NewsTrust - Latin America - Most Recent Stories

Editorial: An Assault on Democracy

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Iht Editorial - Jan. 23 (Opinion) - President Rafael Correa of Ecuador is trying to stifle a free press in his country and across the region.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Rural Peru gets connected | Mattia Cabitza

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Mattia Cabitza - Nov. 28 - More than 100 communities in rural Peru now have renewable energy and internet access, thanks to an aid programme that is being rolled out across the eight poorest nations in Latin America The connection was not of crisp video quality, but the chorus of schoolchildren from San José de Huamaní, near Ica in the south, could be heard loud and clear: "Good morning," they chanted. Hundreds of kilometres away, they were greeted with applause, through video link, by a brightly lit conference room full of Peruvian and European Union officials. They were meeting in Lima to announce the completion of an aid programme that is taking renewable energy and the internet to 130 rural communities in Peru. With funding from the EU, the Euro-Solar programme is being rolled out across the eight poorest nations of Latin America, such as Peru, at a cost of €36m ($47.6m/£30.9m). The aim is to benefit more than 300,000 people whose communities are not connected to the electricity grid. Via satellite ...

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Court Ruling Backs Ecuadorian Effort to Hold Chevron Accountable For Amazon Pollution

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 20 (News Report) - A U.S. appeals court has ruled oil giant Chevron cannot escape an $18 billion fine for massive pollution of the Amazon rain forest. Amazonian residents won the damages in an Ecuadorian court earlier this year, and Chevron says it will appeal the decision. It is the latest development in a complex, 18-year legal battle that has gone before judges not just in Ecuador and the United States, but also the Hague. We speak with Atossa Soltani, executive director of Amazon Watch, which has worked closely with the Amazon residents suing Chevron. Atossa Soltani is in New York City this week to draw attention to environmental causes in the Amazon in conjunction with two major gatherings, the Clinton Global Initiative and the United Nations General Assembly. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Genocide-Linked General Otto Pérez Molina Poised to Become Guatemala's Next President

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Sep. 15 (News Analysis) - Human rights groups have accused Pérez of being directly involved in the systematic use of torture and acts of genocide in Guatemala in the 1980s. Pérez has run largely on a platform of using "an iron fist" to crack down on drug cartels. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Mayan activist, Rigoberta Menchú, is one of nine other candidates challenging Pérez.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

"Granito: How to Nail a Dictator": New Film Tracks Struggle for Justice After Guatemalan Genocide

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Sep. 15 (Review) - A new documentary links Guatemala’s turbulent past with those who are active players in its present.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.S. aid implicated in abuses of power in Colombia

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Karen DeYoung, Claudia J. Duque - Aug. 20 (News Report) - The Obama administration often cites Colombia’s thriving democracy as proof that U.S. assistance, know-how and commitment can turn around a potentially failed state under terrorist siege. The country’s U.S.-funded counterinsurgency campaign against a Marxist rebel group — and the civilian and military coordination behind it — are viewed as so successful that it has become a model for strategy in Afghanistan. But new revelations in long-running political scandals under former president Alvaro Uribe , a close U.S. ally throughout his eight-year tenure, have implicated American aid, and possibly U.S. officials, in egregious abuses of power and illegal actions by the Colombian government under the guise of fighting terrorism and drug smuggling. ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Ex-President Uribe denies ordering Colombia’s intelligence agency to spy on judges, foes

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Washington Post - Aug. 18 (News Report) - More than 20 agents of the DAS intelligence agency have been imprisoned for alleged roles in the spying. Two have pleaded guilty in exchange for reduced sentences.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.2 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Guatemalan Soldiers Sentenced to 6,060 Years in Prison for Role in 1982 Massacre

