The Agonist - Latin America

Colombia says will not be provoked by Venezuela

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:57:01 -0800

Hugh Bronstein | Bogota | Nov 20

Reuters - Colombia will not be provoked into armed conflict with Venezuela despite the neighboring country's aggressive rhetoric and its dynamiting of two cross-border pedestrian bridges, Colombia's defense minister said on Friday.

"We will not be provoked. The insults bounce off us," Gabriel Silva told local radio a day after Venezuelan troops dynamited the two suspended wooden plank pathways connecting the countries.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez this month ordered his army to prepare for war after Colombia signed a military cooperation pact with Washington allowing U.S. troops increased access to its territory to run anti-narcotics surveillance flights.

Chavez says the agreement could set the stage for a U.S. invasion of oil-rich Venezuela, a claim that Washington and Bogota dismiss. He calls Colombian President Alvaro Uribe "a traitor" to the region for signing the deal.

Venezuela says the narrow bridges were illegally built and used by smugglers. But Colombia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the destruction of the bridges "an aggression against the civilian population and the frontier communities."

Covering Mexico's cartel wars puts journalists in the line of fire

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:17:45 -0800

CNN - The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 26 journalists have been killed since 2005 in Mexico -- most of them while covering the crime or corruption beats. By comparison, 10 journalists were killed in the same time period while covering the war in Afghanistan.

Cuba: Dissidents' Plight Unchanged Under Raul, Charges HRW

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:06:06 -0800

Jim Lobe | Washington | Nov 19

IPS - While Cuban President Raul Castro has implemented some economic and administrative reforms, his three-year-old government has continued to isolate and persecute political dissidents, according to a major new report released here Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"In his three years in power, Raul Castro has been just as brutal as his brother (Fidel)," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, HRW's veteran Americas director. "Cubans who dare to criticise the government live in perpetual fear, knowing they could wind up in prison for merely expressing their views."

The 123-page report, "New Castro, Same Cuba"(PDF), comes on the eve of an unprecedented hearing by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on legislation that would end the nearly 50-year ban on travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba. The legislation currently has 180 co-sponsors, and many observers believe the House could approve it some time early next year.

While the new report is expected to be used as ammunition by anti-Castro lawmakers led by Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to argue against any moves that would relax the U.S. embargo, Vivanco stressed that HRW favours lifting both the travel ban and the embargo as part of a strategy designed to enlist Europe and Latin America in a concerted effort to press Havana to grant its citizens more freedoms.

"The embargo has failed and must be changed," he said.

"Rather than isolating Cuba, the policy has isolated the United States, enabling the Castro government to garner sympathy abroad while simultaneously alienating Washington's potential allies," the report noted.

Honduran Congress to vote on Zelaya fate after poll

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:38:42 -0800

Helen Popper | Tegucigalpa | Nov 17

Reuters - Honduran lawmakers will wait until after a November 29 election to decide whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya, delaying a vote central to a U.S.-led deal to end months of political crisis.

Zelaya, who irked the poor nation's elite by forming close ties with leftist Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, was sent into exile in his pajamas by soldiers on June 28 and a de facto government led by Roberto Micheletti took charge.

The U.S.-brokered pact to end the crisis stipulates a congressional vote on reinstating Zelaya, but it never set a date and the October accord collapsed within a week as the rival sides failed to form a unity government.

"We've decided to convene sessions for December 2," Congress head Jose Saavedra told reporters, adding that lawmakers expected the Supreme Court to give an opinion next week on whether Zelaya should be returned to power until a new president is sworn in January after the November 29 election.

Ousted president Zelaya accuses US of providing cover for coup

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:18:19 -0800

Tegucigalpa | Nov 15

DPA - Deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has rejected any possibility of a deal to restore constitutional order in the two weeks before the next scheduled elections, local media reported.

Zelaya, who was ousted by the military on June 28, informed US President Barack Obama in a letter Saturday that he would not accept any proposal to return him to office temporarily 'to cover up the coup d'etat.'

