By Vijay Prashad* NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts, USA | 6 January 2024 (IDN) — In November, Álvaro Noboa, the father of Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa, had a heart attack. He was hastily taken to a clinic in Guayaquil, his hometown, and then after he was stabilized, flown to a hospital in New York. Álvaro Noboa unsuccessfully ran […]
UN Considers Haiti’s Destiny ‘Bright’ Despite Terrifying Escalation of Violence
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 28 December 2024 (IDN) — Haiti is faced with a multifaceted crisis including rising gang violence, political instability, the displacement of over 700,000 people as well as widespread hunger. UNICEF has reported a sharp increase in the recruitment of minors by armed gangs, with the number of child recruits […]
Ecuador Opens World Heritage Natural Site Galapagos Islands to US Military
By Pablo Meriguet and Benjamin Zinevich* QUITO, Ecuador | 23 December 2024 (IDN) — On 15 February 2024, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboasigned a series military cooperation treaties with the US government, allowing ships, military personnel, armament, equipment, and submarines to be installed in the natural reserve, which UNESCO declared a World Natural Heritage Site in […]
Cuba: Lights and Shadows of Tourism
By José Luis Perelló Cabrera HAVANA, Cuba | 17 December 2024 (IDN) — Over the past 60 years business relations between the United States and Cuba have travelled on a road plagued by obstacles, restrictions, convergence and divergence, where tourism, as the principal symbol of mobility and trade among persons, has been a mirror, marking […]
Colombia: Women-Led Fish Farming Is Offering an Alternative to Drug Crops
By Iñigo Alexander* BOGOTÁ, Colombia | 11 December 2024 (IDN) — The Amazon rainforest in southern Colombia stretches lush and green across the horizon, but beneath its dense canopy lies a shifting reality. The southern province of Putumayo—a remote region bordering Ecuador, at the edge of the country’s Amazon—has long been dominated by coca plantations […]
Haiti: Children Face Unprecedented Crisis Amid Escalating Violence
By Vibhu Mishra NEW YORK | 12 November 2024 (IDN | UN News) — This year has seen a staggering 1,000 per cent or ten-fold surge in sexual violence against children in Haiti, during an unprecedented crisis which has seen armed gangs continue to terrorize communities amid a growing humanitarian disaster. Virginia Gamba, UN Special […]
Latin America: The Tug of War Between Global Gateway and Belt-and-Road
By Javier Lewkowicz* BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | 6 October 2023 (IDN) — Last year, the European Union renewed its economic and strategic interest in Latin America by announcing investments of EUR 45 billion (USD 48.7 billion), seen by many as a way to regain influence in the face of China’s growing presence in the region. […]
Brazil and China Could Lead the Way on South-South Climate Cooperation
By Leo Horn-Phathanothai and Rogerio Studart* BANGKOK | NEW YORK | 30 September 2024 (IDN) — This August marked the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil—two of the most consequential countries for global efforts to avert climate chaos. Their celebrations came against the backdrop of improved relations and strengthening climate cooperation. As […]
Haiti: Despite Kenyan Presence, Security in the Country Has Not Improved
By Pablo Meriguet* QUITO, Ecuador | 11 September 2024 (IDN | Peoples Dispatch) — On June 25, hundreds of Kenyan police officers landed in Haiti as part of the United Nations’ Multinational Security Support Mission. Thousands of other members of security forces are expected to be deployed to the Caribbean nation from other parts of […]
A Brown Tide of Sargassum Is Causing Havoc in Barbados
By Julian Reingold* This article was first published in Dialogue Earth. This story was supported by a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center. BUENOS AIRES | 29 August 2024 (IDN) — Emerging from the sea a light orange colour, the seaweed turns brown once it dries out. But the most distinctive thing is the smell. […]