tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31524174563603959292024-03-27T02:38:00.255-04:00The Pan-American PostNews and analysis on politics, human rights and civil society in Latin America by Geoffrey RamseyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.comBlogger881125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-49164261449011374192015-02-23T16:54:00.000-05:002015-02-24T09:15:08.939-05:00February 23: A Big Day for Uruguay’s Marijuana Experiment<i>Note: I originally wrote this post for an e-mail list of policy experts interested in tracking the politics of drug policy reform in Uruguay. Contact me at gramsey@wola.org if you are interested in receiving future updates.</i><br />
<br />
Uruguay’s experiment with legal domestic cannabis cultivation is <b>about to enter a new phase</b>, marking a key opportunity for the country to demonstrate what an effective enforcement model for the law will look like in the future. <br />
<br />
Until now, Uruguayan cannabis-growers have been allowed to register their existing plants with authorities, but moving forward<b> they will have to obtain prior permission to legally possess the six flowering female plants permitted under the law.</b> This is because February 23 marked six months since the Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA) launched its registry of cannabis home-growers, and federal regulations issued in May 2014 require this grace period to last just 180 days. <br />
<br />
Uruguayan officials have consistently said that undercutting the criminal networks that profit from selling cannabis is a primary goal of regulating the black market. However, the fact that there has been no major surge in applications to grow marijuana at home indicates that commercial sales and cannabis clubs (the other two methods of access under the law) will have to bear the brunt of this responsibility. <br />
<br />
According to the figures last cited publicly by National Drug Secretary Julio Calzada, <a href="http://www2.espectador.com/1v4_contenido.php?id=308500&sts=1">just 1,300 people</a> have signed up so far to grow cannabis plants in their homes. Sources close to the IRCCA have said that <b>this figure is now closer to 1,600</b>, but still the number likely falls short of the total number who currently tend marijuana plants already. There is no official figure for this, but home-growing is not uncommon among Uruguayan cannabis users and some estimates have placed the number of growers as high as <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/crecio-cantidad-cultivadores-marihuana.html">10,000-30,000.</a> <br />
<br />
The end of the grace period is also important as it represents an opportunity for Uruguay to c<b>learly demonstrate how it will enforce violations of its cannabis law</b>. It remains to be seen how strictly the IRCCA—which is still a nascent institution with a small staff and a tight budget—will ensure that new applicants to the home growers’ registry do not already possess cannabis plants. Doing so may even hinder efforts to get users to “go legal,” as it is unlikely that many potential applicants are willing to destroy their current plants in order to obtain growing licenses. <br />
<br />
There have been other indications that a better-articulated enforcement strategy is needed in Uruguay. In the fourteen months since the cannabis regulation initiative was signed into law by President Jose Mujica, several raids on <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/incautan-plantas-marihuana-punta-diablo.html">large-scale cannabis plots</a> have made headlines, as have arrests of some <a href="http://www.republica.com.uy/ubican-un-laboratorio/500940/">smaller-scale sellers or offending growers</a>. In many cases, however, the latter are the result of a <b>lingering disconnect between the letter of the law and how it is actually enforced by police</b>. On November 25, for instance, an IRCCA-registered grower in the northern city of Bella Union was arrested and falsely accused of violating his license by having 11 cannabis plants in his home. However, a judge <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/294024/si-usted-tiene-una-planta-de-marihuana-va-preso-o-no-/">subsequently released him</a> and returned his plants when it became clear that the extra five were males or seedlings, which do not have a psychoactive effect and do not count as contraband. <br />
<br />
The event prompted an <a href="http://brecha.com.uy/el-verde-y-los-de-azul/">investigation in newsmagazine Brecha</a>, which described an environment in which the small towns of the Uruguayan interior are still battling<b> “for what used to be a crime to stop being one in the minds of those with the power to use force.”</b> Julio Rey, President of the Uruguayan Federation of Cannabis Growers, claims his fellow growers have seen similar treatment <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/julio-rey/la-rep%C3%BAblica-independiente-de-santa-ana/10153663195394988">not only in the rural interior</a>, but in the capital city of Montevideo as well. Rey told Brecha that he himself was recently threatened with arrest for consuming cannabis openly by a police officer in Montevideo, despite the fact that cannabis use is permitted in the same places as tobacco use under the law, and the use of illicit substances has been decriminalized in Uruguay since 1974. <br />
<br />
Instances like these show that when President-elect Tabaré Vázquez takes office on March 1, the new phase of home-growing registration presents an excellent opportunity for his administration to better educate Uruguay’s police force on the law. Though Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi <a href="http://ladiaria.com.uy/articulo/2015/2/con-otra-optica/">clarified to La Diaria this week</a> that implementing the law does not fall under his duties, the Ministry of Interior is reportedly already working with the National Drug Council to develop a protocol on the law’s enforcement. Upon Vázquez’s inauguration, he might reasonably be expected to ensure that National Police offices, as well as the general public, are properly briefed on these new operating procedures.<br />
<br />
<h3>
In Other News: </h3>
<ul>
<li>The fact that the IRCCA has<b> narrowed the field in its bidding process for the 3-5 licenses to grow cannabis for commercial sales</b> has made international news. As <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-11/uruguay-marijuana-licenses-lure-bidders-from-canada-to-germany">Bloomberg</a> reported on February 11, there are currently 11 companies vying for the licenses, which include companies from the United States, Germany, and Canada. Last month, leading Uruguayan daily <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/marihuana-extranjeros-tres-uruguayos-tendran.html">El País </a>reported that the IRCCA was on the verge of announcing five finalists, and that three of them would be Uruguayan while the other two would be foreign-owned. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Someone in the incoming Vázquez administration has confirmed to the press what many Uruguay watchers have suspected for months now: sources close to the president-<a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/cobran-cuatrocientos-dolares-entrar-club.html">elect told El País</a> earlier this month that <b>Vázquez has said there “is no hurry” for the next stage of implementation (commercial sales) to be set up</b>. The new president reportedly wants it to be created “seamlessly,” and intends to take time before rolling out pharmacy sales. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Last week, El País published an <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/cobran-cuatrocientos-dolares-entrar-club.html">excellent update on the status of Uruguay’s cannabis clubs,</a> which under the law can have between 15 and 45 members and grow up to 99 plants. According to officials cited in the paper,<b> there are 20 clubs that have begun the process of registering with the government by presenting the IRCCA with business and security blueprints for their operations</b>. As <a href="http://www.talkingdrugs.org/uruguay-cannabis-clubs-regulation-spanish-model">I have previously noted</a>, Uruguay’s cannabis clubs seem to be far more heavily regulated than similar experiments in places like Spain’s Catalonia and Basque Country. But as the El País article notes, the <b>Uruguayan clubs that have developed so far require steep initial investments</b>. According to the paper, some clubs are already <b>charging an initial membership fee of 400 U.S. dollars </b>to get their groups off the ground, and then roughly 75 dollars every month after that. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>For drug policy reform advocates, there is more good news out of Uruguay this month: outgoing Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro, who is currently running unopposed to be the next Secretary General of the Organization of American States, has <b>signaled that he may take his country’s reform-minded approach to drug policy to the OAS</b>. <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/298690/-almagro-impulsa-desde-la-oea-aborto-y-marihuana-en-la-region/">El Observador</a> reports that in a meeting with civil society organizations in a visit to Washington D.C. last week, Almagro named marijuana legalization among a list of other human rights issues on which his country has made progress, adding:<b> “I think these are issues that the OAS should take on in these times.” </b></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Recent weeks saw the first press coverage of an issue that Uruguayan officials have been weighing for months: varying the set price of cannabis that will eventually be sold in pharmacies for recreational and medicinal use. When the law was first passed, officials claimed it would be sold for the equivalent of roughly $1 dollar per gram, a figure intended to price out the cheap, imported Paraguayan product that is widely consumed in the country. But after consultation with local and international experts, <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/297544/estudian-que-marihuana-tenga-distintos-precios-segun-su-potencia/">El Observador</a> reported on February 6 that National Drug Secretary Julio Calzada stated that officials have <b>decided to offer various strains of the plant at various prices according to their potency</b>, to discourage users from automatically turning to high-potency strains. A potential drawback to this plan was subsequently noted by the GlobalPost's Will Carless, who reported that this meant <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/uruguay-medical-marijuana-may-cost-more-recreational-pot-n307011">medicinal-grade marijuana will cost more to patients than recreational cannabis</a>. However, Presidential Undersecretary Diego Cánepa told Carless that this is not necessarily the case, and will have to be settled at a later stage by the Ministry of Health.</li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com93tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-25707294872685017762015-02-09T08:03:00.003-05:002015-02-09T08:07:43.697-05:00The Latest on Uruguay's Cannabis Law: Continuity on the Horizon<h3>
<i>
Milton Romani to Head Uruguay’s National Drug Council</i></h3>
<br />
With the return of Milton Romani as Uruguay’s drug czar, and with the medicinal use and commercial sale elements of the country’s cannabis law taking shape, incoming President Tabaré Vázquez has given his clearest signal yet that he will support its rollout when he takes office on March 1.<br />
<div>
<br />
Even though Vázquez <a href="http://www.talkingdrugs.org/with-election-over-new-uruguay-president-shifts-stance-on-cannabis-law">shifted his tone</a> following his electoral victory, and <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/vazquez-considera-insolito-que-farmacias.html">insisted</a> that he would implement the law to the letter, as recently as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3oJfQWoJaU&t=52m50s">December 4</a> he publicly expressed doubts about current President Jose Mujica’s claim that the measure will have an impact on insecurity and take a bite out of criminal profits. These doubts were often repeated in <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/preocupa-vazquez-marihuana-consumo-drogas.html">local</a> and <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article5761536.html">international</a> press, and led to more than a bit of speculation over whether the law would go <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2855711/Are-Uruguay-s-marijuana-plans-going-smoke-Ex-president-Vazquez-elected-power-questions-raised-radical-pot-plans-predecessor.html">“up in smoke”</a> under the new president.<br />
<br />
Yet despite all this hand-wringing, this week brought excellent news for drug policy reform advocates watching Uruguay. On February 2, newspaper <a href="http://ladiaria.com.uy/articulo/2015/2/repetidor/">La Diaria</a>reported that Milton Romani, former drug czar and Uruguay’s ex-ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), would be resuming his post as national drug secretary under Vázquez. On February 5, Romani confirmed the news in an <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/297457/milton-romani-continuara-la-politica-de-drogas-de-la-administracion-mujica/">interview with El Observador</a>, in which he himself described his nomination as a signal of “continuity.”<br />
<br />
Romani will bring a unique combination of policy expertise and political influence to the job. He not only occupied the same post from 2005 to 2011, he also was one of the first voices in Uruguay to publicly call for regulating the black market for marijuana. Indeed, Romani advocated for the creation of state mechanisms to “regulate and control the markets of production, sale and consumption” of illicit substances in a <a href="http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/downloadable/Drug_Policy/Milton_Romani-April_2012.pdf">report published by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)</a>in April 2012, two months before Mujica made headlines for a similar proposal.<br />
<br />
Additionally, Romani has firsthand experience with diplomatic engagement at the OAS and at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna. This will no doubt come in hand next year at the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy, where Uruguay will be well-positioned to advocate for reforms to international drug treaties on the world stage.<br />
<br />
Romani’s nomination is not the only major drug policy-related news to come out of Uruguay in recent weeks. On January 28, Presidential Undersecretary Diego Cánepa told <a href="http://www.espectador.com/sociedad/308348/licencias-para-cannabis-se-conoceran-la-semana-proxima">Radio Espectador</a> that the regulatory agency responsible for monitoring the new marijuana law, the Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), is on the verge of announcing the five companies that will be granted licenses to grow cannabis for retail sale in pharmacies. At time of writing, these companies have not yet been publicly identified, but <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/marihuana-extranjeros-tres-uruguayos-tendran.html">El País</a> reports that three of them will be Uruguayan, while two will be foreign-owned.<br />
<br />
This is a significant step forward, as pharmacy-based sale is the only commercial method of accessing marijuana under the law (the others being home-growing and cannabis clubs). The bidding process for commercial growing began in August, and initial reports that the first harvest could be completed by Vázquez’s inauguration proved to be off base. As it stands, it looks doubtful that sales will begin before mid-2015. As current National Drug Secretary Julio Calzada told <a href="http://www.espectador.com/sociedad/308841/mayo-marihuanero">Espectador this week</a>: “We can suppose that within three or four months this [process] could be working.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<u>
In Other News:</u></h4>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>On top of the advancement made on production for commercial sales, the Mujica administration has made progress on the issue of medicinal and scientific cannabis use. On February 4, the executive branch <a href="http://www.infodrogas.gub.uy/images/stories/pdf/000_Decreto_Reg_Marihuana_medicinal.pdf">released a set of regulations (PDF)</a> which authorize the scientific community to obtain the substance for study, and lays out the framework for medical marijuana, allowing physicians to prescribe the drug to patients in monthly increments. The primary goal of this, as Calzada <a href="http://www.espectador.com/sociedad/308923/calzada-uso-medicinal-no-va-a-ser-un-uso-recreativo-encubierto">explained in a separate interview</a>, is toprevent any abuse of medicinal cannabis by recreational users, or as he phrased it, “veiled non-medical use,” a concern that Mujica himself raised in May 2014, when he described the Colorado state marijuana law’s medical component as <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_25684993/uruguays-president-calls-colorado-pot-law-fiction">“a fiction.”</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>February 23 is a day for drug policy analysts watching Uruguay to keep on their calendars. As the IRCCA recently announced in a reminder posted on its website, the date will mark 180 days since the IRCCA launched its home-growing registry. According to the regulations released last May, this will also mean the expiration of the current “amnesty period,” under which individuals interested in growing up to six plants for personal use are allowed to register plants they already have. Moving forward, applicants must obtain prior permission from the IRCCA. According to the latest publicly released figure, made by a National Drug Council official to <a href="http://www2.espectador.com/1v4_contenido.php?id=308500&sts=1">Spanish news agency EFE</a> on January 30, some 1,300 have signed up so far. The total number of individuals who are currently growing plants illicitly is unknown, but some estimates have placed it as high as <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/crecio-cantidad-cultivadores-marihuana.html"> 10,000-30,000.</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Recent days have seen back-to-back notable instances of cannabis-related coverage in local press. On February 1, <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/marihuana-legal-trampolin-negocio-rentable.html">leading daily El País</a> published an article with a positive slant on the law, reporting on the fact that many analysts in the country are beginning to see the legalization of commercial cannabis sales as a springboard for other, more lucrative industries, namely medical cannabis and hemp production. This is an unusual shift for El País, a conservative paper that is historically affiliated with the opposition National Party and has published numerous editorials against the new law. Then, on February 2 <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/297242/enredos-del-traspie-marihuanero/">El Observador</a> (which has the second-largest circulation after El País) published a harshly critical editorial attacking the government’s security narrative for the law. According to the paper: “To believe that this measure will impede drug trafficking organizations inside and outside of this country, which have massive financial strength and operational efficiency that despite being illegal surpass the unguided organizational experience of the Uruguayan state, is to live in the clouds.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Police in Uruguay have continued raids on unlicensed cannabis cultivation, with two notable operations making headlines this month: the first was the<a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/incautan-plantas-marihuana-punta-diablo.html">seizure of some 200 plants</a> in the beach town of Punta del Diablo, and the second was the arrest of an individual for <a href="http://www.republica.com.uy/ubican-un-laboratorio/500940/">growing 17 plants</a> in the city of Pando.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-90574234336045746412014-12-23T10:50:00.001-05:002014-12-23T10:50:39.387-05:00Changes at the Pan-American Post<div class="MsoNormal">
For the past three and a half years, I have
had the pleasure of using this space to provide regular summaries and analysis of
political and civil society issues in Latin America. Starting in 2015, however,
the Pan-American Post will see some important changes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m pleased to announce that I have been hired to work as a Digital
Communications Officer for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and
will be starting in January. While I plan to keep using the Pan-American Post blog and <a href="https://twitter.com/PanAmericanPost">my Twitter page</a> to follow regional
politics from a more editorial angle, I will no longer be posting daily news briefings here. A successor will be taking them over
in the coming weeks and posting to the associated <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/hemisphericdailybriefings" target="_blank">Google mailing list</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Writing
these daily press roundups has been a wonderful opportunity to improve my familiarity
with the region, and I’m grateful to readers for following them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’d also like to thank <a href="https://twitter.com/hannahvfstone">Hannah Stone</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Elyssa_Pachico">Elyssa Pachico</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/jbargent1">James Bargent</a>, with whom I split the
press briefings in 2011-2012, for their excellent contributions. They continue
to produce brilliant research and journalism on political and
insecurity-related issues in the Americas, and I invite readers to follow their
latest work on Twitter. <a href="https://twitter.com/jf_string">Joshua Frens-String,</a>
from whom I took over the press briefings in 2011, also deserves a shout-out for
his outstanding analytical capabilities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Un cordial saludo y feliz año nuevo, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Geoff Ramsey</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-40103468603573717632014-12-23T09:35:00.000-05:002014-12-23T09:38:37.347-05:00Rios Montt Trial Slated for January 5, But Amnesty Ruling Pending<div class="MsoNormal">
Guatemala’s Constitutional Court -- the
same court that annulled Efrain Rios Montt’s guilty sentence on genocide
charges in 2013 -- has paved the way for the ex-dictator to face a new trial next
month. But while human rights advocates have welcomed the news, an overdue
ruling on a 1986 amnesty decree could sink the case altogether.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Amid all the reporting on last week’s breakthrough
in U.S.-Cuba relations, another important story got lost in the headlines. On
December 18, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court <a href="http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/12/18/guatemala-high-court-paves-way-for-new-genocide-trial-against-ex-dictator-rios-montt">ruled
in favor of an appeal</a> filed by the attorney general’s office against a
lower court decision that sought to reverse the Rios Montt trial to the investigative
phase it moved out of in November 2011. The trial, in which Rios Montt and former
intelligence chief Jose Mauricio Rodriguez will face charges of genocide and
crimes against humanity, has been scheduled for January 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Last week’s ruling is a welcome development
in the struggle to prosecute the former dictator, whose <a href="http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/rios_montt-genocidio-cirugia-juicio-justicia-problema_urinario_0_992300963.html">ill
health</a> and advanced age -- he <a href="http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/Jose-Efrain-Rios_Montt-cumple_88_anos-juicio-genocidio_0_1157884330.html">turned
88</a> this year -- left some worried that he could pass away before a verdict was
reached on his alleged crimes. But it comes too late for some of the victims in
the Rios Montt case. Edgar Perez, a lawyer with the Association for Justice and
Reconciliation (AJR) who represents the victims, has <a href="http://mnnes.vrvm.com/mnnes/db_15336/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=OP0FQsMP">told
the Associated Press</a> that three witnesses of civil war-era atrocities have
died since the trial was annulled in May 2013. Nevertheless, Perez said that his
clients are prepared to return to the courtroom to repeat their accusations
against the general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala has <a href="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/guatemala/788/pdfs/pbs42_20141219.pdf">issued
a statement on the scheduled trial</a>, promising to follow it closely and
noting in no uncertain terms that “the outcome of this case will reflect the
status of rule of law in Guatemala.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Still, it is too soon to celebrate the Constitutional
Court ruling. Rios Montt’s defense lawyers have long maintained that he is
exempt from prosecution under the terms of an amnesty for civil war abuses issued
in 1986. As <a href="http://elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141223/pais/6537/Sala-Primera-de-Apelaciones-sin-resolver-amnist%C3%ADa-para-R%C3%ADos-Montt.htm">El
Periodico</a> reports today, this motion has been sitting in an appellate court
for months, and <a href="http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141219/pais/6414/CC-da-luz-verde-al-reinicio-del-juicio-contra-R%C3%ADos-Montt.htm">more
than 60 judges</a> have excused themselves from issuing a ruling on the matter.
The Guatemalan paper claims to have made repeated inquiries into the case, each
time receiving no answer as to why the appeal had not been resolved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This silence is worrisome, and leaves open
the possibility that the three appellate judges currently reviewing the amnesty
-- perhaps already bristling at international outcry over the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/civil-society-judges-team-up-against.html">rampant
corruption behind their nominations</a> --- could rule in favor of Rios Montt’s
claim at the last minute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The Chinese firm behind Nicaragua’s
planned interoceanic canal, which the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nicaragua-canal-to-break-ground-hoping-to-rival-panama/">AP
notes</a> has been opposed by environmental groups and affected residents, will
officially break ground in the project on Monday. Writing for <a href="http://fusion.net/story/35465/6-things-you-need-to-know-about-nicaraguas-big-dumb-canal-project/">Fusion</a>,
Tim Rogers has an excellent rundown of the biggest controversies surrounding
the planned canal, noting doubts over its alleged economic impact,
environmental concerns and worries over increasing Chinese influence in the
country.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A new development appears to have
complicated the FARC’s unilateral ceasefire, announced on Saturday. <a href="http://www.elcolombiano.com/en-cauca-las-farc-plagian-a-soldado-DC958252">El
Colombiano</a> and <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/madre-de-soldado-secuestrado-farc-pide-ayuda-del-gobier-articulo-534629">El
Espectador</a> report that rebels in Cauca province captured a soldier during
an ambush the day before the ceasefire went into effect, and the army claims he
is being held hostage.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As noted in <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/no-immediate-regime-change-in-cuba-but.html">yesterday’s
briefs</a>, Mexican authorities have <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-local-police-involved-in-2011-migrant-massacres/2014/12/22/870dea98-8a4f-11e4-ace9-47de1af4c3eb_story.html">released
the first official confirmation</a> that local police took part two separate migrant
massacres in San Fernando, Tamaulipas in 2010-11. As the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-local-police-involved-in-2011-migrant-massacres/2014/12/22/870dea98-8a4f-11e4-ace9-47de1af4c3eb_story.html">AP
reports,</a> local human rights groups have lamented the fact that the attorney
general’s declassified memo gave little information aside from noting that 18 police were under investigation for ties to
the massacres. The revelation raises questions about the extent of the complicity
of the state in the killings, at a time when some have <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/report-mexican-federal-police-involved.html">accused
federal police of having a hand in the disappearances</a> of the 43 students of
Ayotzinapa.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>All of the reporting on the shady ties
between the administration of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and construction
firm Grupo Higa has made an impact. <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/cancelar-la-licitacion-de-tren-mexico-queretaro-fue-la-mejor-decision-asegura-secretario-de-comunicaciones-y-transportes/">Animal
Politico</a> reports that the company has dropped plans to bid on a proposed high-speed
train linking Mexico City to Queretaro, following reports that linked the
company to a luxury home belonging to the president’s wife.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Venezuela is mounting a full court press
against U.S. plans to issue targeted
sanctions against officials linked to human rights abuses. <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/mundo/venezuela-pide-declaracion-a-oea-sobre-sanciones-d.aspx">Ultimas
Noticias</a> reports that the Venezuelan diplomatic mission in the OAS is
pushing for the regional organization to include language rejecting the
sanctions in a proposed resolution on improved U.S.-Cuba ties. Meanwhile, Buzzfeed
reports that the Venezuelan government is <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/venezuela-hires-new-washington-lobbyists-as-obama-oks-sancti?utm_term=.dwjBxLZqg#.igXl766VB">hiring
a new lobbying firm, Hogan Lovells LLP</a>, to look out for its interest on
Capitol Hill.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/dec/22/perus-drive-to-stamp-out-people-trafficking-undermined-by-high-growth">The
Guardian</a> reports on efforts to fight human trafficking in Peru, which have
been complicated by economic growth and changing migration patterns even as
officials demonstrate increased willingness to tackle the issue.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The government of Cuba has pushed back
against <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/us-cuba-usa-fugitives-idUSKBN0K01IK20141222">recent
remarks by U.S. Deputy Attorney General
James Cole</a>, who told reporters that improved relations would increase the
likelihood of Cuba handing over fugitives on the island like Assata Shakur. The
Cuban head of North American affairs has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/cuba-were-open-to-every-part-of-obamas-detente/2014/12/22/1ec4391e-8a0f-11e4-ace9-47de1af4c3eb_story.html">told
the AP</a> that the island reserves the right to shelter such fugitives.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/22/372525940/cuban-american-not-so-immaculate-conception">NPR</a>,
the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article4834107.html">Miami
Herald</a> and the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-cuba-spy-pregnant-wife-20141222-story.html">L.A.
Times</a> all report on an interesting detail in the release of the Cuban Five
prisoners: the U.S government allowed one of the detained men to artificially inseminate
his wife as “something of a humanitarian gesture,” thanks to the advocacy of
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Associated Press profiles the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/some-15-percent-of-honduran-kids-work/2014/12/23/42125020-8a61-11e4-ace9-47de1af4c3eb_story.html">extent
of child labor in Honduras</a>, where officials estimate that 500,000 minors--
or some 15 percent of the youth population -- hold jobs.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/oil-scandal-in-brazil-just-keeps-growing-optimists-see-chance-for-change/2014/12/22/990dc64a-8578-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Washington
Post</a> takes a look at Brazil’s deepening Petrobras scandal, in which dozens
of politicians have been accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from companies linked
to fixed contracts. For many transparency advocates in the country, the investigation
represents a hopeful sign that Brazil has turned an important page in the fight
against corruption.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-56307678305437103832014-12-22T09:28:00.000-05:002014-12-23T13:01:36.934-05:00No Immediate Regime Change in Cuba, But So What?<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite last week’s historic breakthrough
in U.S.-Cuba relations, Cuban President Raul Castro has made it clear that a
major overhaul of his country’s political system anytime soon. But while U.S. conservatives will use this as
fodder to attack President Obama, some analysts contend that normalizing
relations in Cuba is about more than pushing regime change on the island.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In a speech in Havana on Saturday Castro
thanked Obama for moving to normalize relations with his country, even as <a href="http://www.reuters.com/video/2014/12/20/castro-to-us-respect-our-system-of-gover?videoId=350064231">he
vowed</a> that his government would stay true to the ideals of the Cuban
revolution. “We can't pretend that by improving ties with the Unites States,
Cuba will renounce the ideas for which it has fought for more than a century,
for which its people have shed a lot of blood and have run the biggest of
risks,” Castro said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/cubans-imprisoned-in-us-appear-before-parliament/2014/12/20/f1c5793a-885d-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Associated
Press</a> reports, Castro’s speech was heavy on symbolism, and he delivered it
to an audience that included Elian Gonzalez and the repatriated members of the
Cuban Five. The president also declared that Cuba had “won the war,” and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/world/americas/castro-thanks-us-but-affirms-cubas-communist-rule.html?ref=americas">The
New York Times</a> notes that he “offered no immediate concessions to demands
for improvement in Cuba’s human rights record.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, conservative opponents of Obama’s
shift on Cuba see this as evidence against improving relations with the island.
