NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from April 2003

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from April 2003

REGIONAL ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT BROADENS C.A.F.T.A. OPPOSITION.
April 3, 2003... As the third round of negotiations for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) opened in El Salvador on March 31, new fears of US dominance of the region, and of Latin America as a whole, have emerged. Otton Solis, president of the...

GUATEMALA FAILING ON INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
April 3, 2003... Conditions for indigenous women in Guatemala continue to degenerate (see NotiCen, 2002-12-12), according to recent reports. Indigenous women continue to be discriminated against and exploited, says the Report on the Situation of Indigenous...

CUBA: RELATIONS WITH MEXICO ON THE MEND AFTER RESIGNATION OF FOREIGN RELATIONS SECRETARY JORGE CASTANEDA.
April 3, 2003... After nearly a decade of deterioration, Cuban-Mexican relations have shown marked improvement following the January resignation of Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Jorge Castaneda. Contributing to the warming trend was the failure of the US...

COSTA RICANS DEFEND NEUTRAL TRADITION AGAINST PACHECO.
April 10, 2003... Costa Rica's government has begun to show signs that it has over-reached in its eagerness to placate the US. President Abel Pacheco permitted his country's name to be included in Washington's war coalition (see NotiCen, 2003-03- 03) and in so...

GUATEMALA GOVERNMENT SUFFERS CONSEQUENCES OF COMMITMENT TO COMPENSATE P.A.C.
April 10, 2003... Guatemala's fastest growing new political force, the reconstituted Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil (PACs), re- emerged recently with a splash heard around the world. PAC mobs spilled crude oil in the Peten. Global repercussions of their...

HONDURAS: A BILINGUAL SCHOOL FOR LOW INCOME CHILDREN.
April 10, 2003... [The following article by Larry Luxner is reprinted with the permission of Noticias Aliadas in Lima, Peru. It appeared in the April 9, 2003, edition of Latinamerica Press.] Forty percent of Honduran children receive no formal education,...

EL SALVADOR'S RULING PARTY: A PURGE AT THE TOP.
April 24, 2003... The humiliating defeat that El Salvador's ruling Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) party suffered in recent countrywide elections has reportedly resulted in the most profound internal purge and reorganization in its 21-year history. The...

REGION'S PRESIDENTS MEET WITH BUSH.
April 24, 2003... The five Central American presidents whose countries are negotiating the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) met with US President George W. Bush in Washington on April 10. At the conclusion of the audience, which lasted for almost...

CUBA MOVES AGAINST DISSIDENTS, ACCUSES CHIEF OF U.S. INTERESTS SECTION OF CONSPIRING TO DESTABILIZE THE STATE.
April 24, 2003... Cuba-US relations worsened over the last few weeks as the Cuban government arrested 75 dissidents, tried them, and handed out prison sentences ranging from six to 28 years. Much of the US and world media coverage of the crackdown portrayed it...