Current events in Latin America

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The Venezuelan war

Guillermo Felix Latin America This was one of the Spanish American wars of independence in the early 1900’s. This war was fought for emancipation in Venezuela.Venezuela’s mainland is on the South American Plate, which has 2,800 kilometers of coastlines. It is also home to a wide variety of landscapes. The French Revolution having overthrown the Spanish Governor Vincent Emparan declared Venezuela’s independence. Quickly a civil war started between the republican and the royalist. Coro, Valencia, and Guayana rebelled which aggravated the situation of the republic. After two years of war, half of venezuela’s white population was killed. There were many leaders who were able to take this war into victory. Two great visionaries that led this war for Venezuela where Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Miranda. Miranda was able to dream about freedom for his homeland so he rounded up a small mercenary in the USA and Caribbean and launched an invasion on Venezuela. The whole reason of this war was for Venezuela to become an independent country. The First republic of Venezuela was lost in 1812, then by July 5, 1811 the Congress declared Venezuela’s Independence. One person who benefited from this greatly was Bolivar who became president of Gran Colombia and Peru. In the following years, Bolivar and Gran Colombia continued campaigning in the south. Gran Colombia continued to fight against the Spanish in Peru and Bolivia, to liberate southern South America. The army of Gran Colombia continued its campaign under the leadership of Bolivar to liberate southern parts of New Granada and Ecuador. “The Venezuelan War of Independence,” Scribed, retrieved January 8, 2013, http://www.scribd.com/doc/48367091/The-Venezuelan-War-of-Independence "War to the Death" A Brief History of Venezuelan Independence,” Hub Pages, last modified January 6, 2013, http://jambo87.hubpages.com/hub/History-of-Venezuelan-Independence “Venezuela Independence” World History Plus, retrieved January 8, 2013, http://www.worldhistoryplus.com/ven_ind.html

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Mexican American War

The Mexican American war was fought for approximately 2 years, from 1846-1848. James K. Polk was the president of the United States at the time and he believed in Manifest Destiny. It was his duty to expand and gain new land. In order to do so he needed to persuade Mexico to sell Texas. War was eventually declared and both military parties prepared to fight.   Herrera was the president of Mexico. In 1485 president James K. Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico to try and negotiate New Mexico and California for up to thirty million dollars. President Herrera found out about their intentions beforehand and refused to meet with Slidell.

Mexico was in possession of British muskets. And the US had latest technology weaponry. They carried Hall Riffles and Model 1841 percussion rifles. Later in the war they ordered  Colt Walker revolvers. Their weapons were much more mobile and easil

The war ended when the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2nd, 1848. Under the treaty, Mexico also agreed to sell the part of land that is now known as California. The US troops had reached Mexico city and this caused the Mexicans to surrender. Even though the Mexican military outnumbered the Americans they weren’t prepared to fight against the types of weapons the Americans used. Approximately 16,000 Mexicans died in this war and about 13,200 Americans died.

Citation

"Mexican-American War." Accessed January 8, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379134/Mexican-American-War.

"Mexican-American War." Accessed January 8, 2013. http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war.

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The Drug War Is Over (Whatever That Means)

Joselyn Cordero

  The U.S. government has not stopped arresting people for using pot and other illegal substances. But no one seriously believes Washington is going to "win," whatever that means. The Drug War has done a huge impact in america and in latin america. Foreign leaders are beginning to break ranks with Washington .The combination of bribes and threats ,which it cause to keep other governments in line. For instance, last month Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who has prosecuted the violent drug war that is tearing his nation apart, asked Washington to consider "market solutions" to cut drug gang revenues. He told washington to think that this cannot go to war. That if this goes to war he would be the first one to send his troops to fight for this. case. Since Felipe Calderon wants to end the Drug Trafficking in Latin America . To make People Feel Safe In The Community. But Washington thought that if Felipe Calderon and him ,goes to war they would be going head to head. This war would never end if they both don't come to agreement.

