The New Allure of Uruguay: Legalization of Marijuana (reposted from original location)

article from December 28, 2013
By Jamie Douglas

The month of December has seen this little country, lodged between the butt cheeks of its giant neighbors Brazil and Argentina, take a leap of faith by legalizing the cultivation and purchase of cannabis legal (consumption was already legal).

Deliberations have been ongoing since President José “Pepe” Mujica asked for legalization of marijuana in 2012, and this in spite of neither him nor his wife, Senator Lucía Topolansky, being smokers of the weed.

And so it was that on December 10, 2013, the Senate voted 16 to 13 to create a legal marketplace for marijuana. On December 23, 2013, the president signed the bill, also declaring that from that moment, Uruguayan citizens were free to cultivate up to six plants per household.

Within 120 days, the nation’s drug control agency will have to write and implement regulations governing the cultivation, sale, and all aspects thereof. It is already understood that all participants will have to be licensed residents or citizens of the nation, with 40 grams allotted per legal person per month.

The opposition parties of course immediately decried the new law, using age-old clichés regarding  the easy access children will now have to this “dangerous gateway drug” – the same tired argument that has been used in the US´s failed War on Drugs which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, ruined millions of others and created an organized crime monster that operates their own fleet of jet aircraft, ships and submarines, reaping billions in profits and, in the US´s own neighbor, Mexico, killing any opposing gangs by the thousands in the most gruesome manner imaginable.

Marijuana is nothing new to Uruguay. Paraguay, one of the member states of the faltering MERCOSUR alliance, has been one of the world´s largest cultivators of cannabis for quite a while now, and what it lacks in quality (everything) it makes up in quantity. Unfortunately, it is compressed with massive hydraulic machines and impregnated with everything from cow urine to odor-masking chemicals, which end up in consumers´ lungs.

It is the adulteration of the weed that causes harm, not the product itself. So one might deduce that the legalization of the sale and consumption of cannabis in South America will result in a healthier experience for the user.

Amsterdam-like narco-tourism

In my opinion, the pseudo-legalization of cannabis in Amsterdam was a total failure because the social experiment was never properly codified, drawing losers from around the planet like a magnet. Looking the other way not only meant that cannabis was tolerated, but along with it, every other conceivable form of drug, from heroin to methamphetamine. Having cafés dispense hashish and marijuana also provided adequate fodder for drug syndicates to establish a foothold, something the Dutch citizens were not prepared for. But in the 40 plus years since the social experiment began, it has virtually become the genie that got out of the bottle.

The suggested laws governing the sale and consumption to foreigners will limit their participation in the Uruguayan cannabis subculture to what tourist already do now: buy from strangers on the street, in all likelihood ending up with the dark brown cow-piss-stained garbage they have been getting by way of Paraguay. The lush, green local nuggets will be reserved for legitimate license holders, some of whom, no doubt, will try to cash in on selling it at premium prices on the black market.

If you are considering a trip to get high, I recommend states like Colorado, where you not only have legal weed, but also incredible scenery to enjoy while you have your smoke and fall into a dream. With the high airfare to get to Montevideo from North America, you can get to Colorado and buy a bunch of really good weed for that “Rocky Mountain High!”

Cannabis legalization in Uruguay did not become a reality to boost tourism. That sector is doing quite well, in spite of the fact that there is rather little to see and do, other than bathing in freezing waters and enjoying the sand dunes along the Atlantic coast from the Miami Beach of South America, Punta del Este, to the Brazilian Border in Chuy.

Jamie Douglas

[Image via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Mexico’s July 2012 Elections

article from July 2, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

Mexico just held elections this past Sunday, July 1. There are no surprises in the outcome. The PRI, which ruled the country for about seven decades, is back in power after sitting out two terms, during which the opposition parties managed to throw the country into a civil-war-like chaos that has so far cost the lives of over 55,000 people, turning a formerly happy, laissez faire population into a bunch of paranoiacs, removing the happy face of Mexico to be replaced by daily graphic images of the victims of Reagan’s war on drugs, something that was happily adopted by (soon to be former) President Felipe Cálderon.

Large areas of the country have no security to speak of, as the billions of dollars in illicit drug money have corrupted all the law enforcement agencies. Like other Latin American nations, the experiment with a more democratic administration was short lived. Cálderon’s pig headed approach to the problem, to please his North American overlords, allowed the former dictators from the PRI, which spent three generations robbing the country of its very soul, to return to the helm of the Aztec nation, unfortunately, justifiably so, as the two main opposition parties have failed miserably in their stewardship of the great nation.

