WORLD NEWS: Latin America

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U.N.: Latin American Democracy Strained
By MORGAN LEE, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY - A failure to significantly reduce poverty and inequality is straining democracies across Latin America, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) said Wednesday.

Democracy has not responded to the aspirations of the poor in Latin America, Annan said as he inaugurated an international seminar on strengthening regional democracy.

There have been some advances — an infant mortality rate that is nearly half what it was 25 years ago as well as increasing education levels and greater equality for women, he said, while asking "But why the mood of self-doubt?"

A report from the U.N. Development Program has found democracies in the region facing a perilous crisis of confidence, as many democratically guided reforms in the region failed to produce anticipated economic benefits.

Development Program Administrator Mark Malloch Brown said the report's troubling findings struck a chord with Mexican lawmakers.

"But in fact there's a certain rottenness at the root," Brown told The Associated Press. "Because of a failure during these years of democracy to reduce inequality, and therefore there's a pent up social and political frustration."

U.N. officials said the good news is that democracy continues to prevail at the ballot box and defuse social pressures in many countries across Latin America.

Recent, hotly contested referendums in Venezuela, which in August voted not to recall President Hugo Chavez, and in Bolivia, which in July voted to export gas, abided by constitutional law, Annan noted.

But extensive polling in Latin America by the U.N. Development Program and interviews with past and present heads of state uncovered a festering discontent and lack of solidarity with democratic institutions.

"While everybody recognizes — 'Well, hats off to democracy' — that it's managed to sustain and mitigate as much conflict as it has and translate it into peaceful resolution, you know that the machine is shaking to the foundation," Brown said.

Annan and Brown appeared in Mexico City on Wednesday with Mexico Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and President Vicente Fox (news - web sites), who has been an avid advocate of resolving all international conflicts through a strengthened United Nations (news - web sites).

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Costa Rica Demands Exit From Coalition
By MARIANELA JIMENEZ, Associated Press Writer

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - Costa Rica asked the United States to remove it from a list of Iraq (news - web sites) coalition partners Thursday, after the Constitutional Court ruled inclusion on the list violated the country's pacifist principles.

Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar said a diplomatic note had been delivered to the U.S. embassy in San Jose Thursday.

"The court has ordered me to get the country's name off that list, and that's what I'm doing," he said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States would be willing to remove Costa Rica, though a White House Web site still had the country listed on Thursday evening.

"Every country has to make their own decision about how they want to participate, and in what ways," he said. "And if that's what they want, then I'm sure we will do that."

The court ruling, announced late Wednesday, was cheered by a country that widely rejected the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

"I think it's great," 23-year-old student Rosario Camacho said. "I was opposed to Costa Rica being on the list because it couldn't support the war. It is a sovereign country and supporter of peace."

President Abel Pacheco said Thursday he agreed only to join countries that were against terrorism, and he said he would comply with the court's order and ask to have Costa Rica removed from the so-called "coalition of the willing" list.

"I was just supporting a friend in the fight against terrorism," he said. "Costa Rica was against terrorism, against dictatorships and that was it.

"Afterward, it turned out that there weren't weapons (of mass destruction) and all that, but that happens. The Sept. 11 attacks didn't leave much doubt about fears. Now we consider that only a thing of the past."

Tovar said he expects the Americans will understand the move. "As fellow democracies, which we are, they will understand that we are respectful of judicial decisions," he said.

"I think this is the best illustration we can give of respect between two powers," Tovar said.

Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said Costa Rica's membership in the coalition was an expression of the country's opposition to terrorism, and noted that Costa Rica provided neither troops nor economic assistance for Iraq's reconstruction.

The action comes amid growing fears of terrorist activity in the region, although the Costa Rican decision appeared to have more to do with the country's pacifist history. The country has no army, and Oscar Arias, who served as Costa Rica's president from 1986-90, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his work bringing peace to Central America.

International terrorists have posted Web sites threatening to attack El Salvador (news - web sites) for its continuing military support in Iraq. El Salvador is the only country in the region with troops in Iraq. Honduras pulled out its soldiers earlier this year.

Honduras and Panama have also reported that a top al-Qaida cell leader, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, had traveled through their countries. The FBI (news - web sites) recently issued a borderwide alert for the 29-year-old Saudi pilot after Honduran officials said he might be headed to the United States.

The Costa Rican court's ruling came on a motion by Attorney General Farid Beirute, who argued the constitution bars support for military action that is not authorized by the United Nations (news - web sites).

Controversy over the issue erupted when local newspapers noted that the White House had listed Costa Rica as a member of the coalition "that has already begun military operations to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction."

The White House page in question reads "Forty-nine countries are publicly committed to the Coalition, including ... Costa Rica."

Dated Feb. 4, 2004, the Web page continues: "Contributions from Coalition member nations range from: direct military participation, logistical and intelligence support, specialized chemical/biological response teams, over-flight rights, humanitarian and reconstruction aid, to political support."

