WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS ISSUE #672, DECEMBER 15, 2002 NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK 339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499 1. Nicaragua: Aleman Loses Immunity 2. Nicaragua: Workers Protest Pesticides 3. Ecuador: US Diplomat Kills Ecuadoran 4. Ecuador: Arsenal Explosion a Coverup? 5. Chile: Trade Pact Signed with US 6. Brazil: Lula Meets Bush, Names Cabinet 7. Paraguay: President Faces Impeachment 8. Colombia: US Troops Protect Pipeline 9. Colombia: Bogota Bombs, Prez Plot Foiled 10. Mexico: FARC Planning Giuliani Hit? 11. Panama: Anti-Castro Trial Suspended 12. Haiti: Aristide Backs Early Elections 13. Venezuela: US Backs Early Elections 14. US: Reich Bounced? ISSN#: 1084-922X. The Weekly News Update on the Americas is published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York. A one-year subscription (52 issues) is $25. To subscribe, send a check or money order for US $25 payable to Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012. Please specify if you want the electronic or print version: they are identical in content, but the electronic version is delivered directly to your email address; the print version is sent via first class mail. For more information about electronic subscriptions, contact . Back issues and source materials are available on request. If you are accessing this Update for free on electronic newsgroups, we would appreciate any financial support you can contribute. We are a small, all-volunteer organization funded solely through subscriptions and contributions. Please also help spread the word about the Update. If you know someone who might be interested in subscribing, send their email (or regular mail) address to and request a free one-month trial subscription to the Weekly News Update on the Americas. Feel free to reproduce these updates, or reprint or re-post any information from them, but please credit us as "Weekly News Update on the Americas," and include our full contact information so that people will know how to find us. Send us a copy of any publication where we are cited or reprinted. We also welcome your comments and ideas: send them to us at the street address above or via e-mail to VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Weekly News Update on the Americas, to help 1-2 hours a week in our NYC office with clipping newspapers, filing and organizing the office. Contact us! *1. NICARAGUA: ALEMAN LOSES IMMUNITY On Dec. 12, Nicaragua's 92-member National Assembly voted 47-0 in favor of a resolution to strip former president Arnoldo Aleman of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Nine deputies linked to the ruling Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) joined all 38 deputies from the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in supporting the resolution; the remaining 44 PLC deputies and one Conservative deputy walked out of the Assembly in protest before the vote. The debate over whether to revoke Aleman's immunity had begun on Nov. 14, but the vote was tied 46-46 until Dec. 12, when deputy Delia Arellano of the Christian Path Party was suspended for being absent from the Assembly for more than 21 days, and was replaced by alternate deputy Marlon Suarez, who became the long- awaited "47th vote" against Aleman. [La Jornada (Mexico) 12/13/02 from AFP, DPA; Miami Herald 12/13/02 from AP; Nicaragua Network Hotline 12/13/02; El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 12/13/02 from AP; El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 12/13/02 from EFE] Following the vote, judges ordered Aleman's arrest on several counts of fraud and embezzlement involving more than $100 million. Aleman was taken into custody that same evening at his estate, El Chile, in the town of El Crucero outside Managua. [El Nuevo Diario (Managua) 12/13/02] The Nicaraguan daily La Prensa reported on Dec. 14 that President Enrique Bolanos--who is from the PLC but has sided against Aleman--had asked FSLN leader and ex-president Daniel Ortega to use his influence with the courts to allow Aleman to be held under house arrest instead of jailed. [ENH 12/15/02 from AFP] The Assembly vote came a day after Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer cited new documents obtained by Nicaraguan prosecutors showing that earlier this year Aleman tried to hide nearly $4 million from a Panamanian bank account with the help of his wife, former Miami schoolteacher Maria Fernanda Flores de Aleman. [MH 12/11/02] *2. NICARAGUA: WORKERS PROTEST PESTICIDES A Nicaraguan court has ordered three US companies to pay $490 million in compensation to 583 Nicaraguan campesinos who were affected by the agricultural chemical Nemagon, or DBCP. The decision by the Third District Civil Court in Managua came in the first of 64 trials against the multinational corporations Dow Chemical, Shell Oil Company and Standard Fruit/Dole Food Company. Court documents charge that for three decades--until the 1980s, when the chemical was banned--banana companies operating in western Nicaragua used Nemagon without protecting the workers. [El Nuevo Herald 12/15/02 from unspecified wire services] More than 800 campesinos affected by Nemagon arrived