Category Archives: United States

Israel, Guatemala, and the Question of Genocide

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

As the trial of Efraín Ríos Montt appears to be headed back to square one after the Constitutional Court’s ruling, NACLA has a fascinating piece up on Israel’s ties to Ríos Montt: Known as “Brother Efraín,” a fundamentalist convert of … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Chile, Evangelicals in Latin America, Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Indigenous Peoples, International Relations, Latin American Militaries, United States, Violence in the Americas | 3 Comments

Guantanamo Detainee: “Gitmo Is Killing Me”

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

In case you haven’t read it yet, the New York Times today published an op-ed from a prisoner at Guantanamo, providing a rare glimpse of the treatment and living conditions for those held without charge as part of the US’s “War on … Continue reading →

Posted in Cuba, Human Rights Issues, Legal Issues in Latin America, Prisoners' Rights, United States | Comments Off on Guantanamo Detainee: “Gitmo Is Killing Me”

Around Latin America

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

-Marking the first major protest of the year, over 100,000 Chilean students took to the streets to continue to push for educational reform, an issue that has garnered much support and been a consistent problem for conservative president Sebastian Pinera. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberto Fujimori, Argentina, Augusto Pinochet, Border Issues, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Corruption, Cuba, Educational Reforms, Elections in Latin America, Environmental Issues in the Americas, Evangelicals in Latin America, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia (FARC), Gender and Sexuality, Guatemala, Haiti, Human Rights Violations, Immigration, Indigenous Peoples, Latin American Foreign Relations, Latin American Politics, LGBT Rights & Issues, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, Paraguay, Peru, Police in the Americas, Police Violence, Prisoners' Rights, Protests in Latin America, Rio de Janeiro, United States, Uruguay, Violence in the Americas, Weapons and Arms in Latin America | Comments Off on Around Latin America

The Legacies of Torture in Central America

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

As scholarship and human rights reports have repeatedly demonstrate, the effects of torture on the human mind and body have long-term ramifications, and many of those victims continue suffer from both the psychological and the physical effects of torture decades … Continue reading →

Posted in El Salvador, El Salvador's Civil War (1980-1992), Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Human Rights Issues, Impunity, Torture, United States | 1 Comment

Around Latin America

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

-Brazil’s Federal Council of Medicine recently came out in favor of legalizing first-trimester abortions in Brazil, adding to the arguments and debate over the issue in a country where abortion is currently only legal in the case of rape, severe … Continue reading →

Posted in Abortion, Around Latin America, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Educational Reforms, Elections in Latin America, Honduras, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Indigenous Peoples, Labor in Latin America, Land Struggles & Issues, Paraguay, Peru, Police in the Americas, Police Violence, Prisoners' Rights, Protests in Latin America, The Amazon, United States, Women's Movements & Issues, Women's Rights | Comments Off on Around Latin America

Around Latin America

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

While Hugo Chávez’s death has perhaps understandably been the main focus of news from the region this week, it’s far from the only event of note. Here are some of the other stories coming out of Latin America this week. … Continue reading →

Posted in "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Augusto Pinochet, Bolivia, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Chile, Cuba, Gender and Sexuality, Haiti, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Indigenous Peoples, Land Struggles & Issues, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Prisoners' Rights, The "Disappeared", The Amazon, Torture, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Violence in the Americas, Women's Rights | Comments Off on Around Latin America

Curiouser and Curiouser

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

Venezuela expels the US Air Force attaché after suggesting that Chávez’s cancer was the result of “enemies” inflicting him (even while questions of governance and reforms beyond Chávez remain on the sidelines). Ch. This isn’t the first time that Chávez or … Continue reading →

Posted in Latin American Politics, Latin American-U.S. Relations, United States, Venezuela | Comments Off on Curiouser and Curiouser

Coca Leaves No Longer An Illegal Drug, Says UN

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

Well, this is something: Traditional uses of the coca leaf in Bolivia will no longer be considered illegal under a United Nations antidrug convention, the organization said Friday. Coca is the plant used to make cocaine, but many people in Bolivia, which has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bolivia, Colombia, Drugs and the Drug Trade in the Americas, Indigenous Peoples, Peru, United States | Comments Off on Coca Leaves No Longer An Illegal Drug, Says UN

On This Date in Latin America – January 1, 1994: NAFTA Goes into Effect/The EZLN Emerges in Mexico

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

Nineteen years ago today, the neoliberal North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, and in response, the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional  (Zapatista National Liberation Army; EZLN), a group of rural indigenous peoples and leftist intellectuals, rose up, using the internet … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Economics in the Americas, Indigenous Peoples, Latin American Economic Relations, Latin American Economies, Latin American History, Latin American-U.S. Relations, Mexico, Neoliberalism, North America, On This Date in Latin America, United States | Comments Off on On This Date in Latin America – January 1, 1994: NAFTA Goes into Effect/The EZLN Emerges in Mexico

Florida’s Role in Argentina’s Largest Human Rights Trial

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Colin M. Snider

Last week, Argentina began trying 68 people from the infamous Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (Navy School of Mechanics, ESMA) who are charged with torture, murder, and “disappearances” (including via the so-called “death flights”)  during the military dictatorship of 1976-1983. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, The "Disappeared", Torture, United States | Comments Off on Florida’s Role in Argentina’s Largest Human Rights Trial