On his October 4 visit to Nicaragua, US deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick met with President Enrique Bolaños and other senior officials to discuss the country’s ongoing political crisis. Speaking with reporters in Managua, Zoellick warned of stark consequences… Read moreU.S. threatens to tighten noose on Nicaragua
from Weekly News Update on the Americas Shortly before flying to his Texas ranch for a month-long vacation, on Aug. 2 US President George W. Bush signed the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) into law, following a 19-month… Read moreCENTRAL AMERICA: BUSH SIGNS CAFTA; NAVAL MANEUVERS HELD
Continue ReadingCENTRAL AMERICA: BUSH SIGNS CAFTA; NAVAL MANEUVERS HELD1980s nostalgia fans should enjoy the political battle which is heating up in Nicaragua, even if the sides are more confused this time around. Hopefully, the situation will not come to armed conflict this time, but echoes of the war… Read moreEchoes of war haunt Nicaragua
The Taliban are steadily "dismantling the human rights gains of the last 20 years," said Amnesty International in a new briefing issued jointly with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), documenting the militant group's wide-ranging crackdown since their seizure of Kabul little more than five weeks ago. Contrary to the Taliban’s repeated claims that they will respect the rights of Afghans, the briefing, entitled "Afghanistan's Fall Into the Hands of the Taliban," details a litany of human rights abuses including targeted killings of civilians and surrendered soldiers, and the blockading of humanitarian supplies into the Panjshir Valley, which constitute crimes under international law. Restrictions have also been re-imposed on women, freedom of expression and civil society. (Photo: Khaama)
“Twenty years ago this summer,” the vile Otto Reich writes for the July 18 National Review, “Washington’s hottest debate centered on the Contras’ war against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua — and how to keep the nations of Central America from… Read moreNicaraguan president plugs CAFTA, faces impeachment
from Weekly News Update on the Americas DR-CAFTA SHOWDOWN NEARS On June 30 the US Senate voted 54-45 to approve the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a pact largely eliminating tariffs on about $32 billion in annual trade… Read moreCENTRAL AMERICA: CAFTA ENDGAME LOOMS
Continue ReadingCENTRAL AMERICA: CAFTA ENDGAME LOOMSfrom Weekly News Update on the Americas GUATEMALA: CAMPESINO LEADER KIDNAPPED An unidentified group of armed men intercepted and abducted Maria Antonieta Carrillo, a local leader of Guatemala’s Campesino Unity Committee (CUC), on May 28 in the village of La… Read moreCENTRAL AMERICA: TERROR TARGETS ANTI-CAFTA RESISTANCE
Continue ReadingCENTRAL AMERICA: TERROR TARGETS ANTI-CAFTA RESISTANCEfrom Weekly News Update on the Americas NOTE: Nearly a year has passed since the leaders of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica met in Washington DC May 28, 2004 to sign the Central America Free Trade Agreement… Read moreCENTRAL AMERICA: ANTI-CAFTA RESISTANCE AND REPRESSION
Continue ReadingCENTRAL AMERICA: ANTI-CAFTA RESISTANCE AND REPRESSION
