Restrictions on the Work of Journalists Sweeping Across Latin America

Latin American courts are increasingly deferring to the “whims of the powerful in censoring journalists” as leaders in various countries have attempted to restrict critical media coverage. This according to the New York Times’ Alexi Barrionuevo who writes, be it an attempt to limit corruption investigations in Brazil or censor critical opposition in Venezuela, leaders are “reacting with a lot of intolerance to criticism in the media,” in the words of Carlos Lauría of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Other countries where the media has come under fire include Nicaragua, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador [where President Rafael Correa said over the weekend that he was considering shuttering the television network Teleamazonas for airing a private conversation between him and an Ecuadorean lawmaker.] According to HRW’s José Miguel Vivcano, Venezuela, however, may stand in its own category when it comes to press freedom, calling the country a “notable exception” to what has been Latin America’s “gradual but sustainable progress” in the area of free speech. [An aside: AFP reports that Chavez has called street protests against his new education law, the legal equivalent of a “rebellion,” adding that participants in such protests could be charged and tried.] The leadership of the courts has been central to such progress, says Vivcano, as have access to information laws, the latest of which was passed in Chile last April.

Also, on Friday, leaders from around the region gathered in Bariloche, Argentina for a special UNASUR summit on U.S. plans to expand its military presence in Colombia. The Washington Post reports that while the rhetoric was fiery, in the end leaders signed on to a “vague resolution that says no foreign military force should be allowed to threaten the sovereignty of a South American nation.” [For full text of the resolution, click here.] But, as the Post’s Juan Forero writes, the summit itself “underscores the hurdles President Obama faces in trying to improve relations with countries that have distanced themselves from Washington in the past decade.” “It's certainly the case that Chávez and his allies in the region have been the most vocal opponents,” says the Wilson Center’s Cynthia Aronson. “But it says a lot that countries like Brazil and Chile were also opposed to this." The NYT adds to reporting on the Summit, saying both Colombian and American officials insist the U.S. presence will consist of no more than 800 military personnel (currently some 250 U.S. soldiers are present in Colombia). For more analysis of agreement and the summit, at the Huffington Post Adam Isacson asks: “Will today's meeting be seen as the moment when the continent got together, independently of the United States, to reduce tensions and increase cooperation to solve common problems? Or will it be viewed as the moment when things really began to unravel, as the U.S. basing deal in Colombia - and the Obama administration's failure to explain it - became the catalyst for years of acrimony and instability?” And finally, Uribe’s job of selling the military agreement got more difficult over the weekend as it is now reported that the Colombian leader has been stricken with swine flu.

In other news, the AP reports on a major shooting in Mexico which took the lives of 8 young people in northwestern Mexico’s Sinaloa state. The area is a hotspot for drug cartel activity but there are yet no reports on the motive of Saturday’s killers. Also, the four men accused of killing some 200 individuals for the Juarez cartel were arrested over the weekend while relatives of missing persons in Tijuana held protests over frustration with the prosecutions led by Attorney General’s office. In Mexico City, the LA Times reports that President Felipe Calderon lost a dispute with PRI lawmakers, agreeing to delay his state of the nation speech until after the President’s office informs the Congress, in writing, about the address’s contents.

On Haiti, the Miami Herald has an interesting report on youth in the Caribbean country and a new U.S.-Haiti initiative to stimulate young people’s participation in developing their country. “The basic premise is for first-, second-, or third-generation Haitians to travel to the country during their junior or senior year of college, or after graduation. The in-the-trenches work ranges from teaching computer skills to planting trees,” writes the paper.

Finally, two opinions this morning on Honduras on a day when there is little else to report on the crisis there. First, in the Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes critically of Obama administration policy on Honduras. “Though it won't admit to coercion, [the Obama administration] is fully engaged in arm-twisting at the OAS in order to advance its agenda.” O’Grady concludes that “A lot of Hondurans believe that the U.S. isn't using its brass knuckles to serve their ‘democratic aspirations’ at all, but the quite-opposite aspirations of a neighborhood thug.” And second, in the LA Times, CIP’s Bob White and Glenn Hurowitz take a different view of Obama administration policy, writing that “unexpectedly, in the age of Obama, democracy is in retreat.” The two argue that Obama is “drifting toward perilous inaction” on the Honduras situation. Unlike Iran or China, White and Hurowitz contend, Honduras “is a place where we can make a stand and do so with U.N. backing, at the invitation of the country's legitimately elected president and in a friendly country.”

Micheletti Speaks: "I'm Ready to Resign, but...", U.S. to Call Ouster "Military Coup"

The de facto president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, said he was willing to resign from the office he assumed two months ago on Thursday. But, as the New York Times’ Marc Lacey and the Washington Post’s Mary Beth Sheridan report, there is a one major condition which makes the possibility of a negotiated resolution again unlikely. Talking in a brief telephone interview that the Times reports was arranged by his aides, Micheletti said “I’m ready to present my resignation,” as long as ousted President Mel Zelaya in turn agreed to also resign, opening the door to the next in line. That individual is the head of the Honduran Supreme Court Jorge Rivera, who supported the coup against Zelaya. Indeed, as Marc Lacey writes, Mr. Micheletti offered an almost identical proposal one month ago which went nowhere, and while this time Micheletti added that he would accept international election observers in November and support amnesty for both Mr. Zelaya and those who helped in his ouster, many observers believe few new substantive changes will occur after the statement. The Post, for example, (which reports that this latest Micheletti offer was made in a private Washington meeting) says the OAS’s Sec. General has rejected the proposal immediately, just back from a failed trip with several of the region’s foreign ministers on Monday. But others who are working with backers of the Micheletti government see the de facto leader’s words differently. “We regard this as a significant change in Mr. Micheletti's policy, and his willingness to immediately resign shows that this is not about his power, but it is about the rule of law,” said Lanny Davis, a former Clinton administration aide now representing the business community in Honduras which has long supported the coup government. Meanwhile, after months of legal deliberation, an anonymous State Dept. official said a new statement on the nature of Mr. Zelaya’s ouster can be expected very soon, in which the U.S. would at last label the event of June 28 a “military coup.” The designation would put millions of dollars in aid in jeopardy, reports Reuters. The leak comes after U.S. officials expressed their disappointment in Monday’s OAS delegation trip to Tegucigalpa. Finally, on the ground in Honduras, EFE reports that some Zelaya supporters are calling for a boycott of upcoming November elections, arguing that going to the polls would “legitimize the coup.” “The Honduran people will not play the game of the coup making politicians and will come out against the elections,” peasant leader Rafael Alegria of Via Campesina tells EFE. Campaigining is to set begin this week for the late November poll.

In other news, the new U.S.-Colombia military deal comes center stage in the region today at a UNASUR Summit of Latin American leaders, to be held in Argentina. The AP writes the military deal will overshadow the summit with Brazil hoping to get Colombia to make written statements, promising that the U.S. military will remain within Colombia’s borders. Meanwhile, Reuters writes that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is working to shore up opposition to the plan, casting it “as a provocation that could spark war in South America.” On Thursday, Mr. Chavez published an opinion piece in an Argentine newspaper condemning the deal. In a story I missed yesterday, the Washington Post has an interesting look at Colombian bases deal, writing that “even in Colombia, which accuses Chávez of meddling in its internal affairs, lawmakers are questioning whether the plan is legal and whether it could escalate the country's 45-year-old conflict, among other issues.” The accord would give the U.S. access to three air bases, two army outposts, and two naval ports, says the Post, and opposition politicians in Colombia remain skeptical about the vague terms of the deal. “Without seeing the text, it's hard to understand exactly what was agreed upon,” says Sen. Juan Manuel Galán. Moreover, as the AP writes today, there is the possibility that the new deal might fuel arms purchases throughout the region. “The bases deal has created uncertainty about regional stability and provided yet another justification for nations to spend big on their militaries.” Already, “the 12 South American nations spent about $51 billion last year on their militaries -- up 30 percent from 2007,” according to a Buenos Aires research group.

Also, two other stories that were missed yesterday. The NYT reports on the new path of drug policy in Latin America, after two decriminalization measures in Mexico and Argentina over the last week. “The global consensus on drug policy is cracking, and an increasing number of countries are agreeing that over-reliance on criminal justice as the ‘solution’ to the drug problem is not helpful at best, and is often harmful,” says Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, director of the Open Society Institute's Global Drug Policy Program. And the WP reports on drug war “spill over” from Mexico to the U.S. and the use of cartel members in the U.S. as intelligence sources for anti-narcotics operations. “…In order to fight the drug traffickers, federal anti-narcotics agents have brought Mexican cartel members north of the border, to use them to gather intelligence and build cases,” writes the paper.

Finally, a piece in the LA Times this morning looks at the case against Chevron in Ecuador. After 16 years, litigation against the U.S. oil giant is finally wrapping up in an Ecuadorean court room and Chevron now acknowledges that it will likely lose the case. The LAT writes that “a victory would mark a turning point in the relations between native populations around the world and the foreign corporations that do business in their homelands.” And the likely judgment, expected to run close to $27 billion, would too be historic, say analysts.

Central American Development Bank Freezes Credits to Honduras

Central America’s development bank, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, decided to freeze money headed to Honduras on Wednesday, potentially affecting infrastructure projects in the Central American country. The Bank’s governors met Wednesday and said the freeze was only “provisional.” They are still the process of deciding if a long term suspension of financing will occur. The AP reports that over the last five years the Bank has provided Honduras with some $971 million in development financing. Also Wednesday, the AP writes that the president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez has proposed the suspension of Honduras from the U.S.-Central America-DR free trade agreement, CAFTA-DR. The Dominican President added that “to accept the coup reverses all the advances that have been achieved, returning the region to chaos and disorder.” Meanwhile, in Washington, the Sec. General of the OAS said he is still hopeful that a resolution to the Honduran crisis is achievable. Sec. General Insulza led a group of regional foreign ministers to Honduras on Monday but was unable to get any concessions from the Micheletti-led regime. “There’s still a climate for one final effort,” Insulza remarked at an OAS briefing on the Honduras situation. And, says the AP, Insulza, “noted some progress arising from the OAS delegation's meetings with senior lawmakers, ministers, presidential candidates and members of the judiciary, electoral commission, military and citizens.” However, the Sec. General also said attention, while not disappearing all together, will likely be diverted away from the reinstallation of Zelaya when the Honduran election season begins on Sept. 1. What is the early response by some Hondurans to new U.S. measures, cutting off the issuance of non-emergency visas to the U.S. in Tegucigalpa? AFP writes that both the business community and small/medium sized producers are worried that such a move could begin to affect the business and trade climate between Honduras and the United States. As the president of the Asociación Nacional de la Mediana y Pequeña Industria de Honduras (ANMPIH) tells AFP, “it will have a very negative impact, above all it affects the purchase of primary materials that are necessary for the operations of small and medium sized industry.” Finally, Marifeli Perez-Stable writes in the Miami Herald that both supporters and critics of Zelaya alike should be supportive of a legitimate electoral process, no later than November and the de facto regime in particular should give up its attempt to use the courts for “vengeance,” seeking national reconciliation instead.

In other news, Colombia issued a formal complaint to the OAS on Wednesday, claiming that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is guilty of meddling in its domestic affairs. The complaint came after Chavez labeled Colombia a “narco state,” and ordered an investigation of Colombian companies in Venezuela, reports Reuters. Chavez also urged his supporters to reach out to left leaning politicians in Colombia. Also, in Uruguay, the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Andean and Southern Cone Affairs, Christopher McMullen, said Mr. Chavez was irresponsible for talking about “the winds of war” when criticizing a new U.S. plan to expand military operations in Colombia. Chavez has also called the agreement between the U.S. and Colombia a “declaration of war.”

Finally, from Mexico and Central America, three reports this morning. On immigration, Reuters reports on a bust period for former “smuggling villages” along the U.S.-Mexico border in a period of economic recession. According to a DHS report last month, arrests on the southwest border dropped to 705,022 last year, their lowest level since the 1970s. Meanwhile, EFE writes that the movement of Central Americans to Mexico has fallen 50% over the last two years. A new report by the Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM) also blames the economic crisis for much of this drop, in addition to changes in U.S. migration policy. But in Guatemala, there seems to be little change in the movement of illegal drugs. Reuters reports that drug runners (perhaps strapped for cash in a global economic downturn??) are paying hitmen with cocaine. In turn, a new local market for the drug has emerged and a new generation of addicts has been left in the drug trade’s wake, says the news agency. According to the head of Guatemala’s government commission on drugs “transferring large amounts of money is more difficult because it is easy for the authorities to detect.” The US DEA has said that about ¾ of the drugs which comes north from South America passes through Central America.

U.S. Stops Issuing "Non-Emergency, Non-Immigrant" Visas in Honduras

The U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa will stop issuing “most visas” to Hondurans seeking entrance to the United States, both the New York Times and Al Jazeera report. The new U.S. measures come on the heels of an OAS sponsored visit to the Central American country which included seven foreign ministers from around the hemisphere. The international mission ended yesterday after failing to move the intransigent Michelleti regime any closer to a negotiated resolution to the two month old crisis in Honduras. Al Jazeera provides more details on the new U.S. visa policy, saying that only “potential immigrants and emergency cases” will be considered for visas to the U.S. in Tegucigalpa. In a statement Tuesday, State Dept. spokesman Ian Kelly said “we are suspending non-emergency, non-immigrant visa services in the consular section of our embassy in Honduras, effective August 26…We firmly believe a negotiated solution [to the political crisis in Honduras] is the appropriate way forward and the San Jose Accord is the best solution.” Additionally, following a letter by over 90 Latin American scholars urging Human Rights Watch to increase its criticism of rights abuses under the coup regime, the NY-based human rights organization said Tuesday that the U.S. must impose new sanctions if no resolution is agreed upon this week. “If the OAS delegation is unable this week to persuade Honduras' de facto government to allow Zelaya's return to the presidency, the only option left will be for the international community to ratchet up the pressure," Jose Miguel Vivanco, the HRW director for the Americas, said. Vivcano added that the U.S. could cancel all travel visas for members of the de facto government and could block their access to U.S. banks. Meanwhile, on the ground in Honduras, Telesur reports that popular resistance groups in the country are preparing an international day of protest against the current regime, scheduled to occur on August 28. Interestingly, such protests appear to be taking on a new anti-American flavor as organizers are calling for protests in front of U.S. Embassies around the world. The protest organizers are demanding the unconditional return of President Mel Zelaya to Honduras and the prosecution of those who have violated human rights over the last two months.

In Argentina, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times both report on the decriminalization of private marijuana use. The Argentine Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it was unconstitutional to punish an adult for consuming the drug in cases when others were put in no danger. The ruling was a unanimous one, the WSJ’s Matt Moffett writes, and overturns a 1989 law that set up to two year prison sentences for personal marijuana possession. The new Argentine policy is part of a growing Latin American trend. Last week Mexico decriminalized small time drug possession and Brazil and Ecuador have also “eased small-scale possession” in recent years. Again, an interesting quote by a top Argentine official brings the debate back to the U.S. The government’s cabinet chief, Anibal Fernandez, said the court’s decision ends “the repressive policy that the Nixon administration invented.” As in Mexico, the Catholic Church has been most vocal in opposing the notion of decriminalization.

An AFP report from Colombia says a heated debate over presidential term limits took place Tuesday among legislators in that country while in neighboring Venezuela President Hugo Chavez reiterated his willingness to break off diplomatic relations with Colombia over the issue of a new U.S. military presence there. “It’s going to happen. Let’s get ready,” Mr. Chavez said Tuesday, referring to a potential breaking off of relations with his neighbor. He later shouted “You can establish 70,000 Yankee bases surrounding Venezuela, but you aren't going to beat the Bolivarian Revolution!”