'This electoral process is illegal because it conceals the military coup and the de facto state of Honduras that does not guarantee free and fair citizen participation,' he wrote.

'It is an anti-democratic electoral maneuver, repudiated by large parts of the population, to cover the material and intellectual authors of the the coup d'etat.'

Zelaya also accused the US government of modifying its initial opposition to the coup, noting that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had earlier told him the Obama administration would only recognize the new elections if Zelaya were restored to office first.

Did you ever wonder why the US ambassador to Honduras was never fired for not have any clue what was going on there?

Peru and Chile in 'spy' scandal

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:39:22 -0800

Nov 15

BBC - A new diplomatic row has erupted between Peru and Chile after a Peruvian court ordered the arrest of two Chilean military officers over alleged spying.

The court accused the officers of paying a Peruvian air force officer to reveal national secrets.

Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez has denied his government has been involved in espionage.

But Peru's President Alan Garcia said he was leaving the Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore a day early over the row.

He also said he had cancelled planned talks with his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet, at the Apec summit.

"I am returning 24 hours earlier than scheduled so I can obtain complete and sufficient information (on the issue) and to be able to speak from Peru," Mr Garcia said, quoted by AFP new agency.

Reports in the Peruvian media said Lima had recalled its ambassador to Chile for talks.

Mexican purge axes corrupt police

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:29:38 -0800

Stephen Gibbs | Mexico City | Nov 12

BBC - Mexican authorities have dismissed almost a quarter of all traffic police in the city of Monterrey for failing corruption and competence tests.

It is the latest move by the Mexican government to clean up its police forces, many of which are suspected of having links to organised crime.

At the end of last month all 1,142 traffic police in Monterrey were pulled off duty to undergo extensive tests.

The tests assessed their honesty, mental aptitude and medical condition.

Their living circumstances were also reviewed - to see whether any evidence of possibly unlawful additional income emerged.

The end results have not been good.

More than 270 officers failed the exams outright. They have been dismissed.

Another 500 have been sent for more training. And, in a final insult, over half have been told they are overweight.

Hugo Chavez: Obama's Change Is An Illusion

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:59:00 -0800

As I survey the Latin American news, I'm struck by the stories coming out this week about Hugo Chavez and his ever increasing level of bluster and belligerence. But it's the kind of news I would expect for some naive reason to be seeing in the American media. Here's some coverage from the UK:

Venezuela says that Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian president and close ally of Washington, is allowing the US government a dangerous foothold in the region by giving its troops access to Colombia's military bases.

From the LaAm Herald, he's clearly trying to counter the narrative that Barack Obama represents a major break with U.S. policy:

“One must speak with love and therefore I say to the (U.S.) president, (Barack) Obama: don’t make a mistake and order an open attack on Venezuela using Colombia,” said the Venezuelan leader on his Sunday radio and television program “Alo Presidente.”

“This world is infected by the virus of the terrible disease of violence by the most powerful against the weakest,” he said, adding that “many people have been having illusions” of change in the United States with the coming of Obama to the presidency.

“We were always cautious about the triumph of President Obama. Early on, we began to take note of the truth, that the empire is here, alive and more threatening than ever,” Chavez said.

Although Chavez did not allude explicitly to the desire of Lula to set up a meeting between him and Uribe, he emphasized that the Brazilian president recently said in Britain that “the only thing that’s been seen about Obama is the coup in Honduras and the seven military bases” in Colombia that will be able to be used by the U.S. military.

The Colombian government “transferred itself to the United States. This must be known. Regrettably, it’s this way, it’s sad and painful, but this is the way it is,” Chavez said, adding that “Colombia surrendered; not the people but rather the government, the oligarchy, without shame or anything. Before, they put on the mask, now they’ve removed the mask.”