in Managua on Nov. 18 after marching for five days from Chinandega, to defend their right to pursue their civil suits against the multinational companies in Nicaraguan courts. Exhausted, their feet bleeding, the workers staged protests in front of the presidential palace, the US embassy and the National Assembly, where workers asked legislative deputies not to alter Law 364, which allowed the workers' lawsuits to proceed. In September, under pressure from the US embassy, the Nicaraguan Attorney General's office had declared Law 364 unconstitutional. The Assembly told the campesinos it had no intention of changing the law. On Nov. 26 the government signed an agreement in Managua with the campesinos to form a commission in support of the workers' claims against the companies. [La Prensa (Nicaragua) 11/19/02, 11/27/02; Nicaragua Network Hotline 11/25/02] *3. ECUADOR: US DIPLOMAT KILLS ECUADORAN Peter Samuel Karmilowicz, a "civilian attache" at the US embassy in Ecuador, is being investigated in Washington for the Dec. 5 killing of Ecuadoran Pablo Vicente Jaramillo in Quito. Ecuadoran police say Karmilowicz shot Jaramillo after his car collided with the taxi in which Jaramillo was riding. "We know that Mr. Karmilowicz was under the influence of alcohol," Ecuadoran police press officer Manuel Sarmiento said on Dec. 10. "It seems that he crashed into the taxi and Jaramillo then attacked him. Karmilowicz responded with a firearm, killing Jaramillo." Karmilowicz was detained by police following the killing, but Minister of the Interior Rodolfo Barniol ordered police to hand him over to the US embassy because he had diplomatic immunity. Karmilowicz left Ecuador on Dec. 7 and is currently in Washington, DC, the embassy said. On Dec. 10, Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally asked the US to lift Karmilowicz' diplomatic immunity so he can be tried in an Ecuadoran court. The US embassy in Quito said it was "tremendously saddened" by the death of Jaramillo and is awaiting the outcome of investigations before commenting further. US ambassador to Ecuador Kristie Kenney is visiting Washington; the embassy said she is involved in the investigations. [Miami Herald 12/11/02 from correspondent; 12/7/02 from unspecified wire services] *4. ECUADOR: ARSENAL EXPLOSION A COVERUP? Ecuadoran deputy Guillermo Hero has charged that the Nov. 20 explosion of an army arsenal in the city of Riobamba was a deliberate attempt to cover up for missing inventory. The explosion left at least 10 people dead and caused some $100 million in damages to the Riobamba city center. According to Hero, "reports exist suggesting that in that brigade arms and munitions were constantly disappearing. They are covering up a business deal with the irregular army of Colombia," he said, referring to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Hero has asked the government to explain why most of the 2,000 men stationed at the Galapagos Brigade were moved out of the barracks before the explosion. Antonio Ferrara, director of the Spanish security analysis company Analisis e Inteligencia, told El Nuevo Herald that other information would appear to corroborate Hero's claims. "According to our evaluation of this incident, the inspector of the Armed Forces of Ecuador was about to begin an audit in the different units which store weapons" because "in recent months the theft of weapons and ammunition from the Ecuadoran army has increased," and these materials "end up in the hands of Colombian insurgents." The Colombian military has traced a number of weapons confiscated from the FARC to the Ecuadoran army. "The weapons sold to the FARC are the same type as those found stored in the brigade's arsenal," noted Ferrara. Defense Minister Adm. Hugo Unda is expected to address the issue before Congress in two separate sessions on Dec. 19: one secret session at which he will testify about the cause of the explosion and the apparent arms sales to the FARC; and one public session to discuss the compensation demands of civilians affected by the explosion. [El Nuevo Herald 12/11/02 from correspondent] *5. CHILE: TRADE PACT SIGNED WITH US After two years of negotiations, the governments of Chile and the US announced on Dec. 11 they had reached agreement on a "free trade" pact which would eliminate tariffs immediately on 85% of goods traded between the countries, with the rest being phased out over 12 years. The agreement must still be approved by the legislatures of both countries. US trade officials said the pact will be sent to the US Congress by March and is expected to win easy approval. The US administration hopes the Chile pact will pave the way for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a broader agreement for the entire hemisphere. The US is Chile's leading trade partner; $8.8 billion in goods and services was traded between the countries last year. Chile's primary exports to the US include copper, paper products, fish, fruits and wine; the US mainly exports computers, heavy machinery and cars to Chile. In addition to lowering tariffs, the pact will require Chile to implement new rules controlling patent and trademark protections. The pact also allows for enforcement of labor and environmental