by Salvador Sarmiento, RFK Center for Justice and Human Rightson April 28, 2010
Take a look at a quality analysis by Salvador Sarmiento of the Robert F.
Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights of the road to travel
between an apparently successful donors conference and the actual
delivery of well-targeted aid, published on the Center for International
Policy’s Americas Program blog.
by Lisa Bonds, Lutheran World Reliefon February 03, 2010
We thought you should hear this story from Lisa Bonds, with our partner
Lutheran World Relief in Colombia. See LWR’s blog on Colombia and other
topics by clicking here.
“I joined my Lutheran World Relief colleagues and Rosario Montoya, the
Director of Fundacion Infancia Feliz, in a visit to the ‘Finca la
Alemania,’ the German farm… As we drove to the farm, Rosario briefed us
on the farm's history and the people who had recently returned to the
farm after having been displaced by one of the most feared paramilitary
leaders, called ‘the Chain,’ in the state of Cordoba...
by Adam Isacson, Center for International Policyon October 21, 2009
Writing a few days ago in El Espectador, columnist Felipe Zuleta
reported that mothers of young men killed by the Colombian military
have begun receiving anonymous threats.
The mothers live in the poor Bogotá suburb of Soacha, where in 2008
elements of the Colombian Army abducted young men, killing them and
later presenting their bodies as those of illegal armed group members
killed in combat. When news of the Soacha killings broke in September
2008, the scandal forced the firing of 27 Army personnel. Murder trials
have been proceeding very slowly, with an increasing likelihood that
some of those responsible may not be punished.
Amanda Martin of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA provides this important update on the arduous search for justice in the cases of disappeared Guatemalans.
On December 3, 2009, a former military official and three former commissioners were sentenced to 53 years in prison for the forced disappearance and illegal detention of six people in El Jute, Guatemala in 1981. This marks the first time in Guatemalan history that a high-ranking military official has been sentenced for forced disappearance. In the sentence, thetribunal also ordered an investigation of former defense minister Angel Anibal Guevara, former head of Defense Security (EMD) Benedicto Lucas Garcia, and other officials and soldiers assigned to the same military base as the guilty parties in 1981.
An invitation from Wayne Smith, Former Chief of the U.S. Interests
Section in Havana and Senior Fellow and Director of the Cuba Program at
the Center for International Policy
This conference in New Orleans on disaster preparedness seems to open a new and critical door for bilateral exchange.
Cuba and the U.S. Gulf Coast are both in the path of hurricanes, which
are striking with increasing frequency and ferocity. It is therefore
of marked importance that they cooperate with one another against these
onslaughts, exchanging information and providing assistance to one
another as needed. The Cubans have indicated their full willingness to
do so. It is fitting that Cubans and Americans gather in New Orleans,
the American city that was most damaged by and had the highest losses
in lives from Hurricane Katrina, to discuss how this cooperation can
best be achieved.
by Suzette Diaz and Vanessa Kritzeron November 04, 2009
After months of a virtual standstill in Honduras between democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya and regime leader Roberto Micheletti, we might be seeing the end of what one writer called, “The Little Coup That Couldn’t.” On October 29th, Honduras’ defacto leader Roberto Micheletti agreed to step down, allowing the Honduran Congress to decide whether President Zelaya would be returned to power. But, the fate of democracy in Honduras still remains to be seen.
The Washington Ballet debuted a fantastic production of Don Quixote at
the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this week. The highlight
was an awe inspiring performance by Viengsay Valdés, the Primera
Bailarina of the Ballet Nacionál de Cuba. Ms. Valdés, a product of
Cuba’s world renowned ballet schools, played the lead role of Kitri in
a spectacular rendition of Cervantes’ classic Spanish novel. Many in
the crowd didn’t even know about the special guest, who tip-toed into
DC almost unnoticed. But the audience adored the Cuban ballerina and
interrupted the show frequently with extended applause. And out came
Cuban flags with the endless standing ovation for such a rare and
delightful performance.
Action Center
