Weekly Roundup: Hostages Freed, Ten Years of Chávez, and Twittering about Tremors

FARC Frees Hostages

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) started a wave of unilateral hostage releases, sending home three policemen, one army soldier, and two politicians held for more than six years. In the same week, a car-bomb partially destroyed a police headquarters in Cali and another bomb went off in front of a Blockbuster store in Bogota. This raises question about the strategy of releasing hostages and planting bombs at the same time. A Semana article explores the controversy and suggests that the guerrilla group wants to regain some lost ground after a devastating year but also wants to show that they continue to be capable of carrying out military operations.

Tenth Anniversary of Chávez in Power
 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez celebrated his tenth anniversary by declaring a national holiday. He was joined by the presidents of Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, and Nicaragua as well as officials from Cuba and Dominica. Colombia’s El Tiempo offers a multimedia presentation looking back on Chávez’s decade in power.

On February 2, CNN en Español Anchor Angela Patricia Janiot interviewed Chávez on his perceptions about the new U.S. administration, his plans about how to handle shrinking oil revenues, and his silence on the rising violence affecting Caracas.

Read an AS/COA analysis about how Venezuela’s oil diplomacy has weakened in conjunction with falling crude prices.

Also, read a new interview with Eurasia Group’s Patrick Esteruelas about Venezuela’s economic outlook and an upcoming referendum on presidential term limits.

On February 9, the AS/COA hosts a panel discussion in the prelude of Venezuelan referendum to discuss the vote’s economic impact and constitutional implications.

Immigration Detentions and Raids under Microscope

The detention of immigrants has come under scrutiny as cases arise in which inmates awaiting deportation proceedings die behind bars. New America Media’s Roberto Lovato reports on the growing outcry for immigration jail reform by activists nationwide and points out rampant problems that include death as a result of medical neglect, denial of habeas corpus and other legal rights, lack of sanitation and food, and violent and abusive guards. He urges the Obama administration to address these issues.

The New York Times’ Nina Bernstein takes a closer look at revelations that, despite pledges that a federal immigration raid program targeted criminals, "the agency changed the rules and the program increasingly went after easier targets."

The Los Angeles Times gives an account of a quota scandal denounced by some U.S. Border Patrol officers from Riverside, California. A number of officers reported to their union liaison that they were required to conduct 150 immigration arrests for the month of January or face schedule changes. Authorities announced an investigation.

Moving Forward on the Hemispheric Trade Agenda

In the latest issue of Current History, COA’s Eric Farnsworth writes that a spirit of mutual cooperation must be employed by Washington to build a positive atmosphere for achieving hemispheric policy goals and advancing the trade agenda. He recommends easing of the harshest restrictions against Cuba, support for initiatives that reduce the impact of the financial crisis, and appointment of a White House special hemispheric envoy in advance of April’s Summit of the Americas.

Last month, AS/COA’s Trade Advisory Group released the report Building the Hemispheric Growth Agenda: A New Framework for Policy.

Bolivian Ex-Prez Offers Obama Advice

Former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, who plans to run against current head of state Evo Morales later this year, offered words of advice to President Barack Obama during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He urges Obama to restore the moral authority lost as a result of the denial of due process to detainees in Guantanamo, normalize relations with Cuba, and to strengthen ties with Brazil and Mexico.

The Fall 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly includes 31 essays from the hemisphere's political, social, and economic leaders with advice on future U.S. policy. Visit www.americasquarterly.org for more information.

Corruption at YPFB Impedes Evo’s Model

Accusations of graft and corruption scandals in the management of state-owned Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) cast a shadow over President Evo Morales’ economic model, reports Bolivia’s Los Tiempos. Former YPFB President Santos Ramírez finds himself in the eye of the storm after a contractor was robbed and killed while carrying $450,000 in cash, allegedly to pay bribes to Ramírez. Carlos Villegas replaced him to become YPFB’s sixth president in the three years.

Read an AS/COA analysis about Bolivia’s recent constitutional referendum.

Bolivia: The Saudi Arabia of Lithium?

The New York Times’ Simon Romero explains how lithium has the potential to become the next big commodity for Bolivia, but its exploitation might depend on the will of indigenous communities that gained land rights under the newly approved constitution. According to estimates, Bolivia holds almost half of the world’s lithium reserves, which are contained in its salt desert region. Hybrid cars and cell phone batteries now use lithium as a lighter and better method to store energy and these burgeoning industries have pushed foreign companies to consider how to approach Bolivia’s nationalist government with finesse.

Coup Rumors Dispelled in Peru

Peruvian Congressman Victor García Belaunde denounced a group of navy officers he claimed were planning a coup d’etat to depose President Alan García and replace him with Vice President Luis Giampietri—a retired vice admiral. To dispel the rumors, Navy Chief Admiral Rolando Navarrete delivered a speech assuring that the officers under his command have "unrestricted respect for the constitutional order and the country's great interests." Opposition leaders called on Belaunde to present evidence supporting his allegations.