Also in July Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto announced that while he wasn't for legalization, he wanted to start a discussion on drug policy. He Explained Pena Nieto----->“I'm in favor of opening a new debate in the strategy in the way we fight drug trafficking. It is quite clear that after several years of this fight against drug trafficking, we have more drug consumption, drug use and drug trafficking. That means we are not moving in the right direction. Things are not working.Mexico has paid a high price for failure.”<------.As you can see here Felipe Calderon and Enrique Pena Nieto are the leaders in this role. Both are trying to make washington understand that Drug Trafficking can not go into war .For the following reason ,over 60,000 people have died over the last six years in rising drug-related violence. Overall the people who love the aftermath of this situations have been the Drug Cartels since they would be losing one if there workers.

It clearly proves that people are being in-responsible .Since the only weapon that Latin America is using is intelligence .The way they are using is making wise choices on how to stop this Drug War .The same year when Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy denounced current policy as an expensive and deadly failure. Members Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Cesar Gaviria Trujillo, and Ernesto Zedillo, former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, respectively, took the public lead, advocated decriminalizing drug use. More recently Presidents Laura Chinchilla and Mauricio Funes of Costa Rica and El Salvador, respectively, urged reform of strict drug laws and discussion of legalization as an alternative, though Funes believes that the latter would "create a moral problem”. There is many leaders here that prove on how they want to change this situation just that Washington does not mind of what they are saying ."There's the beginning of change here. “:These moves have embarrassed the Obama administration, which has been increasing direct U.S. involvement in other nations' anti-drug campaigns. This has pretty successful since all the Latin American Presidents Work Together and gain strength to turn down Washington with his ideas.

“Prohibition didn't work for alcohol. Prohibition isn't working for drugs. Rather than insisting that other nations continue to follow its foolish lead, Washington should follow the lead of other countries in ending the failed War on Drugs.”

~ Unknow Sources "Passage of Marijuana Laws Hurt US Drug War Cred, Mexico President Says | Fox News Latino." Fox News Latino | Home. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/11/14/mexico-prez-us-lacks-moral-authority-for-drug-war/ (accessed January 9, 2013). "Felipe Calderon’s War Against Mexican Drug Cartels Has Opened Up Pandora's Box." Felipe Calderon’s War Against Mexican Drug Cartels Has Opened Up Pandora's Box . http://www.policymic.com/articles/4247/felipe-calderon-s-war-against-mexican-drug-cartels-has-opened-up-pandora-s-box (accessed January 9, 2013). "The drugs business: "Impossible" to end drug trade, says Calderón | The Economist." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/11/drugs-business (accessed January 9, 2013).

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Dozens of police Officers Arrested

In Brazil: Rio to be exact there were dozens of officers arrested. Brazilian authorities arrested dozens of police officers on Tuesday, accusing them of taking bribes from drug traffickers. The 61 officers were paid to turn a blind eye to criminal activity in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, state public safety officials said. Investigators were still searching for two other officers suspected of involvement. In October, police said they seized automatic weapons, guns and grenades and arrested dozens of people in a series of Rio de Janeiro slum raids. They announced they were going into the communities days in advance. Police said they take that approach to avoid major violence, but critics have said it simply gives criminals a chance to escape. In Tuesday's operation, authorities said they also arrested 11 drug-trafficking suspects.

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Legalization and the Drug Cartels

In recent news Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana. The citizens of these states can now buy and posses one ounce of marijuana. But what does this mean for the drug cartels in Mexico? It might only be two states now but if a domino effect occurs, what will happen to the cartels? 

In the past six years Mexico has spent billions of dollars to try and stop the drug cartel. A complete waste of money, considering thousands of Mexicans have been victims of the cartels. Innocent people being killed. Many people view the war on drugs as a waste of time, considering the U.S. is legalizing drugs. 

Various presidents in the Latin American region have participated in a debate, in which they stated they should have a controlled market over the substance. "There is a real concern over rising crime and, in particular, violence," said Walsh. "So rather than just escalate the routine enforcement, they have decided that we ought to look at a legal regulated market as a possible solution."