Also this morning, the AP reports on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s trade mission to Cuba this week. The Governor met with Ricardo Alarcón, head of the Cuban Assembly, as well as members of Cuba’s chamber of commerce. He presented a plan to officials by which New Mexico would export potatoes, apples, wheat and beef to Cuba. Richardson called the talks “productive” in a released statement.

And, in the LA Times Ken Ellingwood writes that cash remittances from the U.S. to Mexico continued to fall over the last quarter. Compared to last year’s second quarter, the total amount of remittances fell by 17.9%, says the paper. “The latest report was no surprise, but it spelled more gloomy news for Mexico's limping economy, which has been hammered by declining oil earnings, a sharp drop in exports and a flu crisis during the spring that put a big dent in tourism.”

Foreign Ministers Arrive in Honduras, IACHR Issues Preliminary Human Rights Report

A delegation of foreign ministers from around the Western Hemisphere arrived in Tegucigalpa on Monday, under the auspices of the Organization of American States. Al-Jazeera calls the visitors the “most prominent officials to visit Honduras since [Mel] Zelaya was deposed as president in a military coup on June 28.” Integrating the group were OAS Sec. General José Miguel Insulza as well as foreign ministers from a variety of governments, many from the center/center-right (Canada, Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama). The group met with de facto president Roberto Micheletti on Monday, but after the Supreme Court’s decision that Zelaya should be arrested if he returns to the country, the success of any negotiation still appears very unlikely. Nevertheless, the U.S. State Dept. welcomed the delegation’s visit, even supplying the group with the aircraft that shuttled ministers to Tegucigalpa. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has issued its preliminary findings after a five day visit to Honduras. The group found abuses which included “disproportionate use of public force, arbitrary detentions, and the control of information aimed at limiting political participation by a sector of the citizenry,” seconding many of the findings of Amnesty International released last week. And moreover, the IACHR says the death of at least four individuals “could be linked to actions of agents of the state.” A full report will be issued by the OAS’s autonomous human rights body in the coming days.

In other news, the AP reports on series of drug-related stories this morning. In Argentina, federal police discovered four tons of ephedrine packed into oil drums and boxes, headed for Mexico. Investigators believe the seizure to be the largest of the drug ever in Argentina. And officials say the shipment had likely been hidden for months after the execution-style killings of three Argentine traffickers by Mexican drug gang hit men a few months ago. In Peru, a bizarre drug story as police found two turkeys injected with plastic capsules of cocaine. Both turkeys survived the removal of the drugs, says the AP. And in Mexico, soldiers detained a top drug mogul from the country’s La Familia cartel. The detained, Luis Ricardo Magana, was allegedly in charge of meth shipments to the United States for the notorious drug gang. In addition, a team of U.S. law enforcement officials arrived in Mexico on Monday to “explore ways to improve efforts against arms smuggling into Mexico as part of joint efforts to combat drug gang.”

In Brazil, the BBC reports on violent clashes in a shantytown near Sao Paulo where police attempted to undertake forced evictions of residents there. Some 2,000 people lived in the slum of Capao Redondo. At least one individual was injured and two were arrested. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal files a story on Brazilian oil development. Royal Dutch Shell is the latest Western company to be given access to “one of the most promising new oil sources” just off the Brazilian coast. However, no new licenses are expected to be granted to foreign companies until Brazil establishes new a oil law which, according to the WSJ, is “expected to reinforce the role of the national oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.”

Finally, an interesting opinion from the WSJ on China and Latin America that I missed yesterday. Hugo Restall writes that “Latin America is the most important arena for China’s investment,” and represents an opportunity for the U.S. if it “plays its cards right.” China’s role in the region is wholly economic/pragmatic, not ideological, says Restall, and its development bank could make a “critical difference” at a time when “the Inter-American Development Bank is largely tapped out.”

Mixed Reactions, Ambivalence to New Drug Decriminalization Law in Mexico

The passage of a new law in Mexico has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs in that country, but as the New York Times’ Marc Lacey reports this morning, many have reacted to the legislation with ambivalence as other problems, including drug violence, still loom large. According to one skeptical addict in the border town of Tijuana, “It’s an awful life. You do anything to satisfy your urge. You sell your body. It ruins you. I hope this won’t make more people live like this.” Under the law, individuals possessing small amounts of drugs, including heroin, marijuana, and cocaine, will not be prosecuted if caught by law enforcement officials. Rather, they will be referred to “free treatment programs” as “patients,” not criminals. The NYT says the legislation would likely never have been put on the table if it were not for Mexico’s bloody drug wars, and the same might be said for another even more controversial law now being considered by some Mexican lawmakers: the legalization of capital punishment which has not occurred in Mexico in 50 years. Both libertarians and progressives who work on drug policy in the U.S. say the new Mexican drug law is an important one. Juan Carlos Hidalgo of the Cato Institute calls it “a step in the right direction after decades of failed policy,” and Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance says it reflects thinking that “contrasts sharply with the United States.” However, Mexican officials were clear that the legislation was not legalization, with the attorney general’s office telling the AP that it amounted to “regulating the issue (of drug possession).” And strong opponents of the measure do exist in Mexico, writes the LA Times, among them the powerful Catholic Church and many social workers who work on addiction and youth issues.

Also, on Mexico, new numbers on violence may slowly be painting a different picture of the country, portrayed as one of the world’s most violent over the past years. The LA Times says that while 11,000 have been killed in Mexico since the end of 2006, the situation may be improving, depending on how you read new figures being used by Mexico’s attorney general’s office. Mexico’s top law enforcement official, Eduardo Medina Mora, is now saying overall violence in his country, at 11 homicides per 100,000 last year, is down from 15 years ago when it was 16 per 100,000. Indeed, Medina Mora added that the country’s overall per capita murder rate was lower than Guatemala and El Salvador, and, yes, even lower than the city of Washington, D.C. Opponents of the Calderon government and many activists and analysts say this is simply the government’s latest spin job, but, according the LAT, anyway you read it, “his comments reflect the anxieties of a government that has struggled to convince residents that it is winning its 2 1/2 -year-old war against drug gangs and making headway against crime and impunity in general.” Also, this morning, on violence and guns, the story of a young Texas woman sentenced earlier this year to 10 months in prison for her involvement in an international gun running ring. Interestingly, USA Today writes that the young woman “represents one in a steady stream of women — grandmothers, single moms and expectant mothers — who cartels are regularly recruiting to keep weapons flowing from the U.S. to support their violent operations in Mexico.”

The top story out of Honduras this weekend is a Supreme Court decision that rejects the Oscar Arias “San José Accord” plan to bring ousted President Mel Zelaya back to power. Specifically, the Court stood by its previous position, ordering the arrest of Zelaya if he returns to the country. The BBC writes that the crimes which the coup government says Zelaya faces include “crimes against the government, treason, and abuse of power,” and, once again, the high court says that de facto president Roberto Micheletti assumed the presidency through “constitutional succession.” For the actual decision, see “Honduras Coup 2009,” which also adds the following analysis: “Press coverage has emphasized that the court reiterated that President Zelaya would have to stand trial. But what they actually said is that there is an existing legal case against him, which has to be finalized following the penal processual code.” Also, a mission of OAS foreign ministers is expected to arrive in Honduras today in yet another attempt to broker some sort of deal that would reinstall Zelaya to power; the de facto government, after breaking relations with Argentina last week for that country’s expulsion of the Honduran ambassador in Buenos Aires, had three of its diplomats “removed” from Spain and Nicaragua by those country’s governments for supporting the Micheletti regime; and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has presented a preliminary report on human rights violations in Honduras highlighting the use of force against peaceful demonstrators and inhuman detention conditions for those arrested. Amnesty International also released a comprehensive human rights report last week on Honduras while many Latin American scholars are calling on Human Rights Watch to do the same after weeks of silence on the deteriorating human rights situation there.

