The top story from the Americas in the New York Times this morning is from Peru where ex-president Alberto Fujimori took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday.Mr. Fujimori declared he was innocent of murder and kidnapping charges as he read from a prepared statement, describing the campaign against guerrillas during his presidency from 1990 to 2000 as a “policy of pacification.”The former president added that the fight he waged was intended to “eliminate the disorder and anarchy that had taken hold of Peru.”According to the NYT, none of the 80 witnesses and nearly two dozen outside experts who testified during the trial have directly linked Mr. Fujimori to two deadly operations by a special Peruvian military unit.Instead, prosecutors have argued that as commander in chief and leader, he did nothing to try to stop the killings of guerrilla suspects and their supporters.If convicted, Fujimori could face up to 30 years in prison.
From the Washington Post, a piece on drug violence in Mexico says that nearly 50 percent of Mexico’s combat-ready troops—45,000 troops in total—have now been deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border.The WaPo says that after Calderón became president in December 2006, he told Mexicans that the use of the military against the cartels would be limited and brief. However, today the use of the military is the centerpiece of his strategy for fighting heavily armed drug cartels, and Mexicans have greeted this deployment of federal troops with a mix of gratitude and dismay.Mr. Calderon has said that when a new police force is ready, they will resume public security duties.But of the 56,000 officers vetted thus far, nearly half have already failed the pre-training process.
The LA Times reports from Colombia with a story about a community organizer, now detained for five months, with no evidence yet brought against him nor a trial date set. The accused, Carmelo Agamez, believes he was arrested for organizing displaced Afro-Colombians in the town of San Onofre, which angered powerful interests trying to secure abandoned lands for cattle, lumber and oil-drilling projects.According to the LAT, the case of Agamez is illustrative of the broader problem of weak rule of law in Colombia where the creation of a stronger and fairer Colombian judicial system is believed to be one of the keys to ending decades of civil strife.
The Miami Herald has a review of Vice President Joe Biden’s recent trip to Latin America.The Vice President visited Chile over the weekend and ended his trip to Latin America with a stopover in Costa Rica to meet with Central American leaders in a run-up to the fifth Summit of the Americas conference.By most accounts, the visit went a long ways toward reforming the U.S. image in the region. Constantino Urcuyo, a political scientist in Costa Rica, says “popularly the image [of Biden] is of a nice-guy gringo, which is the complete opposite of the cowboy image that existed before.”However, some, like Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, believed the meeting with Central American leaders should have taken place in Nicaragua, the country who currently chairs the Central American integration organization, SICA.According to the MH, feeling snubbed, Ortega did not attend Biden's gathering and instead sent his foreign minister to the meeting.
And finally, the BBC reports that Venezuelan Hugo Chávez has said his country is willing to receive detainees from the U.S. detention camps at Guantánamo Bay.According to the BBC report, the Obama administration has indicated it is looking for willing allies to take on some of the 240 detainees currently being held at Guantánamo Bay, but he probably had not imagined an offer coming from Chávez.The U.S. is unlikely to accept the offer.President Chávez, making the statements at the Arab Summit in Qatar, also renewed his calls for Guantánamo Bay to be returned to Cuba, saying the US should finish with “this miserable prison.”
Also in the LAT, an AP story on Mr. Chávez’s visit to Iran where the Venezuelan leader spoke about his relations with the United States under President Obama.“I don't have much hope, because behind him is an empire. He's the president of an empire. ... Now, I think it's fair to give him some time. ... Seeing is believing,” Chavez said. "I hope President Obama is the last president of the Yankee empire, and the first president of a truly democratic republic, the United States.”A joint Venezuelan-Iranian bank is expected to be inaugurated today during Chávez’s visit, with each country putting $100 million into the joint development bank.
And the LAT writes that during Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s visit to San Diego on Wednesday she promised to add two dozen agents in the San Diego area to inspect Mexico-bound vehicles for weapons and drug profits.The measure would be part of the federal government's new anti-drug plan.The new agents will be charged with intercepting high-powered weaponry that is believed to be fueling much of the drug violence in Mexico.
Second, Andres Oppenheimer’s column on the global position of the U.S. dollar.Even after China's agreement with Argentina to trade in their local currencies instead of U.S. dollars, Oppenheimer writes that “we are not likely to see investors flocking to buy yuans -- or euros. At the most, we will see a greater use of non-U.S. currencies on the margins.”
