Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Anniversary of the U.S.’s War on Drugs


[1] “Forty Years of Failure,” Drug Policy Alliance, 2011, 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/new-solutions-drug-policy/forty-years-failure.
[2] Adam Liptak, “U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs that of Other Nations,” New York Times, 23 April 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html. 
[3] “Timeline: America’s War on Drugs,” NPR, 2 April 2007, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9252490.
[4] Drug War Coordination Network, “30th Anniversary of Shafer Commission Report – New Nixon Tapes Reveal Twisted Thinking at Root of Modern Marijuana War,” Drug War Chronicle, no. 229, March 22, 2002, http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/229/nixontapes.shtml.
[5] “Presidential Commission Shocks White House: Recommends Marijuana Should Be ‘Decriminalized,’” Common Sense for Drug Policy, Spring 2002, http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/shafer.htm.
[6] “Marijuana,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, March 2010, http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/marijuana.html.
[7] “Timeline,” NPR.
[8] “Marijuana Timeline,” PBS, 2011,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html.
[9] Jimmy Carter, “Call Off the Global Drug War,” editorial, New York Times, 16 June 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/opinion/17carter.html.
[10] “Timeline,” NPR.
[11] “Drug War by the Numbers,” Drug Policy Alliance, last modified 2011, http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-war-numbers.
[12] “The Cost of NYC’s Marijuana Possession Arrests in 2010: $75 Million,” Drug Policy Alliance, 15 March 2011, http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2011/03/cost-nycs-marijuana-possession-arrests-2010-75-million.
[13] “2010 NYC Marijuana Arrest Numbers Released: 50,383 New Yorkers Arrested for Possessing Small Amounts of Marijuana,” Drug Policy Alliance, 10 February 2011, http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2011/02/2010-nyc-marijuana-arrest-numbers-released-50383-new-yorkers-arrested-possessing-small-.
[14] Sarah N. Lynch, “An American Pastime: Smoking Pot,” Time, 11 July 2008, http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html.
[15] “Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy,” 2 June 2011, http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report.
[16] Leonard J. Paulozzi M.D., M.P.H., "Trends in Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths" 
(Statement, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, 12 March 2008), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2008/03/t20080312b.html.
[17] Liptak, “U.S. Prison Population.”
[18] “Forty Years of Failure,” Drug Policy Alliance.
[19] “Forty Years of Failure,” Drug Policy Alliance.
[20] “After the Drug War: Toward a Health and Public Safety Approach,” Drug Policy Alliance, accessed 23 June 2011, http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/FactSheet_National_War_on_Drugs.pdf.
[21] Drug Policy Alliance, Handout presented at press conference on the 40th anniversary of the war on drugs, 17 June 2011.
[22] Arizona Daily Star, "Drug War Reports Find Efforts, Money Wasted," editorial, Arizona Daily 
Star, 10 June 2011, http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_ffe4410b-6c26-57a0-8df8-c0b504924f3b.html. 
[23] Carter, “Call Off the Global Drug War.”
[24] Peter O’Dowd, “The Drug War at Home: U.S. Addicts Fuel Mexico’s Drug Trade,” NPR, 23 May 2011, http://www.azpm.org/politics/story/2011/5/23/914-the-drug-war-at-home-us-addicts-fuel-mexicos-drug-trade/.
[25] Phillip Smith, “Mexico Drug War Update,” Drug War Chronicle, no. 687, 8 June 2011, http://stopthedrugwar.com/chronicle/2011/jun/15/mexico_drug_war_update.
[26] “Timeline,” NPR.
[27] “The Drug War Hits Central America,” The Economist, 14 April 2011, http://www.economist.com/node/18560287.
[28] “The Tormented Isthmus,” The Economist, 14 April 2011, http://www.economist.com/node/18558254.
[29] “The Drug War Hits Central America,” The Economist.
[30] “Drug War By the Numbers,” Drug Policy Alliance.
[31] “Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.”
[32] Carter, “Call Off the Global Drug War.”
[33] “After the Drug War,” Drug Policy Alliance.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Javier Sicilia’s National Movement for Peace: A Speck of Hope in a Sea of Blood

