In the News

Regional
Hispanic residents of Prince William County may be packing up and leaving in response to the crackdown on undocumented immigrants, residents told the Associated Press. Pedro Vargas' store, Club Video Mexico, is closing. Vargas said the only sales he has made of late are one-way bus tickets to Texas and Mexico. Salvador Caballero, Pastor of Trono de Jehova Pentecostal Church, reported that attendance at his Spanish services has dropped from 200 people to 130. Classes in English as a second language at the public schools are also smaller. Business has dropped by about 50 percent at Ricos Tacos Moya, according to owner Salvador Moya.

National
President Bush challenged the Cuban government to make good on its promises for reform in a speech on May 20 marking "Cuba Solidarity Day". The date commemorates the end of American military occupation of the island in 1902, although the Cuban Government refuses to call the anniversary Independence Day because the United States maintained the right to intervene on the island. Bush will now allow U.S. residents to send cell phones to family members in Cuba, National Public Radio reported. "If Raul is serious about reform, he will allow the cell phones to reach Cuba," Bush said. The Cuban American National Foundation called for the Bush administration to go a step further by allowing Americans to send money to family members in Cuba. The Miami-based organization is historically Republican, but change may be on the way. The Foundation hosted Barack Obama on May 23.

Speaking in Miami, Barack Obama affirmed his willingness to meet with Raul Castro if elected president of the United States and berated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, according to McClatchy News Service. "In reality, I came here because I believe he is the only candidate who has spoken sincerely about the intentions that he has toward Cuba," said Alina Castro, Fidel's daughter in exile.

An analysis of Barack Obama's "New Partnership with the Americas" policy on which he spoke in Miami, found less "change" on trade policy, assuaging drug-related violence in Mexico, and containing Colombian rebels than had been "hoped," according to Roberto Lavarto, Contributing Associate Editor with New American Media in "the Black Agenda Report."

International
Two provinces in northeast Bolivia approved autonomy statutes in a referendum last week, CNN reported. Residents of Bolivia's eastern states oppose the leftist policies of President Evo Morales on land reform and energy nationalization. The Bolivian government said the votes were both illegal and unconstitutional.

A poll by the Mexico City newspaper Reforma found that a majority of Mexicans believe their government is losing a battle against drug gangs amidst escalating violence, the Associated Press reported. President Felipe Calderon said although violence has increased in the northern cities of Culiacan and Ciudad Juarez, security has improved in the southern states.

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