The presidents of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, met on Tuesday and announced that they would reestablish bilateral diplomatic relations frozen for more than a year and ultimately broken by Caracas on July 22.

“We have decided that the countries (will) reestablish their diplomatic relations and relaunch a roadmap so that all aspects of the relationship may progress, advance and deepen,” said Santos at the end of his meeting with Chavez.

The Colombian leader also said that Chavez assured him that “he will not allow the presence of armed groups outside the law in his territory.”

Chavez, too, confirmed that his government does not “support, permit, nor will it permit, the presence of guerrillas, or of drug trafficking, or terrorism, in Venezuelan territory.”

Santos went on to say that “this is very important for us, so that those relations maintain themselves on a firm basis.”

It is an “important moment for Colombia and for relations between Colombian and Venezuela. I greatly celebrate this meeting today with President Chavez, two people who have had … such frequent differences, who decide to turn the page and think about the future of our countries and our peoples,” said the Colombian leader.

He also said that, starting on Tuesday, the two nations will begin “a frank, direct, sincere dialogue, as all good relations must be.”

He also added that Bogota and Caracas have taken a “big step,” referring to “the reestablishment of confidence that is also one of the basic conditions of any relationship.”

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Argentine environmentalists’ decision to suspend for 60 days the 4-year-old blockade of a bridge linking their country and Uruguay spurred optimism Thursday about resolving a bitter dispute over a paper mill on Montevideo’s side of the shared Uruguay River.

“It’s very good news,” Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said.

Facing the threat of criminal prosecution, the assembly of environmentalists in the Argentine city of Gualeguaychu voted to lift the blockade of one cross-border bridge on the condition that Uruguay agree to joint monitoring of discharges from the paper mill at Fray Bentos on the Uruguayan bank of the river.

The assembly also demanded that the Argentine government drop its criminal complaint against the protesters.

The truce in Gualeguaychu “will allow us to work more enthusiastically to achieve effective compliance with the decision” of the International Court of Justice, Taiana said Thursday.

In a ruling handed down April 20, the ICJ rejected Argentina’s allegations about environmental damage from the paper mill and Uruguay’s demand to be compensated for the border closures.

The court in The Hague also said that under the Uruguay River Convention, Montevideo should have consulted with Buenos Aires before approving construction of the paper mill, which began operating in 2007.

Wednesday’s debate in the Gualeguaychu assembly, broadcast live on television, was followed closely by Argentine President Christina Fernandez and members of her administration, official sources said.

“There is an international verdict that the two countries should obey. And it is that ruling which orders a joint monitoring of the shared resource, of the (Uruguay) river, and of what affects it,” Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister Victorio Taccetti said in comments posted on a government Web site.

Uruguay’s president, Jose Mujica, said the two countries have entered “an irreversible phase” in trying to resolve the worst bilateral quarrel in decades.

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The fact that the Northern League Party (a government coalition party) and its components hated Italy has been known.

For example, on Sunday the new governor of the Veneto region opened a local school with “Va pensiero”, the separatist anthem of Padania, instead of the Italian national anthem. Meanwhile, other Leaguers insult the Italian flag, saying it should be burned. And still others have publicly stated that they won’t support Italy at the World Cup.

But what Radio Padania (Northern League’s official radio station) did yesterday during Italy’s World Cup match against Paraguay has really caused a stir. The radio, commenting on the Italy – Paraguay match openly supported Paraguay and of course celebrated when the South American defender Antolin Alcaraz scored the 1-0 goal to give his team the temporary lead. “We scored!” Radio Padania’s commentator Roberto Ortelli cheered. “With Cannavaro completely dominated by the Paraguayan player.”

And then there was also Radio Padania’s simultaneous controversy against Fabio Cannavaro, who proposed that the Azzurri donate any eventual prizes to the 150 year celebration of Italian unification- a unification that, of course, those of the Northern League dislike.

After the match, at a press conference Italy coach Marcello Lippi responded angrily: “Radio Padania?” I don’t care. These are ridiculous and low-level things.”

Read the article here.