Presumably Chavez is trying to unite Venezuelans against a common outside enemy as his popularity flags due to deteriorating conditions. But it's hard to imagine any scenario where the U.S. allows him to actually start a shooting war with Colombia.

Some stories in the full entry that elaborate more on the pressures that Chavez is operating under.

First off, his popularity is waning quite a bit:

A wide array of recent opinion polls suggests that Venezuelans might be getting tired of their omnipresent leader. Though Chávez’s grip on power is tighter than ever, the head of the Bolivarian revolution is losing his personal touch. According to Hinterlaces, three-in-five Venezuelans want the president to step down in 2012, when his current term expires. A different pollster shows that most people want Chávez to be either ousted in a recall referendum next year, or leave at the end of his current term, in 2012. The same poll reveals that only 39.8 per cent of Venezuelans would vote for Chávez in the next election.

Another series of indicators suggests that a new narrative is emerging to describe the Chávez administration that could harm the president’s permanence in power—which he will undoubtedly seek—come the 2012 election. A majority of respondents to an August poll say Chávez is really a dictator. Three-in-five Venezuelans told a different pollster that freedom of expression is not fully protected in the country, and a majority think the media operate with limited or no freedom at all. Most respondents to another survey said recently that the actions of the national government threaten Venezuela’s democracy.

The cracks in the Chávez brand are not just conceptual. Venezuelans have recently awakened to a harsh reality involving food shortages, electricity blackouts, water rationing and, perhaps most troubling, a spike in crime in urban areas, most notably in Caracas. The latter has become one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with 130 killings per 100,000 residents reported last year. Foreign Policy magazine deemed Caracas the "murder capital of the world."

Chavez Says Venezuela to Prepare for War as Deterrent

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:24:03 -0800

Daniel Cancel | Nov 8

Bloomberg -
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the military and civil militias today to prepare for war as a deterrent to a U.S.-led attack after American troops gained access to military bases in neighboring Colombia.

Chavez said a recently signed agreement that gives American troops access to seven Colombian bases is a direct threat to his oil-exporting country. Colombia has handed over its sovereignty to the U.S. with the deal, he said.

“Generals of the armed forces, the best way to avoid a war is to prepare for one,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “Colombia handed over their country and is now another state of the union. Don’t make the mistake of attacking: Venezuela is willing to do anything.”

** ‘Prepare for war,’ Chavez warns Venezuelan military, populace
** Colombia, US to sign controversial deal on military bases this week
** Venezuela sends 15,000 troops to Colombia border

Where God and the Devil Wheel Like Vultures: Report from El Paso

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:29:30 -0800

Tom Russell nails it on the head. Worth a read to summarize the current Wild West.

I’ll watch it all go down from Ardovino’s Desert Crossing, the great bar and restaurant which sits up near Mt. Cristo Rey, overlooking the lights of El Paso. (Okay, there are a few good bars here.)Trains roll cross the mountain at happy hour and border patrol trucks chase illegals through these desperate, yucca-choked rocks and rills. Over yonder the ugly black border wall snakes across the sandy hills. The wall is our knee-jerk attempt to intimidate Mexican illegals who want to do the dirty work we shun. But this is still the old west, amigo. Those class equations have always been such. The Chinese built the railroads with a shotgun at their head, and their opium was always available in the back of the chop suey joints and whore houses. The “greasers” and “chinks” did the dirty work; and those red devil Apaches raided our horse camps until we sent Geronimo down to Florida to chill out. We’re getting it under control, ain’t we? It’s the coked-up, Manifest Destiny politics of Methland.

Where God and the Devil Wheel Like Vultures: Report from El Paso

Honduras' ousted leader declares pact 'totally dead'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:08:11 -0800

Tracy Wilkinson | Mexico City | November 7

LAT - Manuel Zelaya says the accord to end the national crisis collapsed after the de facto rulers formed a new 'reconciliation government' without him.

