Latino Daily News: Bringing You the Latest Hispanic Current Events and News Stories 24/7

A few Texas legislators, troubled by the non-stopping illegal flow of weapons and money to Mexico have claimed to have a tentative solution.

They propose to create checkpoints at several southbound points leading to the border, so as to provide Texas law enforcement officials the opportunity to stop and search vehicles on their way to México for guns, cash or drugs they might be hiding.

“We need to be engaged in this issue,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, who filed a bill petitioning for these southbound checkpoints, as has Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen.

“It’s going to take a strong effort on both ends to stop the violence,” Hinojosa said.

One bill seeks to create zones within one mile of the border where authorities could operate checkpoints. The other asks the Texas Department of Public Safety to consider if it is possible to establish southbound checkpoints. Neither proposal seeks to have vehicles traveling northbound checked.

These bills come after records indicated that a weapon, an AK-47 used in the terrorist ambush were US immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was killed, was purchased at a gun show in Fort Worth.

Several speakers strongly opposed these bills.

“While I do think it is important we stop this flow of guns and cash ... I think this is a federal job,” B.J. Lee, a retired environmental toxicologist from Austin, told the committee. “We [can’t] ... add additional costs to our state budget when we are cutting so many ... programs, like education.
“I don’t think this is a wise move.”

Randall Peterson, an Austin technician, claimed the bills were a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.
“Impeding the flow of people’s business and private affairs ... is moving one step closer to” a police state, he said, holding up a red armband emblazoned with a black swastika. “We’re going in the wrong direction.”

Both proposals were left pending, after being heard by the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.

Read more by HS News Staff →

An Ecuadorian court provisionally dismissed Santos from the investigation concerning the 2008 bombing of a FARC camp inside Ecuador.

Sucumbíos justise Daniel Méndez announced that Juan Manuel Santos has been provisionally exonerated, since as president of Colombia he enjoys diplomatic immunity.

Six members of the Colombian armed and police forces however, do not have immunity, and Ecuador has given them three days to come up with some kind of appeal, though Colombia does not recognize the competence of Ecuadorian justice in this case. The accused include the then-commander of the military Freddy Padilla, Police Chief Oscar Naranjo, former army commander Mario Montoya, army General Jorge Ballesteros, the then-commander of the navy Guillermo Barrera and Lieutenant Colonel Camilo Alvarez.

On March of 2008, then defense minister Santos approved an operative in which bombs were dropped into a FARC camp in Agostura, Ecuador.

During the operative FARC’s number 2, Raul Reyes was killed, as well as an Ecuadorian citizen, and five Mexican college students.

Santos, who will be in Rhode Island next week to give a conference at Brown University turned to the Ecuadorian government a brief describing minutia of the 2008 operative, something former president Alvaro Uribe had refused to.

“We are living through a great moment in the bilateral relationship with the government of Juan Manuel Santos,” said Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Tuesday. “I’m not forgetting that [Santos] was the Defense Minister who orchestrated the bombing against our country, but he apologized several times. Colombia has made a commitment never to do such a barbarity ever again”

Ecuador government officials did not clarify wether Santos will be prosecuted once his presidential immunity status changes, at the end of his mandate.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Today is the 16th anniversary of the death of Selena, regarded as the “Madonna of México” and loved by millions of fans worldwide.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Shaved on the sides, and fuzzy top, sort of like a 2011 mohawk, or something. What do you think?

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A recent study from the Community Service Society has determined that Mexican immigrant households are the having been hit hardest by the housing situation in New York.

The New York anti-poverty advocacy and research group’s study, released Wednesday, suggests that Mexican immigrants are most likely to have overcrowded homes and spend more than half their income on housing.

The report, titled, “Housing the City of Immigrants,” states that about 43 percent of all Mexican immigrant households are overcrowded, while only 13 percent of immigrants overall experience the same. It was also found that around 35 percent of Mexican households spend more than half of their income on rent, as opposed to 26 percent of immigrant households in general, and the average of 24 percent of all households.