[1] “Ejecutan al hijo del escritor Javier Sicilia,” Proceso, March 28, 2011, http://proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/89641
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Homicidas de Sicilia habrían trabajado en "instituciones públicas": Procurador de Morelos,” Proceso, March 31, 2011, http://proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/89790
[4]Rubicela Morelos Cruz , “Lárguense si no pueden hacer su trabajo, exige Javier Sicilia a Calderón y Adame,“ La Jornada, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/04/02/index.php?section=politica&article=010n1pol
[5] The newspaper Reforma’s headcount for 11 June is 31,661 since Calderón took power : Reforma, 14 June 2011 page 8.
[6] Javier Sicilia, “Estamos hasta la madre… (Carta abierta a los políticos y a los criminales),” April 2, 2011, http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=266750
[7] Óscar Guadarrama Torres , “Javier Sicilia busca reunirse con los presuntos asesinos de su hijo,” May 25, 2011, http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/05/25/el-abogado-del-poeta-sicilia-celebra-la-captura-de-los-presuntos-homicidas
[8]Rubicela Morelos Cruz , “Lárguense si no pueden hacer su trabajo, exige Javier Sicilia a Calderón y Adame,“ La Jornada, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/04/02/index.php?section=politica&article=010n1pol
[9] Carmen Aristegui, “Para Javier Sicilia,  con cariño,” Zócalo Saltillo, April 8, 2011,
http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/opinion-articulo/para-javier-sicilia-con-carino/
[10]Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, “Carta a Don Javier Sicilia de Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos,” La Jornada, Abril 29, 2011, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/04/29/index.php?section=politica&article=014n4pol
[11] “Alejandro Martí se solidariza con Javier Sicilia por la muerte de su hijo,” Excélsior, April 5, 2011, http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/alejandromartisesolidarizaconjaviersiciliaporlamuertedesuhijo-691392.html
[12] Alfredo Méndez, “Más organizaciones apoyan convocatoria de Javier Sicilia,” La Jornada, May 5, 2011, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/05/05/index.php?section=politica&article=019n2pol
[13] Constanza Izquierdo, “PRI, PAN y PRD niegan acusaciones de la Marcha,” Sexenio, May 9, 2011, http://www.sexenio.com.mx/articulo.php?id=4455
[14] Pablo Ordaz, “México clama contra la violencia y la corrupción,” El País, May 8, 2011, http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Mexico/clama/violencia/corrupcion/elpepuintlat/20110508elpepuint_7/Tes, Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[15] Justino Miranda, “Inicia Marcha por la Paz, en México y el extranjero,” El Universal, May 5, 2011, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/763460.html
[16] María Luisa Vivas, “Ecos de la marcha; el aplauso rompió el silencio”, Proceso,  May 9, 2011, http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=269676
[17] Ibid. Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[18] “MEXICO: Politicians start to take Sicilia seriously,” LatinNews, May 12, 2011, http://www.latinnews.com/lwr/LWR22746.asp?instance=15
[19] Alonso Urrutia, “Proponen pacto contra la inseguridad,” La Jornada, May 9, 2011, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/05/09/politica/005n1pol
[20] “President Calderón changes the PGR,” LatinNews, May, 2011, http://www.latinnews.com/lrm/LRM22729.asp?instance=2
[21] Ricardo Gómez, “El poeta, dispuesto a ir al Congreso,” El Universal, June 9, 2011, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/186079.html
[22] José Gil Olmos, “Detienen al coordinador de la Caravana por la Paz en Chihuahua,” Proceso, June 9, 2011, http://proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/92184
[23] Pedro Tonantzin, “Llama Sicilia a América Latina a levantar la voz contra la violencia,” Excélsior, June 4, 2011, http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?id_nota=742392&m=nota&rss=1, Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[24] José Gil Olmos, “La caravana del Consuelo,” Proceso, June 8, 2011, http://proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/92158, Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[26] Laura Carlsen, “Javier Sicilia: ‘The United States Imposed This War on Us, It Should Change the Strategy”, Americas Program, June 7, 2011, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/4759
[27] Alonso Urrutia and Rubén Villalpando, “Fin de la Guerra antinarco, exigen los ciudadanos el pacto nacional,” La Jornada, June 11, 2011, http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/06/11/politica/002n1pol
[28] Javier Sicilia, “La placa de Marisela y la desobediencia civil,” Proceso, June 19, 2011, http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=273177, Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[29] Jorge Ramos Pérez, “Avanza el diálogo,” El Universal, June 24, 2011, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/774751.html
[30] Daniela Rea and Mayolo López, “Pide Perdón...,” Reforma, June 24, 2011, http://busquedas.gruporeforma.com/reforma/Documentos/DocumentoImpresa.aspx?ValoresForma=1289302-1066, Translated by Natalia Cote-Muñoz
[31] Ibid.
[32] Jorge Ramos Pérez, “Avanza el diálogo,” El Universal, June 24, 2011, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/774751.html
[33] José Gil Olmos and Arturo Domínguez García, “Se mantiene la guerra antinarco, concluye Calderón,” Proceso, June 23, 2011, http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=273673