On <a href="http://www.ijreview.com/2014/12/220625-chuck-todd-hits-marco-rubio-gotcha-question-cuba-came-prepared-say-least/">Meet
the Press</a> Sunday, Senator Marco Rubio accused Obama of handing the Castro
government a win while asking for nothing in return: “[I]f you’re going to make
concessions to Cuba, if you’re going to recognize them diplomatically, if
you’re going to have more commerce with them, there has to be some reciprocal
opening on their part towards democracy,” Rubio said. “There was none.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This logic was expanded in a Sunday <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-obamas-faulty-logic-on-cuba/2014/12/21/e398c456-86d3-11e4-a702-fa31ff4ae98e_story.html">Washington
Post column by Jackson Diehl,</a> who attacks Obama for allegedly failing to
make demands for democratic progress as well as for the president’s stated wish
to avoid a chaotic “collapse” in Cuba. According to Diehl, several successful democratic
regimes have emerged from the rubble of such collapses; and “U.S. ‘engagement’
with Stalinist-style totalitarian regimes, such as Cuba, has never produced such
a transition.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">President Obama, for his part, has argued
that by normalizing relations the United States will be better positioned to offer
incentives and disincentives to the regime to change its behavior. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/a-deal-with-castro-for-a-post-castro-future/2014/12/21/5a877e10-8704-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Washington
Post</a> reports that in a Friday press conference, Obama told reporters: “We will be in a position to respond to
whatever actions they take, the same way we do with a whole range of countries
around the world when they do things we think are wrong […] There may be
carrots as well as sticks that we can then apply.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Interestingly, Obama’s talk of carrots and
sticks and Rubio’s calls for concessions rely on the same logic. Both positions
assume that U.S. policy can somehow lead to regime change in Cuba. But <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/19/the-liberal-fallacy-of-the-cuba-deal-us-castros/">as
Gordon Adams writes in Foreign Policy</a>, the U.S. holds a mixed -- at best --
record at state-building over the past century, one which he contends has been fueled
by “the worst kind of American exceptionalist fantasy.” As he writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US">The fantasy that U.S. policies and actions
can reshape another country has been with us for far too long. The ability of
the United States to change any country’s internal economy or politics is
extraordinarily limited, as our most recent experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan
show, yet again.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US">We have spent more than 100 years trying to
remake other countries, often by force, sending the U.S. military into Haiti,
the Philippines, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Panama, El Salvador, Vietnam,
Guatemala, Iran, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, among many, many others. And we have
spent billions, if not trillions, on democracy assistance, international
broadcasting, and economic support funds to bring about political and economic
change in other countries around the world.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps cynically, Adams argues that it is
unrealistic to expect U.S. relations to have “anything more than a marginal impact”
on Cuba’s internal system. However, the shift does amount to abandoning a
decades-old approach that was not working and did more harm than good, an
outcome that ought to be seen as positive in its own right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Haiti’s ongoing political crisis saw a
positive development on Saturday. As the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article4761681.html">Miami
Herald</a> reports, President Michel Martelly named Health Minister Florence
Duperval Guillaume as his interim prime minister, and the president has said
that later today he will present the opposition with a list of permanent
candidates to the position.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Two articles in today’s headlines look at
the impact of Obama’s Cuba announcement on Venezuela. In <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/18/cubas-christmas-surprise-for-caracas/">Foreign
Policy</a>, Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez notes that for Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro, the announcement is likely a realization that his allies in
Havana are adjusting to his own government’s failed policies. Writing for <a href="http://time.com/3639939/venezuela-role-cuba-america-relations/">Time</a>,
Caracas-based journalist Girish Gupta asserts that Cuba likely learned its
lesson from the post-Soviet collapse “Special Period,” and points out the
18-month secret talks between Havana and Washington began in the period of uncertainty
following Hugo Chavez’s death.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Saturday marked the 25<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Panama, but the Central American country is
still grappling with the impact of the operation. The AP notes that President
Juan Carlos Varela on Saturday <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/panamas-noriega-in-prison-25-years-post-invasion/2014/12/20/f7b52606-887b-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">became
the first leader of the country</a> to attend a ceremony to remember victims of
the invasion, and <a href="http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/12/21/actualidad/1419196034_043139.html">El
Pais reports</a> that a truth commission has been set up to promote
reconciliation and address the demands of the victims.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Last week, the Guatemalan Constitutional
Court issued an important decision in the genocide case against former dictator
Efrain Rios Montt. As <a href="http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141219/pais/6414/CC-da-luz-verde-al-reinicio-del-juicio-contra-R%C3%ADos-Montt.htm">El
Periodico</a> and the <a href="http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/12/18/guatemala-high-court-paves-way-for-new-genocide-trial-against-ex-dictator-rios-montt">AFP
report</a>, the court ordered lower judge Carol Patricia Flores to reverse an April
2013 ruling that found that the case should be reset to the investigative phase
it moved out of in 2011. Flores has five days to revise her sentence, and the trial
is expected to resume on January 5.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The FARC’s latest unilateral ceasefire
announcement, which will be held “indefinitely” so long as its units do not
come under attack, went into effect on Saturday, as the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30558863">BBC reports.</a> In
a <a href="http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/proceso-de-paz/cese-del-fuego-indefinido-de-farc-el-comienzo-del-fin-de-la-guerra/15003915">Sunday
column for Bogota newspaper El Tiempo</a>, editor Marisol Gomez Giraldo marked
the news with an optimistic assessment of its ramifications for the peace
process. According to her, the ceasefire amounts to a first step towards a
bilateral end to hostilities, what some officials have called a “humanitarian de-escalation”
of the conflict.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Thursday, Peruvian interior minister announced
that the country had eradicated 31,205 hectares (about 77,000 acres) of coca this
year, a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/peru-destroys-over-31-000-hectares-coca-2014-221947930.html">record
amount since crop destruction began in 1983</a>. AP reports that the crop
eradication program was not carried out in the coca heartland of the valley
around the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers, but this is because officials have
promoted a <a href="http://www.rpp.com.pe/2014-05-13-lanzan-en-el-vraem-plan-para-sustitucion-de-cultivos-de-coca-noticia_691522.html">different
strategy of crop substitution in the area</a>, beginning earlier this year.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following the appointment of Honduras’ first-ever
active duty general as its next security minister (see <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/honduras-new-security-minister-sign-of.html">last
week’s post</a>), InSight Crime’s Steve Dudley and David Gagne <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/honduras-militarizes-citizen-security">offer
a damning analysis of the state of civilian policing</a> in the country.
According to them, the nomination represents the recognition of the sad fact
that in Honduras, “the military are officially in charge of all things related
to citizen security.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Big news for drug policy in Brazil: ANVISA,
the Brazilian health regulatory agency, has announced that it will <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-to-study-legalization-of-medical-marijuana/2014/12/19/b6e3417e-87b0-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">study
the possibility of legalizing the drug cannabidiol</a>, a marijuana derivative
that has been successfully used to prevent seizures.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In other drug policy news, tomorrow will
make one year since Uruguayan President Jose Mujica signed his country’s
historic marijuana regulation bill into law. The <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/crecen-autocultivo-negocio-marihuana-legal.html">AFP
reports</a> that its signature component -- a commercial cannabis market --
remains in the planning stages, but cannabis clubs and home-growing have taken
off in the country, as evidenced by a boom in marijuana-growing technology and paraphernalia.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexican news site <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/policias-de-san-fernando-participaron-en-masacre-de-migrantes-pgr-entrega-datos-del-caso/">Animal
Politico reports</a> on a new development in the case of two mass killings of
migrants that occurred in 2010 and 2011 in the border state of Tamaulipas.
According to details obtained by a freedom of information request from the
attorney general’s office, municipal police were allegedly involved in the
massacres of 72 and 193 migrants in the area, a revelation that had not previously
been made public.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-67168142457129713522014-12-19T09:54:00.001-05:002014-12-19T09:54:48.898-05:00Obama Signs Sanctions Against Venezuelan Officials<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday, U.S. President Barack Obama
signed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2142">Venezuela
Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014</a>, which imposes
sanctions on Venezuelan officials responsible for human rights violations
linked to the wave of protests earlier this year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the law denies visas to these officials
and freezes their U.S. assets, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/us-usa-venezuela-sanctions-idUSKBN0JW2JF20141218">Reuters</a>
reports that there is still no official list with the names of those who would
be affected by the measure. Diplomats in Caracas have told the news agency that
the list will probably contain the names dozens of officials, involving mostly
security officials with a direct hand in the crackdown on the February
demonstrations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back in May, the office of Senator Marco
Rubio <a href="http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2014/5/senator-rubio-lists-23-human-rights-violators-that-should-be-sanctioned">put
together a list of names</a> for an earlier version of the bill, which cast a much
wider net. Rubio’s list contained 23 names, including Attorney General Luisa
Ortega Diaz, former Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres, several state
governors and a number of intelligence, military and police officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/obama-will-sign-venezuela-sanctions-but.html">debate
over the wisdom of sanctioning these officials</a> continues to rage among Latin
America policy experts, as the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/globalpost-pros-cons-u-s-sanctions-against-venezuela-n269221">Global
Post</a> reports. And as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/12/amid-violence-against-protesters-venezuela-to-face-us-sanctions">The
Guardian</a> notes, some analysts have expressed concern that the incoming
Republican majority in Congress could seek other, broader actions against
Venezuela in the coming years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From a domestic perspective, Obama timed
his approval of the sanctions quite well. It sends a message to some -- <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republicans-hardly-unanimous-new-cuba-policy">but
not all</a> -- of the most vocal elements of the Republican opposition, who are
currently <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/18/on-cuba-gop-presidential-hopefuls-trapped-by-older-voters-and-the-past/">slamming
the president</a> for being too lenient on Cuba. And as <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/internacional/141218/acercamiento-cuba-eeuu-constituye-reto-para-venezuela-segun-analistas">El
Universal reports</a>, a number of Venezuelan political analysts have argued
that normalizing relations with Cuba punches a hole in President Nicolas Maduro’s
anti-imperialist discourse. Still others, as the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4651707.html">Miami
Herald</a> points out, suggest that Cuba’s eagerness to renew relations with
the U.S. illustrates Havana’s growing doubts over the future of Venezuela-subsidized
oil imports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In Caracas, Maduro has given no high-profile
reaction to sanctions ever since <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/15/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-us-sanctions-obama-administration">telling
a crowd of government supporters</a> on Monday that the “insolent Yankees”
should “shove their U.S. visas where they should be shoved.” However, <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Maduro-Obama-sanciones-funcionarios-gobierno_0_539946123.html">El
Nacional</a> reports that the Venezuelan leader took to Twitter yesterday to characterize
Obama as hypocritical for relaxing the hostile relationship with Cuba while
pursuing “aggressions” against his government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In a New York Times op-ed that ran
yesterday, Venezuelan National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello makes a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/opinion/hectoring-venezuela-on-rights.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=opinion">similar
argument about alleged hypocrisy</a>. In his column the official points to the
fact that U.S. lawmakers are criticizing Venezuelan police just as African-American
communities around the country are expressing outrage over police killings of
unarmed black men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>In the aftermath of President Barack Obama’s
historic announcement, a number of interesting pieces on the Cuban reaction to
the news have been published. The AP has a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/19/world/americas/ap-cb-cuba-hopes-and-fears.html?ref=americas&_r=0">roundup
of local opinion</a>s, noting that most people on the island welcomed the news
even as some expressed fears that it could lead to future instability or
economic chaos. <a href="http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/cuba-es/article4557892.html">El
Nuevo Herald</a> has a collection of responses to the news from Cuban artists
and writers, among whom the reactions are also largely positive. And in an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/opinion/yoani-sanchez-a-new-era-for-cuba-and-the-united-states.html">op-ed
in today’s New York Times</a>, Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez describes
the positive impact of this week’s news while also profiling the concerns of Cuban
civil society about handing the government a “blank check.” Ultimately, she writes, “We cannot confirm
that it will be better, but at least it will be different.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/latin-americans-praise-obama-easing-cuba-embargo-colombia-rebels-set-cease-fire/2014/12/17/cbccbdd6-8607-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Leaders
across the hemisphere</a> are praising Obama for normalizing relations with Cuba,
and many have gone beyond praise to assert that they had a hand in the historic
development. So far, <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/294354/obama-felicito-a-mujica-por-su-aporte-en-el-conflicto-eeuu--cuba/">Uruguayan
President Jose Mujica</a>, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4595080.html">Haitian
President Michel Martelly</a>, <a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mundo/2014/12/1564632-governo-brasileiro-teve-participacao-ativa-diz-marco-aurelio-garcia.shtml">a
top aide to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff</a>, and <a href="http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2014/12/19/349755/EEUU-uso-a-Leonel-como-mediador-en-crisis-Cuba">former
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez </a> all claim to have played a part in
facilitating secret negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Writing for the Washington Post’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/12/18/the-political-demography-of-u-s-cuba-relations/">Monkey
Cage blog,</a> political scientist Greg Weeks and geographer John Weeks take an
interesting look at some of the demographic factors that influence support in
the U.S. for normalizing relations with Cuba, as well as those which could fuel
economic instability in the coming years. Chief among the latter is the fact
that the share of the older population on the island is greatly increasing,
placing a growing burden on the country’s social programs.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also for the Washington Post, Nick Miroff
looks at how <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/castro-regimes-aversion-to-change-will-test-new-us-cuba-diplomacy/2014/12/18/2c945a36-862e-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Raul
Castro’s leadership style</a> has contributed to changes on the island, and raises
questions about the flexibility of the government in a post-Castro era. And Paul
Waldman describes how Republican presidential hopefuls like Rubio are increasingly
tied to an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/18/on-cuba-gop-presidential-hopefuls-trapped-by-older-voters-and-the-past/">outdated
political calculus that relies on appeasing the old-school anti-Castro base in
Florida</a>. These figures have found themselves to the “base of their base,”
even as the majority of the Republican party -- and the country in general --
supports change.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following recent runoff elections in Peru, <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/meet-peru-s-new-narco-governors">InSight
Crime looks at some of the country’s “narco-governors,”</a> officials who are
either facing criminal charges or are under investigation for crimes ranging
from extortion to drug trafficking.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Reactions to Brazil’s Truth Commission Report
have not all been positive. On Monday, the country’s Superior Military Tribunal
released a statement claiming that the report is biased and factually incorrect,
and ultimately “failed” in its “goal of clarifying the facts of the time,” <a href="http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/brasil/tribunal-militar-reage-a-relatorio-da-comissao-da-verdade-equivocos">Veja</a>
and <a href="http://www.efe.com/efe/noticias/english/world/brazil-military-court-slams-national-truth-commission-report/4/2060/2492627">EFE</a>
report.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The head of one of the two self-defense
groups that clashed earlier this week in a <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/autodefensas-y-fuerzas-rurales-se-enfrentan-en-la-ruana-michoacan/">Michoacan
shootout</a> that killed 11 claims members of the country’s newly-created gendarmerie
police force were involved in the clash. A rival autodefensa chief has denied
this claim, as <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/12/18/mexico-vigilante-leader-says-elite-police-unit-not-involved-in-deadly-clash/">EFE
reports,</a> but <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/investigan-56-elementos-de-la-gendarmeria-por-enfrentamientos-en-la-ruana/">Animal
Politico reports</a> that the government has confirmed that 56 members of the
elite police squad are currently under investigation over the incident.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Colombian government on Thursday officially
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/us-colombia-farc-idUSKBN0JW19S20141218">rejected
FARC rebels’ calls for international observers</a> to verify its planned
indefinite ceasefire, though it did not directly address the guerrillas’ demand
that government forces cease hostilities as well. Both <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/tan-fragil-idea-de-un-cese-al-fuego-articulo-534019">El
Espectador</a> and<a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/el-cese-unilateral-de-las-farc-una-oportunidad-con-poca-viabilidad-49323">
La Silla Vacia</a> have smart analyses of the FARC’s ceasefire offer, noting
the slim odds that it will come to fruition in the near future.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Noting the recent wave of corruption cases filed
against Brazilian businessmen and government officials in recent years, the AP
profiles reactions from transparency advocates in the country who argue that
Brazil has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-graft-cases-beginning-of-impunitys-end/2014/12/19/d1469f4e-873c-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">turned
a page in the fight against its longstanding culture of elite impunity. </a> </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>This week’s issue of The Economist features
an analysis of <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636796-president-and-protesters-clash-street-politics">Haiti’s
ongoing political crisis</a>, with negotiations showing no sign that a deal will
emerge before Congress is dissolved on January 12. The magazine also <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636886-historic-steps-towards-ending-anachronistic-embargo-last-thaw">praises
Obama’s shift on Cuba</a> and <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636921-rocks">notes the
challenges for U.S.-Cuba relations</a> in the future, and describes the dilemma
that the FARC ceasefire <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636900-good-sign-though-one-poses-dilemma-government-farcs-ceasefire-gambit">poses
for the Colombian government.</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-88990834785329414912014-12-18T08:32:00.002-05:002014-12-18T09:48:37.253-05:00Congressional Cold Warriors Stick to Their Guns on Cuba<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced
the biggest change in United States policy towards Cuba of the past 50 years. But
while Obama deserves praise for finally taking executive action on the issue, Congress
remains the main obstacle to improved relations with Havana.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At noon yesterday, both Obama and Cuban
President Raul Castro gave statements announcing the restoration of full
diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as the exchange of the
remaining imprisoned members of the “Cuban Five” for USAID contractor Alan
Gross and another unidentified U.S. intelligence agent. The <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article4596901.html">Miami
Herald</a> notes that some analysts have speculated that the man is 51-year-old
Rolando Sarraff, who helped identify a number of Cuban spies within the U.S. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
announcement was the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/journey-to-rapprochement-visited-worlds-of-presidents-popes-and-spies.html?ref=americas">result
of 18 months of secret talks</a> facilitated by <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/12/17/7408955/cuba-deal-pope-francis-canada">Pope
Francis and the Canadian government</a>, which culminated in a <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_CUBA_TICK_TOCK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">45-minute
long phone conversation</a> on Tuesday between Obama and Castro. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/journey-to-rapprochement-visited-worlds-of-presidents-popes-and-spies.html?ref=americas">The
New York Times</a> reports that the process was also eased by Secretary of
State John Kerry’s direct line of communication with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno
Rodriguez Parrilla.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In his speech, Obama ordered the State
Department to end the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/05/cuba-state-sponsor-of-terror.html">dubious
inclusion of Cuba</a> on its list of state sponsors of terror, and said he
would further ease restrictions on travel and allow greater banking ties to the
island. He also said he would join his Cuban counterpart at the April Summit of
the Americas, though he said he would “insist” that civil society join in the
meeting as well. <a href="http://fusion.net/story/34573/what-the-heck-just-happened-with-cuba-in-bullet-points/">Fusion</a>
has a very helpful bullet point breakdown of the concrete policy changes that
will result from the announcement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For Latin America watchers, <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/michael-mayo-blog/sfl-obama-cuba-speech-20141217-story.html#page=2">Obama’s
remarks</a> contained an important recognition of the shift’s potential ramifications
for the region. The president began his announcement by justifying the move as
an attempt to “begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas,” and
ended it by saying, in Spanish, “Todos somos Americanos.” As the <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/mundo/america-latina-celebra-acercamiento-eeuu-cuba.html">AFP
reports</a>, the speech has already been widely applauded by the heads of state
of Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Colombia, among other nations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Though most of the region -- <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/as-havana-celebrates-historic-shift-economic-and-political-hopes-rise.html?ref=americas">including
Cubans themselves</a> and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cuba-little-miami-20141217-story.html">some
Cuban-Americans in Florida</a> -- is celebrating the announcement, the embargo
supporters inside the beltway are fuming. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-17/with-the-polls-against-them-cubanamerican-republicans-stick-to-the-laws-against-trade-with-cuba">Bloomberg</a>
reports that the usual suspects (Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and
Senator Marco Rubio, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez) have all announced they
oppose Obama’s executive action, with most framing it as rewarding a
dictatorial regime for poor behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Rubio, a potential Republican White House
candidate in 2016, was especially vehement. “Appeasing the Castro brothers will only
cause other tyrants from Caracas to Tehran to Pyongyang to see that they can
take advantage of President Obama’s naiveté during his final two years in
office,” reads a <a href="http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=d6c39dd4-8d06-4de3-8065-5cb27d865f1f">statement
released by his office</a>. “As a result, America will be less safe as a result
of the President’s change in policy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/congress-cuba-reaction-113654.html?hp=t1_r">Politico</a>
notes that when the Republicans assume majority control of the Senate next
year, legislation ending the embargo is off the table, and they will be in a
position to block presidential nominations. This would include any ambassador
to Cuba.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While their opposition is not particularly surprising,
it is interesting to note that these figures are increasingly finding
themselves on the wrong side of public opinion. As <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/227490-polls-show-shift-in-favor-of-us-cuba-relations">The
Hill</a> notes, polls show that a majority of Americans support ending the
embargo, and an <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/02/poll-majority-of-us-florida-backs-cuba.html">Atlantic
Council survey released in February</a> found that even a majority of Florida
respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” support “normalizing relations or engaging
more directly with Cuba.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>One element of the Cuba shift that will be interesting to watch in the coming months is how it will play out for the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The <a href="http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article4568419.html">AFP reports</a> that a number of regional experts have predicted that it could Chavismo to alter its traditional discourse of a region-wide anti-imperialist struggle. As opposition leader Henrique Capriles put it in a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/17/us-cuba-usa-venezuela-idUSKBN0JV2QR20141217">quote to Reuters,</a> “It looks like Raul is cheating on Nicolas!”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Maduro, for his part, has not seemed publicly phased by the change in U.S.-Cuba relations. As <a href="http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/12/17/actualidad/1418837092_197851.html">El Pais reports</a>, the Venezuelan president praised the U.S. leader for his “bravery,” and referred to the release of the Cuban Five as “a victory for Fidel and the Cuban people.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday saw an important development in the the hemisphere’s other Cold War-era conflict as well. Colombia’s FARC guerrillas announced an <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/farc-declaran-cese-al-fuego-indefinido-articulo-533789">indefinite unilateral ceasefire beginning on December 20</a>. While the rebels have announced and maintained previous ceasefires during the holiday season since 2012, this one stands out for the rebels’ willingness to keep it open-ended, albeit on one condition: the ceasefire will end if guerrillas come under attack from security forces. The FARC also invited the UNASUR and CELAC regional blocs to observe its adherence to the ceasefire. According to <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/paz/gobierno-rechaza-condicionamiento-de-farc-articulo-533835">El Espectador</a> and <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/gobierno-no-acepta-verificacion-del-cese-al-fuego-de-las-farc/412612-3">Semana</a>, while the government has applauded the ceasefire as an important goodwill gesture, it has rejected the involvement of outside actors in monitoring the ceasefire, and maintains that it will not discuss ending hostilities until the current agenda item of victims’ rights is settled.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In the latest incident of tension between Ecuadorean officials and indigenous groups, the government is revoking the license of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) to use its current offices. <a href="http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/conaie-abandonar-sede-ecuador-mies.html">El Comercio</a> reports that the government is refusing to renew its contract in order to use the space to rehabilitate youth substance abusers, but as <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/12/16/nota/4350416/conaie-dice-que-no-desalojara-su-sede">El Universo</a> notes, CONAIE has framed the order as an attack on its work and is refusing to leave.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report recommending that the Mexican government allow an independent investigation into the case of the 43 missing students of Ayotzinapa, <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/mexico-aportara-un-millon-de-pesos-investigacion-de-cidh-sobre-ayotzinapa/">Animal Politico reports</a> that authorities have agreed to provide the investigation with a budget of one million pesos (some 70,000 USD).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Apart from the New York Times’ wave of coverage of the Cuba deal today is an interesting investigation into the ties between an elite Ecuadorean family and figures in the Obama administration. According to the NYT, the administration waived travel bans on individuals accused of financial crimes in Ecuador <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/world/americas/ecuador-isaias-obama-campaign-robert-menendez-hillary-clinton.html?_r=0">in exchange for thousands of dollars in campaign donations</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Guatemala’s <a href="http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/perdimos-la-oportunidad-de-encaminar-al-pais-hacia-otro-futuro">Plaza Publica</a> has an interview with Judge Claudia Escobar, whose October resignation from an appellate court position <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/top-guatemalan-court-suspends-judicial.html">helped focus international attention</a> on the extent of corruption in the country’s judiciary. Despite her efforts, however, she laments that little has changed on this front.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the country’s standoff over long-stalled elections continues, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/haiti-president-meets-with-opposition-amid-unrest/2014/12/17/a7605af8-862e-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">AP reports</a> that Haitian President Michel Martelly met with opposition leaders yesterday in talks over the recommendations of an independent commission tasked with ending the political crisis. While no major announcement came yesterday, two opposition activists were freed in accordance with the commission’s report.</li>
</ul>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636782-government-responded-late-drought-brazils-industrial-heartland-reservoir-hogs">The Economist</a> casts a critical eye on Brazil’s response to the historic drought in São Paulo, noting that officials at all levels of government have failed to implement rationing or incentive measures necessary to replenish the city’s water reserves.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-16998630596903105862014-12-17T09:49:00.000-05:002014-12-17T10:49:04.753-05:00Honduras’ New Security Minister: a Sign of Militarization?<div class="MsoNormal">
In a potential indicator of the increasing
militarization of public security in the country, Honduras has appointed the
first ever active-duty general as head of its security ministry.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On Sunday, the administration of Honduran
President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced that General Julian Pacheco Tinoco would
take charge of the agency responsible for internal security and law enforcement
policies in the country. He will replace Arturo Corrales as head of the security
ministry on January 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-honduras-security-20141215-story.html">Reuters</a>
has reported, Pacheco’s appointment marks an important break with the past. When
he takes office he will be the first non-civilian official to direct the ministry
since its creation in 1998. What’s more, local paper <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/777120-323/honduras-general-juli%C3%A1n-pacheco-ser%C3%A1-nuevo-ministro-de-seguridad">El
Heraldo</a> reported that Pacheco is expected to continue his current <a href="http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/apertura/329414-98/juli%C3%A1n-pacheco-jura-como-director-de-inteligencia-en-honduras">cabinet
position</a> as the head of the National Division of Investigation and Intelligence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The announcement is sure to cause backlash
from human rights groups and security analysts in the region, many of whom have
warned against Honduras’ increasing reliance on the military for law
enforcement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Pacheco’s appointment could also worsen
frictions within the country’s police forces. Just last month, Police Chief
Ramon Antonio Sabillon was reportedly <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/sucesos/769727-219/honduras-ministro-de-seguridad-solicita-renuncia-de-ram%C3%B3n-sabill%C3%B3n">dismissed</a>
over his <a href="http://www.proceso.hn/component/k2/item/91373-%C2%BFgenera-luchas-internas-la-depuraci%C3%B3n-policial?.html">opposition</a>
to the Hernandez administration’s support for expanding a new Military Police
force at the expense of new funding for the
National Police. As Angelika Albaladejo and Sarah Kinosian have noted in a <a href="http://www.securityassistance.org/blog/honduras-police-chief-firing-highlights-tensions-over-militarization-and-police-purge">helpful
post over at Security Assistance Monitor</a>, his replacement is an avid
supporter of Hernandez’s security strategy and the new military police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite concerns over militarization, there
are signs that the new minister may bring positive changes for Honduras’
security approach. Last week the government announced that the security
ministry will dismiss <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/alfrente/775333-209/honduras-anuncian-barrida-de-700-polic%C3%ADas">700
police officers from their posts</a> in an ongoing purge of the force. And General
Pacheco, for his part, has shown some sensitivity towards concerns over his
military background. In an <a href="http://www.proceso.hn/component/k2/item/93274-nuevo-ministro-de-seguridad-contempla-adelantar-su-retiro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas.html">interview
published today by Proceso Digital</a>, Pacheco said that he would be willing
to retire from his intelligence and army posts in order to “avoid criticism” if
the president asked him to do so. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the general framed the military’s
involvement in policing as a practical necessity -- and rejected warnings of Honduras’
“remilitarization” -- he also said he hoped to use his new office to further train
and professionalize law enforcement in the country, “so that they can do their
job.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>It seems some kind of economic reforms may
be underway in Venezuela. After announcing this week that he will <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141216/maduro-delegara-agenda-politica-y-se-centrara-en-tema-economico">delegate
his political agenda to his cabinet</a> in order to focus on “winning the
economic war,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is slated to unveil “extraordinary
economic measures,” <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/ramirez-maduro-anunciara-medidas-economicas-extrao.aspx">according
to Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez.</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Responding to claims from opposition
lawmakers that the six former Guantanamo detainees in the country represent a potential
threat, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has publicly presented a U.S. State
Department document certifying that the men have not participated in terrorist
acts. <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/mujica-mostro-carta-oficial-eeuu.html">El
Pais has a copy of the letter</a>, which asserts that there is no evidence “the
men were involved in conducting or facilitating terrorist activities against
the United States or its partners or its allies.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mujica is also in today’s headlines for separate
remarks regarding <a href="http://www.informador.com.mx/internacional/2014/565657/6/mujica-pide-buen-trato-a-presos-politicos-en-venezuela.htm">the
political situation in Venezuela</a>. When asked what he discussed with
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a recent visit to the country, Mujica
responded: “In general terms I asked for compassion towards prisoners and for
very preferential treatment towards the political prisoners that are disgraceful
to have to have.” While hardly a stinging rebuke, the remark hints that the
Uruguayan leader may be carrying out quiet calls for change in Venezuela
through diplomatic backchannels.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In the Mexican state of Michoacan, six people
died yesterday in a clash between rival “self-defense” groups in the area, a
shootout officials say was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/self-defense-groups-clash-in-western-mexico/2014/12/16/9d29ee46-858e-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">sparked
by a territorial dispute.</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In a column for Spain’s El Pais, Human
Rights Watch’s Jose Miguel Vivanco and former OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Expression Eduardo Bertoni take a look at an apparent pattern of online censorship
in Ecuador. According to the authors, officials in the Correa government have
used a Spanish company to <a href="http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/12/12/opinion/1418385250_354771.html">compel
social media users to take down anti-government content by invoking U.S. copyright
law</a>. Also worth mentioning from HRW is its recent criticism of Bolivia’s
child labor, criminal justice and press freedom laws, which have received a good
deal of play in Bolivian and international media (see <a href="http://www.la-razon.com/seguridad_nacional/Organizacion-HRW-exhorta-Bolivia-modificar-normas_0_2181381881.html">La
Razon</a>, <a href="http://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2014/12/16/insta-bolivia-modificar-leyes-violan-derechos-41357.html">EFE</a>).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/flimsy-shacks-and-empty-new-apartments-brazils-housing-crisis-tears-urban-fabric/2014/12/16/abd39a78-83a9-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">Washington
Post</a> highlights discontent with Brazil’s massive public housing project, “Minha
Casa Minha Vida,” and the squatters’ rights movement that has emerged in major
cities to answer a demand for affordable housing.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Jair Bolsonaro, a notoriously misogynistic Brazilian
lawmaker representing Rio de Janeiro, is coming under fire for repulsive
comments he made recently on the floor of Congress. <a href="http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/brasil/mp-denuncia-bolsonaro-por-incitar-pratica-de-estupro">Veja</a>
and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/16/brazil-lawmaker-rape-taunt">The
Guardian</a> report that the attorney general’s office is pursuing action
against Bolsonaro after he taunted a rival legislator that he “wouldn’t rape
her” because she’s “not worth it.” <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/conselho-de-etica-da-camara-abre-processo-contra-jair-bolsonaro-14848513">O
Globo</a> reports that a congressional ethics committee is investigating the
incident as well.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In an <a href="http://lasillavacia.com/elblogueo/blog/marihuana-medicinal-el-problema-de-no-querer-entender-o-no-saber-explicar-49307">excellent
blog post for La Silla Vacia</a>, Wilson Center Fellow Juan Carlos Garzon
analyzes the policy debate in Colombia around a proposed measure to legalize medicinal
marijuana in the country. He notes that debate over the bill, which has been
postponed to March, has focused unnecessarily on the wider issue of ending drug
prohibition rather than helping sick patients access a drug they can only get
on the black market.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/16/usaid-administrator-rajiv-shah-to-step-down/?utm_content=bufferab042&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">Foreign
Policy</a> reports this morning that Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S.
