Blog entries

Three months before Honduras’ scheduled elections, tensions remain high in Tegucigalpa.  Walls and campaign propaganda are covered with pro-Zelaya graffiti; explosives have destroyed several fast food establishments and targeted certain media outlets; and a bomb scare took place near the airport this week.  The military remains positioned at strategic locations in the city, closing streets … 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. Calderón Undertakes Housecleaning Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón announced that his government plans … Read more

Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced yesterday that the government proposes to eliminate three departments and increase taxes in an effort to boost the country’s economy and turn attention to poverty-fighting programs. According to Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, these measures are estimated to reduce government spending by 218 billion pesos ($16.3 billion and 1.8 percent of … Read more

The Brazilian government concluded on Monday a pact with France worth an estimated $12.3 billion that includes provisions for future equipment purchases and a broad transfer of military technology to Brazil. The deal, announced in Brasilia between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, includes a $4 billion to $7 billion Brazilian order … Read more

The Office of Foreign Assets Control at the United States Department of the Treasury released new regulations on Thursday related to U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba. The new regulations are designed to reflect the directives contained in a memo released by the White House in April. According the department’s website, today’s amendments change the Cuba … Read more

Honduras’ deposed President Mel Zelaya was here in Washington the week prior to Labor Day urging the United States, without a hint of irony, to re-install him in power as soon as possible.  At the same time, he told a late summer audience that as the diplomatic process grinds on without clear prospects for resolution, … Read more

The U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, David Johnson, announced yesterday the release of $214 million of the $1.4 billion Mérida Initiative package. The sum has been spent or committed to training Mexican federal investigators and providing technology that would help control the narcotics and weapons flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border. The … Read more

If Costa Rica were to go to the polls today voters would elect the country’s first female to the government’s highest office, says the latest CID-Gallup poll. Laura Chinchilla, the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional‘s (PLN) candidate who stepped down from her post as vice president last fall to begin a race to the February 2010 … Read more

How far can $21 million go? In terms of Brazil’s real GDP, it is a drop in the bucket. In terms of its impact on regional relations, it is far more significant. On August 23 , Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that Brazil would open up its market to $21 million worth … Read more

Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA will have to import at least six shipments of gasoline and other refined petroleum products to meet local demand due to production stoppages at key local refineries. Reports from local sources at Venezuela’s largest national refineries, Amuay and Cardón, on the Paraguaná peninsula, indicate that technical problems coupled with scheduled … Read more

As Americans eulogized Senator Edward Kennedy over the weekend, I also want to take pause and remember his contribution to our nation’s relations with Latin America. He will be remembered as an effective liberal senator who knew how to work the Capitol, a flawed person who came to grips with his inner demons, and a … Read more

The Paraguayan government requested a bilateral meeting with Bolivian authorities on Saturday to discuss Bolivia’s recent announcement that it will purchase up to $100 million in military equipment with credit from Russia. The deal, which is reportedly for helicopters, airplanes and other military equipment, was announced on August 12 by Bolivian defense minister Walker San … Read more

La estrategia parece calcada de hace cuatro años. El presidente Álvaro Uribe mueve toda la maquinaria de los partidos uribistas para que propongan la reelección sin que la iniciativa parezca suya, permanece callado, deja caldear el ambiente político y luego aparece para dar la estocada final, ahora con un nuevo término: el estado de opinión. … Read more

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper conducted a five-day-long tour of his country’s Arctic regions last week in a trip that has provoked a serious debate on the federal government’s future policies toward the far-northern territories. Some critics have called the trip a pre-election publicity stunt designed to drum up support for Mr. Harper’s Conservative party. … Read more

The Nicaraguan government announced yesterday that they will begin construction at the end of September to reroute the San Juan River, which runs along the country’s border with Costa Rica. Eden Pastora, the head of the committee for development of the San Juan River, said that the $1 million project is intended to “recover the … Read more