Within the Western Hemisphere at least, the US consumer accounts for most of the money that passes into the hands of drug traffickers, which then flows out to fund organized crime syndicates and gangs... which is then used to terrorize and destabilize countries like Honduras...

By Marco Cáceres
When the Obama administration suspended US$16.5 million in military aid and some US$30 million in economic aid to Honduras last year following the removal of Manuel Zelaya from office, there was tremendous outrage on the part of many people who felt that the US was betraying Honduras and hurting its longtime friend and ally. But I found it difficult to get overly worried or emotional about the stoppage, mainly because I sensed that the moves were temporary and aimed at sending a signal to Latin America and the Caribbean that the US did not approve of forceful overthrows of democratically-elected leaders. Despite the dangers that Mr. Zelaya posed for Honduras, the US was more concerned about the precedent that his ousting might establish in the region and its potential for destabilizing Honduras far more than even Mr. Zelaya could have managed -- hard as that is to fathom. (3/16/10)

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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced this morning in Washington, DC that it will resume lending to the government of Honduras and that it will free more than US$500 million in loans that were frozen shortly after the ousting of Manuel Zelaya as president last year. Following a meeting with President Porfirio Lobo in El Salvador yesterday, presidents Mauricio Funes of El Salvador and Álvaro Colom of Guatemala said that they had each submitted a formal request to the IDB to restart credits to Honduras. Both men have also called for the reintegration of Honduras in the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Central American Integration System (SICA). The president of the IDB is Luis Moreno. (3/16/10) (photo of Luis Moreno courtesy Internet)

United States Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens met yesterday with Honduran Minister of Public Health Arturo "Tuky" Bendaña to formally confirm that the US government will restart all healthcare assistance funding channeled to Honduras via the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Some of the USAID programs were suspended following the ousting of Manuel Zelaya as president last year. Ambassador Llorens expressed his willingness to support the Ministry of Public Health, specifically in the areas of improving its hospitals and clinics and developing a more efficient and transparent system for procuring medicines. Honduras' public hospitals suffer from chronic shortages of medicines and medical supplies. Minister Bendaña noted that he would use some of USAID funds to purchase antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS in Honduras. (3/16/10) (photo of Hugo Llorens courtesy AFP)

[The purpose of this article] is to advise readers as to what seems to this author to be a little known filing obligation that has been off the “radar screen” of tax advisors throughout the US as it impacts US persons holding stock or partnership interests in a “Sociedad Anónima” (SA) or, in certain circumstances, a “Sociedad de Responsibilidad Limitada” (SRL) or “LLC”.

By J. B. Friedman, Jr.
As many ex-patriots residing throughout Latin America and elsewhere are aware at this point in time as a result of the notoriety resulting from the United States Department of Justice’s success in breaching banking secrecy laws impacting UBS account holders in Switzerland, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has promulgated a number of notifications aimed specifically at bringing into the US tax system reporting obligations arising from foreign accounts held by US persons. (3/16/10)

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The president of the Coordinating Council of Campesino Organizations of Honduras (COCOCH) today accused the organization's political organizer, Rafael Alegría, of abuse of authority for diverting COCOCH funds for personal use and to other organizations. In one case, Mr. Alegría allegedly took more than Lps 8 million designated for COCOCH by Spain's Basque Country and transferred the money to Honduras' CGT national labor union. Cornelio Chirinos stated that COCOCH was removing Mr. Alegría from his position, has filed a complaint against him with the Public Ministry, and plans to pursue legal action. Mr. Alegría is a key leader within the National Resistance Front and has been among the most visible and vocal supporters of former president Manuel Zelaya. (3/15/10) (photo of Rafael Alegría courtesy Internet)

Colombia is preparing to hold presidential elections on May 30. Two-term conservative president Álvaro Uribe will not be on the ballot. On February 26, the country's Supreme Court ruled against a proposed public referendum that may have allowed the widely popular President Uribe to run for a third term. Mr. Uribe has been a close ally of the United States in combating illegal drug smuggling in Latin America and has been viewed as successful in his battle against the leftist rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In yesterday's Congressional elections in Colombia, a coalition of three political parties allied with Mr. Uribe is believed to have held control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The elections are seen as a bellwether of the upcoming presidential elections, for which former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos of Mr. Uribe's National Unity Party is considered the front runner. (3/15/10)

