On Dec. 19 US Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff wrote Haitian president René Préval that “[a]fter very careful consideration” he was rejecting the Haitian government’s request for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for undocumented Haitians in the US. This would have… Read moreHomeland Security rejects “temporary protected status” for Haitians
On Jan. 6 Dominican soldiers removed some 600 Haitian immigrants without incident from the Nuestra Senora del Rosario church in the city of Dajabon, on the northwestern border with Haiti. The immigrants had occupied the church the day before after… Read moreDominican Republic: 600 Haitians occupy church
Cuban president Raúl Castro Ruz led a subdued celebration on Jan. 1 for the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The ceremony took place in the eastern city of Santiago, where Castro’s brother, former president Fidel Castro,… Read moreCuba: Revolution turns 50
On Dec. 10 a Haitian court sentenced journalist Joseph Guyler Delva to one month in prison for alleged defamation and public insults against former senator Rudolph Boulos. Delva and his lawyer were not present at the trial, since it had… Read moreHaiti: reporter threatened
In an interview this month with the left-leaning Mexican daily La Jornada, Cuban National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcón said that Cuba isn’t counting on a major shift in US policy towards Cuba when Barack Obama becomes US president on Jan…. Read moreCuba: no “turning point” with US
Haiti marked the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 60th anniversary with an official ceremony organized by the United Nations at the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty (FOKAL), a nongovernmental organization formerly headed by Prime Minster Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis. The event… Read moreHaiti: US resumes deportations
Puerto Rico’s conservative New Progressive Party (PNP) gained easily over the centrist Popular Democratic Party (PPD) in elections on Nov. 4, with PNP gubernatorial candidate Luis Fortuno winning 52.8% of the vote to 41.3% for the PPD candidate, current governor… Read morePuerto Rico: right wins elections
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Oct. 29 to condemn the US embargo on trade with Cuba that has been in effect since 1962. This is 17th time the group has supported a nonbinding resolution against the embargo. The… Read moreUN votes against Cuba embargo; Havana woos Latin America
On Oct. 28 former Haitian right-wing paramilitary leader Emmanuel (“Toto”) Constant was given a 12 to 37 year prison sentence for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme in New York state. Justice Abraham Gerges of State Supreme Court in… Read moreHaitian death squad boss Toto Constant sentenced —on mortgage fraud
About a dozen people reportedly died of starvation in the Baie d’Orange communal section in Belle-Anse in Haiti’s Southeast department towards the end of October. Local authorities say malnutrition is a major problem in the area, which was hit by… Read moreHaiti: storm victims starve
Voting results released on Oct. 23 showed Puerto Rico’s teachers rejecting by a 18,123-14,675 margin a bid by the Puerto Rican Teachers Union (SPM) to represent them. The “no” vote was vigorously promoted by the teachers’ current union, the militant… Read morePuerto Rico: teachers back independent union
On Oct. 14 the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1840 authorizing the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to remain for another year, until Oct. 15, 2009. The international force, which began its occupation of Haiti in June… Read moreHaiti: UN sends tanks, not tractors
