The Caribbean

Haiti: US cables released, new housing dangers revealed

WikiLeaks is releasing 1,918 previously unpublished diplomatic cables concerning Haiti to the weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté—the first revealing the details of US pressure to keep Haiti out of the Venezuela-led PetroCaribe program.

The Caribbean

Haiti: US extends TPS, deportations continue

US Homeland Security is extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians for another 18 months, but it continues to deport “criminal” Haitians, exposing them to life-threatening dangers.

The Caribbean

Haiti: cops evict more earthquake survivors

Armed with machetes and knives, Haitian national police and local officials destroyed some 200 tents in a Port-au-Prince camp set up by people left homeless in last year’s earthquake.

The Caribbean

Haiti: new president inaugurated in the dark

Popular Haitian singer Michel Martelly (“Sweet Micky”) was sworn in as his country’s 56th president amid a blackout in the capital—after a failed effort to amend the Constitution to allow presidents two consecutive terms.

The Caribbean

Puerto Rico: ACLU delegation criticizes abuses

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) hosted a high-publicity fact-finding delegation in San Juan to highlight human rights abuses in Puerto Rico, finding that that a “culture of fear” inhibits free speech on the island.

The Caribbean

Cuba: right-wing terrorist Orlando Bosch dies in Miami

Far-right Cuban activist Orlando Bosch died in Miami at the age of 84. Accused in a number of terrorist actions against Cuba, he denied he was involved in a string of 1997 attacks on hotels in Havana.

The Caribbean

Haiti: election results challenged, media threatened

The “international community” is pressuring Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council to change 18 questionable decisions in the Parliament race—as presidential candidate “Sweet Micky” Martelly is accused of intimidating journalists.

The Caribbean

Cuba: US loses Posada Carriles case —again

A federal jury in El Paso, Texas, acquitted Cuban-born former CIA “asset” Luis Posada Carriles of 11 counts of fraud and obstruction of justice, handing US prosecutors their latest defeat in the case.