To learn more in Spanish see: http://www.eldiario.net/noticias/2012/2012_01/nt120130/principal.php?n=81&detienen-en-chile-a-11-bolivianos-por-supuesto-contrabando

Coca leaves on sale for traditional use in a Bolivian market. Photo from Flickr by Koala Bear.

Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States have signed a landmark anti-drug treaty that will allow outsiders to monitor coca destruction in Bolivia. John Creamer of the US Embassy in La Paz said, “This is a very important step in the fight against drugs.” Brazil’s ambassador Marcel Biato echoed his statements. Bolivia’s Government Minister, Wilfredo Chávez, said that the accord will help the traditional use of coca and protect Bolivian sovereignty. Creamer explained that the accord will help Bolivia identify and eradicate coca plantations that exceed the legal limits established. Chavez said that signing the treaty did not represent an abandoning of Bolivia’s efforts to get the coca leaf decriminalized in the United Nations. This is the first treaty signed by both Bolivia and the United States since Bolivia expelled the US Ambassador in 2008. No plans to reinstate ambassadors exist yet.

To learn more in Spanish read: http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20120121/drogas-el-gobierno-firma-acuerdo-con-eeuu-y-brasil_157522_328668.html

Muñoz is now the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

On January 10th, the White House announced that current Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz will now serve as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council.  Ms. Munoz will coordinate the policy-making process and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House.

Ms. Muñoz is the daughter of immigrants from Bolivia and was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.  In 2007, she served as the Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

“Over the past three years, Cecilia has been a trusted advisor who has demonstrated sound judgment day in and day out,” said President Obama. “Cecilia has done an extraordinary job working on behalf of middle class families, and I’m confident she’ll bring the same unwavering dedication to her new position.”

Cecilia Muñoz currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversees the Obama Administration’s relationships with state and local governments. As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under Valerie Jarrett, Ms. Muñoz leads a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments that Governing magazine described as “more prominent and responsive than it ever was,” citing praise from local and state elected officials from across the political spectrum.  Under Muñoz’s leadership, this partnership has brought the voices of local elected officials and the people they represent into the White House in the development and execution of policies to address local challenges in the economy, health care, disaster relief, and transportation infrastructure among others.

Ms. Muñoz also leads the Administration’s efforts to fix the broken immigration system so that it meets America’s 21st century economic and security needs. In addition, she serves as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, which has worked to not only continue to address the question of the island’s political status, but also partnered with local officials to address immediate concerns over jobs and the economy, health care, education, the environment, energy, and infrastructure.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Muñoz served as Senior Vice President for the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization.  She supervised NCLR’s policy staff covering a variety of issues of importance to Latinos, including civil rights, employment, poverty, farmworker issues, education, health, housing, and immigration.  Her particular area of expertise is immigration policy, which she covered at NCLR for twenty years.

Ms. Muñoz is the former Chair of the Board of Center for Community Change, and served on the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Institute and the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Philanthropies and the National Immigration Forum.  In June 2000, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights.

Baraldini, 71, was wanted in Argentina for crimes against humanity committed during that country’s dirty war in the 70s and 80s, in which thousands of citizens were murdered and “disappeared” by the ruling military junta.

Baraldini was living in Santa Cruz since 2003 under the assumed name Marco Antonio Aponte. He was a high level police chief during the Argentine dictatorship, and afterward he was a leader in the “carapintadas,” a group of ex-military officers opposed to the democratic government of Raúl Alfonsin and Carlos Menem.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.la-razon.com/nacional/Capturan-expulsan-pais-exrepresor-argentino_0_1529847018.html

According to the schedule released by the Bolivian government, Humala and Morales will also play a game of football. and lunch together. Morales will return to La Paz on Monday.

Morales will visit the Sacred Valley and the archaeological sites of Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuaman.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20111222/morales-viaja-a-peru-para-reunirse-con-humala-y-pasara-en-cuzco-la_154327_321183.html

Moreno, speaking for Chilean government, which has rebuffed efforts from Bolivia to settle the maritime dispute, said, “We think that there are possibilities to look for things that will be of mutual benefit to both parties; however, Bolivia must decide its path.”

Bolivia lost its littoral territory after late-nineteenth-century War of the Pacific, in which Bolivia and its ally, Peru, were defeated by the Chilean armed forces.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.la-razon.com/nacional/canciller-chileno-dice-bolivia-sufrira-consecuencias-decisiones_0_1523847658.html

The campesinos took the measure in order to pressure the governor of Tarija, Lino Condori. The head of Prosol in Bermejo, Agapo Hoyos, said that there are no resources nor rules to fulfill the payment request.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.erbol.com.bo/noticia.php?identificador=2147483952670

Goni resigned shortly thereafter and fled to the United States, where he has since maintained residency. Bolivia, which signed an extradition treaty with the United State in 1995, has repeatedly asked U.S. authorities to hand Goni over for trial, but the U.S. government has refused, citing a claus in the extradition treaty prohibiting extradition for “political” reasons.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=140885&EditionId=2711

In 2010, Snemyr escaped from Bolivia while out on bail; Hagen also recently fled Bolivia through Brazil while out on bail. (Hagen was a fugitive in Brazil after the Norwegian consulate refused to grant her a passport, but recently re-entered the country with the help of a Norwegian journalist.)

The Norwegian court was convinced that Snemyr was unwittingly involved in the cocaine-smuggling plot. Hagen, her girlfriend at the time, allegedly convinced Snemyr to take a trip to Spain to visit her grandparents, but plans were changed at the airport to go to Bolivia. The court discounted the testimony of Rodriguez, who through a teleconference said that Snemyr was aware of the cocaine in her luggage.

The Norwegian court sentenced other Norwegian citizens implicated in the case with sentences ranging from five to six and a half years.

To learn more in Spanish see:

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/local/20111104/absuelven-a-noruega-que-huyo-de-bolivia_148142_306746.html

The Bolivian government said that over the last five years exports to the U.S. have doubled without the free-trade agreement, obviating its need. According to the government, in 2010 Bolivia exported US$690 million worth of products to the United States, from US$413.8 million in 2007, the last year in which Bolivia was registered under the ATPDEA. In the first half of 2011, Bolivia exported US$439.3 million worth of goods to the United States.

Bolivia and the United States have recently signed a framework agreement to reestablish limited bilateral relations. In 2008, the then U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg was expelled from the country after allegations of interference in the Bolivian presidential elections and meeting in secret with the government opposition came to light.

To learn more in Spanish and English see:

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/20111109/el-gobierno-indiferente-hacia-el-restablecimiento-del-atpdea-con_148798_308279.html

http://www.boliviaweekly.com/bolivia-and-us-sign-accord/2510/