Cuba and the Summits of the Americas
In the coming months, the United States is going to face a tough choice: either alter its policy toward Cuba or face the virtual collapse of its diplomacy in Latin America. The upcoming Summit of the Americas, the seventh meeting of democratically elected heads of state throughout the Americas, due to convene in April 2015 … Read more
A Skeptic’s View on the “Peace Dividend”
On July 20, 2010, President Juan Manuel Santos promised the 9 million voters who had just elected him to his first term that he would build on the foundation created “by a giant, our President Álvaro Uribe.”1 He declared that Colombia could now look to the future with hope, thanks to the multiple successes that … Read more
Why Entrepreneurship Matters in Cuba
For almost two decades, I have watched entrepreneurship explode across Latin America and the Caribbean, empowering citizens, transforming economies and changing lives. In sectors ranging from restaurants and small manufacturing to high tech, entrepreneurs are changing the economic and social landscape of the region. Perhaps most important, they are also generating jobs. Across the region, … Read more
UN Condemns Cuba Embargo in Near-Unanimous Vote
The United Nations General Assembly voted for an end to the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba for the twenty-third time on Tuesday. For the second year in a row, 188 countries voted in favor of a non-binding resolution calling for the end of the embargo, with Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia abstaining. Only two countries—Israel … Read more
IACHR Urges U.S. to Close Immigrant Detention Centers
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urged the United States yesterday to close detention centers for immigrant children and their families. IACHR member Felipe González noted that the Commission has continually affirmed that children should not be held in detention centers. However, the U.S. currently has three detention centers open in Pennsylvania, Texas and … Read more
Monday Memo: Brazil Elections – Uruguay Elections – Citgo Petroleum – Protests in Haiti – Chiquita
This week’s likely top stories: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is re-elected; Uruguayan elections move to a second round; Venezuela scraps the sale of Citgo Petroleum; Haitians protest a lack of elections; a Brazilian consortium acquires Chiquita. Dilma Rousseff Re-elected President of Brazil: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was narrowly re-elected on Sunday in a runoff election … Read more
Dinamismo en los Partidos Políticos de El Salvador
Los salvadoreños nos encontramos, de nuevo, a escasos cinco meses de una nueva contienda electoral. Mientras muchos aún no terminan de recuperarse de la resaca de la última elección presidencial, otros esperan con ansias la llegada de los próximos comicios. Generalmente, en épocas cercanas a elecciones es cuando muchos empezamos a prestarle atención a los … Read more
Cuba and Colombia
Articles: published article?1 A Skeptic’s View on the “Peace Dividend” by Alberto Bernal The economic benefits are neither direct nor certain. The Obstacles to Political Integration Post-Peace by Juanita León The obstacles to political integration. Full text available. Law and Reconciliation in Colombia by Rodrigo Uprimny Yepes and Nelson Camilo Sanchez Here’s how to achieve … Read more
Righting Guatemala’s Broken Judicial Selection Process
This year has been important for Guatemala’s judicial system. A number of judicial posts are due to be filled in 2014, and so far this year, a new electoral tribunal and attorney general have already taken office. In July, the selection process for Supreme Court and appeals court magistrates began. However, these two selection processes … Read more
Monday Memo: Canadian Executive Jailed – Missing Mexican students – Venezuelan Bolivar – Murder Suspects in Peru – Colombian Hackers
This week’s likely top stories: Canadian businessman Cy Tokmakjian is sentenced to 15 years in Cuba; Mexico searches for 58 missing students; Venezuela’s bolivar hits a new low; Peru arrests two suspects in the murder of Indigenous activists; Colombian peace negotiator Humberto de la Calle says his e-mail was hacked. Canadian executive jailed in Cuba: … Read more
Amnesty International Says El Salvador Abortion Law Kills Women
In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty International stated that El Salvador’s total ban on abortion is killing women and infringing upon human rights progress. Enacted in 1998, the law makes any form of abortion illegal, even in cases of rape, incest, when the mother’s life is in danger, or when the fetus has serious … Read more
Mesoamerica’s Infrastructure Projects and Reducing Climate Change
This week, New York City hosted the Climate Summit 2014, an event aimed at shaping the world’s future developmental policies. Just one month earlier in Nicaragua, delegates from the Mesoamerican region met to analyze the social, environmental and economic impacts of severe droughts this year. Proyecto Mesoamérica (Mesoamerican Project), launched in 2008 by heads … Read more
Monday Memo: UN General Assembly and Climate Summit – Leopoldo López – El Salvador – Conflict in Guatemala – Clorox
This week’s likely top stories: World leaders gather for the UN General Assembly; Leopoldo López’ trial resumes in Venezuela; U.S. to approve aid to El Salvador; 8 killed in Guatemala conflict over cement plant; Clorox discontinues operations in Venezuela. World leaders converge in New York; thousands march for action on climate change: Some 140 heads … Read more
Rape Another Threat on Migrant Women’s Journey North
For the majority of Central American women and girls crossing Mexico en route to the U.S., rape is another step along the path to the American dream. Exact statistics don’t exist. Previously, nonprofits including Amnesty International estimated that, in 2010, roughly 60 percent of migrant women and girls were sexually assaulted in Mexico, based on … Read more
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