Agency for International Development, will be stepping down next month. The FP notes
that the resignation comes as the USAID’s democracy promotion work in Cuba is
under fire, though it is unclear if Shah is leaving as a direct result of the
controversy.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also on the USAID’s work in Cuba, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/cubas-silvio-rodriguez-to-usaid-go-to-hell/2014/12/16/c3ad1820-8581-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">AP
notes</a> that its reporting on USAID’s support for dissident hip hop artists
on the island has earned the criticism of legendary Cuban folk singer Silvio
Rodriguez. In a <a href="http://segundacita.blogspot.com/2014/12/y-vayase-la-usaid.html">blog post</a>,
Rodriguez told the U.S. agency to “go to hell” for allegedly involving his son
and other anti-Castro hip hop artists in a scheme meant to fuel youth
discontent with the government.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday brought no new developments in
Haiti’s ongoing negotiations between the government and opposition to resolve
the country’s political crisis. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/12/16/world/americas/16reuters-haiti-primeminister.html?ref=americas">Reuters</a>
notes that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement urging both
sides to come to an agreement to hold long-overdue elections as soon as
possible.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-7711143487902039132014-12-16T09:36:00.002-05:002014-12-16T09:37:37.060-05:00Report: Mexican Federal Police Involved in Ayotzinapa Disappearances<div class="MsoNormal">
On Sunday, <a href="http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=390560">Proceso magazine</a> published an
investigative report that directly contradicts the official account of the
disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa. The investigation, which is
based on leaked government documents and a Guerrero state report on the events
leading up to the September 26 disappearances, implicates federal police
officials in the crime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">According to Proceso, the Guerrero report
shows that federal forces were aware of the students’ protests in Iguala that
day and were watching them closely. The magazine claims the report clearly
shows that federal police joined in the repression of the student
demonstration, in which officers and unknown gunmen shot and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29406630">killed at least six
people</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The article also claims that internal
documents from the attorney general’s office question government of President
Enrique Peña Nieto’s handling of key witnesses and suspects in the case. The
documents reportedly show that the main witnesses all bore signs of torture and
abuse at the hands of police interrogators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Proceso author Anabel Hernandez <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/missing-students-mexico_n_6321866.html">told
HuffPost</a> for the latter’s helpful rundown of the magazine investigation, the
piece reveals that the Peña Nieto administration is purposefully covering up
the extent to which corrupt federal officials knew about or even facilitated the
disappearances. “We have information that proves the federal government knew
what was happening in the moment it was happening, and participated in it,” Hernandez
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If true, the allegation would prove a point
that security analysts and human rights groups have been arguing for years: state
or federal police are not necessarily less corrupt than their local counterparts.
This is an important argument, as it refutes the logic of “centralization
equals greater police accountability,” which underpins Peña Nieto’s <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/mexican-civil-society-skeptical-of-epns.html">plans
to place local police under state control</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Today’s headlines contain another story
with alarming implications for Mexico’s insecurity crisis and rickety justice
system. According to <a href="http://www.milenio.com/policia/Absoluta-libertad-mujeres-caso-Tlatlaya_0_428357172.html">Milenio,</a>
yesterday a judge in Mexico State ordered the release of two women held for
over five months following the alleged army massacre of 22 suspects in June. As
the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexican-judge-frees-2-witnesses-to-army-killings/2014/12/15/9430defc-84cc-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">AP
reports</a>, newly-inaugurated CNDH President Raul Plascencia has said that the
two were tortured and blackmailed into corroborating the official version of
the deaths.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexico’s <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/los-obligaron-a-participar-en-desaparicion-de-los-43-1062214.html">El
Universal</a> has an in-depth investigation which illustrates the power that
the Guerreros Unidos gang has in the state of Guerrero, describing how after
the disappearance of the 43 the group ordered locals to support corrupt local
police and to man road blocks outside their communities.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday saw a troubling development for
security policy in Honduras. For the <a href="https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/honduras-nombra-militar-como-nuevo-ministro-seguridad-094526961.html">first
time in the country’s history,</a> an active-duty military general has been
named to head the country’s Security Ministry. <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/777120-323/honduras-general-juli%C3%A1n-pacheco-ser%C3%A1-nuevo-ministro-de-seguridad">El
Heraldo</a> reports that General Julian Pacheco Tinoco will take office on
January 15, and that he will also retain his current position as head of state
intelligence.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Haitian President Michel Martelly has not
yet announced who will replace ousted Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. But in a
press conference yesterday, a spokesperson said that the president intends to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/haiti-takes-more-steps-to-end-political-standoff/2014/12/16/06d5ef4c-84e1-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html">follow
the other recent recommendations of an advisory commission</a>, including
releasing political prisoners and ordering the resignation of an electoral
council.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In Venezuela yesterday, thousands of
government supporters <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30490393">took part in a
rally</a> to mark the anniversary of the country’s new constitution and protest
impending sanctions against Chavista officials. President Nicolas Maduro
appears to have taken advantage of the rally to announce some important shifts
in his administration moving forward. <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141216/maduro-delegara-agenda-politica-y-se-centrara-en-tema-economico">El
Universal</a> reports that in a speech yesterday, the president said he would
delegate his political agenda to Vice President Jorge Arreaza and his cabinet
in order to focus his efforts on “winning the economic war.” The paper also notes
that in response to the U.S. sanctions, Maduro suggested tasking a commission
of jurists to <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141215/maduro-propone-comite-de-juristas-como-respuesta-a-sanciones-de-eeuu">look
over the human rights abuses committed by “imperialist countries.”</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Cuban government continues to roll out important
economic reforms on the island. As <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/12/141215_ultnot_salrios_convenio_trabajadores_cuba_bd">BBC
Mundo</a> reports, on Monday officials issued a resolution that allows for
companies receiving foreign investment to negotiate salaries on more favorable terms
for workers. Meanwhile, in a Sunday editorial the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/opinion/cubas-economy-at-a-crossroads.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=1">New
York Times</a> issued yet another call for U.S. President Barack Obama to take
executive action in order to loosen the terms of the U.S. embargo on the
country.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/world/americas/greenpeace-wont-name-activists-peru-says-.html?ref=americas">NYT
reports</a> that the Peruvian government has said that Greenpeace is refusing
to hand over the names of the activists accused of damaging the country’s famed
Nazca Lines, and that authorities are considering seeking their extradition.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A vote on a Colombian bill to legalize
medicinal marijuana in the country that has been gaining support among policymakers
has been delayed. As <a href="http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-politica/senado-aplaza-votacion-reglamentar-marihuana-medicinal">Radio
RCN</a> reports, the Senate will not take up the bill until March of next year.
The Uribista opposition has said it would oppose the measure, and Uribe himself
<a href="http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/peligra-reglamentacion-de-marihuana-medicinal-uribe-y-su-bancada-votaran-negativo-181036">argues
that a presidential decree alone would suffice</a> to allow patients to treat
their illness with the drug.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Economist has a nuanced look at the way
that machismo plays out in Latin America, noting that it is hardly a cultural
phenomenon exclusive to the region. The
magazine highlights particularly interesting <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636052-drugs-and-machismo-are-dangerous-mix-lethal-culture">violence
prevention programs run by an NGO in Nicaragua</a>, which focus on
deconstructing gang members’ unhealthy attitudes towards masculine identity.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>International media reports are once again
fueling <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/12/141216_ultnot_brasil_superbacteria">doubts
about Rio de Janeiro’s preparedness for the 2016 Olympics</a>, after local researchers
discovered the existence of an antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria in Guanabara
bay, where the sailing events are slated to take place.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-271020887961073142014-12-15T09:43:00.003-05:002014-12-15T11:14:39.069-05:00Haiti's Prime Minister Steps Down<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In a major concession to the opposition
that could end the country’s long-running electoral stalemate, Haitian
President Michel Martelly has agreed to accept the resignation of Prime
Minister Laurent Lamothe. Other concessions <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/hope-for-haitis-electoral-impasse.html">recommended
by a presidential commission,</a> like the resignation of the Supreme Court
president and electoral council, may soon follow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Martelly announced that he would accept Lamothe’s
removal on Friday. <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article4461136.html">The
Miami Herald</a> reports that in his speech the president also said he would begin
assessing the commission’s other recommendations, as well as nominating a new
prime minister, on Monday (today). Lamothe himself <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/americas/haiti-prime-minister-resigns.html?_r=0">announced
his resignation yesterday</a>, alongside other cabinet ministers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the move could pave the way for
serious negotiations to take place in the coming weeks over the passage of a
delayed election-scheduling law, some analysts have pointed out that it leaves
Martelly considerably weakened, as <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-15/haiti-pm-s-resignation-leaves-election-dispute-festering.html">Bloomberg</a>
notes. The <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/haitis-pm-laurent-lamothe-resigns-081010260.html">AFP
reports</a> that some sectors of the opposition have been mollified by Friday’s
announcement, but that others are calling for the president himself to step
down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The latter camp has fueled a new <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/world/americas/haiti-prime-minister-resignation/">round
of anti-government protests</a> in recent days. These protests have been
accompanied by reports of inappropriate use of force by elements of the UN
peacekeeping mission in the country. According to the AP, MINUSTAH released a
statement late Friday that it was <a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/UN-to-probe-excessive-force-allegations-in-Haiti">investigating
these assertions</a>. On Saturday, demonstrators clashed with security forces
outside the presidential palace, and <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/one-shot-dead-fresh-haiti-protests-022906787.html">at
least one was killed</a> after hundreds of youths allegedly attempted to break
through police barricades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, the U.S. and United Nations continue
to be playing an important role on the sidelines in attempting to support the
government while steering both sides away from a political crisis. State
department envoys Tom Adams and Thomas Shannon visited the country last week
and met with both Lamothe and Martelly to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article4461136.html">push
for dialogue.</a> And in a Herald interview last week, former U.S. President
and U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti Bill Clinton defended the now former prime
minister, saying:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">“He’s done a really good job […]The one
thing that Haiti doesn’t want to get out of this process is looking like ‘Ok,
we had four great years, we were growing like crazy so you think we’ll throw it
all away and go back to the old ways. It won’t be good for the country.’”</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u> </b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The currents
phase of the Colombian peace talks, in which conflict victims have been given
space to address the FARC and government negotiating teams in Havana, is
drawing to a close. Newspaper <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/paz/revelan-nombres-de-integrantes-del-ultimo-grupo-de-vict-articulo-533141">El
Espectador</a> reports that UN and National University mediators have announced
the list of the final victims’ delegation, which will visit Havana today. <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/piedad-cordoba-en-el-grupo-de-victimas-que-van-la-habana/412314-3">Semana</a>
notes that the list includes ex-Senator Piedad Cordoba, who was kidnapped by
paramilitaries in 1999, a selection that has caused controversy over her
perceived closeness to the rebels.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto hit back against critics of the
investigation into the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa. <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=418738&v=2&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=418738&v=2">Reforma</a>
reports that in a report on the investigation sent to the Senate, the president
noted that 56 people had been arrested, 13 searches had been carried out, six
vehicles had been arrested and 26 arrest warrants issued so far in connection
with the case.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30472397">BBC reports</a>,
last week hundreds of police in Rio de Janeiro took part in a protest marking
the death of eighty officers who were killed so far this year and calling for
the penal code to deal stricter sentences against those who kill police.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Recent days have seen further indications
of U.S. sanctions against Venezuelan officials potentially allowing President
Nicolas Maduro to rally his base. <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141212/maduro-convoca-a-marcha-por-la-constitucion-y-contra-sanciones-de-eeuu">El
Universal</a> and <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/marcha-del-15-d-partira-desde-4-puntos-de-caracas.aspx">Ultimas
Noticias</a> report that on Friday, Maduro called for a mass rally to be held
today in Caracas to mark the 15<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the country’s new
constitution, as well in protest of the U.S. sanctions.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In an interesting show of solidarity with
Maduro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has confirmed to journalists that
the main supporters of Venezuelan sanctions -- Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and
Senator Marco Rubio -- have been placed on a list of people <a href="http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/12/nicaragua-bans-marco-rubio-ileana-ros-lehtinen-from-travel-over-venezuela-sanctions.html">banned
from entering Nicaragua</a>. On Twitter, Rubio <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/543782880812728320">mocked the
announcement</a>, joking that his “summer vacation plans are ruined.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>AP journalist Hannah Dreier has an <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/79f2ec43d51d4191b31f497a35b9292a/jailed-venezuela-opposition-leader-rattles-cage">in-depth
profile of detained Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez</a>. Noting his
privileged background and the fact that polls suggest he is one of the most
popular politicians in the country, Dreier likens him to “a Venezuelan version
of a Kennedy — albeit a stridently conservative one.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The past week has seen a good deal of
reporting on Uruguay’s reception towards the six former Guantanamo detainees
who were released there last week. While an <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/encuesta-prisioneros-guantanamo-consulta-cifra.html">October
Cifra poll</a> showed that 58 percent of the country disapproved of the
transfer, by all accounts the six appear to be enjoying Montevideo thus far. On
Friday the PIT-CNT labor union, which is housing the former detainees, said
that the six went on a stroll through the city the day before, and that they
are already becoming <a href="http://www.clarin.com/mundo/ex-presos-Guantanamo-toman-mate-Montevideo_0_1265273678.html">fans
of the local custom of sipping yerba mate.</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In the early hours of Sunday morning, the UN
climate talks in Peru finally arrived at a deal that outlines a frameworks for
signees to commit to cutting fossil fuel emissions. As the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/americas/lima-climate-deal.html?ref=americas&_r=0">New
York Times</a> reports, however, nations will face no legal consequences or
sanctions for failing to cut emissions, and will only be subject to
international scrutiny.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sunday’s <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4458866.html">Miami
Herald</a> featured an analysis of Cuba’s unfinished economic reforms,
highlighting the lack of progress on plans to unify the country’s two-currency
system.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-18858589412512119062014-12-12T09:21:00.002-05:002014-12-12T09:21:42.919-05:00Obama Will Sign Venezuela Sanctions, But Will They Work?<div class="MsoNormal">
Following Congress’s passage of a bill that
would impose targeted sanctions against Venezuelan officials linked to human
rights abuses, today’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-leader-lashes-out-as-white-house-says-obama-will-sign-new-sanctions/2014/12/11/0a209d1a-8148-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_story.html">Washington
Post</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/world/americas/obama-favors-sanctions-for-abuse-of-venezuela-protesters.html?ref=americas&_r=0">New
York Times</a> report that the White House has signaled that President Obama
will sign the measure into law. This is not surprising, as the president has
shown he is <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-backs-increased-venezuela-sanctions-224535971.html">willing
to work with lawmakers on sanctions</a> in recent weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Since the passage of the sanctions bill, some
corners of the Latin America analyst blogosphere have been buzzing with commentary.