If more states begin to legalize and grow marijuana the drug cartels will have a harder time trafficking marijuana. In my opinion the drug cartels will never really stop because they traffic a variety of drugs. The drug cartels have come to be very powerful in the Latin American region. Many government leaders are involved in the cartels, contributing more power. 

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Rest In Peace CAMACHO ~ Joselyn Cordero

San Juan ,Puerto Rico

As we seen Hector Camacho had an issue with drug, alcohol and other problems throughout his life. In the year if 2007 he was charged up to to seven years in prison .On burglary charges, but the judge suspended all the charges . But after one year of the sentence Camacho Had been given probation.

Besides his criminal background ,the mother of Hector "Macho" .Has been informed that his son been in the hospital .There was no hope of Camacho to survive after his horrible disaster.The mother of Camacho decided to have doctors cut off life support for the former world champion boxer on Saturday .But before of any of this happened she wanted all her three sons get a last chance to see him.

Camacho Mom Had said to the press

"I lost my son three days ago. He's alive only because of a machine," Matias said. "My son is not alive. My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added. She said at a news conference Friday night that she was waiting only for Camacho's three other sons, who were expected to arrive from the U.S. mainland early Saturday. "Until they arrive, we will not disconnect the machine," Matias said.

Another of his friend said

"It is a very difficult decision, a very delicate decision," former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend, said in a phone interview. "The last thing we lose is hope and faith. If there is still hope and faith, why not wait a little more?" Aida Camacho, one of the boxer's aunts, said in an interview that the family could decide by late Friday whether to donate his organs.Many of Camachos relatives and friends continued to pray for a miracle, condolences flowed in for Camacho's family and preparations were being made for memorials and a funeral Mass.

Even the Gov. Luis Fortuno lamented what he called a sudden loss. "'Macho' will always be remembered for his spontaneity and charisma in and out of the ring," he said.

Also offering condolences was governor-elect Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who defeated Fortuno in November."The life of Macho Camacho, like other great athletes of ours, united the country," he said. "We celebrated his triumphs in the streets and we applauded him with noble sportsmanship when he didn't prevail."

Many people say that this has all been reported to the Police witnesses have been found

His sister says that "Death, jail, drugs, killings," he said. "That's what the streets are now." Camacho's sisters have said they would like to fly Camacho's body to New York and bury him there. Camacho grew up mostly in Harlem, earning the nickname the "Harlem Heckler." He won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard while compiling a career record of 79-6-3. He knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending the former champ's final comeback attempt.

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Miguel Calero, Final Hours?

Sunday evening in Pachuca Hidalgo, Columbia's ex goal keeper and the head goalie trainer for Club Pachuca Miguel Calero was rushed to the emergency room in the DF due to a sever stroke. This 41 year old retired goalie was transferred by helicopter to Medical Sur hospital where medics and doctors in the place confirmed his stroke. This was product of thrombosis, a clot in the blood vessels inside.  Later on in the day his ex club Pachuca announced that this man Miguel Calero was being operated.

The ex goalie says he began to feel bad around 4:30 that evening because of the clot that formed in the corotid artery and so drugs were perscripted. It took him until midnight for the drugs to kick in. Reports say that Miguel Calero is in a stable state now. Midnight, The president of his ex club pachuca came out of the hospital telling the people and fans to please pray for this man. Right now anything is possible and to be expected.

In September of 2007 Miguel Caleros retirement was led due to a venous thrombosis Which led him to be hurt from his left arm and be suspended from the field for 6 months. His carrer was made in las fuerzas basicas del Pachuca or  Second Division Pachuca. Their he went to playing first division. Calero won three league titles, one Copa Sudamericana, and three times Concacaf Champions league with this team.