Eight Colombians who own and run a business in Venezuela were arrested by Venezuelan authorities and charged with espionage, Bogota daily El Tiempo said Wednesday.

Luis Carlos Cossio, 52, and Santiago Giraldo, 21, were arrested on Tuesday because in the camera belonging to one of them authorities found a picture of a communications radar.

Last Thursday, authorities raided their ice cream business in the west-central state of Barinas and captured six other members of the family.

“What’s happening is that Luis Carlos is an avid photographer. He was taking photos, but he didn’t know that they were of the Disip (Venezuelan intelligence service)” facility, Helida Giraldo, the sister of one of the arrested people, told the daily.

Venezuelan authorities found that Cruz Elva Giraldo, another one of the arrested people, is – or was – an employee of the Colombian army’s 4th Brigade, headquartered in Medellin.

Giraldo’s daughter told El Tiempo her mother occupied an administrative post for eight years at the medical dispensary at the army headquarters before emigrating to neighboring Venezuela in 2006.

Cossio also appears to be linked to the same Colombian military unit.

The relatives complained that two of their family members were transferred to Caracas and the other six remain in Barinas city while Venezuelan military justice authorities investigate them.

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Chile´s indigenous Mapuche community is looking abroad for help in the aftermath of the Feb. 27 earthquake, as some members of the community say they feel marginalized and abandoned by the country´s government, reports The Santiago Times.

According to the UKL-based organization Mapuche International Link (MIL), there has been very little, if any, food, tents, cloths, water, gas or electricity in the rural areas of the central-south regions of the country inhabited by ethnic Mapuches.

This is in contradiction with official claims that the situation in Chile is under control and improving for most citizens.

“The Mapuches face ceaseless repression of their political and ancestral rights. As such, they have a reason to worry that their needs will be put at the bottom of the state´s intervention list,” says MIL vice-secretary Nina Dean.

According to Mapuche activist Miguel Cheuqueman, government aid arrived to the municipalities, such as Tirua, Canete, Arauco and Lebu. But it was not distributed to isolated Mapuche communities.

“The municipalities probably don´t have sufficient means. However, we suspect that the lack of will also plays role,” Cheuqueman, who represents the regional Mapuche group La Identidad Territorial Lafkenche, told the Santiago Times.

There have been many conflicts between the state and the Mapuche community in the La Araucania region in the past years, mostly over land.

Feeling that they are left alone, Mapuche civil society organizations are taking initiative into their hands, collecting donations and distributing them into rural areas. Still, they lack resources that the state has at its disposal.

Generally, most Mapuche communities are in very isolated parts of the country.

Read more here.

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President Michelle Bachelet and President-elect Sebastian Piñera both acknowledged Saturdays’ earthquake would have serious ramifications for the country’s economy and employment.

While immediate effects of the earthquake are still being measured — an estimated 800 were killed and more than 1 million are now homeless, many are only now receiving food, water and supplies — Chile has started to evaluate the effects the quake will have on different economic sectors.

The Wall Street Journal reported the Chilean stock market index opened 2.5 percent lower Monday and saw losses through Wednesday. Thursday saw the first gains since the earthquake hit, although there is expected to be much volatility in the coming days.

Despite fears of serious losses to one of Chile’s growing export sector, wine, the industry’s promotion agency, Wines of Chile, said the impact of Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake was “limited” and expects producers will meet export commitments without major problems.

After days evaluating affected wineries, they determined the total loss at 125 million liters, valued at approximately US$250 million. The losses including aging, bottled and bulk wine, and represent 12.5 percent of the 1.01 billion liters produced in 2009.

Wines of Chile president Rene Merrino reported infrastructure damage varied among wineries and is still being evaluated, but vineyards were largely unaffected. The harvest is just beginning and Merrino does not expect volumes to be affected by the earthquake.

In contrast, the tourism industry has been hit hard. Bringing in nearly US$10 billion in 2009, tourism represents about 3.5 percent of Chile’s GDP. Many countries – including the United States – have issued travel alerts for the whole of Chile, advising nationals to avoid any unessential travel in the country.

