Raul Castro confirmed he was handing over the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party to a younger generation at its congress that kicked off on Friday, ending six decades of rule by himself and older brother Fidel.In a speech opening the four-day event, Castro, 89, said the new leadership would be party loyalists with decades of experience working their way up the ranks and were “full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit.”Castro had said at the previous party congress in 2016 it would be the last one led by the “historic generation” who fought in the Sierra Maestra to topple a U.S.-backed dictator in the 1959 leftist revolution.He already handed over the presidency in 2018 to protege Miguel Diaz-Canel, 60, who ran the party in two provinces before joining the national government.The new generation of leaders, which did not forge itself through rebellion, has no easy task. The transition comes as Cuba faces the worst economic crisis since the collapse of former benefactor the Soviet Union, while there are signs of growing frustration, especially among younger Cubans.”I believe fervently in the strength and exemplary nature and comprehension of my compatriots, and as long as I live, I will be ready with my foot in the stirrups to defend the fatherland, the revolution and socialism,” Castro told hundreds of party delegates gathered at a convention center in Havana.The congress, the party’s most important meeting, held every five years to review policy and fix leadership, is a closed-door event but excerpts are being broadcast on state television.Castro himself became acting president when Fidel fell ill in 2006 and later in 2011 party leader, launching a raft of social and economic reforms to open up one of the world’s last Communist-run countries that later stalled.On Friday, he hailed Diaz-Canel as one of the new generation of leaders that was picking up where he left off.Castro’s olive-green military fatigues contrasted with the civil get-up of his protege, who is widely expected to succeed him as party first secretary, the most powerful position in Cuba’s one-party system.Older Cubans said they would miss having a Castro at the helm, although most acknowledged it was time to pass on the baton.”It’s another stage,” said Maria del Carmen Jimenez, a 72-year-old retired nurse, “but without a double we will miss him.”Castro denounced renewed U.S. hostility under former President Donald Trump. Incumbent President Joe Biden has vowed to roll back some of Trump’s sanctions, although the White House said on Friday a shift in Cuba policy was not among his top foreign policy priorities.Castro said Cuba was ready for a “new type of relationship with the United States without … Cuba having to renounce the principles of the revolution and socialism.”Pressure to reformCuba’s new leaders face pressure to speed up reform, particularly economic change, which is foremost on citizens’ minds, especially younger Cubans who have known only crisis, analysts say.A tightening of the decades-old U.S. trade embargo and the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated a liquidity crisis in Cuba’s ailing centrally planned economy. Shortages of even basic goods mean Cubans spend hours lining up to buy groceries.And Havana has dollarized parts of the economy, leaving those who do not receive remittances from family abroad or did not earn hard currency from tourism struggling to get by. That has eaten away at equality, a pillar of the party’s legitimacy.Since the expansion of internet access in recent years, Cubans are increasingly using social media as a platform to express criticism, while online non-state media are challenging the state monopoly of mass media.Tight control of public spaces by the authorities means protests are still relatively rare and small-scale, but they are on the increase nationwide on issues as varied as excessive red tape to curbs on civil liberties.Castro said on Friday it was important to pursue reform with greater “dynamism,” denouncing — as he has in the past — “inertia, conformism, the lack of initiative” in state companies. The government has resumed a set of economic reforms the party agreed on at its 2011 congress in recent months, in particular eradicating Cuba’s dual currency, multiple exchange rate system in January.Yet Castro said reforms fomenting the non-state sector should not go beyond certain limits that would lead to the “very destruction of socialism and the end of national sovereignty.”Party militants like Rogelio Machado, a mathematics teacher, say they were confident the new generation was up to walking that tightrope.”Our country need changes and the new generation is more scientifically prepared to continue the path of socialism,” he said.But government critics like “artivist” Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, whom Havana accuses of being part of a U.S.-backed soft coup attempt, say the death knell is sounding for the revolution.”Raul is passing over the power to someone with little charisma and who does not have much popular support,” he said while staging his latest performance against the government, in which he sits in a garrote for the four days of the congress. “This takes us one step closer to democracy.”
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U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison for the position of assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs.Sison, a career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, has served in Haiti since 2018. She is a respected diplomat in Port-au-Prince, where she has been outspoken about democratic governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights.”We are very concerned about any action that risks undermining democratic institutions in Haiti,” Sison told VOA during an exclusive interview in February.Before arriving in Port-au-Prince, she served as U.S. deputy representative to the United Nations with the rank of ambassador from 2014 to 2018.She is experienced in global coalition building, transnational threats, peacekeeping, international development and humanitarian relief.Among Sison’s prior posts are U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates; assistant chief of mission in Iraq; and deputy chief of mission in Pakistan.At the State Department, she held the position of principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs.Sison has been recognized with multiple awards, notably the Distinguished Service Award and the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award.The U.S. Senate must confirm her nomination before it becomes effective. 
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The United Nations on Thursday released $1 million from its emergency fund to provide aid to the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines following a series of devastating volcanic eruptions, the body’s spokesman said.The funds will provide for “urgent humanitarian assistance to impacted people, especially those who have been evacuated,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.U.N. agencies will be able to distribute drinking water and hygiene kits, as well as money for the most vulnerable to buy food, he said.About 20,000 people were evacuated from the vicinity of the La Soufriere volcano on St. Vincent, which began erupting last Friday for the first time since 1979.About 4,500 people are in shelters, and the country’s airspace is closed.”Most homes in St. Vincent are without water, and most of the country’s 110,000 people have been impacted by ash fall,” Dujarric said.Eruptions have continued to occur daily, with ash clouds covering the country and reaching surrounding islands.The U.N. said Wednesday that depending on winds, the volcanic eruptions could have an environmental and economic impact on Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the smallest state to ever sit on the U.N. Security Council, where its two-year term as a nonpermanent member ends in December.
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A member of the Canadian Parliament has apologized after appearing naked Wednesday during a virtual legislative session via Zoom.Calling it “an unfortunate error,” District Representative William Amos of Pontiac, Quebec, explained in an email and on Twitter that he was changing in his office after a jog and did not realize his camera was on.William Amos, Canadian lawmaker. (Mélanie Provencher, House of Commons Photo Services)Amos was nude during a question-and-answer session that included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fellow lawmakers and legislative staffers. The pandemic has required many Canadian lawmakers to participate in sessions via videoconference instead of in person.As Trudeau concluded an answer from the Parliament chamber floor, Quebec lawmaker Claude DeBellefeuille called attention to Amos, whose image could be seen on the Zoom feed.“We have seen that the member is in very good shape, but I think that this member should be reminded of what is appropriate and to control his camera,” she said, drawing laughter from other members of Parliament.A screenshot obtained by the Canadian Press, a national news agency, that eventually went viral shows Amos standing behind a desk between the Quebec and Canadian flags, his private parts hidden by what appears to be a mobile phone in one hand.Amos said in his apology that he was embarrassed by the incident.“It was an honest mistake, and it won’t happen again,” he said.
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Members of Haiti’s diaspora expressed concerns Tuesday about the country’s ongoing insecurity, the economic crisis and the lack of information about the new draft constitution, during a virtual event hosted by the Haitian Embassy in Washington.The two-hour event, streamed live on Facebook, got off to a late start and struggled with technical issues. But it offered the diaspora an opportunity to ask Haiti’s top election officials questions about the draft constitution, which includes new privileges and representation for Haitians living abroad.A small group of people at the embassy, who were socially distanced and wearing face masks due to COVID-19 restrictions, asked questions. Others submitted questions on social media.President Jovenel Moise said a new constitution is needed to fix problems in the current charter, which was adopted in 1987. Critics say Moise’s effort is just an attempt to consolidate power. Among the proposed changes of interest to Haitians living abroad are the ability for the diaspora to run for office and the designation of a set group of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies to represent them in Parliament.The 2018 U.S. census estimates there are more than 1 million Haitian Americans living in the United States. The largest group resides in South Florida.The top concern raised by town hall participants was insecurity.”Everyone’s scared,” said a woman who identified herself as a former singer and activist who has been living in the U.S. since the 1980s.The Haitian minister-delegate in charge of elections, Mathias Pierre, blamed bad actors.”The government understands we have a security issue, but we want to tell people that the issue is not a coincidence — whenever there are elections, there are security issues,” the minister said. “This has happened in the past. We have had kidnappings around elections. I was talking to a politician who told me as soon as Jovenel (Moise) is gone, the insecurity will end. Does he know something we don’t know?”Pierre acknowledged that kidnappings are a major concern and told the audience the government has taken measures to address it. He cited a state of emergency in neighborhoods where the kidnappers reside and hold captives, and the establishment of specialized cells within the national police force tasked with addressing abductions.FILE – Demonstrators march near a burning road block during a protest against the government of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 28, 2021.Others worried about the ongoing economic crisis. Many Haitians living in the United States would like to buy and build homes, invest and open businesses in Haiti but are hesitant to do so.”The economic crisis is a consequence of the political instability,” Pierre said. “When you have a society where democracy cannot function properly, it causes economic crises. That’s why we need to have elections to elect officials who can help the country move forward.”A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked why the electoral process had not been more inclusive.”I have some issues with why there is no effort made to have more people participate in the process” he said.”The participation of the diaspora is not easy,” Guylande Mesadieu, president of the Provisional Electoral Council, said. ” If it were easy, we would have done it already. We are committed to working toward 5% of the diaspora being represented in the government. The government is very interested in having the diaspora participate in the process. That’s why we traveled here today to talk to you about the constitution.”Only 7% of eligible Haitian voters participated in the 2015 presidential election that brought Moise to power, according to Pierre. He said diaspora participation could make a difference.”If the diaspora decides to seriously participate in the process, we can up our participation rate to 36%. And then, you’ll see what your participation means to the process,” he told the audience.The last question pertained to making it easy for people who live far from the embassies and consulates to vote.”If that hasn’t been done, it’s a waste of time,” the questioner said.”The CEP (Provisional Electoral Council) has several scenarios that it has planned for,” Pierre responded. “We have created platforms. We have technology to help us determine where the voters are. We are looking at different scenarios, and I think the diaspora will be the first to know. This constitutional referendum will be a test not only for us but also for the diaspora.”Many questions went unanswered because of time constraints, but Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, vowed to hold more town halls soon.”I know your time is precious, and if you took the time to come here, it’s because you thought it was important. Thanks to those watching online,” Edmond said. “We are available to address your concerns. I would like for the diaspora to participate, and we will do everything in our power to make that happen.”