Cálderon was so intent on winning the unwinnable war against the narco-terrorists that he failed to prepare his nation for the looming economic downturn. Mexico has become an economic giant, thanks to NAFTA, and the wealth and income distribution was improving. From a few maquiladoras along the US border, it has gained worldwide clout as a manufacturer of quality goods. From Ford to Volkswagen to Chrysler, Nissan and Honda, along with European and Chinese manufacturers, everyone realized that by having factories in Mexico, it would grant them easy access to the US and Canadian markets, as well as opening the door to exports to the rest of Latin America.

The last two years have seen a marked slowdown in the GNP, exports and employment. Instead of focusing on his nation’s growing internal business problems, Cálderon followed the road to self-destruction by continuing his alliance with the DEA, ICE, the FBI and the Obama administration’s guidance in general, practically giving up the sovereignty of his nation in order to continue to receive massive military and law-enforcement aid from his northern neighbors. It is, of course, those very same northern neighbors that make it possible, with their fanatical pro-gun stance, to supply the gangsters with the latest in weaponry.

It is no wonder that the PRI will once again rule the mighty nation south of the border, but one can only hope that common sense will prevail and this race to the bottom against the narcos will cease. The slaughter in the neighbor nation must stop! I am not sure that legalization is the answer, but one thing is certain: The current approach is not working!

The problem was created by the huge demand for cocaine and heroin, and more recently, methamphetamine. The only way to reduce the violence in Mexico is to reduce the demand of the consumer nations. That goal will not be accomplished by the current approach, to criminalize the users and small-time dealers. The US has more people in prison than any other nation in the world, and many are there because of relatively smalltime offenses such as possession and distribution of small amounts of these drugs. The prison industry is being privatized (Ronald Reagan’s dream) and huge profits are being made by the US Prison Corporation, Wackenhut and several others that have direct connections to Congress.

Presently, those in charge of moving the large quantities of drugs to the US, Canada and Europe, as well as Australasia, are sitting on billions of dollars worth of cash, which corrupts virtually all law enforcement efforts. Fifty-five thousand people in Mexico alone have died, along with untold others from Argentina to Guatemala. The result is that today, there are more cheaper and more potent drugs entering the consumer nations, and they are being consumed in ever-larger quantities. What is the answer to that? If you have it, please send it to President Obama and Eric Holder. They could use some new ideas.

Jamie Douglas

Expat in the Land of Tannat

[Image of Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Continuing the War on Drugs (Because the USA Started It – Sort of like Vietnam)

article from April 10, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is a real war. Well over 50,000 human beings have lost their lives in this war, many of them good and a whole lot of them bad guys, just in Mexico alone.

While Guatemala’s new President Otto Pérez Molina, on the surface, is speaking against the war on drugs and is saying he is for legalization, as more and more Latin American leaders are, he nevertheless has to defend his country from being taken over by the Zetas.

The northern region of Guatemala bordering Mexico has long been plagued by violent drug gangs taking over entire regions in the Petén, where they enslave the locals to build clandestine airstrips for the planes from Colombia and Costa Rica that arrive in broad daylight. The Petén department is the northernmost as well as the largest, encompassing 13,843 square miles of mostly sparsely inhabited jungle and ranchland.

A month after his swearing in, the new president stated that he and other Latin American leaders would consider decriminalizing illicit drugs to fight trafficking in the region. That is very noble of him. But does he really want Guatemala to become another Costa Rica or Panama, which are semi-legal trans-shipment points for Peruvian Marching Powder? Guatemala already has one of the highest murder rates in the world, at 16 murders per day in country with 38 out of 100,000 citizens murdered every year.

Way back in the 1990s when my wife and I traveled through Guatemala twice a year, cocaine was easily obtainable and dirt cheap. The market was controlled by Italian hoods, many of them, at this point, long deceased at the hands of the Mexicans and Colombians who realized that the country could serve their needs as a trans-shipment point. From an airstrip in the Petén jungle, the air distance to the Gulf Coast shores of the United States is less than 1,000 miles. While the preferred point of departure is the Yucatan Peninsula, as it lies much closer to the US mainland, it is also occupied by the Mexican military, as well as having a large number of less corruptible DEA agents operating sophisticated radars and satellites.

It must also be understood that legalizing illicit drugs will not be a cure-all for the affected nations. The trafficking will stay and probably increase, with more and more of the product being left behind, fueling more and more misery created by addiction mixed with already deep social problems.