The report’s authors, Tom Waters and Victor Bach, wrote, “Immigrants as a whole experience worse housing conditions than other New Yorkers. They pay a larger share of their income in rent and they are twice as likely to live in crowded conditions.”

Waters and Bach did not provide reasons for the difference, but did observe that while home ownership from one generation to the next went up, the increase was dramatic among low-income immigrants, climbing from 17 percent among first-generation households to 34 percent among second-generation households.

Director of the Immigration Research Initiative at the Fiscal Policy Institute, David Dyssegaard Kallick, said the report could be a reflection of low-income immigrants being “pushed prematurely into home ownership by predatory lending.”

Interestingly, 61 percent of the city’s Dominican immigrants occupied rent-controlled or rent-stabilized homes, with the study’s authors speculating that Dominicans first settled in areas that had already been established by Puerto Rican, and there, was a large number of homes with regulated rent.

Read more at New York Times →

After speaking to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters, Tuesday, that he is willing to give legal status to undocumented immigrants, but only under the condition that the borders be secured first.

“If you secure your border, control who gets a job in America, I’m more than willing to give a legal status to the 10 or 12 million so they don’t have to live in fear,” Graham said. “But they have to come out of the shadows, they identify themselves, they pay a fine, they work, pay taxes, they learn our language, and if they want to be a citizen, they get in the back of the line.”

The Republican senator from South Carolina also believes birthright citizenship should be denied to all children of illegal immigrants.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Spain’s three largest utilities Iberdrola, Endesa and Gas Natural weigh in on the renewable versus nonrenewable debate and the solar subsidies program.

Spain has had a solid reputation for pursuing alternate energy projects, specifically solar power, but current economic conditions have caused some severe slashing to the solar subsidy budget.
Currently the utilities have paid out €20bn to subsidize solar and wind projects, and are still waiting for the government to pay them back. The utilities also argue that the coal and gas plants they were forced to build in response to some blackouts several years ago are loosing money as they are only being utilized half the time.

The solar industry on the other hand has been thriving due to the subsidies. The result is that in 2010 Spain had 10 times the solar capacity than they planned for, and a much larger liability in the subsidies it owes.

Both renewable and non-renewable advocates agree that by the government cutting subsidies retroactively on projects they had already committed to, future investors will be very hesitant to trust any government programs.

Read more at The Guardian →

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge seized approximately 29.7 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of close to $1 million.

On March 26, 2011, CBP officers working at the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge came in contact with a northbound 2008 Dodge Caliber sedan and its driver, a 51-year-old U.S. citizen from Lexington, Kentucky. After the initial primary inspection, a CBP officer referred the driver and vehicle to secondary for further inspection.

In secondary, officers discovered and seized 11 packages of alleged cocaine concealed behind the vehicle’s dashboard. CBP officers seized the vehicle as well.

The female traveler was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) for further investigation.

Hector A. Mancha, CBP Port Director, Hidalgo/Pharr said, “I commend our frontline officers for their work in intercepting and seizing this significant amount of cocaine. Our officers remain vigilant, focused and continue working hard to secure our nation’s borders and the communities in which we live.”

Read more by HS News Staff →

Neither Shakira nor Real Madrid officials have yet provided any comments or explanations.

Shakira’s songs, which normally played before matches at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium will not help pump up the fans anymore, as the club has banned the Colombian artist.

“They [Real Madrid] might have decided to renew their before-game musical repertoire, though it is inevitable to suspect her relationship to Gerard Piqué might have something to do with it” said a Spanish language article published in Spain’s “Marca.”

In addition to making her relationship with Piqué official in a tweet that introduces him as her sun, Shakira announced not long ago a partnership between her Barefoot charity program, and the Barcelona Futbol Club, to provide displaced and poor children with education and opportunities.

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez presented Shakira—a self-professed Madrid fan, with the number 5-team jersey during his first tenure as president of the club some time ago, which makes the decision to leave Spain’s ‘meringue’ team waka-waka-less even more puzzling.

