The U.S. Commerce Department today reported that the country’s 2010 trade deficit was $497.8 billion, an increase of $122.9 billion from 2009. Exports increased from $1.57 trillion to $1.83 trillion, and imports increased from $1.95 trillion to $2.33 trillion. Increased imports are often a sign that the U.S. economy is growing. Imports typically fall during recessions and increase during economic recoveries. Prospects for a strong economic recovery could be boosted by extending agreements like the Andean Trade Preference Act and implementing new trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. …
Americans saved more than $16 million on roses last year thanks to U.S. trade policy toward Colombia. Under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), many products from Colombia are exempt from U.S. import tariffs. Colombia is the biggest supplier of cut flowers to U.S. consumers, and the ATPA exempts Colombian roses from the 6.8 percent U.S. tariff. This import-tax cut saved American rose buyers $16.6 million last year. The current ATPA requires periodic reauthorization by Congress. This introduces an element of political uncertainty that hurts both Colombia and the United …
Colombia has unmistakably made political and economic transformation over the past years. As pointed out by Freedom House, in a world where authoritarianism is advancing and electoral democracy is unfortunately recoiling, Colombia has made notable improvements that make the country stand out against such a trend. Along with its free presidential election in 2010, the country has achieved “an improved equilibrium between the three branches of government and the end of surveillance operations that had targeted both civil society and government figures.” Equally noteworthy is Colombia’s continuing march toward greater …
Hugo Chávez took another bold step in his campaign to consolidate authoritarian control over the Venezuelan people when he promoted Gen. Henry Rangel Silva to the rank of General-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Silva is in the limelight because in an interview this week regarding the military and the 2012 presidential elections, Silva declared: The hypothesis of an elected [opposition] government is hard to swallow, it would mean selling the country, and that is not going to be accepted, not by the armed forces and much less by the people. …
While Colombia’s new president Manuel Santos was at the United Nations today, he received welcomed news: Colombia’s military had located and attacked a camp belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Killed in the assault was Jorge Briceno (born Victor Julio Suarez, AKA El Mono Jojoy) second highest FARC commander, military mastermind, and emblematic hard-line leader. Santos called it a “historic moment.” As chief of the Eastern Bloc, Briceno commanded the largest single body of FARC fighters. He was also an architect of the terrorist strategy of kidnapping …
Venezuela’s authoritarian populist president, Hugo Chavez, is threatening to cut off oil sales to the U.S. The latest dispute follows Colombia’s presentation of evidence regarding the presence of an estimated 1,500 FARC fighters on Venezuelan soil with the complicit support of Chávez and his government. Thundered Chavez: If there was any armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombian territory or from anywhere else, promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil shipments to the U.S. even if we have to eat stones here!
On July 22, Colombia’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) presented evidence of what is clearly a credible report on the presence of camps of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) inside Venezuela. By official U.S. designation FARC is a terrorist organization, one of three operating in Colombia. The OAS summary tells the story best: The Colombian Ambassador presented “a series of photographs, maps, coordinates, and videos that, according to his government, represent proof of the presence of illegal armed groups in Venezuelan territory. [Note: The OAS …
Reporting on the July 16 car bombing in Ciudad Juarez led one journalist to evoke images of the battle against Islamist terrorist in Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack, seemingly lifted from an al-Qaeda playbook, demonstrated once again that the cartels are a step ahead of both an already guarded public and federal police, who have recently taken over command from the military of the battle against traffickers in Ciudad Juarez, a city across the border from El Paso, Texas. The proper analogy is not the Middle East or Afghanistan but …
In a major press conference on July 15, outgoing Colombian Minister of Defense Gabriel Silva briefed the national press on the presence of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leaders and camps in Venezuela. Silva reported the location of one such camp at the following coordinates: North 10° 40′ 42″ West 72° 32′ 03—close to the Venezuelan border city of Villa del Rosario. Silva said this camp appeared to be permanent and is used by FARC leader Ivan Marquez for meetings with the pro-FARC support group the “Bolivarian Continental Movement,” …
The impressive run-off electoral victory of Juan Manuel Santos demonstrates that Colombians place great confidence in the former finance and defense minister’s ability to guide their nation for the next four years. It was also a vote for continuity with the successful and popular policies of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe. Undoubtedly, Santos has large executive shoes to fill. Colombia under Santos, who takes office on August 7, will need to strengthen democratic institutions, advance an impartial justice system, put the economy on a high growth track, and battle poverty, while …
