Paraguay Arrests Member of Armed Insurgent Group

February 1, 2010

Paraguayan officials have arrested a man accused of participating in acts perpetrated by the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP)—an armed group that officials say has ties to Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). José Villalba was taken into custody in Concepción (a city near the Brazilian border) during an operation by the national police and armed forces. He is the brother of the man believed to be the EPP’s principal leader.

Mr. Villalba is the 10th person to be arrested in recent weeks in connection to the kidnapping of Fidel Zavada, a prominent rancher who was allegedly held by the EPP for 94 days before being released for a $550,000 ransom.

Officials say that the EPP is a splinter group of the Free Motherland Party (PPL), which was involved in the 2005 kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of a former Paraguayan president. Up to a dozen individuals who are also suspected of being members of the group have been spotted in remote jungle areas near the site of Villalba’s arrest. Officials say they are carefully monitoring the group’s movements and are likely to make more arrests soon.

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Paraguay’s Congress Keeps Venezuela out of Mercosur

December 17, 2009

Brazil’s Senate ratified Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur on Tuesday, but approval from Paraguay remains a final hurdle to expanding Latin America’s largest trade bloc.

Miguel Carrizosa, head of the Paraguayan Senate, said Wednesday that Venezuela should be kept out of Mercosur "as long as President Hugo Chávez continues intervening in foreign affairs.”  But Senator Emilio Camacho, who will take over the Senate presidency when Congress resumes session in March 2010, said Thursday morning that the debate could be reopened after the winter recess. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, of the Patriotic Alliance for Change coalition that has the support of Camacho’s National Encuentro Party, is in favor of Venezuela joining Mercosur.  He has previously removed the vote from the agenda of the opposition-controlled legislature.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has long advocated the acceptance of South America’s largest oil exporter into the bloc formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay in 1991. The Brazilian Senate took two years to approve Venezuela’s entry, which Argentina and Uruguay have already approved it.  With Venezuela included, Mercosur would compromise 76 percent of South America’s GDP. 

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Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

October 21, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Honduran Talks Stall over Decision on Zelaya’s Future

Negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing Honduran political impasse came to a standstill again this week. The main point of contention continues to be whether deposed leader Manuel Zelaya should be allowed to return to office. “Last week, Honduras’s World Cup qualification left the country glowing with optimism. Now, irrepressible hope and joy have again given way to a grimmer reality: political negotiations have hit a wall,” blogs Tegucigalpa-based Daniel Altschuler for Americas Quarterly, who writes about the proposals being passed back and forth between Zelaya and the interim government.

Read an AS/COA analysis on the halting steps made in the Honduran negotiations.

Protest and Media Restrictions Eased in Honduras

The Honduran interim government officially eased restrictions on protests and the opposition media earlier this week. A decree was passed after a pro-Zelaya protest in September to suspend five articles of the Honduran constitution, authorizing the closing of any media outlet deemed to disturb the peace. De facto leader Roberto Micheletti took action to repeal the decree earlier this month, but the measure did not take effect until yesterday. Coincidentally, the decree was lifted the day after the United Nations sent an OAS delegation to Honduras to begin a three-week human rights investigation.

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Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

September 30, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Signs of a Solution to the Long Honduran Impasse?

It’s been three months since the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and two months remain until the presidential election. This week’s episode of the Honduran telenovela saw de facto leader Roberto Micheletti issue a decree silencing the opposition media and suspending civil liberties. He also gave Brazil a 10-day deadline to take a position on Zelaya’s status in Brazil’s Tegucigalpa embassy, where the overthrown leader took refuge last week. But, as AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini blogs for Americas Quarterly, Micheletti seems to have “overplayed his hand.” Honduras’ Congress voiced opposition to the coup and Honduras’ top military commander predicted a resolution within a few days. The Los Angeles Times reports on a meeting held at U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens’ residence Sunday at which even coup backers' support for the de facto government appeared to waver.

Read an AS/COA analysis about the external players working to forge a solution.

Honduran Presidential Candidate Urges Elections

In an interview with PODER360.com, Honduras’ National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo Sosa says that elections can help the country move beyond the current polarizing political climate. The candidate says that those who question the legitimacy of the elections should recognize the legal process in place to move elections forward.

Hispanic Immigrants: Younger, Healthier, Uninsured

A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center finds stark differences in coverage of undocumented Hispanic immigrants and the general U.S. population. Sixty percent of Hispanics without citizenship or permanent residency lack health insurance and almost half do not have a regular place to go when sick. Most say they do not have a regular healthcare provider because they do not need one, which may relate to the fact that the Hispanic immigrant population is younger and healthier in comparison the overall national population.

Latin America Could Light Path for World Recovery

The World Bank’s top economist for Latin America Augusto de la Torre warned that the global financial crisis could mean that as many as 10 million people in the region could plunge into poverty. However, de la Torre told attendees of the Americas Conference in Miami that many countries in the region “are coming out of this crisis without systemic damage and as more attractive destinations for investment.” He described the Latin American recession as “less pronounced” and attributed economic successes to open markets, sound macroeconomic policies, and a resilient banking system.

Access additional materials from the Americas Conference, where speakers included former U.S. President Bill Clinton discussing international policy related to Haiti and Costa Rican President Óscar Arias offered his perspective on the Honduran Crisis.

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Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

September 23, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Zelaya Sneaks Back into Honduras, Catapaults Brazil into Center of Crisis

Three months after the military forced him out of Honduras, deposed President Manuel Zelaya reentered the country and gained sanctuary in the Brazilian embassy on September 21. Since then—and at the time of this report—the country remains in a tense standoff. The interim government of Roberto Micheletti closed airports, declared a curfew, and cut water supplies and electricity to the embassy. Police forces broke up protests with tear gas, with some canisters falling inside the embassy’s compound.

Such moves did little to please Brasilia, where the House approved a motion repudiating Honduras’ blockade of the embassy. While Brazil said it did not play a role in bringing Zelaya back into Honduras, officials allowed him to take shelter and reiterated support for his reinstatement. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in New York for the UN General Assembly, urged an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the crisis and requested to be present at the meeting.

In a Christian Science Monitor article exploring Brazil’s role in the center of the crisis, COA’s Eric Farnsworth explains why Zelaya chose that country to turn to. “Seeking asylum with Brazil shows that [Zelaya] thinks Brazil is the neutral voice in the crisis, not the U.S., Costa Rica, [or] Venezuela. He's essentially throwing in his lot with the party he thinks has the best chance to get him restored to power,” said Farnsworth, “It's a tangible representation of a power shift in the region.”

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Paraguay Expresses Alarm over Recent Bolivian Arms Purchases

August 31, 2009

The Paraguayan government requested a bilateral meeting with Bolivian authorities on Saturday to discuss Bolivia’s recent announcement that it will purchase up to $100 million in military equipment with credit from Russia. The deal, which is reportedly for helicopters, airplanes and other military equipment, was announced on August 12 by Bolivian defense minister Walker San Miguel.

Bolivian officials have repeatedly contended that the arms purchases pose no threat to its neighbors, yet its decision to expand its military capacity has even caught the attention of the U.S. which last year tried to block a Bolivian arms purchase from the Czech Republic.  In response, the Morales administration responded to U.S. actions by expressing his intention to instead purchase similar equipment from Chinese or Brazilian suppliers.

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