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Cuban Visas to U.S. on the Rise

HAVANA - The U.S. government allowed several hundred more Cubans to migrate to America over the past year that during the year previous, according to figures released Friday.

The American mission in Cuba said it had granted 23,000 immigrant visas for Cubans during the U.S. fiscal year that just ended — 2,000 more than last year and 3,000 more than required by migration accords.

Under migration agreements signed in the mid-1990s, the United States must provide at least 20,000 visas to Cubans annually, and Cuba must discourage its citizens from making risky attempts to immigrate illegally to the United States.

The accords are aimed at encouraging safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba to the United States.

Nevertheless, hundreds still leave communist Cuba each year on smugglers' fast boats, or homemade rafts made with floating inner tubes, heading toward an uncertain fate in hopes of illegally reaching the United States.

The U.S. statement also called on the Cuban government to grant exit permits to more than 1,600 Cubans it says have been granted American immigration visas but denied permission by their own country to leave.

Many of those Cubans are doctors or other professionals who the Cuban government considers too important to the functioning of society to allow them to immigrate in large numbers.

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U.N. Inspectors Visit Brazil Uranium Plant
By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - United Nations (news - web sites) inspectors visited a uranium enrichment plant in Brazil Tuesday, seeking to resolve an impasse over the country's refusal to permit visual inspection of its uranium centrifuges.

Three International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from South Africa, France and the United States arrived Tuesday morning at the plant in Resende, some 60 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, said Mines and Energy spokesman Gustavo Cruz da Souza.


Brazilian officials do not want to allow full visual inspection of the centrifuges, citing fears the plant's advanced technology could be stolen by other countries if outsiders were allowed to view it. Brazil claims it has developed new electromagnetic technology that reduces friction in the centrifuges and makes them 30 percent more efficient than those used in other countries.


Some analysts have suggested, however, that Brazil will not allow inspectors full access because it purchased the technology on the nuclear black market — a charge the government denies.


Brazilian officials planned to lower some of the panels concealing the centrifuges but would not reveal them entirely to the inspectors, Souza said. Brazil wants the inspections limited to examinations of the tubes and valves leading to the centrifuges.


The inspectors were to spend the entire day at the plant and would not talk to the press, Souza said.


On Monday, Odair Dias Goncalves, president of Brazil's National Nuclear Energy Commission, said the IAEA was no longer insisting on "total and unrestricted access" to the centrifuges.


The IAEA has never demanded unrestricted and total access in Brazil, a diplomat close to the agency said.


"We're insisting on visual access that would be sufficient to rule out any diversion of nuclear material from that plant," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.


She added, the agency "needs physical access to the parts that would be crucial in determining that all nuclear material is accounted for and none is leaving that building."


On Wednesday, the inspectors are expected to decide whether Brazil's proposed inspection regime is acceptable.


If the inspectors approve Brazil's proposal, another team would be sent to approve the plant's design and Brazil could begin enriching uranium.


Uranium enriched to low levels is used for fuel to generate power. More highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium can be used in nuclear warheads. Brazil denies it is building such arms.


But Brazil's refusal to deny the IAEA full access has prompted fears that countries like North Korea (news - web sites) and Iran could point to the Brazil's example to justify their own lack of compliance with the agency

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Castro takes a dive... hehe

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor.../lon80510211132 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/041021/481/lon80510211132)

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Honduran Official Says al-Qaida Recruiting
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - It's a U.S. Homeland Security Department nightmare, and Honduras' most outspoken Cabinet member says it's happening: Al-Qaida operatives recruiting Central American gang members to carry out regional attacks and slip terrorists into the United States.

Yet U.S. and Central American officials say they have found no evidence supporting Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez's allegations. And human rights groups accuse Alvarez of trumping terrorism reports to justify his crackdown on gangs, who in response have adopted terror-style tactics such as beheadings — 20 so far — and threatened the government.

Romulo Emiliani, a Roman Catholic bishop working closely with gang members in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, called the reports "an attempt to distract the public while the government puts thousands of youths in jail."

The U.S. government has long worried terrorists would tap into smuggling networks that move migrants and narcotics across Mexico's porous northern border and into the United States.

To combat those fears, Mexico has worked with the United States to keep a close eye on drug and smuggling activity. It also has made it much harder to enter Mexican territory legally if a person comes from a country with terror ties.

Alvarez, however, has stoked fears that terrorists are joining migrants crossing illegally into Mexico from Central America, then moving north.

A spokesman for Mexico's National Immigration Institute said officials have caught "a significant number" of people from the Middle East trying to sneak into the United States from Mexico, although he refused to release exact numbers. One smuggler was arrested recently for allegedly moving Iranians and Iraqis into the United States.

There has been at least one confirmed report of a suspected terrorist in Central America. U.S. and Panamanian officials say Saudi native and alleged al-Qaida leader Adnan G. El Shukrijumah stayed in Panama for 10 days in April 2001, five months before the Sept. 11 attacks.

