Blog entries

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online’s news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Cholera Outbreak Worsens in Haiti In the wake of tropical storm Tomás, … Read more

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera leaves today on a seven day trip to Japan to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings being held on November 13 and 14 in Yokohama.  He will then travel to Beijing on his first official state visit to China.  The President will stay through the 40th anniversary of Chinese-Chilean bi-lateral … Read more

Navy Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera, a leader in Argentina’s military junta from 1976 to 1978, passed away on Monday in Buenos Aires at age 85. Massera collaborated with Jorge Rafael Videla and Orlando Ramón Agosti to stage a coup d’etat that overthrew Isabel Perón in 1976. The repressive dictatorship that Masserra and his colleagues established … Read more

“Let’s Go For More” was this year’s theme at Argentina’s 19th annual gay pride march on Saturday in Buenos Aires. The LGBT community called for allowing people to change the gender on their birth certificates and for the issuance of national identity cards that can help to prevent the legal difficulties that many transgender Argentines … Read more

The Organization of American States (OAS) heard arguments this week from Costa Rican Foreign Minister René Castro on the Nicaraguan military’s alleged “incursion” on to Costa Rican soil. And now, with tensions continuing to heat up, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza arrives in San José tonight for talks with Minister of Foreign Relations René … Read more

Recent news on the management of water has not been very uplifting. Disagreements between countries that share water resources are leading to increasing conflicts over control of and access to this vital resource. For example, the ongoing dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica over the San Juan River has reached such levels of discord that … Read more

Adding to Chile’s growing wind energy industry, this week Bosques de Chiloé filed paperwork with Chile’s Sistema de Evaluación Ambiental (Environmental Evaluation System) to move forward with a wind farm on Chiloé, an island off the southern coast of Chile. The San Pedro Wind Farm will consist of 22 generators—each 40 to 80 meters tall—and … Read more

San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary, the first Roman Catholic seminary to open in Cuba in more than 50 years, was inaugurated outside of Havana yesterday. The ceremony was attended by President Raúl Castro, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski as well as several high-level church officials from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Italy and the United States. The … Read more

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online’s news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. What the U.S. Midterms Mean for Immigration, Hemispheric Policy AQ’s Jason Marczak … Read more

Tuesday’s election results were not unexpected.  The question now is what will they mean for U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere.  The outlines are already clear: expect a sharper tone across the board of Congressional oversight and initiative toward the Administration in trying to impact policy.  Here are a few predictions for regional policy based … Read more

With control of the U.S. House of Representatives switching to the Republican Party, the future of a comprehensive approach to immigration reform is now in greater doubt. And Democrats—unable to put forward a proposal that could muster the necessary support to right our broken immigration system—will take a back seat to the immigration plans of … Read more

Uruguay’s highest court ruled that a law providing amnesty for human rights violations committed during the 1973-1985 dictatorship and protected former military and law enforcement officials from prosecution is unconstitutional.  The ruling comes as the case for human rights abuses and the deaths of 20 people comes to trial against Juan María Bordaberry, the former … Read more

It was a sad day for the rule of law in the United States. Sunday, Omar Khadr became the first child to be prosecuted by a Western nation for war crimes since the Second World War. After an intense week, a U. S. military panel returned its verdict, condemning Khadr to a 40-year prison sentence. … Read more

A border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua has escalated from finger-pointing to formal diplomatic protesting to its latest development: Costa Rica will issue an appeal this week to the Organization of American States demanding Nicaragua withdraw troops from alleged Costa Rican territory. The land in question, along northeastern Costa Rica and southeastern Nicaragua, is … Read more

For those who find U.S. elections too long and sometimes endless, brace yourself as the next cycle begins tomorrow morning. The near unanimity of prognosticators are predicting a Republican wave, and this will only raise the ante as to whether President Obama will be a one-term President. History leads us to be cautious about predicting … Read more