Over at <a href="http://venezuelablog.tumblr.com/post/104848537934/targeted-sanctions-and-their-effects-on-venezuelan">Venezuelan
Politics and Human Rights</a>, WOLA’s David Smilde has a particularly scholarly
approach to the sanctions debate. Smilde’s analysis is a challenge presented
earlier this year by <a href="http://settysoutham.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/the-facepalmingly-stupidest-part-of-the-venezuela-sanctions-debate-is/">freelance
journalist Steven Bodzin</a> who asserted that the U.S. has sanctioned
Venezuelan government officials in the past, with little or no repercussions. As
Bodzin wrote:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">I think anyone arguing that Maduro will use
US sanctions to bolster his position needs to explain why he hasn’t already
done that. Here’s what I think: the Venezuelan people aren’t stupid. Even
die-hard government supporters know there are some awfully corrupt people in
their government.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is essentially the argument put
forward by some members of the Venezuelan opposition, like former presidential
candidate Henrique Capriles. <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141211/capriles-sanciones-eeuu-son-contra-funcionarios-no-contra-venezuela">El
Universal</a> reports that yesterday the opposition figure took to social media
to assert that the sanctions are targeting “connected officials, not Venezuela
and much less its people.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Smilde’s position, which is also held by
local civil society actors like <a href="http://www.derechos.org.ve/2014/12/09/posibles-sanciones-de-eeuu-contra-funcionarios-venezolanos-fortaleceran-el-autoritarismo-y-facilitaran-imposicion-de-paquete-antipopular/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Provea+%28PROVEA%29">human
rights NGO PROVEA</a>, is that sanctions could be used as a pretext by the
government to rally the Chavista base and distract attention from the country’s
economic ills. In his post he tracks the government response to sanctions against
officials in 2008, 2011, and earlier this year. While Smilde concedes that the evidence
for these instances triggering nationalistic responses is mixed, and that
reactions have mostly been limited to political theater, he asserts that such theater
is important. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Among other impacts, Smilde argues that
sanctions: 1.) “provide the population with evidence for Chavismo’s continual
flow of international conspiracy theories;” 2.) “allow the government to
portray the opposition as dangerous traitors at a time of external threat;” and
3.) “lead regional allies to circle the wagons around Venezuela in the face of
foreign aggression.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The sanctions have not been signed yet, but
already there are signs of these effects taking place. In a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-venezuela-usa-sanctions-idUSKBN0JO05S20141210">fiery
speech after the Senate vote</a>, President Maduro railed against the “insolent
imperialists” of the U.S. for the assaulting the “children of Bolivar.” It’s
not hard to imagine how this tone could be paired with <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/charges-filed-against-yet-another.html">ongoing
cases</a> against <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-looks-set-to-lock-away-prominent-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopez/2014/09/01/7764ada7-7646-40e9-96ab-728431b9c8ae_story.html">opposition
leaders</a> to present the opposition as part of the imperialist menace. And on the international front, Ultimas
Noticias reports that <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/alba-rechaza-sanciones-de-eeuu-contra-venezuela.aspx">the
ALBA bloc has released a statement</a> rejecting the sanctions. Other regional
organizations that have rejected U.S. interference in Venezuela in the past, <a href="http://peru21.pe/mundo/unasur-rechaza-posible-sancion-eeuu-funcionarios-venezuela-2184731">like
UNASUR</a>, may soon follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Still other analysts have cautioned against
judging the effect of targeted sanctions on these grounds. <a href="http://www.bloggingsbyboz.com/">James Bosworth of Bloggings by boz</a>,
for instance, argues that whether the sanctions provide space for Maduro to
rally his base is irrelevant. The real goal of the sanctions, he notes, is
reducing persecution and politically-motivated violence against Venezuelan
citizens. “If the sanctions reduce political violence or help the politically
persecuted, we should view the sanctions as a success, no matter how Maduro
reacts and whether the Maduro government is strengthened, weakened or
unaffected in the process,” Boz asserts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>News Briefs</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-ties-emerge-between-mexico-government-and-builder-1418344492">Wall
Street Journal</a> has uncovered further evidence of shady ties between the administration
of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Juan Armando Hinojosa, a businessman
who has won hundreds of million dollars in public work contracts. According to
documents viewed by the WSJ, Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray also purchased a
luxury home owned by Hinojosa’s company.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The latest Associated Press scoop on USAID
actions in Cuba, which details how a USAID contractor attempted to infiltrate
the island’s hip-hop music scene, has sparked immediate reactions. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/senator-usaids-cuba-hip-hop-project-reckless/2014/12/11/37925f1c-8194-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_story.html">AP
reports</a> that Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has condemned the program for a “lack
of concern for the safety of the Cubans involved,” and Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
called it a “downright irresponsible use of U.S. taxpayer money.” <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4440170.html">El
Nuevo Herald</a>, meanwhile, reports that one of the rappers recruited to spark
an anti-Castro opposition movement refutes the AP’s claim that he received
money from the U.S. agency.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also on Cuba, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article4427163.html">The
Miami Herald</a> highlights remark by former U.S. President Bill Clinton on the
Alan Gross case made in a recent interview. Clinton told the paper he believed
the U.S. “would be well on our way to doing it [ending the blockade] if they
released Alan Gross,” and praised the emergence of a more “nuanced” approach to
Cuba policy.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.efe.com/efe/noticias/english/world/prosecutor-asks-fujimori-pay-million-peruvian-state/4/2060/2487521">EFE</a>
and <a href="http://peru21.pe/politica/alberto-fujimori-piden-que-pague-s244-millones-caso-diarios-chicha-2206171">Peru21</a>
report that Peruvian anti-corruption prosecutor Joel Segura has recommended
that former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori be fined some $84.1 million for
the 1998-99 “diarios chicha” scandal, in which he paid tabloids to support his
re-election campaign and attack his political rivals.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Some potentially
bad news for drug policy reformers in Argentina: Buenos Aires Province Governor
Daniel Scioli, who is positioned to be government-backed presidential candidate
in October 2015 elections, has said he does not support legalizing cannabis in
the country, as <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/scioli-contra-legalizar-marihuana.html">El
Pais</a> reports.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In other drug
policy news in the hemisphere, <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/alvaro-uribe-velez-habla-sobre-la-marihuana-su-legalizacion/411908-3">Semana</a>
reports that Colombian opposition leader and former President Alvaro Uribe has said
he will support a bill in the country to legalize cannabis for medicinal
purposes, albeit with reservations. The Colombian senate is slated to vote on
the measure on Monday.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/asi-las-farc-muestren-sus-minas-no-hay-como-sacarlas-49283">La
Silla Vacia</a> looks at one of the biggest obstacles Colombia may face in a post-conflict
era: the issue of mine clearance. The news site points out that records of mine
placement are incomplete, that the country has not significantly increased its
demining efforts, and that there is a chronic lack of mine clearance programs in
areas that desperately need them.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/10/thousands-marchers-demand-just-solution-un-climate-talks-lima">The
Guardian</a> reports on a major march in Lima on Wednesday, in which trade
unions, environmentalists and indigenous groups protested to pressure negotiators
at the UN climate talks in the city to adopt a just solution to climate change.
From inside the talks, the AP notes that the slow-moving talks are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/12/world/americas/ap-lt-peru-climate-talks.html?ref=americas">entering
their final stretch</a> with lingering disputes over how developed and
developing countries should split emission cuts.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also on the Lima
summit, the NYT reports that the U.S. has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/world/strange-climate-event-warmth-toward-the-us.html?ref=americas">gained
international praise</a> from environmental rights advocates for stepping up on
climate change at the Lima talks. Meanwhile, the paper also takes Latin
American countries -- namely Brazil, Chile and Peru -- to task for adopting
what some greet activists believe is an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/business/in-latin-america-growth-trumps-climate.html">inadequate
approach to balancing development interests with environmental stewardship.</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.laprensagrafica.com/2014/12/10/sanchez-ceren-viaja-a-cuba-para-chequeo-medico">La
Prensa Grafica</a> reports that after falling ill in Mexico, on Wednesday the Salvadoran
government announced that President Salvador Sanchez Ceren had traveled to Cuba
this week for a “periodic medical checkup” that had been moved up. Of course, the
fact that he sought treatment in Cuba has led some to <a href="http://centralamericanpolitics.blogspot.com/2014/12/el-salvadors-sanchez-ceren-going-down.html">draw
parallels to Hugo Chavez’s attempts</a> to hide the extent of his cancer from
the public. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-28647288878584186452014-12-11T09:21:00.000-05:002014-12-11T09:21:32.236-05:00Brazil’s Truth Commission Addresses Contemporary Problems<div class="MsoNormal">
Much of the
reporting on yesterday’s release of the <a href="http://www.cnv.gov.br/index.php/outros-destaques/574-conheca-e-acesse-o-relatorio-final-da-cnv">Brazilian
National Truth Commission (CNV) report</a> has focused on the fact that it recommended
overturning the country’s 1979 amnesty law. But the report does not focus
exclusively on reconciling with the past.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In its 29
recommendations, the CNV showed a clear interest in addressing state violence
that continues in present-day Brazil. As <a href="http://www.cartacapital.com.br/sociedade/relatorio-da-CNV-propoe-ampla-reforma-da-seguranca-publica-4888.html">Carta
Capital</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/noticias/2014/12/141210_relatorio_cnv_ms">BBC
Brasil</a> report, many of the recommendations directly involve changes in
police operations, the justice system or the country’s prisons. Among other
things, the CNV calls for:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Demilitarizing
Brazil’s state military police forces, which the CNV referred to as an “anomaly”
in an otherwise democratic country</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Making state
forensic offices independent of police structures, to ensure civilian oversight
and document torture and extrajudicial executions</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Guaranteeing
detained suspects the right to see a judge within 24 hours of their arrest, in
order to minimize torture and inhumane treatment</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Amending the
country’s penal code to specify punishment for forced disappearances committed
by agents of the state</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ending the
dictatorship-era practice of allowing police to register deaths of suspects in
custody as the result of resisting arrest, or “autos de resistência”</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While few of
these proposals are new, some of them may see more progress than others. On the
last point, for instance, Brazil’s lower house is preparing to vote on a bill
that would eliminate “autos de resistência” and force prosecutors to
investigate all deaths in police custody, as noted in <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/brazil-lawmakers-to-tackle-impunity-for.html">Tuesday’s
post</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Also worth
noting in the media coverage of the report is the way in which the U.S. press
made comparisons with the Senate Intelligence Committee’s CIA torture report.
Both the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/12/10/brazils-torture-report-brings-a-president-to-tears/">Washington
Post</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/americas/torture-report-on-brazilian-dictatorship-is-released.html?smid=nytcore-iphone-share&smprod=nytcore-iphone">New
York Times</a> commented on the timing of both reports being released within
one day of the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the
most important difference between the reports is the issue of naming those
responsible. Brazil’s CNV directly identified 377 ex-military and police officials
as human rights abusers, whereas the Senate report includes only the pseudonyms
of CIA employees who carried out torture under the Bush administration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday
brought bad news for the genocide case against former Guatemalan dictator
Efrain Rios Montt. <a href="http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/genocidio_rios_montt-en_riesgo_juicio-juicio_genocidio-cc_0_1264073749.html">Prensa
Libre</a> reports that the country’s Constitutional Court -- the same body that
annulled his genocide conviction last year -- will decide at what point to
restart the case on January 5 when it is slated to resume. <a href="http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141210/pais/6045/Peligra-la-fecha-de-reinicio-del-juicio-por-genocidio.htm">El
Periodico</a> notes that this means that there is a risk that the case can be
bumped back to the pre-trial stage.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The United
States House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that would level
sanctions against Venezuelan officials linked to human rights abuses during
this year’s wave of opposition protests. As <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/11/us-venezuela-usa-sanctions-idUSKBN0JP00W20141211">Reuters</a>
reports, the bill was previously approved by the Senate and will now to go to
President Obama, who has signaled his support for the measure in recent weeks.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Over at <a href="http://venezuelablog.tumblr.com/post/104848537934/targeted-sanctions-and-their-effects-on-venezuelan">Venezuelan
Politics and Human Rights</a>, David Smilde takes on a <a href="http://settysoutham.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/the-facepalmingly-stupidest-part-of-the-venezuela-sanctions-debate-is/">challenge
by blogger Setty</a> to present the case against targeted sanctions of Maduro
government officials using previous examples of limited sanctions in recent
years. In response, Smilde highlights the government reaction to these past
sanctions, identifying the processes by which Chavismo has responded with nationalist,
base-rallying tactics. While he concedes that the causal evidence is mixed, Smilde
argues that there is no doubt that increased sanctions have accompanied a process
of polarization and radicalization in Venezuelan politics.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday, the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Colombia was guilty committed
forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial execution in the aftermath of
a bloody 1985 hostage confrontation in the Colombian Supreme Court building between
the military and M-19 guerrillas. As <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/palacio-de-justicia-colombia-condenada-por-corte-interamericana/411777-3">Semana</a>
reports, the court ordered the government to locate the remains of disappearance
victims, continue a thorough investigation of the incident and compensate
relatives of the deceased.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/colombia-es/article4405482.html">AP</a>
reports on a forum held in Bogota yesterday on drug policy reform in the country,
in which various Santos administration officials and ex-President Cesar Gaviria
lent their support to a medicinal marijuana bill currently being debated by
Colombian lawmakers. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica also offered a statement in
favor of marijuana legalization via video, providing further proof that he <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/mujica-and-vazquez-shift-on-uruguays.html">is
positioning himself to be an international advocate</a> of drug policy
experimentation after stepping down in March. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-pais/cara-cara-legalizar-o-no-marihuana-fines-medicinales-colombia">RCN
Noticias</a> and <a href="http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/la-cara-de-la-necesidad-detras-de-la-legalizacion-de-la-marihuana-medicinal/20141210/nota/2546111.aspx">Caracol
Radio</a> today also report on the main arguments in favor and against the
bill.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Miami Herald
highlights recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, which suggest
that the Obama administration may have <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article4414949.html">come
to terms with Cuba’s participation in the upcoming Summit of the Americas</a>.
According to Kerry, it is time for the hemisphere “get beyond the perennial
debate of attendance — who comes — and focus on the substantive issues at the
summit.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Associated
Press has another scoop on USAID’s democracy promotion work on Cuba. Like previous
reports, this one involves USAID contractor Creative Associates International.
According to the AP investigation the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/11/world/americas/ap-lt-secret-cuban-hip-hop-abridged.html?ref=americas&_r=0">contractors
received USAID funding to support the country’s underground hip-hop scene</a>,
but ended up compromising its independence and endangering artists.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In Mexico, the
civil society groups that have supported the families of the missing 43
students of Ayotzinapa have come under criticism from the military. As Animal
Politico reports, Secretary of the Navy Admiral Vidal Soberon Sanz claimed yesterday
that the <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/vidal-soberon-asegura-manipulacion-de-los-padres-de-los-normalistas/">families
are being “manipulated” by unnamed special interest groups</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
in Oslo was disrupted by a young man carrying a red-stained Mexican flag. The
incident has made headlines in Mexico -- see <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/impreso/el-universitario-que-pidio-8220no-olvidar-a-mexico-8221-221097.html">El
Universal</a> and <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=415218&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=415218">Reforma</a>
-- as an apparent attempt to raise awareness for the 43 disappeared students of
Ayotzinapa.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/12/141211_ultnot_protestas_nicaragua_canal">BBC
Mundo</a> reports on protests in Managua, Nicaragua against a Chinese-funded
plan to build a new inter-oceanic canal, noting that locals say they are being
kicked off of their land without fair compensation for the project to move
forward.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez
has thrown his support behind a proposal by 15 lawmakers of his National Party
to challenge a Supreme Court ban on debating presidential re-election. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/12/10/world/americas/10reuters-honduras-reelection.html?ref=americas">Reuters</a>
notes that the opposition has criticized this proposal as a bid to solidify the
ruling party’s authority.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/drug-trade-transforms-an-amazon-outpost.html?ref=americas">New
York Times</a> reports on organized crime and drug trafficking in the Brazilian
Amazon city of Manaus, which is seeing an uptick in violent turf wars between
local criminal networks.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Harm reduction strategies to drug policy
continue to make slight inroads in Brazil. Tuesday’s <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/usuario-de-drogas-a-vitima-do-problema-nao-causa-diz-especialista-canadense-14773506">O
Globo</a> featured an interesting interview with Liz Evans of Vancouver’s PHS
Community Services Society, which manages the only supervised injection
facility in North America. In it, Evans praised the work of São Paulo Mayor
Fernando Haddad and his “Braços Abertos” program, as well as rehabilitation
efforts by Rio de Janeiro NGO Viva Rio. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-8954275055125621252014-12-10T09:16:00.002-05:002014-12-10T09:16:33.662-05:00Hope for Haiti’s Electoral Impasse?<div class="MsoNormal">
With a presidential commission outlining a
potential path forward, and pressure from United Nations and U.S. officials mounting,
the long-running dispute over Haiti’s elections may see some important progress
in the coming weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While President Michel Martelly and the
opposition have long traded accusations of political posturing and abuse of
office, they have failed to pass a law to hold elections. Deadlines for a <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/04/3913012/haitis-delayed-elections-is-top.html">2011
municipal vote</a> and a <a href="http://www.ijdh.org/2014/07/topics/politics-democracy/a-constitutional-electoral-council-is-imperative-for-haitis-upcoming-elections/">2012
Senate election</a> came and went, and they are now running out of time to avoid
a political crisis. With the terms of senators and lower house representatives
ending on January 12, the two sides must come to an agreement to avoid <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/haiti-leader-vows-hold-polls-forced-rule-decree-191454070.html">setting
up Martelly to rule by decree.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yesterday, a commission tasked by the
president with creating proposals to break the electoral gridlock made some extensive
recommendations. In a report, the 11-member body called for the resignation of high-ranking
executive, electoral and Supreme Court officials, as well as for the release of
opposition-aligned “political prisoners.” The Miami Herald claims to have <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article4393117.ece/binary/Read%20the%20presidential%20commission's%20report%20(PDF)">published
a copy of this report on its website this</a> morning, but the link does not
appear to be working for this author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">According to the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/haiti-commission-seeks-government-consensus-27484373">AP’s
breakdown of the report</a>, the commission recommends a number of “appeasement
measures,” including the resignation of Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe in the
next week. The group also recommended the resignation of the Supreme Court
president and the current members of the <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/07/uk-haiti-election-idUKKBN0DN04520140507">heavily-criticized</a>
Provisional Electoral Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Martelly did not say whether he would follow
the recommendations, but told reporters in a news conference yesterday that he
would make a decision on them in the next 48 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, representatives of the United
Nations and U.S. government are playing an important role on the sidelines. <a href="http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN0JN2EL20141210?sp=true">According
to Reuters,</a> both have been steadily increasing pressure on the government and
opposition to reach a deal before January. And there are already some potential
plans on the table. From Reuters: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">One plan under discussion: extending
parliamentary terms until elections next summer, with presidential elections in
November. Foreign donor countries, however, would prefer that Haiti hold
legislative, municipal and presidential elections on one day next year, which
would cut costs by half. It is estimated that if held separately each election
would cost $30 million - money Haiti can ill afford.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Brazil’s National Truth Commission (CNV) has
presented President Dilma Rousseff with its final report on the abuses
committed by the 1964-1985 military regime, and <a href="http://www.cnv.gov.br/index.php/outros-destaques/574-conheca-e-acesse-o-relatorio-final-da-cnv">made
the three-volume report available on its website</a>. According to <a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2014/12/1560247-relatorio-afirma-que-crimes-contra-a-humanidade-foram-sistematicos.shtml">Folha
de S. Paulo</a>, the CNV report calls for an end to the country’s amnesty law.
It also finds that the dictatorship committed “systematic” crimes against
humanity, and named 377 people as directly responsible for abuses. <a href="http://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2014/12/dilma-chora-ao-receber-relatorio-final-da-comissao-da-verdade.html">O
Globo reports</a> that Rousseff became emotional during the ceremony marking
the report’s publication today, breaking into tears and halting her statement for
over a minute to recompose herself. In her statement the president praised the
commission’s work to promote truth and reconciliation, but defended “political
pacts” necessary for the country’s “democratization,” an apparent reference to
the amnesty law.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today’s reporting on the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/09/politics/cia-reports-shocking-passages/">Senate
Intelligence Committee’s CIA torture report</a> in the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-torture-report-shows-cia-infighting-over-interrogation-program.html?_r=0">features
an interesting tidbit for Latin America-watchers</a>: the CIA hired a new
interrogation chief in 2002 despite concerns by the agency’s inspector general
over his “inappropriate use of interrogation techniques” in a Latin America training
program in the 1980s.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexican daily El Unversal has a front page
story this morning on the <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/ven-clima-adverso-en-derechos-humanos-1060775.html">poor
state of human rights protections in the country,</a> noting recent criticism
from international and regional human rights bodies as well as local NGOs. The paper
especially highlights a <a href="http://cmdpdh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Acceso-a-la-Justicia-en-M%C3%A9xico.pdf">2013
report</a> on the country’s justice system by the Mexican Commission for the
Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH), which found that just one percent
of human rights abuses presented to the attorney general’s office result in a
judicial ruling.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After the recent <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/06/ecuador-indigenous-leader-found-dead-lima-climate-talks">death
of an Ecuadorean indigenous activist</a> made <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c48210c82ac94ee3a1eb7bb1de8e46a1/indigenous-leader-says-activist-killed-ecuador">international
headlines</a> and raised questions about the challenges faced by environmental
and indigenous protesters in the country, <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/12/09/nota/4326241/ministerio-dara-recompensa-caso-asesinato-jose-tendetza">El
Universo reports</a> that Ecuadorean officials are investigating the case and
offering a reward for any relevant information.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Those who predict that U.S. sanctions on
Venezuela could lead the government to spin them as “imperialist aggressions”
to rally the Chavista base saw further evidence of this yesterday. <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/maduro-respondio-a-eeuu-no-aceptamos-sanciones-ins.aspx">Ultimas
Noticias</a> reports that in a response to the U.S. Senate’s passage of a
targeted sanction bill, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/12/09/world/americas/09reuters-venezuela-usa-sanctions.html?ref=americas">slammed
the “insolent” actions of the U.S. government</a> and questioned the U.S.
Senate’s authority to “come sanction the nation of Bolivar.” Also yesterday,
leading Venezuelan human rights group PROVEA <a href="http://www.derechos.org.ve/2014/12/09/posibles-sanciones-de-eeuu-contra-funcionarios-venezolanos-fortaleceran-el-autoritarismo-y-facilitaran-imposicion-de-paquete-antipopular/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Provea+%28PROVEA%29">issued
a statement rejecting the sanctions</a>, warning that they could: 1.) be used
by officials to further its claims that the U.S. is conspiring to support opposition
protests, and 2.) act as a shield for Maduro to impose unpopular economic
reforms.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/sun-powers-a-peruvian-energy-shift-1418175738">Wall
Street Journal</a> reports on a plan by the Peruvian government to distribute
solar panels to two million people in rural areas around the country, a program
that some critics say would require greater maintenance and upkeep of the
panels, especially in rainforest regions. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Colombian news site <a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/el-batallon-que-gano-el-concurso-de-falsos-positivos-49218">La
Silla Vacia</a> presents a sobering, in-depth look at how the country’s false
positive scandal played out in the military, reporting on a 2006 contest
promoted by the army that rewarded an Antioquia-based unit for its “operational
results.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to Honduras’ <a href="http://www.proceso.hn/component/k2/item/92722-investigan-a-m%C3%A1s-de-20-efectivos-tigres-por-supuesta-sustracci%C3%B3n-de-m%C3%A1s-de-1-mill%C3%B3n-de-d%C3%B3lares-en-operativo-contra-los-valle.html">Proceso
Digital</a>, some 20 of the country’s elite, U.S.-vetted TIGRE police force are
under investigation for allegedly stealing millions of dollars in seized
evidence. The incident directly calls into question the government’s logic
behind supporting the new military police force, which was <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/new-honduras-president-sends-soldiers-to-streets-in-opening-security-move">meant
to be more trustworthy and effective</a> than standard police.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador
and Honduras may not have seen the overwhelming U.S. support for their massive development
plan that they would have liked, but they will apparently be moving forward
with it anyway. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/12/09/world/americas/09reuters-usa-immigration-guatemala.html?ref=americas&_r=0">Guatemalan
President Otto Perez Molina has told Reuters</a> that the countries are ready
to put up $5 billion over five years to implement the “Plan of the Alliance for
Prosperity in the Northern Triangle,” matching a sum that the State Department
has said the Congress would need to allocate in order to support the plan. However, Reuters points out that a budget bill
for next year that was floated late on Tuesday only allocates $260 million for
the plan in 2015.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A recent direct action carried out by
Greenpeace in Peru, in which activists spelled out “Time for Change; The Future
is Renewable” near the country’s famed Nazca lines, has sparked outrage in the
country. <a href="http://elcomercio.pe/peru/ica/nasca-huellas-activistas-greenpeace-se-ven-desde-aire-noticia-1777214?ref=nota_peru&ft=mod_leatambien&e=titulo">El
Comercio</a> reports that the footprints left by activists in the restricted
area around the treasured site can be seen from the air, and the Peruvian
government has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/peru-indignant-at-greenpeace-stunt-at-nazca-lines/2014/12/09/1a21aee8-8008-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_story.html">claimed
it will press criminal charges against those responsible</a> for allegedly “attacking
archaeological monuments.”</li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-51248526713626804672014-12-09T09:18:00.002-05:002014-12-09T13:29:46.483-05:00Brazil Lawmakers to Tackle Impunity for Police Killings<div class="MsoNormal">
From <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/remember-brazils-world-cup-protests.html">abusive
crackdowns on protests</a> to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/videos-of-police-crimes-spur-brazilians-to-confront-a-long-time-problem/2014/08/03/cacab078-1825-11e4-9349-84d4a85be981_story.html">forced
disappearances</a>, police violence in Brazil has been making headlines in recent
months. Tomorrow, however, lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house could take an important
step in reining in the illegal use of deadly force by law enforcement officers
in the country.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While human rights groups have been
campaigning for years around the issue, the struggle against police brutality
in Brazil has been difficult. Brazilian police
remain shielded by a dictatorship-era mechanism that allows them to<a href="http://www.diariodocentrodomundo.com.br/o-que-sao-os-autos-de-resistencia-da-pm-e-por-que-eles-tem-de-acabar/">
record deaths as the result of suspects resisting arrest, or “autos de
resistência.”</a> Once registered as such, offending officers benefit from procedural
barriers to investigations and a larger institutional culture of impunity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This has taken a toll on disadvantaged
communities in the country. As the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/from-2009-to-2013-brazils-police-killed.html">Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP)</a> noted
in its latest annual report, over the past five years police in the country
have killed at least 11,197 people, an average of six people per day. This is more than United States police have
killed in the last 30 years, despite the U.S. having a population roughly 50
percent larger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As <a href="http://ponte.org/defensoria-envia-parecer-ao-congresso-em-apoio-ao-projeto-de-lei-que-determina-o-fim-dos-autos-de-resistencia/">news
site Ponte reports</a>, the new bill would reinforce the responsibility of
prosecutors to investigate deaths in police custody, regardless of the official
explanation. While security experts consulted by the site concede that the bill
won’t end extrajudicial executions altogether, most see it as a positive step
that will focus more attention on the issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The bill is set to <a href="http://www.brasil247.com/pt/247/rio247/162916/Jandira-celebra-vota%C3%A7%C3%A3o-contra-%27autos-de-resist%C3%AAncia%27.htm">come
to a vote tomorrow,</a> December 10, Human Rights Day. According to the lower-house
head of Brazil’s Communist Party -- one of the primary supporters of the
measure -- the chamber is <a href="http://poderonline.ig.com.br/index.php/2014/12/04/ja-temos-maioria-diz-jandira-feghali-sobre-fim-do-auto-de-resistencia/">expected
to pass the measure</a> on to the Senate. <a href="http://poderonline.ig.com.br/index.php/2014/11/17/no-dia-da-consciencia-negra-entidades-pedem-apuracao-de-mortes-por-policiais/">Poder
Online</a> notes that the all last month, Afro-Brazilian and human rights NGOs carried
out lobbying efforts on behalf of the initiative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In a final push, yesterday a coalition of Brazilian
civil society organizations released a joint <a href="http://www.conectas.org/pt/acoes/justica/noticia/26584-pelo-fim-dos-autos-de-resistencia">letter
supporting the law and listing ten reasons for its passage</a>. The group --which
includes human rights NGO Conectas, Afro-Brazilian rights group Educafro and the
São Paulo state ombudsman’s office -- point to widespread condemnation of “autos
de resistência” from domestic and international human rights offices, as well
as the disproportionate impact of police violence on youths of color in poor neighborhoods.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Tomorrow will be an important day in Brazil
for other reasons as well. The country’s
National Truth Commission (CNV) will mark Human Rights Day by presenting the
president with its <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/truth-commission-421-killed-or.html">final
report on the abuses committed by the 1964-1985 military regime</a>. On the eve
of its publication, agency <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/us-brazil-rousseff-dictatorship-idUSKBN0JM27U20141208">Reuters
has a timely report</a> on President Dilma Rousseff’s reluctance to embrace
calls to repeal the country’s amnesty law.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Jorge Hage, the head of Brazil’s federal anti-corruption
agency, announced that he would be retiring yesterday. As <a href="http://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2014/12/jorge-hage-entrega-dilma-carta-de-demissao-da-chefia-da-cgu.html">O
Globo</a> reports, Hage took the opportunity to criticize recent budget cuts to
the institution, claiming they made it harder for it to function properly. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-anti-corruption-agency-head-resigns/2014/12/08/4ed14a8e-7f29-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_story.html">AP
notes</a> that the resignation comes amidst the unfolding Petrobras scandal.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following Sunday’s announcement that an
Austrian lab had matched discovered remains to the DNA of Alexander Mora, one
of the missing 43 students of Ayotzinapa, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/world/americas/rage-and-sorrow-flow-as-student-is-declared-dead.html?ref=americas">New
York Times</a> reports on the grief-stricken reaction of the victim’s
relatives. According to the <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/confirma-pgr-hallazgo-de-restos-de-estudiante-de-ayotzinapa/">Argentine
Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF),</a> which first shared the laboratory results
with the families on Friday, the first victim was identified relatively quickly
because his remains were more intact than others. Continued identification will
take time. Meanwhile, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam has said that because
of the poor state of the remains officials may “never” identify the total
number of victims, as <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/pgr-quiza-nunca-se-sepa-numero-de-victimas-1060444.html">El
Universal</a> reports.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>News site <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/con-raul-plascencia-en-la-cndh-solo-0-7-de-las-quejas-derivaron-en-recomendaciones/">Animal
Politico has a critical analysis of the work of the country’s National Human
Rights Commission (CNDH)</a>. Under the leadership of former CNDH head Raul
Plascencia Villanueva -- who was replaced last month by former UNAM lawyer Luis
Raul Gonzalez Perez -- just 0.7 percent of all complaints to the body resulted
in relevant recommendations to state institutions.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/rodriguez-sanchez-sale-de-prision-un-mes-antes-de-que-se-reanude-juicio">Plaza
Publica</a> has an update on the genocide and crimes against humanity case
against former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt and ex-intelligence chief Jose
Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez. While the trial is still due to restart on January
2015, the site notes that Rodriguez has paid bail to face the charges in freedom,
and that Rios Montt remains under house arrest.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The push for the U.S. government to sanction
Venezuela for human rights abuses is gaining momentum. Yesterday the Senate
voted to pass a bill that would deny visas and freeze the assets of officials
associated with this February’s wave of opposition protests. While the House of
Representatives passed a similar bill in May, this version calls for a more
limited number of targets. According to the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article4376891.html">Miami
Herald</a>, the House now has to pass the Senate’s version before it before it
adjourns this week or risk starting the process over from scratch in January.
