Absolut Redraws USA - Mexico Border

Absolut Vodka has got some 'splainin' to do: Laura Martínez found the ad in the print edition of Quién magazine in Mexico City and it's going viral. Jim Hoft has picked it up, calling it an "Absolut-ly Outrageous Ad," Pierre Legrand profanely calls for a boycott, and Brian Ledbetter goes with "Absolut-ly Insulting." Michelle Malkin cranks it up a ...

Confirmed: Ecuadoran Killed in Colombian Raid on FARC

Here's a follow-up to a story I noted yesterday: (via the BBC), Ecuadorean death report confirmedColombia has confirmed that an Ecuadorean was killed when its troops attacked a rebel camp inside the neighbouring state three weeks ago. Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said his body was taken to Colombia after the raid along with that of top leftist Colombian rebel ...

Coca’s Continual Comeback: This Time, Peru

Via the LAT: Peru sees cocaine making a comebackPeru's cocaine industry, the world's largest and most violent in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is again on the upswing. Plots of coca bushes, whose leaves yield cocaine, have increased by about one-third since 1999, to about 127,000 acres, according to Peruvian and United Nations estimates. And this time, the traffickers ...

Tensions Continue Between Colombia and Ecuador

Via the BBC: Ecuador warns Colombia over raidEcuador President Rafael Correa has warned of diplomatic tension if an Ecuadorean is found among the victims of a Colombian raid inside Ecuador. Mr Correa said Ecuador would not forgive the murder of Franklin Aisalia, if he had indeed died during the raid on Farc rebels inside Ecuador. But he said he hoped Colombia ...

McCain Declares Cuba Policy a Success

Senator John McCain declared our policy of containment towards Cuba a success and declared his support for an independent Kosovo in a conference call with bloggers this afternoon. He made some opening remarks focusing on foreign policy before taking questions and I had the opportunity to ask him to expand his thoughts. He challenged Barack Obama's statement in last ...

Bush Rules Out Quick Cuba Policy Change

Fidel Casto may have stepped down but the embargo aimed at his ouster is staying put. The Bush administration is ruling out any changes in its Cuba policy — including lifting a five-decade trade embargo — after Fidel Castro's resignation, deriding his brother and heir apparent, Raul, as "dictator lite." [...] "They're the ones who suffered under Fidel Castro," Bush told a ...

Fidel Castro Retires

Fidel Castro has finally resigned the presidency of Cuba. Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the country as president or commander-in-chief, retiring as head of state 49 years after he seized power in an armed revolution. Castro, 81, who has not appeared in public for almost 19 months after undergoing stomach surgery, ...

Castro Well Enough to be a Candidate

Via the BBC: Castro 'well enough for election'The health of Cuban President Fidel Castro is good enough for him to be a candidate in next month's parliamentary elections, his brother Raul has said. Which raises the question: apart from breathing, how healthy is "enough" to run, given that he won't have to campaign or do much of anything else? We ...

Chávez Narrowly Loses Referenda Votes

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez will have to make do with the powers he currently has after voters narrowly rejected two packages of constitutional amendments proposed by Chávez and the Chavista-dominated national legislature: Venezuelan voters narrowly rejected a constitutional referendum that would have bolstered President Hugo Chavez's embrace of socialism and granted an indefinite extension of his eligibility to serve as president, ...

Mexico and Driver’s Licenses

In light of the recent flap over whether the United States should issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, USA Today helpfully notes that Mexico requires proof of legal residency before issuing licenses. Which, I'm sure, is a real inconvenience for all those gringos headed south of the border to take jobs from hard-working Mexicans. Photo: Chris Hawley, USA Today/Arizona Republic. ...

Musharraf vs. Chavez

Glenn Reynolds wonders, "WHY IS THE WORLD MORE CONCERNED with Musharraf's coup than with Hugo Chavez's emerging dicatatorship? Because enemies of the United States, like Chavez, get a pass." Tom Maguire responds, reasonably enough, "because Pakistan has nuclear weapons and harbors (willingly or otherwise) the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. What's that compared to a spot of Venezuelan ...

Fidel Castro Dead or Alive

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is dead. Unless he's not. Val Prieto had a flurry of updates yesterday reporting Castro's death, with imminent announcements expected. Half the political blogosphere linked the post and his server couldn't handle the strain. In a Communist plot, no announcement was forthcoming. Meanwhile, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton got into the act with ...

Duncan Hunter: Fear Iran, Venezuela

Duncan Hunter is warning about the threats posed by Iran and Venezuela, according to two separate UPI reports. "As a regional neighbor of the United States, Venezuela is increasingly threatening stability in the Western Hemisphere. The country's leadership is determined to move the country away from democracy and toward socialism; maintains close relations with Cuba and Iran and continues to ...

Mexican Immigration Problem Will Solve Itself

GWU economics professor Robert Dunn argues that the flood of illegal immigration from Mexico will stop of its own accord because a sharp decline in the birth rate is cutting the supply of out-of-work Mexican teenagers. More interesting still is his explanation for the trend: Better education and improved job opportunities for women mean that it has become quite expensive ...

Failed States Index 2007

Foreign Policy has published the latest edition of The Failed States Index 2007. It is not a cause for celebration: Few encouraging signs emerged in 2006 to suggest the world is on a path to greater peace and stability. The year began with violent protests that erupted from Indonesia to Nigeria over the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet ...