NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs articles from September 2007

NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs archives from September 2007

THE SECOND CATEGORY 5 STORM IN A SINGLE SEASON SMASHES THE REGION.
September 6, 2007... Hurricane Felix's perfectly carved core hit Nicaragua's Caribbean coast Tuesday morning, Sept. 4, a buzz saw spinning at 260 km/h cutting down everything standing. The Category 5 storm faded fast as it came ashore, but only to destroy with...

WORK STARTS ON PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION.
September 6, 2007... On Sept. 3, with former US President Jimmy Carter and Panama's President Martin Torrijos standing by, workers blasted away a hillside to begin the US$5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal. Carter was there because, with Torrijos' father...

HONDURAS AUTHORIZES DIRECT FUEL IMPORTS, BREAKS MULTINATIONAL MONOPOLY.
September 6, 2007... Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya has authorized two Honduran fuel companies to proceed with direct fuel imports, circumventing the multinationals that have had a death grip on every step of the country's fossil-fuel supply chain. The...

ENERGY IN NICARAGUA; REDEFINING PRIVATE PROPERTY IN 21ST CENTURY SOCIALISM.
September 13, 2007... Nicaragua's deal to reduce its crippling foreign-oil expenditures by taking advantage of Venezuelan imports on favorable terms hit a snag--a lack of facilities to store the oil. The government resorted to a short-term solution; it seized tanks...

GUATEMALA PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST WILL GO TO RUNOFF.
September 13, 2007... Guatemala emerged from a murder-riven campaign season to hold relatively peaceful and orderly unsurprising general elections. At the ticket-tops, Alvaro Colom was the victorious presidential contender, followed, slightly more distantly than...

GUATEMALA'S ONLY RAILROAD SHUTS DOWN AMID HINTS OF A CONSPIRACY UNDER COVER OF CAFTA.
September 20, 2007... Guatemala's one and only railroad has shut down operations in what appears to be an attempt by powerful local sectors to take back the system from a US company. The railroad officially shut down in September, as Pittsburgh-based Railroad...

NICARAGUA AND COLOMBIA IN NEW ROUND OF FIGHTING OVER ARCHIPELAGO--COULD SAN ANDRES GO INDEPENDENT?
September 20, 2007... Nicaragua's claim to sovereignty over the San Andres Archipelago has returned to the diplomatic agenda as suspected oil deposits provide compelling economic incentive for the Central American country to wrest control of the islands from their...

SCANDAL TOPPLES COSTA RICAN VICE PRESIDENT, CLOUDS OUTLOOK AS CAFTA REFERENDUM NEARS.
September 27, 2007... Costa Rica's Second Vice President Kevin Casas has resigned after disclosure of a memo he wrote urging a campaign of fear and deception to support the "yes" vote in the fast-approaching referendum on the Central America Free Trade Agreement...

LARGE POPULATION, MANY CHILDREN SUFFER LEAD POISONING; EL SALVADOR SHUTS DOWN MAJOR BATTERY FACTORY.
September 27, 2007... In El Salvador, high levels of lead have sickened significant numbers of children, students at the Centro Escolar Comunidad Rural Sitio del Nino in San Juan Opico. Since May, more than 40 children from the school have left the school after...