Wednesday, January 20, 2016

“El Chapo” and “el rifle”

We learned today about a rifle in El Chapo’s collection.   According to a news report, El Chapo and Fast & Furious may have met years ago:
“A .50-caliber rifle found at Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s hideout in Mexico was funneled through the gun-smuggling investigation known as Fast and Furious, sources confirmed Tuesday to Fox News.
A .50-caliber is a massive rifle that can stop a car or, as it was intended, take down a helicopter.
After the raid on Jan. 8 in the city of Los Mochis that killed five of his men and wounded one Mexican marine, officials found a number of weapons inside the house where Guzman was staying, including the rifle, officials said.”
How many more of these sophisticated high powered weapons ended up with cartel leaders or their guards?   We don’t know but the finding of this rifle raises more questions about a very flawed program and an administration that does not believe in accountability.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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The Cuban Army (Castro, Inc.) and foreign investment

We’ve told you before that no one really invests in Cuba or does business with the Cuban people.  
In other words, no foreign investor is going down to Cuba and forming a joint venture with a private Cuban company to start a hotel or auto parts shop. This is what you do in Mexico or most other Latin American countries. 
It is a little different in Cuba, as Sabrina Martin reminds us:
Foresight Cuba representative Jorge Calaforra tells the PanAm Post that the report is a summary of information available in several books about the Cuban army, as well as a document on the Cuban economy released by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade.
Calaforra says that the army runs every aspect of daily life in Cuba, and that ordinary citizens do not receive any benefits from these military-run businesses.
In order to establish a firm, a Cuban citizen would need a permit from the same government entity that has already granted privileges to MINFAR corporations in vast areas, such as tourism, remittances, and transportation, Calaforra explains.
“In Cuba, the production of goods and services does not benefit the common citizen, because he can only work for those companies through an employment agency that pays salaries in Cuban pesos, at a lower exchange rate,” he says.
Calaforra adds that ever since Fidel Castro took power, the Cuban state has focused on eliminating private enterprise and economic independence on the island. “If the Cuban government allowed citizens to advance economically, then they would lose political control. That’s why they keep the monopolies,” he says.
And this is why so many of us opposed opening Cuba without some concessions from the Castro regime.
So far, President Obama’s opening has done, or will do little, to bring prosperity to Cuba. This is because all of the new foreign investment is going to state enterprises under the Castro Inc. holding company.    
In simple language, President Obama’s “change” has strengthened the Castro dictatorship with capital infusions and the legitimacy of a U.S. Embassy.
This is what we got from 18 months of negotiations with a dictator on his knees about to lose the oil subsidy from Venezuela and not able attract credit from other countries.   
“Obama to the rescue of the Castros” is the title of this movie!
Tags: Castro Inc and doing business in Cuba  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
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January 20 and the last year of President Obama begins



January 20th is a historic date.   We inaugurate presidents on that day, such as Reagan in 1981, Bush in 1989, Clinton in 1993, Bush in 2001 and Obama in 2009.

 it wasn't always January 20th.    It used to be March 20th until it was changed by the 20th Amendment.   FDR was the first president inaugurated on January 20.   it happened in 1937.

 President Obama's last year could be interesting.    It could go in a couple of directions.

 For example, the problems in the Middle East and world economy could make his last year as awful as 1980 was for President Carter.    On the other hand, some good things could happen and his approval ratings could go up a bit, such as what happened with President Reagan in 1988.

 Start the countdown because BO's last year is counting down!

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We look at the latest from Mexico with Allan Wall




Tags: Mexico 2016, El Chapo, Sean Penn and El Chapo, President Pena-Nieto To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
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