representing Mexico’s tourism industry, the Confederación de Cámaras Nacionales de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo (Concanaco-Servytur), estimated that 12.8 million foreigners would visit Mexico during the peak summer period (July 5-Aug. 19). The international visitors were expected to spend about 28 billion pesos (US$2.1 billion) during this period. -Carlos Navarro  Read More