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The United Nations refugee agency is scaling up programs in Mexico to help the country tackle the growing number of asylum applications and assist asylum seekers while their claims are being processed.  
The number of people seeking asylum in Mexico has increased dramatically in recent years.  Mexico’s Commission for Refugee Assistance says that between 2014 and 2019 registered asylum claims jumped from just 2,000 to 70,000 per year — a spike of over 3,000 percent.  FILE – Migrants recently expelled from the U.S. after trying to seek asylum sit next to the international bridge in the Mexican border city of Reynosa, March 27, 2021.The United Nations refugee agency reports that asylum applications dropped significantly throughout most of last year because of COVID-19 border closures and other movement restrictions.     However, UNHCR spokeswoman Aikaterini Kitidi says numbers have risen sharply in the first quarter of this year, reaching an all-time monthly high of more than 9,000 claims in March.     “The majority of asylum applications are related to violence affecting hundreds of thousands of people in parts of Central America, including threats, forced recruitment, extortion, sexual violence and murder.  It is also an indication of the significant efforts that Mexico is making to offer protection to those fleeing for their lives,” she said.    Kitidi says the UNHCR is working to shrink the huge backlog of asylum claims.  She says the agency is helping Mexico expand its asylum procedures by boosting its registration and case processing capacity.   “We have also scaled up our own programs to assist asylum seekers with their claims and to help recognized refugees integrate into their host communities.  Among others, we launched an innovative program under which refugees are relocated and able to take advantage of job and educational opportunities in cities in central and northern Mexico,” she said.    FILE – Four-year-old Arony Maude from Honduras rests next to her uncle Edgar Omar, also from Honduras, and the rest of her family along a motorway, on their way to the United States, in El Ceibo, Tabasco, Mexico, March 26, 2021Kitidi says U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has asked the UNHCR for help in ending the Remain in Mexico Program.  This program was instituted by former President Donald Trump’s administration.  It allows U.S. border officers to return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico until their claims are heard in a U.S. immigration court.   This policy has come under intense criticism from human rights activists.  They say it exposes thousands of vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers to exploitation, kidnapping, extortion and sexual assault from criminal gangs operating in Mexico.  
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Members of Haiti’s diaspora expressed concerns Tuesday about the country’s ongoing insecurity, the economic crisis and the lack of information about the new draft constitution, during a virtual event hosted by the Haitian Embassy in Washington.The two-hour event, streamed live on Facebook, got off to a late start and struggled with technical issues. But it offered the diaspora an opportunity to ask Haiti’s top election officials questions about the draft constitution, which includes new privileges and representation for Haitians living abroad.A small group of people at the embassy, who were socially distanced and wearing face masks due to COVID-19 restrictions, asked questions. Others submitted questions on social media.President Jovenel Moise said a new constitution is needed to fix problems in the current charter, which was adopted in 1987. Critics say Moise’s effort is just an attempt to consolidate power. Among the proposed changes of interest to Haitians living abroad are the ability for the diaspora to run for office and the designation of a set group of lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies to represent them in Parliament.The 2018 U.S. census estimates there are more than 1 million Haitian Americans living in the United States. The largest group resides in South Florida.The top concern raised by town hall participants was insecurity.”Everyone’s scared,” said a woman who identified herself as a former singer and activist who has been living in the U.S. since the 1980s.The Haitian minister-delegate in charge of elections, Mathias Pierre, blamed bad actors.”The government understands we have a security issue, but we want to tell people that the issue is not a coincidence — whenever there are elections, there are security issues,” the minister said. “This has happened in the past. We have had kidnappings around elections. I was talking to a politician who told me as soon as Jovenel (Moise) is gone, the insecurity will end. Does he know something we don’t know?”Pierre acknowledged that kidnappings are a major concern and told the audience the government has taken measures to address it. He cited a state of emergency in neighborhoods where the kidnappers reside and hold captives, and the establishment of specialized cells within the national police force tasked with addressing abductions.FILE – Demonstrators march near a burning road block during a protest against the government of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 28, 2021.Others worried about the ongoing economic crisis. Many Haitians living in the United States would like to buy and build homes, invest and open businesses in Haiti but are hesitant to do so.”The economic crisis is a consequence of the political instability,” Pierre said. “When you have a society where democracy cannot function properly, it causes economic crises. That’s why we need to have elections to elect officials who can help the country move forward.”A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked why the electoral process had not been more inclusive.”I have some issues with why there is no effort made to have more people participate in the process” he said.”The participation of the diaspora is not easy,” Guylande Mesadieu, president of the Provisional Electoral Council, said. ” If it were easy, we would have done it already. We are committed to working toward 5% of the diaspora being represented in the government. The government is very interested in having the diaspora participate in the process. That’s why we traveled here today to talk to you about the constitution.”Only 7% of eligible Haitian voters participated in the 2015 presidential election that brought Moise to power, according to Pierre. He said diaspora participation could make a difference.”If the diaspora decides to seriously participate in the process, we can up our participation rate to 36%. And then, you’ll see what your participation means to the process,” he told the audience.The last question pertained to making it easy for people who live far from the embassies and consulates to vote.”If that hasn’t been done, it’s a waste of time,” the questioner said.”The CEP (Provisional Electoral Council) has several scenarios that it has planned for,” Pierre responded. “We have created platforms. We have technology to help us determine where the voters are. We are looking at different scenarios, and I think the diaspora will be the first to know. This constitutional referendum will be a test not only for us but also for the diaspora.”Many questions went unanswered because of time constraints, but Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, vowed to hold more town halls soon.”I know your time is precious, and if you took the time to come here, it’s because you thought it was important. Thanks to those watching online,” Edmond said. “We are available to address your concerns. I would like for the diaspora to participate, and we will do everything in our power to make that happen.”
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The U.S. is reiterating its call Wednesday for free and fair legislative and presidential elections in Haiti, hours after Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe resigned and President Jovenel Moise named Foreign Minister Claude Joseph as his replacement.”The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021,” tweeted Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with interim Prime Minster @claudejoseph03, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021.— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) April 14, 2021Jouthe announced his resignation in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday without explaining why he decided to step down. He had been at odds with other members of Moise’s Cabinet, who openly opposed and acted against Jouthe’s orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.”I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, (and) our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” Jouthe said on Twitter.In a tweet, Moise said, “The resignation of the government, which I have accepted, will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country.”Responding to VOA’s request for comment on the Cabinet reshuffle, a State Department spokesperson expressed the Biden administration’s commitment toward working with Haiti to promote democratic governance and the rule of law.”We encourage Haitian politicians, civil society and the business community to find common ground to work toward free and fair overdue legislative, as well as presidential, elections,” the spokesperson told VOA.The Moise government plans to hold a constitutional referendum in June, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September and November.Spike in kidnappingsThe Cabinet change follows a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.The Organization of American States expressed its concern late Tuesday about the deteriorating security situation.”The Secretary General of the OAS (Luis Almagro) is closely following the situation in Haiti and deplores the deterioration of the security situation, particularly the resurgence of kidnappings and killings, including five religious leaders over the weekend,” the OAS said in a tweet.”The right to life is a reflection of respect for human life, which is a fundamental human right. the OAS Secretary General calls on Haitian officials to take the necessary measures to protect the life and dignity of its citizens.”Communiqué du Secrétariat général de l’OEA sur la situation en matière de sécurité en Haïti? https://t.co/dkPCYCbZbdpic.twitter.com/WGCkeTrs40— OAS (@OAS_official) April 14, 2021Laurent Weil, research analyst and specialist on Latin America and the Caribbean at The Economist magazine, said the Cabinet change was not enough to improve security.”A change of prime minister or Cabinet reshuffle is unlikely to be sufficient by itself to improve the security situation ahead of the referendum,” Weil told VOA. But he thinks the resignation could signal Moise’s willingness to engage in a more inclusive dialogue.”The move may reflect President Jovenel Moise’s recognition of the deteriorating situation and indicate that he is willing to engage in talks with some of his opponents to lower the heat on the political scene,” Weil said. “But the prospects for negotiations are slim, as very few political leaders are willing to cooperate.”The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, BINUH, criticized the electoral process Tuesday, saying it was neither inclusive nor transparent enough.”The national appropriation of the constitution project requires the engagement of a larger segment of political actors, civil society, women and religious groups from across the nation,” BINUH tweeted.A ce stade, le processus n’est pas suffisamment inclusif, participatif ou transparent. L’appropriation nationale du projet de constitution exige l’engagement d’un éventail plus large des acteurs politiques, sociétaux y compris les groupes de femmes et religieux dans tout le pays.— BINUH (@BINUH_UN) April 13, 2021Weil said there are steps Moise can take to show he is committed to free and fair elections.”At this stage, if the government is really committed to free and fair votes this year, its priority will be to improve citizens’ confidence by ensuring that a significant portion of the population takes ownership of the referendum and electoral process,” he told VOA.The new prime ministerJoseph is Haiti’s 164th minister of foreign affairs and religious affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian ambassador to Argentina, and chargé d’affaires at the Haitian Embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.Under normal circumstances, Joseph’s nomination would require Parliament‘s approval. But the legislative body is not functioning because of a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers.Joseph has not responded to VOA’s request for comment on his new Cabinet position, but he did retweet Moise’s announcement of his appointment, as well as a congratulatory tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries and the region. Taiwan is Haiti’s true friend & partner in prosperity.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries & the region. #Taiwan?? is #Haiti’s?? true friend & partner in prosperity. https://t.co/sSO6C2S7l2— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) ?? (@MOFA_Taiwan) April 14, 2021
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Haiti’s President has accepted the resignation of his Prime Minister, Joseph Jouthe, who announced on Twitter early Wednesday he would be stepping down, without saying why.  
 