There also are fears El Salvador (news - web sites) could be hit by terrorists for supporting the U.S.-led mission in Iraq (news - web sites).

Recent reports of possible terror activity in the region have been more questionable.

In May, here in Tegucigalpa, the hilly Honduran capital, two witnesses said they saw El Shukrijumah at an Internet cafe downtown, sparking rumors he was recruiting gang members.

U.S. officials have been scouring the globe for the 29-year-old Shukrijumah, and have offered up to $5 million for his capture. But a senior U.S. official in Central America, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no evidence he was ever here.

Alvarez, a former private security consultant educated at Texas A&M, acknowledges he sometimes releases information that isn't confirmed, saying the reports keep Honduras' population alert to potential threats.

"I prefer that people live with the fear of possible danger than feel safe and have something happen," he told The Associated Press.

"Look at what happened in Spain. The people there felt safe, and they weren't," he added, referring to the al-Qaida-linked March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people.

When pressed for details of al-Qaida's alleged ties to Honduras, Alvarez could not remember the name of the Internet cafe where El Shukrijumah was allegedly spotted. He ordered his office to find the information, but after an hour of searching, staff members said it was classified.

Alvarez, who is mulling a future run for president, was appointed security minister in 2002 to beat back rampant gang activity and has championed a zero-tolerance law that made membership in a street gang illegal and punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

While the initiative has been popular with Hondurans tired of crime, gang members have responded by beheading victims and leaving brutal warnings for Honduras' government on notes left with the bodies.

One note this spring read, "Idiots, the end of the world is approaching." And a message early this year said, "The next victims will be police and journalists."

The decapitations began Aug. 20, 2003, 13 days after the zero-tolerance law took effect and outlawed the country's gang members, who use extortion and violence to control everything from the drug trade to the country's bus routes. There have been an estimated 20 terrorist-style beheadings in a little more than a year — about one a month.

Alvarez said there also was evidence gang members might be joining terrorist organizations. He said three Honduran government informants told authorities that four suspects from "somewhere in the Middle East" had smuggled $1 million in cash into Honduras to finance a migrant-smuggling operation controlled by the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, which has a strong presence in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and southern Mexico.

Guatemalan President Oscar Berger classifies links between gangs and terrorists as "rumor," and his Interior Secretary Carlos Vielmann said at this month's Interpol meeting in Mexico that "there hasn't been any indication that such ties exist."

The head of Interpol in Central America, Salvadoran police director Saul Hernandez, and Mexican Interior Secretary Santiago Creel also say they have no evidence supporting the theory.

One Mara Salvatrucha gang member, Jose Manuel Sarmiento, scoffed at the idea of teaming up with al-Qaida or other Islamic militants.

"We hang out with our homies on the street. How would we know how to make contact with terrorists?" the 19-year-old said in an AP interview from a sweltering jail cell in San Pedro Sula. "I've seen al-Qaida, but on television only."

Ernesto Bardales, a sociologist who founded a private rehabilitation program for former gang members, said exploiting terrorism jitters is a way of keeping the anti-gang law popular.

"People were terrified of gangs, but now the streets are quiet," he says. "How do you scare people again? With terrorists."

Alvarez counters that constantly talking about terror ensures terrorists skip Honduras in favor of quieter destinations.

"When terrorists feel threatened or discovered, they look for other places," he said.

Asked if he believed his country and neighboring nations really were swarming with terrorists, Alvarez is resolute.

"Time will prove me right," he says. "In time, everyone will see."

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Bombings at Two Buenos Aires Banks Kill 1

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Homemade bombs exploded in two Buenos Aires banks before they opened Wednesday, killing a security guard, police said.

The explosions occurred near ATM machines in branches belonging to Citibank and Banco Galicia, damaging the building's facades and shattering windows, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

A 38-year-old security guard was killed at a Citibank branch in downtown Buenos Aires, said German Fernandez, a spokesman for a private ambulance service.

Police said they also deactivated two explosive devices, and at least one officer was injured after authorities detonated a bomb found inside a second Citibank branch.

Banks remain a flashpoint of public anger following Argentina's 2001-2 economic crisis. Billions of dollars in bank accounts held by Argentines were frozen as the government tried to thwart a run on the banks and prop up a tottering financial system.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of Argentines have filed lawsuits hoping to recover their savings, much of which were forcibly converted from dollars to devalued Argentine pesos.

Lula Rodriguez, a Citigroup spokeswoman in Miami, said the company was cooperating with authorities investigating the bombings.


Police in Buenos Aires were put on alert and extra patrols were assigned to areas with a large number of banks, Police chief Hector Giacardi said.

The blasts were the latest in a string of bombings in recent months.

A bomb exploded outside a Buenos Aires bank in August during a visit by the head of the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites), but did not cause any injuries. A second bomb was later found and deactivated outside a local McDonald's.

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Colombians Thankful for U.S. Aid
By KIM HOUSEGO, Associated Press Writer

CARTAGENA, Colombia - There were protesters as President Bush (news - web sites) landed Monday in this seaside city for a visit — but they were far outnumbered by Colombians thankful for the aid Washington has poured into their country to combat drug trafficking and guerrillas.

Unlike his weekend visit in Chile, Bush was not greeted by massive street protests during his four-hour stopover to visit President Alvaro Uribe, his firmest ally in South America.

When two dozen protesters appeared outside the thick walls surrounding the historic section of Cartagena, crowds of onlookers scornfully looked on. Seeing that few people were rushing to join them, the protesters drifted away before Bush's motorcade proceeded from the airport to the presidential guest house where he met with Uribe.

"I'm glad they left. They were giving the wrong image," said Catalina Oseja, 33, a housewife who was waiting to see Bush's motorcade drive by. Although there were no crowds lining the route, clumps of people did clap and wave as the vehicles swept past.

The Colombian onlookers said U.S. military assistance in the war on drugs is helping put their embattled nation back on its feet.

"Things have gotten better here since the Americans got involved — the economy is better and tourists are coming back," said Carlos Jose Agudelo, a banker, pointing to a group of Germans who stepped off a cruise ship.

In the last four years, the United States has pumped US$3.3 billion into Colombia — more than any other country outside the Middle East — mainly to train and equip government forces to combat narcotics trafficking and Marxist insurgents who feed off the drug trade.

The crackdown has pushed the rebels deeper into their jungle strongholds, cut crime rates in most major cities and given Colombians a renewed sense of hope after 40 years of civil war.

"I hope Bush gives us even more military aid today," Agudelo said. "It's the only way we can defeat the guerrillas, who are just a bunch of narco-traffickers."

He likely won't be disappointed.

At a joint press conference with Uribe later Monday, Bush said he would ask Congress to renew U.S. anti-drug support in Colombia, saying it was of vital interest to both countries.

Despite the support for Bush's policies toward Colombia, residents were pleased when he stepped back on Air Force One, fed up with the thousands of troops on the streets and the security checkpoints on many roads, bringing the city to a virtual standstill.

"It's good that President Bush came," said Mauricio Gonzalez, a taxi driver. "But I'm glad he didn't stay longer."

[JediBendu]

Wednesday 15 December 2004, 9:17 Makka Time, 6:17 GMT

Castro, Chavez defy US trade pact (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/70FAE354-7832-4AC8-A714-604F65F6C78E.htm)

I must admit, it's amusing to see two of the last pure socialist idealogues setting up an alternative trade bloc in competition with the US style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif

oh what a wonderful world style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

[cj790]

Castro looks rather like Christopher Lee in that pic style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

Maybe it's time to listen to the Separatists style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif

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commies

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Can't we just sink Cuba now? I mean, would anyone miss it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Cuba Erects Sign Linking U.S. and Fascism

HAVANA - Cuba responded Thursday to the U.S. diplomats's refusal to take down Christmas decorations by putting up a huge billboard in front of the U.S. Interest Section emblazoned with a swastika and showing photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused by American soldiers.

The billboard, put up overnight, had a large swastika in red and the word "fascist" covered with a "Made in the U.S.A." stamp. It sat prominently on the Malecon, Havana's coastal highway, facing the mission's offices.

There was no immediate response from American diplomats in Havana.

The U.S. Interest Section, headed by chief James Cason, ignored a demand earlier this week to remove Christmas decorations that included a reference to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s government.

The trimmings included a Santa Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped around palm trees — and a sign reading "75" — a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents jailed last year.

Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called the sign "rubbish" this week, and said Cason seems "desperate to create problems."

Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section to remove the decorations or face unspecified consequences.

No other officials from Castro's administration have commented on the spat.
[/b][/quote]

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Colombia Nabs Reputed Drug Cartel Leader
By DAN MOLINSKI, Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia - Police captured a reputed leader of the Norte del Valle drug cartel Tuesday, the latest arrest in a U.S.-backed effort to dismantle a gang accused of trafficking half of all cocaine sold in the United States in the 1990s.

Dagoberto Florez, a reputed capo or leader in the cartel, was on a list of most wanted alleged cocaine kingpins sought by U.S. authorities under a court order handed down in New York in May. The U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

Police seized Florez early Tuesday in a rural area outside Medellin, Colombia's second largest city 250 miles northwest of the capital, the national police chief, Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro, told reporters. He declined to provide details on the capture, and said it hasn't been decided who, if anyone, would receive the reward money.

Florez was among nine reputed Norte del Valle cartel leaders being sought for extradition after U.S. investigators traced a money trail from three small wire transfer businesses in New York to cartel leaders in Colombia. Florez was the second on the list to be captured, following the arrest in October of Gabriel Puerta-Parra.

"His arrest today is yet another example of the unprecedented law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Colombia," Michael J. Garcia, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement issued Tuesday.

