Montes de Maria by Anna Vogt
HUNDREDS OF DETAINED IMMIGRANT KIDS IN TEXAS ACCIDENTALLY GIVEN OVERDOSE OF HEPATITIS A VACCINE
This past week, immigration attorneys have cited an incident at Dilley that they say is yet another sign that the feds need to end the practice of jailing immigrant families. According to attorneys with theAmerican Immigration Lawyers Association, some 250 children held in Dilley this weekend were mistakenly given full adult doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine. Crystal Williams, AILA executive director, claims volunteer attorneys at Dilley have noted a disturbing pattern of inadequate healthcare for women and children held at the detention center. Williams called the latest incident “beyond appalling,” but said it’s indicative of the conditions in which these families are held.
Military Helps Cut Honduras Murder Rate, but Abuses Spike
Former President Porfirio Lobo rolled out the military in 2012 to fight drug gangs and his successor Juan Hernandez upped the offensive, pledging to “put a soldier on every corner”. While that may help Honduras shake off its reputation as the world’s deadliest country, a litany of murder, rape and torture accusations by some victims and human rights groups against the military is haunting a country struggling to find its feet after a 2009 coup that sparked a surge in violence.
DURING HONDURAS CRISIS, CLINTON SUGGESTED BACK CHANNEL WITH LOBBYIST LANNY DAVIS
The Hillary Clinton emails released last week include some telling exchanges about the June 2009 military coup that toppled democratically elected Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, a leftist who was seen as a threat by the Honduran establishment and U.S. business interests. At a time when the State Department strategized over how best to keep Zelaya out of power while not explicitly endorsing the coup, Clintonsuggested using longtime Clinton confidant Lanny Davis as a back-channel to Roberto Micheletti, the interim president installed after the coup.
An end to impunity in Guatemala?
The United States and the international community should join in solidarity with those Guatemalans who are demanding effective citizenship. While the international community has to be careful about encouraging Perez’s resignation (or intervening any more than they already are in Guatemala), it should support CICIG and the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into any connection Perez might have had to these and other frauds, as well as illegal efforts to shield the president from prosecution. They are doing disservice to the rule of law if they are simply deferring a decision on Perez until he leaves office in January.
America’s Second Chance in Guatemala
Second chances rarely happen. Yet the United States is being offered one now. By publicly aligning itself with the diverse coalition of Guatemalan citizens seeking immediate democratic reforms, the United States has an opportunity to bolster a democracy that Guatemalans deserve and lay the foundation for a constructive relationship with an emerging Guatemalan political class. In helping regenerate a Guatemalan democratic spring, this time the United States can unequivocally stand on the right side of history.
Nicaraguan police clash with protesters in capital
Opponents of Ortega have long said he has bent the rules to win continuous re-election, pointing to a ruling by the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Court in 2009 to overturn a ban on consecutive terms. They want a change in the Central American country’s electoral body to provide for a more transparent vote. Armando Herrera of the Liberal Independent Party accused Ortega of muting civilian democratic voice in the country, dubbing the president a “dictator”.
Haiti appeals for international help as OAS prepares to visit Hispaniola
Accusing the Dominican Republic of dumping undocumented Haitians at the border “like dogs,” Haiti’s foreign minister Wednesday called on the international community to break its silence on the mushrooming migration crisis to help both nations find “a more humane treatment or approach.” Foreign Minister Lener Renauld also asked the Dominican Republic to return to the negotiating table so that the two nations could figure out how best to receive potentially tens of thousands of Haitians living illegally in the Dominican Republic and now subject to deportations under tougher rules recently imposed by the country that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
How The Dominican Republic Is Trying To Remove Its Immigrant Population
More than 25,000 people left the country voluntarily by the end of last month, according to government officials. The Dominican Republican government claimed that it would provide free ground and air transportation to the Haitian border for individuals who weren’t enrolled in the PNRE. But Phillips saw Haitians paying up to $60 USD to be transported on cargo trucks. Though these were people who chose voluntary return, Phillips stated that “they cited threats and other pressures on them to exit the DR, sometimes originating from DR police and militia.”Haitian officials who spoke with Phillips also “confirmed” that they “had heard stories of people being threatened with beatings, imprisonment or having their homes burned down if they didn’t leave.”
FARC Declares Unilateral Ceasefire Beginning July 20th
This week, it became apparent that the peace talks had entered a tipping point. Polls show a growing public impatience with the peace talks and accumulating support for a military solution. (See last week’s polls here.) Yesterday another poll indicated that 75 percent of those surveyed did not think that there would be a peace deal with the FARC. (See results here.”) The crisis in public support comes at a time when the negotiators are tackling the difficult issues relating to transitional justice. Colombian government negotiators acknowledged that the process had entered what Sergio Jaramillo, High Commissioner for Peace, called “the most difficult moment of the process.”
The US Shouldn’t Export Colombia’s Drug War ‘Success’
By the Colombian government’s count, its security forces may have killed at least 4, 475 civilians. More than 5,000 state agents have been implicated. According to the United States government, the Colombian military continued to kill civilians through 2014. Yet, documents from the US Department of State and Department of Defense show the United States expanded funding this year for a program that pays the Andean nation to export its drug war and human rights “know-how” to new territories, despite the grave human rights concerns this fairly invisible strategy presents.
Pope praises Bolivia’s efforts to help the poor
Bolivia’s leftist President Evo Morales was at El Alto’s airport to welcome the pontiff, who praised Bolivia for taking “important steps” to include the poor and marginalised in the political and economic life of the country. Morales hugged the pope as he descended from the Boliviana de Aviacion plane on Wednesday and hung a pouch around his neck, woven of alpaca with indigenous trimmings.