Blog entries

Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa, along with 20 ministers and government officials traveled to Caracas on Wednesday for discussions with the government of President Hugo Chávez—one of three annual meetings between the two Andean countries. The leaders pledged to achieve a “political, social and economic union.” In 10 new bilateral agreements, Venezuela and Ecuador promised further … Read more

Exactly 30 years ago (1979) the late Jeanne Kirkpatrick wrote a famous, though controversial, article in Commentary that for a group of conservative foreign-policy analysts guided policy toward Latin America during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.  The basic thesis of the argument was that as autocratic regimes differed, so should U.S. policy toward them.  … Read more

This Saturday the eyes of much of the hemisphere will be on Honduras as the United States sends its finest warriors into the country to do battle with their Honduran counterparts.  No, we’re not talking an invasion by the Marines, but rather a critically-important soccer match between the two nations in qualification for the 2010 … Read more

The political crisis has brought out the worst of Honduras.  The media has already documented many of the country’s ills since June: the reliance on the military to address internal political problems and the sharp polarization with Cold War echoes as well as political violence, repression and censorship.  One nasty phenomenon, however, has slipped under … Read more

The initial public offering (IPO) today in the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Banco Santander raised $8.1 billion for its parent company—the world’s largest IPO this year. But shares in Santander (Brazil) fell 3.7 percent in its first day of trading due to concerns that the stock was overvalued. “Santander is giving investors something they want, … 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. OAS Sends Mission to Honduras It’s been over two weeks since deposed … Read more

Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Gabriel Silva, announced on Tuesday that he is preparing to present evidence of new FARC camps in Ecuador to his counterpart, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce. This most recent disclosure comes amidst a recent thaw in Colombian-Ecuadorian relations more than a year and a half after the countries broke off diplomatic … Read more

Rafael Ángel Calderón led Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994 and had planned to run in the February 2010 presidential elections, but is now facing the possibility of five years in jail. The sentence—delivered on Monday—is expected to be appealed. Under house arrest since 2004, Calderón was found guilty of embezzling at least $8.6 million … Read more

Intervencionismo o mediación. Según el espejo con que se mire, el papel del Presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez en la política doméstica colombiana, tiene tantos detractores y seguidores como en su propio país. Su cercanía con las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)—que según los computadores del extinto Raúl Reyes y miembros de la inteligencia colombiana … Read more

The announcement today by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Rio de Janeiro will be the host of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games is a fitting acknowledgement by the international community that Brazil’s time has arrived.  It is also a bouquet to the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and an effort to … Read more

The bill introduced on Thursday by the Liberal Party and backed by the opposition, including the Polo Patriótico party, would fund up to 40 percent of campaign expenses for parties that include more women on their political lists. Five percent of those funds would be distributed according to the exact number of women elected. The … Read more

Events in Honduras have taken a turn for the worse in the past ten days, and, sadly, there have been no capable leaders from whom Hondurans can expect progress.   Roberto Micheletti and Manuel Zelaya have shown themselves to be political novices without the maturity and intellect to guide this country out of this crisis. De … Read more

A giant park in the center of Colombia’s capital city has come to symbolize the ongoing struggles of the nation’s internally displaced people.  For more than four months, Bogotá’s Tercer Milenio Park was the de facto squatting grounds for over 1,000 families who left their homes because of internal violence, land seizures and overall insecurity … Read more

Already facing the rest of his life in prison, former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori, 71, received an additional six years on Wednesday for charges of corruption.  At Fujimori’s fourth and final trial in two years, the Lima court also fined him $9 million for authorizing wiretapping and bribes during his 10-year rule that ended … 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. Signs of a Solution to the Long Honduran Impasse? It’s been three … Read more