MercoPress of Montevideo reported that former Brazilian president Lula da Silva has lobbied strongly in New York, “trying to convince U.S. investors” to do business in Brazil, during a conference of the American Society and Council of Americas, which organized the event.  The day before, the U.S Federal Reserve classified Brazil as the emerging market

Sebastián Lacunza wrote in the Buenos Aires Herald that Marco Rubio and Robert Menéndez, both members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee, “anticipated a deep crisis in Argentina and criticized the local democratic standards during the heated hearing” to confirm Barack Obama’s nominee for US ambassador to Buenos Aires, Noah Mamet, who happens to

La Jornada of Mexico City wrote that pleas were to no avail.  The Mexican Edgar Tamayo was executed for the murder of a Houston police officer in 1994.  Tamayo received a lethal injection and took 17 minutes to die in the execution chamber of Huntsville Prison after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the defense’s appeals. 

Prensa Libre of Guatemala City noted that the U.S. Border Patrol made ​​420,000 arrests last year.  That’s an increase of 16% over the previous year, but still 42% below the 2008 level.  More than 98% of those arrests were made at the southwest border, especially in Texas. 

Latin American Herald Tribune of Caracas reported that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will call for Puerto Rican independence and incorporation into the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). 

Zach Dyer wrote in The Tico Times of San José that despite the legalization of recreational cannabis in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington, the U.S. federal government remains focused on anti-drug law enforcement policies across Latin America.

So observed Soledad Marambio in Qué Pasa Magazine of Santiago.  She noted that “it is not uncommon for many to believe that New York has become or is on track to be a new capital in Latin American writing, something like a Boom reincarnation of Paris.” 

El Heraldo of Tegucigalpa reported that in 2013 over 37,500 Hondurans were deported by the United States. 

El Espectador of Bogotá noted that U.S. President Barack Obama’s support for the Colombian government’s dialogue with FARC gives a new twist

So reported La Jornada of Mexico City.  Arkansas State University will start building its campus in February, with an investment of $50 million, funded by private investors.