standards. The talks were held up for days as Chile objected to US demands that it drop all controls on foreign capital entering or leaving the country. US Treasury officials finally offered a compromise: Chile can impose monetary controls for as long as a year without sanctions provided they don't "seriously impede" capital outflows, according to Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor. If restrictions are applied, US investors could seek compensation after six months in the case of bond holdings and direct investments, and 12 months for all other types of holdings. [Wall Street Journal 12/12/02] *6. BRAZIL: LULA MEETS BUSH, NAMES CABINET Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the leftist Workers Party (PT) met with US president George W. Bush at the White House during a one-day visit to Washington on Dec. 10. Lula pledged to work with the Bush administration to further open markets to "free trade." "The president was encouraged to hear the message that President Lula offered concerning trade and the importance of trade to economic development," White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer said after the meeting. In an appearance before reporters later in the day, Lula said he had "an excellent impression" of Bush, who proposed establishing a working group to explore common concerns for the two countries over the coming months. "I will go back to Brazil knowing that I can count on President Bush as an ally," said Lula. In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Lula said his administration would be "characterized by fiscal responsibility, the fight against inflation and respect for contractual obligations and agreements." Lula also said his government will participate in negotiations on the US-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). "The FTAA, in our view, can represent a genuine opening up of the US and Canadian markets," Lula said. "We will work to eliminate subsidies, barriers, especially in the agricultural sector." [New York Times 12/11/02] Lula's term begins on Jan. 1, 2003. While in Washington, Lula announced that doctor Antonio Palocci will serve as his economy minister. "Knowing that the Brazilian economy is in intensive care, I've nominated a doctor as minister of finance," said Lula. Palocci is a moderate who pioneered several privatization projects as mayor of Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo state; his selection was widely expected and was well-received by financial analysts and investors. [Washington Post 12/10/02; BBC News 12/10/02] On Dec. 12, Lula announced that his cabinet chief will be deputy Jose Dirceu, Lula's campaign chief and the head of the PT national committee. Dirceu is widely seen as responsible for having pushed the PT toward a more moderate image. Lula also announced that Brazil's Central Bank will be headed by Henrique Meirelles, another choice favored by foreign investors. Meirelles served as international president of BankBoston until August of this year, when he resigned to run for deputy in Goias state for the Social Democratic Party of Brazil (PSDB), President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's party. [El Pais (Uruguay) 12/13/02 from ANSA] Also on Dec. 12, Lula named senator Marina Silva from the Amazon state of Acre to head Brazil's Ministry of the Environment. Silva was an ally of environmentalist and rubber tapper union activist Chico Mendes, and she has remained very active on environmental issues. [Miami Herald 12/13/02 from unspecified wire services] On Dec. 13, Lula announced three more cabinet nominees: Luiz Fernando Furlan as Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade; Celso Amorim, current ambassador to the UK and former representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1995 to 1999, as Minister of Foreign Relations; and agronomist Roberto Rodrigues as Minister of Agriculture. [CNN en Espanol 12/13/02 from Reuters] Lula said he will announce the rest of his cabinet during the week of Dec. 16. [EP 12/13/02 from ANSA] *7. PARAGUAY: PRESIDENT FACES IMPEACHMENT On Dec. 5, Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies voted 50-0 with 11 abstentions in favor of impeaching President Luis Gonzalez Macchi on five counts of corruption and mismanagement, including charges that he bought a stolen luxury car and diverted $16 million from Paraguay's Central Bank to Citibank in New York. The impeachment motion is to go before the Senate no later than Dec. 20, when the parliamentary recess begins. On Dec. 12, in an attempt to ease tensions over his rule, Gonzalez Macchi said he was willing to step down immediately after the Apr. 27 elections, instead of waiting for Aug. 15 when the new president is scheduled to take office. Changes to the election timetable require congressional approval. [CNN en Espanol 12/5/02 from Reuters; Miami Herald 12/13/02 from unspecified wire services; El Nuevo Herald 12/13/02 from AP] *8. COLOMBIA: US TROOPS PROTECT PIPELINE Some two dozen members of US special forces have arrived in Colombia's Arauca department to begin the first phase of a $98 million project in which they will train Colombian soldiers to protect an oil pipeline from rebel attacks. Some 60 US troops