Author Archives: jennya

Costa Rica builds road along Rio San Juan causing massive environmental damage

 John Perry /15th December 2011– Costa Rica is renowned for its excellent environmental record, but with the construction of a 150km road beside the San Juan river it appears to be going against that reputation by causing enormous damage to the environment.  See entire story –http://www.opendemocracy.net/print/63229

*John Perry lives in Nicaragua and writes about Central America.

Congressman Berman asks if US is "feeding the monster" in Honduras

Congressman Howard Berman released a strongly worded letter to Hillary Clinton, in which he expresses his concern about the human rights situation in Honduras.  The letter goes into great detail regarding the involvement of Honduran security forces in killings, torture and other crimes and states that it is necessary "to evaluate immediately United States assistance to ensure that we are not, in fact, feeding the beast."  Please see the attached letter.

Cofadeh to challenge constitutionality of decree granting police powers to the military

The General Coordinator of the Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (Cofadeh), Bertha Oliva revealed to defensoresenlinea.com that the decision taken by the National Congress to grant police powers to the military is an illegal, unconstitutional decision that opens the door for members of the Armed Forces to openly commit all types of human rights violations. 

Improvements in Social and Economic Well-Being and the Nov. 6 Elections

Daniel McCurdy, Nov. 14, 2011 Last Sunday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was re-elected by a large margin. His party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), won an unprecedented majority in the National Assembly.  The major media, which are generally hostile to Ortega (and to most of the left governments in Latin America), mostly missed the main economic changes that might explain this result.  These include a significant reduction in poverty and inequality and a considerable increase in access to health care and education.

Gringo Bases in Honduras Again

COFADEH Nov. 11, 2011  The first executive order issued by Porfirio Lobo in January 2010 after assuming the presidency following the coup d’état was the authorization of another Gringo military base in Caratasca and an extension in the small island of Guanaja. The bases – sea, land, and air – join with Palmerola, in the heart of the Comayagua valley, which dates back to the 1980s. In addition to these US military enclaves on the Atlantic coast and in Comayagua there are also U.S.