War on Terra Arrives with Bush-Lula Ethanol Deal

Dear Colleague,

Last week U.S. President George W. Bush concluded his "South of the Border '07 Tour" around Latin America. Narco News contributor Garrett St. James, reporting from Brazil, analyzes Bush's visit to the region's countries, which included Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Brazil, looking beyond the mass media spotlight to focus on the real implications of the whirlwind tour.

St. James writes:

"Everywhere Bush went were angry crowds of demonstrators battling it out with police. The same old same old was happening on the television news and of course street violence always makes great copy! To make things much worse, Bush's arch-nemesis Hugo Chavez was making an Anti-Imperialist Tour of his own, filling entire football stadiums and public arenas wherever the Venezuelan President spoke. Sadly for Bush it was very clear as to who was winning the hearts and minds of Latin America once again. However, upon a second glance it's apparent Bush did accomplish a few things and it was quite more than a half-assed success. In fact, it was a spectacular success.

"...What does this all mean for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his visions of Neo-Bolivarism throughout Latin America? He too is being out-flanked like the rest of us. Eventually the United States is going to become less and less dependent upon his oil in the years to come. What about the Middle East? Everyone has been so distracted by what is going on over there that many of us have failed to notice what is going on below our noses."

Out-Flanked: A New War on Terra Arrives with Bush-Lula Ethanol Deal
http://www.narconews.com/Issue45/article2596.html

Also on Narco News, Sean Donahue reports on Chiquita Banana Brands legal settlement and admittance to having supported paramilitary death squads in Colombia:

With a $25 Million Fine, Chiquita Washes its Hands in Death Squad Case
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2007/3/17/231647/347

http://www.narconews.com

From somewhere in a country called América,

David B. Briones
Webmaster
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com

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