In its heyday in the late 1990s, the Norte del Valle cartel, named for the region of Colombia where the gang originated, trafficked about half of the cocaine sold in the United States. The U.S. government says the cartel exported $10 billion worth of cocaine over the past 15 years.

Under President Alvaro Uribe, a strong Washington ally, Colombia has extradited more than 100 alleged drug traffickers to the United States. Earlier this month, he extradited Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, a co-leader of the dismantled Cali cartel, who is considered the most powerful drug trafficker to ever see the inside of a U.S. prison.

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EU Ends Diplomatic Freeze Against Cuba
By CONSTANT BRAND, Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union (news - web sites) foreign ministers agreed Monday to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Cuban government while pledging to increase contacts with critics of President Fidel Castro (news - web sites).

The decision, announced by Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, ends a freeze on high-level contacts imposed by the 25-nation bloc after Havana cracked down on dissidents in March 2003.

A statement approved by the ministers said the EU was willing to resume "a constructive dialogue with the Cuban authorities aiming at tangible results in the political, economic, human rights and cooperation sphere."

But the EU insisted it would continue to raise human rights issues and demanded the "urgent" and "unconditional" release of all dissidents, including the 75 given prison terms of up to 28 years in the 2003 clampdown.

Asselborn told a news conference the new policy would be reviewed in July.

"We highlighted the need to support a process leading to democratic pluralism, respect for human rights and basic freedoms," he said.

The EU stressed that any normalization of relations would not curtail its contacts with Cuban dissidents.

"The EU would develop more intense relations with the peaceful political opposition and broader layers of civil society in Cuba, through enhanced and more regular dialogue," it said.

Cuban authorities said earlier this month they had resumed formal ties with all of the EU's ambassadors in Havana. They had suspended relations in retaliation for the EU's ban on high-level governmental visits and participation in cultural events in Cuba and the Europeans' decision to invite dissidents to embassy gatherings.

In November, the EU reviewed diplomatic sanctions against Cuba and Havana released 14 of 75 imprisoned dissidents.

Human Rights Watch urged the EU, however, not to fully normalize economic relations with Havana until Castro's regime releases more dissidents and introduces legal reforms.

"Cuba's recent release of some of the dissidents is a welcome step, but it does not signal a meaningful change in the government's repressive policies," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at the New York-based human rights watchdog.

In Prague, former Czech President Vaclav Havel also urged the EU to keep supporting Cuba's dissidents even as it restores diplomatic relations with Havana.

The former dissident said in an article published Monday in the daily newspaper Hospodarske Noviny that the newly expanded EU must "defend its freedoms and values, and not abandon them" by aligning itself with dictators.

Havel appealed to the EU's newest members, most of them former communist states, "not to forget their experience with totalitarian regimes" and to "reflect that experience in their behavior in the organs of the EU."

The thaw could eventually have economic consequences since the 2003 dispute also saw the EU defer a request by Cuba to join the EU's trade and aid pact with African, Caribbean and Pacific nations, which could have granted easier access to European markets. Havana withdrew its request after the EU linked it to human rights improvements.

Cuba also refused to accept further assistance from the EU's aid budget, which had allocated $11.3 million to the island in 2002.

The 25-nation EU is Cuba's biggest trading partner, with two-way commerce totaling $2.09 billion in 2003.

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Castro Urges Patience With Power Problems By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 27, 3:46 AM ET



President Fidel Castro said Tuesday his government was revolutionizing Cuba's aging electrical system, asking a nation weary of recent breakdowns to be patient while his government works to fix the problems.

Summer heat in the 90s and hours-long blackouts that stop fans and water pumps and cause refrigerated food to spoil have increasingly irritated Cubans and led to reports of small, sporadic protests and scattered anti-government graffiti. While occasional blackouts are common every summer, Cubans say these are the most frequent and longest of recent years.

"We will overcome. Have a little bit of faith," the Cuban leader said in an address of nearly four hours marking the 52nd anniversary of his revolution. It celebrated his 1953 attack on a military barracks, but he did not come to power for another 5 1/2 years on Jan. 1, 1959.

The address before a select group of government faithful and foreign supporters inside Havana's Karl Marx Theater was an unusually controlled gathering that contrasted with the large assembling of masses usually organized for the main July 26 celebration.

Castro said the island's economy grew 7.3 percent in the first half of 2005, and recent attempts to depict Cuba as being in crisis were fabrications by the communist nation's enemies.

"No other revolutionary process has been able to count on as much consensus and overwhelming support as the Cuban revolution has," he said.

Castro also defended the detentions of dozens of opponents during a recent pair of public protests.

He said the government would respond the same way "as long as traitors and mercenaries go one millimeter beyond what the revolutionary people — whose destiny and lives are at risk going up against the most inhumane empire — are willing to permit."

The audience, including hundreds of Americans who arrived this week with a humanitarian aid shipment, cheered Castro and waved large red, white and blue Cuban flags.

