2020-01-17: News Headlines

Staff (2020-01-17). Interpretation Crisis at the Border Leads to Deportation of Mayan-Language Speakers Seeking Refuge. democracynow.org As the U.S. continues to use hostile policies to stop people from seeking refuge and asylum in the United States, we look at a key problem that is preventing migrants from getting due process, and in many cases getting them deported: inadequate interpretation for indigenous asylum seekers who speak Mayan languages. Guatemala has a population of 15 million people, and at least 40% of them are indigenous. In the past year, a quarter of a million Guatemalan migrants have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border. At least half of them are Mayan. Many speak little or no Spanish. This is the focus of a new report in…

Pete Dolack (2020-01-17). Claims that the 'NAFTA 2' Agreement is Better are a Macabre Joke. counterpunch.org Democratic Party House representatives have voted by a wide margin to approve version 2 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Even Rose DeLauro of Connecticut, in the past a strong leader within Congress in the fight against so-called "free trade" agreements, is on board with this one. Representative More

teleSUR (2020-01-17). Mexico's President Offers 4,000 Jobs in Attempt to Stop Caravan. telesurenglish.net Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) Friday reported that his government will not grant transit visas to migrants from the caravan trying to reach the United States but that there are about 4.000 jobs available. | RELATED: | 'Mexico Won't Let the Caravan Pass' Guatemala's President Says | "Between 2,500 and 3,000 Honduran and Salvadora…

W. T. Whitney (2020-01-17). Mexico Takes Action on Coup in Bolivia and on CELAC. counterpunch.org Mexico's government intervened recently in two difficult situations beyond its borders. One is turmoil in Bolivia following a U.S. — assisted coup. The other is about renewing the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). At issue there is regional integration and independence. Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced out of office on November More

Staff (2020-01-17). At US Border, Inaccurate Mayan-Language Interpretation Can Lead to Deportation. truthout.org As the U.S. continues to use hostile policies to stop people from seeking refuge and asylum in the United States, we look at a key problem that is preventing migrants from getting due process, and in many cases getting them deported: inadequate interpretation for indigenous asylum seekers who speak Mayan languages. Guatemala has a population of 15 million people, and at least 40% of them are indigenous. In the past year, a quarter of a million Guatemalan migrants have been apprehended at the U.

Staff (2020-01-17). Headlines for January 17, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Impeachment Trial Opens as Accountability Office Says Trump Broke Law by Withholding Aid, Pentagon Contradicts Trump and Says 11 U.S. Troops Injured in Iranian Strikes, Senate Votes to Approve USMCA, Report: Six Banks Reaped $18 Billion Last Year from Trump Tax Cuts, Guatemalan Protesters Demand Outgoing President Be Arrested for Corruption, Deported Immigrant Rights Leader Jean Montrevil Sues U.S. Government, FBI Arrests 3 Suspected Neo-Nazis Ahead of Pro-Gun Rally in Richmond, Virginia, Florida Supreme Court Upholds Law Limiting Voting Rights for People with Felony Convictions, Harvard Law Students Prote…

yenisafak (2020-01-17). Pentagon gets request to build roughly 270 miles of Trump border wall. yenisafak.com The Pentagon has received a request from within the Trump administration to build roughly 270 miles (435 km) of wall on the border with Mexico and is evaluating its cost and viability, a senior Defense Department official said on Thursday.The disclosure of the request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sets up another showdown with Democrats in Congress, who oppose President Donald Trump's past diversion of billions of dollars in military spending to bolster security on the border.The senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to speculate on the costs of the project but noted i…

Staff (2020-01-17). 4 Years Seeking Justice: Daughter of Slain Indigenous Environmental Leader Berta Cáceres Speaks Out. democracynow.org In Honduras, a new report by the Violence Observatory at the Honduran National Autonomous University says that at least 15 women have been murdered in the first 14 days of this year. Violence against women, LGBTQ people, indigenous leaders and environmental activists has skyrocketed in Honduras under the U.S.-backed government of President Juan Orlando Hernández. The report comes nearly four years after the Honduran indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres was shot dead inside her home in La Esperanza, Honduras, by hired hitmen. Last month in the capital of Tegucigalpa, seven men were sentenced to up to 50…

teleSUR (2020-01-16). 'Mexico Won't Let the Caravan Pass' Guatemala's President Says. telesurenglish.net Guatemala's President Alejandro Giammattei Wednesday revealed that Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told him that the Honduran migrants' caravan heading towards the United States would not be allowed to enter into Mexican territory. | RELATED: | Honduran Migrant Caravan Repressed On Guatemala Border Crossing | "The Mexican government told us…

Staff (2020-01-16). Trump Has Suspended Nearly 50 Laws to Build the Wall. truthout.org A new Wild West has taken root not far from Tombstone, Arizona, known to many for its faux-historical reenactments of the old West. We're talking about a long, skinny territory — a geographic gerrymander — that stretches east across New Mexico and down the Texan Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico. It also runs west across hundreds of miles of desert to California and the Pacific Ocean. Like the old Wild West, this one is lawless, save for the law of the gun. But that old West was lawless for want of govern…

teleSUR (2020-01-16). US Senate Approves New Trade Deal to Replace NAFTA. telesurenglish.net The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to approve the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will replaced the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The agreement will now be presented to U.S. President Donald Trump for approval. | RELATED: | Trump Violated US Law by Withholding US Aid: Watchdog | According to The Hill, the U.S. Senate endorsed the USMCA by a vote of 89 to 10. The vote comes about a month after the deal was approved by the House of Represe…

