Week in Review
-
One of this week's top stories was the return of dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier to Haiti. Speculation is still flying about why "Baby Doc" returned, including the theory that he intended to act as some sort of pressure on the current political situation with the country's stalled elections. A more plausible theory emerged recently, however, that has to do with $4.6 million currently frozen in a Swiss bank account. Joshua Frens-String explains:
The story begins in Switzerland where that country's top court, in a ruling made just hours before last January's devastating earthquake, decided that at least $4.6 million under Mr. Duvalier's name and still frozen in a Swiss bank account could be released back to Mr. Duvalier. In a response to the high court's decision, Swiss officials promptly passed new legislation, calling it the “Duvalier Law,” which would allow the Swiss government "greater discretion" in deciding to whom it should return frozen assets that lingered in its world-famous bank accounts. That law will go into effect on Feb. 1. But, says the paper, under until Feb. 1, states making claims to money in Switzerland "must show that they have begun a criminal investigation against the suspected offender before any funds can be returned."
As the New York Times put it: "[If] Mr. Duvalier had been able to slip into the country and then quietly leave without incident, as he was originally scheduled to do on Thursday, he may have been able to argue that Haiti was no longer interested in prosecuting him — and that the money should be his." However, since his return, court investigations into corruption and embezzlement have been opened and formal complaints for human rights abuses during his 15-year rule have been filed. As "Baby Doc's" lawyer puts it, he now "must have mixed feelings about" his decision to return.
- The return of former dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier to Haiti prompted questions about whether former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, exiled in 2004, would also try to return. Aristide wrote a letter to the governments of Haiti and South Africa, where he currently lives, in which he expresses his desire to return to Haiti quickly. He writes: "So, to all those asking me to return home, I reiterate my willingness to leave today, tomorrow, at any time."
- "Baby Doc's" return and the potential for Aristide's return diverted attention from the problems surrounding Haiti's stalled elections. The United States began to increase pressure on Haiti to resolve the disputed president election this week. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, called on Haiti to "outline a very clear way forward that will lead promptly to the inauguration of a legitimate and democratically elected government." Rice continued, "Sustained support from the international community, including the United States, will require a credible process that represents the will of the Haitian people, as expressed by their votes." While a statement released on Tuesday by Haiti's provisional electoral council signaled that they are not bound by the Organization of American States' "recommendations to drop the ruling party's candidate from [the] disputed presidential race," as reported by the New York Times, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told the Miami Herald that the country is following the OAS recommendations "exactly."
- The United States filed its formal objection to Bolivia's bid to amend the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to end an international prohibition on coca-leaf chewing. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca is currently traveling through Europe in an attempt to garner support for Bolivia's proposal, and has already visited Spain, France and Belgium. You can learn more about what is happening on this podcast and in this Foreign Policy in Focus article by WOLA's Coletta Youngers.
-
White House Office of National Drug Policy Director (or "Drug Czar") Gil Kerlikowske visited Colombia this week, where he met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to discuss "the United States' valued relationship with Colombia, ongoing counternarcotics cooperation between the two nations and support for hemispheric drug prevention, treatment and alternative development programs." During his visit, Kerlikowske hailed a sharp drop in cocaine production in the Andes. However, on this blog, Adam Isacson points to a problem with the U.S. government's estimates:
If 690 tons [of cocaine] were produced and 495 were interdicted in these countries, it would leave only 195 tons to satisfy global demand. And these 495 tons don’t include any U.S. seizures on international waters, seizures on U.S. soil by state or municipal police, or seizures in Europe, Asia or elsewhere – which would reduce supplies still further.
- The Center for International Policy's Global Financial Integrity program released a new report this week that estimates the quantity and patterns of illicit financial flows coming out of developing countries. The report, "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries, 2000-2009," (PDF) places both Mexico and Venezuela in the top ten countries with the highest measured cumulative illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2008. According to the new report, from 2000 to 2008 $416 billion in illicit money flowed out of Mexico, placing Mexico third on the list, just behind China ($2.18 trillion) and Russia ($427 billion). Venezuela falls eighth on the list, with $157 billion in illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2008. Read more here.
- Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón will be in Washington next week. According to the Vice-Presidency's press release, Garzón's visit has two objectives: To request that the United States extends Colombia's ATPDEA preferences for two years, and to push for the approval of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. VP Garzón's agenda is available for download as a PDF.
- Colombia also announced that Minister of Defense Rodrigo Rivera will travel to Washington in February to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. This week Defense Minister Rivera party blamed reduced U.S. aid for budget cuts that will prevent Colombia from creating eight new battalions.
- Peruvian President Alan García and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera met on Wednesday, where they said they would leave behind hard feelings between the two countries based on a border dispute currently before The Hague and strengthen commercial ties between the two countries.
- Bolivia's Air Force announced it will receive six Chinese K-8 interceptor planes in April that will be used to combat narcotrafficking. The planes cost US$57.8 million.
- Four months after the September 30th police uprising in Ecuador, the Government of Ecuador assumed direct administrative control of the police. This decision implies that the Ministry of the Interior will assume "legal, judicial and extrajudicial" representation of the 40,000 member entity and will take on all economic obligations, including credits, income, daily expenses and investments.
-
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox reiterated his calls for the legalization of the production, transit and sale of prohibited drugs, especially marijuana. Fox:
Prohibition didn't work in the Garden of Eden. Adam ate the apple.... "We have to take all the production chain out of the hands of criminals and into the hands of producers — so there are farmers that produce marijuana and manufacturers that process it and distributors that distribute it and shops that sell it ... I don't want to say that legalizing means that drugs are good. They are not good but bad for your health, and you shouldn't take them. But ultimately, this responsibility is with citizens.
- Colombian Army Major César Maldonado, imprisoned for his role in a 2000 assassination attempt against union leader (now congressman) Wilson Borja, escaped for the second time from the military stockade where he has been held in lieu of a regular prison. Though he was quickly recaptured, Maldonado's escape from the Tolemaida army base raised questions about the lenient conditions under which military human-rights violators are imprisoned at military bases. These conditions apparently even include weekend leave time, as witnesses have reported seeing Maldonado at large in the nearby resort town of Melgar.
- The Washington Post, The Economist, and IPS all had articles this week on the spread of both gang and cartel violence in Central America.