by the El Reportero news services
Alejandro Encina
The Organization of American States eventually approved a resolution early on 18 March that criticised the Colombian raid on Ecuador on 1 March.
The resolution was a diplomatic defeat for the US which had wanted the OAS to recognise that the raid was a legitimate act of self defence.
Even the Colombians were embarrassed by the US’s heavy-handed attempts to impose its will. Colombia had already apologised to Ecuador for the raid and promised not to take similar action again: if the US’s preferred wording had been used the Colombian apology would have been devalued.
Radicals win control of Mexico’s opposition party
Exit polls suggest that Alejandro Encinas won the election to head the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) on 16 March.
Encinas is a radical, loyal to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a former mayor of Mexico City who was narrowly defeated in the 2006 presidential election.
Encinas’s victory means that the PRD will refuse to cooperate with the federal government. This attitude is likely to complicate the government’s attempts to reform the energy industry which is currently dominated by state companies, such as the oil monopoly Petróleos Mexicanos and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad.
Tucson-based Air Force command seeks aircraft for Central America
TUCSON, Ariz. (Map, News) – U.S. Air Force commanders in Tucson are proposing to spend $300 million to outfit four Central American countries with cargo aircraft, helicopters and attack planes.
The move is designed to keep the air forces of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua from collapsing, according to officials at 12th Air Force, a Tucson-based regional command that oversees U.S. Air Force activity in Latin America.
The proposal, which requires congressional approval, calls for spending the $300 million over the next 15 years to pay for the dozens of military craft, which would replace Vietnam-era planes and choppers with modern equivalents.
The four countries could use the aircraft for duties currently performed by the U.S. military, such as drug interdiction and natural disaster relief, officials said.
Officials said the large investment would be worth it because the U.S. wouldn’t have to send in cargo jets, helicopters and other military support as often.
“If we don’t do this, then we aren’t addressing the problems on our doorstep,” said Col. Jim Russell, operations director for the 12th Air Force.
Lt. Col. Troy Hewgley, director of theater security and cooperation for the 12th Air Force, said the four countries’ current aircraft are at a breaking point.
Many are more than 40 years old and are badly in need of repair. Hewgley said it makes more sense to replace them and look at ways the countries can collaborate on issues such as training, logistics and regional defense.
Cuba lifts farmers’ supplies ban
The Cuban government has lifted its ban on farmers buying their own supplies to improve agricultural production.
Small-scale farmers in some parts of the country will be allowed to buy such items as seeds, fertilizer and clothing equipment from state stores.
Up till then, all supplies had been assigned by the central government.
Correspondents regard the move as another sign that the new Cuban president, Raul Castro, is prepared to introduce changes to the economy.
They say it is a small step in the direction of allowing private initiative.
The aim is to increase agricultural output and thereby reduce Cuba’s food imports that are currently worth about $2bn (£1bn) a year, says BBC Americas editor James Painter.