Ecuador’s Open-Door Policy Draws Chinese Migrants

ISN’s security expert Sam Logan reports about the increasing flow of Chinese human trafficking through Ecuador as a result of the Andean country’s no-visa-required policy for 130 countries. Smugglers now use Ecuador as a springboard to Central America and Mexico on their way to the United States. Authorities suspect that the $70,000 paid by Chinese workers to reach the United States includes stops in Madrid, then Ecuador, reaching Mexico through Central America, and finally across the Rio Grande.

Honduras’ Revolving Door

La Prensa, a Honduran newspaper, reports that, as unemployment rises in the Central American country, so does the exodus to the north, reaching around 100,000 over the course of a year. Yet an economic crisis and stringent immigration controls in the United States have created a revolving door in which almost 58,000 Hondurans were deported in 2008 by U.S. authorities and an undetermined number decided to return home.

Did You Feel the Tremors? Facebook Me!

GlobalPost’s Alex Leff reports that many Costa Ricans turned to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to communicate in the aftermath of a January earthquake that claimed 23 lives and left 2,000 people homeless. "Costa Ricans have become increasingly web savvy, as they blog, post ‘tweets (Twitter updates) and message about the natural disasters," writes Leffs.

The Americas Quarterly Winter 2009 issue looks at the IT economy in the hemisphere and how to narrow the digital divide. The new issue hits stands on February 5. Learn more at www.americasquarterly.org.

Could Nicaragua Become the Next Iceland?

Foreign Policy’s David Kenner analyzes the risks facing five countries that may follow the path of Iceland in terms of economic and political failure. The countries on the list include Great Britain, Latvia, Greece, Ukraine, and Nicaragua. Kenner explains that Nicaragua’s heavy reliance on remittances from the United States has backfired on President Daniel Ortega. Meanwhile, the price has dropped on coffee, which remain the country’s biggest export. Furthermore, Ortega lost roughly $150 billion worth of aid from the United States and some European countries last year thanks to tactics such as refusing to allow international observers to monitor local elections held in November.

Poverty Drops in Latin America

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean unveiled its 2008 report on poverty levels in the region and found that, while 182 million Latin Americans live in poverty, the overall percentage, 33.2 percent, represents a decrease of a percentage point over 2007. Perspectiva’s blog highlights that the inroads made by some countries in their fight against poverty stand as positive news in the face of the current global economic crisis.

Lula Proposes Minimum Wage Boost
 
In a move designed to ward of recession, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva increased the minimum wage by 12 percent, from 415 reais up to 465 reais per month. The measure requires congressional ratification. Critics say that businesses may cut jobs as a result of wage increase at a time of economic crisis, Bloomberg reports.

Petrobras Looks for Credit

Amid tightening credit markets, Petróleos Brasileiros (Petrobras) seeks to secure enough financing to implement its ambitious 2009-2013 business plan released on January 23 and has been in talks with firms in Beijing, Washington, and the United Arab Emirates. Petrobras President José Gabrielli recognized how difficult it is to secure credit in the current global economic climate but voiced optimism. "It's going to be tough, it's going to be challenging, but it is not impossible," he said. 

Read an AS/COA article on Brazil’s response facing the spectrum of recession.

Repsol Seeks New Business Mate

Unniversity of Pennsylvania’s UniversiaKnowledge@Wharton covers the complicated task of finding a suitable buyer and business partner for the Spanish-Argentine oil company Repsol YPF. Twenty percent of the company’s shares—currently owned by the ailing Spanish construction company Sacyr ValleHermoso—are up for grabs and Russia’s Lukoil, France’s Total, and private Arab investors are putting offers on the table. Now the difficult part remains finding out which company will be the highest bidder but also meet economic interests.

Chile Experiments with Biofuels

Santiago is betting on production of second-generation biofuels from renewable organic pplant and animal materials on a major scale in the next five years as a means to lessen Chile’s dependence on foreign oil and natural gas, reports Tierramérica.

Falkland Islands’ New Commodity

New seismic studies suggest that the Falkland Islands’ seabed holds roughly 18 billion barrels of oil. Falklanders are exited about the possible windfall that may come from the discovery, but future projects require financing as well as dealing with tensions with Argentina, which continues to make territorial claims over the islands.

La Familia: Mexico’s Organized Crime Powerhouse

In an analysis for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ George W. Grayson profiles how the mafia clan La Familia from the Mexican state of Michoacán has become one of the deadliest crime organizations south of the border. Grayson concludes that the Obama administration cannot ignore the threat from drug-related violence in Mexico that could spill over the border. He also highlights the resemblance between La Familia and Colombia’s paramilitary and guerrilla groups.

Cuba Still Awaits Change

In an essay published by the Journal of Democracy, President of the National Endowment for Democracy Carl Gershman and the National Secretary of the Cuban Democratic Directorate Orlando Gutierrez reflect on how the Castro regime in Cuba has managed to survive against all odds and predictions. But a new wave of organized civic opposition may spur change.

Recession Hits Paradise

Popular Caribbean destinations suffer from a steep tourism decline as visitors from the United States and Europe scale back on travel, the Economist reports. As a consequence, new hotels, airports, and basic infrastructure projects will be delayed or scrapped completely.