NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from October 2005

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from October 2005

INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE FORCES HAITI TOWARD ELECTIONS FOR WHICH IT IS UNPREPARED.
October 6, 2005... Haiti's national elections have once again been thrown into question as authorities have begun to doubt they can field a credible contest by Nov. 20. The date has been moved up twice already (see NotiCen, 2005-08-11), and now a member of the...

SIMULTANEOUS TWIN DISASTERS ROCK EL SALVADOR.
October 6, 2005... Attacks from above and below have sent El Salvador careening off course as the country looked forward to benefiting from a favorable outlook in coffee, sugar, and other commodity prices. Ilamatepec volcano, also called Santa Ana, erupted for...

MYSTERY SOLVED: SITE Q EXISTS IN GUATEMALA.
October 6, 2005... A longstanding archeological mystery was solved in Guatemala recently with the discovery of Site Q, whose existence has been in doubt for years. Arguments about the site began about 40 years ago, when carved sculptures of Mayan origin from the...

CAFTA RATIFIED BUT OVERSHADOWED AS NICARAGUA DEALS TO RESOLVE GOVERNMENTAL CRISIS.
October 13, 2005... On Oct. 10, Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional (AN) ratified the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). A majority composed of the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) and its legislative partner marshaled a 49-vote majority to defeat...

AN EXPERIENCED GOVERNMENT IS TESTED AGAIN IN STORM-RAVAGED GUATEMALA.
October 13, 2005... Panabaj has ceased to exist. The small town hard by its better-known neighbor, Santiago de Atitlan, in Guatemala has been buried in mud, entombing hundreds of its inhabitants. It is not the only community that heavy rains spun off Hurricane...

REGION PLANS COMBINED MILITARY FORCE; SEEKS U.S. SPONSORSHIP.
October 20, 2005... Defense ministers of the isthmus met in Miami Oct. 12-13 with US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for a conference on the broad topic of security and investment opportunities. The focus was on the creation of a rapid-response force that...

BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA SLAMMED AT SUMMIT.
October 20, 2005... The US blockade against Cuba suffered unanimous opprobrium at the XV Cumbre Iberoamericana in Salamanca, Spain, which ended Oct. 15. All 22 member states of the regional community signed on to a Special Declaration calling for an end to the...

GOLD IN GUATEMALA: CAN'T LIVE WITH IT, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT.
October 27, 2005... An immense gold-mining operation in the San Marcos department of Guatemala has pitted the Catholic Church against a government sorely in need of money and a private sector eager to get in on expected wealth. At the pivot point is an indigenous...

PANAMA CANAL FACES COMPETITION FROM FABLED ALTERNATIVE.
October 27, 2005... The Panama Canal has been doing record business of late, and plans for expansion are in the works. These plans, despite a US$5 billion price tag that could double before the job is done, are hugely popular with the citizenry. The people would...

REGION ELECTS PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT OF PARLACEN.
October 27, 2005... The Central American Parliament, Parlacen, has elected Julio Palacios of Panama as its new president for 2005-2006. Palacios, of the Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD), won over Dayra de Carrizo of the same party, 54-47. Palacios said...