Havana
Kidnappers turned over: A Florida couple kidnapped their two sons and absconded to Cuba in a sailboat this week, only to be quickly apprehended and handed back to U.S. authorities. Joshua Hakken, whom authorities describe as “anti-government,” lost custody of his sons, Cole, 4, and Chase, 2, last year after a drug arrest. Last week he entered the home of their maternal grandmother, who had been awarded custody, tied her up, and took the boys. This week he and their mother, Sharyn, arrived with the boys at a Cuban dock, where Cuban state security detained them. The couple is now in jail in Florida facing kidnapping and other charges. “We would like to express our appreciation to the Cuban authorities for their extensive cooperation to resolve this dangerous situation quickly,” a State Department spokeswoman said.
Boyacá, Colombia
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Emeralds up for grabs: The death of Colombia’s “emerald czar” has the country braced for a renewed fight for control of the lucrative industry surrounding the green jewels. Víctor Carranza, who died of lung cancer this week at 77, discovered his first emerald mine as a child, and eventually built a private militia to take over the industry, often using extreme violence. Later he was charged with supporting right-wing paramilitaries who killed tens of thousands of people, but after he served three years in prison the charges were dropped, thanks to his political connections. Colombia produces more than half the world’s emeralds.
Montevideo, Uruguay
Pardon me? Argentina has lodged an official protest after the Uruguayan president was caught on tape insulting both President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her late husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, who had a lazy eye. Before a press conference in Sarandí Grande, Uruguay, President José Mujica was complaining to the local governor about Argentina’s protectionist trade policies and didn’t realize the mike was turned on. “The old hag is even worse than the one-eyed man,” he said. “The one-eyed guy had more political sense. This one is just stubborn as a mule.” El Observador put the audio clip up on its website, which promptly crashed as millions of Latin Americans played it over and over. Mujica denied he was talking about the couple.