Around the Americas.In news around the Americas this week, questions of development and the economy take center-stage as the world’s 20 largest economies meet in London for the G-20 financial summit.Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, and the United States will all be among the participating nations.And President Lula da Silva of Brazil has been particularly outspoken in the days leading up to the summit, writing in Le Monde that the restoration of credit and the fight against the "drug" of protectionism were the most urgent problems facing G20 leaders.Lula met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown late last week and the two leaders called for measures to boost global economic demand and for action to protect emerging market economies from financial volatility.
As El País (Spain) reports, the summit comes amidst a global financial crisis which is creating fears within Latin America that a period of economic boom will not only come to a sudden halt but reverse direction.According to the Spanish paper, an average regional growth rate of 5% over the last six years allowed 40 million people in Latin America to be brought out of poverty.The report also notes that McDonald's sold more hamburgers in Latin America than any other part of the world in 2008, apparently a sign of healthy economic times.But a new report from the World Bank estimates a growth rate of just 0.3% for the coming year, down from an earlier prediction of 3.9%.
As an era of prosperity fades likely fades for now, some are leveling blame against development policies that once again may be damned as unsustainable.An Inter Press Service story says that many development NGO’s are criticizing the Inter American Development Bank--which recently met in Medellin, Colombia--for not promoting policies for a sustainable development in the region.The IDB has lent out six to nine billion dollars a year over the last five years, most of which has gone towards strengthening infrastructure and export competitiveness in Latin America and the Caribbean.Social Watch, an Uruguay-based NGO who participated in an alternative meeting of civil society groups during the IDB’s meetings in Colombia, said the bank continues to neglect “the human and environmental costs of the failed ‘development’ policies…which are largely focused on the promotion of ecologically damaging mega-projects that provide few benefits for disadvantaged local populations and fail to respect the rights of indigenous communities and other traditional ethnic groups.”
The IDB has also come under fire from U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), among others, because its portfolio lost 1.9 billion dollars in value over the last year and a half due to its investments in "toxic assets" backed by subprime mortgages.
Latin America nations have sought to build stronger economic ties with other countries in order to weaken dependence on traditional multilateral organizations like the IDB.This week, in Qatar, the second Arab-South American summit will bring Brazil’s president Lula da Silva, Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner, and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez to one such region with whom new relations are being formed.The Latin Americanist reports that building greater economic ties will be one major objective during the summit, and as Qatar business association head Faisal bin Qassem al-Thani acknowledged, the potential markets in both regions are large.About 10% of the world’s population lives in the two regions.
The U.S. also attempted to reassert and redefine its position in the Americas this week with a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.In an op-ed which appeared in many Latin American papers, Biden wrote: “We recognize that the United States is still striving to meet its constitutional goal of forming a “more perfect union” and that we have, in the past, fallen short of our own ideals. But we pledge every day to honor the values that animate our democracy, and to lead by example.This is why, on his third day in office, the President ordered the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.”The piece focused on the six themes of the economic crisis, security, democracy, poverty, energy, and the environment.
But while the Vice President attempted to renew U.S. moral authority by citing the closure of Guantanamo, a new Amnesty International report released this week concluded that human rights violations are prevalent in the U.S.’s own immigration system as well. The types of abuses include excessive periods of detention and substandard detention centers, and are evidence of how there still remains much room for human rights improvements in the U.S.
And Roberto Lovato of The Nation reports on the victory of the FMLN in El Salvador from the small village of Izalco where the FMLN had won a surprising mayoral victory in January, backed by a unique coalition of Catholics, students and evangelicals.
Argentina.Al-Jazeera writes that a week-long farm strike led by Argentine farmers came to an end this week, but protestors vowed to continue lobbying Congress to cut the soy export taxes that have fueled a year-long conflict with the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Jim Schulz of the Cochabamba-based Democracy Center writes that there are three things the U.S. and Bolivian governments can do to have a real impact on people’s lives in both countries: 1.Restoring Bolivia's Participation in Andean Trade Preferences by U.S., 2. Re-opening Adoptions to the U.S by Bolivia, and 3. Bringing the Peace Corps Back to Bolivia.
Brazil. More on the economy and the visit by British PM Gordon Brown to Brazil in a Real Clear World piece that examines the buzz around Lula’s statement that “white people with blue eyes” are to blame for the world financial crisis.
And in The Economist, a piece this week says a wave of impeachment cases against Brazilian state governors are a sign of how Brazilian courts are continuing to raise election standards, adding that the benefits of these moves may be felt beyond Brazil’s own borders.
Colombia.The Financial Times reports that President Alvaro Uribe secured the support of his coalition partners for a bill that would approve a national referendum to alter the constitution to allow for his re-election.Boz analyzes the proposal and reasons why Uribe may be pushing for re-election once again.
Cuba.US News and World Report writes in a lengthy article that Washington may move before Cuba in ending the decades-old standoff between the two countries.According to the magazine, the Obama administration's review of U.S. policy toward Cuba may spur additional steps to engage Cuba and is likely to go public in the coming weeks.
Amnesty International, in a new statement this week, says the US government should “lift the nearly five–decade long economic and trade embargo against Cuba as it is detrimental to the fulfillment of the economic and social rights of the Cuban people.”
In an El País (Spain) story, the criticism of Fidel Castro regarding news coverage of the global economic crisis is reported on.Castro emphasizes the importance of China in the world economy—a country he believes has been undervalued in recent press accounts of the global situation.
Ecuador.In the Washington Posta report this week looks at new protectionist economic measures in Ecuador that are intended to dampen demand for imported good and increase the consumption of domestic goods.The policies are in contrast with those of Brazil, Chile, and Mexico which are all helping key industries with tax breaks while increasing spending on infrastructure projects to spur growth, says the paper.
Mexico. A round-up of stories from Mexico this week:
·On drug violence, a series of NBC /MSNBC video reports including a story by Andrea Mitchell from Mexico City, an interview with former drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffery, and a report on Sinaloa drug kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
·Also, on drug violence, Peter Hakim of the Inter-American Dialogue writes in an opinion piece for El Universal about four approaches the U.S. should take in dealing with crime and violence in Mexico and beyond.
·On US-Mexico trade and the global economy, a Financial Times interview with Mexican President Felipe Calderón who says that pressure from special interests in the US has hindered government policy
·On border control at the U.S.-Mexico border, a BBC report on the challenges of keeping drugs out of the U.S. and guns out of Mexico.
·On cross-border cooperation, the Dallas Morning News says the FBI has begun a pilot program in Mexico using DNA to identify the remains of missing Americans.
·On the U.S. Senate’s field hearing in El Paso, the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute provides Sen. Richard Lugar’s (R-IN) statement expressing support for the Calderon government and the Merida Initiative.
·On the view from Ciudad Juarez, Foreign Policy has a very good story on Juarez mayor José Reyes Ferriz who lives in exile in El Paso while crossing the border each day to work in Ciudad Juarez.
·On Sec. of State Clinton’s trip to Mexico, a Real Clear World piece looks at the issue of “shared responsibility” between the U.S. and Mexico in stopping drug violence.
·On the Mexican justice system, Narco News examines and critiques the U.S. funding for judicial reform included in the Mérida Initiative.
·And, on accountability, the AP reports that a Mexican court upheld a ruling that exempted former president Luis Echeverria from facing genocide charges for his alleged involvement in a 1968 student massacre at Tlatelolco Plaza.
And, from the other side, a report from the Americas Program says large soy producers are confronting the new government with a series of "tractor blockades” in the streets of Asunción and other cities in protest against campesino land occupations.
Venezuela.Finally, the Huffington Post has a piece on President Hugo Chávez’s newest campaign for an oil-backed currency to compete with the U.S. dollar.Chávez made the proposal in front of Arab leaders at this week’s summit in Qatar.
The Harvard International Review has a very good article on petrol politics in Venezuela (and the contrast with Brazil).The article says that, in Venezuela, “by pegging the oil industry’s economic viability to the government’s political fortunes, politicization directs the oil-industry’s priorities toward the fleeting, short-sighted goals of politicians and precludes the long-term strength of an accountable, economically-focused business model.”
The Latin Americanist reports that Alaska is the newest recipient of Venezuela’s oil as “millions of dollars in free heating fuel will flow through Alaska villages early next month.”
