The State of Honduras under Zelaya- In the Pink?
Under current Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the country has experienced multiple changes that demonstrate a new penchant for
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Honduras
Pluralism Bursts into the Western Hemisphere
* While Russia, Europe and China are wooing Latin America and the Caribbean the Monroe Doctrine now becomes the "Putin, Zapatero and Chinese–Corollary"
*Iran's increased presence in the region may lead to bad press, but for now only shows increased investments
* The "Great Game" of political and economic influence is set to be played in the southern hemisphere
No one is arguing that Latin America and the Caribbean have become a priority matter for international diplomacy, save for the U.S., which has witnessed a massive retreat of Washington's vigilance for what it once insisted were its longtime national interests and influence in the hemisphere. Concentrating on its "War on Terror" has resulted in a detour of the U.S. military and diplomatic corps to a series of sorties, like Afghanistan, Iraq, and now, likely enough, to Iran. The 1823 Monroe Doctrine is no longer relevant as nations like Russia, the People's Republic of China as well as the European Union (and its individual members) increase their influence in the Western Hemisphere. This penetration is due to the fact that numerous hemispheric countries are themselves looking to diversify their pool of allies and trading partners by contracting ties to other nations besides the U.S., with Venezuela being at the core of this movement.
Read MoreLatin America’s Process of Economic and Social Stabilization: A Stagnant Experiment or a Force to be Reckoned With?
Few critics would deny that in 2006 the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean reported growth performance at the
Read MoreDisaster Relief in the Caribbean Basin: Getting on the Right Side of Washington is No Easy Matter
Hurricane season has made itself known to the Caribbean Basin as multiple tropical storms and two category-five hurricanes have ravaged Central America. This is the first time two storms of this magnitude have hit in the same area in a single month since record keeping for the region began over one hundred years ago. Studies suggest that this trend, represented by an increase in the number and ferocity of the storms, is related to global warming. There have been 31 category-five hurricanes on record, eight of which occurred in the last four years, possibly indicating that the gradual rise in atmospheric temperature has resulted in increased storm intensity and frequency. With these ominous indicators now confronting the hemisphere, the inevitable question arises: what is the U.S. government, as the hemisphere's leading economic powerhouse, doing to increase its ability to deal with such disasters and is it contributing all that it can to help neighboring nations in their moment of need?
Read MorePesticide’s Victims Will Finally Come Before a U.S. Court
Banned Products Return Home after Being Sprayed on U.S.-bound Crops For the period of May, 2007, the USDA reported the
Read MoreCentral America’s Increasing Gang Problem: A Comforting Handshake Needed as Much as a Tough Fist to Fight Crime Epidemic
Another Report in COHA’s Series on Violence and the Immigration Issue After over a decade of violent internal civil conflicts,
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