Read more by HS News Staff →

In the Dominican Republic, gas prices are making it difficult to afford driving, but for those that do not have a choice, they are now turning to the cheaper and cleaner way to fuel their cars. Natural gas.

At about $1.91 a gallon, natural gas is close to one-third the average cost of gasoline in the Dominican Republic, which is at about $5 a gallon.

One motorist, Rafael Macario planned ahead and rigged his Toyota Camry to run on three different kinds of fuel; gasoline, propane, or natural gas. He said the problem now is the number of places to get the natural gas.

“People are waiting for more pumps,” he told the Miami Herald. “Right now, there area only two natural gas fueling stations in Santo Domingo, so you really have to plan your route.”

And though he is happy to ‘go green,’ he admits that “objectively, honestly, it’s about the money.”

Currently, the country is still struggling to provide uninterrupted electricity to people’s homes, and is hoping that building more natural gas fueling stations will allow the country to make it the biggest source of energy and revenue and stop the frequent blackouts and help with the federal deficit.

Right now, there are only 1,500 cars equipped with the 19-gallon natural gas tank, but officials believe that will double within the year.

Though natural gas may be better for the environment (and the wallet), it is also better for most cars, as it wears down the motor less.

Read more at Miami Herald →

Luis Corbacho, Jaime Bayly’s former Argentine fling has come forward to speak about the dirty secrets of the once Presidential candidate Peruvian journalist.

Jaime Bayly is known for his incisive comments, and open sexuality. Lately, the journalist has made it to tabloids for his somewhat messy divorce and caustic treatment of the women in his life—ex-wife, daughter, mother, and for his romance with the 20+ years younger novelist who will give birth to Bayly’s third daughter anytime now, if she hasn’t.

Following his first divorce, Bayly met Corbacho in Argentina; Corbacho was writing an article on the controversial journalist, but didn’t know who he was. The encounter turned into a first date of sorts, and Bayly asked the 23 year old Argentine for his number, called him, stood him up, called him again, and reeled him along with the “perfect” relationship, even promising they would get married, until “by mistake I found pictures of her [young novelist Silvia Nuñez], jumping on a bed wearing only panties, a hideous gift wrapped t-shirt, and a love letter.” Bayly allegedly teared the photos and letter, saying it was just a crazy fan, but eventually broke it off with Corbacho, to have a child with his crazy fan.

A few months ago, Bayly published an article in several places cruelly titled “The fugue of the worm,” where he made public his relationship with the young Argentine. 

“Eight years ago, I met a journalist at a Buenos Aires hotel. It wasn’t long before we became best friends. For eight years, this youth didn’t live with me, but lived off me, without denying anything to himself,” Bayly wrote.

Ever since, Corbacho began writing on his blog, waging a written war against one of the most celebrated journalists in Latin America. At times, it reads as the cries of a brokenhearted lover; reading between the lines, however offers an interesting depiction of the man who has manifested interest in running for president of Perú.

“The ‘Madman’ is a character in my blog” says Corbacho, who wrote a fiction novel titled .My loved Mr. B.’ “any similarity with reality is coincidental”

Corbacho hurries to say that the stories and characters of his blog are fictional works inspired by true events, but it is up to the reader believe how much of it is true.

True or not, the ‘Madman’ is “a character that has abused drugs so much, that his brain is destroyed, and his talent has been left behind his depressive madness”

The “Madman” loves talking trash of half the world, she called Shakira a dwarf and said her family is ‘unpresentable.’ The day Mario Vargas Llosa won the Nobel prize, the Madman threw a royal fit, and before, when Roncagliolo won the Alfaguara Prize, he almost gave himself an aneurism.

Corbacho says he is worried about Bayly’s drug use, and complete detachment from his family, whom at least while the pair were together, Bayly considered the light of his life.

On the same breath, however, Corbacho’s blog characters practice and enjoy incest, to the point of the author asking the question, could the Madman’s son be really his brother in law’s?

