In Haiti, illicit income extraction is a constantly constructed mode of governance, helping to explain popular outrage surrounding the recent PetroCaribe scandal.
A recent photograph circulating of a Haitian senator shooting an AP reporter is just the tip of the iceberg in Haiti, where an uprising has been simmering for months.
The weekend of February 4th and 5th saw the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA) convene their 11th summit in Caracas, Venezuela. The summit contained the standard denunciations of American imperialism and the need for deeper economic integration – but surprisingly ended with St. Lucia and Suriname expressing their desire for full membership in the organization, with Haiti also joining ranks as a permanent observer.