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 04 (News Report) - a Guatemalan judge has sentenced four of the soldiers who carried out the Dos Erres attack to 6,060 years of prison each, 30 years per person they killed. The court also found the soldiers guilty of crimes against human rights, adding another 30 years to their sentences. It is the latest step in a process to end impunity for those involved in the deaths or disappearances of more than 200,000 people in the 1980s and 1990s. However, human rights groups allege General Otto Pérez Molina, now a leading presidential candidate in Guatemala, was directly involved in the systematic use of torture and acts of genocide in the 1980s and could block pending cases if he is elected.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Violence, Potential Job Losses Hang Over Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Dave Jamieson - Jul. 20 (News Report) - As U.S. lawmakers inch closer to enacting a long-stalled free trade agreement with Colombia, the deal's proponents have cited the safer atmosphere for finally pushing the deal through. But for Juan Cambindo, a Colombian sugar cane worker and union leader, the news of significant progress has come as a great surprise. Like many other Colombians, Cambindo says he has had his life threatened because of union ties. He first learned of his new and improved lot while watching television. "The United States was talking about how our situation has gotten better," Cambindo, who visited Washington last week to voice his opposition to the deal, told HuffPost through a translator (video below). "But that's not true. Our situation continues to be bad, and it's getting worse."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Los 33: Chilean miners face up to a strange new world

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Angus Macqueen - Jul. 17 (News Report) - The rescue of 33 miners from Chile's San José mine after 69 days trapped underground was a triumph shared with the whole world. But the transition back to normality is proving difficult for both the men and their families 'They are not heroes. We are not heroes. We are all victims," murmurs Lilly Ramírez, the uncompromising partner of Mario Gómez. At 63, he was the oldest of "the 33" Chilean miners who were trapped half a mile under the Chilean desert on 5 August 2010, and whose rescue became a global event for a TV audience of an estimated 1 billion people. Ever since they emerged 69 days later on the night of 12/13 October, I have been working on two BBC documentaries: about what happened while the men were down the mine – and what has happened to them and their families since. Now, as the first anniversary approaches, it is the tenacity and the suffering of the women – the wives and partners – that emerges. They and their men were certainly victims but I am not sure Lilly is right: there ...

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Chavez arrives in Cuba for cancer treatment

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Aljazeera - Jul. 17 (News Report) - Chavez, who will receive chemotherapy for the disease which was diagnosed in Havana about a month ago, arrived in Cuba on Sunday following a legislative vote approving his trip on Friday. "I am going to delegate some decisions that until now were mine, signatures and decisions, to vice president Elias Jaua and Jorge Giordani," Chavez said during a televised cabinet meeting before his departure. Chavez, 56, said doctors have found no more malignant cells in his body following earlier cancer surgery.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Monsanto Cash Incentives Under Federal Investigation

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Kathryn Gilje, - Jul. 16 (News Report) - n some circles, it would be called a bribe, at best. Evidence revealed last week shows that Monsanto's former Chief Financial Officer admitted that the agrichemical corporation planned to spend $150 million in cash and trade incentives in Latin America, North America and Europe to spur the uptake of the pesticide glyphosate, better known as RoundUp. $150 million is no small change - and surely that's not all that's been spent. The news came to light last week as part of an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sadly, small farmers around the world know all too well the carrot and stick approaches that Monsanto and other pesticide giants use to lure farmers (and nations) toward industrial agriculture and onto the pesticide treadmill.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Noam Chomsky denounces old friend Hugo Chávez for 'assault' on democracy

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Rory Carroll - Jul. 03 (Opinion) - Renowned American intellectual accuses the Venezuelan leader of concentrating too much power in his own hands Hugo Chávez has long considered Noam Chomsky one of his best friends in the west. He has basked in the renowned scholar's praise for Venezuela's socialist revolution and echoed his denunciations of US imperialism. Venezuela's president, who hasrevealed that he has had surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumour, turned one of Chomsky's books into an overnight bestseller after brandishing it during a UN speech. He hosted Chomsky in Caracas with smiles and pomp. Earlier this year Chávez even suggested Washington make Chomsky the US ambassador to Venezuela. The president may be about to have second thoughts about that, because his favourite intellectual has now turned his guns on Chávez. Speaking to the Observer last week, Chomsky has accused the socialist leader of amassing too much power and of making an "assault" on Venezuela's democracy. "Concentration of executive power, ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

In Nod to Latino Voters, Obama Makes Historic Visit to Puerto Rico Ahead of 2012 Elections

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 15 (News Report) - On Tuesday, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Puerto Rico in a half century. His trip underscored the growing importance that Puerto Ricans will play in the 2012 U.S. elections. Although Puerto Ricans living on the island cannot vote for president, there are about 4.6 million Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states, including an estimated 857,000 in the battleground state of Florida. We speak with University of Puerto Rico professor Maritza Stanchich about reaction to Obama's visit amidst the island's slumped economy, and violent police repression of student protests against tuition hikes. [includes rush transcript]

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Our Fantasy Nation?