are expected to be in Arauca by Jan. 1, focusing on the first 75 miles of the Cano Limon pipeline. So far this year, the Cano Limon pipeline has been bombed 34 times, down from 170 last year. The pipeline is operated by the US-based oil company Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) in conjunction with Colombia's state oil company, Ecopetrol. "People think this is Occidental's initiative, and that this is an example of corporate welfare," said Larry Meriage, a spokesperson for Occidental. "This is really a government-to-government initiative. If you look at Colombia's exposure compared to Occidental's, our interests are dwarfed by comparison." The first $6 million in funding for the pipeline effort goes to build bomb-proof barracks for the US troops. Another $71 million will be used to buy helicopters, and $27 million will be used for training, infrastructure and intelligence support, said Steve Lucas, spokesman for the US Southern Command, which oversees US troops in Latin America. Arauca Mayor Jorge Cedeno criticized the initiative: "How is it possible that they are bringing in troops for oil and for the rest of the country--nothing?" he asked. "It seems the US government is interested in taking oil, and that's it." [Miami Herald 12/13/02 from correspondent] *9. COLOMBIA: BOGOTA BOMBS, PREZ PLOT FOILED On Dec. 11, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe Velez abruptly cancelled an appearance at the Intercontinental Hotel in Medellin and was flown by helicopter to the nearby headquarters of the Colombian army's 4th Brigade. Defense Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez said rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had apparently planned to attack Uribe at the hotel. In Bogota, meanwhile, a car bomb exploded near a grocery store on Dec. 9, injuring 65 people. Police in Bogota deactivated three car bombs on Dec. 10 and two more on Dec. 11. [Miami Herald 12/12/02 from AP] On Dec. 13, Senator German Vargas Lleras, a prominent supporter of Uribe, was injured when he opened a book rigged with a bomb in Bogota. Later that evening, a bomb hidden inside a suitcase exploded in a Bogota restaurant, wounding 30 people. [New York Times 12/15/02 from Reuters] *10. MEXICO: FARC PLANNING GIULIANI HIT? The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-New York Police Joint Terrorist Task Force is investigating a report that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are plotting to kidnap former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani while he works in Mexico City as an anti-crime consultant, the New York Daily News reported on Dec. 7. Giuliani said he would continue his trip as planned. His firm, Giuliani Partners, was hired in October to help lower Mexico City's rate of violent crime. A law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Daily News that a retired New York City police detective heard about the FARC plans while visiting Mexico on assignment for Giuliani. [Miami Herald 12/8/02 from AP] On Dec. 8, the New York Post reported that the Miami office of the FBI had helped foil the plot after hearing about it in a wiretapped conversation. [MH 12/9/02] *11. PANAMA: ANTI-CASTRO TRIAL SUSPENDED The trial of rightwing Cuban-American operatives Luis Posada Carriles, Gaspar Jimenez, Pedro Remon and Guillermo Novo began on Dec. 5 in the fifth criminal court in Panama City. The four are charged in connection to an alleged plot to bomb a hall at the University of Panama where Cuban president Fidel Castro Ruz was to speak to students during a trip to Panama in November 2000 for the Ibero-American summit of heads of state [see Updates #564, 565, 567]. A charge of plotting to assassinate Castro was dropped this past summer [see Update #650]; the four men are still charged with possessing 33 pounds of explosives and conspiracy to commit a crime. They claim they came to Panama to help Gen. Eduardo Delgado, head of Cuba's Intelligence Division, to defect. Cuban-Panamanian Cesar Matamoros and three Panamanians are also on trial on charges of covering up the plot. Five hours into the preliminary hearing on Dec. 5, Judge Enrique Paniza suspended the trial in order to allow the First High Court of Justice to finish hearing an appeal by lawyers for the complainants--Panamanian leftist student, labor and indigenous groups who could have been hurt in the bombing --seeking to reinstate the charge for attempted assassination of Castro. The defendants and their lawyers see the move as a delaying tactic; they had been hoping for a quick trial, after which the four would either be found not guilty or sentenced to time served. In any case, Posada Carriles would not be out of jail so soon: Panama is still considering a Venezuelan request for his extradition on charges of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cubana de Aviacion airliner which killed more than 70 people [see Update #622]. [Miami Herald 12/6/02 from correspondent; La Prensa (Panama) 12/6/02] *12. HAITI: ARISTIDE BACKS EARLY ELECTIONS Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is moving towards calling new legislative elections in the first half of 2003, according to other leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which