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Hurricane Sandy gone, and so are loved ones

The Caribbean death toll from Hurricane Sandy rose again sharply on Saturday, even as the storm swirled away toward the U.S. East Coast. Officials said the hurricane system has cost at least 58 lives in addition to destroying or badly damaging thousands of homes. As Americans braced Sunday for Hurricane Sandy, Haiti was still suffering. Officials raised the storm related death toll across the Caribbean to 65, with 51 of those coming in Haiti, which was hit by three days of constant rains that ended only on Friday. The bulk of the deaths were in the southern part of the country and the area around Port-au-Prince, the capital, which holds most of the 370,000 Haitians who are still living in weak shelters The country's ramshackle housing and denuded hillsides are especially vulnerable to flooding. As the rains stopped and rivers began to recede, authorities were getting a fuller idea of how much damage Sandy brought on Haiti. Bridges collapsed. Banana crops were ruined. Homes were underwater. Officials said the death toll might still rise. This is a disaster of major proportion, the whole south is covered under water. Sandy also killed 11 in Cuba, where officials said it destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses. Deaths were also reported in Jamaica, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Authorities in the Dominican Republic said the storm destroyed several bridges and isolated at least 130 communities while damaging an estimated 3,500 homes.

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Cuba Second City without power,After Sandy-Joselyn Cordero

HAVANA (AP) — Residents of Cuba's is known for the second-largest city of Santiago. It had remained without power or running water .Monday four days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall as the island's deadliest storm in seven years, ripping rooftops from homes and toppling power lines.Across the Caribbean, the storm's death toll rose to 69, including 52 people in Haiti, 11 in Cuba, two in the Bahamas, two in the Dominican Republic, one in Jamaica and one in Puerto Rico.Cuban authorities have not estimated the economic toll. Yolanda Tabio, a native of Santiago, said she had never seen anything like it in all her 64 years: Broken hotel and shop windows, trees blown over onto houses, people picking through piles of debris for a scrap of anything to cover their homes. Sandy came ashore early Thursday just west of Santiago, a city of about 500,000 people in agricultural southeastern Cuba. It is the island's deadliest storm since 2005's Hurricane Dennis, a category 5 monster that killed 16 people and did $2.4 billion in damage. More than 130,000 homes were damaged by Sandy, including 15,400 that were destroyed And it disappears in just three hours." Soldiers worked on to remove rubble and downed trees from the streets. Authorities had up radios and TVs in public spaces to keep people up to date on relief efforts, distributed chlorine to sterilize water and prioritized electrical service to strategic uses such as hospitals and bakeries. As for Venezuela sent nearly 650 of tons of aid, including nonperishable food, potable water and heavy machinery both to Cuba and to nearby Haiti, which was not directly in the storm's path but suffered flash floods across much of the country's south. Across the Caribbean, work crews were repairing downed power lines and cracked water pipes and making their way into rural communities marooned by impassable roads. The images were similar from eastern Jamaica to the northern Bahamas: Trees ripped from the ground, buildings swamped by floodwaters and houses missing roofs. Fixing soggy homes may be a much quicker task than repairing the financial damage, and island governments were still assessing Sandy's economic impact on farms, housing and infrastructure. In Jamaica, where Sandy made landfall first on Wednesday as a Category 1 hurricane, people coped with lingering water and power outages with mostly good humor. "Well, we mostly made it out all right. I thought it was going to be rougher, like it turned out for other places," laborer Reginald Miller said as he waited for a minibus at a sunbaked Kingston intersection. As we all see this has been a terrifying news to the people out in the area who houses and property have been destroyed.As for know we can only give them our prayers.

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Hurricane Sandy Crosses Jamaica - Ernesto Becerra

MANZANILLO, Cuba — Hurricane Sandy made landfall on thursday, just west of Santiago de Cuba ,southern Cuba. Where residents boarded over windows and cleared drainage gutters ahead of the strengthening storm that had roared across Jamaica and left two dead in the Caribbean. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm hit Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 114 mph . The Miami center said that Sandy, which had strengthened to a category 2 hurricane.Was located just inland over southeastern Cuba and moving north, northeast at 15 mph ,and is expected to remain a hurricane as it moves through the Bahamas. Cuba's Communist government, known for its quick response to natural disasters, announced the evacuation of about 450 tourists from beach resorts near Santiago, according to Cuban state media, though hotel workers told The Associated Press they were not expecting any major problems. The U.S. hurricane center had said Sandy is expected to produce total rainfall of 6 to 12 inches across Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba. "These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain," the center said. Fishermen on the Gulf of Guacanayabo, which Manzanillo is located, moved their boats to safer ground. People in Manzanillo, a city of 132,000 some 465 miles east of Havana, said they were worried about the impact, particularly after a wet summer that left sub-soils saturated. "Given the condition of my house, I don't know if it will withstand the force of a hurricane, but we are prepared," said Emiliano Lopez, a 62-year-old who lives near Manzanillo's seaside boulevard. As Sandy crossed over Jamaica on Wednesday an elderly man was killed by a boulder that crashed into his clapboard house, police said. In southwestern Haiti, a woman died in the town of Camp Perrin after she was swept away by a river she was trying to cross, said Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, head of the country's civil protection office.

