Hemisphere Highlights, Volume VIII, Issue 5 - May 2009

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative comes into effect for travelers entering the United States from Canada. Police raids in Mexico successfully arrest 30 suspected members of the La Familia drug cartel. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is appointed as a special envoy to Haiti by the United Nations. A videotape of a man predicting his death at the hands of the president of Guatemala sparks a series of protests against government corruption. The president-elect of El Salvador makes moves to strengthen his country’s ties with Venezuela. A new center-right candidate is elected as president in Panama. The minister of defense of Colombia resigns his post in order to be eligible to run in next year’s presidential election. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela continues to crack down on criticism from news media by raiding the offices of opposition television station Globovision.