Americas

Paraguay: New Government Faces Elite Resistance

Reflecting a growing shift to the left across Latin America, the April 20 election of Lugo put an end to the rightwing Colorado Party's six-decade-long grip on power. By Kiraz Janicke.

Mapuches and Students Bear Brunt of Violence by Carabineros

Eighteen years after the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, cases of police abuse—far from being an issue of the past—appear to be on the rise in Chile. By Benjamin Witte.

The Smiles of Sept. 11

The dust and debris had yet to settle fully over lower Manhattan, more than 12,000 miles away, when I began to notice the smiles—and, even more distressingly, the laughter.
By Joseph Kirschke.

The Next Cuban Missile Crisis?

In a move that undoubtedly set off alarm bells in Washington, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced that Venezuelan and Russian ships could soon hold joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. By Nikolas Kozloff.

U.N. Military Base Expanding: What Is Washington Up to in Cité Soleil?

The U.S. government plans to expropriate and demolish the homes of hundreds of Haiti's most impoverished by expanding the U.N. military occupation force's outpost in the giant shantytown of Cité Soleil. By Kim Ives.

Collective Punishment: Bad Idea Then and Now

Muslim Americans endure targeted and over-reaching government policies that amount to collective punishment and guilt by association, which should never be tolerated in a democracy.
By Julia A. Shearson.

Has the Surge Prevented Peace in Iraq?

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has made his earlier endorsement of the "surge" strategy in Iraq a prominent feature of his campaign, but he might one day be embarrassed by it. By Dan Lieberman.

Venezuela Calls Visit of U.S. Drug Czar 'Useless'

The Foreign Ministry rejected the "animosity and hatred" of John P. Walters and reaffirmed its accusations against the D.E.A., calling it "a body that operated in a criminal way in Venezuelan territory." By Elvia Gómez.