LAWG Blog http://www.lawg.org Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:55:25 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=776&Itemid=68 The Latin America Working Group joins thousands of friends of Rev. Lucius Walker, here and abroad, in expressing our great sense of loss at the death of Rev. Walker – and our tremendous admiration for his life. A mentor to many, and friend to more, and a tireless worker for justice and peace, Lucius was and remains a model of commitment, dedication, and faith that lives in actions. He inspired, challenged, guided, and led. Through his leadership of IFCO/Pastors for Peace and through his personal sacrifice, he made people aware and added to the throngs of U.S. citizens who work to end the unjust embargo on Cuba and the Cuban people. Cuba was not the only country to benefit from his humanitarianism, but that is where we at LAWG intersected with his charisma and his example. LAWG sends our sincerest sympathies to the family, friends, and co-workers of Rev. Walker. May he rest in peace. Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:03:25 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=68 Today, August 25, three key congresspersons sent a letter to President Obama lauding the rumors (that we believe are substantiated) that his administration is on the brink of an announcement easing the ban on travel to Cuba – which is within the executive purview of the President (both President Clinton and President Bush took advantage of the authority of the executive to revise and reinterpret the regulations governing travel to Cuba by limited categories of U.S. citizens). Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:15:06 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=771&Itemid=68 Colombia's Constitutional Court issued an important decision last week which sent Colombia's new administration back to the drawing board to secure approval for a U.S.-Colombian military base agreement. The decision effectively struck down the contentious agreement, chastising the Colombian executive for having failed to get approval from Colombia's Congress, and requiring them now to seek congressional endorsement before moving forward. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:04:01 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=770&Itemid=68 On August 13th, a car bomb was detonated near the Caracol Radio headquarters, one of the largest networks in Colombia. LAWGEF and its partners issued the following statement in response: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:42:13 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=768&Itemid=68 Across the nation, SB 1070 has arguably become one of the most notorious bill numbers in recent history (certainly among state legislation). Mere mention of this bill number has become synonymous with threats of racial profiling, counterproductive “attrition through enforcement” approaches, and criminalization of “driving while Latino” – a sad political commentary for a SW border state with strong historic, cultural and economic ties to neighboring Mexico. Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:37:20 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&Itemid=68 Run, don’t walk, to your computer to check out Presumed Guilty (Presunto Culpable in Spanish), an incredibly powerful and insightful documentary on the injustices in Mexico’s criminal justice system. You can see the film in its entirety on the PBS/Point of View website through August 4th. To watch it online, click here. (http://www.pbs.org/pov/presumedguilty/film_description.php) Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:01:53 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=765&Itemid=68 A big white teddy bear sat on top of one of the little coffin boxes, and red roses on the other three. The remains of the four sisters were finally being returned to their mother, Blanca Nieves Meneses. “I never thought that this is the way they would be returned to me,” said their surviving sister Nancy. “I always kept hoping that they would be returned alive.” Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:20:49 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=764&Itemid=68 On Thursday, July 22nd, Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor became the latest House member and the first from Florida’s congressional delegation to join the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 874). The act, introduced in the 111th Congress by Reps. Delahunt (D-MA) and Flake (R-AZ), aims to restore the right of each and every U.S. citizen to travel to Cuba, a policy shift endorsed recently by Cuba’s most prominent opposition figures and 64 percent of Cuban Americans. Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:19:44 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=757&Itemid=68 It has now been six months since Haiti’s devastating earthquake. In this time, international governments, aid organizations and concerned individuals have donated vast amounts of money and countless hours to the relief effort. But, there are still real concerns about recovery efforts. Last week, TransAfrica Forum (http://www.transafricaforum.org/) hosted a congressional briefing,“Haiti Six Months Later: Reports from the Ground,” to share the devastating news: “what has emerged in the six month period since the quake is a confusing mix of good intentions gone awry.” Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:36:05 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=756&Itemid=68 In their work to promote and defend indigenous peoples’ rights in the Costa Chica region of Mexico, a highly militarized zone in the state of Guerrero, members of the Me’phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (OPIM) (http://www.tlachinollan.org/english/noturg/081112_Summary_OPIM.doc) and their partner organizations have had to overcome repeated harassment, threats, and even murders of leading members. Now add imprisonments and baseless prosecutions by the government to that list. In April 2008, Raúl Hernández and four fellow OPIM members were arbitrarily arrested and charged with the murder of a suspected army informant—a murder which Mr. Hernández did not commit. The other four human rights defenders were released due to lack of evidence. But even though the only witness that directly identified Mr. Hernández as having taken part in the murder was found to have lied, he has remained in prison for over two years. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:12:04 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=755&Itemid=68 This week marked the 10th year since the infamous U.S. aid package known as “Plan Colombia” was signed into law. And while some U.S. and Colombian officials have been celebrating it as a “success” and pushing to use it as a model for other countries like Afghanistan or Mexico, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) chose to commemorate this anniversary by releasing a report (http://www.wola.org/index.php?option=com_content task=viewp id=1134 Itemid=2) that describes exactly why that analysis is not only misguided but also dangerous. Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:06:28 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=68 In early June, we released Waiting for Change, a report on President Obama’s first-year policies toward Latin America. We aren’t the only ones aware of limited progress: Latin Americans are also less enthusiastic than at last January’s inauguration. On June 17, the Pew Research Center released its most recent 22-nation Global Attitudes Survey, with Mexico, Argentina and Brazil representing Latin American opinion. Though U.S. favorability ratings in these nations jumped after Obama’s election, this year’s poll shows that fewer people in Argentina and Mexico have confidence that Obama “will do the right thing in world affairs,” than did one short year ago. Brazil, which has received special attention from the Obama Administration, consistently responded more favorably to this poll than did the other two Latin American countries represented. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:33:49 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=743&Itemid=68 After a momentous week in the nation’s capital, advocates of lifting restrictions on U.S. citizens’ travel to Cuba have reason to celebrate. On Wednesday, June 30, the House Committee on Agriculture held a mark-up session of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act. While out-of-touch hardliners on the committee tried to amend and motion Ag Committee Chairman Peterson and Congressman Jerry Moran’s bill to death, it ultimately received a favorable 25 to 20 vote (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/world/americas/01cuba.html?_r=1 scp=1 sq=cuba%20travel st=cse), putting Congress on the verge of voting on ending the travel ban, rather than simply shutting down its checking account, for the first time in history. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:36:51 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=742&Itemid=68 Over two thousand civilians intentionally killed by army soldiers seeking to beef up their body counts and score days off. A massive illegal wiretapping operation by the president’s intelligence agency targeting Supreme Court judges, journalists, opposition politicians and human rights defenders. Seven human rights defenders and leaders of displaced communities killed in May alone, in a nation where threats and attacks against defenders are rarely effectively investigated and government officials’ denunciations of them place them in danger. In which authoritarian country opposed to the United States did these abuses take place? In none other than Colombia, often called “the United States’ best ally in the Western Hemisphere.” And we, the U.S. taxpayers, bankrolled this friendship to the tune of more than $6 billion. Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:56:50 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=739&Itemid=68 On Wednesday, June 30, the House Agriculture Committee votes on H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which restores U.S. citizens' right to travel to Cuba, creates jobs in the U.S., and puts food on Cubans' tables. What happens Wednesday will determine if this landmark legislation sees the light of day on the House floor this summer or dies in committee. The LAWG Cuba Team will be on the Hill (in 1300 Longworth) for the vote on the bill, championed by Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota (picture right), at 2pm EST. You can follow our live-tweets via Twitter or tune in online through the Agriculture Committee's website. Live video coverage can be found here once the mark-up begins. Photo Credit: aflcio Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:35:49 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=736&Itemid=68 We’ve seen up close how the production and trafficking of illicit drugs has fueled a war in Colombia, corrupted governments in Central America and brought terrifying violence to Mexican communities. We know about the devastating effects of drug abuse in our own neighborhoods in the United States. What has become clear is that solutions the U.S. government has pursued, such as the massive aerial spraying campaign in Colombia which destroys food as well as illicit drug crops or aid that encourages the Mexican army to police the streets and checkpoints do not solve the problem. Instead, it leads to more devastation and violence. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:35:34 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=735&Itemid=68 Guatemalans dreaming of and campaigning for a nation governed by the rule of law were devastated June 7th when the head of a UN-supported body set up to investigate organized crime resigned in frustration. Carlos Castresana had labored valiantly, as head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), to investigate the organized crime that has penetrated the nation. Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:24:01 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=733&Itemid=68 The year was 2004. I was contacted by Colombian human rights activists. Would I please come to Colombia to join them in a book launch of the second edition of The Authoritarian Spell? They were worried that the book, a collectively written critique of what they saw as authoritarian tendencies by the administration of President Alvaro Uribe, would provoke a reaction, and wanted international accompaniment. I said yes, and went to one of the book launches in Medellín, where a professor at the local university spoke and introduced me and several of the book’s coauthors, and we had a genteel, scholarly discussion of current events, in an auditorium filled mainly with students and professors. Little did we know that the book, criticized by the government as exaggerated, was in fact far too light a critique of the government’s authoritarian tendencies. Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:01:43 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=730&Itemid=68 Here’s an update on the recent natural disasters that have hit Guatemala from Kelsey Alford-Jones of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC/USA): A week after Guatemalans experienced a dual assault from Pacaya Volcano and Tropical Storm Agatha, volcanic ash still hangs in the air. Over 80,000 people wait in emergency shelters—the homes, crops and livelihoods of many completely destroyed. Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:16:47 +0100 http://www.lawg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=729&Itemid=68 Many in the United States Congress continue to hem and haw when it comes to repealing the unjust ban on U.S. citizens' travel to Cuba, but the head-honchos of Cuban civil society know where they stand -- and, presumably tired of the hardliners invoking their name in opposition to any change to the status quo, they've decided to set the record straight. In a letter made public on June 9th, 74 Cubans urged members of Congress to vote in favor of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, legislation currently being considered by the House Committee on Agriculture that would restore the right of each and every U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, without getting a permission slip from Uncle Sam, and ease the sale of U.S. food to the island. Sat, 12 Jun 2010 08:27:47 +0100