From Colombia, the Washington Post’s Juan Forero filed a report late last week, writing that, to the surprise of some, the Colombian Senate approved a bill that would allow for the re-election of President Alvaro Uribe. Many commentators believed such a possibility was all but dead one month ago but the bill passed on a 56-2 vote, with many opponents of the measure abstaining. However, the deal is not yet a completed one. As the paper writes, Uribe’s re-election bid “still faces obstacles to extending his presidency. A vote on the referendum bill is expected next week in the House, where it will be tougher for the government to muster the necessary 84 votes.” Also, the AP reports that Brazil’s Lula da Silva chatted with President Obama by phone last week, telling the U.S. President he must meet with South American nations to give justification for the U.S.’s new plans to expand military presence in Colombia.

Finally today, a quick wrap-up on a series of on-going stories and opinions from Venezuela. First, Al Jazeera reports on dueling protests over a new education law approved by the Chavez-backing National Assembly last week. Opponents say the legislation would impose a form of classroom indoctrination while Chávez says the measure is necessary to end the country’s “bourgeois” educational system. At the same time, Fidel Castro, in new photos which show the ailing Cuban leader looking quite fit, met with Venezuelan students in Cuba over the weekend (as well as with Ecuador’s Rafael Correa). Among his challenges to the students: tackling the global threat of climate change. The AP reports on a former Chavez ally now facing corruption charges which he says are politically motivated. Didalco Bolivar split with Chavez in 2007 and now seeks asylum in what is quickly becoming a haven for anti-Chavez leaders: Peru. And in the Washington Post, both the paper’s editorial board and columnist Edward Schumacher-Matos, criticize Hugo Chavez, albeit with differing strategies. The Post criticizes South American leaders for ignoring controversial moves by the Chavez government to confer about what it calls “an unremarkable U.S.-Colombian agreement for American forces to use a few Colombian military bases for counternarcotics and counterterrorism surveillance operations.” The paper argues that “the controversy reflects another successful effort by Mr. Chávez to deflect attention from his own behavior while putting the Obama administration on the defensive.” Meanwhile, Schumacher-Matos takes a different stand, saying journalists and congressmen are right to blast the Venezuelan president but Obama is correct in staying quiet. He argues that the popularity of Chavez and his allies have suffered enough because of their own policies, writing “Chávez is a nuisance but not a threat to the United States, and he has to be treated with the hemisphere in mind. So far, Obama and Clinton are doing just fine.” Finally, an opinion in the Miami Herald writes about the increasingly precarious situation of Venezuelan Jews, many of whom are now leaving for Miami.

NOTE: I’m back from a couple weeks out of town. Many, many thanks to Maddie Thomson from WOLA and David Holiday of OSI for their help while I was gone! -Jfs

August 20 stories

Stubbornness and Political Games in Honduras

Following Micheletti’s ultimatum to the Argentine diplomats yesterday, AFP reports that de facto government has now given them until Friday to leave the country, calling this the “the latest escalation in a tit-for-tat political dispute between the two nations.” And these days, it seems that the de facto government never misses a chance to drive home the point that it’s unwilling to receive Zelaya back into the presidency. Such was the case of the head of Micheletti's cabinet of ministers, Rafael Pineda Ponce, who told local media yesterday: “The unconditional return of Don Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of the republic ... is non-negotiable.”

Also on Honduras, Xinhua News reported yesterday that the de facto President Micheletti doesn’t care whether the elections are recognized by the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), claiming that "commercial relations are more important than diplomatic ones.” The Caribbean and Central America (most notably Guatemala and El Salvador) are perhaps more important as alternative trade markets.

With the possibility of Zelaya seeming more remote with every day that passes, AP has a good analysis of the potential precedents this may set in the region, in a piece entitled “Latin leftists fear a Honduras coup domino effect.” On the one hand, it notes that Honduras offers a “glimmer of hope for the region's conservative elite, which has watched with dismay over the past decade as a wave of leftist presidents has risen to power, promising to topple the establishment and give greater power to the poor.” On the other, the report notes Chavez’s approving citation of Fidel Castro’s fears that the Honduran coup will “open the door to the wave of coups coming in Latin America.” Meanwhile Ecuador’s Correa says he has intelligence reports indicating that “after Zelaya, I’m next.”

The story does note that fears of a precedent should also not be exaggerated:

No other leader in the region faces the utter political isolation that drove Zelaya from power so swiftly and efficiently: The military, the Supreme Court and even Zelaya's own political party turned against him when he deepened his allegiance with Chavez and pursued constitutional changes in defiance of court rulings.

Elsewhere in the region, many of the leaders have already solidified their hold on power, in part through referendums and new constitutions overwhelmingly approved by voters. In Venezuela, other branches of government including congress and the judiciary are stacked with Chavez allies, leaving his opponents with few options for getting back into power.

Access to drugs threatened in Latin America & elsewhere

In a story you might have missed in the LA Times, groups such as Oxfam International and Doctors without Borders are quite concerned that the Obama administration is cozying up to pharmaceutical companies on the issue of broadening access to medicine to combat disease in developing countries, perhaps in part to get their support for domestic health care reform. “It appears that Obama appointees are continuing to work from the playbook of the last administration," Oxfam policy advisor Rohit Malpani is quoted as saying. The article notes, for example, that access to AIDs drugs were becoming more limited in places like Guatemala, where the government used to buy them at bulk rates from international organizations, but now buy them at market rates – a move which apparently meets the approval of both the US and pharmaceutical companies.

An Update on Mexico’s Drug War

The LA Times runs a story today on Julio Cesar Godoy, one of dozens of politicians and police chiefs accused of helping the notorious drug cartel La Familia in Michoacan (President Calderon’s home state), who won the July 5 Congressional elections despite being sought on drug charges. The LAT story writes that Godoy’s case presents two dilemmas: first, “[his] situation underscores the suspected depth of drug-fueled corruption in Mexican politics,” and second, if he is sworn in by September 1, he could possibly escape prosecution by receiving immunity. This week, however, Congress decided that Godoy will not be able to register until he “resolves his judicial situation.” The operations chief of La Familia in Michoacan, Servando “La Tuta” Gomez,” is the subject of an AP report appearing in the Washington Post. Or rather, his mother is. She was released “for lack of evidence” after being held for two days, part of an increasing tactic of detaining traffickers’ family members. “This thing with detaining family members is at the borderline ... of illegality, it has serious human rights implications,” said Samuel Gonzalez, a former top anti-drug prosecutor.

The Washington Post reported that within the last decade in Mexico, 52 media reporters or journalists have been killed. Most of the murders have not been solved. Drug cartels often target reporters and journalists, especially since “impunity has become the hallmark of the aggressions against journalists in Mexico.” The Christian Science Monitor offers a briefing of how Mexico is waging its war on drugs, including a description of the most powerful cartels, the risks of using the military in this war, and an interesting discussion of how one might measure “progress.”

As if the violence surround the drug war in Mexico were not enough, the Washington Post reports that Mexico is hit by the lowest rainfall in 68 years, “killing crops and cattle in the countryside and forcing the government to slow the flow of water to the crowded capital.”

On a lighter note, the LA Times reported that Michael Jackson fans danced to “Thriller” outside of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in downtown Mexico City Tuesday morning to practice the dance for an event on August 29, Jackson’s birthday, when 11,000 people are predicted to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest mass “Thriller” dance!

Constitutional changes, free trade and drugs in Colombia

Congressional Quarterly ran a story yesterday (subscription required) that led with the following statement: “To say the stalled U.S.-Colombia trade deal is important to the Colombian government is something of an understatement.” The article details how hard the Colombian Ambassador to the US has been working on this issue – “no fewer than 630 meetings with U.S. lawmakers” – but says it is still an uphill battle to get congressional approval for the pact signed by the Bush administration back in 2006, especially until the health care debate is finished.

The Associated Press reported that yesterday, Colombia voted to pass a bill calling for a referendum to decide if they should modify the constitution to allow President Uribe to run for a third term in May 2010. The constitution was already changed to allow Uribe to run for a second term. If the House approves this bill, it would be submitted to the Constitutional Court, which would have three months to determine if the referendum was legal. Although some Colombians believe Uribe has been successful in reducing high murder and kidnapping rates, others believe that “eight years is enough and a healthy democracy requires alternating leadership.”

The New York Times also reported that Jamal Yousef, a former member of the Syrian military, was charged yesterday with narco-terrorism conspiracy for plotting to sell high-powered weapons to Colombian terrorists and rebels of the FARC in exchange for over a ton of cocaine. Yousef did not realize that the men who claimed to be FARC representatives actually worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. His charges carry a maximum of life in prison.

Brazilian Priest Scandal

The Miami Herald reported that Italian priest Father Clodoveo Piazza who ran a homeless shelter in Brazil and former director of a non-profit Marcos de Paiva Silva, were charged for sexually abusing boys and allowing foreigners to exploit children. The fact that Piazza is now doing missionary work in Mozambique is worrisome, since other kids may be in a similar dangerous situation. While a judge deciding whether to request extradition or an Interpol arrest warrant for Piazza, Silva is free pending trial or until a judge orders his imprisonment. If convicted of sexual abuse and facilitating sexual exploitation, Piazza and Silva may receive up to 10 years in jail.

Rising Corruption in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, the Tico Times featured an article claiming that corruption has increased within this politically stable and environmentally-friendly country. A study revealed that Costa Ricans have a higher awareness of corruption in their government than citizens of other Central American countries.

-- Maddie Thomson

NOTE: Josh Frens-String will resume writing these updates next Monday. Thanks to Maddie Thomson, a WOLA intern, for helping out in the interim.

Top stories for August 19, 2009

Some Tidbits on Honduras

The World Briefing section of the New York Times features a mere two paragraphs on Honduras today, with the first reporting on a new Amnesty International report that accuses the military and police of human rights violations, such as beatings and mass arrests, during pro-Zelaya protests. The official report features photos and testimonies.

In the second paragraph, the Times notes that Micheletti regime has demanded that Argentine diplomats from Honduras leave within three days. Coming just days before a group of foreign ministers (including from Argentina) is set to visit Honduras on behalf of the OAS, this is the second time that the Micheletti government has sought to expel foreign diplomats since the June 28 coup. (Notably, in the first case, the expelled Venezuelan diplomats have thus far refused to leave.) An article in Xinhua news notes that Argentina, like Venezuela before it, will ignore Micheletti’s ultimatum to withdraw its diplomats from Honduras. The Honduran demand follows Argentina’s request last week for the departure of the Micheletti-inclined Honduran ambassador to that country.

Colombia: Former DAS head found guilty; Clinton tries to quell fears of U.S. military role

In one of two articles on Colombia today, the BBC writes that new information has surfaced on the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan in 1989. Colombian officials arrested General Miguel Maza Marquez, a former head of the secret police, known as the Das, who was said to be been ordered to kill Galan by the Medellin drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar. The second BBC article discusses Secretary of State Clinton’s efforts to calm fears in Latin America about the new U.S.-Colombia Agreement to increase U.S. military presence in Colombia. Clinton reassured Latin America that the U.S. would respect Colombian sovereignty, make sure to not affect other countries in the region, not significantly increase the number of U.S. troops, and ultimately, not create U.S. bases in Colombia. Clinton also stated that the agreement "is about the bilateral co-operation between the United States and Colombia regarding security matters within Colombia," hoping to deter neighboring countries, especially Venezuela, in thinking that the U.S. was planning to invade South America.

Mexico and Human Rights

In a story on the release of the U.S. State Department’s report on Mexico, the New York Times has a critical take on the information provided. It notes that Mexico’s war on drugs has “generated a sixfold increase in human rights complaints against the Mexican military between 2006 and 2008, and it is unclear that any of those complaints resulted in prosecutions.” This report was part of the Merida Initiative a joint counternarcotics program, a $1.4 billion, three-year aid package for Mexico's campaign. The Merida Initiative is currently withholding 15% of the money until the State Department verifies that the government is meeting four human rights requirements. According to the Times writers (Marc Lacey and Ginger Thompson), “while the State Department cited several examples of progress, it was hardly a glowing endorsement.” Quite a different reading of the same State Department report came from the editorial board of the Christian Science Monitor, which wrote yesterday: “The State Department told Congress in an official evaluation that Mexico is successfully reforming its justice system with better accountability and transparency. Such reforms include removal of corrupt officials, punishment of soldiers who harm civilians, civilian oversight of federal police, and a broad education effort to raise respect for the rule of law.”

On another note, President Calderon just finished a three-day meeting with President Lula da Silva in Brazil, where the two leaders agreed to explore a possible free trade agreement, which would have to be ratified by MERCOSUR. Lula said: "This crisis has demonstrated that the more we diversify our trade balance and interact with other countries, the less dependent we will be on one single economy. Brazil no longer depends solely on the United States or the European Union.” His dream: "Mexico with a greater focus on Latin America and a Brazil more focused on Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico."

Boz writes that “Lula's request to Calderon goes against the occasional comment that Brazil and Mexico are competing in Latin America for regional leadership. There's no doubt Brazil wants regional leadership, but Lula is smart enough to understand that no amount of ‘leadership’ will allow Latin America to succeed without the support of the region's second largest economy also contributing.”

U.S.-Cuba Relations

Several news stories today concern U.S.-Cuba relations. An Associated Press article sheds light on leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. pressuring President Obama to end the Cuba embargo, dubbing it as “an unfair economic policy that punished ordinary Cubans.” Supporters of lifting the embargo see the current moment as a “rare opportunity to bridge an immense psychological distance that has marred relations.” An article and radio report on NPR notes that, while Congress works on legislation that could lift the travel ban, Cuba remains a popular destination for American travelers. If lifted, potentially one million Americans could visit the island each year, questioning whether Cuba would be ready for this influx of people.

Bolivia’s Controversial Policies: Coca and the Constitution

An article in the Wall Street Journal describes a correlation between an increase in Bolivia’s coca production and an increase in its cocaine trade. Although Bolivia does not produce as much cocaine as Colombia or Mexico, nor has it become nearly as dangerous as the war on drugs in those two countries, U.S. law enforcement officials claim that Bolivia’s production is potentially up as much as 65% this year, and is predicted to continue rising. Neighboring countries have begun to complain about the increase in cocaine smuggling coming from Bolivia, and despite threats of U.S. involvement to eradicate coca fields, it seems that as long as President Morales is in power, coca cultivation will continue to be legal. An article in the Guardian reports on the world’s first cocaine bar, located in La Paz, which has become a popular tourist destination. Wow.

Elsewhere, the Miami Herald reported that after months of debate that at times turned violent, President Morales is having trouble implementing the new constitution that Bolivians voted for last January. The new constitution, which better integrates the country’s large indigenous communities and allows Morales to run for another five-year term, is set for the elections in December. But President Morales is already receiving heavy opposition from business leaders, who claim that “the government is pitting racial groups against each another and encouraging its indigenous followers to hate the mestizos and whites.” Michael Shifter, the vice president for policy at the Washington, D.C.-based Latin American Dialogue, claims the constitution contains many “positive features, but in some ways, it resembles a wish list and may be tough to put in practice [for Bolivia].”

-- Maddie Thomson

August 18 stories

Appointment updates:

Maria Otero was sworn in on August 10, 2009 as the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. She oversees and coordinates the work of the Bureaus of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Oceans, Environment and Science; and Population, Refugees and Migration; and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual were sworn in at the State Department Monday by Secretary Clinton. Today Clinton is due to swear in Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees, Population and Migration Eric Schwartz.

