More English-language reports this morning about what appears to have been the first wave of significant violence in Mexico’s second-city, Guadalajara, since President Calderon began his offensive against drug cartels in 2006. The AP says a series of seven coordinated attacks around the city late Tuesday included grenade explosions, the burning of vehicles, and road blocks. No reports of fatalities although at least three were injured in the attacks. Both police and army troops were sent out on patrols around the city to pursue suspects Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
Jalisco state Interior Secretary Fernando Guzman Perez says he suspects the attacks were mounted by drug gangs in retaliation to the Tuesday arrest of two high profile trafficking suspects in the state. But as EFE notes, banners were unfurled over Jalisco bridges by the “Milenio cartel” as early as Friday, warning the state’s governor that Jalisco could “go up in flames.” Interestingly, the Spanish news agency adds that those banners called on the governor, Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, to use the state police, headed by Luis Carlos Najera, to “impose order.”
Similar attacks on both Tuesday and Wednesday in the northern cities of Zacatecas and Monterrey (Mexico City’s third largest city) did end with a number of deaths. In the upscale Monterrey suburb San Pedro Garcia Guzman gunmen are reported to have opened fire on Mexican marines responding to reports of suspicious activity in an apartment building there. At least four gunmen are said to have died. In Monterrey proper, a different set of confrontations between security forces and alleged cartel members is believed to have killed four Mexican police officers and three gunmen. Details again from the AP, which adds that January was the deadliest month in recent Monterrey memory. AP: “According to public security office figures, more than 120 people were killed [in January] as a result of organized crime, including 21 police officers.”
To other stories:
· Haitians waited late into the night Wednesday – and then into the morning Thursday – for the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to release the official verdict on Nov. 28’s much scrutinized presidential election. The AP as of about 4am Thursday: “[P]ast midnight Thursday, journalists napped, chatted and checked the Internet at the electoral council headquarters in Petionville. Around 10 p.m. local time a spokesman appeared, asked the media for patience and left. Many Haitians gave up and went to sleep.” Finally, at approx. 7:30am Thursday, the CEP announcement that Michel Martelly will face off against Mirlande Manigat in a March 20 presidential runoff. That apparently quite difficult decision came after Sec. of State Hillary Clinton urged Haitian leaders Sunday to drop the government-backed candidate Jude Celestin from a second-round, in favor of Martelly – per the recommendations of a much criticized OAS report. It also comes amidst reports that the Haitian government may issue a diplomatic passport to exiled former leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Responding to an inquiry about the US position vis a vis reports about Aristide, the State Dept., in an email to Reuters states its latest position:
“As we await publication of electoral results, we note that what Haiti needs right now is a period of calm, not divisive actions that can only distract from the vital task of forming a legitimate and credible government to help Haiti realize a democratic and more prosperous future.”
Mark Weisbrot with his take on increased US pressure on Haiti in his weekly column at The Guardian.
· In Venezuela, elections are already on the mind of President Hugo Chavez it seems. Celebrating 12 years as Venezuela’s president Tuesday, the AP says Chavez is already preparing to start campaigning for re-election in 2012. From a position sympathetic and, on the whole, optimistic about the situation in Venezuela, sociologist Gregory Wilpert at Venezuelanalysis posts a comprehensive assessment of the Bolivarian Revolution after 12 years, looking at both progress and shortcomings in the political, social, and economic realms. And also from the AP, news that a Venezuelan court on Wednesday reduced the conditions of Judge Maria Afiuni’s detainment to “house arrest.” The decision was granted, at least in part, so that Ms. Afiuni could undergo a badly needed surgical operation. According to the AP, her lawyer, Jose Amalio Graterol, called the court's decision “a positive step.” Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the Venezuela’s Provea, have raised their concerns about Judge Afiuni’s imprisonment.
· In Cuba, a spokesman for the Cuban Catholic Church says four men, arrested for hijacking tourist boats in separate incidents in 1999 and 2005, will soon be freed by the Cuban government and allowed to go into exile in Spain. The AP notes that none of the four men are among a group of 11 peaceful dissidents jailed during a 2003 crackdown on dissent. Those releases, promised by the Cuban government in July, remain pending. (One of the men to be released, Alexis Borges, is, however, on a list of about 100 political prisoners maintained by Cuban rights activist Elizardo Sanchez.)
· In Sight translates and posts a series of interesting interview excerpts re: the on-going state of siege in Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz, originally published by Coban’s El Comunitario. The paper recently published poll numbers about citizen views of the state of siege and In Sight summarizes:
“Polls taken by the newspaper show that 71 percent of those surveyed in Coban thought that the Alta Verapaz siege was successful. Forty-two percent said they felt more safe after the State of Siege was declared, compared with 45 percent who said they felt ‘the same.’ Seventy-eight percent said declaring the State of Siege was ‘absolutely necessarry,’ and 52 percent said they approved of the security measure.”
· Also on Guatemala, both Central American Politics and Kate Doyle at the National Security Archive’s “Unredacted,” on the new film “Granito” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week and documents efforts toward justice for human rights abuses of the 1980s.
· In neighboring El Salvador, meanwhile, El Faro reports on a new survey (conducted by Analítika Research & Marketing) which shows some serious national doubts about democracy. Only 1/7 of Salvadorans say democracy is a more preferable system of governance than any other, according to El Faro. Meanwhile, nearly ½ say they would support a military coup if the country remains unable to resolve economic problems and issues of public security. Full report and relevant links at El Faro.
· Honduras Culture and Politics writes on new threats to community radio in Honduras where the country’s telecommunications agency, CONATEL, is considering suspending broadcasting licenses to low power community radio stations, many of which serve the country’s rural population. As the blog notes, community radio has been the target of various acts of violence in recent months – a serious problem recently addressed by Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion.
· IPS with another report on issues of violence against Central American migrants today – the particular focus being new regional proposals to stem such violence.
· Lisa Haugaard of the Latin America Working Group with steps the Colombian government must take following Vice President Angelino Garzon’s visit to Washington last week, in order to ensure human rights are defended and protected.
· McClatchy with an excellent report on how NAFTA has flooded the Mexican market with US corn imports and led to the loss of some 2 million Mexican agricultural jobs. In turn that, say experts, has triggered significant increases in migration, largely from the country’s South. Victor Suarez, the executive director of the National Association of Rural Producers, says 50,000 people rural residents are now migrating out of the state of Chiapas each year.
· BBC Mundo reports on the unexpected emergence of gay marriage as a matter of debate in the current Peruvian presidential elections.
· Bloomberg says US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will travel to both Brasilia and Sao Paulo next week to discuss bilateral economic issues, as well as G-20 matters. The visit will be Geithner’s first to Brazil and comes ahead of President Obama’s scheduled visit in March. It also follows recent criticism of the IMF by Brazil’s new Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, who called a recent IMF report about Brazil’s fiscal situation “stupid” and “totally wrong.”
· Finally, former Inter-American Dialogue president Peter Hakim with his take on the future of US-Brazil relations, in Sao Paulo’s O Estado de Sao Paulo last week. Hakim’s focus: issues of Brazilian foreign policy, namely Brazil-Iran relations, under Dilma Rousseff.
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