NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from January 2007

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from January 2007

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE IN GUATEMALA; A DECADE OF GOVERNMENTAL FAILURE.
January 4, 2007... With the passing this month of the tenth anniversary of the Peace Accords of Dec. 29, 1996, in Guatemala, there is little to celebrate as the country finds itself woefully behind schedule in the implementation of the principles and obligations...

SPAIN PETITIONS GUATEMALA FOR EXTRADITION OF WAR CRIMINALS ON TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF CIVIL WAR'S END.
January 4, 2007... Coincident with the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords of Dec. 29, 1996, the government of Spain has requested that Guatemala extradite seven former leaders accused of war crimes in the prosecution of the 36-year civil war....

21 DEAD: EL SALVADOR STARTS YEAR OF PEACE WITH WORST PRISON RIOT IN YEARS.
January 11, 2007... Rioting that began on Jan. 5 in El Salvador's Apanteos prison resulted in the deaths of 21 inmates. Reports indicated that this is another instance of the consequences of mixing members of gangs in the prison general population. A member of...

DANIEL ORTEGA RECONCILES HIS WAY TO NICARAGUA'S PRESIDENCY.
January 11, 2007... Nicaragua's Telica volcano started celebrating a day early. With a series of impressive explosions, the 1,090 meter volcano began spewing gas and ash at about 3 p.m. on Nov. 9, but the inauguration of Daniel Ortega as president was not...

NICARAGUA AND IRAN SIGN DEALS, BUT IRANIAN PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD FACES BACKLASH AT HOME.
January 18, 2007... Linked again as they have not been since the Iran-contra affair, Nicaragua and Iran are using Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's postinaugural visit to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to forge closer ties. Ortega assumed Nicaragua's...

CUBAN ACCOUNT VINDICATED AS POSADA CARRILES IS INDICTED FOR FRAUD, BUT NOT TERRORISM.
January 18, 2007... A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas has returned a seven-count indictment that may have dashed the hopes of Luis Posada Carriles for eventual freedom. The indictment may also have dashed Cuban and Venezuelan hopes that the...

GUATEMALAN ACTIVISTS AND INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS FIND NEW MAYAN MOVIE RACIST, REVISIONIST, DANGEROUS TO INDIGENOUS.
January 25, 2007... Indigenous leaders in Guatemala have appealed to the government to censor a film they consider racist and offensive to Mayan descendents, their culture, and their history. The film is Apocalypto, directed by US actor and director Mel Gibson....

COSTA RICA'S PROTRACTED PROCESS EXPOSES CAFTA'S MANY PROBLEMS.
January 25, 2007... Costa Rica's trajectory toward eventual ratification of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed another milestone on Dec. 12 when the legislature's foreign affairs committee passed it on with a 6-3 vote. That vote now opens the...