FARC releases videos of two hostages

Both Reuter’s News and Associated Press reported that FARC guerrillas in Colombia released videos yesterday showing that a soldier and a police officer, who have been held hostage since 2007 and 2008, are still alive. The video expressed emotional messages that they might be freed along with the 22 other victims held in secret jungle camps. The FARC have held some of these 24 victims hostage for over a decade, and wish to free them in exchange for imprisoned guerrillas. However, President Uribe has rejected any such exchange and has demanded the rebels release their captives. Police officer Maj. Guillermo Solorzano Julio, one of the hostages in the video, asked the public, ''Please don't forget us. Help us.” Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba, who has worked to win freedom for the hostages, was the one to hand the videos over to the hostages’ families, although she failed to describe how she received them. Cordoba hopes to receive other proof that the other hostages are alive soon.

An interview with Micheletti, worries of biased opinions

Associated Press published an article last night reporting that Micheletti’s de facto government believes it will be judged unfairly by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights that arrived yesterday to investigate the allegations of human rights abuses after 24 Zelaya supporters were charged with sedition. The Micheletti government anticipates a biased assessment since the Inter-American Commission is a branch of the Organization of American States, which has condemned the coup and demanded Zelaya’s return to power. The Commisssion met with members of the Supreme Court yesterday and will spend the rest of the week meeting with other officials and civic organizations. The OAS also plans to send a delegation of foreign ministers to Honduras later this week in attempts to revive negotiations to end the crisis. Aside from charging the 24 protesters with sedition and damaging public property, the Micheletti government arrested over 100 other Pro-Zelaya supporters. Pro-Zelaya television and radio stations have made reports that they were yanked off the air after the coup, and several foreign journalists were also arrested immediately after the coup, including four from The Associated Press, all of which will be discussed by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.

The Miami Herald ran a story revealing that in an exclusive 40-minute interview, de facto President Micheletti claimed he would not allow ousted President Zelaya back into his own country unless he faces charges. Micheletti stated, “The only way President Zelaya can return is if he submits himself to the justice system,” announcing that he cannot be trusted. Also in the interview, Micheletti accused the U.S. ambassador in Honduras, Hugo Llorens, of favoring Zelaya during the crisis, rejected accusations that his government has abused human rights in stopping protests, and said he doesn't predict President Obama to slap tough economic sanctions on Honduras. Micheletti’s comments confirmed his position to prevent President Zelaya’s return by not cooperating with proposed negotiations. Rather, he plans to ride out possible economic sanctions and a refusal by foreign governments to recognize the winners of the elections planned for Nov. 29. During the interview, Micheletti refused to answer the question whether it was illegal for the military to spirit Zelaya out of the country instead of simply arresting him, as the country's Supreme Court had ordered.

On another note, Reuter’s reports that after over a week of the H1N1 swine flu virus, Costa Rican President Arias has fully recovered and is expected to return to work today. President Arias was the first head of state known to be infected with the H1N1 virus, which has spread around the world since April and global health authorities predict it to eventually affect 2 billion people. Last month, Arias led talks to try to negotiate the political crisis in Honduras, but these negotiations broke down three weeks ago over whether the interim leadership would let Zelaya return to power.

In her opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O’Grady criticizes the role of the United States by questioning why the Obama administration is trying to help President Chavez throughout the Honduras crisis. She begins by describing Chavez’s rant at the UNASUR meeting against the U.S. military in Colombia, causing her to wonder why the U.S. is pressuring Honduras to reinstate President Zelaya, since he was removed from office by the Honduran Congress after violating the country's constitution. Mr. Zelaya has become one of Chavez’s top allies, as he attempted to follow Venezuela’s lead by “undermining Honduras's institutional checks and balances.” O’Grady claims that it is a huge step if President Zelaya were to neutralize Chavez, since Chavez’s policies have influenced several South American countries and have resulted in “quashed political pluralism, free speech and minority rights in those countries.” However, in demanding President Zelaya’s return to power, the Obama administration is being criticized for taking too hard of a leftist stance and not standing up enough to Venezuelan aggression, especially after Chavez warned that "The winds of war are starting to blow" with increased U.S. military presence in Colombia. O’Grady claims Obama to be “Playing footsie under the table with Mr. Chávez on Honduras while the Venezuelan is threatening the peace isn't going to fly in a hemisphere that prefers liberty over tyranny.” Lastly, O’Grady claims the U.S.’s War on Drugs has failed, but the Obama administration has taken controversial stances by refusing to support the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and now by backing Mr. Chávez's Honduran pawn.

Brazilian takes steps towards nationalizing its oil reserves

The New York Times leads with after over a decade of close collaboration with foreign companies, the Brazilian government is seeking to nationalize the country’s oil reserves and more directly control the extraction itself so it can receive more benefits from “its natural resources and cement its position as a global power.” However, this decision is predicted to slow the development of the oil fields, which is risky at a time when the world is looking for new sources. Especially with Brazil’s recent discovery of the deep-sea fields in 2007, which could hold tens of billions of barrels of recoverable oil and is the world’s biggest oil reserve being developed today, the country wants its national oil company, Petrobras to control all future development. This would make Petrobras the operator for the 62% of the area, ending foreign companies as the financial investors, and allowing for Petrobas to “generate jobs and award lucrative contracts.” Analysts believe that the stakes for Brazil are high, as many see the oil as “a magic bullet for tackling the country’s biggest social challenges,” allowing President Lula da Silva to funnel more revenue from the undeveloped fields to government coffers and set up funds to improve education and health care. However, unlike the nationalistic fervor that Mexico experienced in the late 1930s, and that Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador are practicing today, President Lula da Silva does not want to exclude foreigners from energy projects altogether, or even that they be prevented the chance to win majority stakes in some cases. Rather, this decision is a debate over the “speed of the development, who will get the largest share of the income stream and who will benefit from the related technology and knowledge.”

Storms destroying Haiti prevent adequate aid

The Miami Herald reported that the poorest and least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, is “barely hanging on” as it gets hits with Hurricane Ana, the first of a predicted series of hurricanes this season. The country is plagued with malnutrition, as almost 2 million Haitians, or 1/3 of its population, do not get enough food every day. Aid groups have increased emergency relief, but the conditions that put much of Haiti at risk remain unchanged. Heavy rains that deforest mountains, destroy homes, infrastructure, and fields isolate Haiti from receiving the help that it needs, as aid workers find it extremely difficult to be able to reach the most vulnerable villages. Last year, four storms killed almost 800 people and caused $1 billion worth of damage in Haiti. It took about two months for aid groups to realize that 26 children had starved to death or died of malnutrition here. In advance of this year's storms, aid groups have stockpiled enough food to feed up to 1 million people for a month and a half, WFP spokesman Jim Farrell said. But aid workers say emergency measures can only do so much, and more systemic changes that would help Haiti sustain itself remain distant.

Opinion Piece: The Solution to Corruption among Mexican military

One of the topics discussed at the “Three Amigos” Summit last week between leaders of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico was the drug war in Mexico. Although policy makers agonize over complicated solutions, Kelly M. Phillips, the wife of a Mexican officer Juan Castillo, proposes the problems is simply that the officials are underequipped, unsupported, and underpaid. Previously serving in the California Army National Guard, Phillips married and moved to Mexico, where she was rudely awakened to the differences between the two countries’ services. Phillips’ article reveals the insides and out of the lives of Mexican military officials, including anything from cockroach- and mold-infested houses on base, a lack of housing allowance, unpaid utilities, unreliable health care, poor equipment, extremely low salaries, a lack of personal safety. Calderon’s actions have only worsened these conditions, causing Phillips and her husband to move back to the United States. She proposes that in order to increase safety, Mexico needs to provide higher salaries and better weapons for the military. Phillips claims, “After all, the cartels already have money and weapons, which they use against those who stand in their way — to buy the ones who can be corrupted and brutally murder the rest.”

