The top story from the Americas in the New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times this morning is from Peru where former President Alberto Fujimori was convicted of human rights abuses and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The charges included responsibility for the killings of 25 people by a military death squad in the 1990s as the country fought Maoist guerrilla rebels. The NYT writes that Mr. Fujimori’s trial has been closely watched by specialists in international human rights law because of its implications for other former or current heads of state who might face charges of war crimes and other abuses. The official conviction included charges of murder, aggravated kidnapping and battery, as well as crimes against humanity, but the ex-president still awaits two additional trials on corruption charges that might add to the list of offenses. The WaPo adds that the Fujimori case marked the first time that an elected head of state has been extradited back to his home country, tried, and convicted for human rights violations. Fujimori had fled to Japan in 2000 and arrived in Chile in 2005 with a plan to return to power in Peru, but he was extradited by Chile in 2007 to stand trial. In the LAT report, Francisco Soberon, leader of the Aprodeh human rights group in Lima, which led the legal campaign to bring Fujimori to trial, says, “They couldn't shut us up. . . . Our objective is to achieve full justice, remembrance and reparations.” Maria McFarland, an international observer at the trial from the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said, “With this ruling, and its exemplary performance during the trial, the Peruvian court has shown the world that even former heads of state cannot expect to get away with serious crimes.” Keiko Fujimori, the ex-president’s 33-year-old daughter who is a leading candidate for president in 2011, had a very different reaction to the court’s decision, saying people's outrage over Tuesday's ''vengeful'' verdict will propel her to Peru's presidency where she would pardon her father.
In other major news, an AP story in the Wall Street Journal reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says his two-day visit to China is part of the creation of a new, multipolar world order. He noted two other countries he has already visited on his global tour, Japan and Iran, as others who are offsetting U.S. influence around the world. While the piece reports that China’s communist leaders have been low-key in response to Mr. Chavez's political rhetoric, Chinese industries have been eager to use Venezuela as a jumping-off point for their entry into South America. Major investments have been made in the mining and petroleum sector in order to secure South American mineral resources. Mr. Chavez said he plans to review with Chinese leaders the joint objective of boosting exports of Venezuelan oil to China from 380,000 barrels last year to 1 million barrels by 2013.
And the Miami Herald writes that a Congressional Black Caucus delegation, led by chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), met with both Fidel and Raúl Castro during their recent five-day visit to Cuba. The group of House members said the Castro government is interested in talking to the United States. The meetings were first meeting between Raúl Castro and U.S. lawmakers since he assumed the presidency in mid 2006 and the first with the elder Castro since he took ill that same year. The MH reports that the members of Congress plan to brief House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the trip—and push the administration to go further in loosening restrictions on Cuba—upon their return to Washington. The AP adds that Fidel Castro, in a piece published on a State-run website on Tuesday night, said “The three [member of Congress with whom he met] reflected transparency, pride in their work, their organization and the fight for their country. It’s evident that they know Obama and have confidence and security in, and sympathy for him.'”
Also in the WSJ, a report says large public-employee pension funds of New York City, as well as those of the states of New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania are raising concerns about an impending court judgment that might hold Chevron Corporation liable for alleged environmental damages in the Ecuadorian jungle. According to the WSJ, the funds hold about $1 billion in Chevron shares. Chevron faces $27 billion in damages in Ecuador, an amount that greatly dwarf the $3.5 billion that Exxon was forced to pay for cleanup, fines, and damages after the 1989 Valdez oil spill.
From the MH, the AP reports that pro-Chávez lawmakers in Venezuela approved a new law Tuesday that erodes the authority of Caracas' opposition mayor by subordinating him to a government-appointed official. According to the AP, a new official, who will be appointed directly by Chavez, will be granted administrative authority over Venezuela's capital. Mayor Antonio Ledezma, who defeated a Chavez-backed candidate in November elections, plans to challenge the new law through a referendum. For their part, Chávez supporters have argued that the new position would help resolve problems such as inadequate trash collection because it establishes a direct link between the federal government and the city's top administrator.
And two opinions on Venezuela-U.S. relations in the MH today. Columnist Andres Oppenheimer reports that despite recent speculation that President Barack Obama will hold a private meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez at next week's Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, the State Department said Tuesday that no such one-on-one meeting would happen. Instead, Obama will hold three separate group meetings, one of which will include President Chávez, in addition to the official closed-door session between all participating heads of government. Oppenheimer describes such a strategy as safe, saying it “won’t be an olive branch, nor a snub.” Professor Anthony Maignot, in a separate MH opinion piece, adds that Obama’s best strategy for dealing with a Chávez who is “looking for a fight” will be one of dignified silence. The professor writes: “Hispanics have a wonderful expression for such a stance: Lo cortés no quita lo valiente (Being chivalrous does not negate your courage).”
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