War on Drugs, recognize and rethink

On 2010/06/23, in Conflict, Culture, Economy, Region, Society, by Albeiro Rodas

The United Nations Office on Drugs (UNODC) offers a positive report on the Colombian case and its reductions of coca leaf. Acción Andina (AA) is, however, not too optimistic and concludes that there is an effort to show that Colombia has won the struggle against drugs and drug trafficking. What is clear for an international community opinion is that this War on Drugs is divided and it has several points to recognize and rethink.

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President Uribe denounced arms race in the region

On 2009/09/23, in Culture, by Albeiro Rodas

uribeUNphotoAFPcolombiapassportPresident Álvaro Uribe made a strong statement against the arms race in the region. In his intervention before the 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the President of Colombia said that it is worrying that instead to increase the cooperation for security and peace for the peoples, some leaders accelerate the arms race and even confess their war mood.

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cocaineWhile Colombia is still the first world producer of cocaine, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported this month that the production of the white powder in Colombia has decreased.

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Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia & Israel to Honduras

On 2009/06/02, in Conflict, by Albeiro Rodas
During a news conference in San Pedro Sula, the OAS Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras talk about the General Assembly. Photo OAS.

During a news conference in San Pedro Sula, the OAS Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras talk about the General Assembly. Photo OAS.

Honduras will be at the center of the international media this week. The Central America nation is the seat of the 39th Organization of American States’ summit in San Pedro Sula.

Then it can be forecast which countries will get more attention: Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, United States, Iran and Israel. Surely it will be interested to know why Iran and Israel will get attention in the summit of the American states, but they did their appointment to this already.

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Lula and Obama, Latin America and USA

On 2009/03/15, in Economy, Politics, by Albeiro Rodas

For many observers the meeting of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Washington with US president Barack Obama was the first important encounter among US and Latin America during the government of the new president at the White House. Undoubtedly, Lula became one of the most representative political leaders of the region and his statements in Washington show clearly what the Latin America of the new century wants from US and wants from itself.

President Lula asked Obama that the relation between US and the southern region of the Western Hemisphere should be more under a frame of equal cooperation, rather than a role of watch. He asked also an approach of Washington to Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, the nations that have been critics to the American policies in the last decade due to their socialists governments.

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Bolivia said Yes and No to new Constitution

On 2009/01/26, in Politics, by Albeiro Rodas

President Morales was optimistic with the results of the referendum that gives 59.1 percent of approval to the new Constitution. Photo El Diaro | http://www.eldiario.net/

A new Constitution for Bolivia, the main horse of battle of president Evo Morales, was supported by the 59.1 percent of the voters. However, the results showed also the big division in the South American country. The situation would conduct to an agreement among the two parts in order to approve the new Constitution.

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Latin America in 2008

On 2008/12/22, in Economy, Politics, by Albeiro Rodas

The International Center of Fairs and Conventions of San Salvador on October 2008, the place of the 18th Ibero-American Summit. Photo Wikimedia Commons.

2008 was the last year of the economic boom of Latin America that started in 2003 and was slowed by the world financial crisis, according with the economical regional institute for Lat. America, CEPAL. However, it is the region of the world better prepared to face the global economical recession thanks to that boom.

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It is necessary military action against the guerrilla,” said the former hostess of Farc, Ingrid Betancourt in her visit to Bolivia. “The guerrilla is completely back to the Colombian reality“, “They became a drug cartel“, “They lost their ideologies and their leaders became bourgeois due to the benefits of the drug traffic“, were the words of Betancourt to the Bolivian press.

Picture by Fabio Gismondi.

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Bolivia suspended DEA operations

On 2008/11/03, in Culture, by Albeiro Rodas
http://www.javno.com/slike/slike_3/r1/g2008/m07/y176259289028065.jpg

President Morales: "There were DEA agents who worked to conduct political espionage and to fund criminal groups so they could launch attacks on the lives of authorities, if not the president." (Picture by Javno.com)

The deteriorating relations among the leftist government of Bolivian president Evo Morales and Washington came to its worst moment last week when he accused the Drug Enforcement Agency of the Unites States (DEA) of conspiracy against his government. He ordered the suspension of any activity in the Bolivian territory, a country that is enlisted as the third world producer of cocaine after Peru and Colombia. Morales asked UNASUR, the Association of the South American nations, to replace what DEA is doing in the region in the international fight against drugs.

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The Peruvian Chancellor, José García Belaunde, stated that Peru will continue with its process of commercial agreements, especially with US and Europe, even if that is not pleasant to Bolivia, which Evo Morales’ government has opposed in a strong campaign that has been very critics to the Lima’s negotiations.

 

Bolivia does not want to have commercial agreements in the way follow by Colombia and Peru and it did much opposition within CAN (the Andean Community of Nations) to avoid any progress in the negotiation of this area as an economical group, according to the observations of Chancellor García and published by AméricaEconomía.

 

Bolivia “intends to impose to the other countries of the region an ideological position that is against to the agreements of commerce,” said García in Lima.

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