Juanson World

US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon said that although a transition has taken place in Cuba, the regime has yet to distance itself from Fidel Castro and engagement will not take place until there is evidence of change. Dallas Morning News

Mexican president Felipe Calderon sent more than 3,300 troops and police officers to Tijuana in his continued hard-line crackdown on narcotrafficking and gangs. LA Times, AP, BBC

The murder rate in Colombia reached the lowest point in the past twenty years in 2006. BBC

Despite verbal sparring and political differences, trade between the US and Venezuela has more than doubled in the past four years, now standing at about $47 billion a year. BBC

Soaring summer temperatures in Argentina have caused a strain on the country’s power grid, as president Nestor Kirschner maintains price controls on energy that some analysts say are unsustainable. Financial Times

The arrival of luxury goods companies to Argentina reflects the growth in consumer spending as the country’s growth continues since its 2001-2002 sovereign debt collapse. Wall Street Journal

# posted by Juanson : 11:09 AM