The new Republican chair of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs plans to seek sanctions against Venezuela for its purported ties to Middle East terrorist groups and Iran’s nuclear program.
Bolivia’s National Palace is a classic colonial building that sits on the pigeon-filled Plaza Murillo in downtown La Paz. It’s more often called the “Palacio Quemado” or “Burned Palace” because it’s been set on fire repeatedly by dissidents of one stripe or another over the centuries since Bolivia gained its fragile independence. Today, painted a cheery yellow, it stands as reminder of a conflictive past and a fresh future.
First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s recent decisive victory in Argentina’s presidential
elections, the first for a woman in that country, has meant inevitable comparisons. Frequently referred
to as "Argentina’s Hillary," the president-elect is the glamorous wife of current President
Nestor Kirchner, and despite a long personal political resume she is sometimes likened to Evita Peron.
Then there’s the widespread noting of how Argentina has followed in Chile’s footsteps in electing
a woman president. But Fernandez de Kirchner ‘s win probably matters more because of where she stands
on the political spectrum than because of her gender. As she takes office on December 10, the next
president of Argentina will deepen the consolidation of Latin America’s increasingly decisive "left
turn."
While most Americans are familiar with al-Qaida, they’re less knowledgeable about a group spreading terror within U.S. inner cities: Mara Salvatrucha. Also known as MS-13, the Maras have 20,000 North American members. Mara cadres have set up in many American cities, creating the beginnings of a national command hierarchy, with some Maras on the East and West coast reporting directly to and paying gang dues to leaders in Central America. As these cadres grow and learn, they become more dangerous, and already they have begun to actively target law enforcement officers. Although the FBI and law enforcement agencies have tried to contain them using anti-racketeering statutes, which allow prosecutors to attack the structures of organized crime, the real problem lies beyond the border.
Inaugurated last July, Peruvian President Alan García Perez completed the first 100 days of his second administration in early November. Winning a run-off in the June elections with 52% of the vote, García inherited a country torn by divisive socioeconomic and political issues. His first three months in office have been marked by a combination of policy innovation and continuity as he seeks to find workable solutions to difficult problems.
As Latin America shifts further left on the political spectrum, U.S. pundits are frantically struggling to artificially partition the continent’s leftist leaders between so-called populist demagogues and sound pragmatists.