Chile, Latin America: Week in Review
Chilean Miners Treated In Hospital; Offers Pour In For Their Story
October 15, 2010 By Staff
Chileans celebrating the rescue of the 33 miners.
Today in Latin America
Top Story — The 33 miners trapped underground for 69 days in Chile’s San José mine are now in the nearby Copiapo Regional Hospital, where doctors say are all the miners have responded well to treatment.
Three of the miners have already been released from the hospital and were taken away in a white car amid tight security on Thursday. The remaining men should be allowed to leave the hospital sometime on Friday.
Some of the miners have already undergone dental surgery and one of the them had pneumonia and is being treated with antibiotics. Experts worry that the most damaging part of their experience will be the mental and emotional problems that could arise.
On Wednesday, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales visited the miners in the hospital, where they met Bolivian rescued miner Carlos Mamani. Morales was in Chile to to greet Mamani and propose that he return to Bolivia.
Morales told Mamani that he can return to Bolivia, where he will have a job.
Besides any future health complications, the miners also have to deal with numerous offers for their stories as well as a torrent of gifts including everything from iPods to Mediterranean tours. The men have reportedly vowed to share proceeds evenly.
Miner Edson Peña, who is a huge fan of Elvis Presley, has been invited for a special tour of the rock legend’s Memphis home, Graceland.
When Graceland officials heard about Peña’s love for the Elvis’ music they sent him a boxed set of CDs and a picture of the “king,” asking that it be lowered into the mine for Peña.
“We heard on the news that he’s a huge Elvis fan,” Graceland spokeswoman Alicia Dean told Reuters.
Just Published at the Latin America News Dispatch
- Hispanic groups are attempting to mobilize voters amid concerns that voter turnout will be low for midterm elections.
- Criminal deportations have reached a record high under the Obama Administration. Raisa Camargo reports from Washington.
- Photojournalist James Rodríguez explores the controversy surrounding Goldcorp’s Peñasquito Mine in Mazapil, Mexico.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer says a federal appeals court should ignore the pleas of the Mexican government when it comes to the state’s controversial new immigration law.
- A potential class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Atlanta over a government program that allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration law.
- The Jonas Brothers have canceled a planned concert in Monterrey, Mexico, they announced Thursday, following an outbreak of drug-related violence there.
- The shooting death of U.S. citizen David Michael Hartley on Sept. 30 in Mexico was a case of mistaken identity in a turf war between rival drug cartels, a U.S. intelligence company said.
Caribbean
- Blustery and wet but with fast-weakening winds, Tropical Storm Paula lashed Cuba on Thursday, following a track that once again spared South Florida from serious impacts in a busy hurricane season.
- The U.N. Security Council on Thursday extended the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti for a year, expressing concern at increasing insecurity and calling for “credible and legitimate” elections next month.
Central America
- Honduras will ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to intervene in the legal battle over maritime borders between Colombia and Nicaragua.
- Martin Sheen, who played the U.S. president on the popular TV series the West WIng, is among the latest supporters of José Figueroa, the man from Langley, B.C., who is facing deportation to El Salvador for being involved in a political party, the FMLN, 20 years ago.
- Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes apologized to the nation’s indigenous peoples for the harm they have suffered over the past five centuries.
- A Chinese bulk carrier has become the millionth vessel to cross the Panama Canal since it was built almost 96 years ago.
Andes
- Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez hailed its alliance with Russia and said his country had a right to develop nuclear energy as he started a visit to Moscow on Thursday.
- The Ecuadorean police have begun disciplinary proceedings against 13 officers who are accused of having played roles in a violent labor protest two weeks ago.
- Peruvian President Alan García has denied slapping a young man who insulted him when he visited a hospital last weekend.
Southern Cone
- Brazilian centrist presidential candidate José Serra is now in a statistical tie with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff.
- Wheat output in Argentina will rise more than previously expected thanks to rain and high soil moisture levels.
- Duty Free Uruguay has a virtual tour of the new Carrasco airport’s Arrivals and Departures stores.
Image: Globovisión @ Flickr.
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