Around the Hemisphere

• The Ecuadorian government takes over operations of Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, preventing its top executives from leaving the country. This leads up to a weekend referendum on a new constitution that would consolidate presidential power in the hands of Rafael Correa and quasi-nationalize the country’s oil industry. Hmmm….where have I heard this story before?
  

• Morales at the UN: Conspiracy theories abound; the diplomatic crisis doesn't seem to be improving, as recently expelled US Ambassador Philip Goldberg gets the brunt of the blame for current turmoil in the country.
  

• The Cuban national team will play the U.S. in DC in a World Cup qualifier for South Africa 2010. Could it be the first step towards normalizing relations? Maybe if they let us win...
  

• Chavez is in Beijing, looking to beef up bilateral agreements in telecommunications and food production. Just don’t drink the milk, pana.
  He also envisions sending a million barrels of oil a day to China within five years. Not unless he can magically widen the Panama Canal he won’t…
  
  
• The Excrement continues to track the trial of Guido Antonini in Miami, in the latest news on Maletagate. For those unfamiliar with the basic details, the trial stems from a suitcase filled with $800k confiscated at customs in Buenos Aires. Antonini was apparently bringing a campaign contribution from Chavez to Cristina Kirchner…the whole crazy mess is well documented in the archives on this site.
  

• The drug trade increasingly dominates politics in Mexico.
  Not to diminish the threat from more high-profile extremist groups, but this could be the hemisphere’s most urgent security issue at the moment. It looks more and more like Mexico will not be able to handle the growing cartel violence by itself. The U.S. may want to start paying closer attention…
  

• According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Brazil brought in over $35 billion in FDI last year. That makes it the fifth most attractive country in the world to invest in, and the best in Latin America. If we took a poll today, where would the U.S. rank on that list? On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t even try and answer that.