Colombia, Latin America: Week in Review
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Diagnosed With Cancer
October 2, 2012 By Staff
Top Story — President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, announced on Monday that he has prostate cancer. Santos told reporters that the tumor is small and was caught early, and there is a 97 percent chance of full recovery. He is scheduled to have surgery in Bogotá on Wednesday.
The procedure will not keep Santos from his presidential responsibilities. However, doctor’s orders may keep him from traveling in the weeks following the procedure.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- A U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a mother of five after being allegedly dragged several hundred feet on the hood of her car on Friday.
- The Ajolote, a kind of Mexican salamander, could face extinction if the Xochimilco canal system is not restored.
Caribbean
- Sol Luis Fontanes Olive, Former Mayor of Puerto Rican town Barceloneta, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for bribery.
- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday that the U.S. categorizes Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism to justify its embargo.
Central America
- Costa Rica’s oldest English-language newspaper, The Tico Times, ended its print edition due to restructuring.
- 44 farmers were rescued from Los Zetas in Guatemala in an operation conducted by national police and soldiers.
Andes
- Venezuelan youth could be the decisive factor in the upcoming presidential election.
- Henrique Capriles, Venezuela’s opposition candidate, pledged to help Colombian peace talks if he wins the election.
- Former president and dictator of Peru Alberto Fujimori may allow the 33 paintings he produced while in prison to be confiscated to pay his debt to the state.
Southern Cone
- Chilean President Sebastian Piñera told CNN that U.S. “printing money” will not solve economic problems, but will affect Latin American countries.
- President Piñera also delivered the 2013 national budget on Sunday, which increases education spending by 9.4 percent.
- Brazil’s manufacturing sector improved for the third time in a row in September showing signs of recovery, a private survey showed on Monday.
- Six members of Argentina’s military were sentenced to life in prison on Monday for crimes against humanity during the countries 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Image: Center for American Progress @ Flickr
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