http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/latinamerica/ en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:57:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414693/posts Most Americans usually do not think of Latin America in terms of Islamic terrorism, but counterterrorism expert and former FBI Special Agent James Conway tells Newsmax TV’s Kathleen Walter the region could be the nation’s “Achilles' Heel” in its struggle against terrorism. In recent years, these groups have established bases of operations throughout Latin America, which they have used to move people and materials. See Video: Terrorism expert James Conway talks about the Islamic terror threat in Latin America - Click Here Now “There is a growing presence of Islamic activism and fundraising in Latin America,” Conway told Newsmax. “There... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414693/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:57:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407397/posts Given the challenges that President Obama faces in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, and elsewhere, the fact that he has thus far neglected Latin America is hardly surprising or scandalous. Obama has committed several unforced errors in the Americas, however, most notably in Honduras, and his relatively weak performance has raised concerns about declining U.S. influence. Obama's Latin America policy has evolved through four stages. During stage one, Obama practiced what might be called Sally Field diplomacy ("You like me!"), marveling over his own popularity in the region while trying to make nice with both friendly and adversarial... Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407397/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:48:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406675/posts Chile Appears Set To Elect A Conservative Billionaire businessmen Sebastian Pinera is expected to win the most votes in an election to choose highly popular President Michelle Bachelet's successor. A runoff is likely. An election worker carries voting materials at a polling station ahead of general elections in Santiago. Conservative Sebastian Pinera is considered the frontrunner against former President Eduardo Frei. Incumbent President Michelle Bachelet cannot run because of term limits. (Carlos Espinoza / Associated Press / December 12, 2009) By Chris Kraul December 13, 2009 Reporting from Santiago, Chile - As Chileans vote today for the first time since... LATimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406675/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:31:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405884/posts Note: The following text is a quote: December 11, 2009 286 arrested in ICE's largest ever enforcement surge targeting criminal aliens 2 convicted rapists and armed robber among those captured in 3-day California operation LOS ANGELES - Nearly 300 foreign nationals with criminal records have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation following a three-day enforcement surge in California, making it the biggest operation targeting at large criminal aliens ever carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). During the operation, which concluded late Thursday, ICE officers located and arrested a total of 280 criminal aliens... ICE.gov - News Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405884/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:11:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405567/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Latin American countries Friday to "think twice" about fostering ties with Iran because of its alleged support for terrorism. "I think if people want to flirt with Iran, they should take a look at what the consequences might well be for them. And we hope that they will think twice and we will support them if they do," the chief US diplomat said. During a question-and-answer session at the State Department's public policy forum on Latin America, Clinton said it was a "very bad idea for the countries involved" to... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405567/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:37:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402493/posts CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez said Monday that Venezuela has received thousands of Russian-made missiles and rocket launchers as part of his government's military preparations for a possible armed conflict with neighboring Colombia. "They are preparing a war against us," Chavez said during a televised address, repeating a charge he has been making for months. "Preparing is one of the best ways to neutralize it." Both Colombia and Washington deny having any plans to attack Venezuela, but Chavez argues they are plotting together a military offensive against Venezuela. Chavez says his government is acquiring more weapons as a precaution.... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402493/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 01:18:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401955/posts LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Iran is clinching deals for trade and technical cooperation with Latin American countries with the aim of securing a foothold after the current tour of the region by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran has already fostered strong bilateral ties with Nicaragua and Venezuela, but Ahmadinejad's current tour of Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela is producing a whole series of new contracts that encompass increased trade and economic cooperation, technical assistance in the energy and mining sectors and uranium prospecting. During his one-day visit to the Bolivian capital Tuesday Ahmadinejad and Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales signed... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401955/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 13:23:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401890/posts Andres Oppenheimer of the Miami Herald wrote an intriguing piece recently on the splash effect of the coup, or crisis, or whatever term least offends someone of Honduras’ new leadership and recent election, and how the major powers in Latin America have tried unsuccessfully to remedy the situation. Oppenheimer argues that the US, Brazil and the OAS have all succeeded in failure in their own unique ways. Failure for the three comes as follows. For Brazil, its “hypocrisy” of recognizing Iran’s and Cuba’s undemocratic leadership, while criticizing Honduras’ recent elections. For the US, the “flip-flopping” that comes with a constant... Foreign Policy Association http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401890/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 07:47:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400672/posts Wealth: Chile is expected to win entry to OECD's club of developed countries by Dec. 15 — a great affirmation for a once-poor nation that pulled itself up by trusting markets. One thing that stands out here is free trade. At a summit of Latin American countries last week in Portugal, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet suddenly became the center of attention — and rightly so. She announced that her country was expected to win membership in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, an exclusive club of the richest and most economically credible nations. Chile is the first country in... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400672/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 01:38:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399723/posts The Argentinean prosecutor who ferreted out Iranian links to Argentina's largest terror attack warned Wednesday of Teheran's growing terror network in Latin America. "The Iranians are moving fast," assessed Alberto Nisman, who has secured Interpol backing for the arrest of several Iranians, including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, for ordering the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community offices in Buenos Aires. "We see a much greater penetration than we did in 1994." He said that Iran, particularly through Lebanese proxy Hizbullah, has a growing presence in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, using techniques it honed in Argentina before the... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399723/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 23:10:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398993/posts Dec 2, 2009 — Field geologists have revisited a site Darwin visited on the voyage of the Beagle, and found that he incorrectly interpreted what he found.  A large field of erratic boulders in Tierra del Fuego that have become known as “Darwin’s Boulders” were deposited by a completely different process than he thought.  The modern team, publishing in the Geological Society of America’s December issue of the GSA Today,1 noted that “Darwin’s thinking was profoundly influenced by Lyell’s obsession with large-scale, slow, vertical movements of the crust, especially as manifested in his theory of submergence and ice rafting to... CEH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398993/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 03:13:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396611/posts Honduran opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo is leading in a presidential election that could ease a five-month crisis following the June coup against President Manuel Zelaya, media exit polls said on Sunday. Lobo, a conservative, won more than 55 percent of Sunday's vote and was well ahead of ruling Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos, the HRN radio station said. A TV channel gave Lobo 51 percent. Lobo was seen as more likely than Santos to persuade foreign governments to recognize Sunday's election. Reuters Via Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396611/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:18:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396551/posts MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – A plain-talking former leader of leftist guerrillas who once sought power through kidnappings and bombings is now the president-elect of Uruguay. Jose Mujica won more than 50 percent of the votes cast in a run-off election Sunday, according to exit polls by the South American country's three leading pollsters, giving the center-left Broad Front coalition five more years in power. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396551/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:12:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393220/posts Honduran lawmakers are due to decide on Dec. 2 whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya and let him finish his term until a newly elected leader takes office in January. Zelaya was exiled by soldiers in a June 28 coup but has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into Honduras in September. After he pulled out of a deal to decide his return, Zelaya's future looks even more uncertain. Here are some possible scenarios for Zelaya's prospects: CONGRESS VOTES TO REINSTATE ZELAYA Zelaya's opponents control the Honduran Congress, which voted to strip him of his... The Star Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393220/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:21:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2388955/posts Zelayistas and journalists are deserting the sinking ship of the Brazilian Embassy. Yesterday, Salvadoran Padre Andrés Tamayo left. Deserters are escorted away by police and, I believe, are examined by doctors prior to release, which seems a wise move so that false accusations of ill effects from death rays, toxic gases, mind control radiation and whatever else they dream up cannot be claimed later. In one photo of a Zelaya follower telling a doctor about his symptoms, a Brazilian blogger notes with humor the skepticism in the face of a journalist (in the blue shirt) standing by watching. The fact... La Griga's Blogicito http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2388955/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:02:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388796/posts The sea lanes of the South Atlantic have become a favored route for drug traffickers carrying narcotics from Latin America to West and North Africa, where al Qaeda-related groups are increasingly involved in transporting the drugs to Europe, intelligence officials and counternarcotics specialists say. A Middle Eastern intelligence official said his agency has picked up "very worrisome reports" of rapidly growing cooperation between Islamic militants operating in North and West Africa and drug lords in Latin America. With U.S. attention focused on the Caribbean and Africans lacking the means to police their shores, the vast sea lanes of the South... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388796/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:01:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388522/posts Honduran lawmakers will not decide whether to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya until after upcoming presidential elections, the congressional leader said Tuesday, a decision that could undermine international support for the vote. Congress will meet Dec. 2 — three days after the Nov. 29 election — to decide whether Zelaya should be returned the presidency to finish his constitutional term, which ends in January, congressional president Jose Alfredo Saavedra told local HRN radio station. Several Latin American countries have warned they will not recognize the outcome of the election unless Zelaya is restored beforehand. But the United States has not... Associated Press via Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388522/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:24:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386767/posts Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya insisted late Saturday that he will not accept any deal to restore him to office if it means he must recognize elections later this month. In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, Zelaya also repeated his accusation that Washington reversed its stance on whether the Nov. 29 vote should be considered legitimate if he was not in office. "As the elected president of the Honduran people, I reaffirm my position that starting today, no matter what, I will not accept any agreement on returning to the presidency of the republic to cover up this... The Record http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386767/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:32:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385834/posts TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Assailants fired an anti-tank grenade toward the building housing ballots for the upcoming Honduran presidential elections, which are taking place under the shadow of a four-month crisis caused by a coup, police said Friday. The grenade overshot the target, exploding 550 yards (500 meters) from the building in the capital of Tegucigalpa, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said. Residents in several neighborhoods heard the explosion Thursday night, but there were no damages. Police believe the building housing election material was the intended target because the surrounding buildings are mostly residential. They said the Russian-made, rocket-propelled grenade was likely... AP - via Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385834/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:02:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381140/posts Honduras, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he has pulled out of a deal struck to end the country's political crisis. Speaking to local radio Friday, Zelaya said the deal with the interim government led by President Roberto Micheletti was off as far as he was concerned, The Wall Street Journal reported. "This deal is dead. The other side has failed to uphold their end," Zelaya reportedly said. Under the terms of the deal, a government of national unity would be created and the Honduran Congress would be allowed to determine if Zelaya could return to... UPI.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381140/posts#comment Sat, 7 Nov 2009 23:32:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379358/posts November 05, 2009, 0:00 a.m. Small MiracleHow one tiny, endangered nation became an economic giant. By Clifford D. May People forget how small Israel is. Its entire population is a little more than 7 million — smaller than Lima, Peru. Its land area is about 8,000 square miles, smaller than New Jersey or Belize. By comparison, Jordan, its neighbor to the east, occupies 35,000 square miles; Egypt, its neighbor to the West, covers 386,000 square miles. There are more than 20 Arab states, which have a combined population of 325 million, and more than 50 majority-Muslim states, which have... National Review Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379358/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 19:21:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2378322/posts ....Chavez blames the water problems for El Niño but...it can not be blamed for what is happening. Problems with Venezuela’s water and electricity’s supplies are not new. When Chavez came to power, the Caldera Government was thinking of privatizing some of the regional electric power companies for the simple reason that the investments required with oil at around US$ 12 per barrel were beyond the capability of the country’s government.cChavez clearly disagreed with this even as he was not using the word socialism at the time. And he stopped the nationalizations, while simultaneously freezing rates for water and electric services.... The Devil's Excrement http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2378322/posts#comment Wed, 4 Nov 2009 15:19:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2377682/posts When Islamists made their roots south of the border... Venezuela's dictator: H. Chavez that "sees" only money, oil and Anti-Americanism-Power, does "serve" the Islamic Iranian Republic well, giving out passports to anyone. From that "port" it is quite easy for an Islamic Iranian AGENT to arrive into any other Latin American country as a... "Venezuelan". A "random" different case (of a Muslim trying to "blend" into Latin America), a year ago, a Jordanian Arab that "met" a Costa Rican (Tica) girl in Spain (she vouched for him in CR, asw this man came from the area in Jordan where a... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2377682/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 21:15:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2377226/posts SNIPPET: "Lula and Chavez have established a "strategic relationship," and recently agreed upon a joint Brazilian-Venezuelan oil venture worth billions of dollars. Lula and Chavez have joined with Daniel Ortega, the returned Nicaraguan Marxist dictator, to form an anti-U.S. Latin American military alliance - all with Russian assistance - funded by the region's abundant oil reserves. Brazil is engaged in its own arms build-up and Lula is determined that Brazil will become at least a first-rate regional power. Unfortunately, Lula is establishing Brazil as an anti-American military power by aligning with nations hostile or potentially hostile to the U.S. Lula... INATODAY.com - INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANALYSIS TODAY http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2377226/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:23:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377135/posts Undermine our allies. Embolden our enemies. Diminish our country. If anyone doubted those nine words summed up the Obama Doctrine, look at what the president's team perpetrated last week in Honduras. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon and Dan Restrepo, the National Security Council's senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, visited the Honduran capital in Tegucigalpa on Wednesday to compel the country's recalcitrant democrats to make a deal with the man the latter had lawfully removed from the presidency on June 28. It remains to be seen whether, pursuant to this deal, former President Manuel Zelaya will be restored to... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377135/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 04:01:47 GMT