Another concern: When legalized, who will handle the trade – Pfizer, Hoffman or any of the hundreds of international parasitic drug companies that are already in the pharmaceutical business? And when it comes to the USA, there is no way that the so-mentioned honorable drug companies are willing to let this, the most lucrative trade ever, be handled by anyone other than themselves. Why, this could potentially be bigger than online porn. Imagine that!

The United States has already denounced the potential for legalization strongly.

Recently officials of the Latin American nations and US officials met in Costa Rica to discuss the problem of spreading drug gang violence. The problem is actually twofold: There are the consumer nations, which encompass virtually the entire Western World, and the producer nations, which, through corruption, have allowed the industry to get control of entire countries. (Head South from Mexico to Bolivia and you will see every single nation entangled in the trade.)

To my thinking, legalization will not work. Imagine the logistical nightmare of transporting and warehousing a substance that sells typically for US$30,000 to $50,000 per kilo, and with adulteration and an insatiable consumer market, it will easily bring in a minimum of $100,000. To put this in perspective, gold, on Monday, April 9, traded at $53,600 per kilo, and it is not a consumable item, nor does it does grow fresh crops on a continuing basis.

Those who advocate legalizing drugs, and I are not talking about marijuana, had better come up with a damn good plan that starts at the point of cultivation and goes right up to the nostrils of the end user.

But in the end, it is just all about money – the hundreds of billions of dollars in cash floating around now are very corrupting. Take a relatively high-ranking cop in Honduras: Is he going to pass up a suitcase full of money every month to help out the narco-terrorist, or take a bullet?

Legalization of hard drugs will not come about when the Zetas and the CIA have decided to cooperate with each other. The logistics of reining in that web of deception are way too overwhelming.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Latin America News Roundup Nov 30, 2011: Argentina, Colombia, Cuba

article from November 30, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Argentinean Holidays

Being a worker in Argentina in 2012 certainly has its benefits. Out of the 366 days next year, 122 will be official holidays and weekends, precisely one third of the whole year, assuming that the end of the world will not surprise us all. There will be a total of 10 fin de semanas largas, or 3-day weekends, with the possibility of an eleventh one to celebrate the bicentennial of the Argentinean flag on Monday, Feb 17. That last one is pending approval of a bill in the lower house, after the Senate approved it already.

Add to that the vacation days that are written into the law, and the average worker productivity will be down, forcing manufacturers to hire more workers, something that is great for the economy, driving down unemployment and raising income tax receipts. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot! It doesn’t work that way. Few people actually pay taxes, and employers will probably just force their workers to be more productive. Have another mate, mate, and then get back to work.

Venezuela-Colombian cooperation on drug kingpin capture

The short and violent criminal career of Colombian bad boy Maximiliano Bonilla-Orozco has come to its inevitable conclusion. No, he is not dead, but he has just been apprehended in Venezuela’s third-largest city, Valencia. Bonilla-Orozco has been on the US’ list of most wanted drug kingpins for a while. It is alleged that he was the mastermind behind sending several hundred tons of cocaine from Colombia to the US and sending millions of dollars back through Mexico.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the capture was made on Sunday while Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was on a state visit to that very country. Santos thanked his Venezuelan counterpart, President Hugo Chávez, for his country’s invaluable assistance in the capture of the very high-value drug trafficker who has wrought so much damage in many parts of the Americas.

The captured narco received his drugs from the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) and has had extensive dealings with the Zetas, the ultraviolent Mexican gang of former military commandos. The US had a $5 million reward out for his capture, but Venezuelan officials announced that they will not claim the reward, stating that he will be extradited to the US as soon as the yanquis are ready for him. Bonilla–Orozco was indicted in New York in 2008. This comes as somewhat of a surprise to US officials, as Venezuela discontinued its anti-drug cooperation with the US in 2009.

Cuba’s privatization moves

Raúl Castro keeps surprising not just seasoned Cuba watchers, but also his long-oppressed compatriots. It is looking like the Pearl of the Caribbean will slowly get back to private ownership of businesses, automobiles and property. With the latest announcements coming from Castro, the road ahead for private enterprise looks promising. After over 50 years of the island’s Soviet-style central planning and execution, the president of the island nation has come to the logical conclusion that even at the very low salaries paid to state workers, having millions of underperforming but unfireable workers on the state payroll is a drain on the already-strained economy. President Raúl is encouraging the formation of small businesses, hoping they will hire as many as one million workers away from government payrolls.