Tour operators, hostel owners and officials from the government tourism office SERNATUR met Thursday to discuss the impact on the industry and define strategies to move forward. Cybertour General Director Francisco Leal attended the meeting and told the Santiago Times it was important to get people from all sides of the industry up-to-speed.

“It’s important to get the message out that not all of Chile is like the images shown in the media,” said Leal. “Santiago is still open for business, the north and far south that have little or no impact.”

After 8.8-magnitude quake hits the country Saturday, government estimates more than 2 million have been affected, writes The Santiago Times.

The death toll from Saturday’s devastating earthquake more than doubled Sunday to 700, sparking fears the true effects of the quake have yet to be measured.

Communication to the areas worst hit, especially Concepcion, Constitucion, Talca and Chillan, is nearly impossible; some desperately trying to reach family and friends have resorted to using radio channels.

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the country early Saturday morning, during what should have been the last hurrah of Chile’s summer vacation.

Yesterday, Sunday, the government estimated at least 700 dead and more than 2 million affected — many were left homeless, without water, electricity or communication to the outside world.  Reports have been limited to government statements and limited video images coming out of the area.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck just after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, was in the Bio-Bio area (Region VIII), more than 200 miles south of Chile’s capital city, Santiago.

Communities on the Pacific coast were hardest hit with whole neighbourhoods destroyed, hundreds of casualties and many reported to be trapped. The death toll is expected to climb.

The immediate effects were widely felt — most of the country was awoken early Saturday to the tremor, with several buildings collapsing in the capital city, including a parking lot which flattened, crushing around 50 cars between levels. Highways cracked, overpasses and bridges fell and Santiago’s airport suffered damaged and was forced to close, forcing incoming flights to divert to Argentina or Peru.  Churches and museums were also damaged, the streets covered in loose concrete and glass.

Chile’s current president Michelle Bachelet called for calm and declared a “state of catastrophe.”

“We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately,” she said.

Bachelet and the President-elect Sebastian Piñera – who takes office March 11 – both flew south by helicopter to assess the damage.

Strong aftershocks, some up to 6 points on the Richter scale, continued into Sunday; dozens were recorded. Many people, even in Santiago, were reportedly too afraid to return to their homes and slept outside. Many city services got back on line as of Sunday evening, however, including Santiago’s metro service. And a limited number of flights were allowed to land at the international airport.

Meanwhile, at least 100 people continue to be trapped in a 14-storey building in Concepcion; more than 40 were already rescued as of Sunday morning. Elsewhere in the city, the large superstore Lider was looted for food, water, and electronics. And more than 200 prisoners escaped a prison in nearby Chillan.

Back in Santiago, many shelves were emptied of water late Saturday. Long queues outside call centers in the capital poured out into the streets, people trying to reach relatives in the south. But most cellphone networks were down and communication with those in the affected areas was nearly impossible.

Many countries immediately pledged aid — U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton has left the U.S. and was expected to arrive in Chile within a day on a previously scheduled visit — however Chile has not yet formally asked for foreign aid.

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In Bolivia we have a case truly emblematic of the times we live in. It seems beyond doubt that this poor nation of central South America is very rich in lithium, a metal that presently is reputed to be the best for the production of batteries. Today, batteries are ubiquitous, but will become extremely vital if and when they become the sole source of power for cars. One advantage of lithium is that it is the lightest (or the second lightest) among metals. Bolivia’s salt flats hide vast deposits of said ore, which elsewhere on earth does exist, but not in as concentrated an area as the four-thousand sq mile area in Southern Bolivia. Somebody has remarked that this country is the Saudi Arabia of lithium.

Presumably, Bolivian experts have long been aware of their resource, but in the past did not possess the money and the know-how to mine and process the raw lithium carbonate. Recently, the La Paz government of President Evo Morales has built a pilot plant on the edge of Salar de Uyùni, near the border with Chile, not far from the Potosì area. Potosì’s mines were so rich as to provide Spain fabulous loads of silver.