“I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” he tweeted.  J’ai remis ce soir ma démission au Président de la République, SEM @moisejovenel. Ça a été un honneur de servir mon pays comme Premier ministre. Je remercie les membres de mon Gouvernement, les partenaires techniques et financiers pour leur collaboration.Que Dieu bénisse Haïti!— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) April 14, 2021
President Jovenel Moise responded an hour later on Twitter that the resignation will help find a solution to the acute insecurity problem that has saddled the government for months.  Kidnappings have surged in Haiti as gangs broaden their targets for ransom. Just this month, a group of church officials were kidnapped during a live Easter Sunday broadcast. 
 
“The resignation of the government, which I have accepted will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country,” Moise tweeted.
 La démission du Gouvernement, que j’ai acceptée, permettra d’adresser le problème criant de l’insécurité et poursuivre les discussions en vue de dégager le consensus nécessaire à la stabilité politique et institutionnelle de notre pays. Le ministre Claude Joseph est nommé PM a.i— Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) April 14, 2021Foreign Minister Claude Joseph will replace Jouthe as acting prime minister, the president announced. Joseph becomes the 6th prime minister to serve the Moise government.  
 Jouthe’s role in Moise government  
 
Before being named prime minister in March 2020, Jouthe served as minister of the Environment under then-Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant in September 2018, and then as minister of the Economy and Finance in September 2019.   Jouthe had tried to resign on March 10 after a council meeting, but President Moise refused to accept his resignation. Le Nouvelliste newspaper reported at the time the decision was related to what Jouthe perceived to be a lack of “cohesion” within the government and that the prime minister was ready to step down at any moment, if it helped “enhance government cohesion.” 
 
Jouthe has been at odds with other members of the cabinet who have openly opposed and acted against his orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.  
 Who is Claude Joseph? Claude Joseph, Haiti’s acting prime ministerNewly-appointed Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph is Haiti’s 164th Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian Ambassador to Argentina, and charge d’affaires at the Haitian embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.   
 
Under normal circumstances, the Parliament would need to approve his nomination, but the legislative body is not functioning due to a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers. Those elections are now scheduled for September of this year.  The current vacuum gives the president latitude to make unilateral, uncontested cabinet appointments.  
 Uptick in crime  
 
Cabinet changes Wednesday follow a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.   
 