Staff (2020-01-16). Headlines for January 16, 2020. democracynow.org House Lawmakers Deliver Articles of Impeachment to Senate, Ex-Giuliani Associate Says Trump Knew of Ukraine Pressure Campaign, U.S. Troops Resume Iraq Operations Despite Parliament's Expulsion Order, Afghan Reconstruction Watchdog Tells Congress of U.S. "Mendacity" and "Lies", Trump Signs "Phase 1" Agreement with China, Easing Trade War, Russian Government Resigns as Vladimir Putin Seeks to Retain Power Beyond 2024, At Least 21 Killed in Idlib Amid Syrian, Russian Airstrikes, Court Blocks Trump Order Allowing Local Leaders to Refuse Refugees, ACLU Sues to End Trump's Policy of Sending Asylum Seekers to Guatemala,…

Staff (2020-01-15). A Modest Improvement or a Deal to Be Rejected? Warren & Sanders Debate New NAFTA Rewrite. democracynow.org Progressive Democratic presidential candidates Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders clashed over their trade policy disagreements as they zeroed in on the U.S., Mexico and Canada trade agreement that is meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Sanders said the government can do much better. "The heart and soul of our disastrous trade agreements — and I'm the guy who voted against NAFTA and against permanent normal trade relations with China — is that we have forced American workers to compete against people in Mexico, in China, elsewhere, who earn starva…

Staff (2020-01-15). In First All-White Democratic Debate, CNN Didn't Ask a Single Question About Immigration. democracynow.org As the federal government plans to divert an additional $7.2 billion from the military budget for the construction of President Trump's promised border wall, and tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Central America, the Caribbean and other regions are stranded throughout the U.S.-Mexico border, CNN moderators failed to question Democratic presidential candidates on border and immigration issues. We speak to Julio Ricardo Varela, co-host of the Latinx political podcast "In the Thick" and founder of Latino Rebels. "Anyone who thinks that a wall is going to protect us, the statistics aren't there. … But that i…

teleSUR (2020-01-15). Honduran Migrant Caravan Repressed On Guatemala Border Crossing. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of Honduran migrants that joined the caravan heading to the United States were repressed Wednesday by security forces in the town of Corinto while managing to cross the border with Guatemala. | RELATED: | Honduras: Hundreds Join Caravan Heading to the United States | According to teleSUR's correspondent Gilda Silvestrucci, thousands of Hondurans make up this first caravan since April 2019, which includes…

Staff (2020-01-15). Headlines for January 15, 2020. democracynow.org House to Vote to Send Impeachment Articles to Senate, WaPo: Threatening Text Messages Show Yovanovitch Was Under Surveillance, War Powers Resolution Limiting Trump on Iran Could Pass Senate | , Six Democratic Candidates Took Stage in Des Moines, Iowa, 5,000 Puerto Ricans Still Homeless After 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake, HRW Blasts China for Human Rights Violations Against Uyghurs & Protesters | , 15 Women Murdered in Honduras in First 2 Weeks of This Year, American Citizen Moustafa Kassem Dies in Egyptian Prison After Hunger Strike, Seattle Bans Foreign-Influenced Companies from Political Spending, "Jeopardy!" Apolo…

Staff (2020-01-14). Central American Caravan for the Disappeared Seeks to Reunite Families. therealnews.com A caravan of Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans, heads north towards Mexico looking for lost and disappeared loved ones.

Staff (2020-01-10). Headlines for January 10, 2020. democracynow.org House Approves Resolution Aimed at Limiting Trump's War Powers, NYT: Video Appears to Show Iranian Missile Hitting Jet Before Tehran Crash, Internal Emails Show Boeing Workers Mocked Regulators & 737 MAX Jet Designers, Trump Seeks to Exempt Large Projects from Some Environmental Review, Mexican Asylum Seeker Dies by Suicide After Being Denied Entry into U.S., Six Democratic Candidates Will Debate in Iowa Next Week, Ahead of Caucus, Transport Workers' Strike Becomes Longest in French History, Health and Human Services Declares Public Health Emergency for Puerto Rico, Grand Jury Indicts Hanukkah Attack Suspect on M…

Joe Emersberger (2019-12-15). 128 Reuters articles on Bolivia since October 20, 2019 election with no mention of expert criticism of OAS audit UPDATED. zcomm.org Bolivia ¥s foreign minister says Mexico appeal to International Court 'a mistake' Bolivia's YPFB strikes transition deal with Petrobras to extend natural gas exports Bolivia is not a Mexican colony, acting foreign minister Longaric tells El Pais Mexico says Spanish diplomats' cars blocked by Bolivia at La Paz embassy Mexico appeals to international court as diplomatic Read more…

Paul Dobson (2019-11-04). Venezuela, El Salvador Break Relations as Maduro Applauds 'New Anti-Neoliberal Wave'. venezuelanalysis.com Guatemala's president-elect has similarly pledged to break with the Maduro government upon assuming office in January.