Despite mounting calls to abolish the decades-old embargo of Cuba, the USA is sticking with it, according to Vice-President Joseph Biden. While visiting Chile over the weekend, Biden indicated the new administration’s desire to have better ties with all of Latin America, but showed no signs of budging in regards to the Cuban blockade. For now, it will still be difficult for US citizens to visit the island.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting Mexico this week, and has spoken publicly on the subject of how US demand for narcotics is contributing to the violence and bloodshed currently plaguing Mexico. Although it is no secret that US demand for drugs is behind the power of the cartels, it is refreshing to hear an admission of the obvious from a high administration official. She said that the new administration is taking steps to aid its ally in the war against these drug lords by sending more officers to the border region and increasing joint law enforcement efforts. It looks as if President Felipe Calderon may have found a new ally in his war on the cartels!

A small military aircraft crashed yesterday into a building in Quito as it approached the airport. The crash occurred just off Gonzales Suarez street, an upscale district where the US ambassador’s residence is located. Initial reports indicate seven dead, including five on board the aircraft and two on the ground. Airplane crashes are not uncommon in Quito, which is hilly, often foggy and features an airport located in a residential neighborhood. A new airport is under construction outside of the city.

British royal couple, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Galapagos Islands last weekend to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. This also marks the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s controversial book about natural selection and evolution, On the Origin of Species. Ecuador was the last stop on the list of three South American countries the royal couple visited during their ten day tour aimed to bring attention to Prince Charles’ twenty-year long battle against global climate change.
Upon landing in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, the royal couple was greeted by Vice President Lenin Moreno and Foreign Minister Fander Falconi. This was a much different reception then previous greetings by heads of state Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their respective visits. While in Chile, Prince Charles gave an impassioned speech at a dinner party thrown by President Bachelet about sustainable development and the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change. Supporters as well as owners of an organic farm, (Prince Charles’ Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire), the royal couple also toured an organic winery in rural Chile during their short visit.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Amazon in Brazil where Prince Charles gave a speech to the top leaders in business about global warning and the devastating effects of deforestation in the rainforest. In his speech, Prince Charles warned that the world had only one-hundred months or less before the impending global climate crisis would become disastrous. Also during his time in Brazil, Prince Charles was awarded the “Friend of the Forest and Climate Award” for his work on bringing awareness to the problem of global warming.
However, not everyone was as pleased with the royal couple’s visit, as one prominent Chilean environmental activist went as far as to call Prince Charles’ visit an “ecological façade.” There has also been criticism in the British Press for the apparent hypocrisy in Prince Charles preaching environmental conservation while using a private jet to fly his small party to South America and subsequently leaving behind a 322 ton carbon footprint. The duplicity does not stop here.
Ecuadorian Vice President Lenin Moreno explained that “Prince Charles was content with the Ecuadorian initiative that promotes a form of environmental conservation, and expressed his hopes that the project becomes reality.” Yet on the mainland, a mere 650 miles away, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa made the controversial move of closing down Acción Ecológica by withdrawing its legal status. Acción Ecológica is one of South America’s largest environmental groups and the leading group in Ecuador that helps to protect the rainforest as well as indigenous communities against mining and oil exploitation. The government has been accused of shutting down Acción Ecológica in retaliation to the agency’s repeated condemnation of Correa’s use of large scale mining.
It’s unfortunate that during the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, the man nicknamed “eco-prince” chose to focus on British soft diplomacy instead of using his influence to help change the programs, organizations and ideas he claims to support.

-Michelle Lillie

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez recently ordered the navy to occupy the country’s top ports, including Maracibo and Puerto Cabello. The reason? Those ports are ruled by governors from opposition parties, who have protested Chavez’ recent decree transferring all ports, airports and other transportation hubs from state to federal authority. Chavez claims the move was necessary to consolidate control of transportation for security reasons, but the opposition has claimed that it is one more step towards dictatorship and total control. If you’re visiting the Venezuelan coast, the presence of warships is unlikely to erupt into a shooting war, but tension might be high.

Last year, drug violence claimed the lives of some 6,000 victims in Mexico, mostly near the US-Mexico border. Now, the violence is poised to claim another victim: Mexico’s highly lucrative Spring Break tourism industry. Unontrolled violence has led many US universities to warn students about travel to Mexico, and the US State Department has issued a travel warning. As if that weren’t enough, Conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly last week said that he would not allow his own kids to travel to Mexico in the current dangerous climate. Unfortunately for Mexico, much of the violence has come in border areas such as Tijuana, which are also favorite Spring Break spots. Even Acapulco, a coastal resort not on the border, has seen a huge uptick in violence. Although other Spring Break spots like Cancun and Cabo San Lucas have not been seriously affected, they, too, are suffering.

Even withouth the fears of violence, this year was poised to be terrible for Mexico’s Spring Break tourism industry, as the ongoing economic crisis has forced many students to re-think their travel plans. Some students, suddenly lacking tuition, have even dropped out of college altogether.

Mexican authorities have been energetically assuring potential tourists that the country is safe. Border towns are being policed by Armed Forces troops (they’ve been there for months) and police forces are once again being built up after corrupt cops were rooted out. Mexican officials insist that binge drinking and attempting to buy drugs are much more immediate dangers to most spring breakers.

See the State Department Travel Advisory here.

Article about officials from the State of Sonora reassuring Arizona students

This week, the Galapagos National Park Service will be beginning a study on how to control introduced fire ants on Alcedo Volcano, on Isabela Island. They’re a big problem there, as the volcano is home to one of the largest populations of giant tortoises in the Islands.

1,000 people have been murdered in drug-related violence in Mexico this year….and according to some experts, that’s good news. At least in the sense that it shows that President Calderon’s all-out war on the drug cartels is starting to put some pressure on them, according to some analysts. Previously, the drug cartels, responsible for moving drugs into the US and Canada, operated freely and silently, amassing huge profits. Calderon put the pressure on them, mobilizing 45,000 National Guard troops to crack down on the cartels and actively rooting out corrupt policemen and politicians. The increased violence, some say, is a sign that things are getting desperate. Hopefully, the cartels will continue to find themselves on the ropes and the violence will decrease as well.

Rocio Casco, a Paraguayan politician for the Socialist Party (P-MAS) has announced her intention to present a petition in the municipality of Asuncion which would allow the city to take over a mansion once belonging to dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who served from 1954 to 1989. The mansion was built in 1974, and at the time a number of illegal variances to city codes were authorized which allowed the mansion to be constructed. The owner was one of Stroessner’s sons, Alfredo Storessner Mora. It has been suggested that the mansion, if taken over by the nation or city, could be converted into a University of Human Rights and Energy. Human rights violations were common during the Stroessner regime.