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Life in Uruguay

Uruguayans used to call their country the Switzerland of Latin America, but its faded grey capital seems a bit more like Amsterdam now that its congress has legalized abortion and is drawing up plans to sell government-grown marijuana. Both measures would be unthinkable in many other countries. Cuba is the only other nation in the region that makes first-trimester abortions accessible to all women, and no country in the world produces and sells pot for drug users to enjoy. 

President Jose "Pepe" Mujica, a flower-farming former leftist guerrilla, vowed to sign whatever bill congress could settle on that can minimize the 30,000 illegal abortions his government says Uruguayan women suffer annually. While lawmakers have yet to debate pot sales, smoking pot — if not growing and selling it — is already legal in Uruguay, and supplying the weed is a $30 million business. Such outsized respect for the democratic process has enabled the country of 3.4 million people wedged between Argentina and Brazil to reach consensus on many issues that have stymied bigger and richer nations, from reforming health care to providing free university educations, to setting ambitious renewable energy goals. By embracing compromises, Uruguay has managed to hold onto its middle class through repeated economic crises, and pass laws that have consistently improved its citizens' quality of life. Creating a police state to take on drug traffickers would be anathema to Uruguayans, who have long been among the most secular, socially liberal and highly educated people in Latin America. Instead, the government hopes to drive traffickers out of business by providing a better service to drug users.

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Presidential Debate and Latin America

Credits to: conarteest

In the two past debates President Obama and Gov. Romney have both failed to include Latin America as their subject in their discussions. In my opinion, I feel that this reflects poorly on both of them because it is the region neighboring the United States and deserves more attention. Last year the percentage of people of Hispanic/Latino origin was 16.7% Since last year we have multiplied, and the amount of young adults that are registered to vote is much greater. I believe these two candidates should pay more attention to the Latin region because they are a huge part of this election. Romney states various times that he does not approve of illegal immigration. On the Rachel Maddow show, she states that Romney is an 'Etch a sketch'' meaning he changes his opinions often and easily manipulates his words to please the people in front of him. During the second Presidential debate Romney would say that he approved of immigration and he would continue to let immigrants become citizens. However, there have been other times where he completely changes his statement. Obama is known to be more open to illegal immigration because he believes if someone is here to help better the economy and improve the country then they should be here, no matter their situation. In the debates they have also discussed the trades with Latin America. I believe it has been mentioned that Latin America is one of the largest consumers for United States exportation. This isn't just for food, but also for other natural resources like petroleum, iron, steel, aluminum and several organic chemicals. Overall, I feel that both of the candidates should dedicate more time and attention to the Latin American population as well as the region because there are several important things happening that are of interest to the United States.

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A Wish Come True - Joselyn Cordero

