United States « Roque Planas

Latin America News Dispatch Launched!

Andrew O’Reilly, Rachel Brooks-Ames, Mari Hayman and I have launched the Latin America News Dispatch (LAND), a new site producing original reporting on Latin America, the Caribbean, U.S. foreign policy, and Hispanics in the United States. We have already begun publishing, with the multimedia project on Dame Pa’ Matala I promised and a couple of [...]

Obama Rated at Foreign Policy Magazine

Foreign Policy Magazine has put together a one-year report card for president Obama. They invited me to contribute a grade on his Cuba policy, for which I gave him a “C,” just shy of the B- average. Find out why by clicking here.

“The Embargo On Change” Up At Foreign Policy Magazine Site

I’ve got an article up at Foreign Policy Magazine’s website this week about the U.N. Resolution to condemn the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. By a vote of 187 to 3 on Oct. 28, the U.N. condemned the embargo for the 18th consecutive year–but don’t expect that to prod either the Obama administration or Congress [...]

New Article About UNASUR Meeting Up At World Politics Review

I’ve got a new article about the Aug. 28 extraordinary meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), in which South America’s heads of state discussed the U.S.-Colombia Defense Pact. The Pact would allow the U.S. greater access to seven of Colombia’s military bases, which has caused a stir among the regions leaders, many [...]

New Issue Of Journal Of Virtual Worlds Research Now Online

The new issue of the Austin-based Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, where I copy edit, has been published on the journal’s website. The issue contains original research on the application of virtual worlds technology, such as Second Life, to the field of health care. Click here to check it out.

Results of Obama-Uribe Meeting

Uribe and Obama met on Monday, June 29, and Obama, once again, openly endorsed the bilateral trade agreement and congratulated Uribe on his administration´s “progress that has been made in human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labor leaders there.”

The Obama administration´s public posture of support, however, was not accompanied by actions [...]

New Article About Uribe-Obama Meeting Up At World Politics Review

My new article “Uribe Gains Access, Loses Credibilty” was just posted at the World Politics Review:

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Barack Obama’s election as U.S. president last November signaled a defeat not only for his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, but also for the outgoing Bush administration’s strongest hemispheric ally, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.

When George W. Bush [...]

Cuba Continues To Dominate US-Latin American Relations

The Organization of American States voted by consensus at a gathering in San Pedro Sula this week to allow Cuba to reapply for membership. The event marked the third straight meeting of hemispheric heads of state in which Cuba dominated the agenda.

Since Obama was elected, governments across the hemisphere have called upon him to rescind [...]

Obama Reaches Out At Summit Of The Americas

Despite entering the Fifth Summit of the Americas in an atmosphere ripe for confrontation, the weekend-long meeting turned out to be extraordinarily cordial. Relations between the United States and the Latin American left remain strained, but President Obama’s friendly (if brief) exchanges with Presidents Chávez, Morales, and Ortega indicate a change in the tenor of [...]

Fujimori Found Guilty

Former President Fujimori, 70, has been found guilty of human rights violations by the Peruvian Courts. According to the BBC:

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has been found guilty of ordering death-squad killings and kidnappings in the 1990s.

The court sentenced Fujimori to 25 years in prison.

For background on Peru’s human rights situation and the violence [...]

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