The whole thing sounds like a day on the set of Jerry Springer. Incidentally, talkshow host Laura Bozzo said “There is one person that I would never like to encounter in my life, and that is Jaime Bayly. What do I think about his current life? Perfect for ‘Laura in America’ but not ‘Laura in Mexico’.”

Read more by HS News Staff →

In an announcement made yesterday by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s wife Rosario Murillo, Father Miguel Descoto Brockmann will represent Libyan interests at the UN. Father D’Escoto is Nicaragua’s former foreign minister and was selected by Libya because its own diplomat Ali Abdussalam Trek, couldn’t get a visa to enter the United States.

In her letter, Murillo said that Father D’Escoto “has received from President/Commander Daniel precise instructions to accept this nomination and represent the people and government of Libya in their struggle to re-establish peace and defend their legitimate right to resolve their national conflict without foreign interference.”

“At the same time, Father D’Escoto will support our Libyan brothers in their diplomatic battle to have their sovereignty and self-determination respected, currently abused by the (Great) powers, which once again attack the independence and peace of the people,” the statement said.

In Nicaragua, Ortega is overriding constitutional provisions that prohibit him from running for reelection while Gadhafi is the longest serving Arab ruler, approaching nearly 40 years in power.

Read more at Mexico Unmasked →

A news source has reported that Cuban President Raul Castro told former U.S. President Jimmy Carter that the country is willing to open up a dialogue with the U.S.

Wednesday, the Cuban News Agency (CBA) reported that during their meeting this week, Castro and Carter discussed a number of things including the long-standing embargo between Cuba and the U.S.

Carter arrived in Cuba on Monday for a three-day visit. He is the most important political figure to have visited Cuba since the economic embargo was put in place almost 50 years ago, but he reiterates that he is not in the country on behalf of any government.

In 1982, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn created the Carter Centre Foundation to work as a humanitarian organization to be mediators of international conflicts and observers in electoral processes in other countries.

During their meeting, President Castro once again stated his willingness to engage in a dialogue with the U.S. government on equal terms. He said he is willing to have discussions as long as the island nation’s sovereignty and independence is respected.

Former President Carter had hoped to negotiate the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross who is currently serving a 15-year jail term after being convicted of “acts against the independence or territorial integrity” of Cuba for allegedly providing illegal internet access to Cuban dissidents, but was unable to do so.

Read more at BNO News →

As the world tunes in to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange vows on Friday, April 29th, 2011, NBC News and its fellow NBCUniversal networks will provide the ultimate in cross-platform coverage of Royal Wedding events from London. NBC News’ comprehensive broadcast plans highlight the breadth of network resources and partnerships available to support an international event— involving close work with its UK broadcast partner, ITN; reports from more than a dozen network anchors and correspondents; and over 20 hours of combined coverage from NBC and MSNBC on the day of the wedding.

Highlighting the powerful network television and digital synergies of NBCUniversal, NBC News and MSNBC will join msnbc.com, Access Hollywood, Bravo, E!, iVillage, Telemundo and The Weather Channel to provide a diverse array of programming options for its viewers. Online, today.com will be the source for Royal Wedding news and information, including archived coverage as well as new reports and interviews. NBC News’ coverage can also be found on social media platforms by following @royalwedding on Twitter or by attending the NBC News Royal Wedding event on Facebook. In addition, NBC News is partnering with GetGlue to offer its viewers virtual “stickers” for watching NBC’s Royal Wedding programming.

In addition to its broadcast plans, NBC News announced today the launch of its Royal Wedding App for iPad, which is available now on the App Store. This one-of-a-kind news App is an interactive and engaging way to experience all the news leading up to the Royal Wedding and a social tool for the day itself. The App combines a number of features including: over 300 photos and more than 40 NBC News reports— both new and from the NBC News Archives; the latest news and content from NBC News’ royal experts; an interactive royal family tree; ways to connect with other fans using Twitter and Facebook and ideas for how to throw your own Royal Wedding “watch party”; opportunities to purchase exclusive Royal Wedding collector’s items from the NBC Universal store, and more. “The Royal Wedding by NBC News” App is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. To preview the App, click here: http://bit.ly/ee0g33.

The following is a list of NBC’s broadcast plans for the Royal Wedding:

NBC PRIMETIME SPECIAL
* NBC will air an exclusive, behind-the-scenes documentary entitled, “Inside the Royal Wedding” on Wednesday, April 27th from 8-9 pm/et. The special will be hosted by NBC News’ Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira.

TODAY
* Beginning Friday, April 22nd Natalie Morales will report live from London.
* Meredith Vieira will broadcast live from London on Monday, April 25th for split coverage with Studio 1A.
* Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Roker will join Meredith and Natalie on Thursday, April 28th for full “Today” broadcasts from London on Thursday and Friday.
* Wedding Day—Friday, April 29th: A special edition of “Today” will begin at 4 am/et across all time zones, with Matt, Meredith, Brian, Al, Ann, and Natalie reporting on the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The program will include live coverage of ongoing wedding celebrations in London, originating from Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey until 10 am/et. Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb will anchor the fourth hour of “Today” from 10-11am/et in New York.

TELEMUNDO
* Telemundo anchors and reporters will provide daily coverage from London beginning Monday, April 25th, including anchoring the “Al Rojo Vivo” magazine show from London.
* Wedding Day—Friday, April 29th: The Telemundo team will broadcast the Royal Wedding live, and will also air an hour-long wedding special that night.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Sao Paulo Goalie Rogerio Ceni became the leader of this list earlier this week by scoring the 100th goal of his career, against Corinthians.

In soccer, the ideal match for someone like Leo Messi is one where the ball keeps being passed to him, and by a mix of good reflexes and sheer luck, soccer ball-shaped spaces keep opening in between opponents for him to kick that ball through and score, score and score; but wherever there’s a stellar striker, there’s a humiliated goalie, the ideal match of a goalie is one where he doesn’t have to move.

That’s a short end of a stick, if there was ever one. It is an unwritten law that if the team looses, ten players are victims and the goalie is to blame, and if the team slaughters 7-0, ten sweaty players scored 7 glorious goals while the goalie just hung out.

There’s a few goalies however, who push the confined limits of the penalty box around the white frame, and take heart-stopping risks for the sake of singing a goal themselves. And there are those whose sheer leg power makes them the number one team choice for executing a free kick.

Below, the top ten goalies as ranked by the amount of (non penalty-kick) goals they have scored.

Read more by HS News Staff →

With the recent release of the national Census data pundits have been quick to point out the obvious: the Latino population is growing! As if data points from the annual Current Population Survey, and now American Community Survey did not already tell us this on a yearly basis, the official 2010 decennial census now confirms that more than 50 million Latinos are part of America and politicians should take note. However, the lingering question on journalists minds is whether or not this population growth will transfer into immediate political power?

With 33 U.S. Senate contests and a Presidential election across 50 states in 2012, the Latino voter is positioned to have a bigger impact than ever on the political landscape of America. However, even as the citizen eligible population is increasing rapidly, Latinos continue to face a registration gap vis-a-vis Whites and African Americans. Despite massive voter registration drives in 2008 and 2010, only about 60% of Latino citizen adults are registered to vote, compared to 70% of Blacks, and 74% of Whites.

By the 2012 election, Latinos will account for over 10% of the citizen adult population - potential voters - in 11 states. In another 13 states, Latino account for 5-10% of the citizen adult population. All told, that’s 24 states where Latinos have the capacity to influence electoral outcomes, given a competitive statewide election.

Overall, Latino Decisions estimate 21.5 million Latino citizen adults will be eligible to vote in November 2012, up from 19.5 million in 2008. If registration rates remain constant, that will leave over 8 million Latino eligible voters who are not registered in 2012. With significant voter registration drives the Latino vote can go from influential to essential.