Mexican Drug Violence Fueled by U.S. Guns



[1] “Calderon challenges U.S. to end gun trafficking, drug dependence,” Monsters and Critics, 20 May 2011, http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1557303.php/Calderon-challenges-US-to-end-gun-trafficking-drug-dependence
[2] Government Accountability Office, Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges (Washington D.C.: GAO, 2009), page 18.
[3] Colby Goodman and Michel Marizco, “U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico: New Data and Insights Illuminate Key Trends and Challenges,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute and University of San Diego Trans-Border Institute, Working Paper Series on U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation, September 2010, page 5, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/U.S.%20Firearms%20Trafficking%20to%2Mexico-%20Goodman%20Final.pdf.
[4] “Mexican drug war deaths surpass 30,100,” CNN News, 17 December 2010. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-17/world/mexico.violence_1_drug-war-border-city-drug-related-violence?_s=PM:WORLD
[5] Government Accountability Office, Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges (Washington D.C.: GAO, 2009), page 17.
[6] Goodman and Marizco, page 10.
[7] Jerry Seper, “Obama faces Mexican drug war,” Washington Times, 2 January 2009, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/02/obama-faces-mexican-drug-war/
[8] Spencer S. Hsu, “Obama targets Mexican cartels,” The Washington Post, 16 April 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041502045.html
[9] National Rifle Association – Institute for Legislative Action, “Gun Trafficking to Mexico: Already Against the Law,” 1 April 2009, http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=257&issue=015
[10] Dennis Wagner, “ATF Mexican gun-smuggling sting scrutinized,” The Arizona Republic, 5 March 2011, http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/03/05/20110305atf-mexican-gun-smuggling-sting-scrutinized.html
[11] James V. Grimaldi, “ATF’s tactics to end gun trafficking face a federal review,” The Washington Post, 9 March 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030901985.html.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Wagner, “ATF Mexican gun-smuggling sting scrutinized.”
[14] Grimaldi, “ATF’s tactics to end gun trafficking face a federal review.”
[15] Grimaldi, “ATF’s tactics to end gun trafficking face a federal review.”
[16] E. Eduardo Castillo, “Mexican Senate angry at reports U.S. let guns south,” Associated Press, 10 March 2011, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_us_guns
[17] William La Jeunesse, “Obama Administration Under Mounting Pressure for Botched Gun Trafficking Investigation,” Fox News, 28 March 2011, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/28/obama-administration-mounting-pressure-botched-gun-trafficking-investigation/

Friday, June 24, 2011

Cuban Oil Demands Washington's Attention

This article written for our blog can be found here

Latin News, “Cuba: China Shores Things Up,” accessed June 8, 2011.


http://www.latinnews.com/lrc/LRC22794.asp?instance=9

Jaime Suchlicki, “Drilling for Oil in Cuban Waters,” Cuba Focus 143 (2011), accessed June 14, 2011.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/14/weekly-address-expanding-responsible-oil-production-america

http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/dds-069-m/REPORTS/69_M_CH_1.pdf

