
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced Monday the launching of operation “Guard Watch” with the deployment of 6.000 border guards throughout the Greater Buenos Aires with the purpose of combating the insecurity wave and putting an end to the rash of illegal occupation of open spaces by organized squatters.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was granted decree powers to pass laws without congressional authorization for the next 18 months, after pro- government lawmakers extended the period from the originally proposed 12 months at the last minute. This means he will have special powers until six months before the next presidential election in 2012 when he anticipated he expects to run.

Brazilian president Lula de Silva strongly defended Mercosur calling for a quick approval of Venezuela’s incorporation as full member, and proposed other associate members such Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile should follow the same path since ‘we share the same political, economic and cultural affinities’.

Paraguayan senators reiterated that given certain conditions and political agreements they are prepared to vote for Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as full member.

Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela are the countries which most reduced inequality and poverty during the last decade in Latinamerica, according to Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cepal.

In a dramatic speech to the National Assembly Cuba’s Raul Castro said he wasn’t elected to restore capitalism nor to surrender Socialism but admitted that “too much secrecy and too many lies” had taken the revolution to a critical situation: “either we rectify or we will plunge from the cliff and the efforts of entire generations would be lost”.

Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru are expected to recognize the state of Palestine with its borders prior to 1967, following the recent announcements from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and last week Bolivia, according to Palestine sources.

German tax authorities recovered 1.6 billion Euros this year from citizens who had stashed their cash in secret accounts in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, according to the weekly Der Spiegel.

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe considered allowing the U.S. military access to Colombian bases as a way to deter possible Venezuelan attacks, a leaked cable from then-Ambassador to Bogotá William Brownfield says.

Conflicting assessments of Argentina’s military capacity, defence policies and future planning were given by the brand-new Defence minister, Arturo Puricelli and a former minister from the opposition.