The political crisis in Honduras deepened Friday after ousted President Manuel Zelaya declared "totally dead" a U.S.-brokered agreement that he had believed would restore him to power.

Zelaya, deposed in a military-backed coup four months ago after ignoring a court order to stop efforts to hold a referendum on revising the nation's constitution, said the accord collapsed after the de facto rulers formed a new "reconciliation government" without him.

The week-old deal had sought to bring representatives of Zelaya and his enemies into a transitional government as a way to ease the crisis and legitimize elections scheduled for Nov. 29.

"The accord is a dead letter," Zelaya said on a Honduran radio station. "There is no sense in continuing to fool the Honduran people."

He called on supporters to take to the streets and to boycott the vote, which he deemed a "fraud" designed to "whitewash" the coup.

Ida batters resort, strengthens into hurricane

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:22:59 -0800

MANAGUA, Nicaragua | November 5

NBC News and news services - Ida strengthened into Category 1 hurricane as it approached the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua Thursday and was set to make landfall later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Heavy rains dumped on Nicaragua's eastern coast. Ida also uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and forced the evacuation of 300 people from the popular resort of Corn Island.

Much of the island had lost its phone service, said Lt. Col. Reinaldo Carrion, the civil defense chief in Bluefields, the city nearest to the island.

New row over Colombia-US accord

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:03:29 -0800

Nov 5

BBC - Colombian opposition groups have reacted angrily after details of a controversial military deal with the US were made public.

Under the 10-year deal, the US military will not only have access to military bases, but also be able to use major international civilian airports.

US personnel and defence contractors will also enjoy diplomatic immunity.

President Alvaro Uribe says the agreement will help rid Colombia of drugs gangs and left-wing rebel groups.

But leading opposition senator Gustavo Petro, of the left-wing PDA party, said the deal amounted to a virtual US occupation of Colombia.

The accord was signed last Friday but full details were only made public on Tuesday.

A Remarkable Instance of Corruption and Violence in Mexico

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:58:42 -0800

First off, Mauricio Fernandez, the mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, an exclusive community near Monterrey, announced as he was being sworn in for a new term that a feared drug cartel capo who had been threatening him had been found dead in Mexico City. Only one problem, the body hadn't been found yet. That would take another 3 1/2 hours. And it wouldn't be identified for two more days.

The mayor's explanation once the story erupted as a scandal in normally blase Mexico -- the DEA tipped him off:

When pressed, Fernandez said U.S. authorities tipped him off that somebody intercepted cartel communications and learned Saldana was planning to kill him, and he said unspecified intelligence sources told him Saldana was dead. Paul Knierim, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, said Tuesday he couldn't comment on Fernandez's situation, but said American agents routinely coordinate with Mexican investigators trying to crack down on cartels.

Mexican farmworker activist, 14 others slain

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:46:18 -0800

Tracy Wilkinson | Mexico City | Nov 1

LA Times - A flamboyant farmworker organizer who called himself a modern-day Emiliano Zapata has been slain in a brazen ambush that also killed 14 members of his family and staff, officials said Saturday.

Prosecutors in the border state of Sonora, where the slayings occurred, said they were investigating a number of possible motives. Sonora, like much of Mexico, has been hit by a wave of killings tied to drug-trafficking gangs.

The union leader, Margarito Montes Parra, was killed in the southern part of Sonora bordering the state of Sinaloa, a major center for the production and transport of marijuana and heroin.

The farmers whom Montes represented often find themselves trapped in the drug war, with traffickers forcing them to work illicit crops. But Montes also had chalked up numerous enemies in tumultuous land disputes over more than two decades.

Montes, his wife and two children were traveling in a small convoy with at least 11 other relatives and staff members to a rural hacienda Friday afternoon when they were ambushed by several assailants armed with large-caliber weapons, investigators said. All 15 were shot to death, they said.

Red Cross workers arrived at the scene to find bullet-riddled bodies on the side of the road. There were reports that three people in the group had survived.