If it does President Obama will likely support the measure, as the
administration has recently indicated it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-obama-administration-would-back-sanctions-against-venezuela-official-2014-11">would
work with Congress on issuing sanctions</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>This morning the AP offers some interesting
reporting on a new wave of comedians in Cuba, many of whom are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/09/world/americas/ap-cb-cuba-comedians.html?ref=americas">pushing
the boundaries of dissent on the island</a> through biting political and social
commentary.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/en-el-gobierno-dicen-que-reglas-de-juego-publicas-por-uribe-son-un-invento-49229">La
Silla Vacia</a> has a takedown of Alvaro Uribe’s claims that the FARC are
calling for a series of major concessions in order to resume the Havana peace
talks. The Colombian news site notes
that the government has dismissed these claims as rumors, and that the scope of
the alleged demands is far out of step with the guerrillas’ recent negotiating
posture.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/06/ecuador-indigenous-leader-found-dead-lima-climate-talks">The
Guardian</a> reports on the murder of an Ecuadorean indigenous land rights
leader, who was killed just days before his plan to take his cause to the protests
outside the ongoing climate talks in Lima.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/refugiados-tendran-custodia-policial.html">El
Pais</a> the six former Guantanamo Bay detainees in Uruguay are still under medical
evaluation, though they are expected to be released soon. Officials claim that the six showed no signs
of malnutrition, anemia or breathing problems. This despite reports -- see this
<a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/141208/uruguay-guantanamo-dhiab-force-feeding">Global
Post piece</a> -- that one of the men was on a hunger strike recently in
protest of his conditions. Once the six
have been released from hospital, the Uruguayan government has been very clear
that they <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30389513">will
be free to move as they please</a>.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-79346974734657120052014-12-08T09:26:00.001-05:002014-12-08T09:27:55.642-05:00Mujica and Vazquez Shift on Uruguay’s Cannabis Law<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been just a week since Uruguay’s presidential election, but the past few days have seen some subtle indicators of how outgoing
President Jose Mujica and President-elect Tabare Vazquez will address the country’s
historic marijuana law in the coming years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Mujica, for his part, has shown that he is becoming
more comfortable advocating drug policy experimentation abroad. <a href="http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=389988">Proceso</a>
and <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/mujica-aconseja-legalizar-droga.html">El
Pais</a> report that after arriving in Cancun on Friday for this year’s Ibero-American
Summit, the Uruguayan leader suggested that Mexico may be better off
considering drug legalization than fighting the drug trade head-on. “It is
better not to confront what is inevitable,” said the president. “Organize it,
legalize and regulate it, and you do not want to cover it up because the more you
want to, the more it costs you and it’s worse.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While hardly a formal policy prescription,
the remark represents an important shift for the Uruguayan leader. Until now he
has consistently framed his country’s cannabis law as a domestic “experiment,” one
that he <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/256914/mujica-y-la-eventual-34marcha-atras34-de-la-marihuana/">would
support ending</a> if it does not bring the expected results. He <a href="http://www.espectador.com/politica/270471/mujica-no-justificar-ante-onu-regulaci-n-de-marihuana">neglected
to mention the law</a> in a much-anticipated UN General Assembly speech last
year, and officials in his government like drug czar Julio Calzada have deliberately
<a href="http://www.espectador.com/politica/270685/marihuana-ley-no-pretende-ser-un-modelo-para-nadie">rejected
the idea that Uruguay is a model</a> for other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The remark also came on the same day that Mujica
published an open letter addressed to his country and to U.S. President Barack
Obama. In it, he clarified his reasons for accepting the six Guantanamo
detainees who arrived in Montevideo Sunday morning. <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/carta-abierta-mujica-obama-uruguayos.html">According
to the president</a>, the transfer is in keeping with Uruguay’s place at
the “vanguard” of international peace initiatives, and would be a “ripe” opportunity
for Obama to lift the decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This too suggests that when Mujica leaves
the presidency <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/mujica-asumira-banca-senado-anos.html">for
a senate seat</a> on March 1, he can be expected to use his elder statesman status
to continue speaking out for human rights causes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">President-elect Tabare Vazquez has also
shifted his public position on the country’s cannabis regulation law recently. In
the lead-up to the election the ruling party candidate sought to distance
himself from the unpopular measure, making it clear that he had doubts about the
plan to sell the drug in pharmacies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But in a December 4 interview on popular
local talk show “En la Mira,” (see the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3oJfQWoJaU&t=52m50s" target="_blank">52:50-minute
mark here</a>) Vazquez appeared to have overcome at least some of these concerns.
When asked about his position on pharmacy sales, Vazquez said he supported it,
at least “in principle.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It may seem a minor point, but the comment
suggests his position has evolved considerably since October, when he described
this aspect of the law as <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/vazquez-considera-insolito-que-farmacias.html">“unheard
of”</a> and even expressed concerns that pharmacists could be in danger. In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLQuaTrAZ3k&t=8m22s" target="_blank">October
23 interview</a> on public television, Vazquez said he was worried that the
law would expose pharmacies to the “relentless”
violence of drug traffickers as a product of economic competition.
“Surely they will come and tell [pharmacy owners], ‘we will set fire to your
pharmacy or you will have some kind of accident’” Vazquez said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course, the incoming president made it
clear that he continues to have reservations about the law (“If I said I didn’t view [the law] with
concern I would be lying,” Vazquez also said, as <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/293516/presidente-electo-preocupado-por-la-ley-que-regularizo-la-marihuana/">El
Observador</a> reports). But he also made it clear that he would implement the
law to the letter and support a strict monitoring and evaluation process, which
is essentially the<a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/256914/mujica-y-la-eventual-34marcha-atras34-de-la-marihuana/">
same position</a> held by the Mujica administration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is important, as local media and
analysts are becoming increasingly skeptical that the law’s signature component
-- the creation of a state-regulated marijuana market -- will be implemented
before Vazquez’s inauguration. As experts consulted by <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/293334/plazos-de-cultivo-impiden-que-mujica-inaugure-la-venta-de-marihuana/">El
Observador</a> note, it would be nearly impossible for a massive crop to be harvested
and made available by March, even if the government were to select its commercial
growing partners in the coming days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>In other Uruguay news, <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/prisionero-guantanamo-brindaremos-buena-voluntad.html">local
paper El Pais</a> has received a letter from Abd al Hadi Omar Mahmoud Faraj, one
of the six freed Guantanamo detainees who arrived in Montevideo over the
weekend. In it, the Syrian citizen thanked Uruguay for freeing him from the “black
hole” of Guantanamo, and promised that he and his five companions would bring “only
goodwill and positive contributions” to the South American country. <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-transfers-six-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-to-uruguay-1417949714">The
Wall Street Journal</a> notes that Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said all six
took Spanish lessons in Guantanamo.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Mexican attorney general’s office has
confirmed that a university laboratory in Austria has matched up the DNA of
remains found in a Guerrero dump to one of the missing 43 students of
Ayotzinapa, <a href="http://www.reforma.com/libre/acceso/acceso.htm?urlredirect=/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=413275&v=4">Reforma</a>
reports. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/world/americas/remains-of-student-in-mexico-identified.html?_r=0">The
New York Times</a> notes that the discovery lends weight to officials’ claims
that the 43 were killed by a local drug gang working for corrupt officials. <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/confirma-pgr-hallazgo-de-restos-de-estudiante-de-ayotzinapa/">Animal
Politico</a> reports that the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) was
also sent the analysis of remains, and met with family members of the disappeared
on Friday to discuss the results.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Colombian ex-President Alvaro Uribe is once
again playing peace talk saboteur. <a href="http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/uribe-denuncia-supuestas-condiciones-de-las-farc-para-retomar-los-dialogos/20141207/nota/2541132.aspx">As
Caracol Noticias</a> reports, Uribe took to Twitter yesterday to claim that he
had received word that the FARC were placing eight “conditions” on the
continuation of the Havana talks. Among these are that the government cease referring
to the guerrillas as terrorists, facilitate the demobilization of rebels and
pay reparations to families of guerrilla commanders killed in action.
Government sources have <a href="http://www.bluradio.com/84620/gobierno-desmiente-supuestas-condiciones-de-farc-para-reiniciar-dialogos">reportedly
told BluRadio</a> that this list is false, but <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/juan-carlos-pinzon-el-que-hace-terrorismo-es-terrorista/411613-3">Semana
magazine</a> notes that it is still generating backlash from figures in the
country’s political establishment like Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://g1.globo.com/politica/operacao-lava-jato/noticia/2014/12/mp-deve-denunciar-executivos-na-proxima-semana-diz-rodrigo-janot.html">O
Globo</a> reprots that Brazilian Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot has said he
is preparing indictments against 11 construction company executives in
connection with the country’s developing Petrobras scandal. As the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/world/americas/brazil-to-indict-key-figures-in-oil-company-graft-scandal.html?ref=americas&_r=0">New
York Times</a> notes, however, Janot himself has come under fire after an <a href="http://www.istoe.com.br/reportagens/395389_AS+ARTICULACOES+DE+JANOT+QUE+PODEM+LIVRAR+O+GOVERNO?pathImagens=&path=&actualArea=internalPage">Isto
E magazine report</a> claimed he was preparing a plea deal for the accused that
would keep the Rousseff administration shielded from legal scrutiny.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After NGOs PROVEA and the Venezuelan Prison
Observatory released a statement last week <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/after-deaths-venezuelan-ngos-call-for.html">calling
for the resignation of Prisons Minister Iris Varela</a> in light of recent inmate
deaths in Lara state, the country’s opposition has embraced the demand as well.
<a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141205/mesa-replantea-descentralizar-carceles-y-la-renuncia-de-iris-varela">El
Universal</a> reports that the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) issued a press
release advocating her removal, an independent investigation into the recent deaths,
and for the prison system itself to be “decentralized.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Between U.S. President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/09/obama-supports-jailed-venezuelan.html">expressing
solidarity with imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez</a>, his
administration <a href="http://m.state.gov/md234665.htm">strongly objecting</a>
to the charges against opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, and its <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/11/141119_ultnot_posibles_sanciones_eeuu_sobre_venezuela_bd">recent
shift on targeted sanctions</a>, U.S. relations with Caracas seem to have
reached a low point. President Nicolas Maduro may be preparing to hit back
against such criticism, however, claiming he is "re-evaluating"
relations with Washington, as <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/venezuela-revisara-relaciones-con-estados-unidos.aspx">Ultimas
Noticias</a> reports.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Guatemalan news site Nomada reports on the <a href="https://nomada.gt/para-la-memoria-guatemala-solo-tiene-q100000/">lack of
government support for the Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive (AHPN),</a>
a key resource for the future of memory and justice for human rights abuses in
the country. Currently the archive’s shrinking pool of resources comes mainly
from international donors, with the government of President Otto Perez Molina
dedicating the equivalent of just $13,000 to its annual budget.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/former-president-campaign-advisor-peru-most-wanted">InSight
Crime</a> has a look at a high-profile criminal corruption case in Peru which
has ties to President Ollanta Humala. Former Humala press advisor Martin
Belaunde Lossio is <a href="http://elcomercio.pe/politica/actualidad/martin-belaunde-lossio-5-claves-entender-caso-noticia-1776201">accused
of helping to embezzle money and finance criminal activity</a> in the administration
of former Ancash province Governor Cesar Alvarez, which the news site notes is
the latest sign of disturbing criminal connections among Peru’s political
elite.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>While the Peru climate talks are entering
their final week with <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-climate-talks-20141207-story.html">clear
conflicts emerging between developed and developing nations</a>, last week saw
the development of an important environmental accord among eight Latin American
countries. As <a href="http://lta.reuters.com/article/topNews/idLTAKBN0JL0T420141207">Reuters</a>
and <a href="http://www.latercera.com/noticia/tendencias/2014/12/659-607758-9-lanzan-iniciativa-conjunta-de-restauracion-de-suelos-degradados-mas-ambiciosa-de.shtml">La
Tercera</a> report, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Mexico and Peru have signed on to Initiative 20x20, an effort to restore 20
million hectares of land in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2020.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/cured-cuban-ebola-patient-leaves-swiss-hospital/2014/12/06/8d14024a-7db3-11e4-8241-8cc0a3670239_story.html">AP
reports</a> that a Cuban doctor who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra
Leone last month has undergone a full recovery after being treated in a Swiss
hospital, and returned hom to his country on Saturday.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-19704613079263425462014-12-05T08:53:00.000-05:002014-12-05T08:53:21.251-05:00After Deaths, Venezuelan NGOs call for Prison Minister’s Removal<div class="MsoNormal">
Following reports that as many as 41
inmates died after allegedly ingesting toxic substances from the infirmary
following a protest, the official version of the incident has come under
suspicion and the Venezuelan prison minister is coming under pressure to
resign.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On November 24, inmates at the Uribana
prison in western Lara state initiated a hunger strike to call for improved
conditions in the facility. The prison is notorious among inmates for its <a href="http://elimpulso.com/articulo/en-una-celda-para-dos-duermen-hasta-trece-presos">high
level of overcrowding and violence</a>, and was the site of a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/uribana-prison-riot-venezuela_n_2563003.html">deadly
clash</a> between prisoners and National Guard troops in 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">According to the official story, the
protest turned violent and some inmates broke out of their cells and into the
infirmary ward. There, they allegedly ingested rubbing alcohol and various
medications, with <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/27/venezuela-prison-idUSL2N0TH0NI20141127">145
becoming intoxicated</a>. The government claims <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/28/death-toll-rises-to-35-from-overdoses-during-prison-uprising-in-venezuela/">35
of these inmates have died</a>, while 20 have gone into a coma and the rest are receiving treatment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The non-governmental Venezuelan Prison
Observatory (OVP) has placed the death toll even higher, saying at least 41
have died and that <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-venezuela-prison-idUSKCN0JF3E820141201">relatives
of the prisoners say they were poisoned</a>. According to the OVP’s Humberto
Prado: “The (inmates) were sent bottles of water and food... they haven't said
who sent it, but it was let into the prison and that's what family members say
caused (the intoxications).” The group is calling for independent toxicology
tests to be carried out on the deceased, and for an impartial investigation
into the circumstances behind the deaths, a demand that has been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/12/01/venezuela-deaths-prison-protest">echoed
by international human rights NGOs.</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The group is also making more targeted
demands. The OVP, alongside human rights NGO PROVEA, is calling for the
resignation of Prisons Minister Iris Varela, as <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141204/exigen-renuncia-de-varela-para-facilitar-investigacion-en-uribana">El
Universal</a> and <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/sociedad/ONG-destitucion-ministra-Iris-Varela_0_530946976.html">El
Nacional</a> report. In a <a href="http://www.derechos.org.ve/2014/12/04/observatorio-venezolano-de-prisiones-provea-ante-crisis-en-carcel-de-uribana-ministra-iris-varela-debe-renunciar-a-su-cargo-para-facilitar-investigaciones/">press
statement</a> released yesterday, both groups criticized Varela for a lack of
progress on overcrowding, noting that the prison population saw a three percent
increase this year. They also pointed out that 1,463 inmates have been killed
and 2,259 injured since the government set up the Prison Ministry under Varela
in 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When Varela first took office, she was
charged with <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/2011/08/07/chavez-exige-creacion-de-un-plan-para-transformar-las-carceles">adopting
a more “humanist” approach</a> to the country’s penal systems. But as these
figures indicate, the country has a long way to go before its notoriously violent,
overcrowded and underfunded prisons meaningfully incorporate humanist values.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday, São Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad
announced that he would be expanding welfare coverage in the city to include
registered immigrants, a shift that could benefit as many as 50,000 people, according
to <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/prefeitura-de-sao-paulo-inclui-estrangeiros-no-programa-bolsa-familia-14733605">O
Globo</a>. These immigrant communities (which include Haitians, Bolivians, and many
from West African nations) will be able to benefit from the country’s Bolsa
Familia cash-transfer program, as well as other successful welfare initiatives
like Minha Casa Minha Vida.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today’s <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/deforestation-sparks-brazilian-debate-1417717648">Wall
Street Journal</a> picks up on a new paper on climate change by a Brazilian
academic who, as mentioned in <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/insecurity-corruption-threaten-latam.html">yesterday’s
briefs</a>, links the current record drought in São Paulo with deforestation in
the Amazon. As the WSJ notes, the paper has sparked a rare policy debate on the
implications of illegal lumber harvesting for the country’s large urban population
in the south.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has made
his first visit to the state of Guerrero since the September disappearance of
43 students in the town Iguala. Despite signaling earlier this week that he <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=407763&v=3&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=407763&v=3">would
visit the troubled town</a> -- which were <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=408153&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=408153">later
scrubbed</a> -- Peña Nieto limited his trip to the resort city of Acapulco. As <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/llama-penia-a-superar-dolor-por-ayotzinapa-1059579.html">El
Universal</a> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/04/world/americas/ap-lt-mexico-violence-president.html?ref=americas&_r=0">AP
report</a>, the president called for the country to overcome “this painful
period,” and presented a plan meant to spur economic growth and tourism in
Guerrero.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>This week’s issue of The Economist features
an overview of the <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21635520-president-proposes-laws-fight-crime-mexicans-want-more-justicia">ongoing
protests against the Mexican president</a>, noting demonstrators’ wide ranging
demands for an end to corruption and a weak rule of law. The magazine also has a positive appraisal of
how fast both sides in the Colombian peace talks were <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21635481-release-kidnapped-general-allows-peace-talks-resume-picking-up-where-they-left">able
to overcome the recent crisis</a>, though questions persist over their ability
to reach a final agreement in time to put it up for a vote coinciding with the October
2015 local elections. The Economist’s Bello Blog also has an analysis of the
potential for President Obama to <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21635523-barack-obama-could-ease-embargo-congress-may-slap-sanctions-venezuela-cuban">take
executive action on Cuba</a>, which may be hindered by growing support for sanctions
on Venezuelan officials.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Honduran press has begun raising
questions about a recent Supreme Court decision ordering the state to pay a pharmaceutical
company after defaulting on a previous payment. As <a href="http://www.proceso.hn/component/k2/item/92510-%C2%BFfalsificaci%C3%B3n-de-firmas-al-m%C3%A1s-alto-nivel-en-la-corte-suprema-de-justicia?.html">El
Proceso</a> and <a href="http://www.latribuna.hn/2014/12/04/denuncian-falsificacion-de-firmas-en-la-csj/">La
Tribuna</a> report, the November 24<sup>th</sup> decision bears the signature
of several judges who were apparently out of the country during the “debate” of
the case, and Supreme Court Judge Lidia Estela Cardona claims that she did not
actually sign the ruling, though it apparently bears her signature. A Supreme
Court spokesman has told the press that her signature is <a href="http://www.proceso.hn/component/k2/item/92563-csj-fue-%E2%80%9Cun-error-simple%E2%80%9D-haber-dejado-nombre-de-magistrada-cardona-en-fallo-a-favor-de-farmac%C3%A9utica.html">the
result of a clerical error,</a> but <a href="http://hondurasculturepolitics.blogspot.com/2014/12/falsified-supreme-court-decision.html">Russell
N. Sheptak of Honduras Culture and Politics</a> notes that the rushed
circumstances of the pharmaceutical case ruling (especially the reliance on
replacement judges) raise deeper questions about due process and judicial
corruption in the country.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Last week, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights <a href="http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/prensa/comunicados/2014/143.asp">released a
new report on the right to truth in the Americas (.pdf)</a>. While the
Commission’s report praises the work of Truth Commissions across the region in
revealing the extent of human rights abuses committed by autocratic regimes, it
finds that less progress has been made regarding reconciliation and prosecution
of these abuses. Amnesty laws in places like Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and
El Salvador represent serious impediments to victims’ access to justice, which
the Commission refers to as these states’ “outstanding debt” to citizens who
suffered human rights violations.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Colombia’s <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/policia-nacional-casos-de-corrupcion/411255-3">Semana
magazine</a> highlights several recent cases of corruption and collusion with
armed groups in the country’s National Police, including the recent discovery
of an alleged FARC collaborator among the police force in Cauca province. The latest
incident has focused attention on corruption in police ranks, prompting Defense
Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon to announce that a thorough vetting process of the institution
is underway, as <a href="http://www.noticiasrcn.com/nacional-pais/policia-hay-todo-un-ejercicio-depuracion-ministro-pinzon">RCN
reports</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to a new <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/02/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN0JG29T20141202">Datanalisis
survey</a> released earlier this week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s approval
rating has fallen to 24.5 percent, a drop of nearly 6 points from September. The
poll also found that an overwhelming share of Venezuelans -- 85.7 percent --
say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Over at <a href="http://venezuelablog.tumblr.com/post/104244578619/maduros-popularity-hits-new-low-for-chavismo">Venezuelan
Politics and Human Rights</a>, David Smilde notes that this is lower than even
Hugo Chavez’s record low 30.8 percent in June 2003, suggesting that Chavismo’s
dedicated base may be smaller than expected.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Uruguay’s <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/presos-guantanamo-llegaran-proximo-lunes.html">El
Pais</a> reports that the six Guantanamo detainees the country has agreed to
accept from the United States are due to arrive late Monday or early Tuesday. Upon
their arrival, the six will be taken to a military hospital where they will
reportedly undergo medical exams. The fact that the transfer is coming so soon
after the recent election seems to confirm reports that President Jose Mujica <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/us/politics/decaying-guantanamo-defies-closing-plans.html">sought
to delay it in order to minimize the potential for electoral backlash</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/drones-contaminadores-deforestadores-selvas-per%C3%BA-panam%C3%A1-075400776.html">Spanish
news agency EFE</a> reports on a trend with interesting potential for indigenous
and land rights in the Americas: the use of drones by indigenous advocacy
groups to identify abuses in the extraction industry and monitor the welfare of
remote tribes.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-21714107215374740372014-12-04T06:01:00.000-05:002014-12-04T06:02:36.125-05:00Insecurity, Corruption Threaten LatAm Democracies<div class="MsoNormal">
Two reports published yesterday have
focused attention on widespread perceptions of insecurity and corruption in
Latin America, a trend with harmful consequences for democratic governance in
the region.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">First, Transparency International published
its <a href="http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results">annual Corruption
Perceptions Index</a>, which compiles nationwide surveys to show how corrupt
the public sectors of different countries are believed to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This year’s CPI contained very few
surprises, and <a href="http://blog.transparency.org/2014/12/03/corruption-in-the-americas-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/">limited
changes compared to the 2013 report</a>. Venezuela, Haiti, Paraguay, Nicaragua and
Honduras remain the most corrupt in the region, according to their citizens’
perceptions, while Chile and Uruguay are tied as the least corrupt. Colombia,
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru each received the same or nearly the same
(the last three saw one-point increases) scores as the previous year, though
their comparative rankings saw no major shifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Transparency International’s Americas
Director Alejandro Salas <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/773430-331/honduras-entre-los-pa%C3%ADses-m%C3%A1s-corruptos-de-al">told
the Associated Press</a>, the fact that there were no major shifts in CPI in
the region this year is not a positive sign. For Salas, this was “another year
of not seeing further progress, of seeing no improvements for the population.”