The top story from the Americas in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times this morning is the death of former Argentine President Raúl Alfonsín.The 82-year-old who governed Argentina from 1983 to 1989 died of lung cancer Tuesday at his Buenos Aires home.The NYT writes that Alfonsín was a passionate spokesperson for human rights whose presidency symbolized the return to democracy in the Southern Cone after an era of military dictatorships.He won praise from many human rights advocates for first forming a private organization called the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights which criticized the military junta and the paramilitary groups they formed.He later became well-known for prosecuting the military leaders who preceded him in office.However, after a failed military rebellion in 1987, Mr. Alfonsín and congressional leaders were forced to enact legislation halting most of the investigations and trials.The legislation was not repealed until 2005 when investigations and prosecutions were once again restarted.An AP story on Alfonsín in the WaPo adds that, besides his daring decision to bring to trial the leaders of the dictatorship, an economic collapse that made him hand over power to his successor six months early also defined his presidency.And the LAT notes that Mr. Alfonsín was a tireless advocate of Mercosur, the Latin American trade bloc.He also had backed a law legalizing divorce.
In the Wall Street Journal today, a report on the global recession and Mexico says that Mexican President Felipe Calderon has indicated he is willing to open a credit line of $30 billion to $40 billion with the International Monetary Fund.This decision would be the first time in nearly a decade that Mexico has borrowed from the multilateral lending organization.The country ended its last IMF debt in 2000 with a single $3 billion payment made five years ahead of schedule.According to the WSJ, the IMF, scorned throughout much of Latin America for bullying poor countries into following strict fiscal guidelines, approved a reform that establishes a flexible credit line loan program for fundamentally solid developing countries in order to attract new borrowers.Mr. Calderon said that Mexico would not necessarily have to exercise the credit line, but he indicated that “it would be very useful to have that money available” if it were needed in the future.
And, the lead story on the region in the Miami Heraldsays that Cuba will likely be a central topic at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly as more Latin American leaders push for the country’s inclusion into hemispheric organizations.Most recently, OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, said the multilateral organization should take steps to readmit Cuba, who was expelled in 1962.In an interview with the MH, the ambassador of Trinidad to the U.S., Glenda Patricia Morean-Phillip, said Cuba may not be on the official agenda, but “it’s certainly on everyone's lips.”Trinidad’s Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, met with Raúl Castro on Sunday in Cuba during a medical checkup on the island.The prime minister had a cancerous left kidney removed in Cuba last December and also previously had pacemaker surgery there.
More in the NYT on the issue of Cuba where an AP report says a bipartisan group of Senators announced Tuesday that they will advocate an end to the travel ban to Cuba.The group, which includes Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Mike Enzi (R-WY), say their proposal to allow travel should be a first step toward breaking down economic and trade barriers between the two countries.Reps. Bill Delahunt (D-MA). and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). have an identical bill in the House with 120 co-sponsors.Supporters stressed that Cuba is the only country in the world to which the United States bans travel, and there are a very few exceptions.The LAT also has a piece on this, adding that a 2002 study by a Washington, D.C-based consulting firm says the removal of travel limits would bring about 3 million Americans to Cuba each year, producing between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion per year in business and creating as many as 23,000 jobs.
Also, an AP piece in the NYT says police in Northern Mexico have captured gang members that allegedly stole oil from state-controlled pipelines and smuggled it to across the border to U.S. refineries.The Federal police commissioner says the gang made protection payments to the Gulf drug cartel and its group of hit-men, the Zetas.According to the AP, prosecutors have frozen 149 bank accounts and detected bank transfers of over $46 million connected to the activities in which the oil was smuggled to the U.S. in tanker trucks with falsified import documentation.
The WSJ reports in a brief story that the U.S. will stand for election to one of three open seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council this year as part of President Obama’s “new era of engagement.”The 47-member Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the 1946 U.N. Human Rights Commission, which had become discredited after some members blocked debate over their own internal human rights records.However, the U.S., with Israel, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, were the only countries who voted against the creation of the Human Rights Council in 2007, says the WSJ.
And, in additional news in the MH, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has his opinion piece on U.S.-Mexico border cooperation, first published in the LAT, reprinted.Also, an AP report in the MH from Guatemala says a drug gang operating in the country was responsible for the murder of 15 Nicaraguans and one Dutch man aboard a bus in November.U.N. anti-crime commissioner Carlos Castresana, aiding Guatemalan police in the investigation, said three of the ten suspects are former police officers.The drug gang was apparently looking for a rival cartel’s drug shipment when they stopped the bus in eastern Guatemala.
