NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from August 2006

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from August 2006

CUBA'S FIDEL CASTRO UNDERGOES SURGERY, DELEGATES POWER TEMPORARILY; INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS BUILD.
August 3, 2006... After undergoing abdominal surgery for an undisclosed but complicated illness, Cuban President Fidel Castro delegated power temporarily to other officials. He enumerated the specifics of the temporary transfer in a post-surgery announcement on...

NEPTUNE RELEASED, HUNDREDS STILL HELD IN HAITI PRISONS.
August 3, 2006... Yvon Neptune, former Haitian prime minister, was released from prison July 28. He had been jailed shortly after the president under whom he served, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991, 1994-1996, 2001-2004), was toppled and exiled in February 2004....

HONDURAN PRESIDENCY UNRAVELING.
August 10, 2006... Serious rifts in the government of President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya threatened to throw Honduras into chaos as the government celebrated its sixth month in power with what has been termed the toughest week of its mandate. Two of the president's...

CUBA BANKS ON TOTALLY INTEGRATED DEFENSE.
August 10, 2006... A week after an ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro delegated powers within the Cuban state (see NotiCen, 2006-08-03), the Bush administration has done little to clarify its intentions with regard to "transition," (see NotiCen, 2006-07-20)...

OVERWHELMING VOTE AGAINST GOLD MINING IN GUATEMALA, BUT GREED CARRIES THE DAY.
August 17, 2006... On July 27, more than 27,000 people in five municipalities in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, voted in popular consultations to reject mining projects. Meanwhile, one mining company agreed to start paying taxes early, while another received a new...

ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION AND THE SEEDS OF REVOLUTION IN EL SAVADOR.
August 17, 2006... The killing of two policemen in El Salvador has prompted the conservative ARENA government to seek new anti-terror legislation that opponents say will unleash a wave of repression and return the country to revolutionary times. There is some...

HUNDRED-DAY ASSESSMENT FINDS COSTA RICA'S PRESIDENT OSCAR ARIAS BECALMED, HIS BROTHER AT THE HELM.
August 24, 2006... Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias has passed the 100-day mark in his second go-round in office, leaving an impression of a plodding presidency aimed mainly at achieving neoliberal goals. These aims have energized an already formidable...

EL SALVADOR IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE, PRESIDENT ANTONIO SACA SUPPLICATES THE LEFT.
August 24, 2006... El Salvador's conservative Alianza Republicana Nacional (ARENA) government has come to a rare agreement with the opposition Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN). The parties have agreed to negotiate approval of international...

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BOGGED IN CAFTA MINUTIAE, DRUGS AND PUBLIC CONTRACTS AT ISSUE.
August 24, 2006... The Dominican Republic's entry into the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) remains stalled. The country is one of two (with Costa Rica) that has not joined the pact (see other article, this edition). US Ambassador to the Dominican...

WOMEN'S ISSUES, ABORTION, EXPLODE ONTO NICARAGUA'S ELECTORAL-CAMPAIGN SCENE.
August 31, 2006... Before suffering a severe blow to its electoral prospects in Nicaragua's coming November elections with the death of its candidate Herty Lewites (see NotiCen, 2006-07-13), the Movimiento de Renovacion Sandinista (MRS) had attracted the support...

PANAMA WORKS TO AVERT PRISON DISASTER.
August 31, 2006... A national psychosocial evaluation of Panama's prisons that examined 10,687 inmates, or 99% of the prison population both male and female, found serious human rights violations. Among those violations were subhuman living conditions, lack of...