For example, while Latinos are growing in influence in Arizona, there are over 400,000 Latinos eligible to vote who are not yet registered. In Florida it’s even more - over 600,000 Latinos could be added to the voter rolls. Newly naturalized citizens and young Latinos turning 18 are adding literally a half-million of new potential voters each year.

Read more at Latinos Decision →

The theme for this year’s March XI was organized by the Mexican Archdiocese of Tijuana this past Sunday titled “United for life and peace”. The Pastoral Care Commission for education has been able to aggregate each time a growing number of Catholics and people of good will for this initiative. This last event was attended by about 15,000 people committed to promoting life and peace in all aspects. In the note to Fides are the words of Metropolitan Archbishop Rafael Romo Muñoz, who stressed that the initiative “is a hymn to life in general, from the beginning of pregnancy, from conception to natural death. We wanted to celebrate life, a hymn to life, a poem, a tribute to life.”

The march started from the square of the former “Toreo di Tijuana” at 9 am on Sunday, then travelled through the main streets to get to the CREA multi-sports Centre, where the Archbishop celebrated the Eucharist. During the course of the march, a group of people carried a large cross.

The march was also been marked by the white dresses and white balloons of participants, as it was by the wagons decorated by Catholic schools. Children, teenagers, adults and elderly, walked the streets for more than two hours calling for the commitment of all to respect life and promote peace.

Since 2000, all Mexican dioceses have been invited by the Bishops to take part in a march, and the Archdiocese of Tijuana has held one every year without exception. Another activity in favour of life, in 2011, was promoted by Father Benigno Medrano Flores, who organised the “Expo-vida”, where students were directly involved in promoting respect for human life and nature, deepening their relationship with God and their neighbour.

Read more at Fides Agenzia →

The Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security jointly announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of individuals allegedly responsible for the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE HSI Special Agent Victor Avila.

The FBI, in conjunction with ICE, has established a 24-hour tip line based in the United States to process the information. Individuals in the United States with information are encouraged to call 1-866-859-9778. Individuals in Mexico can provide information by calling +001 800-225-5324. Spanish language speakers will be available using either number. Anyone wishing to e-mail information can do so by visiting: https://tips.fbi.gov. All information is considered confidential.

Also the government of Mexico announced a reward of up to 10 million pesos for information leading to the arrest of individuals allegedly responsible for the murder and attempted murder. Individuals can call (55) 53-46-15-44 and (55) 53-46-00-00, extension 4748 in Mexico City. Outside of Mexico City, individuals can call 01-800-831-31-96 to provide information. Information may also be sent to the following e-mail address: denunciapgr@gob.mx. More information about the government of Mexico’s award can be found at www.recompensas.gob.mx.

Zapata and Avila were ambushed in Mexico on February 15, 2011, as they were traveling in their U.S. government-issued vehicle from the state of San Luis Potosi to Mexico City. Mexican authorities have detained several individuals in connection with this incident and the investigation continues at this time.

Read more by HS News Staff →

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Padilla v. Kentucky – arguably the most important U.S. Supreme Court decision to date regarding the nexus between local criminal courts and federal immigration laws.

This is also the first week of renewed freedom for Jeysson Minota, 28, a legal permanent resident from Colombia, who had been in and out of federal detention centers for the past four years after originally being charged with vandalism. His detention, and his ultimate freedom, tells the story of the need and promise of the José Padilla decision.

In the Padilla case, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. Constitution requires criminal defense counsel to provide adequate advice on the immigration consequences of how a case is resolved. Such advice is critical to defendants like Minota.

The criminal act that got Minota in trouble—and put him on the radar of Homeland Security—was graffiti.

Minota, a graffiti artist, pled guilty to a felony charge of vandalism. Immigration and enforcement officials claimed that vandalism is a “crime of moral turpitude,” making it a deportable offense. He spent the next four years in detention, caught up in the deportation process, and fighting to stay in the country. Because he held a green card, Minota had the possibility of avoiding deportation, at the discretion of a judge.

Read more by HS News Staff →