-- Maddie Thomson

Weekend Round-up

Micheletti organizes a delegation while Zelaya is advised to return to Honduras

On Honduras over the weekend, the Miami Herald published an article claiming that the advisors of ousted President Zelaya are encouraging him to return to Honduras, despite facing threats of imminent arrest. Although returning is a highly risky move, Zelaya’s advisors believe that his return would “dramatically scramble the political landscape in [Honduras].” Once Zelaya steps foot in Honduras, Victor Meza, the senior official in Zelaya's cabinet as minister of internal security, states that “he'd be taken out of prison on the shoulders of the people to the Casa Presidencial.”

As protests continue in Tegucigalpa demanding Zelaya’s return to power, the Associated Press reported that Micheletti’s de facto government cracked down with harsher measures. Two dozen pro-Zelaya supporters were charged with sedition on Friday and another four were charged with aggravated arson and terrorism in the burning of a bus and a restaurant. Micheletti has dubbed these protesters as “violent and terrorist."

Yesterday, AFP ran an article on Micheletti’s decision to organize a delegation to visit Washington next Monday in attempts to gain international recognition. Micheletti told reporters that the delegation will meet with foreign ministers from the Organization of American States, which "will guarantee that the doors of the world are open to Honduras." Three Honduran diplomats, Mauricio Villeda, Arturo Corrales and Vilma Morales, who participated in talks in San Jose, also returned from a visit to Washington, where they met with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, despite Insulza’s previous refusal to engage with authorities of the de facto government.

An editorial in the New York Times on Saturday titled “Mr. Micheletti’s Dangerous Game” discussed how Micheletti’s de facto government’s stalling of negotiations is causing deeply-rooted divisions within the country that is likely to result in “years, not months, of crisis.” The article pointed out that even if the Micheletti government does succeed in new elections, a bulk of the population would view the results as illegitimate, which would only exacerbate tensions. In trying to find a solution, Washington has publicly condemned the coup and suspended nearly $18 million in aid, but it has not yet to take extreme action, such as withdrawing its ambassador to Honduras or freezing back accounts of those associated with the coup. While Micheletti continues to postpone negotiations led by Costa Rican President Arias and other foreign ministers from Latin American countries, Washington must prepare to exert greater pressure on Honduras. Also on Saturday, the Washington Post published an article further explaining the divisions within Honduran society. Since the June 28 coup, society has split between two “diametrically opposed views,” where the Zelaya supporters are generally poor, and the Zelaya opponents are generally the middle- to upper-class citizens. This division is particularly worrisome, and will make it increasingly difficult for negotiations to occur within the next few weeks.

Regarding the United States, an Associated Press article published yesterday accused the U.S. of being involved in the June 28 coup, claiming that the plane the originally flew President Zelaya into exile stopped to refuel at Soto Cano air base, also known as Palmerola, that houses at least 500 U.S. troops who carry out counter-narcotics operations and other missions in Central America. Patricia Valle, the deputy foreign minister of the deposed government, holds the U.S. to be complicit in the coup, despite failing to prove that the U.S. troops had any interaction with Honduran military officials that day. In another article in Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, the U.S. was attacked by Venezuelan Ambassador to the Organization of American States Roy Chaderton, who claimed that asking the U.S. to participate in restoring President Zelaya to power should not be considered hypocrisy, saying that "member states are expected to participate, to the extent of their respective possibilities, in reestablishment of the democratic system."

Mexico’s new plans to fight corruption and attract tourists

An article published by the Associated Press reported that Mexico’s drug cartels have transformed into full-scale mafias, as they use extortion and traffic nearly everything from people to pirated DVDs. As groups of organized crime strengthen in Mexico, President Calderon is faced with increased challenges throughout his 2 1/2-year-old drug war. Today, an article in both the New York Times and the Miami Herald reported that in his greater fight against corruption and drug trafficking, President Calderon replaced of the entire cadre of customs agents along the Mexico-U.S. border, and doubling the size of the new group of agents, in attempts to “root out corruption” and “reduce the influx of huge quantities of illegal drugs into the country.” The old officers were not fired, but instead their contracts were not renewed. Some officers will be allowed to reapply for their positions if they meet new, stricter hiring requirements.

In attempts to attract tourists who might otherwise be deterred from visiting due to increased violence, the economic recession, and threats of the swine flu, Mexico City now offers free health insurance for foreigners under a plan called the "Tourist Assistance Card," which would include emergency medical care, hospital stays, prescription drugs and ambulance services. The LA Times quoted Marcelo Ebrard in that "Of all the world's largest cities, Mexico City is the first to try this."

Lastly, on Mexico, Reuter’s news published an article on President Calderon’s encouragement to seek free trade with Brazil in order to boost commercial ties. Especially after suffering from the global recession, Calderon believes that establishing new trade and opening up ties with Brazil will help Mexico’s economy get back on its feet.

The U.S. and Colombia reach an agreement

On Colombia this weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Colombia and the United States concluded negotiations to allow American troops to use seven military bases in Colombia (five military air forces and two naval bases). The next step for each government is to “technically [revise]” the negotiations and for the Colombian Council of State to endorse the deal, so that the two governments can officially sign the agreement within the next two weeks. Despite original opposition from Colombia’s regional opponents, not only Venezuela and Ecuador, but also more moderate allies Chile and Brazil, Colombia and the U.S. continue to insist that the bases are solely to fight drug trafficking and terrorism.

New Information leaked on U.S.-Brazil agreements in Allende coup

A newly declassified document of a summary of a White House meeting exposed Nixon’s offer to financially help undermine Chile’s Allende government in 1971 after Brazil's president confirmed his military officers were working with counterparts in Chile, reported the LA Times yesterday. The document was in a pile of records concerning U.S.-Brazil collaboration in opposing left-leaning governments in Latin America in the early 1970s, which were posted on the National Security Archive website on Saturday. These documents “open the door on a new, untold history of efforts to overthrow Allende,” said Peter Kornbluh, director of the archive's Cuba and Chile documentation projects. In the summary, Nixon stated, "We must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends." Nixon and Brazil President Medici agreed to communicate outside regular diplomatic channels. Also in the documents reveal Nixon’s claims to support efforts to overthrow Castro and talks of manipulating the president of Peru, who had been supportive of Castro. The article discusses Nixon’s desire for secrecy and his efforts in destabilizing governments through other nations, but states that Brazil’s role in all of this is unknown.

Opposing views on effects of “Three Amigos” and UNASUR summits

Christopher Sabatini’s opinion piece in the Miami Herald expressed his views that despite promises and encouraging speeches from leaders at the two regional summits held last week, the “Three Amigos” summit with North America and the UNASUR summit with South America, regional coordination is still lacking. Specifically, recent events in Honduras and Colombia have demonstrated a “a vacuum in regional leadership” to respond to the crises and an overall “collective weakness.” Sabatini claims that the regional failure to respond to the crisis “turned a man who himself had violated the constitution into a victim.” Similar events are happening in Colombia, where regional leaders have failed to collaborate against the threat of the growing evidence of Colombia's neighbors' involvement with the FARC. Sabatini ultimately calls for the Latin American leaders to step up and take initiative against these threats and to do “more than just exhort the United States to do more in Honduras.”

With a different take on the “Three Amigos” summit, Andres Oppenheimer believes that “it may have been a major step in helping to convince President Barack Obama about the need of greater North American integration.” In his words, “If Obama went to this summit thinking he would discuss bilateral issues with his two colleagues and came out of it convinced that the three countries have a lot to gain by creating a more closely knit North American community, it was a success. We may see the results of the Guadalajara summit when the ‘three amigos’ meet again in Canada next year.”