Castro also criticized international media based in Cuba, accusing some journalists of siding with the American government "and working in full complicity with the office of the U.S. Interests Section to misinform and deceive the world about the Cuban reality."

The current power crisis is among the more serious domestic challenges faced in recent years by Castro, who turns 79 next month and has been in power for 46 years.

"There is complete consciousness of the dissatisfactions, insufficiencies, shortages and, above all, of the challenges we must overcome ahead," Pedro Saez, the Communist Party chieftain for Havana, said in the party's Granma newspaper Tuesday.

The crisis cost Cuba's minister of basic energy his job a year ago when Castro discovered the severity of the problems. Since then, more than $500 million has been invested to upgrade aging infrastructure and replace broken parts.

Although Castro has encouraged his people to have faith, residents in Old Havana say numerous anti-government writings have appeared on walls around the neighborhood — only to be quickly painted over in the early morning hours by state workers.

Several recent opposition protests were met by much larger groups of government supporters drowning them out with revolutionary slogans and patriotic songs.

"The government knows that these activities by the opposition could play a role in sparking ... commotion," said activist Elizardo Sanchez of the non-governmental Cuban Commission on Human Rights and Reconciliation.

[leiaorgana]

Serb War Crimes Suspect Arrested

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, AUGUST 8, 2005
CBS News

(AP) A top Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect, indicted by a U.N. tribunal for some of the worst atrocities in the Bosnian war, was arrested Monday in Argentina.

Milan Lukic was being held at a police station in Buenos Aires and was to be questioned by a judge after being arrested in the city on an "international request," according to Argentine Federal Police.

Lukic was indicted by the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2000 for crimes against humanity. He also has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Serbia for war crimes but has been on the run since late 1990s.

Lukic, among top war crimes suspects wanted by The Hague court, has been charged with abduction and the killing of 20 Muslims from Serbia that took place in 1993 at a border area.

"We heard the news and we greatly appreciate the work of the Argentine police," said Florence Hartmann, spokeswoman for the chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor.

Earlier this year, Lukic was sentenced in absentia by a Serbian court to 20 years in prison for his role in the abduction of 16 Muslims from a bus in eastern Serbia in 1992.

Lukic, as a member of a notorious paramilitary group, the Avengers, allegedly took part in the abduction of the Muslims, 15 men and a woman, who were later taken to Bosnia, tortured at a local hotel, executed and their bodies dumped in the Drina River.

Lukic was the second Serb war crimes fugitive to be arrested in Argentina this year. Nebojsa Minic, accused by Serbia of war crimes in Kosovo, was arrested in May in the western Argentine town of Mendoza after a tip from the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.

Two other top Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitives, wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, remain at large.

Argentine police said Lukic was picked up in a residential neighborhood of Buenos Aires on Monday, but they did not disclose circumstances surrounding the arrest.

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good job!

[leiaorgana]

Americas summit protest turns violent
Anger in streets over Bush, economic policies as leaders gather

Friday, November 4, 2005 Posted: 2352 GMT (0752 HKT)


MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (CNN) -- Protesters set one building on fire Friday and threw objects at police in the streets of this resort city as the leaders of 34 nations began the fourth Summit of the Americas.

Small bands of demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails, set bonfires in the streets with items looted from stores, burned American flags and set a bank ablaze.

Argentine police responded with tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who did not breach the security cordon set up around the hotel where the summit was taking place.

The protest was not visible from the summit site, about a mile away. (Watch as protesters set a building on fire -- 1:25)

Local media reported at least 20 injuries, but that number has not been independently confirmed.

The demonstrators retreated after about an hour, and two hours later there was an eerie calm on the streets just before sundown, CNN Producer Alec Mirian said.

Earlier in the day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led thousands of protesters in a rally against President Bush's policies.

Chavez, who U.S. leaders have said is a source of instability in the hemisphere, condemned what he called U.S. imperialism while demonstrators opposed to the Iraq war and U.S.-led trade policies called Bush a "fascist" and a "terrorist."

Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona also participated in the protest, wearing a T-shirt accusing Bush of war crimes. (Watch video of the protest -- :28)

Chavez, a left-leaning populist, routinely denounces Bush as "Mr. Danger" and refers to the United States as "the Empire."

Bush was expected to see Chavez at the summit later in the day. At a brief news conference, Bush said he would be "polite."

He also said he viewed his participation in the summit as an "opportunity to positively affirm our belief in democracy and human rights and human dignity."

Bush said he was gratified by his meetings with leaders of several Central American countries, which he described as "young democracies" eager to implement a free trade agreement.

Bush's first meeting Friday was with leaders of nations that joined the Central American Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA was narrowly approved by Congress in July after an intense push by the White House. (Full story)

No comment on leak scandal
Bush began his day with praise for Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and, at a joint news conference, made an apparent reference to his unpopularity in the region.

"It's not easy to host all these countries -- particularly not easy to host, perhaps, me. But thank you for doing it," Bush said to Kirchner.