He pointed to the recent incidents in Mexico (see <a href="http://aristeguinoticias.com/0911/mexico/la-casa-blanca-de-enrique-pena-nieto/">Peña
Nieto’s “Casa Blanca”</a>) and Brazil (the <a href="http://g1.globo.com/politica/operacao-lava-jato/noticia/2014/12/costa-diz-em-acareacao-que-nao-respondera-perguntas-da-cpi.html">growing
Petrobras scandal</a>) as reminders that if the emerging powers in the region
hope to establish themselves as such, they need to set examples on
accountability. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The second major report published yesterday
is the release of the <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/free-access.php">Latin American Public
Opinion Project’s (LAPOP) </a> biennial <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2014/AB2014_Comparative_Report_English_V3_revised_120114_W.pdf">AmericasBarometer
survey (.pdf)</a>, covering attitudes towards democracy in 28 countries across
the region. Like Transparency International, LAPOP found evidence of widespread
cynicism regarding the accountability of regional governments, with a minimum
of 68 percent of respondents in every country saying that corruption is
somewhat or very common among officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Compared to previous reports, this year’s
AmericasBarometer places special emphasis on insecurity and its impact on
citizens’ faith in institutions. In general, things do not look good on this
front. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">According to the LAPOP’s data, fear of
crime has increased across the region. The average rate of respondents who view
their neighborhoods as insecure is at one of its highest points on record, and 61.4
percent say that the level of violence where they live is the same or higher
than it was a year ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The survey also showed widespread lack of faith
in law enforcement and judicial systems, with half of respondents expressing
dissatisfaction with their police. As <a href="http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/11/24/actualidad/1416859897_476125.html">El
Pais</a> reports, the countries with the worst public perception of police were
Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Haiti and Mexico, in that order. Additionally, LAPOP
found that the region’s average faith in courts has fallen to its lowest level
in ten years. The level of perceived impunity is highest in Venezuela, Brazil,
Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In addition to its comparative regional
report, LAPOP released its survey data for all of the sample countries, which
is available <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/">free of charge on its
website</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u> News
Briefs </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>In its latest response to the reports of
lawlessness and violence in rural areas in the country, the Mexican government has
announced that federal forces will be <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/04/us-mexico-security-idUSKCN0JI08R20141204">assuming
security duties in 32 municipalities</a> across Guerrero, Mexico State and
Michoacan. According to <a href="http://www.milenio.com/estados/gendarmeria_nacional_Acapulco-seguridad_Puerto_Acapulco-acapulco_seguridad_0_420557996.html">Milenio</a>,
the resort city of Acapulco will receive 500 members of the country’s
newly-launched gendarmerie force.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexican NGO Fundar has released a new <a href="http://fundar.org.mx/otrosreferentes/documentos/Hacia_La_Seguridad_delos_Derechos.pdf">report
on policing and human rights abuses committed by security forces</a> in the
country, based on more than 240 interviews in Guerrero. As <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/politicas-de-seguridad-en-mexico-deberian-estar-basadas-en-la-proteccion-de-los-dh-fundar/">Animal
Politico</a> notes, the report found evidence of systematic abuses and an
overall reactive approach to insecurity stemming from a chronic lack of crime
prevention efforts. To remedy the situation, the group calls for greater
emphasis on POLICE professionalization, protecting vulnerable groups, and
reforms to make every level of government more responsive to citizens’ input.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/mexico-digs-into-ties-between-leader-builder-1417657132?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj">WSJ
has an update on Mexican President Peña Nieto’s “Casa Blanca” scandal</a>, noting
that the opposition is calling for investigations into his ties to a luxury
home owned by a private contractor that has won lucrative contracts. As the
paper notes, most attention has been focused on Peña Nieto’s relationship with
the company prior to assuming the presidency, but public records show the firm
has continued to receive high-profile contracts under the current
administration. Meanwhile, <a href="http://aristeguinoticias.com/2611/mexico/la-otra-casa-de-grupo-higa-al-servicio-de-epn-en-las-lomas/" target="_blank">Aristegui Noticias</a> reports that Peña Nieto made use of
another property belonging to the same company in 2012 when he was
president-elect.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/usaid-study-centam-community-crime-prevention">InSight
Crime</a> has a useful analysis of another LAPOP report with important
ramifications for security in the Americas: one of the first <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/Regional_Report_v12c_final_W_111914.pdf">quantitative
assessments of USAID’s crime prevention work in Central America</a>. By measuring
survey responses in 127 crime-plagued neighborhoods in Honduras, El Salvador,
Guatemala and Panama from 2010 to 2014, LAPOP was able to identify a
significant reduction in murders, extortion and other crimes in areas that benefitted
from USAID’s work. As Insight Crime notes, the report illustrates the potential
promise of community crime prevention efforts, though doubts about the
sustainability of these programs remain.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday, the Colombian government and
FARC negotiating teams released a statement announcing that the two would <a href="http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/gobierno-y-farc-adelantan-segunda-reunion-para-retomar-proceso-de-paz-178831">resume
peace talks on December 10</a>. As <a href="http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/proceso-de-paz/farc-y-gobierno-reanudan-proceso-de-paz/14926015">El
Tiempo</a> reports, the parties also agreed to create a mediation mechanism involving
the guarantor countries of Norway and Cuba in order to resolve any unexpected
conflicts in the future.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141203/ministerio-publico-imputa-a-maria-corina-machado-por-delito-de-conspir">El
Universal</a> reports that Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado
has formally been accused of involvement in an alleged plot to kill President
Nicolas Maduro. Prosecutors met with Machado yesterday to inform her of the
conspiracy charges she faces, which carry a maximum potential prison sentence
of 16 years. The AP notes that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, one of the strongest
supporters of sanctioning Venezuela, called the case a “travesty.” Assistant
Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson also reacted
to the charges yesterday, <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/12/234665.htm?hootPostID=4235d65c0964b30501f3ae13f58c690a">issuing
a statement</a> saying that the administration was “deeply concerned by what
appears to be the Venezuelan government’s continuing effort to intimidate its
political opponents.” More in today’s U.S. press from the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/americas/venezuela-assassination-plot-maduro-machado.html?ref=americas">New
York Times</a> and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/venezuelan-opposition-leader-is-charged-in-plot-on-presidents-life-1417634955">Wall
Street Journal</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Just as environmental negotiators are meeting
in Peru for UN climate talks, a recent report by a Brazilian climate scientist
is causing a stir. According to a study by Antonio Donato Nobre of the Center
for Earth System Science, deforestation in the Amazon could explain a decrease
in precipitation in areas downwind of the rainforest, making it a potential
contributor to the current record drought in São Paulo, as <a href="http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/12/04/actualidad/1417654351_309031.html">El
Pais</a> and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/deforestation-root-brazil-drought-27355018?singlePage=true">Reuters</a>
report.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After two weeks of debate, Brazilian
President Dilma Rousseff scored a narrow victory last night in the passage of a
bill that will allow her administration to get around its budget target for the
year, <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/depois-de-quase-19-horas-congresso-aprova-texto-principal-mas-nao-conclui-votacao-da-meta-fiscal-14725288">O
Globo</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/12/04/world/americas/04reuters-brazil-rousseff.html?ref=americas">Reuters</a>
report.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The White House marked the five-year
anniversary of the imprisonment of USAID contractor Alan Gross yesterday with
Press Secretary Josh Earnest <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2014/12/03/obama-cuba-alan-gross/19825239/">calling
for his release on humanitarian grounds</a>, a move the official said would "remove
an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and
Cuba."</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The AP reports on a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/women-seek-justice-for-chilean-dictatorship-rapes/2014/12/04/22b12ece-7b73-11e4-8241-8cc0a3670239_story.html">dictatorship-era
sexual violence trial moving forward in Chile,</a> involving four women who say
they were raped after being detained by military officials. The four testified
before a judge this week, and are seeking to pressure the Chilean government to
classify the rape of political prisoners and torture as political crimes, which
would allow for harsher sentencing. </li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-19886957907293566712014-12-03T09:14:00.001-05:002015-01-06T11:19:37.374-05:00U.S. Legalization Takes a Toll on Mexico Drug Profits<div class="MsoNormal">
Recent weeks have brought near constant reminders
of Mexico’s troublingly weak rule of law, and President Enrique Peña Nieto’s police
reform plan seems unlikely to make major gains on this front. But the news out
of Mexico is not all bad. According to recent indicators, Mexico’s violent
cartels are taking a big hit to their pocketbooks from cannabis legalization
and decriminalization initiatives in the United States.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As mentioned in <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/12/ecuadors-opposition-pushes-for-popular.html">yesterday’s
briefing</a>, Peña Nieto has officially presented his new security proposal to
the Senate, and its full text includes some provisions that would <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/el-estado-podra-intervenir-un-municipio-aun-cuando-tenga-pruebas-de-infiltracion-del-crimen/">increase
the federal government’s role in law enforcement</a>, as well as place
municipal police under state authority. The proposal has been criticized as
insufficient not only by <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/mexican-civil-society-skeptical-of-epns.html">human
rights groups</a>, but by security experts as well. In an <a href="http://www.eluniversalmas.com.mx/editoriales/2014/12/73615.php">El
Universal column published yesterday</a>, analyst Alejandro Hope points out
that Peña Nieto’s revamped “mando unico” plan is neither a new idea, nor a good
one. After all, studies (see <a href="http://causaencomun.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Observaciones-a-las-policias-estatales-de-M%C3%A9xico-2014.pdf">Causa
en Comun</a>’s analysis of state police forces, or the Insyde/Fundar/Tlachinollan
Human Rights Center <a href="http://insyde.org.mx/portfolio/diagnostico-de-la-policia-municipal-de-la-montana-de-guerrero/">case
study on police abuses in Guerrero</a>) have repeatedly shown that state police
can be just as corrupt and abusive as their local counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While Mexico seems unable to make major headway
against corruption and organized crime, there is still room for optimism in its
fight against drug trafficking networks. As NPR’s John Burnett notes in a <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/12/01/367802425/legal-pot-in-the-u-s-may-be-undercutting-mexican-marijuana">recent
piece filed from Sinaloa’s marijuana-growing region</a>, legalization and
decriminalization of the drug in the U.S. appears to be having an impact on
growers and traffickers. From NPR:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">“Two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2
pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90,” says Nabor, a 24-year-old pot
grower in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. “But now they're paying us
$30 to $40 a kilo. It's a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize
pot, they'll run us into the ground. […]The day we get $20 a kilo, it will get
to the point that we just won't plant marijuana anymore.”</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of course this evidence is anecdotal, but
it is not the only such indicator. In April the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/tracing-the-us-heroin-surge-back-south-of-the-border-as-mexican-cannabis-output-falls/2014/04/06/58dfc590-2123-4cc6-b664-1e5948960576_story.html">Washington
Post</a> also reported that the wholesale price of marijuana is falling, with
farmers in Sinaloa’s Golden Triangle region complaining that they are unable to
turn a profit on the crop. These accounts seem to confirm a <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/study-legalization-cut-cartel-profits-by-30">2012
report by Hope and Eduardo Clark</a>, published by the Mexican Institute of
Competitiveness (IMCO), which asserted that Mexican cartels would see 22 to 30
percent revenue losses if Colorado, Oregon and Washington state legalized
marijuana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This development has upsides and downsides.
If the potential trend holds, it will be positive news for countries like
Uruguay, which is implementing its historic cannabis regulation law with the
express purpose of <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2013/12/how-to-evaluate-uruguays-marijuana.html">dealing
a blow to organized crime</a>. It may also help legalization advocates push
their cause in states with greater shares of Mexico’s cannabis market like
California, which will likely face a vote on the issue in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But marijuana legalization may not be the
magic bullet that many drug policy reform advocates hope for. For one thing,
evidence suggests Sinaloa farmers are increasingly switching one drug for
another, choosing to plant opium instead. This trend has been linked to a
recent <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/29/116739_as-poppy-fields-flourish-in-mexico.html?rh=1">surge
in heroin use across the U.S</a>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Additionally, Mexico’s most recent crime
statistics do not provide any evidence that a drop in marijuana profits
translates to reduced violence or criminal activity. The government has touted
a drop in homicides since 2012, but high <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/mexico-nabs-another-kingpin.html">rates
of kidnapping and extortion</a> persist. And as recent <a href="http://www.vocativ.com/underworld/crime/avocado/">reporting on
agricultural extortion in Mexico</a> illustrates, Mexican cartels have an
impressive ability to diversify their criminal portfolios.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Ultimately, while drug decriminalization and
legalization initiatives can deal significant blows to criminal networks, it
seems they are no substitute for judicial and law enforcement reforms that help
build a trustworthy police force and functioning independent court system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday Transparency International
released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which compiles nationwide surveys
to show how corrupt the public sectors of different countries are, according to
their citizens. On Latin America, little has changed since last year’s survey
was published. As <a href="http://blog.transparency.org/2014/12/03/corruption-in-the-americas-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly">TI’s
own regional analysis of the survey</a> points out, this is likely a negative
sign, as it suggests that the governments of the Americas have made little
progress in the fight against corruption. In its analysis of the TI report, news
site <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/como-anda-mexico-en-corrupcion-el-peor-de-la-ocde-segun-transparencia-internacional/">Animal
Politico</a> highlights the fact that Mexico remains the lowest-ranking OECD
member. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/noticias/2014/12/141202_ranking_transparencia_internacional_brasil_df_lgb">BBC
Mundo</a> notes that while Brazil has risen by three places in the ranking,
from 72 last year to 69, this is no great achievement as this is the same
ranking the country received in 2012.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today marks the fifth year of USAID contractor
Alan Gross’ imprisonment in Cuba. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/03/us-cuba-usa-gross-idUSKCN0JH0AF20141203">Reuters
notes</a> that his wife Judy Gross has released a statement recognizing the
anniversary and warning that her husband’s mental and physical health is in terrible
condition. “After five years of literally wasting away, Alan is done,” the
statement reads. ABC news reports that White House sources have said that the “National
Security Council and president are aware of Gross’s condition and are working
on a solution,” but there is little hope that the Obama administration will accept
a Cuban proposal to trade Gross for three remaining Cuban intelligence
officials sentenced to prison in the U.S.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://fusion.net/story/31096/obama-executive-action-cuba-policy/">Fusion
has a more optimistic report on U.S.-Cuba relations</a>, noting that many Cuba
watchers are becoming increasingly hopeful that President Obama has been emboldened
by his recent executive action on immigration, and may take a similar approach
to Cuba policy.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Venezuela’s figure Maria Corina Machado is
due in court today to face charges that she and others in the opposition <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/charges-filed-against-yet-another.html">plotted
to assassinate</a> President Nicolas Maduro. <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Maria-Corina-Machado-Maduro-renuncie_0_530946901.html">El
Nacional</a> reports that the opposition leader says she intends to present
herself to authorities today not to surrender, but to “confront injustice.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A landmark case for gay rights in Colombia,
involving a man who was denied his deceased partner’s life insurance funds due
to his sexual orientation, is making its way through the Inter-American human
rights system. <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/judicial/discriminacion-contra-lgbti-cidh-articulo-531119">El
Espectador</a> and <a href="http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/caso-por-derechos-lgbti-en-colombia-llega-a-cidh/20141202/nota/2533758.aspx">Caracol</a>
report that yesterday the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights <a href="http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/prensa/Comunicados/2014/144.asp">passed the
case on to the Inter-American Court</a>, making it the first time that the
country has faced a case of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
in the regional human rights court.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As both sides of Colombia’s peace talks start
to <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/farc-government-meet-reviving-colombia-peace-talks-213715723.html">ease
back into negotiations</a> in the wake of the recent crisis, President Juan
Manuel Santos has issued a warning to potential spoilers of the talks in the
country’s armed forces, an issue highlighted by recent reports that elements in
the military <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/02/wiretapping-highlights-mistrust-of.html">are
spying on the negotiations</a>. “Any officer, however important they may be, who
gives the slightest expression of disloyalty or lack of discipline will be
removed from the military,” said Santos in an <a href="https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/santos-advierte-aceptar%C3%A1-deslealtad-fuerzas-militares-034652682.html">interview
with Canal Capital</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>For Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, it
seems the honeymoon period is over. <a href="http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2014/12/03/692847/adimark.html">Emol
reports</a> that a new Adimark poll has found that her approval rating (42
percent) is ten points lower than her disapproval rating (52 percent), which is
at its highest point since she took office.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Uruguayan President-elect Tabare Vazquez
revealed his top cabinet picks in a press conference last night. <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/vazquez-priorizo-confianza-cuota-politica.html">El
Pais</a> reports that while some of the selections -- like keeping Eduardo Bonomi as interior
minister and placing Danilo Astori at
the helm of the economics ministry -- are likely due to internal agreements within
the ruling Frente Amplio coalition, most of them seem to have been picked
according to their ties to Vazquez himself.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today, the <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/free-access.php">Latin American Public
Opinion Project (LAPOP</a>) of Vanderbilt University has released the data of
its latest AmericasBarometer poll, a survey covering attitudes towards democracy
across the hemisphere. The raw data, gathered in 28 countries across the
Americas, has been <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/free-access.php">made
available on the LAPOP web site</a>, and an analytical report on the latest
poll is due to be released later today.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the Ayotzinapa case continue to focus international
attention on Mexico’s disappeared, the AP reports that relatives of the missing
are feeling <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/relatives-search-for-mexicos-missing/2014/12/03/1bac3c96-7aaa-11e4-8241-8cc0a3670239_story.html">increasingly
empowered to begin their own searches for lost loved ones</a>, often without
the help of authorities. </li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-53389770760176401172014-12-02T09:40:00.001-05:002014-12-02T09:40:24.082-05:00Ecuador’s Opposition Pushes for Popular Vote on Reforms<div class="MsoNormal">
Ecuador’s fractured opposition is struggling
to challenge the constitutional reforms proposed by President Rafael Correa’s Alianza
Pais political movement, but have seen electoral authorities shoot down two bids
to hold a referendum in the past week alone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yesterday, opposition figure and 2013
presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso <a href="https://twitter.com/LassoGuillermo/status/539565288011083776">announced</a>
that the National Electoral Council (CNE) had rejected his party’s request to
begin gathering signatures for a popular vote on the reforms, which among other
things would <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21632575-vote-could-cost-president-correa-his-jobin-2017-if-you-cant-beat-em-referendum">end
term limits</a> for all elected officials. As <a href="http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/cne-nego-consulta-popular-compromiso.html">El
Comercio</a> reports, the decision came just days after the CNE denied a separate,
similar request submitted by the party of ex-President Lucio Gutierrez.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">According to <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/12/01/nota/4296621/compromiso-ecuador-debera-ir-corte-constitucional-consulta-popular">El
Universo</a>, in both cases the CNE found that the language of the proposed petition
questions had to be approved by the Constitutional Court before the parties could
begin gathering the 585,323 signatures needed to trigger a referendum. But as <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/opinion/2014/11/28/nota/4277426/corte-puede-todo?src=menu">columnist
Jorge Alvear Macias</a> notes, the logic behind the ruling has been heavily questioned.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the <a href="http://sitio.yasunidos.org/es/yasunidos/crononologia-de-hechos.html">case
of the Yasunidos campaign</a> -- the most recent example of a high-profile attempt
to organize a referendum -- the Constitutional Court issued a <a href="http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/economia/item/para-calificar-las-preguntas-la-cc-requiere-las-firmas.html">ruling
that seems to directly contradict the CNE’s decision</a>, finding that
electoral officials had to first endorse the validity of the campaign’s
signatures before the court could assess the language of the questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Officials in the CNE have said that the
difference in this case is the fact that the current referendum initiative <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/11/05/nota/4186741/camino-consulta-debe-partir-corte">involves
constitutional reforms</a>, which require the Constitutional Court’s approval
to move forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Nevertheless, the unclear procedures and
the apparent judicial obstacles ahead of the opposition’s attempts to organize
a referendum are sure to draw comparisons to the officials’ rejection of the Yasunidos
signature drive, which <a href="http://www.eiu.com/industry/article/321791016/cne-rejects-yasunidos-petition/2014-05-08">raised
questions about the independence of state institutions</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If the opposition manages to overcome the
odds -- which are compounded by its own divisions, as the existence of various
referendum petition requests shows -- and force a popular vote on the reforms,
the resulting showdown could gain popular support and deal a significant blow
to President Correa. Though the president remains largely popular, there is a
great deal of support for submitting the reforms to a vote. According to a <a href="http://www.cedatos.com.ec/detalles_noticia.php?Id=147">Cedatos poll</a> released
in October, 73 percent of the country is in favor of voting on a proposal to
allow indefinite reelection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto
officially submitted his security reform initiative to the Senate, and <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/procesa-congreso-paquete-anticrimen-1058700.html">El
Universal</a> has more on the text of the reforms. In addition to its proposal
to place the country’s municipal police under state control, <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/12/el-estado-podra-intervenir-un-municipio-aun-cuando-tenga-pruebas-de-infiltracion-del-crimen/">Animal
Politico</a> notes that the package would amend the constitution to allow the
federal government to assume security responsibilities in municipalities where
there is “sufficient evidence” of criminal presence, without stating what that
evidence would be.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Yesterday saw continued evidence that the Peña
Nieto administration is scrambling to put together an adequate response to the
country’s security crisis. Yesterday afternoon newspaper Reforma reported that the
president’s staff had <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=407763&v=3&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=407763&v=3">adjusted
his schedule for him to visit Iguala, the site of the recent disappearances, on
Wednesday</a>. But just seven hours
later, the paper announced that while the president would be in Guerrero state,
it was unclear if he would make a visit to Iguala. Then, late last night, the
administration allegedly <a href="http://www.reforma.com/aplicacioneslibre/preacceso/articulo/default.aspx?id=408153&urlredirect=http://www.reforma.com/aplicaciones/articulo/default.aspx?id=408153">indicated
that the entire trip had been cancelled</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Colombian general whose capture by the
FARC sparked a recent crisis in the peace talks, Gen. Ruben Dario Alzate, <a href="http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/pcd!3aportal_content!2fportales!2fmdn!2fservicios!2fiviews!2fgov.mdn.Visor_Noticia?idXml=/pccdesign/PortalMDN/Espanol/NoticiasFecha/Noticias/Shared%20Content/Plantillas/wpc_plantillaNoticias_1417481950151&page=0&date=01112014&url=/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/pcd!3aportal_content!2fportales!2fmdn!2fservicios!2fiviews!2fgov.mdn.Visor_Noticia&home=true">released
a statement yesterday</a> explaining why he traveled to an area with a heavy
rebel presence unarmed and with no security detail on November 16. According to
the general, he was in the area overseeing an energy development project, and
was dressed as a civilian in a bid to gain the local community’s trust. In the
same statement, Alzate also announced his retirement from military service, as
the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/colombian-general-captured-released-by-rebels-resigns-1417492086">WSJ
reports.</a> News site <a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/el-general-recupero-su-libertad-pero-no-su-credibilidad-49197">La
Silla Vacia</a> claims that sources in the military say Alzate was largely
forced into retirement by the army leadership, which felt embarrassed by his
errors.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The FARC and government negotiating teams
will resume dialogue today in Havana, where chief government negotiator
Humberto de la Calle has said that the two sides will begin a “cold evaluation”
of the status of the talks in light of the recent crisis, <a href="http://www.180.com.uy/articulo/52391_Gobierno-colombiano-y-FARC-haran-evaluacion-fria-del-proceso-de-paz">AFP</a>
reports.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After Alzate’s release on Sunday, the FARC released
photos showing rebel commander Pastor Alape posing for a photo with the army
official, as well as images of Red Cross facilitators and representatives of
the guarantor nations of Cuba and Norway. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2014/12/141201_colombia_fotos_liberacion_alzate_polemica_aw">BBC
Mundo has an excellent overview of the controversy caused by the photos</a>,
noting that while the guerrillas may have intended them to fuel hopes for a lasting
peace, to many in the country they are a symbol of the armed forces’
humiliation.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The non-governmental Venezuelan Prison
Observatory (OVP) has <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-venezuela-prison-idUSKCN0JF3E820141201">publicly
questioned the official narrative regarding a prison riot last week</a> in
which 35 inmates allegedly died after breaking into a clinic and ingesting
toxic chemicals. According to the OVP’s Humberto Prado: “The (inmates) were
sent bottles of water and food... they haven't said who sent it, but it was let
into the prison and that's what family members say caused (the intoxications).”