Havana,Cuba-Although the government of Cuba permits U.S. citizens to visit. The U.S. itself restricts its citizens from travelling to Cuba . Except with a license issued by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. However,the U.S. authorities consider any visit of more than one day to be a prima facie proof that one has spent money there. United States citizens also may not receive goods or services for free from any Cuban national, eliminating any attempts to circumvent the regulation based on that premise. Many people from the U.S comment that any citizen from the U.S is lucky to have a chance to visit Cuba.Because in order to visit Cuba you need any license to prove that you are not there to cause trouble. Many U.S. citizens instead travel without a license, doing so by way of other countries (many of which have routine flights to and from Cuba) to escape detection. Such countries include the Bahamas, Canada and Mexico. The Bahamas, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, U.S. Customs Pre-Clearance facilities now exist at many of their airports. .Besides that ,You also cannot travel to Cuba for purposes of tourism. Even U.S. citizens whose primary interest is tourism can get authorization to travel under the auspices of a program whose activities are sufficiently religious, educational, cultural, or otherwise exempt to qualify for a license. But in other words Cuba had now release that any citizen from there country is now allowed to visit anywhere in the world.But there is one issue because not that many people have proper documentation.And that leads for them to have a long process. In a way the departments in Cuba are helping all of their people.,Because they want to give them to visit other states. Overall there is many restrictions for the U.S citizen to visit Cuba.On the opposite side Cuba is actually is giving their citizens to go visit and explore .

Source:http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html

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Mexico Oil Dilemma

On October 9th much of Mexico's remaining oil wealth lays thousands of meters below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. But the question everyone is asking is how do we get?  There are some estimates that there are up to 29 Million barrels available. When state monopoly Pemex discovered its 'Super-giant' oil fields in the 1970s, they were found in barely 100 meters of water. At the time, they were the envy of the world and made Pemex one of the biggest oil producers. Pemex must now exploit resources at depths of up to 3,000 meters -- where they estimate there may be some 29 billion barrels of oil. Pemex has so far invested $3.8 million billion in Deep Water exploration, which many analysts say its not enough. For Mexicans, Pemex is more than just an oil company. It is the only supplier of subsidized gas to motorists around the country. And more importantly, it paid for many of the roads they drive on -- as well as schools, hospitals and much of the nation's infrastructure. Pemex's earnings account for 35% of the Federal budget. Deep water drilling is notoriously difficult. At depths of 3,000 meters, temperatures are so low that oil can freeze as it leaves the subsoil and equipment must be able to withstand strong currents.

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Skulls found in Aztec Temple

Mexican archaeologists said that on friday they uncovered the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering at the most sacred temple of the Aztec empire dating from more than 500 years. The Skulls were found at one sacrificial stone inside El Templo Mayor. Five of the stones were found buried inside the stone and had holes on the sides holes on each sides, this signifying that the skulls were hung. Archeologist Raul Barrera say that the other 45 skull seemed to just have been dumped on top of the stone. Archeologists unearthed the skulls and jaw bones in August. They were able to find these skulls as they were renovating a section of the Templo Mayor in the heart of Mexico City. Archeologist believed that the 45 skulls belonged to women and men between 20 and 35 years old and could have been dug up from other sites and reburied. The bones were in good condition but cracked on each side of the head, possibly because of the wooden stake that ran through them so they could be placed in a skull rack. The common belief about Aztec sacrificial stones is that a person being sacrificed was killed by cutting open the chest and pulling out the heart, rather than decapitation but this discovery gives us a better understanding of how the Aztecs used the human body in various ways in their ritual practices. The key in the discovery was the sacrificial rock, which looks like a gray headstone. Another Skeletal remains found in this very same temple was that of a young woman. Believing to be possibly sacrificed personifying a goddess, this skeleton was surrounded by nearly 1,800 bones.

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Education in Latin America

University of Carabobo

According to RMIT researcher Angel Calderon, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina have been selected to stand out in their performance in the third emerging education markets in Latin America. Research in Brazil's schools was outstanding, Chile has strong political stability, social change in Colombia is promising, and Argentina is recognized for its well established higher education. "Brazil published more papers in scientific and technical journals than the rest of the region combined." (Calderon) In the 20 years leading up to 2009, Brazil's output on research had grown by 418 percent to publishing 12,306 papers. Australia on the other hand had a 77 percent increase and it still had a higher output of the two. "Mr Calderon, RMIT's principal adviser for planning and research, said there was growing global interest in education links with Latin America because of the region's solid economic growth, rising middle class, and political stability." This was considered to be wrong information. It seems that the information given by Mr Calderon was not accurate. Argentina and Mexico were then categorized under corrupt.