NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from August 2001

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from August 2001

GUATEMALA: TAX REVOLT ADDS TO ONGOING CRISIS.
August 9, 2001... Guatemala is now in a state of almost unrelieved crisis. Besides the state of emergency called to deal with the recent prison break (see NotiCen, 2001-07-19), the country has been continuously buffeted by bank problems, corruption, impunity,...

PANAMA: TRUTH COMMISSION FACES BUDGET & POLITICAL OBSTACLES INVESTIGATING DISAPPEARANCES DURING MILITARY DICTATORSHIP.
August 9, 2001... The truth commission (Comision de la Verdad) inquiring into human rights abuses committed during the 1968-1989 military dictatorship has encountered difficultly investigating disappearance and assassination cases because of insufficient funds...

CUBA NEWS IN BRIEF.
August 16, 2001... A ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) supports the US position in the long-running trademark dispute between a Cuban-French firm and Bacardi. But the decision also could lead to another round of court battles in the US. Twenty-two...

HAITI: NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION COALITION MAKE PROGRESS, BUT MAJOR DIFFERENCES REMAIN.
August 16, 2001... Recent talks between the government of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the opposition coalition Convergence Democratique (CD) appear to have yielded results that suggest international aid funds might begin moving again to Haiti....

PANAMA: GOVERNMENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN INDIAN ZONES.
August 16, 2001... The government of President Mireya Moscoso has declared a state of emergency in the zones (comarcas) of heaviest indigenous population to deal with poverty levels that are far above the national average. Moscoso made the declaration during an...

REGION: DETENTION OF SALVADORAN DIPLOMATS & NICARAGUAN POLICE OFFICIALS CAUSES NEW REGIONAL TENSIONS.
August 23, 2001... On Aug. 14, Honduran authorities arrested two Salvadoran diplomats at a military hospital and charged them with espionage. Because they had diplomatic immunity, the two were released and left for El Salvador the next day. In a similar case,...

HONDURAS: U.S EMBASSY ISSUES STRONG WARNING ABOUT CRIME AS CIVIC GROUPS SAY ANTI-CRIME PROGRAMS HAVE FAILED.
August 23, 2001... Honduran officials reacted with alarm when the US Embassy warned of the risk to visitors and investors posed by high rates of crime and a weak judicial system. Supporting the renewed concern about crime are reports of the systematic killing of...

CUBA: TREASURY DEPARTMENT CRACKS DOWN ON UNAUTHORIZED TRAVEL TO CUBA.
August 30, 2001... The US Treasury Department, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has begun to enforce restrictions on travel to Cuba by US citizens. News of the crackdown followed within days a promise by President George W. Bush to...

GUATEMALA: SCANDAL ERUPTS INVOLVING CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF LICENSE PLATES.
August 30, 2001... In July, the local press began reporting on how the Guatemalan government contracted for the purchase of 1.5 million sets of automobile license plates. The daily newspapers Prensa Grafica and Siglo Veintiuno published details about the...

EL SALVADOR: INVESTIGATION TURNS UP JUDGES & PROSECUTORS WITH FALSE CREDENTIALS.
August 30, 2001... An investigation by El Salvadoran special prosecutor Roberto Vidales into law degrees granted by various universities has revealed that 169 lawyers, including judges and prosecutors, are probably practicing with false credentials. The...