Prado also said that the group believes as many as 41 prisoners were killed.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/vazquez-develara-noche-quienes-integraran.html">El
Pais</a>, Uruguayan President-elect Tabare Vazquez will announce his top cabinet
picks of his next term tonight at 8pm local time (5pm EST). For international
drug policy reform advocates, it will be particularly interesting to see who he
chooses for the next National Drug Secretary, in order to get a better sense of
how he will handle monitoring and evaluating the country’s cannabis regulation
law.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Monday, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights initiated a country visit to Honduras, where it will be meeting
with civil society representatives and government officials over the next five
days to evaluate the human rights situation around the country, <a href="http://www.tiempo.hn/naci%C3%B3n/item/10083-visita-%E2%80%9Cradar%E2%80%9D-har%C3%A1-la-delegaci%C3%B3n-de-la-cidh-en-honduras-no-oir%C3%A1n-denuncias">La
Tribuna</a> and <a href="http://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/772947-331/cidh-comienza-nueva-revisi%C3%B3n-en-honduras">El
Heraldo</a> report. Coinciding with the visit, <a href="http://cejil.org/comunicados/honduras-no-garantiza-plenamente-los-derechos-humanos-de-su-poblacion">a
group of 23 local and international civil society groups</a> have sent a letter
to the commissioners highlighting the growing level of violence in the country
and calling for them to pressure the government to adhere to international human
rights norms.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the fifth anniversary of the arrest and
imprisonment of USAID contractor Alan Gross nears, the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4189840.html">Miami
Herald</a> has an update on his health condition and questions the U.S.
government’s refusal to swap him with the remaining prisoners of the “Cuban
Five” on the grounds that Gross was not conducting secret intelligence work on
the island.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Forensic experts investigating claims that the
military poisoned the president toppled in Brazil’s 1964 military coup, João
Goulart, have found no evidence to back this up. An autopsy has determined that
he likely died of natural causes, as <a href="http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/politica/noticia/2014-12/autopsia-para-determinar-causa-da-morte-de-jango-e-inconclusiva">Agencia
Brasil</a> reports.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-3260057155805761532014-12-01T08:33:00.003-05:002014-12-01T09:56:34.307-05:00The Top 3 Challenges for Vazquez’s 2nd Presidency in Uruguay<div class="MsoNormal">
With 100 percent of ballots counted, Frente
Amplio (FA) candidate Tabare Vazquez has been elected to serve as Uruguay’s next
president, beating his National Party challenger Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou by <a href="http://www.espectador.com/politica/304802/tabare-vazquez-es-el-presidente-electo">53.6
to 41.1 percent</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Because of the Frente’s surprising retention of its congressional majority in the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/five-points-on-uruguays-legislative-vote.html">first-round vote</a>, the ex-president’s win means the ruling coalition will enjoy
control of the legislative and executive branches until 2020. But while Vazquez
will return to the presidency with a sizeable mandate, he will also have to
confront some important obstacles over the next five years. Among them:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Insecurity</u> - </b>Polls have consistently shown that
crime is the top concern among Uruguayans. A November 2013 survey found
that <a href="http://www.espectador.com/sociedad/278697/inseguridad-el-tema-que-mas-preocupa-a-uruguayos">46
percent</a> listed insecurity as their greatest concern, followed by education
at 16 percent. From a regional perspective, this puts Uruguay <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/uruguay-segundo-america-preocupacion-delincuencia.html">behind
only Venezuela</a> in terms of the percentage who name insecurity as their
country’s main issue. While this may seem ironic for a nation with one of the
lowest crime rates in the Americas, the 289 homicides seen in 2012 set a new record,
and last year’s figure (285) was barely lower than that. What’s more, official
statistics for the first half of 2014 show that armed robberies (“rapiñas”) <a href="https://www.minterior.gub.uy/images/stories/rapinas_hurtos_julio2014.pdf">increased
by 10 percent</a>, while the number of homicides fell only slightly (<a href="https://www.minterior.gub.uy/images/stories/homicidios_julio2014.pdf">6
percent, to a total of 151</a>) compared to the same period in 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Aside from promising a vague <a href="http://elecciones.republica.com.uy/tabare-y-las-10-medidas/">“integral
public security plan”</a> on the campaign trail, Vazquez has offered no details
on how he will address the issue. He has mostly promised to continue the
current <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/tabare-vazquez-prometio-reforzar-policia.html">emphasis
on training and professionalizing</a> the police force, which has been aided by
the Mujica administration’s <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/policia-mejor-sueldo-atrae-vez-interesados.html">increase
of police salaries.</a> And he has <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/hay-mas-preocupacion-tema-seguridad.html">also
told journalists</a> that he will reduce prison overcrowding and create
programs to provide compensation to crime victims. Ultimately, however, Vazquez
seems to be preparing a security policy based on continuity, and has come under
fire for announcing that <a href="http://www.espectador.com/politica/298793/de-ser-electo-vazquez-mantendria-a-eduardo-bonomi-y-jorge-vazquez">he
will keep current Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi</a> in place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Internal FA politics</u> -</b> The decision to
stick with Bonomi, who is a member of President Jose Mujica’s Movement of
Popular Participation (MPP), points to another challenge for the next
administration: appeasing all the factions in the Frente Amplio’s diverse
coalition. This will be particularly challenging for Vazquez, as he has made a
name for himself as more moderate than the MPP and the Frente’s more left-wing
elements. As president, Vazquez left the FA’s Socialist Party due to his personal
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/uruguay/3568036/Uruguays-President-Tabare-Vazquez-resigns-from-Socialist-party-over-abortion-vote.html">opposition
to a 2008 abortion legalization bill</a>, which he vetoed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In his next administration, it will be much
more difficult for Vazquez to alienate the FA’s left. For one thing, in the
next legislative session the MPP will be the <a href="http://www.espectador.com/politica/302684/el-frente-amplio-se-acerca-al-48-de-los-sufragios"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">largest Frente Amplio faction</span></a>
in both houses, which may prevent Vazquez from tacking towards the center as often
as he has in the past. Additionally, <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/mujica-asumira-banca-senado-anos.html">Mujica
himself will hold a senate seat</a>, and his popularity (his approval rating is
<a href="http://www.teledoce.com/telemundo/nacionales/cifra-62-le-tiene-simpatia-a-mujica-58-aprueba-su-gestion/">close
to 60 percent)</a> means that he will be well-poised to press for a more
progressive agenda over the next several years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As today’s <a href="http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/293179/sendic-y-el-desafio-interno-de-moderar/">El
Observador </a> notes, Vazquez may have a
key ally on this front in his running mate, Vice President-elect Raul Sendic.
The son of the Tupamaro leader of the same name, Sendic has close ties to
Mujica even though he has developed his own FA sector over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Tying up Mujica’s loose ends</u></b> - Vazquez will
also assume the presidency faced with managing a number of ongoing projects started by his
predecessor. The most notable of these is the country’s historic cannabis
regulation law, which remains only partially implemented nearly a year after it
was signed. While the newly-created Institute for Regulation and Control of
Cannabis (IRCCA) has begun registering home cultivation and “cannabis clubs,” the
details of the commercial sales that are the law’s signature element remain unclear. Currently, the IRCCA is working on <a href="https://www.blogger.com/As%20to%20the%20bidders%20who%20made%20the%20cut,%20there%20are%2018.%203%20UY%20companies%20are%20still%20competitive%20(Martin%20says%20one%20dropped%20out%20due%20to%20lack%20of%20financing.%20I%20don't%20know%20if%20he%20means%20that's%20why%20there%20are%20only%203%20left.%20I%20think%20so%20b/c%20there%20were%204).%20Then%20there%20are%20several%20UY-foreign%20company%20joint%20bidders%20(no%20pun%20intended)%20and%20some%20entirely%20foreign,%20including%20partnerships%20like%20Suiza-Israel.">narrowing
a list of some 20 potential commercial growers</a> down to between three and
five finalists. Even assuming the winners of the bid are selected this year, officials
in the current administration have admitted that <a href="http://www.lr21.com.uy/comunidad/1203991-preven-que-las-farmacias-podran-vender-marihuana-en-marzo">sales
won’t likely begin until March.</a> Once
they do, it will fall to Vazquez to monitor the law’s implementation to ensure
its success, which he has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLQuaTrAZ3k&t=8m22s">promised to
carry out with an objective eye</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As Ignacio de los Reyes has pointed out for
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2014/12/141130_uruguay_tabare_vazquez_elecciones_presidente_herencia_mujica_irm">BBC
Mundo</a>, another initiative that may fall on Vazquez’s shoulders unless resolved
before his March inauguration is the transfer of six Guantanamo detainees to the
South American country. The Mujica administration has reportedly sought to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/us/politics/decaying-guantanamo-defies-closing-plans.html?_r=1">delay
their arrival</a> until after yesterday’s election in order to minimize
political risk.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><u><b>News Briefs </b></u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s security
plan has continued to be met with skepticism from human rights groups. On top
of the local NGOs <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/mexican-civil-society-skeptical-of-epns.html">mentioned
in Friday’s post</a>, the AFP <a href="https://www.blogger.com/v">reports</a> that international organizations
have criticized it as well, with Amnesty’s Americas director likening it to “trying
to fix a broken leg with a band-aid.” Another obstacle to the president’s plan is
his flagging legitimacy. <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/encuesta-baja-indice-de-aprobacion-de-epn-1058423.html">El
Universal</a> reports that a new survey released today shows Peña Nieto’s
approval rating has fallen to 41 percent, its lowest point since he took office.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/11/senadores-y-diputados-definiran-el-lunes-proceso-legislativo-iniciativas-de-seguridad-de-pena/">Animal
Politico</a>, Mexican lawmakers will meet today to discuss the president’s
security plan and begin debate on its proposed constitutional reforms.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Colombia’s FARC rebels released captured
General Ruben Dario Alzate and his two companions yesterday, clearing the way
for peace talks between the government and the guerrillas to resume. <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/tras-liberacion-del-general-alzate-se-reanuda-el-proceso-de-paz-solido-debilitado/410831-3">Semana</a>
magazine notes that the move may indicate the strength of peace process and the
rebels’ commitment to peace, though only time will tell if both sides will be
able to agree to wind down the decades-long conflict. Meanwhile, it remains
unclear what Alzate was doing dressed as a civilian in a FARC-controlled area
without any protection, as <a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/el-general-no-tiene-quien-lo-defienda-49185">La
Silla Vacia</a> notes. <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/santos-espera-respuestas-del-general-alzate-sobre-su-se-articulo-530701">El
Espectador</a> reports that Santos has called on the general and the armed
forces to explain his actions today.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Dominican President Danilo Medina has made
headlines for reforms to the country’s strict abortion ban. In a Friday letter
to legislators explaining his veto of a law that would double prison sentences for
abortions, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/dominican-leader-supports-abortion-in-some-cases/2014/11/29/d0086f0c-77f8-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html">Medina
called on lawmakers</a> to decriminalize the procedure in cases of rape or when
the mother’s life is in danger.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-maduro-plans-to-slash-spending-as-oil-price-drops-1417226808?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj">Wall
Street Journal</a> reports on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s recently
announced plan to cut public spending in the face of falling oil prices. While
he promised that no cuts would be made to social programs, he said he would
begin to evaluate government workers’ salaries to minimize excess.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the UN climate talks kick off in Lima
today, the recent pledges from the U.S., China and European Union have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/01/world/americas/ap-lt-peru-climate-talks.html?ref=americas&_r=0">led
to increased optimism</a> about an eventual world treaty on emissions. But as
the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/12/01/world/americas/ap-lt-peru-climate-talks.html?ref=americas&_r=0">New
York Times</a> reports, climate scientists say that it may be impossible to
prevent the planet’s atmosphere from rising more than degrees
Celsius.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A wave of police killings in Rio de Janeiro
favelas has renewed attention on violent crime in the city’s most troubled
favelas. In the last week alone, five military police and a pacification
officer in the Mare favela complex have been killed, bringing the number of
police killed this year in Rio to a total of 105. <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/beltrame-convoca-reuniao-para-discutir-onda-de-ataques-policiais-14702794">O
Globo reports</a> that Rio state security secretary José Mariano Beltrame marked
the killings yesterday by calling for “institutional action” to be taken by legislative
and judicial authorities.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-21593941702318351482014-11-28T09:47:00.001-05:002014-11-28T09:47:37.702-05:00Mexican Civil Society Skeptical of EPN’s Security Plan<div class="MsoNormal">
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled
a <a href="http://www.publimetro.cl/nota/mundo/ayotzinapa-10-propuestas-del-presidente-de-mexico-para-fortalecer-la-seguridad/oEpnkA!s7rl_YL5S5KLu2pUVhUHQw/">highly
anticipated ten-point security reform package</a> yesterday. But while the plan
is laudable for incorporating civil society demands on transparency and accountability,
Mexican human rights advocates have doubts about its language regarding police reform
and locating missing persons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/presenta-epn-plan-lo-reciben-con-reservas-1057811.html">El
Universal</a> notes that the plan (which he will present to Congress on Monday)
includes important steps towards making the government more transparent, a key
demand of Mexican civil society in light of the Ayotzinapa disappearances. Among
these is a plan to strengthen the country’s commitment to the <a href="http://www.opengovpartnership.org/">Open Government Partnership (OGP)</a>,
an international initiative to improve government and civil society cooperation
on accountability issues that Mexico helped launch in 2011. In compliance with
the OGP, <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/11/pena-nieto-acuerdo-seguridad-comision-anuncio-mensaje-palacio-nacional/">Animal
Politico</a> reports, Peña Nieto has instructed his secretary of public service
to develop an online portal detailing all suppliers and contractors working
with the federal government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Peña Nieto’s announcement <a href="http://www.articulo19.org/gobierno-mexicano-debe-comprometerse-con-la-justicia-social-para-considerarse-gobierno-abierto/">comes
in the wake of a letter sent to the administration last week</a> by Fundar, Article
19 Mexico, Gestion Social y Cooperacion (GESOC) and other local transparency and
human rights NGOs, which urged the government to stick to its OGP promises and work
for truth, justice and reconciliation for the victims of the 43 disappeared and
their families. The statement was also backed by some 30 other civil society organizations
in the region, which met during the course of the OGP Regional Meeting for the
Americas last week in Costa Rica.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The transparency initiatives were not among
the most high-profile of its ten components, however. Most local and
international media coverage has focused on its proposal to make the current <a href="http://www.milenio.com/tribunamilenio/es_hora_de_que_desaparezcan_las_policias_municipales/policia_municipal-seguridad-caso_Iguala-normalistas_Ayotzinapa-Insyde_13_389491051.html">“mando
unico” initiative</a>, which aims to concentrate police authority in state
governments, mandatory across Mexico’s 32 states. The measure has been <a href="http://es.insightcrime.org/analisis/estancado-mando-unico-de-policia-bajo-pena-nieto">implemented
unevenly across the country</a>, and has been challenged by local officials
even in states where it has been fully passed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Mando unico has also been controversial among
security analysts. As Alejandro Hope puts it in a quote published in today’s <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/world/americas/mexican-leader-facing-protests-promises-to-overhaul-policing.html?ref=americas&_r=0">New
York Times</a>, “State police are not much better than municipal ones.” He is
not alone in this analysis. Ernesto Lopez Portillo, director of Mexico’s
Institute for Security and Democracy (Insyde), has consistently argued that the logic
of mando unico is flawed. As he wrote in
a <a href="http://www.milenio.com/tribunamilenio/es_hora_de_que_desaparezcan_las_policias_municipales/policia_municipal-seguridad-caso_Iguala-normalistas_Ayotzinapa-Insyde_13_389491051.html">recent
Milenio op-ed</a>, the real problem in the country is not local municipalities
have too much control over the police, but that there is a lack of political
will to properly commit to cleaning up police at all levels of government. </span>Lopez claims this is exacerbated, by government officials’ lack of
awareness of international best practices regarding law enforcement, which have
in recent years emphasized the importance of local police authority.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What’s more, there is concrete evidence that
replacing local police with state authorities does not result in less violence
or cleaner policing. A recent example is a <a href="http://insyde.org.mx/portfolio/diagnostico-de-la-policia-municipal-de-la-montana-de-guerrero/">report
released last month by Insyde, Fundar and the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center</a>
that documented 573 police abuses in the eastern Guerrero region of La Montaña between
2007 and 2013. Of these, 44 percent were
committed by state police forces, while 31 percent were committed by local
police, demonstrating that state authorities can be just as dirty as their municipal
counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The president’s plan has also come under
fire over its language on locating missing persons. The Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez
Human Rights Center, Fundar, and the Mexican Commission for the Defense and
Promotion of Human Rights (CMPDH) have <a href="http://centroprodh.org.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1419:medidas-anunciadas-por-pena-nieto-respecto-de-la-desaparicion-forzada-son-insuficientes-osc-y-victimas&catid=209:front-rokstories&lang=es">released
a joint press statement </a> criticizing
the president’s plan to create a “National Search System for Missing Persons,” noting that the president <a href="http://www.milenio.com/policia/busqueda_desaparecidos-personas_no_localizadas-plan_pgr_0_332966709.html">already
created a similar system in July</a>. These groups argue that this system did
nothing to prevent the disappearances of Ayotzinapa, nor does the current plan
seem to have a clear mechanism to prevent similar cases in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs </u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Uruguay’s second-round presidential vote
will take place on Sunday, and there is very little doubt about its outcome. As
<a href="http://www.180.com.uy/articulo/52296_Encuestas-marcan-que-Vazquez-sera-electo-presidente-este-domingo">Radio
180 reports,</a> the country’s major pollsters all show ex-president and Frente
Amplio candidate Tabare Vazquez with between 52 and 54 percent support,
compared with 39 to 42 percent for his opponent, Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou of
the center-right National Party.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>This week saw a development with important
consequences for Uruguay’s historic cannabis regulation law: <a href="http://ladiaria.com.uy/articulo/2014/11/hecha-la-ley/">the first arrest of
a government-licensed marijuana grower</a>. As La Diaria reports, on Tuesday a
registered cultivator was arrested for having “eight or nine” cannabis plants
in his home, which police seized as evidence. It is unclear whether the arrest
illustrates a gap between police activity and the language of the
recently-passed law, or whether the individual violated the law by growing more
than the maximum of six female plants. The paper claims that “not all” of the
plants seized were females, but does not specify if the suspect violated the limit.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The planned release of Colombian general
Ruben Alzate and his two companions, captured earlier this month by FARC
rebels, has been delayed by one day. As <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/paz/postergar-entrega-de-cautivos-al-domingo-injustificado-articulo-530179">El
Espectador</a> reports, the FARC responded to President Juan Manuel Santos’
announcement that the release would take place on Saturday by announcing that
it would in fact occur on Sunday, a change in plans that Defense Minister Juan Carlos
Pinzon called “without justification.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://politica.estadao.com.br/blogs/roldao-arruda/fernando-henrique-relembra-violencias-da-ditadura-militar/">O
Estado</a> reports that former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso gave
testimony to the country’s National Truth Commission on Wednesday, as the body
prepares its final report. In addition to Cardoso, the commission is also
expected to interview former president Lula and current leader Dilma Rousseff
on their respective experiences with repression at the hands of the country’s
military dictatorship.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21635056-appointment-capable-economic-team-good-brazil-signals-its-presidents">The
Economist</a> offers its take on Rousseff’s choice of Joaquim Levy as finance
minister, a selection that the magazine notes will likely be hailed by
investors but ultimately demonstrates how weak mandate her mandate will be when
she starts her second term. As <a href="http://t.co/k0DWiDm6sw">O Globo</a>
reported, the president finally confirmed the choice yesterday after letting rumors
circulate for a week.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In Venezuela
yesterday, officials announced that <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/27/world/americas/venezuela-prison-deaths/">at
least 13 inmates had died of drug overdoses</a> after allegedly storming a
prison clinic in Lara state and ingesting toxic chemicals. 145 others are being
treated for the intoxication, officials say. The non-governmental Venezuelan
Prison Observatory puts the number of dead even higher, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/11/141127_ultnot_venezuela_carcel_">asserting
that 33 have died in the incident</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina
Machado has responded to the charges filed against her by state prosecutors,
who accuse her of plotting to kill President Nicolas Maduro. In a press
conference yesterday, Machado said that she was a victim of political
persecution, and was being targeted for “saying there is a dictatorship in
Venezuela,” as the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-venezuela-opposition-20141128-story.html">L.A.
Times</a> reports. <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Maria-Corina-Machado-Uribana-responsables_0_527947209.html">El
Nacional</a> notes that Machado also questioned the official version of the
Lara prison incident.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/world/americas/a-border-limbo-for-the-displaced-at-home-in-mexico-no-more-.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0">New
York Times features a gritty look at drug addiction in Tijuana</a>, reporting
on a drainage canal known as “El Bordo,” a kind of border-town <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/the-changing-face-sao-paulos-crackland">“Cracolandia”</a>
where as many as 90 percent of its dwellers have been deported from the United
States. There are very little treatment
options available to them, and area shelters charge fees that are often
prohibitively expensive.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-79407230777649683632014-11-27T09:41:00.000-05:002014-11-27T09:44:53.296-05:00Charges Filed Against Yet Another Venezuelan Opposition Figure<div class="MsoNormal">
Venezuela’s attorney general has announced
that Maria Corina Machado will be charged in association with an alleged plot
to kill President Nicolas Maduro, making her the latest opposition figure to face
questionable and seemingly politically-motivated charges.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As <a href="http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Maria-Corina-Machado-comparecer-diciembre_0_526747468.html">El
Nacional</a> reports, yesterday the office of state prosecutor Luisa Ortega
Diaz announced that Machado had been ordered to appear before authorities on December
3 to face charges “for alleged links with the assassination plan against the President
of the Republic.” </span><a href="http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141126/fiscalia-imputara-a-maria-corina-machado-por-supuesto-magnicidio"><span lang="EN-US">El Universal</span></a><span lang="EN-US"> notes that six other well-known opposition figures have been linked
to the case by prosecutors, including former UN Ambassador Diego Arria, ex-governor
of Carabobo state Henrique Salas Römer and constitutional lawyer Gustavo Tarre
Briceño.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The charges ostensibly stem from <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/world/americas/us-alleged-to-join-in-plot-in-venezuela.html">vague
allegations first made in May</a> by heavyweights in the ruling United
Socialist Party (PSUV). As “evidence” of a supposed coup plot, these officials <a href="http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/denuncian-presunto-plan-de-magnicidio-contra-nicol.aspx">presented
private emails between the opposition figures</a> featuring critical remarks
about the Maduro administration. One of the messages highlighted by Chavista
leaders featured Machado telling Tarre that current U.S. Ambassador to Colombia
Kevin Whitaker had “reconfirmed his support and indicated new steps.” Yet despite
the alarmist claims by government officials, there seemed to be little to no incriminating
evidence in the emails.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For her part, Machado has consistently
denied any wrongdoing and <a href="https://twitter.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/537729588772618241">claims that
these charges are retaliation</a> for demanding that the leadership of the
current National Electoral Council be replaced, a major issue <a href="http://venezuelablog.tumblr.com/post/95369453414/a-new-election-referee-sizing-up-the-2015">ahead
of the 2015 legislative elections.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Should the case move forward, it is hard to
believe that it will not have repercussions for Venezuela’s image abroad. Machado
has made a name for herself internationally as a leading critic of the Maduro government
by <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/03/24-venezuela-machado-oas-negroponte">speaking
out against the loss of her legislative immunity</a> before the Organization of
American States (OAS) earlier this year. At the very least, a high-profile
court case against Machado -- on top of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-looks-set-to-lock-away-prominent-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopez/2014/09/01/7764ada7-7646-40e9-96ab-728431b9c8ae_story.html">highly
questionable trial against Leopoldo Lopez</a> -- would add fuel to the growing calls
in the U.S. for targeted sanctions against Venezuelan officials. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And while U.S. President Barack Obama has
been unwilling to expand sanctions in the past, he appears to have adjusted
this position. Just last week Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, Tony
Blinken, plainly signaled a willingness to work with lawmakers by <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-usa-venezuela-sanctions-idUSKCN0J400X20141120">“moving
forward with additional sanctions.”</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>As <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/presenta-penia-nieto-nuevo-plan-de-justicia-1057514.html">El
Universal</a> reports, today at mid-day Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is
expected to announce a new security and justice reform proposal, which he and his
administration have been touting in recent days as a <a href="http://diario.mx/Nacional/2014-11-25_6af1386f/iniciativa-de-legalidad-requerira-esfuerzo-de-todos-pena-nieto/">plan</a>
to “prevent the tragic events of Iguala from repeating themselves.” Scarce details about the proposal have been
reported in the press, though the Mexican interior minister has said it will aim
to address weaknesses in the rule of law, <a href="http://www.milenio.com/politica/Pena_Nieto_anuncio_Estado_de_Derecho-Pena_debilidad-reforma_anticorrupcion_0_415158569.html">particularly
at the municipal level.</a> In anticipation
of Peña Nieto’s announcement, in recent weeks various civil society actors in
Mexico have been lobbying for the proposal to include certain measures. <a href="http://eleconomista.com.mx/tecnociencia/2014/11/25/ayotzinapa-ejemplifica-reto-seguridad-digital?cx_+Leido=Nota05">El
Economista</a> reports that research and advocacy group Fundar is calling for
the president to use this moment to commit to transparency and accountability in order to renew public faith in the state. Another
NGO, México Unido Contra la Delincuencia (MUCD), has presented the
administration with a “<a href="http://mucd.org.mx/recursos/Noticias/MxicorequiereunPlanEstratgicodeCombateal/documentos2/181114%20Conferencia%20MUCD.pdf">Strategic
Plan to Combat Corruption and Impunity,”</a> which stresses transparency as
well as cracking down on corruption and implementing long-delayed judicial reforms.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Regardless of its content, Peña Nieto’s implementation
of the plan is sure to be hindered by the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/26/us-mexico-president-idUSKCN0JA22220141126?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews">growing
corruption scandal</a> that has tarnished his own image. Already under fire for
his ties to a luxury home owned by a private contractor that has won lucrative
contracts, <a href="http://aristeguinoticias.com/2611/mexico/la-otra-casa-de-grupo-higa-al-servicio-de-epn-en-las-lomas/" target="_blank">Aristegui Noticias</a> reports that Peña Nieto made use
of another property belonging to the same company in 2012 when he was president-elect.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In a column for <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/11/26/why_america_is_to_blame_for_mexico_carnage_and_corruption_pena_nieto_obama_ayotzinapa_disappeared?utm_content=buffer36da0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#trending">Foreign
Policy</a>, John Ackerman argues that the U.S. government is “directly
responsible” for the Ayotzinapa disappearances, largely because of its support
of Peña Nieto's security strategy and failure to condemn corruption and human
rights violations.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ahead of the upcoming climate conference in
Peru, the Brazilian government has announced that the rate of deforestation of
the Amazon rainforest has <a href="http://g1.globo.com/natureza/noticia/2014/11/desmatamento-da-amazonia-legal-cai-18-em-um-ano-segundo-governo.html">fallen
18 percent from August 2013 to July 2014</a>. However, <a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/miriam/posts/2014/11/14/confusao-na-floresta-554765.asp">O
Globo’s Míriam</a> Leitão points out that this figure is misleading, as a
month-by-month breakdown shows that deforestation has sharply risen in the past
six months.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Julie Lopez of Guatemalan news site Plaza
Publica has an interesting <a href="http://www.plazapublica.com.gt/content/la-inseguridad-y-la-corrupcion-estan-vinculadas">interview
with Transparency International Americas Coordinator Max Heywood</a>, asking
him to elaborate on <a href="http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview">TI’s
Corruption Perception Index</a> and the causes of Central America’s low ranking.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Associated Press has a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/11/27/world/americas/ap-lt-private-policing-abridged.html?ref=americas">must-read
profile of the booming business of private security in Latin America</a>, which
has accompanied a rise in homicide and other violent crimes. The piece raises
some excellent points on insecurity in the region, noting that the rise in “guards-for-hire”
mostly offers increased protection to the wealthy and middle-class citizens who
can afford them, “leaving the poor majority to fend for themselves in a region
already suffering from world's worst income disparity.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also from the AP this morning is a look at the
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/11/27/world/americas/ap-lt-private-policing-vigilante-justice.html?ref=americas">“rondas
urbanas” in Cajamarca, Peru</a>. These citizen patrols consist of whip-toting
vigilantes who have been accused by human rights groups as acting as a kind of morality
police, even though many locals view them favorably. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following the FARC’s release of two
soldiers, the rebels are moving forward with the release of their three remaining
captives in Choco province. <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/liberacion-de-alzate-seria-el-sabado-articulo-529938">El
Espectador</a> reports that President Juan Manuel Santos has confirmed that
military operations in Choco have been suspended and that the release is being
slated take place on Saturday.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ecuador’s <a href="http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2014/11/27/nota/4274511/primer-debate-enmiendas-se-realizaria-proximo-lunes">El
Universo</a> has an update on the <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/ecuadors-top-court-backs-constitutional.html">constitutional
reforms</a> proposed by the ruling Alianza PAIS party, which would among other
things pave the way for President Rafael Correa’s indefinite reelection.