The Argentine president, speaking through a translator, said the two had "a very important meeting" and were "quite candid" in discussions on numerous issues "related to our bilateral relations."

Neither leader took questions at a brief media appearance together.

Later, speaking alone with reporters, Bush deflected questions about political problems at home. It was the first time he had taken questions since the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former top aide.(Watch: Bush leaves, troubles follow -- 2:27)

Bush said he would not talk about the indictment, or the future of his chief political adviser, Karl Rove. (Full story)

Economics on the agenda
One of the top economic issues for Friday's host nation involves the International Monetary Fund.

Argentina is seeking a new IMF loan agreement like the one that helped the country out of a major economic crisis in 2002. Argentine leaders have complained that they're not getting the kind of deal they need now.

"The president was quite firm in his belief that the IMF ought to have a different attitude toward Argentina," Bush said.

He did not express support for Argentina's position, instead sticking by previous assertions that he would leave that between Argentina and the IMF.

Bush said Kirchner has made "wise decisions" that helped Argentina's economy change "in quite dramatic fashions." He added that Kirchner's economic track record makes it possible for him to "take his case to the IMF with a much stronger hand."

Chavez leads rally
"Peoples of the Americas are rising once again, saying no to imperialism, saying no to fascism, saying no to intervention -- and saying no to death," Chavez yelled to the cheering crowd of demonstrators.

Carrying anti-U.S. signs and large images of regional figures such as Marxist rebel Che Guevara, thousands of protesters began their march on the streets and then moved into Mundialista Stadium, where Chavez led the rally.

Among the other ways Chavez has chosen to tweak Washington's nose is by embracing Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was not invited to the summit because the communist leader is not recognized as an elected head of state.

U.S. officials downplayed any Bush-Chavez subplot at the proceedings.

"This summit is not about Hugo Chavez," U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters Wednesday. "We've had some long-standing concerns about the policy for his government. This is not news."

Early in the day, thousands of protesters had welcomed a train bringing a group of fellow demonstrators from Buenos Aires -- including Bolivian presidential hopeful Evo Morales.

Chanting "Fascist Bush! You are the terrorist!" the protesters massed along the sides of the train, trying to shake hands with those inside. (Full story)

The violent protests were not limited to Argentina. Associated Press photographers took images showing police battling demonstrators in Uruguay on Friday.

Controversy over free trade
Bush wants to create a free trade zone throughout the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. He has argued that all nations involved will benefit economically.

But leaders of several nations reject the notion, saying the United States would take advantage of smaller nations. Chavez is one of the most prominent critics.

"We bury the free trade agreement today here," Chavez said at the rally.

Bush will also make stops in Brazil on Saturday and Panama on Sunday.

CNN's Dana Bash, Alec Mirian and Lucia Newman contributed to this report.

[leiaorgana]

Right now I'm not too proud of being Argentinian... I totally understand protests but this has gone too far.. and some of the riots are within 4 blocks from where I work, I crossed those guys in the street right before the riots started in both cities: Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires...

[Iknis]

Would you say that the presence of the protestors reflects the general mood of Argentinians (and even Latin America) or just that of a minority?

[leiaorgana]

Actually I think it's represents a minority of Latin America but the people that feels in desagrement with the goverment policies and foreign policies are not the ones that went out to protest last nite, This are minorities that just "took the chance" in the middle of pacific protests.
I know we all have the right to protest but not to break and vandalazid other people's properties, and hurt people.

[T-bone]

yep

[T-bone]

US under fire as Chavez hosts World Social Forum
By Patrick Markey

Tens of thousands of international activists gathered in Caracas on Tuesday for the World Social Forum to protest U.S. imperialism and debate topics from fair trade to indigenous rights.

The event bills itself as nonpartisan. But much attention will focus on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a self-styled socialist revolutionary, who has become a regional standard-bearer for left-wing, anti-U.S. movements since allying himself with Cuba.

The sixth world forum, an event that began in Porto Alegre in Brazil, registered more than 67,000 participants and starts with a march against imperialism that will likely focus on U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S.-led Iraq war.

"This is a process that can bring change for everyone," said Colombian Lucy Martinez, who belongs to a solidarity group with Cuba. "It's great that it is here in Venezuela because Chavez, like Fidel Castro, is an example for everyone."

Ecuadorean Indians in traditional shawls sat among piles of their luggage while Brazilian students checked out street stalls offering Che Guevara T-shirts and bracelets, watches and posters printed with Chavez's image.

Lines of participants waiting to register snaked inside a Caracas theater complex and others set up a campsite in a nearby public park.

Many traveled by road from neighboring Brazil and Colombia. At least four Brazilian students were killed and 11 injured when their bus crashed in Peru in route to Caracas.

The forum began as an alternative to the gathering of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, but it is now a broad movement where activists campaign and discuss topics as varied as gay rights, debt forgiveness and anti-globalization.