Jouthe addressed the kidnappings Tuesday, describing the killing of businessman Patrick Thebaud as “an earthquake” that hit the capital.  
 
“The police must increase its presence on the streets to dissuade these thugs from committing despicable crimes. We must take measures to reassure our citizens,” Jouthe said during a press conference in Port-au-Prince. He added that the cleanup operation within the national police continues.  
 
“The police is a reflection on society. Just as there are engineers, agronomists, journalists who are defrocked [corrupt]—we find at all levels of societies people who are committing crimes. That doesn’t mean the society as a whole is bad. We have a lot of good people in Haiti, too,” Jouthe noted.  
 
Acting Prime Minister Joseph has not yet commented on his new appointment.  Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince contributed to this story 
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Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters. Dozens of people stood in lines on Tuesday for water or to retrieve money sent by friends and family abroad. Among those standing in one crowd was retired police officer Paul Smart. “The volcano caught us with our pants down, and it’s very devastating,” he said. “No water, lots of dust in our home. We thank God we are alive, but we need more help at this moment.” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a press conference on local station NBC Radio that St. Vincent will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption but did not give any details. He added that no casualties have been reported since the first big blast from the volcano early Friday. “We have to try and keep that record,” he said. Gonsalves said some people have refused to leave communities closest to the volcano and urged them to evacuate. Falling ash and pyroclastic flows have destroyed crops and contaminated water reservoirs. Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewer authority, noting that some communities have not yet received water. “The windward (eastern) coast is our biggest challenge today,” he said during the press conference of efforts to deploy water trucks. “What we are providing is a finite amount. We will run out at some point.” The prime minister said people in some shelters need food and water, and he thanked neighboring nations for shipments of items including cots, respiratory masks and water bottles and tanks. In addition, the World Bank has disbursed $20 million to the government of St. Vincent as part of an interest-free catastrophe financing program.  Adam Billing, a retired police officer who lived and tended to his crops on land near the volcano, said he had more than 3 acres of plantains, tannias, yams and a variety of fruits and estimates he lost more than $9,000 worth of crops. “Everything that (means) livelihood is gone. Everything,” said Billing, who was evacuated. “We have to look at the next couple of months as it’s not going to be a quick fix from the government.”  The volcano, which had seen a low-level eruption since December, experienced the first of several major explosions on Friday morning, and volcanologists say activity could continue for weeks.Another explosion was reported Tuesday morning, sending another massive plume of ash into the air. It came on the anniversary of the 1979 eruption, the last one produced by the volcano until Friday morning. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. “It’s still a pretty dangerous volcano,” said Richard Robertson with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center. “It can still cause serious damage.” 
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Ecuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters on Sunday rebuffed a left-leaning movement that has yielded an economic boom and then a recession since it took hold of the presidency last decade. That election certainty, however, did not extend to neighboring Peru, where the presidential contest is headed to a runoff after none of the 18 candidates obtained more than 50% of the votes.The South American nations held elections under strict public health measures amid a surging coronavirus pandemic that has brought on new lockdowns and exacerbated a general sense of fatigue. Peru, which also elected a new Congress, reported its highest single-day COVID-19 death count just as voters headed to the polls.People sleep on top of empty oxygen cylinders, waiting for a shop to open to refill their tanks, in the Villa El Salvador neighborhood, as the lack of medical oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients continues in Lima, Peru, April 6, 2021.The victory of former banker Guillermo Lasso in Ecuador came after less than half of a percentage point put him ahead of another candidate and allowed him to claim a spot in Sunday’s runoff. The result ends the country’s years under the so-called Correismo, a movement labeled after former President Rafael Correa, who governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017, grew increasingly authoritarian in the latter years of his presidency and was sentenced to prison last year in a corruption scandal.Correa’s protégé, Andrés Arauz, easily advanced to the contest to replace President Lenín Moreno, who chose not to seek reelection. Moreno was also an ally of Correa but turned against him while in office. In the runoff, Lasso benefited from the discontent toward Correa and his allies, but he will face a strong Correista bloc in Congress.”For years, I have dreamed of the possibility of serving Ecuadorians so that the country progresses, so that we can all live better,” Lasso said Sunday night before a room full of supporters despite social distancing guidelines in the port city of Guayaquil. “Today, you have resolved that this be so.”Accompanied by his wife, María de Lourdes Alcívar, Lasso said that beginning inauguration day, May 24, he will dedicate himself “to the construction of a national project that continues to listen to everyone, because this project will be yours.”Despite his declared conservative positions on some issues, he promised to accept other points of view. He was expected to arrive to the capital city, Quito, on Monday.Elections officials have not officially declared a winner, but Arauz conceded the election Sunday, and at least one head of state has congratulated Lasso on the outcome.The pandemic paralyzed 70% of businesses in Ecuador last year and brought the country’s unemployment rate to almost 68%. The country had been in an economic slowdown that began in 2015, largely driven by the drop in oil prices.Similarly, in Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer, the economy spiraled downward when a lockdown of more than 100 days early in the pandemic left about 7 million people unemployed. But unlike in Ecuador, Sunday’s elections did not bring any clarity about the country’s future.Eighteen presidential hopefuls turned the election into a popularity contest. But none obtained the more than 50% of support needed to avoid a June 6 runoff.Election officials on Monday said leftist Pedro Castillo had 16.3% of support with 57.4% of votes counted. He was followed by right-wing economist Hernando de Soto, ultraconservative businessman Rafael López Aliaga, and Keiko Fujimori, the opposition leader and daughter of the polarizing former President Alberto Fujimori.The crowded presidential contest came months after the country’s political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men were president in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign in favor of the third.Simultaneously, the country has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19, with more than 1.6 million cases and more than 54,600 deaths as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Peruvian officials on Sunday said COVID-19 killed 384 people a day earlier, the highest single-day death toll of the pandemic.All former Peruvian presidents who governed since 1985 have been ensnared in corruption allegations, some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions. One died by suicide before police could arrest him.Claudia Navas, a political, social and security risk analyst with the global firm Control Risks, said Peruvians overall do not trust politicians, with corruption being a key driver of the disillusionment toward the political system. She said the new Congress will likely continue to exercise its impeachment authority to reinforce its own influence and block any initiative that threatens its own power.”Regardless of who wins, we believe that the president is somewhat unlikely to complete his or her term in office because of the populist type of stance of the Congress, and the risk of political instability is likely to persist through the administration,” Navas said.
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A volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent fired a large amount of ash and hot gas into the air early Monday, making it the biggest explosive eruption since volcanic activity began last week. 
“It’s destroying everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press.
 
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths following Monday’s eruption of  La Soufriere volcano.
 
Experts are now warning further explosions will occur in the coming days.
 
“Explosions and accompanying ash fall of similar or larger magnitude are likely to continue to occur over the next few days, impacting St. Vincent and neighboring islands,” the Seismic Research Center warned.
 
An estimated 16,000 people who live close to the volcano were evacuated under government orders on Thursday as the volcano’s first eruption occurred Friday morning.
 
Heavy ashfall and debris have damaged some buildings, and residents reported widespread power outages on Sunday.
 
An unknown number of people are still located near the volcano as they refuse to move.
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The appointment of an award-winning journalist to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was criticized this week by a U.S. lawmaker who suggested she does not have a strong enough track record of promoting liberty for Cuban citizens. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the OCB and other independent networks including Voice of America, announced Wednesday that veteran media and communications executive Sylvia Rosabal will be the director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.  Rosabal is the latest network head to be hired by Kelu Chao, a former VOA executive who took over as acting chief executive when former CEO and Trump nominee Michael Pack resigned hours after President Joe Biden took office.  Chao was a whistleblower named in a court case brought against Pack and his aides that claimed editorial interference at the news network.   Rosabal, a former senior vice president of the news division at Telemundo Network, has won numerous awards during her 30-year career at Spanish-language networks in the U.S., including an Edward R. Murrow award for journalistic excellence. She also worked on media logistics for the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee. The longtime South Florida resident was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents.  Rosabal will fill the director position at the Office for Cuba Broadcasting that has been vacant since Jeffrey Scott Shapiro resigned in late January, shortly before Chao fired the other USAGM network heads who were installed by Pack in his last weeks as CEO. Pack’s leadership drew bipartisan criticism from members of Congress, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and others who said his moves undermined the agency’s editorial independence.   FILE – Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 12, 2018.In a statement Wednesday, Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, said he did not believe Rosabal “is the right person to lead the OCB.” Menendez said the office should be led by someone “with a track record of staunchly promoting liberty for all Cuban citizens.” The USAGM’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting is headquartered in Miami, Florida, where it oversees Radio and Television Marti, martinoticias.com, and its social media platforms.   Radio and Television Marti provides unbiased news and information via satellite television and radio to people in Cuba, who have limited access to independent news.  This week a bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers wrote to the Biden administration asking it to increase the Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s budget to $30 million next year. OCB’s budget in 2020 was $12.9 million.   Cuba ranks 171st out of 180 countries, where 1 is the most free, in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Menendez, whose Cuban parents immigrated to the United States before he was born, said he respected Rosabal’s journalistic credentials but that he planned to seek information on how the new director plans to promote “the principles of a free press and of free speech in Cuba.”    “I am concerned that she is of the view of accommodation with the Cuban regime rather than of challenging its human rights violations and denial of democratic freedoms to its people,” Menendez said.  USAGM has not responded to VOA’s questions about Menendez’s criticisms. Rosabal is the final network director to be named by Chao during a 90-day window Congress included in the December COVID-19 relief bill that gave the head of USAGM power to make hiring and firing decisions.  New provisions included in the National Defense Authorization Act will now come into effect that contain more restrictions on the appointments of network heads.
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Ecuadorians elected conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso in Sunday’s runoff election to replace President Lenin Moreno and will begin his term on May 24.  Lasso, 65, garnered 52.5% of the vote versus 47.5% that went for economist Andres Arauz, who conceded.In his victory speech in Ecuador’s capital Quito, Lasso said democracy in the country had triumphed. Ecuadorians used “their right to choose and have chosen a new path that is very different from the one of the last 14 years in Ecuador,” he said.With a conciliatory tone very different from the combative one on the campaign trial, Arauz congratulated Lasso saying “this is an electoral setback, but in no way it is a political or moral defeat because our project is for life.”Arauz, 36, from the Union of Hope coalition and a protégé of former President Rafael Correa, was leading Lasso in the first round of voting in February.Lasso of the Creating Opportunities center-right political movement and third-time presidential candidate had finished second twice before, to Correa in 2013 and Moreno in 2017.As a procedural matter, Ecuador’s Electoral Council has to declare the official winner. 
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Confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths remain high in Brazil as the country’s campaign to vaccinate against the disease stumbles.
 
According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, Brazil recorded more than 70,000 new cases of the virus in the past day.
 
Its seven-day rolling average has risen to 2,820 deaths, or about one-fourth of the world’s average deaths for the same period, according to Johns Hopkins. At more than 353,000 total deaths, Brazil has the second highest toll from the pandemic, behind only the United States, which has more than 562,000.
 
Less than 3% of the South American nation’s population has been fully vaccinated. The U.S. has fully vaccinated more than 20% of its population, according to Johns Hopkins.
 
ICU wards in cities within Rio de Janeiro’s metropolitan area are reportedly nearly full, with many patients sharing space and oxygen bottles.Nurses hold balloons during a protest asking for COVID-19 vaccines, in Brasilia, Brazil, April 7, 2021.“Will we have the medicines, the oxygen, the conditions to care for this patient accordingly? Today we do. But, if cases keep growing, sometime we will fight chaos,” hospital director Altair Soares Neto told the Associated Press.
 
Brazil’s vaccination campaign has been slow because of supply issues. The country’s two biggest laboratories face supply constraints.  
 
The nation’s health ministry bet on a single vaccine, the AstraZeneca shot, and after supply problems surfaced, bought only one backup, the Chinese-manufactured CoronaVac.
 
The vaccine situation in Brazil is an example of poor planning in a country with experience with large, successful vaccination programs, said a former health official.
 
“The big problem is that Brazil did not look for alternatives when it had the chance,” said Claudio Maierovitch, former head of Brazil’s health regulator.
 
China said it is considering using vaccines developed in other countries in conjunction with vaccines developed in China to boost the efficacy of China’s vaccines.
 
A top Chinese health expert recently told a conference that public health officials must “consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high,” citing Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to The Paper, a Chinese media outlet, Agence France-Presse reported.People stand in a queue to get tested for the coronavirus, in Ahmedabad, India, April 9, 2021.India reported 10,732 new COVID-19 cases Sunday in the previous 24-hour period. It trails the U.S. and Brazil in the number of coronavirus infections at 13.3 million cases. The U.S. has 31.1 million infections, while Brazil had 13.4 million.
 
The unsanitary conditions of America’s prisons, jails and detention centers have become a breeding ground for the spread of the coronavirus. More than 2,700 inmates have died in the facilities since March 2020, while more than 525,000 of them have been infected, according to data compiled by The New York Times. “So, we’re basically just sitting back and biding our time until we get sick,” an inmate said in an email to the Times.  
 
Several nations have issued new guidelines over the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after the European Union’s medical regulator announced a link between the vaccine and blood clots.
 
AstraZeneca is at odds with a number of European countries because the company has shipped fewer doses of the vaccine than indicated to the EU in an initial agreement.
 
Britain, where the vaccine was developed jointly by the British-Swedish drug maker and scientists at the University of Oxford, said it will offer alternatives for adults younger than 30. Oxford researchers have also suspended a clinical trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine involving young children and teenagers as British drug regulators conduct a safety review of the two-shot regimen.
 
Spain and the Philippines will limit the vaccine to people older than 60, Reuters reported, while The Washington Post reported Italy has issued similar guidelines.
 
The European Medicines Agency recently said blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but continued to emphasize that its overall benefits outweigh any risks.
 
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Much of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent remained without power and covered in ash Sunday as another “explosive event” occurred at La Soufriere volcano.
 
The volcano initially erupted on Friday, its first time since 1979, spurring evacuations as well as warnings to people on neighboring islands to stay indoors to avoid ashfall.  
 
About 16,000 people have fled their communities, but there have been no reports of deaths or injuries, according to the Associated Press. People took refuge in 78 government-run shelters and four empty cruise ships stood by to evacuate residents to nearby islands, the AP said.   
 
Scientists anticipate that more eruptions are likely to occur. St. Vincent is the main island in the 32-island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  
 
The island’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) said Sunday that “another explosive event” had led to power outages across the island.Massive power outage following another explosive event at La Soufriere Volcano. Lightning, thunder and rumblings. Majority of the country out of power and covered in ash #lasoufriereeruption2021#explosion # rumblings #poweroutage #— NEMO SVG (@NEMOSVG) April 11, 2021But some residents said power was restored by the early afternoon, Reuters reported.
 
Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves estimated Sunday that as many as 20,000 people could be internally displaced for months as the volcano activity continues intermittently, according to Reuters.
 
“Most crops on the island will be lost, and untold livestock,” he said.
 
Elford Lewis, 56, evacuated Sunday morning. He witnessed La Soufriere’s last big eruption in 1979.
“This one is more serious,” Lewis told the AP.
An eruption of the 1,220-meter (4,003-foot) volcano in 1902 killed roughly 1,600 people.
 
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Ecuadorians are voting Sunday in a runoff election to choose between a right-wing and a left-wing candidate to replace President Lenin Moreno, who is not seeking reelection.Polls show the two contenders in a tight race.Economist Andres Arauz, 36, from the Union of Hope coalition and a protégé of former President Rafael Correa, was leading in the first round of vote in February with almost 33%. Former banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, a conservative politician and third-time presidential candidate who has finished second twice before, to Correa in 2013 and Moreno in 2017, garnered about 20% of the first-round ballots. Arauz has promised to give $1,000 to a million families when he takes office. He has also offered to provide benefits to the youth, such as free internet access. In the meantime, Lasso has tried to portray a moderate image by promising to fight discrimination based on sexual orientation and increase protection of animal rights. Both candidates have called on backers to denounce irregularities as the election proceeds. The Ecuadorian elections council is expected to report the results Sunday night and the new president will begin his term May 24. 
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The small eastern Caribbean island of Saint Vincent was blanketed with a thin layer of ash and a “strong sulfur” smell hung in the air on Saturday, a day after a volcano spectacularly erupted after decades of inactivity.The eruption of La Soufriere on Friday pumped dark clouds of ash some 10 kilometers into the air, prompting an evacuation of some nearby residents.Rumbling noises continued to emanate from the volcano, with ash coating rooftops, cars and roads in Kingstown, the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Videos from Saint Vincent showed a ghost-like landscape.A Reuters witness in the town of Rabaka, about 3 kilometers from the volcano, said the ground was covered with about 30 centimeters of ash and rock fragments from the blast. Ash clouds blotted out the sun, giving the sky a bleak twilight look.Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said it was unclear how much more ash the volcano would vent out, adding that more than 3,200 people were now in shelters.“All I’m asking of everybody is to be calm,” Gonsalves told reporters on a visit to a shelter.Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where just over 100,000 people live, has not experienced volcanic activity since 1979, when an eruption caused approximately $100 million in damages. La Soufriere’s eruption in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people.In a statement issued at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), Saint Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organization said “steaming/smoking” from the volcano had increased in the last few hours, warning those that live close to the site to be prepared to “evacuate at short notice.”Earlier, the agency said on its Facebook page that “strong sulfur scents pervade the air” and urged residents to be careful.Authorities say they are awaiting scientific findings before announcing what further steps to take.
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On the banks of the Amazon River, in a village without electricity or drinking water, Andrea Rodrigo makes the yuca flour that her family sells in markets along Peru’s remote borders with Brazil and Colombia.The 21-year-old Peruvian woman and seven of her neighbors recently paddled for half an hour down the vast river to two Indigenous communities where they put up posters for their political party, the Agricultural People’s Front of Peru.Known as Frepap, it is the political arm of a messianic religious group called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact, which merges Old Testament Christianity with Andean culture. Adherents believe their leader, Jonás Ataucusi Molina, is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Amazon is the promised land or the “land without evil,” leading the faithful to populate remote forests bordering Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.Amid widespread disgust with traditional politicians and an extremely fragmented electorate, Frepap has emerged as a potential favorite in legislative elections Sunday, when Peruvians will also cast ballots for president. Observers say its surprising growth as a political force has to do with the roots it has put down and the proselytizing it has done in remote communities and poor neighborhoods, as well as weariness with seemingly endless corruption scandals among the establishment parties.All of Peru’s former presidents since 1985 have been accused of corruption, with some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions and one taking his own life before police could capture him. Despite being prosecuted, one is currently running for president and another is seeking a seat in parliament. In the last 12 years, 57 former governors and 2,002 ex-mayors have been prosecuted or are fugitives. An official audit in 2019 found that corruption was consuming $17 million a day in Peru, enough to feed the country’s poor.Members of the Israelites of the New Universal Pact religious group arrive at a weekend market along the banks of the Amazon River, in Alto Monte de Israel, Peru, March 28, 2021.”I would like to see more members of Congress from Frepap, teaching people not to steal,” Rodrigo said as she adjusted her hair covering. Hanging on the wall of her hut was a painting of a blue fish, the symbol of the party created in 1989 by the late shoemaker Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal, founder of the religious movement and father of its current leader.In a January 2020 special election called after President Martin Vizcarra dissolved congress, Frepap stunned prognosticators by winning 15 of 130 seats to become the third largest bloc in the country’s fragmented legislature.In the year since, Frepap has maintained its image as “separated from the scandals … and without attitudes that reflect religious fanaticism or radical conservatism,” said anthropologist Carlos Ráez, who has studied the party.Polls suggest no single party may win even 10% of the legislative vote Sunday, and analysts say Frepap’s clean image and backing in distant or impoverished communities far away from media and pollsters could produce another electoral surprise. Almost one third of voters are undecided.Frepap candidates appeal to voters with promises to fight for agricultural development, oppose corruption and defend the rights of the poor. They are staunch religious conservatives, opposing abortion and same-sex marriage.On a recent day, Milca Copa, a teacher in a town near Rodrigo’s village, was one of three Frepap candidates who crossed the Amazon with a message for voters: She was one of them.”I have walked in the mud, I have lived without water, without electricity, without internet,” Copa told supporters.”Frepap does not come one day and leave,” she added, to applause and chants. “We live here.”For more than 30 years, Israelite communities have popped up in the Amazon as the faithful migrated there from the Andes or desert areas along the Pacific, obeying their founder’s call to populate the rainforest. Many of the faithful live in Mariscal Ramon Castilla province, a forested area larger than Belgium and divided by the Amazon River near Colombia and Brazil.The first people to join the Israelites of the New Universal Pact were poor Andean migrants, sometimes sick or orphaned, who had no contacts in the cities, experts say.”They were drawn to the movement because it offered them a way to survive in communities, in agriculture,” said Juan Ossio, a professor of anthropology at Peru’s Pontifical Catholic University who has written a book about the Israelites.Zairi Olivia, a member of the Israelites of the New Universal Pact religious group, lights a fire to cook dinner inside her house in Jose Carlos Mariategui, Peru, March 31, 2021.Frepap’s political opponents say its members are united but also impenetrable, and express concerns about the messianic group’s rise on the political stage.”They are very hard-working, very united, but very closed,” said Julio Tuesta, the Popular Action party mayor of San Jose de Cochiquinas, a village on the banks of the Amazon. “What makes me doubtful is that they mix religion and politics. What will it be like when they have more power?”But Pablo Rodrigo, Andrea’s father, said the group’s political gains have won their people respect.In the hamlet of Jose Carlos Mariategui, he and his neighbors grow rice, lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, papayas and yucas. Several months ago he bought an electrical generator and a computer to draft community agreements.”God says if you work, you will be flooded with bread,” Pablo Rodrigo said. “But if you are idle, you will be poor.”It’s a humble but honorable life, he added: “We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we live in peace.”
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Plus Ultra was until recently a little-known airline with only four planes that shuttled passengers from a handful of Latin American countries to Spain.Now its name appears on an almost daily basis in the Spanish media after opposition political parties accused Spain’s leftist coalition government of giving it preferential treatment by granting it a $63 million bailout because it has links to Venezuela, whose government is considered by political sides in Spain as in need of change because of the failing economy and claims of human rights abuses.Plus Ultra, which connects Spain with Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, was granted the cash in March by the Spanish government. The money comes from a $11.9 billion rescue fund created to help strategically important firms that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.Spain’s centrist and conservative parties accused the Spanish government of favoring the small airline because Venezuelan businessmen own 47% of it.Unidas Podemos, the junior partner in the coalition, has links to the government in Caracas, Venezuela, because its leader, Pablo Iglesias, was an adviser to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.The center-right People’s Party (PP) has demanded a parliamentary inquiry.“To get public money, companies must be affected by the pandemic and be strategically important to the Spanish economy, but this airline is 47% owned by Venezuelans and represents only 0.1% of the market,” Valentina Martinez, foreign affairs spokesperson for the PP, told VOA.“That is why we are asking for an investigation into this matter. We think it is more about the links between this government and Venezuela,” she said.Opposition parties dispute whether Plus Ultra is a strategic company, saying the airline does not figure among the top 30 Spanish airlines and has a market share of 0.1%.Critics have compared Plus Ultra with Air Europa, Spain’s second-largest airline.In 2019, Air Europa carried 19 million passengers on 165,000 flights, while in the same year, Plus Ultra made 800 flights and transported 156,000 people, according to figures from the state-run airport operator Aena.In November, Spain’s government offered $565 million to Air Europa, which had been badly hit by the pandemic.Spain’s centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens) party has urged the European Commission to open an inquiry, claiming that this misuse of public funds will not reflect well on Spain, which expects to receive $166.5 billion in the European Union rescue funds.“This is the moment when we need to be solvent and serious, with our financial affairs, but our government has spent $63 million on an airline which flies to four destinations, has had losses almost since it started and has a market share of 0.1%,” Ines Arrimadas, Ciudadanos party leader, said in a speech in parliament.The far-right Vox party, which is the third largest in the Spanish parliament, has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, claiming this amounted to misuse of public funds, which the government denies.El Mundo, a conservative newspaper that has carried a series of stories about Plus Ultra, reported Friday that between 2014 and 2016, the airline negotiated its sale for $3.4 million — about 21 times less than the $74.9 million in state aid it was granted.Spain’s government defended the award of the public money to rescue Plus Ultra.“It’s not only market share that makes a company strategic but belonging to a sector that is strategic within the Spanish economy, such as tourism,” Spanish government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero told RNE public radio on Wednesday.Montero insisted the rescue plan had been correctly carried out.Spain’s Treasury Minister said in a statement that Plus Ultra offered a service that complemented larger companies and the airline’s passengers were mostly Latin Americans traveling to visit their family.By paying financial aid to Plus Ultra, it would promote Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport as an international hub, the statement added.Plus Ultra declined to comment when approached by VOA.The Venezuelan government has dismissed the affair.“All of this is politics. When I read about the affairs of the Spanish, I laugh a lot. When we kill a cockroach here, it is on Spain’s front pages the following day,” Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan foreign minister, told Agence France-Presse, the French news agency.
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Cots, tents, and respirator masks poured into the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as officials expected to start distributing them on Saturday, a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders.Nations ranging from Antigua to Guyana offered help by either shipping emergency supplies to their neighbor or agreeing to temporarily open their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks.The volcano, which last erupted in 1979, kept rumbling as experts warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days or possibly weeks. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.“The first bang is not necessarily the biggest bang this volcano will give,” Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, said during a press conference.Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves asked people to remain calm, have patience and keep protecting themselves from the coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were reported after the eruption in the northern tip of St. Vincent, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and is home to more than 100,000 people.“Agriculture will be badly affected, and we may have some loss of animals, and we will have to do repairs to houses, but if we have life, and we have strength, we will build it back better, stronger, together,” he said in an interview with NBC Radio, a local station.Gonsalves has said that depending on the damage caused by the explosion, it could take up to four months for life to return to normal. As of Friday, 2,000 people were staying in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take other evacuees to nearby islands. Those staying in shelters were tested for COVID-19, and anyone testing positive would be taken to an isolation center.The first explosion occurred Friday morning, a day after the government ordered mandatory evacuations based on warnings from scientists who noted a type of seismic activity before dawn on Thursday that meant magma was on the move close to the surface. The explosion shot an ash column more than 7 kilometers into the sky, with lightning crackling through the towering cloud of smoke late Friday.The volcanic activity forced the cancelation of several flights while falling ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 1,220-meter volcano continued to rumble. The majority of ash was expected to head northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.La Soufriere previously had an effusive eruption in December, prompting experts from around the region to fly in and analyze the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake, among other things.The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, including two underwater near the island of Grenada. One of those, Kick ‘Em Jenny, has been active in recent years. But the most active volcano of all is Soufriere Hills in Montserrat. It has erupted continuously since 1995, razing the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997.  
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White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson is leaving her job at the end of April, the White House said on Friday, a surprise move that solidified Vice President Kamala Harris’ control over U.S. diplomatic efforts in Central America.While the White House insisted Jacobson’s departure was planned, the announcement still was unexpected as she had been engaged in media interviews in the hours leading up to her announcement and had shown no sign of planning to step down.”Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the administration’s first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinator at the end of this month,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.The statement made no mention of a replacement for the role, saying only that Harris had been asked by President Joe Biden to lead the administration’s work with Mexico and the “Northern Triangle” countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.Biden named Harris on March 24 to lead U.S. efforts with the region to try to stem the flow of migration to the United States. The White House has stressed that Harris’ top chore is the diplomatic angle, not border security itself, a job led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.Diplomatic efforts remain a challenge as the Biden administration tries to focus on the root causes of migration. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki confirmed on Friday that El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele refused to meet visiting U.S. envoy Ricardo Zuniga this week but said he had constructive meetings with other officials in his trip to the region.Jacobson told The New York Times on Friday that she supported the decision for Harris to engage in diplomatic talks with the region.”Nobody could be more delighted to see the vice president take on that role. It didn’t have anything to do with my decision,” she said.The New York Times said that Jacobson, in a separate interview two weeks ago, had talked expansively about her plans to travel to Central America as part of her job.She told Reuters on Friday that the United States was considering a conditional cash transfer program for the Northern Triangle, to help address economic woes.The White House has struggled to contain the flow of migrants across the U.S. southern border with Mexico, creating an early challenge for Biden. It has sent a mixed message to the region, saying that the border is closed but unaccompanied children will be provided shelter.Sullivan said Jacobson, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, had launched renewed diplomatic efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle nations and helped the Biden administration’s “commitment to reenergizing the U.S. immigration system.”
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La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate.Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in December, spewing steam and smoke and rumbling away. That picked up this week, prompting Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves to order an evacuation of the surrounding area late on Thursday.Early on Friday it finally erupted. Ash and smoke plunged the neighboring area into near total darkness, blotting out the bright morning sun, said a Reuters witness, who reported hearing the explosion from Rose Hall, a nearby village.Smaller explosions continued throughout the day, Erouscilla Joseph, director at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, told Reuters, adding that this kind of activity could go on for weeks if not months.”This is just the beginning,” she said.St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has a population of just over 100,000, has not experienced volcanic activity since 1979, when an eruption created approximately $100 million in damages. An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people. The name means “sulfur outlet” in French.The eruption column was estimated to reach 10 km (6.2 miles) high, the seismic research center said. Ash fall could affect the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada.”The ash plume may cause flight delays due to diversions,” the center said on Twitter. “On the ground, ash can cause discomfort in persons suffering with respiratory illnesses and will impact water resources.”Local media have in recent days also reported increased activity from Mount Pelee on the island of Martinique, which lies to the north of St. Vincent beyond St. Lucia.Heavy ash fall halts evacuationSome 4,500 residents near the volcano had evacuated already via ships and by road, Gonsalves said at a news conference on Friday. Heavy ash fall had halted the evacuation efforts somewhat due to poor visibility, according to St. Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO).”The place in general is in a frenzy,” said Lavern King, 28, a shelter volunteer. “People are still being evacuated from the red zone, it started yesterday evening and into last night.”Gonsalves said that depending on the extent of the damage, it could be four months before evacuees could return home.Welling up with tears, he said neighboring islands such as Dominica, Grenada and Antigua had agreed to take evacuees in and cruise lines could ferry them over — as long as they got vaccinated first.That though could prove a challenge, said opposition senator Shevern John, 42.”People are very scared of the vaccine and they opt out of coming to a shelter because eventually they would have to adhere to the protocol,” she said. Shelters are also having to limit the number of evacuees they take due to COVID-19 protocols.Vincentians would have to wait for further scientific analysis to know what steps to take next, she said.”It can go for a few days or a few weeks,” she said. “At the moment, both ends of the island are covered in ash and very dark.”
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As Iran sent three gasoline shipments to fuel-starved Venezuela in recent months in defiance of U.S. sanctions, the Biden administration apparently did nothing to stop the tankers, signaling a reticence to enforce the sanctions and a savviness by the anti-U.S. allies in evading them.Two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC)-owned vessels, the Faxon and the Fortune, delivered several hundred thousand barrels of Iranian gasoline to the Venezuelan city of Puerto La Cruz at the end of January and beginning of February. The third NITC tanker, the Forest, delivered another 270,000 barrels of gasoline to the city of Puerto Cabello on February 20.BREAKING: A shipment of around 44 million liters of gasoline has secretly arrived at El Palito, Venezuela from Iran aboard handysize tanker FOREST. This is according to our 6 week long tracking investigation. FOREST is the 3rd tanker we were expecting after FORTUNE & FAXON. #OOTT
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️? (@TankerTrackers) February 20, 2021The deliveries were confirmed by a variety of nongovernmental sources, including TankerTrackers.com, an online service that tracks global energy shipments using satellite imagery and maritime data and London-based energy markets news service Argus Media, which said it obtained shipping data and documents related to the Iranian tankers.Further confirmation came from the Reuters news agency, which cited several unnamed people with knowledge of the Iranian shipments.Iran began sending irregular gasoline shipments to Venezuela, its longtime anti-U.S. ally, last May to help Caracas manage domestic fuel shortages stemming from dilapidated refineries and government mismanagement in the major oil-producing nation. In exchange for the deliveries, Caracas has provided Tehran with gold, surplus Venezuelan jet fuel and other commodities, according to U.S. and Venezuelan officials and reports by Argus Media and Reuters citing shipping documents and knowledgeable sources, respectively.FILE – The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, left, bumps elbows with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza at the Casa Amarilla palace in Caracas, Nov. 5, 2020.The administration of former president Donald Trump, which had sanctioned both Iran and Venezuela, responded to Iran’s May and June gasoline shipments by seizing in August four tankers that U.S. officials said also were carrying Iranian gasoline to Venezuela, albeit under non-Iranian flags. But reports citing tanker-tracking services later showed that Iran managed to send three more gasoline shipments to Venezuela using NITC tankers in late September and early October, apparently without U.S. interference.The U.S. Justice Department on August 14, 2020, confirmed it had seized the fuel cargo aboard four tankers — including the Bering, pictured here in an undated photo — sent by Iran to crisis-wracked Venezuela.Asked by VOA Persian for its response to the three Iranian gasoline shipments to Venezuela in late January and early February, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on March 24, “We are aware of reports of a Venezuelan-Iranian petroleum exchange and continue to monitor the situation.”The spokesperson made no reference to any U.S. sanctions enforcement action in relation to the illicit shipments and made no direct response to a question about whether the Biden administration will follow Trump’s example by seizing future similar shipments.The State Department spokesperson also referred questions about sanctions to the Treasury Department, which did not respond to a VOA Persian email requesting comment on the issue.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 11 MB480p | 16 MB540p | 19 MB720p | 35 MB1080p | 71 MBOriginal | 251 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioIn an earlier March 8 phone briefing with reporters, a senior Biden administration official responded to a VOA question by acknowledging that Venezuelan authorities have adapted to unilateral U.S. sanctions on their energy sector by “sustain(ing) themselves through illicit flows.”The official expressed skepticism about the wisdom of maintaining those unilateral sanctions on Venezuela and said they are being reviewed to ensure that they punish President Nicolas Maduro’s government, which the U.S. considers to be illegitimate, and not the Venezuelan people. There is “no rush” to lift the sanctions while the review is under way, the official added. The Biden administration also has expressed a willingness to ease unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran as part of a diplomatic process to revive a 2015 deal in which Tehran promised world powers to curtail nuclear activities that could be weaponized in return for global sanctions relief.Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, saying it was not tough enough on Iran, and started toughening U.S. sanctions to pressure Tehran to end objectionable behaviors. Iran retaliated a year later by starting an ongoing series of violations of the agreement’s nuclear activity limits. The Biden administration has said it will keep Trump’s sanctions in place until Tehran agrees to coordinate with Washington on a joint return to compliance with the nuclear agreement.In addition to signaling a willingness to ease unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, the Biden administration has signaled a reluctance to aggressively enforce those sanctions in the case of the Iran-Venezuela fuel transfers.Bogota-based analyst James Bosworth, whose company, Hxagon, provides political risk analysis on emerging markets, recently told VOA Persian that the Biden administration has shown that it wants to avoid escalating tensions with Iran and Venezuela. He noted that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned last May that if the U.S. interferes with Iranian tankers bringing gasoline to Venezuela, U.S. tankers will have a “reciprocal problem.”FILE – Iranian oil tanker Fortune is anchored at the dock of the El Palito refinery near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, May 25, 2020.“Blocking tankers from reaching Venezuelan shores — that really escalates tensions beyond basic sanctions enforcement,” Bosworth said. “You don’t want enforcement to be this high stakes game that could lead you to military action.”Iran’s success in shipping gasoline to Venezuela also can be attributed to its decades of experience in evading U.S. sanctions, said Emanuele Ottolenghi, an Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, in a recent VOA Persian interview. Besides Iran having its tankers switch off their transponders for much of their journeys to and from Venezuela, it has developed new ways to disguise the shipments, he said.”One of the recent techniques has been to disguise vessels as ships that are not owned by the Iranian fleet and do not have the Iranian flag. Part of the reason that further seizures of Iranian tankers have not happened since August is that it has taken some time for the U.S. government to figure out these techniques,” Ottolenghi said.The FDD analyst says one factor driving Iran and Venezuela to develop the new techniques for evading U.S. sanctions is the financial gain reaped by those involved in the illicit fuel shipments.“The industry of sanctions evasion that facilitates these costly and circuitous deals makes a lot of money for the regime figures in Tehran and in Caracas who pull the strings, and it incentivizes them to continue creating ever more ingenious ways to break free of the sanctions,” Ottolenghi said.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Cristina Caicedo Smit and Rafael Salido of VOA’s Latin America Division contributed to this report. 
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