Innovators
Some of our hemisphere’s emerging leaders in politics, business, civil society, and the arts.
Tension Mounts as Dissidents Join Regional Leaders at Panama Summit
Clashes between Cuban and Venezuelan dissidents and pro-government supporters marked the initial proceedings of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City on Wednesday, two days before the summit officially begins. Cuba’s participation in the summit for the first time has sparked encounters between pro-Castro supporters and the Cuban exile community, many members of which … Read more
Quiet Diplomacy at Americas Summit Can Pay Dividends for Climate Talks
The Summit of the Americas in Panama this week could produce public performances worthy of an Academy Award nomination. Following recent efforts to re-establish diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba, Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro may stage a carefully choreographed handshake. This eagerly anticipated moment could usher in a new chapter of U.S.–Latin … Read more
Monday Memo: Summit of the Americas—Venezuela–U.S. relations—Citibank Inspection—Bolivian Missile Trial—Canada-Venezuela Oil
This week’s likely top stories: The Summit of the Americas commences in Panama; petition criticizes U.S. action against Venezuela; Argentine Central Bank inspects Citibank; TSJ initiates missiles trial in Bolivia; Canada and Venezuela discuss investment in Venezuelan oil. Americas Summit Begins This Week in Panama: The seventh Summit of the Americas will take place this … Read more
Family Members of Guatemalans Infected in Disease Study File Lawsuit
On Wednesday, nearly 800 people filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Johns Hopkins University for its role in a research study that infected more than 1,600 Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s and 1950s. The plaintiffs include family members of individuals who died from complications from diseases they contracted during the study, which … Read more
Cuba, U.S. Conclude First Dialogue on Human Rights
With the conclusion on Tuesday of the first formal talks between Cuba and the United States on human rights, both countries agreed that they were capable of holding a “respectful, professional [and] civilized conversation” on the issue of human rights. Representatives from both countries met yesterday in Washington DC in the first of many dialogues … Read more
Monday Memo: Bolivian Elections—U.S.-Cuba talks—Caribbean Bitcoin—UNASUR on U.S. Relations—Chile Floods
This week’s likely top stories: Bolivia holds local elections; Cuba and the U.S. to discuss human rights; Caribbean Bitcoin exchange launches; UNASUR head urges closing of U.S. military bases in the region; Chile rejects Bolivian aid for flood victims. Bolivia’s MAS Party Loses La Paz in Local Elections: Bolivian citizens elected local government leaders on … Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Concludes Tour of Latin America
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov culminated a four-country tour of Latin America on Thursday in what was widely seen as Moscow’s latest bid to counteract Western sanctions over Russia’s policies in Ukraine and Crimea. Earlier this week, Lavrov met with heads of state Raúl Castro in Cuba, Juan Manual Santos in Colombia and Daniel Ortega … Read more
Monday Memo: Peru Spying Allegations—Argentine Debt—Costa Rican Energy—Venezuelan Opposition—Mexican Missing Students Case
This week’s likely top stories: Intelligence chiefs to be replaced in Peru; Citigroup is permitted to process Argentine debt payment; Costa Rica sets global clean energy record; former Spanish PM to defend Venezuelan opposition leaders; Ayotzinapa victims’ families visit Amnesty International. Peruvian Intelligence Chiefs Fired amid Spying Allegations: The Peruvian Presidency of the Council of … Read more
Negotiations Continue over Panama’s Barro Blanco Dam
A new round of negotiations will begin on March 27 over Panama’s $225 million Barro Blanco hydroelectric project—now 95 percent complete, but the source of a long-standing feud between the Generadora del Istmo S.A. (GENISA) company, the contractor for the dam, and the Ngäbe Buglé Indigenous group, which is vehemently opposed to the project due … Read more
Tone Down the “Winners and Losers” Talk on Cuba
Cuba is the Groundhog Day of the twentieth century. That the United States’ policy of isolation and permanent embargo went on into the 21st century is testimony to the endurance of both Americans and Cubans in making a failed policy become a third rail in U.S. domestic policy. Not that there weren’t attempts at reconciliation … Read more
Nicaragua Canal Could Threaten Indigenous Group
On Monday, a lawyer for the Indigenous Rama people in Nicaragua told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that there could be serious repercussions for the Rama if Nicaragua’s $50 billion canal project is allowed to continue. Rama leader Becky McCray, the lawyer for the tribe, said that the Rama were likely to lose … Read more
Journalists’ Murder Highlights Lack of Press Freedom in Guatemala
Three Guatemalan journalists were killed and another seriously injured last week, exposing the high price to pay for reporting in the nation’s provinces. All three were murdered in the department of Suchitepéquez about 96 miles from the capital, Guatemala City. Danilo López, a 38-year-old correspondent for national newspaper Prensa Libre, and Federico Salazar, a reporter … Read more
President Pérez Molina Refuses to Renew CICIG’s Mandate
During a recent visit to Guatemala on March 2, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised the achievements made by the UN-sponsored Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala—CICIG). He also urged Honduran and Salvadoran leaders to follow the Guatemalan example by replicating the CICIG model in their own countries … Read more
Cuba and U.S. Re-establish Direct Phone Link
U.S.-based IDT Domestic Telecom, Inc. and the state-run telecommunications compnay Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, S.A. (Cuban Telecommunications Enterprise, S.A.—ETECSA) have re-established a direct telephone link between the two countries. ETESCA announced the connection via a press release on Wednesday, but did not specify when the service went into effect. “The re-establishment of direct communications between … Read more
