Leticia Galeano is an inspiring youth leader from the Movimiento Agrario y Popular (a peasant organization in the department of Caaguazú) and student at the Universidad Catolica in Asuncion, Paraguay. Leticia will speak about militarization in Paraguay, and about the role of U.S. agribusiness giants like ADM, Bunge and Cargill in fueling the soybean wars.

Her community, Tekojoja, is an example of organized resistance to agribusiness exploitation. In 2005, the police violently and illegally displaced families from the community, resulting in the deaths of two individuals. There is now an attempt to bring this case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The tour kicks off Tuesday evening, September 23 at Loyola University in Chicago. They will also visit Minneapolis, Washington D.C., New York City, Burlington and Philadelphia, among others. If you go to one of the lectures, drop us a line and let us know how it goes!

Also, for more information on what the Soybean Wars were, see here.

via/RAN

"The humble citizens are the ones responsible for this change," Lugo said at a downtown news conference as his lead grew. "Paraguayans have taken a great step toward civic maturity. . . . We have opened a new page in this nation's political history."

Once the election results have been verified, Lugo's 5 year presidential term begins on August 15th.

Via / LA Times

A Neolithic, Indian camp right in the city centre is unthinkable, but there it is, like a dangerous cancer, spreading bad smells, destruction and contamination. The city's being punished, for no reason, and it shouldn't have to pay for it. The Indians have to learn to live like people, or get back to the jungle.

Via / CNN

Ciudad del Este's surrounding Tri Border Area--where Paraguay meets Brazil and Argentina--has over the past five years attracted notoriety as a major hub in international people-trafficking.

Eighty-five percent of trafficking in Paraguay is for sexual exploitation, the International Organization of Migration estimates.

Via / Women's enews

Image Via / Wikipedia

In May of 2005, the Paraguayan Senate voted to allow U.S. troops to operate in Paraguay with total immunity. Washington had threatened to cut off millions in aid to the country if Paraguay did not grant the U.S. troops entry. In July of 2005 hundreds of U.S. soldiers arrived in the country, and Washington's funding for counterterrorism efforts in Paraguay doubled. The U.S. troops conducted various operations and joint training exercises with Paraguayan forces, including so-called Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs). Orlando Castillo, a military policy expert at the human rights rights organization Servicio, Paz y Justicia in Asunción, Paraguay, says the MEDRETEs were "observation" operations aimed at developing "a type of map that identifies not just the natural resources in the area, but also the social organizations and leaders of different communities."

Image via AFP - Yahoo!

The surprising announcement comes one day after chancellor and Spanish ambassador to Paraguay, Eduardo de Quesada, gave a press conference in which he addressed immigration problems at Madrid's airport, which Duarte would discuss on his visit to the European country.

Unlike other controversial Latin American dictators, Stroessner has kept a relatively low profile since his exile in 1989. From 20 Minutos:

Stroessner was born in Encarnación, in Southern Paraguay, November 3, 1912, and resided in Brasilia since two days after his defeat on February 3, 1989.

The dictatorship he led for nearly 25 years concluded that day, when a coup de etat led by the now deceased general Andrés Rodríguez, then commander of the cavalry and in-law of Stroessner, was triumphant.

Rodríguez was de facto president for one month and then called for elections, from which he emerged as constitutional Head of State.

He remained in the government until 1993, when he was succeeded by Juan Carlos Wasmosy, the first civilian to govern Paraguay in 40 years.

During this exile in Brasilia, Stroessner strictly respected the silence imposed upon him by Brasilian authorities in exchange for offering him asylum and lived in absolute discretion.

Via / 20 Minutos

U.S. personnel in small numbers, generally between 10 to 20 people, will train with their Paraguayan military colleges during periods from two to six weeks.

This of course is done in the name of humanitarian aid, counter-terrorism and the never ending (and dare I say losing battle) war against drugs. Skeptics inside and out of Paraguay think the U.S. has other plans, like to establish a permanent presence in the area. Reasons for the U.S. wanting to do that range from access to nearby resources like natural gas reserves in Bolivia to control of underground water aquifers. One of the most compelling possibilities is that the U.S. wants to keep tabs over what is known as the Triple Border, where the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet and where there are accusations on the part of the U.S. of Arab merchants sending millions, perhaps billions, of laundered dollars to Middle East terrorist groups annually.

What is troubling about the added presence of U.S. troops in South America is that word of these activities was officially released on July 7th of this year, nearly four months ago. With Plan Colombia in place and the U.S. drooling over overthrowing Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, this new development certainly raises concerns.

Via / AlterNet