Bolivia/Chile Pacific Access


[2] Maúrtua, Victor M. (1901) The question of the Pacific. Press of G.F. Lasher Publication. Pg.7. Google Book Search. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
[3] Ibid. pg. 8
[4] Ibid. pg. 10
[5] Ibid. pg. 11
[6] Day, Alan J., and Judith Bell. Border and Territorial Disputes. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, U.K.: Longman, 1987. Print. Pg. 408
[7] St. John, Robert Bruce. (1994) The Bolivia-Chile-Peru Dispute in the Atacama Desert. Durham, UK : International Boundaries Research Unit, University of Durham. Pg. 8. Google Book Search. Retrieved on April 22, 2011.
[8] Keen, Benjamin. Haynes, Keith. (2009). A History of Latin America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Pg. 255. Google Book Search. Retrieved on April 22, 2011.
[9] Collier, Simon and William F. Sater. A History of Chile, 1808-1994. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Pg. 128.
[10] Maúrtua, Victor M. (1901) The question of the Pacific. Press of G.F. Lasher Publication. Pg.30. Google Book Search. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
[11] Collier, Simon and William F. Sater. A History of Chile, 1808-1994. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Pg. 129.
[12] Morales Q., Waltraud. A Brief History of Bolivia. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2003. Print. Pg. 76
[13] Burr N., Robert. (1974) By Reason or Force: Chile and the Balancing of Power in South America, 1830-1905. University of California Press. Pg. 143. Google Book Search. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
[14] Maúrtua, Victor M. (1901) The question of the Pacific. Press of G.F. Lasher Publication. Pg.35. Google Book Search. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
[15] Collier, Simon and William F. Sater. A History of Chile, 1808-1994. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. Pg. 129.
[16] Hunefeldt, Christine. A Brief History of Peru. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2004. Print. Pg. 149.
[17] Morales Q., Waltraud. A Brief History of Bolivia. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2003. Print. Pg. 83.
[18] http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F30814F73E551A738DDDAB0A94DD405B828EF1D3
[19] St. John, Robert Bruce. (1994) The Bolivia-Chile-Peru Dispute in the Atacama Desert. Durham, UK : International Boundaries Research Unit, University of Durham. Pg. 20. Google Book Search. Retrieved on May 5, 2011.
[20] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/20/peru-gives-bolivia-pacific-shore
[21] http://en.mercopress.com/2010/12/07/chile-outlines-conditions-for-a-possible-bolivian-access-to-the-pacific
[22] St. John, Robert Bruce. (1994) The Bolivia-Chile-Peru Dispute in the Atacama Desert. Durham, UK : International Boundaries Research Unit, University of Durham. Pg. 24. Google Book Search. Retrieved on May 10, 2011.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Latinos Prove to be Influential in US Politics

[i] “U.S. Hispanic Country-of-Origin Counts for Nation, Top 30 Metropolitan Areas” Mark Hugo Lopez and Daniel Dockterman, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington D.C., May 26, 2011.

[ii] “The Hispanic Vote in the 2008 Election” Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington D.C., November 5, 2008.

[iii] “President Obama Rededicates Himself on Puerto Rico Trip Aimed at Courting Latinos, Raising Campaign Cash,” Devin Dwyer, ABC News, June 14, 2011,http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-rededicates-puerto-rico-trip-aimed-courting/story?id=13833837 accessed 6/16/11

[iv] “U.S. Hispanic Country-of-Origin Counts for Nation, Top 30 Metropolitan Areas” Mark Hugo Lopez and Daniel Dockterman, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington D.C., May 26, 2011.

[v] impreMedia/Latino Decisions, Poll Results June 9, 2011,http://faculty.washington.edu/mbarreto/ld/June_banners.html accessed 6/16/11

[vi] “Hispanics and the 2004 Election:Population, Electorate and Voters” Roberto Suro, Richard Fry, Jeffrey Passel, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington D.C., June 27, 2005

[vii] Latino Decisions poll

[viii] “Bloomberg Says No Immigration Reform is ‘National Suicide,’” Andrew OReilly, Latin America News Dispatch, June 15, 2011,http://latindispatch.com/2011/06/15/bloomberg-says-no-immigration-reform-is-national-suicide/ accessed 6/16/11


Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Revolutionary Racism in Cuba

[i] CIA World Factbook 2006. Quoted in Blue, Sarah A. “The Erosion of Racial Equality in the Context of Cuba’s Dual Economy.” Latin American Politics and Society, Vo. 49, No. 3 (Fall 2007).

