Foreign Relations Archives - Page 20 of 24

Who Doesn’t Spy?

“Nations be spyin’, yo!” That’s how Jon Stewart of The Daily Show recently summed up the ongoing-and-ever-expanding allegations that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on Brazil and other nations, a story to which Wikipedia now devotes more than 33,000 words and nearly 600 source references. “All nations act in their own self-interest,” Stewart said on … Read more

Snubbing the U.S., Brazil Turns its Foreign Policy to the Global South

Brazil’s postponement of its White House state dinner–seen as a long-awaited wedding ceremony for the two countries after a very drawn out courtship–may signal more than just President Rousseff’s anger with revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had been spying on her personal life and Petrobrás, the state oil company. Since the postponement … Read more

Monday Memo: Protesters & Police Clash in Brazil – Train Crashes in Buenos Aires – Hurricane Raymond Nears Mexico – Bachelet Leads Polls in Chile – U.S. Surveillance in Mexico

Likely top stories this week: Protesters clash with Brazilian police forces in Rio de Janeiro; A commuter train crash injures 30 in Buenos Aires; Hurricane Raymond builds strength near Mexico’s Pacific coast; Michele Bachelet leads the polls in next month’s presidential elections in Chile; Newly leaked documents reveal that the U.S. spied on former Mexican … Read more

From the Think Tanks

Human Rights Watch Ecuador’s criminal code limits women’s and girls’ ability to safely access reproductive care by imposing harsh penalties for those who seek abortion, including survivors of sexual assault and rape. According to a new Human Rights Watch report, Rape Victims as Criminals: Illegal Abortion after Rape in Ecuador, women and girls who obtain … Read more

Protecting Truth from Power: 15 Years of The Special Rapporteur For Freedom of Expression

Guarding freedom of expression serves as both a safeguard and a catalyst for all other human rights. The Inter-American System enshrined the right to freedom of thought and expression in Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article IV of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. In 1998, … Read more

Activists File Lawsuit Against UN over Cholera in Haiti

Human rights activists filed a lawsuit in New York yesterday against the United Nations, demanding compensation and public responsibility for the cholera epidemic that has affected thousands of people in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Numerous independent reports, including one produced by an expert panel commissioned by the UN, have concluded that the epidemic was … Read more

Monday Memo: Immigration Reform – Correa in Bolivia – Colombia-Panama Border Security – Jesse Jackson – Chilean General Commits Suicide

Likely top stories this week: U.S. legislators make a last push for immigration reform; Correa visits Bolivia; The Colombian defense minister travels to Panama; Juan Manuel Santos declines help from Jesse Jackson; a Chilean general involved in the “Caravan of Death” commits suicide. Renewed Push for Immigration Reform in U.S. House of Representatives: Despite a … Read more

Comedy and Tragedy, Venezuelan-Style

Next up on the world’s stage of Theater of the Absurd: Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Like his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, Maduro has as his mentors—in things big and small—Fidel and Raul Castro of Cuba. Always the masters of deception, the Castro brothers were caught red-handed this summer trying to ship weapons to North … Read more

Leaders of the Americas Address UN General Assembly

Leaders from throughout the hemisphere will convene in New York City today for the opening of the sixty-eight session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). For the third year in a row, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will deliver the first address. In her speech, she is expected to propose global measures against cyber-espionage—a practice … Read more

Monday Memo: UN General Assembly – Peruvian Mining – Mexican Storms – Venezuela – Amazon Trial

Likely top stories this week: the UN General Assembly kicks off in New York; Peru’s minister of mines is optimistic about controversial projects; Mexico assesses damage from Tropical Storm Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid; Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro travels to China after sparring with the U.S.; a Brazilian rancher is sentenced in the murder of American nun … Read more

Cuba, U.S. Discuss Pilot Project for Direct Mail Service

U.S. and Cuban representatives held a second round of talks in Havana on Monday to discuss a pilot project to re-establish direct mail service between the two countries, five decades after it was cancelled amid Cold War tensions. The U.S. delegation was led by Lea Emerson, executive director for international postal affairs at the U.S. … Read more

Monday Memo: Dilma’s U.S. Visit – Hurricane Ingrid – Biden in Mexico – Capriles in Miami – Civil Unions in Peru

Likely top stories this week: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s U.S. visit remains pending; Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel hit Mexico; U.S. Vice President Joe Biden cancels Panama trip but will still go to Mexico; Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles visits Miami; Peruvian congressman files a bill to approve same-sex civil unions. Dilma Still Weighing … Read more

Mexican Foreign Minister Visits Cuba

Mexican Foreign Minister José Antonio Meade arrived in Cuba yesterday to discuss a new bilateral agenda—the first visit to Cuba by a Mexican minister under the Enrique Peña Nieto administration. The two-day visit follows a formal agreement in January between Peña Nieto and Cuban President Raúl Castro in Santiago de Chile to work toward promoting … Read more

Venezuela Officially Withdraws from Human Rights Body

Venezuela’s withdrawal from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights goes into effect today—a year after the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez officially notified the Organization of American States (OAS) that his country would withdraw from the human rights body. Chávez accused the Court, an autonomous branch of the OAS, of serving U.S. interests. Venezuela is … Read more

Hangar Pains: The Argentina-Chile Airport Controversy

Relations between neighboring Argentina and Chile have reached a new low point. The latest controversy surrounds a decision by Argentina’s airport regulator, ORSNA, mandating LAN-Argentina, a Chilean-owned airline operating domestically, to vacate its maintenance hangar at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, one of Buenos Aires’s two airports. LAN-Argentina’s director, Agustín Agraz, called this decision a form of … Read more