Havana
U.S. fugitive reported dead: Fugitive American millionaire Robert Vesco died of lung cancer in Cuba six months ago, his family said this week. A burial record at Havana’s Colon Cemetery shows that a man with the same name and birth date died on Nov. 23, age 71. In 1972, Vesco fled the U.S., amid allegations that he stole $224 million from a stock fund and tried to bribe the Nixon administration to avoid an investigation into his financial dealings. He renounced his U.S. citizenship and spent decades evading capture by flitting around the Caribbean in yachts and private planes. He was jailed in Cuba in 1996 for defrauding a nephew of Fidel Castro.
Guatemala City
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U.S. adoptions on hold: Guatemala has suspended more than 2,000 foreign adoptions to make sure the babies have not been stolen. Guatemala is the No. 2 source of babies for adoptive U.S. parents, after China. Allegations have recently emerged that babies are being taken from mothers who want to keep them and then sold into the lucrative foreign adoption trade. Last week, Vietnam announced it would also stop processing applications from prospective American parents, after the U.S. Embassy reported widespread abuses, including hospitals selling newborns whose mothers could not pay their bills.
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Wealthy region wants out: Bolivia’s richest state, Santa Cruz, voted overwhelmingly this week for more autonomy from the central government, which has lurched to the left since the 2006 election of President Evo Morales. The referendum directed Santa Cruz authorities to take over local tax revenue, policing, and property ownership administration. But the central government called the referendum illegal and refused to recognize the results. Five more of Bolivia’s nine state governments are planning similar referendums in the coming months. Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, has been seeking to redistribute the country’s wealth to benefit the long-neglected indigenous population.
Patagonia, Chile
Fleeing the volcano: Chile ordered the evacuation of a Patagonian town this week after a nearby volcano erupted, spewing lava down the slope at a rate of 50 miles an hour. More than 8,000 people had already fled the town before the order came. “We hope to get the few remaining residents out alive,” said President Michelle Bachelet. Ash from the eruption of the Chaiten volcano drifted 500 miles, to the Atlantic Coast of Argentina. Chile is one of the most volcanic countries on earth, with more than 100 active volcanoes. Chaiten last erupted about 9,000 years ago.