[ii] CIA World Factbook. “Cuba.” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html

[iii] José Martí. “Nuestra América.” 1891

[iv] Sweig, Julia. Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, 2009. P. 34.

[v] Comment at the CIP Conference “Questions of Racial Identity, Racism and Anti-Racist Policies in Cuba Today.” Washington D.C., June 2, 2011

[vi] Adams, Henley C. “Fighting an Uphill Battle: Race, Politics, Power, and Institutionalization in Cuba.” Latin American Research Review, Vo. 39, No. 1 (2004), P. 171, 173

[vii] De la Fuente, Alejandro. “Recreating Racism: Race and Discrimination in Cuba’s Special Period.” A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution. Ed. Philip Brenner, Marguerite Rose-Jiménez, John M. Kirk, William M. LeoGrande. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2008. P. 316.

[viii] Ibid. 317

[ix] Alvarado Ramos, Juan Antonio. “Relaciones Raciales en Cuba.” Cuba Transition Project, Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies. University of Miami, 1996. P. 6

[x] Booth, David. “Cuba, Color and the Revolution.” Science & Society, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Summer 1976). P. 159.

[xi] Blue, 39

[xii] de la Fuente, Alejandro. “Race, National Discourse, and Politics in Cuba: An Overview.” Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 25, No. 3, Race and National Identity in the Americas (May, 1998), P. 61.

[xiii] Blue, 40

[xiv] Ibid. 40

[xv] Huddleston, Vicki and Carlos Pascual. Learning to Salsa: New Steps in U.S.-Cuba Relations. Washington DC: Brooking Institute Press, 2010. P. 123

[xvi] De la Fuente 2008, 320

[xvii] Blue, 61

[xviii] Blue, 49

[xix] Castro, Fidel. Quoted in Godfried, Eugène. “Reflections on Race and The Status of People of African Descent in Revolutionary Cuba.” AfroCubaWeb. Nov. 2009

[xx] RAZA. Presented at the CIP Conference “Questions of Racial Identity, Racism and Anti-Racist Policies in Cuba Today.” Washington D.C., June 2, 2011

[xxi] Guillén, Nicolás. “Tengo.” Trans. J.A. Sierra. 1964. www.historyofcuba.com

[xxii] de la Fuente, Alejandro. “The New Afro-Cuban Cultural Movement and the Debate on Race in Contemporary Cuba.” Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 40. Cambridge, 2008. P. 699

[xxiii] Hermanos de Causa. “Tengo.” La causa nostra. 2003. Trans. Alejandro de la Fuente.

[xxiv] Morales, Esteban. Panel presentation at the CIP Conference “Questions of Racial Identity, Racism and Anti-Racist Policies in Cuba Today.” Washington D.C., June 2, 2011

[xxv] Morales, Esteban. “The Challenges of the Issue of Race in Cuba.” Trans. Suzanna Collerd. Fernando Ortiz Foundation, 2007. P. 5


Wednesday, June 08, 2011

From Haiti to the Dominican Republic and Back

[i] Rhoda Margesson and Maureen Taft-Morales, “Haiti Earthquake: Crisis and Response,” Congressional Research Services, 8 March 2010, http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA516429&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf.

[ii] Laura Jaramillo and Cemile Sancak, “Growth in the Dominican Republic and Haiti: Why has the Grass Been Greener on One Side of Hispaniola?,” International Monetary Fund, March 2007, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp0763.pdf.

[iii] Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, “Irregular Immigration and Asylum Seekers in the Caribbean,” WIDER-World Institute for Development Economics Research Paper No. 2003/48 (United Nations University, 2003),http://www.ciaonet.org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/wps/the01/the01.pdf.

[iv] “Op-Ed: Martelly 'Another Disaster' For Haiti,” NPR, 16 May 2011,http://www.npr.org/2011/05/16/136363456/op-ed-martelly-another-disaster-for-haiti.