While his ultimate goal is to strengthen Cuba’s communism with these changes, it appears more like the grassroots of a new socio-capitalistic society that, once it takes hold, will become the base for future economic development. Enterprising minds in the country are already planning and hoping for more relaxed rules that will allow the human spirit to soar once again on that incomparably beautiful island.

One of the major drawbacks has been the lack of capital available to potential entrepreneurs, but that is all about to change. As an early Christmas present, new banking and credit regulations will take effect on December 20, 2011, presenting for the first time the opportunity for farmers, small businesses and individuals with good ideas to obtain financing and to be able to open commercial bank accounts, a prerequisite for doing business with the government.

Cuba’s potential is vast. The islands citizens are very industrious people, having learned to make do with very little for more than 50 years. Being so close to Florida and having such a large underutilized labor pool, the possibilities of industrialization are very high. All it takes is for some of the US right-wing politicians to realize that the potential for their patrons, the large corporations that got them elected, is immense, and that the children of Cuban robber barons who fled to Florida should get used to the fact that they, too, live in a changing world. You can never go back, baby! Cuba of the 1950s is gone forever.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Latin American Fallout from the G-20 Summit, Elections in Nicaragua and Guatemala

article from November 8, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

War on tax havens

In a classic example of “he said/she said” Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli rejected French President Nicolas Sarkosy’s suggestion that Panama was a tax haven. The Panamanian president has courteously offered President Sarkozy a few days to “immediately correct himself.”

Pipes up the Foreign Minister of Panama, Roberto Henriquez, “[we] categorically reject that our country is a tax haven [it’s just one of the most corrupt countries in the hemisphere!]. The G-20 nations are merely looking for scapegoats to cover their financial mismanagement on the periphery of this crisis.” Perhaps that is why a country such as Panama has close to 100 banks chartered in the nation, most of which only do business with foreign clients.

In fairness, it must be stated that Sarkozy may, indeed, be looking for any sort of diversion from the utter failure of the meeting held last week by threatening that the nations identified to be tax havens would be shunned by the international community. He announced plans at the close of the G-20 Summit to publish a list of uncooperative tax havens at each of the future summits. At least he made it seem like they accomplished something while wasting millions of euros in tax dollars on the event. For the future meetings, I am sure that the list of those offending nations will be a bestseller to all corrupt government and corporate officials.

The leader of France also urged member states to isolate Uruguay, as it is allegedly also a major offender, according to information given to him. This information was based on the Argentine delegation’s statements at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development meeting, where they accused their neighbor country of being a facilitator of tax evasion. But this accusation really carried little weight when it was made, as Argentina’s Presidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, as did her late husband and presidential predecessor, has foreign bank accounts worth millions of dollars. They, like most Argentineans, have no confidence in their homegrown banking system.

Uruguay’s reluctance to cooperate with Argentina and Brazil is rooted in the fact that both of its behemoth neighbors have abysmal record-keeping systems in their tax establishments compared to the Eastern Republic’s sophisticated and accurate record keeping. The more the Argentinians and Brazilians pick on their little neighbor, the more Uruguay questions the wisdom of membership in Mercosur.

Presidential elections in Guatemala and Nicaragua

Turning to election news, Guatemalans went to the polls this past weekend (November 6, 2011) to elect a new president. To no one’s surprise, Generalissimo Otto Perez, a retired right-wing military man, won by a margin of 54.85% vs. 45.14% for his opponent, centrist Manuel Baldizon. This northernmost of Central American Republics has become the new battleground for narcos fighting turf wars over control of the lucrative trade in Colombia’s main export commodity, cocaine. Perez, a former military commander, had better credibility as a person with experience, promising a mano dura in fighting the cartels that have invaded the nation by providing heavily armed military patrols at night, when the regular police are too frightened, undermanned and outgunned to face them.

Baldizon had made his campaign about helping the elderly and poor, a noble gesture, to be sure. But the best way to help them, for starters, would be to make their towns secure again, particularly after dark. Guatemala is a culturally diverse nation where, for the last 500 years, the majority indigenous population has wallowed in the poverty and misery that makes the youth susceptible to gang recruitment. It is very important for the new president to address the needs of these disenfranchised citizens and to include them in future decisions involving their communities. The nation’s national security demands that the nation work more on the integration of the indigenous majority.