Two similar events have been organized for Mali and Pakistan.

"BUSH TERRORIST"

At the start of the Caracas forum, Cuba's National Assembly speaker Ricardo Alarcon held an "open court" to accuse Bush of protecting a Cuban-born former CIA operative wanted by Havana and Caracas for the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976.

"We all know Mr Bush is a terrorist, " Alarcon said. "But I want to indulge him, up to a certain point, he is not guilty. He learned to be a terrorist from the crib, he carries it in his blood."

A U.S. judge last year ruled Luis Posada Carriles, who is also blamed for bomb attacks on Havana hotels, could not be extradited to Venezuela.

The forum took place just days after Bolivia's Evo Morales became the latest left-wing president to assume power in South America on a wave of regional rejection of U.S.-backed free-market economic policies.

Venezuela's Chavez has branded Bush "Mr. Danger" and says he is bringing socialism to the world's No. 5 oil exporter to better the lives of the poor.

Chavez, who often claims inspiration from South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar, says he has sought out trade and energy deals with South American neighbors to counter Washington's damaging influence in the region.

U.S. officials dismiss Chavez's accusations that they are plotting his overthrow. They say the tough-talking, retired army paratrooper is working with Cuba as a destabilizing force in other South American countries.

[Javen]

Mexico set to decriminalize pot and cocaine

By Noel Randewich 55 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Possessing marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by the Mexican Congress. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060428/ts_nm/mexico_drugs_dc

This is kind of crazy(or as they say in Mexico"Loco"

[T-bone]

maybe they'll stay there now :O

[Javen]

They should have a new theme song now.

(Think Sweet home Alabama)

Sweet Leaf Casa Mexico. Dios I'm coming home to you.

[DblDwn]

Glad to see we're making friends in South America as well:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/01/21/chavez.ap/index.html

[Virus]

Glad to see we're making friends in South America as well:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/01/21/chavez.ap/index.html

What a nut. I really don't get what this guys beef is with the USA

[T-bone]

What a nut. I really don't get what this guys beef is with the USA

He has no beef - he wants to be a world dominating power. When you want to be a powerful guy who can affect world policy on a global scale, you go after the big guys and take them down first, then you move into their spots. Any beefs he has that he'll tell anyone are just bull, like we're imperialists trying to conquer the world and create an American Empire.

See, that would be Islamic Terrorist Extremists he's talking about there, not us. We are not trying to restore the gool ol' Caliphate.

[Sargoth]

It's all about the Oil, my friends. It's all about the Oil.

[Master Cephus]

I don't know if it's so much about the oil than it is about the power. I think he is using oil as a means of obtaining power, but I do believe he is trying to be the next Castro.

[Konig15]

Would you wanna be friends with an asshat like Chavez?

[Virus]

I don't know if it's so much about the oil than it is about the power. I think he is using oil as a means of obtaining power, but I do believe he is trying to be the next Castro.

It sounds like it with all of his talk about Communism. Someone needs to show this guy a history book and prove that Communism hasn't worked over the past 100 years.

[Sargoth]

It sounds like it with all of his talk about Communism. Someone needs to show this guy a history book and prove that Communism hasn't worked over the past 100 years.

Quick, somebody tell China that!! :nahnah:

[Sargoth]

I don't know if it's so much about the oil than it is about the power.

Is there a difference?

Would you wanna be friends with an asshat like Chavez?

Apparently, WE do. Bilateral trade between the US and Venezuela is up 36% for 2006.

[T-bone]

Quick, somebody tell China that!! :nahnah:

Oh it'll work...if you force it to.

[Sargoth]

Oh it'll work...if you force it to.

Hey, I never said it was pretty.

[T-bone]

Hey, I never said it was pretty.

The point is, anything can work at gunpoint. They say it's getting better over there but they still hate us... so there ya go.

I don't care if it works or not. Communism or Socialism, I guess, isn't the big dirty word it was in the 50's but I'll take life in the USA over any other country any day of the year.

[Jedi Master Harrison]

It's quite simple, communism is, fundamentally, in its simplest form, a great idea. But we don't live in an ideal world so it will never work satisfactorily, so there is not much point in trying to make it work, even at gun point. Unfortunately some people just never learn.

[T-bone]

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070210/photos_pl/2007_02_09t190039_450x425_us_usa_latam;_ylt=AifCoo in3ZaDJwfvi5ppQVcb.3QA

[T-bone]

bump

[Miasmo]

Funny you should bump this. Just this morning I drove my dad to the airport where he'll ultimately be heading back to Venezuela on business. Thought maybe he wouldn't be going back with all the hubbub over there, but he's got at least 10 weeks left, I believe.

Any predictions on what state Venezuela will be in by September?

[T-bone]

I knew that.
I know everything.
Nothing is coincidence.

[TuskenRaider1]

Good News. The 15 are freed!! Bentacort, the 3 Americans, and 11 soldiers freed in a great rescue operation!