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Jun. 06 (Opinion) - If Republicans seek a country with low taxes, little regulation and traditional family values, I have the perfect place for them. Body armor suggested.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Exclusive Interview with Manuel Zelaya on the U.S. Role in Honduran Coup, WikiLeaks and Why He Was Ousted

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 31 (Interview) - Shortly after Manuel Zelaya returned to his home this weekend for the first time since the 2009 military coup d’etat, he sat down with Democracy Now! for an exclusive interview. He talks about why he believes the United States was behind the coup, and what exactly happened on June 28, 2009, when hooded Honduran soldiers kidnapped him at gunpoint and put him on a plane to Costa Rica, stopping to refuel at Palmerola, the U.S. military base in Honduras. “This coup d’etat was made by the right-wing of the United States,” Zelaya says. “The U.S. State Department has always denied, and continues to deny, their any ties with the government with the coup d’etat. Nevertheless, all of the proof incriminates the U.S. government. And all of the actions that were taken by the de facto regime, or the contista regime, which are those who carried out the coup, favor the industrial policies and the military policies and the financial policies of the United States in Honduras.”

NewsTrust Rating: 4.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Zelaya’s Daughter Pichu Recalls the Honduran Military’s Brutal Kidnapping of Her Father in 2009

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 31 (News Report) - In the early morning hours of June 28, 2009, masked soldiers raided the Zelaya home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. President Zelaya’s daughter Xiomara Hortensia “Pichu” Zelaya hid under the bed as soldiers fired shots into the home. Following the coup she went into exile and hadn’t seen her home until Saturday. “My dad, when he heard the gunshots, he went out of his room, and he went to my room, told me to get dressed up, because the military are coming,” Pichu Zelaya says. “And I heard the gunshots and everything. So he told me to hide, to find somewhere to hide.” [includes rush transcript]

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Zelaya’s Son Héctor: The Honduran Resistance Helped Pave the Way for Our Return

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 31 (News Report) - We speak with Héctor Zelaya, son of former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, as he accompanies his father home after the military coup d’état that led to his ouster on June 28, 2009. “I [cannot] think of any president that went into exile and defeated the exile in the first two years. I'm grateful for our people and all the resistance in my country,” Héctor Zelaya says. “Because of their fight against the coup and getting their rights and fighting for their rights, we have our president back in his country and back in his house.” [includes rush transcript]

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Out of Exile: Exclusive Report on Ousted Honduran President Zelaya's Return Home 23 Months After U.S.-Backed Coup

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 31 (News Report) - In a _Democracy Now!_ global broadcast exclusive, we take you on the plane of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as he and his family return home after almost two years in exile. We speak with Zelaya, ousted Honduran foreign minister Patricia Rodas, Honduran exile René Guillermo Amador, and former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, one of the many representatives of Latin American countries who accompanied Zelaya home. We also speak to Father Roy Bourgeois of School of the Americas Watch on the role U.S.-trained generals played in the 2009 coup. "This military coup had real connections to the School of the Americas. The two top generals, the key players in this military coup -- the head of the air force, the head of the army -- were graduates of the School of the Americas,” said Bourgeois. [includes rush transcript]

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Environmental Activist Killed 'Execution-Style' In Brazil

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Apr. 25 (News) - Police in Brazil say gunmen have killed an environmental activist, his brother and three friends. The bodies of Jorge Grando, the former head of the environmental protection agency for the city of Pinhais in southern Brazil, and the four others were found inside a house. Their hands were tied behind their backs and each had several bullet wounds in their heads.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Law of Mother Earth: Behind Bolivia's Historic Bill

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Nick Buxton - Apr. 21 (News Report) - Indigenous and campesino (small-scale farmer) movements in the Andean nation of Bolivia are on the verge of pushing through one of the most radical environmental bills in global history. The "Mother Earth" law under debate in Bolivia's legislature will almost certainly be approved, as it has already been agreed to by the majority governing party, Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS). The law draws deeply on indigenous concepts that view nature as a sacred home, the Pachamama (Mother Earth) on which we intimately depend. As the law states, “Mother Earth is a living dynamic system made up of the undivided community of all living beings, who are all interconnected, interdependent and complementary, sharing a common destiny.”