On the same date in Nicaragua, voters went to the polls and gave former Marxist strongman Daniel Ortega a resounding majority of the ballots. Counting and tabulating are slow, but as of Monday evening, November 7, 2011, with just under 40% of the votes tabulated, he seems to have a comfortable 64% of the vote. He, of course, had his Sandinista-dominated supreme court void that part of the constitution that limited the holder of the office to only one term.

Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo touted the win to be “a victory for Christianity, socialism and solidarity!” Mr. Ortega’s ruling party also gained a majority of the country’s deputy seats, which will allow him and his supporters to change the constitution in any way that they see fit, with perhaps another round of nationalizing foreigner’s landholdings. It looks like we may have him and his handpicked cronies in power for years to come.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where that Fine Malbec Wine just voted me the Best Sampler!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

South America News Roundup Nov 3, 2011: Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela

article from November 3, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Colombia: Adios, domestic intelligence service

In what was an expected move, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has dismantled his nation’s feared domestic intelligence service, known as DAS. This rogue agency had run its course long before a former chief of the DAS was sentenced to 25 years in prison for having given lists of union leaders, students, and left-wing organizers to the right-wing paramilitaries so they could be liquidated.

This assassin-by-proxy was chosen to head the organization by former President Alvaro Uribe, who himself should be tried in The Hague for his many crimes against humanity. Several former high-ranking members of the agency have also been imprisoned for their part in wiretapping judges, opposition politicians, journalists and dissenting members of the ruling party. Uribe himself has been repeatedly accused of masterminding the wiretapping, but he steadfastly denies that he ever ordered any of that, blaming it instead on “rogue agents.”

The new president signed a decree dissolving the agency, announcing; “Today the DAS turns 58 years old, and at 58, we are going to liquidate it.” This is a huge step forward for Colombia.

Bolivia: Morales vs. indigenous land rights

President Evo Morales had to acknowledge defeat at the hands of the several hundred Amazonian marchers protesting his arrogant encroachment onto a constitutionally guaranteed native territory, the Territorio Indígena Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure. Brazil, which is pushing the project as well as financing it, is waiting for a decision by the Bolivian government to discuss an alternate route. The road project was to provide Brazil with a direct superhighway to the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, Morales’ coca-growing brethren have held their own vigil against the jungle-dwelling protesters. They were looking forward to occupying the land the land that would be opened up by the project and using for growing coca crops. They support the road, claiming that the local area will benefit tremendously from the improved access that would have been given to them to transport their wares to market. Who knew there was such a huge market for coca leaves!

Morales recently also purchased for himself a US$30 million Falcon 900 EX executive jet, pretty much top of the line in private jets. It seems that exposure to all of the state’s wealth is turning the formerly socialist coca growing “people’s president” into a connoisseur of finer things as he abandons the promises made to the indigenous tribes who elected him. In addition, he has ordered the construction of a $1.5 million presidential terminal. Power corrupts!

Venezuela: Foreign holdings nationalization campaign

In his ongoing campaign to nationalize foreign holdings, El Maximum Líder in denial has announced that the Bolivarian nation will seize an additional 700,000 acres of land from Agropecuaria Flora, owned by the UK’s Vestey Group. This is the second huge parcel owned by the Vestey Group to be nationalized, and the reason given was that the group would not accept the Venezuelan government’s offer of payment in Bolivars, which then would be almost impossible for them to repatriate.

Meanwhile the tin-pot dictator, a great admirer of Muamar Ghadaffi’s many clownish uniforms, has decided that he will buy off the armed forces for the coming elections by giving them a 50% pay raise, the second major increase given to them in the last 18 months. Maybe, just maybe, he is trying to buy the loyalty of the troops.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Central America News Roundup Sept 22, 2011: Costa Rica, Panama

article from September 22, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Costa Rica

The misnamed “Switzerland of Central America” (there is no such thing) is contemplating building an international jetport on the Osa Peninsula in the southwest part of the country. This is an ecologically sensitive area and one of the last regions to fall victim to tourism development. After having seen what the CIA-sponsored airport (I am not making this up) did to the overdevelopment of the Nicoya Peninsula and the mainland of the northwestern part of Costa Rica, one must question the sanity of those greedy government officials who operate out of the pockets of foreign land developers. Corruption is and has been one of this country’s overwhelming problems.