According to the paper, lawmakers are set to hold the first legislative debate
on the reforms on Monday, December 1.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>While the Venezuelan government has been
accused of making little progress on recent allegations of human rights violations,
it may be compensating for this by investigating abuses that occurred prior to the
election of the late Hugo Chavez. Spanish news agency <a href="http://www.diariolasamericas.com/187_america-latina/2815054_tribunales-investigan-191-de-72-000-casos-durante-guerra-sucia-en-venezuela.html">EFE
reports</a> that Attorney General Luisa Ortega has announced that a recently-created
“Truth Commission” has opened up investigations into some 200 out of 72,000
cases of specific violations committed in the context of the state’s 1958-1999 persecution
of left-wing groups. The commission’s creation has been largely praised, though
some local groups like <a href="http://www.derechos.org.ve/2014/10/03/a-32-anos-de-la-masacre-de-cantaura-provea-saluda-avances-en-la-investigacion-y-exige-sanciones-para-todos-los-responsables/">PROVEA
have raised concerns about its selective investigations</a>. For example, in
October PROVEA noted that PSUV Congressman Roger Cordero Lara -- accused of
taking part in a deadly bombing of a rebel camp in 1982 -- continues to enjoy legislative
immunity from prosecution for the crime.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-20036188356225743212014-11-26T09:21:00.001-05:002014-11-26T09:21:39.113-05:00FARC Release Captured Soldiers: 2 Down, 3 to Go<div class="MsoNormal">
Colombia’s <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/colombia-clears-hurdle-in-peace-talk.html">peace
talk crisis</a> cleared another hurdle yesterday as FARC guerrillas released
two soldiers who had been taken as prisoners last month in the northern department
of Arauca. The rebels have yet to release their three most controversial
captives, a necessary precondition for negotiations to continue, but FARC
leaders say they will likely be handed over by the coming weekend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/farc-entregaran-general-secuestrado/410220-3">Semana</a>
reports that that the two were presented to an International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) team along the border with Venezuela. In addition to the head
of the ICRC in Colombia, Christoph Harnisch, the team was accompanied by representatives
of the Cuban and Norwegian governments, further illustrating the <a href="http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/proceso-de-paz/proceso-de-paz-farc-liberara-a-general-y-demas-secuestrados/14856029">importance
of their role as guarantor nations</a>. According to <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/primeras-imagenes-de-liberacion-de-los-soldados-secuest-galeria-529616">El
Espectador</a>, the soldiers were then taken to a military hospital in Bogota
where they were greeted by Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the release of the two soldiers is a
positive development, the government has been clear that the Havana talks won’t
resume until the FARC turn over General Ruben Dario Alzate and his two
companions, who were captured in the department of Choco on November 16. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Fortunately, all signs indicate the rebels are
moving forward with the release, despite <a href="http://www.rcnradio.com/noticias/farc-dicen-que-liberaciones-estan-en-peligro-por-operaciones-militares-176684">issuing
a warning on Sunday</a> that military operations in Choco could jeopardize the
operation. In a press conference yesterday, the FARC negotiator known by the
alias <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-colombia-rebels-idUSKCN0J91PI20141125">Pablo
Catatumbo told journalists:</a> “If all goes well, I think this weekend we will
be able to say the general has returned home.” Ex-Senator Piedad Cordoba, who
has helped facilitate FARC captive releases in the past, told <a href="http://www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/paz-y-derechos-humanos/liberacion-del-general-alzate-sera-el-miercoles-o-jueves-piedad-cordoba-EA736723">El
Colombiano</a> that she had been told the release would take place either today
or Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even once the captives are freed and the
talks resume, the toll of the recent weeks’ drama on the negotiating climate remains
to be seen. President Juan Manuel Santos appears to be hopeful on this front,
telling reporters that the release of the two soldiers shows the “maturity of
the peace talks,” as <a href="http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/liberacion-de-soldados-demuestra-madurez-y-fortalece-proceso-de-paz-santos/20141125/nota/2523892.aspx">Caracol
Radio</a> reports. However, FARC leader Timochenko has said that Santos “changed
the rules of the game” by halting talks because of the general’s capture, and
that moving forward the negotiations will have to take “diverse considerations”
into account. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://lasillavacia.com/historia/el-costo-del-episodio-del-general-en-la-habana-49160">La
Silla Vacia</a> points out that while it is unclear what these new considerations
may be, it is apparent that both sides’ faith in talks has been tested. Meanwhile,
time is running out for both sides to put an eventual agreement to a vote, at
least if they hope to hold it alongside 2015 regional elections. As the <a href="http://lasillavacia.com/node/49010">news site has noted</a>, a final
accord would have to be signed by February 2015 in order for Congress to
authorize holding a referendum in the October vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Building on <a href="http://www.milenio.com/politica/Pena_Nieto_anuncio_Estado_de_Derecho-Pena_debilidad-reforma_anticorrupcion_0_415158569.html">previous
statements by his interior minister,</a> Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto yesterday
claimed to be preparing a plan to reform the rule of law in the country. As <a href="http://diario.mx/Nacional/2014-11-25_6af1386f/iniciativa-de-legalidad-requerira-esfuerzo-de-todos-pena-nieto/">Reforma
reports</a>, the president said his plan would require a “collective effort” by
lawmakers and society in general in order to “prevent the unfortunate events in
Iguala from repeating themselves.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mexico’s main left-wing opposition party,
the PRD, was dealt a major blow yesterday to its already tattered image in the
wake of public criticism of the <a href="http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=387860">party’s
ties to political corruption in Guerrero state</a>. As <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/impreso/cardenas-abandona-el-prd-por-8220profundas-diferencias-8221-220675.html">El
Universal</a> reports, PRD founder Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas -- who has played an
important elder statesman role over the years -- renounced his ties to the
party, criticizing current leadership’s decisions on based on “short-sightedness,
opportunism and complacency.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/brazils-rousseff-congress-face-off-over-budget-target-1416944818?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj">Wall
Street Journal</a> reports on a proposed Brazilian law which would change the
way the country calculates its national budget, which critics see as an attempt
by the Rousseff administration to get around missing its budget target for the
year.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2014/11/1553422-justica-condena-estado-do-rio-a-pagar-tratamento-para-a-familia-de-amarildo.shtml">Folha
de S. Paulo</a> has an update on the case of Amarildo de Souza, the Rio de
Janeiro bricklayer whose disappearance and murder set off mass protests last
year. According to the paper, the government of Rio state has been ordered by a
judge to pay Souza’s family for overdue pension funds, as well as to subsidize medical
and psychological treatment for their ordeal.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/venezuela-leftist-collectives-criminals-or-revolutionaries">InSight
Crime</a> features a highly informative analysis of Venezuela’s “colectivos,”
or militant leftist groups with various functions and structures that have both
worked and clashed with state agents. While the government of President Nicolas
Maduro has a mixed relationship with these groups, the author notes that it is
clear that they have enough political capital to make the administration avoid direct
confrontation with them.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In another look at growing alternatives to traditional
state power in Venezuela, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/on-venezuelas-communes-idyllic-future-is-just-over-the-rainbow/2014/11/25/838f3bf4-6602-11e4-ab86-46000e1d0035_story.html">Washington
Post</a> reports on government-supported communes, an initiative that some critics
say is meant to help undermine opposition-controlled local governments.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/argentina-president-returns-after-illness/2014/11/25/ff44c1b8-74f5-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html">returned
to her regular duties</a>, making her first public appearance yesterday after
being hospitalized three weeks ago for a colon infection.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Wrapping up a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/spain-urges-cuba-to-up-pace-of-economic-reforms/2014/11/25/82199994-74fe-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html">two-day
visit to Cuba</a>, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo took
the opportunity to remark yesterday that the government of Spain “would like to
see a more rapid pace to the economic reforms” on the island, with a view
towards allowing more private initiative and foreign investment.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In a recent <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/colombias-data-driven-fight-against-crime/?smid=tw-share&gwh=F7F36D81C51A21136364A79BE47DCB03&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion&_r=0">New
York Times op-ed,</a> journalist Tina Rosenberg profiles the epidemiological law enforcement strategy of Cali Mayor Rodrigo
Guerrero, who used rigorous statistical analysis to support policies aimed at mportant
homicide reductions in his city.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Also on Colombia, the Wilson Center’s Latin
America Program has a new report out this week on the <a href="http://go.wilsoncenter.org/jfZV0d0DM000a058UVX0400">FARC’s ties to Colombia's
illegal drug trade</a>. While author John Otis finds that there is little
evidence the guerrillas are involved in high-level international retail of
cocaine, he notes that the group’s control over coca-growing areas and drug
smuggling corridors make it “far more powerful and influential than any of the
country’s more traditional drug trafficking organizations.”</li>
</ul>
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-29098493751408436802014-11-25T09:43:00.001-05:002014-11-25T09:44:31.368-05:00Peru Court Rejects Fujimori's Re-Sentencing Appeal<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Despite concerns by civil society groups
over the partiality of the judge involved, Peru’s Supreme Court has rejected a
request by former President Alberto Fujimori’s defense team to amend his 25-year
sentence for human rights abuses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The petition was filed regarding Fujimori’s
role in ordering the Grupo Colina death squad to carry out killings and
kidnappings in 1991 and 1992. As <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/peru-court-to-review-fujimoris-sentence.html">previously
noted</a>, the former leader’s lawyers claimed that the court system contradicted
itself by naming both Fujimori and his top advisor Vladimiro Montesinos as the masterminds
of two death squad cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The selection of Judge Javier Villa Stein
to preside over the case was initially questioned by <a href="http://www.larepublica.pe/27-04-2014/idl-y-aprodeh-recusaran-a-villa-stein-si-no-se-inhibe">human
rights groups like APRODEH and IDL</a> because of public statements he has made
in support of Fujimori in the past, but these do not appear to have played a
role in the decision. As <a href="http://elcomercio.pe/politica/justicia/alberto-fujimori-pj-rechazo-su-pedido-revision-sentencia-noticia-1773667">El
Comercio</a> reports, the judge told reporters that he and others on the court “could
be for or against [Fujimori’s sentence], but we cannot do anything other than
what is established by the code of criminal procedure.” In his ruling, Villa
Stein found that there was simply no legal ground on which to review the
sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/141124/peru-court-rejects-ex-president-fujimori-sentence-review">AFP
points out</a> that the ruling is the second blow to Fuijmori’s defense team in
recent days, as on Friday a separate court found that he was ineligible to
serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In an unexpected development, <a href="http://www.rpp.com.pe/2014-11-24-defensa-de-alberto-fujimori-anuncia-que-recurrira-a-las-naciones-unidas-noticia_744936.html">RPP
reports</a> that Fujimori’s lawyers have responded to the ruling by claiming
that they plan to take his case to United Nations human rights organizations. William
Castillo, the ex-leader’s defense attorney, reportedly told journalists that the
Inter-American human rights system was not an option as it had shown a “political
bias” against his client.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The news agency notes that IDL’s Carlos
Rivera responded to the claim by pointing out that Chile’s Supreme Court granted
Fujimori's extradition to Peru in 2007, proof that, in his words, “all over the
world, it is possible to recognize serious civil rights violations like murder,
kidnapping and disappearances.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>While there has been plenty of recent
coverage on <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/21/how-obamas-executive-action-will-impact-immigrants-by-birth-country/">the
millions who will benefit</a> from U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive
action on immigration, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-us-deport-20141123-story.html">L.A.
Times</a> notes that many others outside the country will not, due to the aggressive
deportation strategy adopted by the administration in recent years.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It seems Mexican President Enrique Peña
Nieto may seek to use the recent protests over the Ayotzinapa disappearances to
push for reforms to the rule of law in the country after all. <a href="http://www.milenio.com/politica/Pena_Nieto_anuncio_Estado_de_Derecho-Pena_debilidad-reforma_anticorrupcion_0_415158569.html">Milenio
reports</a> that Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong has told journalists
that this week the president will make an “important announcement” regarding areas
“where there is weakness of the Mexican State…particularly in the
municipalities.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/11/nivel-federal-mexico-solo-tiene-dos-condenas-por-tortura-sexual-mujeres/">Animal
Politico</a> brings more bad news regarding the state of Mexico’s
investigations into human rights abuses: according to the Miguel Agustín Pro
Juárez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh), only two cases of sexual torture
have resulted in federal courts sentencing those responsible. The group is attempting
to raise awareness of the practice, and especially of its use by law
enforcement elements, in a new <a href="http://centroprodh.org.mx/rompiendoelsilencio/">social media campaign
called “Breaking the Silence.”</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The protests following last night’s grand
jury decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael
Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, have focused international attention on the issue
of proper policing and crowd control tactics. Reuters has a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/11/25/world/europe/25reuters-usa-missouri-shooting-widerimage.html?ref=americas">useful
rundown of rules of engagement regarding the use of deadly force around the
world</a>, noting that officers in Venezuela and Mexico have a license to
gradually escalate their responses based on the amount of violence employed by
protesters.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Following the FARC’s claims that the
liberation of General Ruben Dario Alzate and other captives was <a href="http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/judicial/noticias/farc-dicen-liberaciones-estan-peligro-por-operaciones-militares">being
hindered by ongoing military operations</a>, the Colombian army responded by <a href="http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/colombia-es/article4082443.html">denying
that any armed activity was being conducted</a> in Choco province, where the
prisoners are being held. Adding to this tension, yesterday Colombia’s smaller ELN
rebel group announced it would be enforcing a 24-hour armed curfew in its areas
of influence in Choco, <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/ejercito-implementa-medidas-amenaza-de-paro-armado-el-c-articulo-529468">El
Espectador</a> reports.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>As the investigation into <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/102212048">Brazil’s Petrobras scandal</a> deepens,
<a href="http://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/petrobras-notificada-por-orgao-regulador-americano-14649609">O
Globo</a> reported yesterday that the energy giant announced yesterday that it
had received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
requesting documents related to the inquiry.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/brazilian-probe-into-petrobras-sparks-worries-over-olympics-1416615388?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj">Wall
Street Journal</a> reports that the Petrobras scandal has also raised questions
about the involvement of the state company’s private partners, which include
multinational construction companies that have won lucrative contracts ahead of
the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Salvadoran <a href="http://www.elfaro.net/es/201411/academico/16273/C%C3%B3mo-identificar-a-los-comunistas-de-acuerdo-con-el-Manual-del-Guardia-Nacional-de-1974.htm">news
site El Faro</a> offers a sobering look at a 1974 handbook used by the Central
American country’s National Guard to determine whether rural suspects apprehended
by soldiers were “communists.” The manual suggested questioning detained
individuals about their religious beliefs, their attitudes towards the United
States, and their voting preferences in order to identify potential insurgents.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A court in El Salvador has ruled that
former President Francisco Flores, accused of embezzling millions during his
1999-2004 presidency<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2014/11/141124_ultnot_el_salvador_flores_domiciliaria_jgc">,
can be held under house arrest</a> due to health concerns. <a href="http://www.laprensagrafica.com/2014/11/24/expresidente-flores-de-nuevo-a-arresto-domiciliario">La
Prensa Grafica</a> reports, however, that the ruling has been appealed by
prosecutors to a higher court. </li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152417456360395929.post-26369470818527288802014-11-24T09:41:00.000-05:002014-11-24T09:57:44.500-05:00Guatemala’s Supreme Court Judges Take the Bench<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite allegations that backroom deals
political interests played an overwhelming role in their nomination, the 13 judges
who will serve on Guatemala’s Supreme Court for the next five years are <a href="http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141124/pais/5286/Tomar%C3%A1n-posesi%C3%B3n-nuevos-magistrados-de-la-CSJ.htm">set
to take office today</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As mentioned in <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/colombia-clears-hurdle-in-peace-talk.html">last
Thursday’s post</a>, the country’s Constitutional Court upheld the appointments
of the Supreme Court and appellate judges in a 3-2 ruling. <a href="https://nomada.gt/las-16-razones-por-las-cuales-se-debio-repetir-la-eleccion-de-las-cortes/">Nomada</a>
has extracts from the dissenting opinion in the case, which notes numerous conflicts
of interests, the lack of clear standard to appoint candidates on merit, and
the influence of favor-trading on the entire process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For the civil society groups that supported
a <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/10/top-guatemalan-court-suspends-judicial.html">freeze
on the nomination process</a> over these irregularities, the decision represents
a major blow to judicial independence. The <a href="http://myrnamack.org.gt/index.php/comunicados/488-comunicado-ante-el-fallo-proferido-por-la-corte-de-constitucionalidad">Fundacion
Myrna Mack</a>, for instance, has issued a statement slamming the ruling as an
attempt by the top Guatemalan judges to “ingratiate themselves with economic,
political and military powers, with a view to consolidating conditions of
impunity and protect the privileges of these powers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In spite of the defeat, the next step for
anti-impunity advocates in the Central American country appears to be endorsing
a proposal by the UN-backed Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to
hold a series of technical conferences to put together a clear agenda for
judicial reform. As <a href="http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/cicig-dialogo-reforma-justicia_0_1250275174.html">Prensa
Libre</a> has reported, the CICIG is preparing to release a new report this
week on the state of the many reform efforts that have emerged since the end of
Guatemala’s armed conflict in 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It remains to be seen, however, whether the
CICIG initiative will succeed where previous efforts have failed. The stakes
are high, as this may ultimately be the anti-impunity commission’s last
opportunity. Its current mandate set to expire in September 2015, and President
Otto Perez Molina has made it clear that he has no intention of renewing the
CICIG’s mandate, saying the <a href="http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20140912/pais/1781/Bancadas-a-favor-de-ampliar-mandato-de-la-CICIG-excepto-el-PP.htm">2012
extension would be its last</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>News Briefs</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>This morning, the Peruvian Supreme Court’s
Permanent Criminal Chamber is set to hear arguments on the merits of a <a href="http://www.thepanamericanpost.com/2014/11/peru-court-to-review-fujimoris-sentence.html">petition
submitted by imprisoned former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori</a> to
review his sentence. <a href="http://www.larepublica.pe/23-11-2014/carlos-rivera-no-hay-fundamento-para-revisar-condena-a-alberto-fujimori">La
Republica</a> reports that the Legal Defense Institute (IDL) will be observing
the proceedings, with IDL’s Carlos Rivera telling the paper that the case has
no merit and is merely an attempt to “keep the ex-president in the public
spotlight.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brazilian paper <a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/2014/11/1551446-levy-ira-para-a-fazenda-e-barbosa-para-o-planejamento.shtml">Folha
de S.Paulo</a> reported on Friday that President Dilma Rousseff will choose Treasury
Secretary Joaquim Levy as her administration’s new finance minister. While the
decision has not been confirmed, it could be interpreted as a nod to the
government’s critics of its economic policies, and Levy’s nomination has
already been <a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/2014/11/1552238-levy-ja-e-bombardeado-por-petistas-antes-de-ser-oficializado-na-fazenda.shtml">attacked
by figures in Rousseff’s Workers’ Party</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Today’s U.S. headlines feature several
analyses of President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration last week
from a Latin American perspective. The AP profiles the positive responses to
the move from the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/latin-america-applauds-obamas-immigration-plan/2014/11/22/793afb4e-7204-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html">governments
of Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador,</a> though the latter is also cautioning
its citizens that the order only applies to those who arrived before December 2009.
The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexicans-hope-immigration-reform-means-more-money-sent-back-more-visits/2014/11/22/33c17570-7187-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html">Washington
Post</a> reports on the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mexican-town-watches-immigration-reform-thinking-of-relatives/2014/11/20/ff63cfe2-7034-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html">hopeful
reactions</a> of Mexicans living along the U.S. border. The <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/21/how-obamas-executive-order-will-impact-immigrants-by-birth-country/">Pew
Research Center</a> meanwhile, has an interesting look at the demographic
breakdown of the birth countries of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., noting
that those born in Mexico will benefit the most from Obama’s plan, followed by
Central Americans.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>In a column for Mexican news site <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/blogueros-la-lucha-cotidiana-de-los-derechos-humanos/2014/11/21/10-reflexiones-necesarias-sobre-ayotzinapa/">Animal
Politico</a>, Simon Hernandez Leon of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human
Rights Center (Centro Prodh) has a useful breakdown of the top ten “lessons
learned” from the Ayotzinapa disappearances. Especially noteworthy is the author’s
justification of the protest chant “it was the state,” noting that while the
federal government did not order the disappearance of the 43 students, it
certainly failed to protect them or investigate their disappearance in a timely
manner.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Last week Mexico quietly updated the
official statistics on disappearances in the country, and the new figures are
not encouraging. This year alone more than 5,000 people have been disappeared
or gone missing, making <a href="http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/11/2014-el-ano-con-mas-casos-de-desapariciones-en-mexico-van-5-mil-98-victimas/">2014
the worst year on record for the crime</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Uruguayan President Jose Mujica’s
characteristically candid media strategy has gotten him into trouble. On Friday,
<a href="http://revistafal.com/ayotzinapa-es-muy-doloroso-mujica/">Foreign
Affairs Latinoamérica</a> published an interview with Mujica in which he was
asked about his opinion on Mexico’s security and rule of law crisis. The president
responded by saying that the Ayotzinapa case “gives one the sense, seen from a
distance, that this is a kind of failed state, in which public authorities have
completely lost control.” The Mexican government did not take kindly to the remarks,
and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has <a href="http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/mexico-citan-embajador-uruguay-dichos.html">called
on the Uruguayan ambassador to the country</a> to explain them. Mujica,
meanwhile, has gone into damage control mode. Late yesterday his office released
a statement by him which said that countries suffering from drug violence, like
Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a124cb609baf49488b0444fe00f27e06/mexico-summons-uruguays-ambassador-over-comment">"are
not, nor will be, these nations, innocuous or failed states."</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>It appears that Friday’s reports that the FARC
prisoners would be <a href="http://www.bluradio.com/82872/antes-de-48-horas-estaria-libre-el-general-alzate-segun-iglesia-catolica">released
in 48 hours</a> were misinformed. As <a href="http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/farc-improbable-liberacion-del-general-alzate-si-siguen-operativos/409979-3">Semana</a>
reports, the rebels announced yesterday that the release of General Ruben Dario
Alzate and his two companions was being hindered by the military’s continued
operations in the area where they were taken. The army has responded by
announcing a freeze on all operations in Choco province. Officials say,
however, that they have received the coordinates of the location of two
captured soldiers in Arauca, and that their release is underway, according to <a href="http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/paz/suspenden-operaciones-militares-liberacion-de-secuestra-articulo-529207">El
Espectador</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After a three-year investigation, a Chilean
judge has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/21/former-chilean-military-officers-jailed-death-father-president-michelle-bachelet">condemned
two former military officials to jail</a> for the 1974 torture and death of President
Michelle Bachelet’s father, Alberto Bachelet Martinez, who died while being
held in military custody by the Pinochet regime.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/chilean-moms-growing-support-for-medical-marijuana/2014/11/24/6011af06-7398-11e4-95a8-fe0b46e8751a_story.html">AP
profiles the work of “Mama Cultiva,”</a> a collective of some 100 parents in Chile
who are risking prison to grow medicinal cannabis as an alternative treatment for
their epileptic children.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Over at <a href="http://venezuelablog.tumblr.com/post/103460615729/venezuelas-police-revolution-rolling-back-or">Venezuelan
Politics and Human Rights</a>, Rebecca Hanson looks at President Nicolas Maduro’s
appointment of a federal commission to fight corruption within the country’s
police force. So far the commission has echoed past proposals to improve police
professionalization, and there is no guarantee these will be heeded by the
government, but Hanson argues that the commission’s investigation of visible
cases of police violence is a positive step forward.</li>
</ul>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11798391873079929963noreply@blogger.com0