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Venezuela has taken delivery of six Hongdu Aviation Industry-built K-8 Karakorum training and light attack jet from China. The aircraft, which will supplement the 24 Sukhoi Su-30MK jet fighters received from Russia in 2008, were flight tested on Saturday at an air base in the city of Barquisimeto. President Hugo Chávez ordered 18 K-8s in 2008 after a contract to purchase as many as 24 Embraer Super Tucano aircraft from Brazil was blocked by the US government. Over the weekend, Mr. Chávez said that he intends to buy up to 40 K-8s. The Venezuelan Air Force operates a fleet of aging F-5 and F-16 jets. The US has prohibited the sale of replacement parts for the aircraft in retaliation for what it views as the Chávez government's lack of cooperation in efforts to combat illegal drug smuggling. (3/15/10)

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The 36-nation Organization of American States (OAS) is scheduled to vote March 24 in Washington, DC on the re-election of José Miguel Insulza as Secretary General. Mr. Insulza is the sole candidate for the position that he has held for one five-year term. It is widely believed that Mr. Insulza has the votes he needs to win a second term, but his re-election is not without controversy. The Chilean-born diplomat has been criticized in the United States and throughout Latin America. In a recent Congressional study commissioned by Senator Richard Lugar of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Insulza is accused of "selective intervention in the defense of Democracy", noting that he has a record of mobilizing OAS countries to oppose the overthrow of leftist presidents such Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, but does little to intervene when such leaders move to dismantle democratic freedoms and institutions beforehand. (3/15/10)

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It seems clear that Latin America is splitting into two camps consisting of pro-US and anti-US factions, with Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela forming an alliance against Colombia. The continent is becoming increasingly polarized.

By W. E. Gutman
Relations between Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe hit rock bottom last October. Intelligence sources in Bogotá quote Colombian officials as saying that the risk of an armed clash with Venezuela by mid-2010 is real. There is no rational reason for Colombia and Venezuela to go to war. However, heightened tensions, troops massed along the border and the destabilizing presence of Colombian insurgents contribute to an atmosphere where a minor skirmish could spark a major conflagration. Neither Colombia nor Venezuela is doctrinally or operationally prepared for conventional warfare but both have sufficient firepower to inflict considerable damage. (3/15/10)

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By Genny Ross-Barons
I love to garden, and where I’m originally from, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; I learned all about gardening from my grandma. I would watch her, on hands and knees, digging in the soil that crumbled between her fingers. The frigid days of winter had released their grip, the blanket of snow and muddied ice—all but gone. Longer, warmer, sunlit days were doing their part to soften the land. The determined crocuses had already pushed their way through weeks earlier, soft, velvet purple blooms, to impatient to wait for the snow to be gone. (3/14/10)

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During her visit to Guatemala on March 5 to meet with the presidents of Central America and the Dominican Republic, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that the US is to blame for much of the drug-related violence in Central America and Mexico. "The demand in the large market in the United States drives the drug trade," said Secretary Clinton. "We know that we are part of the problem and that is an admission that we have been willing to make this past year." Mrs. Clinton pledged to recommit the US to working with the governments of the region to combat organized crime and gangs that are being financed by the sales of illegal narcotics. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, worldwide profits from the sales of illegal drugs total roughly US$394 billion annually. (3/14/10)

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Honduras' emergency management agency, COPECO, is estimating that some 50,234 families within 65 municipalities in the departments of Choluteca, El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán, Intibucá, Lempira, and Valle may begin to suffer from extreme hunger without emergency supplies of food and water. Specific municipalities in Francisco Morazán that are at high risk include Alubarén, Curarén, La Libertad, La Venta, Reitoca, and Sabanagrande. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has already delivered food rations to about 57,000 people in southern Honduras since December. Each ration is valued at Lps 1,500 (US$80) and consists of beans, rice, soy, and vegetable oil. (3/14/10)

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