Meanwhile over on the Caribbean side of the nation, a shocking development for developers and agribusinesses: Judges in Goicecoechea ruled last week that the government will seize several hundred thousand hectares of land and return it to the Bribri people, who are part of the indigenous Keköldi nation of people of the Talamanca. What really makes this bite sting is that a lot of this land is near the very popular Puerto Viejo tourist area. The ruling is to compel the Agricultural Development Institute to expropriate the land and relocate any and all non-indigenous residents. This epic decision is based largely on the Indigenous Law of 1977, along with the presidential decree that established the Keköldi Reserve that same year. This established law states very clearly, “Land and property may only be traded between the indigenous residents of the reserve.” Judge Cynthia Abarca, president of the court, stated in an interview with La Nacion of San José that “the obligation to recover said land is sanctioned by international agreements, protecting the indigenous people’s rights. The lands have very special meaning for them, being places they consider sacred.” The government plans to appeal the decision.

A fiery Tica beauty, Johanna Solano from Heredia, made the country proud once again for its famously lovely ladies by placing in the top 10 at the Miss Universe pageant in São Paulo, Brazil. She is the current Miss Costa Rica, and will remain so until March 2012. Felicidades Johanna!

Costa Rica is also celebrating its independence from Spain 190 years ago. All the Central American nations except Belize tore themselves loose from the crumbling and broke Spanish Empire, and of course, that freedom did not come easily. The region has since been plagued with various dictators, despots and megalomaniacs, as well as an endless procession of civil wars. Costa Rica’s last civil war was fought for 44 days from March 12 until April 24, 1948. It is estimated that over 2,000 people lost their lives in that uprising caused by the country’s legislature voting to void the election results from February of that year. A rebel army, under the command of José (Pepe) Figueres, rose up and defeated the government of President Teodoro Picado in the bloodiest chapter of this tiny nation’s 20th-century history. After winning the revolt, Figueres ruled the country for a year and a half, wisely abolishing the army to keep history from repeating itself.

Meanwhile, on the narco front, Costa Rica managed to maintain its spot on the US State Department’s cherished blacklist of countries contributing to the illicit drug trade. Belize and El Salvador were just added this year.

Panama

Panama will have to exercise a little more patience until they get their hands on former strongman Manuel Noriega, the object of the United States’ affection in the 1970s and 80s. Noriega, a rogue CIA asset, was captured in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City in 1989 by George Bush’s invading army. Once again, like in Granada, the US went into a non-aggressor country and, according to UN estimates, slaughtered 2,500 civilians as well a number of members of the military, raking up an oft-mentioned figure of 4,000 dead, while the US forces numbered 23 dead and 325 wounded. Some surgical strike that was!

Manuel Noriega was to be returned to Panama from France, where he is currently incarcerated for money laundering. But French judges have held up the extradition because they needed more time to study the issue. Noriega has now been imprisoned for over 20 years, and I feel it is unlikely he will ever be released, as it could prove to be very embarrassing for the CIA-head-turned-US-president, George H. Bush, who is ultimately responsible for the crimes committed by Noriega. It sure would make for some very interesting reading if Noriega were ever able to publish his memoirs.

Ebrahim Asvat, a lawyer and activist for the voiceless masses of poor people in the country, is trying to get himself killed by attempting to have the law of Anati (National Land Authority) overturned. Laws and regulations have been no match for corruption in Panama ever since private land developers found out what a lovely country Panama is and how easy it is to get prime land for development by lining the pockets of everyone from the president down. Knowing how Panamanian “justice” works, I have no hope at all that he will prevail.

While on the subject of presidential corruption, it should be mentioned that President Ricardo Martinelli has declared that the Italian citizen wanted by the prosecutor of Naples for the extortion of a million dollars from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is welcome to stay in Panama. Berlusconi did not mind paying the money to protect himself from exposure in his underage prostitution “Bunga Bunga” scandal. Martinelli considers Valter Lavitola to be a very useful asset for Panama since, by giving him shelter, Berlusconi has become a major Panamanian benefactor, donating six patrol boats to the nation that are valued at close to US$300 million. Martinelli and Berlusconi also signed a no-bid sweetheart deal valued at $335 million for helicopters, radars and other assorted items.

Good news for film buffs: Panama will finally have its own world-class film festival in 2012, when it will host the International Film Festival April 11-17. The festival will be in the capable and experienced hands of the cofounder of the highly successful Toronto Film Festival, as well as those of Panama’s own Pituka Ortega Heilbron, a well know producer/director whose work includes a documentary about the life of famous pugilist Roberto Duran. Quiet on the set! And … ACTION!

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where that Fine Malbec wine is ever-present! Salud!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.