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Jamaica 1st stop on US hospital ship's tour - Forbes

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:42:37 -0700

Associated Press - Apr. 14 - Jamaica 1st stop on US hospital ship's tourForbes... 04.14.11, 04:21 PM EDT KINGSTON, Jamaica -- An enormous US Navy hospital ship brought state-of-the-art medical care to Jamaica on Thursday, the first stop of a five-month goodwill mission to nine countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. ...Jamaica 1St Stop on US Hospital Ship'S TourWCBDUS provides medical 'Comfort' to JamaicaJamaica Gleanerall 100 news articles »

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Latin America shakes off the US yoke | Mark Weisbrot

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Mark Weisbrot - Apr. 08 - The current spat with Ecuador is symptomatic of Washington's failure to grasp that it no longer exercises regional hegemonyOn Thursday the United States expelled the ambassador from Ecuador, in retaliation for Wednesday's expulsion of the US ambassador from Ecuador. This now leaves the United States without ambassadorial relations in three South American countries – Bolivia and Venezuela being the other two – thus surpassing the Bush administration in its diplomatic problems in the region.US Ambassador Heather Hodges was declared "persona non grata" and asked to leave Ecuador "as soon as possible", after a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks showed her saying some disparaging things about Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa. In the cable, she alleges that President Correa had knowledge of corruption by a former head of the national police. Although the Bush administration intervened in the internal affairs of countries such as Bolivia and even Brazil, it was somewhat better at keeping its "eyes on the prize" and avoiding fights that would distract from its main goal. The prize, of course, is Venezuela – home to the largest oil reserves in the world, estimated by the US Geological Survey at 500bn barrels. Washington's goal there for the last decade has been regime change. The Bush team understood that the more they fought with other countries in the region, the less credible would be their public relations story that Venezuela was the problem.It's nothing personal, really – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez could have chosen to be the perfect diplomat and he would still be treated in much the same manner by the US government. And it's not the oil itself, since Venezuela still sells the US more than 1m barrels a day and there is a world market for oil, in any case. It's just that any country with that much oil is going to have regional influence; and Washington just doesn't want to deal with someone who has regional influence and doesn't line up with its own goals for the region – not if it can get rid of them. (This simple observation explains a lot about US relations with some other oil states: for example, Iran.) And they have come close to getting rid of Chávez, in the 2002 coup – so they are not giving up.But Washington is losing ground there, too. A big blow was the change in Colombia's foreign policy last summer, when President Juan Manuel Santos took office. An important part of Washington's strategy in Venezuela is to maintain tension between Colombia and Venezuela. They have a head start on this project since the 2,000km border between the two countries has been plagued by paramilitary and guerrilla violence for decades. Conflict between Venezuela and Colombia is also important to Washington's electoral strategy in Venezuela. When there is trouble between the two countries, as in 2009, when Venezuela cut off bilateral trade in response to the US effort to expand its military presence in Colombia, it has a negative impact on a lot of Venezuelans in border states. This helps garner some anti-Chávez votes in border states, as in last year's congressional election in Venezuela. And accusations of Venezuelan support for the Farc guerrillas in Colombia – despite Washington's failure to offer any evidence – are a key element of bringing its anti-Venezuela efforts under the "war on terror" umbrella.Although Colombia's previous president, Álvaro Uribe, was – in recent years – very much allied with the United States' strategy toward Venezuela, Santos immediately rejected it and decided immediately to make peace with Chávez. This turned out to be quite easy to do, despite their past fights when Santos was Uribe's defence minister. As anyone who follows Venezuela knows, Chávez is friendly to any head of state or government that is friendly to Venezuela. Santos's U-turn towards Venezuela is very interesting for several reasons. First, it shows how important regional economic integration is as a force for peace and stability in the area. The attempt by Washington and Santos's predecessor to expand the US military presence in Colombia led to a cutoff of $2.3bn of Colombia's exports to what had recently become their second most important trading partner, Venezuela. This was more than 11% of Colombia's exports, and the bulk of it was in livestock and textile products for which replacement markets were not so readily available. Venezuela also has very close relations with Brazil and most of the rest of South America, and they all felt the same way about Colombia's foreign policy. They were especially concerned about the US military expansion in Colombia – and even more opposed after US Air Force documents made it clear that this expansion was for "mobility operations … on the South American