In the past two centuries, Bolivia has been lacking both a colonial master and a national economy advanced enough to develop lithium (and, of course, batteries only emerged in the 20th century). A number of car manufacturers, including Toyota, seem to have failed in securing rights on the mineral. President Morales looks firm in his mission to create a state lithium industry advanced enough to supply the world’s batteries. By the way, the government of Colombia too appears to be doing well in the projects to develop its abundant minerals.

It’s conceivable that other deserts or dry, salty areas of the world, namely in Africa, hold minerals of some value. Several reasons explain why the latter have not been exploited, even discovered. Technological trends come first. Regarding Bolivia, before well into the twenties of past century batteries were not in demand, so lithium was neglected. Still, factors such as poverty and backwardness were even more decisive. So, undeveloped countries must either empower aggressive rulers who can learn from President Morales, or forget nationalistic rhetoric of sovereignty, in order to attract foreign investment.

What is really mandatory is that natural resources are processed locally, with the highest possible labor content. Mechanization and automation are not imperative where wages  (to be absolutely raised) are very low. The grave misdeed of past colonialism was mining and taking away commodities, so subjected populations got almost no benefit. Even more important is denying local politicians or chieftains the possibility of stealing the wealth created by development. This problem is enormous- this is why in many former colonies’ victories on poverty are not compatible with national sovereignty. Part of the latter must be dislodged by humanitarian neocolonialism, the very opposite of historic colonialism.

Police and army offers patrolled the abandoned streets of the Suriname border town of Albina. Burnt out cars, a hotel lying in ruins, and looted shops bore silent witness to the bloody riots the town experienced this Christmas, reports NRC Handelsblad.

Wide spread violence raged through the town after a dispute between an Albina man locally acknowledged as a criminal and a Brazilian prospector escalated on Christmas Eve. The local man, who died of wound inflicted during a knife-fight, was the first of an unconfirmed eight deadly victims over the weekend.

Albina is a town of several thousand souls, located on the west bank of the Maroni River, which marks the border between Suriname and French Guyana. It is home to a native population of mostly maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves brought to Suriname long ago by Dutch traders.

After the killing, hundreds of locals maroons took to Albina’s streets, wielding axes and other weapons. They directed their aggression at the Brazilians and other foreigners living in their town, including Chinese shop owners. Thirteen people were injured and twenty Brazilian women were raped and battered.

“This stuff recalls the Rwandan genocide. And it is happening right here in our own beautiful Suriname,” a radio reporter cried out during a broadcast. “Emotions are running rampant and the authorities are nowhere to be seen,” the reporter said.

Public response to the riots was one of shock, but the events could hardly have come as a complete surprise. Albina has long been a hotbed of unrest, violence, and lawlessness. Still, no one had expected that the usually so peaceful nation of Suriname would be facing a Christmas marked by murder, violence and rape.

Colombian and Venezuelan Presidents Uribe and Chavez

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez has agreed to mediate a dispute between the governments of Venezuela and Colombia stemming from the latter’s basing deal with the United States, the office of the president said Wednesday.

Fernandez said he accepted a request made by Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe at a private meeting held during the 19th Ibero-American Summit, which concluded Tuesday in Estoril, Portugal.

The Dominican president announced his decision in France, where he is on an official visit.

Fernandez said the Dominican Republic, “due to its geographical position and its friendship with its neighbors, has been a mediator in regional conflicts on other occasions.”

“We maintain very close ties of friendship with (Communist) Cuba, (socialist) Venezuela, but also with (conservative governments in) Colombia, Panama, in other words, with all the countries in the region, which has allowed us to play a mediatory role in solving political and diplomatic disputes that have come up in the region at different times,” Fernandez said.

Speaking to some 25 members of the French lower house’s foreign relations committee, Fernandez referred to a diplomatic spat last year involving Colombia, Venezuela and leftist-led Ecuador.

That dispute stemmed from a March 2008 Colombian bombing raid on a clandestine camp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrilla group in Ecuadorian territory, an attack that killed 25 people, including rebel second-in-command Raul Reyes.

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