It sounds like a scene from 24: A terrorist group gets a hold of a nuclear bomb, places it in a cargo container, watches it being loaded on a tanker vessel, and waits for it to make the journey across the Atlantic to the U.S. It may arrive in any number of U.S. ports—say New York, New Orleans, or Baltimore. When it reaches its destination, someone gives the signal. Bam!—the U.S. is sent into a state of panic. It may sound a bit far-fetched, probably because it is. Why would …
In a historic first, Josefina Vazquez Mota was chosen on Sunday to be the presidential candidate for Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN). Vazquez Mota’s primary win makes her the first woman in Mexico’s history to be chosen to run for president by one of the country’s three main parties. The road to Los Pinos, the Mexican equivalent of the White House, will be a difficult one. The lineup is now set. Currently leading in the polls is Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) candidate Pena Nieto. With the PRI party, however, comes …
Senator Mark Kirk (R–IL) and Congressman Mike Quigley (R–IL) returned from a four-day trip to Poland this week. The bipartisan pair made the journey to discuss an important topic in U.S.–Polish relations: admitting Poland into the Visa Waiver Program. Under the Visa Waiver Program, visitors from friendly member nations are able to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa. To ensure that dangerous individuals do not enter the United States through the program, a visitor must first submit information through the program’s online …
On Saturday, President-elect Otto Pérez Molina will be inaugurated in Guatemala, following his November runoff election win against Manuel Baldizón Méndez. Pérez, a member of the conservative Patriotic Party, has no easy task in front of him as he steps up to lead what some have called one of the most dangerous nations in the world. Like Mexico, crime and violence caused by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) is rampant throughout Guatemala. In 2010, for instance, the murder rate in Guatemala (41 people per 100,000) was six times the world average …
They call themselves “las Damas de Blanco” (“the Ladies in White”). They are a prominent group of courageous Cuban women, many of them wives of political prisoners. They have fought not just for the rights of the unjustly imprisoned but for the rights of all the Cuban people to have a voice in the way their country is governed. Their tactics are entirely peaceful: They take to the streets of Havana and Santiago de Cuba each Sunday and silently march in protest against human rights violations of the Castro regime …
Today, the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom launches. For 17 years, The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal have reported on the status of economic freedom around the world, measuring 184 nations across the globe according to rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets. Globally, the 2012 Index noted a general decline in economic freedom across the board, with nations throughout the world unsuccessfully trying to “spend their way out of recession.” The United States itself dropped from ninth to 10th, continuing a slide that last …
The Iowa Caucus was not the only thing folks looking to the 2012 election were talking about this week. Barron’s Washington Editor Jim McTague warned that 2012 is likely to be a banner year for natural disaster declarations. Why? As the numbers show, “In nearly every presidential election year since 1972, there was an increase in disaster declaration; the same holds for the year before the elections.” Citing Heritage expert Matt A. Mayer, McTague goes on to explain that in 2011, the Obama Administration issued a whopping 242 disaster declarations. …
Last week, in Merída, Mexico, the leaders of Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia met to affirm their shared commitment to economic integration, growth, and competitiveness. You may not have heard of the summit. In fact, a Google search of recent U.S. news articles covering the meeting of the “Pacific Alliance” turns up only nine results. It seems that while the United States’ key partners in Latin America were meeting to discuss critical economic and trade issues, America failed to pay much attention. America’s disregard, however, makes little sense. With a …
Last night, NBC Nightly News continued its series “Mexico: The War Next Door.” In its latest segment, NBC highlighted the much discussed and debated issue of cross-border violence and drug trafficking in Texas. Flying overhead in helicopters with officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety Air Patrol, the film crew showed images of high-speed chases on U.S. highways and men hiking through Texas backlands with 80-pound bales of marijuana on their backs. The story reports: Federal officers here, who spend every day in the sky, say drug trafficking in …
Following last week’s GOP presidential debate, the phrase “red card” has been thrown around quite a bit. No, we’re not talking about soccer penalties or black Friday shopping at Target. We’re talking about the Krieble Foundation’s “Red Card Solution” for U.S. immigration and border security. Since the concept was raised in last week’s debate, critics have dismissed the proposal, claiming it is nothing more than a back-door amnesty and would serve only to make the problem of illegal immigration worse. Hellen E. Krieble, founder and president of the Krieble Foundation, …