met in Cuba the weekend of Dec. 7. Aristide has named a representative to Haiti's provisional electoral council and "indicated to us he was willing to escrow the money" to pay reparations to victims of attacks by pro-Aristide groups in December 2001, Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo, the current CARICOM chair, told a press conference. "With him clarifying those two issues, the conditions may be set for Haiti to move to early elections," Jagdeo said on Dec. 9, the last day of the CARICOM meeting. The center-right opposition Democratic Convergence (CD) charges that the victory of Aristide's left-populist Lavalas Family (FL) in May 2000 elections was fraudulent [see Update #539]. CD parties have refused to name representatives to the electoral council, saying fair elections are impossible unless Aristide resigns. The Organization of American States (OAS) backed the opposition on Dec. 9; it blamed the Aristide government for not convincing the CD to participate in the electoral council. But the CARICOM leaders urged the opposition to end its boycott, calling on "all parties" to "work together towards restoring normalcy in Haiti." CARICOM, which admitted Haiti in July [see Update #649], was meeting in Cuba to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and countries in the Caribbean. Cuban president Fidel Castro marked the occasion by offering to provide CARICOM member nations with health workers, equipment and cheap medicine to help fight AIDS. [Miami Herald 12/10/02 from AP] The CARICOM meeting came as opposition demonstrations that had convulsed Haiti since Nov. 17 appeared to slow down. The Miami- based Haitian weekly Haiti en Marche contrasted the fading opposition protests to the massive civic strike the Venezuelan opposition has mounted at approximately the same time against President Hugo Chavez Frias, like Aristide a left-populist with strong support among the poor. "Evidently the Venezuelan bosses have more influence," the newspaper concluded. [HEM 12/11/02] The situation in Haiti remains unstable. On Dec. 6 gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed business leader Gerald Khawly at his ELF gas station in Port-au-Prince and wounded his son-in-law Joel Edouard Vorbes. FL supporters have suggested that the killings might be connected to Khawly and Vorbes' refusal to join an anti- Aristide strike on Dec. 4. Also on Dec. 6, gunmen attempted to assassinate FL senator Dany Toussaint as he was driving home in Port-au-Prince, according to Toussaint, who said that the attack came the same day that the Haitian National Police (PNH) withdrew the bodyguards they had provided him for the last eight years. Toussaint is a former police chief who is widely suspected of involvement in the April 2000 murder of radio journalist Jean Leopold Dominique [see Updates #618, 633, 643]. [Haiti Progres (NY) 12/11/02] *13. VENEZUELA: US BACKS EARLY ELECTIONS Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Caracas on Dec. 14 in one of the opposition's largest protests ever against left- populist president Hugo Chavez Frias. The massive demonstration marked the 13th day of a "national civic strike" business and union leaders called against the government. A few hours before the march, Ali Rodriguez, president of the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), admitted that the company, the government's main source of revenue, "is to a large extent paralyzed" and the country is "severely punished" by the strike. The march ended without incident after about two hours. [La Jornada (Mexico) 12/15/02 from correspondent; CNN en Espanol 12/15/02 from Reuters] The demonstration received a big boost from the Dec. 13 announcement that the administration of US president George W. Bush was asking Chavez to call early elections. The opposition has repeatedly demanded early elections, while Chavez insists that the opposition should wait until August 2003, halfway through his six-year term; under the 1999 Constitution a president can be removed by referendum at that point [see Update #659]. Ranking State Department officials were meeting with Venezuelan opposition leaders in Washington in the days before Dec. 13, according to the Mexican daily La Jornada. The open US support for early elections was a turnaround for the Bush administration, which--after virtually endorsing a failed coup against Chavez in April--had been more cautious about publicly backing the opposition in the current protests. "The US is confused," Chavez said in an interview with CNN en Espanol. "We'll have to send them a copy of the Constitution..." [LJ 12/14/02, 12/15/02 from correspondents; NY Times 12/15/02; Clarin (Buenos Aires) 12/15/02 from AFP, ANSA, DPA, AP] In a syndicated op-ed, Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research think tank in Washington, DC, suggests that Chavez's opponents are "impatient" for elections because the Venezuelan economy could recover from its current recession by next August. The economy "would get a tremendous boost from an increase in oil prices that would likely result from a war with Iraq," for example."Of course it does not make any more sense for Chavez to hold early elections than it would have for President [Ronald] Reagan to have done so in 1983, when- -due to a recession and high unemployment--his approval rating bottomed at 35%." [Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services 12/2/02] [As of October Chavez's approval rating was 35%; see Update #665.] The level of support for the anti-Chavez strike is a subject for debate. The Washington Post reported that Navy forces had occupied the PDVSA tanker Pilin Leon by Dec. 8, three days after its captain joined the strike "but a replacement crew could not be found...to pilot the ship." [WP 12/9/02] Veteran Latin America reporter Richard Gott reported the opposite in the British daily The Guardian. "[T]he tanker's crew were opposed to the strike and their captain's piratical action," Gott wrote. "When the marines boarded...only the captain needed to be replaced." [Guardian 12/10/02] On Dec. 12 members of Brazil's Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) and leftist groups demonstrated outside the Venezuelan embassy in Brasilia to express support for the Venezuelan government and rejection of the opposition's demands. Chavez also received a statement of support from the Unitary Left group in the European Parliament. [LJ 12/13/02 from Reuters, AFP] Meanwhile, conflicting stories surround Joao de Gouveia, the Portuguese-born taxi driver accused of firing into an opposition rally in Caracas on the night of Dec. 6, killing three people and wounding 30 [see Update #671, where we spelled his name "Goveia," following our sources]. The anti-Chavez Globovision TV news channel showed a video that seems to show De Gouveia in close proximity to Freddy Bernal, the pro-Chavez mayor of a Caracas municipal district, on Dec. 5. The government has papers showing that De Gouveia had visited Portugal and returned late on Dec. 5, after the time the video was supposedly shot. [Miami Herald 12/10/02; Colombia Indymedia 12/10/02] *14. US: REICH BOUNCED? According to a Dec. 14 report in the Mexico City daily La Jornada, the White House has decided not to renominate rightwing Cuban-American Otto Reich as assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs. Reich was appointed acting secretary during a congressional recess last January, after it became clear that Congress would not confirm his nomination; he automatically lost the job when Congress adjourned on Nov. 22 [see Update #669]. According to La Jornada, the State Department then quickly removed Reich's belongings from his office and took his portrait off the wall, while Reich was on vacation. [LJ 12/14/02] In a column published in the Miami Herald on Dec. 15, Latin America commentator Andres Oppenheimer wrote that President George W. Bush "will have to decide soon whether to renominate" Reich, "or let Secretary of State Colin Powell have his way and nominate a State Department career officer for the job," such as current US Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson. Several Latin American foreign ministers told Oppenheimer they hope the job will go to "a Bush political appointee with direct access to the president," rather than a career officer. Reich's supporters have mentioned Roger Noriega, current US ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), as a possible candidate. Senior Bush administration officials told Oppenheimer that Reich "has been sounded out about a possible job as White House special envoy to Latin America, the top Latin American affairs job at the National Security Council, or as US ambassador to the UN in Geneva. In other words, his days at the State Department seem pretty much over." [Miami Herald 12/15/02] La Jornada says Reich could replace John Maisto as the White House national security adviser for Latin America. [LJ 12/14/02] According to Oppenheimer, Powell has long seen Reich as "a needless source of conflict with key Senate Democrats." Reich's opponents cite his past involvement in the Iran-contra affair, alleged backing of Cuban-American terrorists like Orlando Bosch, support for the US embargo against Cuba, and his appearance of backing a coup attempt in Venezuela last April. [New York Times 12/15/02; MH 12/15/02] Oppenheimer says the dispute between Reich and Powell is not primarily sparked by the administration's Cuba policy. "Much of the Bush administration's Cuba policy... has not emanated from Reich's State Department office, but from the White House desk of the National Security Council's Cuba specialist, Emilio Gonzalez," Oppenheimer writes. [MH 12/15/02] END CHECK US OUT on the Resource Center of the Americas website at http://www.americas.org ALSO SEE OUR OWN WEBSITES: http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/wnuhome.html http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/nsnhome.html For New York area events, check out the CREED NYC calendar at http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/creed.html (if you don't have web access, write for info). ======================================================================= Weekly News Update on the Americas * Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139 http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/wnuhome.html * wnu@igc.apc.org =======================================================================