Chavez education bill led to violent protests

Despite strong opposition from citizens claiming that it imposes a socialist indoctrination in schools, Chavez plans to pass his national education bill called "the Bolivarian Doctrine," as reported in the Miami Herald last Friday. Pro-Chavez supporters of the law disregard critiques that indoctrination, claiming that legislation reflects the “government's efforts to ensure equal opportunities and teach social responsibility.” Supporters also note that the law requires teaching to be "open to all forms of thinking." Regardless, the debate over this bill sparked tensions between Venezuela's fierce political foes, producing rival demonstrations Thursday outside the National Assembly in downtown Caracas that ended in violence. The Miami Herald reported on these violent protests, saying that hundreds gathered in Venezuela on Friday to fight for justice after a 12 journalists protesting the education bill and media regulations were brutally beaten.

Citizens demand promised government help in Peru

The Miami Herald reported on Saturday that two years after Peru’s most devastating earthquake that killed over 500 people left over 50,000 homeless, residents are beginning to lose hope of promised government help. Many are waiting for the funds to rebuild their homes, and for those who have been able to rebuild their homes, they await a rebuilding bonus, as promised under the government's Reconstruction Fund for the South or FORSUR. In those two years, only about 2,000 homes have been rebuilt, and sdespite only spending $33 million thus far, $400 million were allocated for this project. The Associated Press also reported on this, claiming that 4,000 people in Pisco –one of the towns most affected by the earthquake – began protesting by blocking the Huamani bridge and disrupting traffic on the country’s main route. The protests quickly turned violent as police officials used tear gas to disperse the road block.

-- Maddie Thomson

Pro-Zelaya Rallies Continue in Honduras

The Miami Herald reported that an estimated 10,000 pro-Zelaya supporters confronted a police force of 3,000 with increasingly violent measures as they continued their mass demonstrations for a second day, though Micheletti’s de facto government proved unwilling to back down. Citizens emitted their messages by throwing rocks at the police, while the police retaliated with riot shields and tear gas. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but the police arrested at least 43 people. After violent demonstrations on Tuesday, in which protestors ransacked a Dunkin Donuts and burned a Popeye’s franchise, Honduran authorities declared a nighttime curfew. Meanwhile, President Zelaya visited Brazil yesterday – and was given full state honors – in an attempt to gain support from other leaders to push for his return.

U.S. clarifies its position in Colombia

An article in the Miami Herald today revealed that the details of the original agreement to increase U.S. military presence in Colombia were vague, and despite other South American countries’ fears, the U.S. claims that they never had plans to maintain military bases in Colombia. The U.S. claims it only had plans to utilize existing bases. The agreement allows the U.S. military to use the bases to carry out their counter-narcotics and counter-guerrilla initiatives. The use of the bases will make up for the closure of the U.S. operation in Manta, Ecuador last month, which was one of three U.S. “Forward Operating Locations” (FOLs) – the others being in El Salvador and Aruba-Curaçao – to obtain data to the counter-drug Joint Interagency Task Force based in Key West. The Miami Herald article notes: "U.S. officials are adamant that the Colombia FOLs will not be 'bases' -- no U.S. flags, no U.S. sovereignty, no U.S. controls over base security, no lethal equipment, no use of force.” The U.S. and Colombia both acknowledge that they mishandled the public relations regarding the bases, although little clarity remains of how the bases will operate.

Addition flaws found within Mexico’s criminal justice system…but the country is promoting human rights

Today, both the New York Times and the LA Times reported that Mexico’s Supreme Court released a number of indigenous people in the case investigating the murder of 45 people in the Acetal massacre in Chiapas in 1997. Whereas the New York Times reported that 22 people were released, the LA times reported that it was 20, and new trials were issued for 6 more men. Regardless of the exact number, the Supreme Court found that prosecutors used “forged evidence and false testimony” to imprison those convicted. The massacre of 1997 drew so much international outrage that Mexico’s president at the time, Ernesto Zedillo, decided to investigate the crime. However, throughout the trial, several irregularities, such as not providing the suspects, violated the human rights of the accused, in order for the prosecutors to seek justice as quickly as possible. The Acetal case demonstrates the deficiencies of Mexico’s criminal justice system, even though the events of the massacre itself were confusing from the beginning. As one of the court judges, Juan Silva Meza says, this case “is a good opportunity for the court to reiterate a clear message to the authorities in charge of pursuing crimes — your actions ought to always respect, scrupulously, the Constitution and human rights.”

An article in the LA Times revealed that the end of this week will mark the opening of Mexico’s second annual human rights film festival, which is to include a series of documentaries, fiction features and short films from 23 countries. This year, the festival added competitions for best Mexican documentary and best Mexican short film. Themes for this year’s festival include migration, global warming, freedom of expression, child prostitution, and the slayings of the women in Ciudad Juarez and will be portrayed in movies such as “Los Que Se Quedan,” “Voces Silenciadas,” and “Sin Nombre.” Although last year’s festival only attracted 4,000 visitors in a city of over 20 million, the festival now costs 20 pesos per ticket and is hoped to encourage more people to attend.

Chavez: “Golf is a bourgeois sport.”

The New York Times ran a story yesterday afternoon claiming that Chavez’s political movement is now targeting the sport of golf, attempting to close two of Venezuela’s most notorious golf courses in Maracay and Caraballeda. Chavez publicly announced his belief that “golf is a bourgeois sport” in his Sunday television program, mocking the sport’s lazy nature. Chavez’s move to close the golf courses demonstrates how his plans to nationalize the country extend beyond the oil industry, and now include coffee roasters, cattle ranches, and tomato-processing plants. The article reported that Chavez’s motive behind closing the golf courses are based on his oil suspicion on the golf courses since they were initially built for Americans working in the industry, as well as building low-income homes to solve Venezuela’s current housing shortage. Critics of Chavez’s plan iterate that Cuba, Venezuela’s top ally, is going in the opposite direction by building new golf courses to attract tourism.

Five Charged in El Paso for Capital Murder

Associated Press reported that 3 teenagers – 18-year old U.S. soldier Michael Apodaca, 17-year old Christopher Duran, and 16-year old anonymous – are being charged for killing Jose Daniel Gonzalez Galeana, a Mexican drug cartel lieutenant who was cooperating with U.S. authorities. Apodaca admitted he took “money from mid-level cartel official Ruben Rodrigueza Dorado to be the triggerman,” Duran admitted he was paid to be the getaway driver, and the 16-year old was paid to provide surveillance. Dorado is also in prison facing murder charges. A fifth person, cartel lieutenant Jesus Aguayo Salas, who is said to have ordered and financed the killing, is also charged with capital murder. Rodriguez, Apodaca, and Duran remain imprisoned with a $1-million bail each, and it is currently being decided whether the 16-year old will be charged as an adult.

Editorial

Former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Thomas McNamara’s editorial in the New York Times today reminded us that Mexico’s violent situation should not be a surprise, since we have seen it before. Colombia in the late 1980s and early 1990s is one example, when violence escalated due to battles between drug lords and police officers/politicians/judges/businessmen/any opposition at all, killing innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. McNamara points out that the similarities between Mexico and Colombia “go down even to the hiring of poor, uneducated hit men” – also known as “sicarios,” to kill the opposition. The role of the U.S. is also a similarity in both countries, since Americans are the number one drug consumer, arms suppliers, and money launderers. Just like Colombian president Barco’s fight against drug lord Pablo Escobar, President Calderon’s actions against the drug smugglers is having the same violent effects and reducing government legitimacy and control within its own borders. Despite these similarities, the editorial argues that government and society must give the mafias free reign in order to reduce the violence. If Mexico does successfully break up the drug cartels like Colombia eventually did, the traffickers will find another place to continue their businesses. In order for Mexico to avoid suffering from the aftershocks of violence like Colombia did in the 1990s, it must realize that drug trafficking will continue so long as demand allows it to. The U.S. must first address its “insatiable demand for drugs, its illegal arms exports, and its ineffective financial controls.”

-- Maddie Thomson

(NOTE: The next news summary will come out Monday, August 17)