Latin America

Anxious to prevent the collapse of Jamaica’s overexploited marine fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is promoting the consumption of lionfish to control its burgeoning population. At risk officials say, are the nation’s marine biodiversity, its food security and economic well-being.

A high-level commission has been set up to look into appalling medical experiments carried out by U.S. researchers on hundreds of Guatemalans in the 1940s, and the government of this Central American country is debating alternative ways for the United States to make reparations.

Mexican Alberto Rivero joined the ranks of seasonal workers in the United States in 2005, and for the last three years he has had to pay all the expenses associated with his visa, transportation and housing, although the law states that these are the responsibility of his U.S. employer.

In southeastern Peru, a message is circulating that has left some dubious, and others hopeful: “The Inambari hydroelectric dam will end illegal mining and coca crops, and bring development and jobs.”

Besides the hundreds of police who were rioting, Ecuador’s air force and navy were the biggest headaches for the government of Rafael Correa in the 11 hours that the president was held captive on Thursday, Sept. 30, IPS was told by civilian and military sources close to the action.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Haiti faces multiple challenges in the higher education sector.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the expropriation of a subsidiary of the British Vestey Group, and of Agroisleqa, a major agricultural firm founded by Spaniards half a century ago, indicating that he is radicalizing his Bolivarian revolution in spite of a drop in support for him in the recent parliamentary elections.

Irish Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire was deported from Israel Tuesday after spending more than a week in detention at Tel Aviv Airport as she attempted to fight the deportation order.

Brazil’s presidential elections, which will be decided in an Oct. 31 runoff, have once against reflected the confrontation of the two parties that have dominated national politics since 1994. However, the unexpectedly strong performance of Green Party candidate Marina Silva points to a weakening of that dichotomy.

With the 2009 coup d’etat in Honduras still a fresh memory, the presidents of the Unasur bloc gathered as quickly as they could to vigorously condemn Thursday’s attempted coup in Ecuador and warn that they would not tolerate any such assault on democracy in the region.