continent" and against the "constant threat" from "anti-US governments". Santos was basically faced with a choice of continuing to do Washington's bidding or being part of South America. He chose South America. The key role of commerce here, as South America continues to integrate economically, illustrates some of the most important "gains from trade". These are far greater than the neoclassical "efficiency gains", often exaggerated by advocates of "free trade" agreements. Also, Santos's choice to rejoin South America shows how geopolitical changes led by the left governments of the region have now encompassed even rightwing governments. This is a result of changes in institutions (foreign ministries, multilateral organisations such as Unasur, the Rio Group), ideas, and norms that have taken place over the last decade.Now comes Washington, demanding that Colombia extradite one Walid Makled, an accused Venezuelan narco-trafficker arrested in Colombia, to the United States. No, thank you, says President Santos – this guy goes to Venezuela. Santos cites Colombian law, stating that, first, Colombia has an extradition treaty with Venezuela, not with the United States; second, Venezuela got their extradition request in first; and third, Makled is wanted for more serious crimes (including murder) in Venezuela than in the US (drug-trafficking). All of these are facts that legally require extradition of Makled to Venezuela.This is most infuriating to Washington. To understand why this is so important to the state department, one has to look behind official pronouncements about Makled getting "a free and fair trial" in Venezuela and other nonsense repeated with charming innocence by the major media. Venezuela has a presidential election next year. For every important election or referendum in Venezuela – and there are many, but none more important to Washington than this one – there is an international media campaign, with the participation of the US government. (A recent WikiLeaks cable shows the Colombian government sharing with US officials its coordinated media campaign to link both Chávez and Correa to the Colombian Farc guerrillas.) Makled has already offered to sing about alleged corruption of Venezuelan officials (note that we haven't heard anything about his dealings with Colombian officials – there must not be any narco-corruption there), but only if he is extradited to the US. So, if they could only get him to Miami, they could have a splendid show trial that would be better than any international media campaign that the state department could organise.If all that seems like it's not worth the trouble, it's exactly what happened in 2008. US authorities used a sketchy show trial of a Venezuelan slapped with dubious "failing to register as a foreign agent" charges – but not with actual espionage – in order to broadcast allegations of corruption at the "highest levels" of the Venezuelan government. The allegations made headlines throughout the hemisphere and, of course, were a mainstay of the Venezuelan opposition-dominated media. Just think what the Makled trial could do: no one would ask what the witnesses were offered for their testimony, or whether there was any corroborating evidence for their allegations. It would be one big free-for-all smear-fest, with reporters gobbling it all up.But Santos is not co-operating, despite enormous pressure and, of course, the currently pending "free trade" agreement between the US and Colombia. Perhaps Washington wants this agreement more than he does.In any case, the Obama administration – like its predecessor – is fighting a losing battle. President Obama's recent trip to Latin America was hardly more successful than those of Bush. He gets better press – no riots in the streets or Mayan leaders cleansing the site with sage after his visit. But every president and foreign minister there can see that US policies haven't changed one bit.VenezuelaEcuadorWikiLeaksThe US embassy cablesUS foreign policyUnited StatesColombiaDrugs tradeHugo ChávezBrazilObama administrationExtraditionMark Weisbrotguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Obama's Drug War in El Salvador

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Roberto Lovato - Apr. 04 (Special Report) - “Obama’s visit to the tomb of Monsenor Romero is super complicated because of what the U.S. has traditionally signified for us: a state that financed the Salvadoran military to block a revolutionary process,” says Marroquin, who lost more than a dozen family members, including her father, during the war. “The visit to Mosnenor’s tomb is not an act of reparation. It’s an act of protocol and leaves me even more indignant, especially when he comes here with more money for guns for the military. How are we to trust that this anti-narcoticos plan will do anything but increase violence?” she asks.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Expand trade with Latin American allies

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:34:50 -0700

Associated Press - Mar. 31 - Expand trade with Latin American alliesBloomington PantagraphI'm pleased President Obama recently visited Latin America. He has indicated one of the goals is to double trade in the next five years. Having just returned from spending time in Panama and Colombia, I can recommend a simple action to increase trade. ...Cat CEO touts benefits of trade agreement with PanamaPeoria Journal StarCaterpillar Chairman Tells Congress Passage of Free Trade Agreements Would ...PR Newswire (press release)all 39 news articles »

NewsTrust Rating: 3.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer