VENEZUELA: Chavez Smiles And Chats With Clinton Despite Tensions.

BBC/

    President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were caught chatting and smiling in a photo-op during the inauguration of Brasil's new president despite recent tensions between the two countries.
    Last week Venezuela refused to accept Larry Palmer as U.S. ambassador to Caracas because of comments he made about the country that displeased Chavez.

FOR PREVIOUS NEWS/ LINK ON CHAVEZ COMMENTS, SEE:
http://thehypervigilantobserver.blogspot.com/2010/09/venezuela-chavez-will-refuse-us.html

MEXICO: Clinton's "Plan Colombia" Comment Causes Uproar.

GUARDIAN/ RORY CARROLL/
     US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is upsetting many in Mexico by comparing its drug-related violence to an insurgency and suggesting that US troops might intervene. "It's looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, where the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country," she said. "These drug cartels are showing more and more indices of insurgencies." Clinton said the Obama administration was considering a type of "Plan Colombia" for Mexico and central America where Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are also plagued by drug-related violence.
"Starting right now we have to say this clearly. We are not going to permit any version of a Plan Colombia," said Santiago Creel, a senator and member of Calderón's National Action party. "We cannot permit a Plan Colombia in Mexico."

CUBA: U.S. A Convenient Excuse For Failures Says Hillary Clinton.

BBC/    U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims Cuba's leaders won't normalise ties with the US because doing so would remove a convenient excuse for the nation's failures. Despite recent efforts under President Obama to improve relations, Cuba has revealed "an intransigent, entrenched regime." Clinton says the US embargo will remain until Cuba improves human rights.

MEXICO: Clinton Meets Calderon; So What! Now What?

GLOBAL POST/ OPINION / MIKE O'CONNOR/    "Despite a star-studded cast, the show of diplomacy in Mexico this week failed to address the real problem: no one knows where to begin...Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the other top U.S. officials who stopped by Mexico this week had nice things to say about President Felipe Calderon...
...But few of her words pertained to Mexico's reality. The obvious truth went unspoken, perhaps because no one knows exactly how to put it into words. The problem is simply too big, and everything Mexico has tried is failing."

LATIN AMERICA/U.S.: Opinion On Hillary Clinton's Disasterous Tour.

GUARDIAN.UK/ OPINION/ Mark Weisbrot/    "Hillary Clinton's Latin America tour is turning out to be about as successful as George W Bush's visit in 2005, when he ended up leaving Argentina a day ahead of schedule just to get the hell out of town. The main difference is that she is not being greeted with protests and riots. For that she can thank the positive media image that her boss, President Obama, has managed to maintain in the region, despite his continuation of his predecessor's policies."

Clinton: Zelaya's Return Helps Honduran Peace Process.

BLOOMBERG/
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting with mediator Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, said Zelaya’s return to Tegucigalpa and refuge in Brasil's embassy created the chance to restore “constitutional and democratic order” and move ahead with elections in November.
Zelaya’s homecoming “makes it easier for us to put some more pressure on the de facto government,” Arias said in New York, adding achieving his return was the main hurdle to implementing the so-called San Jose 11-point plan.
But some worry about violence. “What we’re about to witness is a series of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations and there’s also a great risk of violence,” said Casas-Zamora, former vice president of Costa Rica under Arias.

U.S. To Cancel $30 Million Aid Package To Honduras.

REUTERS.
After a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was rewarded with a pledge to cancel $30 million in aid to the de facto government, but did not get a formal military coup declaration.

Clinton Won't Support Insulza's OAS Re-Election.

From the Miami Herald.

Clinton Wants To "Lower Temperature" With Venezuela.

From The Latin American Herald Tribune.

Honduras Showdown Shifts To US Soil.

Honduran Coup Backlash, WSJ Interview and Backgrounder.

Honduran protesters clashed with police and the military in the country's capital.

The provisional government, installed after the coup, has been rejected by world leaders from Hugo Chavez to Barack Obama.

The acting president defends the golpe... in an interview with the Wall Street Journal."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124628267418867961.html?mod=rss_com_mostcommentart

The WSJ on backgrounds of both presidents by Jose De Cordoba:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124632227606871269.html

The NYTimes summarizes the US position about the coup...and describes Hillary Clinton's recent interaction with now deposed President Zelaya.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/world/americas/30honduras.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper