Nicaragua confirms Al Qaeda operations in Central America
 International terror group Al Qaeda had operations recently in Central America, but does not pose an immediate threat to the region, Nicaragua's army commander Javier Carrion said Thursday.

Carrion said there is nothing to concern now although the state of alert is being maintained in the region.

Nicaraguan Police Commander Edwin Cordero said his country is investigating suspicious persons who could have ties with terrorist organizations.

"We're in alert, but this does not mean there is a mass presence of police agents in cities or key places. Our alert is about intelligence work," Cordero said.

He added that the police have no information on the existence of ties between gangs and terror groups.

Leaders of Central American countries held a meeting in El Salvador on Wednesday night over the presence of Al Qaeda members in the region. The Al Qaeda operatives could have met with members of a transnational criminal gang known as Mara Salvatrucha.

The Washington Post also reported that Al Qaeda would seek support from Central American gangs to infiltrate into the United States through Mexico.
 

Cuba to defeat US blockade: FM
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez said Thursday that his country will defeat the decades-old economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by the United States.

Cuba has lost some 80 billion US dollars owing to this "brutal policy" of the United States, Perez told reporters.

It is the longest blockade in history, which has survived 10 consecutive US administrations, he said, adding that it is the main obstacle to the Caribbean country's economic and social development.

In that sense, the blockade is tantamount to genocide, he said. Seven out of 10 Cubans have been born and lived under the blockade.

Perez noted, however, that within the United States there is growing opposition to the blockade. He said 50 delegations from the United States, including nine congressmen, two senators and two vice-governors, visited Cuba this year.

He added that the US Congress has recently amended legislation on the removal of restrictions on the trips of Cuban-Americans to the island.

At the press conference, Perez also presented a report of his country, entitled "The Need to End the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States Against Cuba," which will be delivered to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for a debate in the United Nations on October 28.

It is Cuba's 13th report calling on an end to the US blockade.

Last year, 179 UN member states supported the report, three -- the United States, Israel and the Marshall Islands -- voted against and two abstained.
 

Mercosur not happy with EU offer for FTA talks
The Common Market of the South (Mercosur) was not happy with the latest offer by the European Union (EU) leading to their deadlocked free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, local press said Thursday.

The EU offer on Wednesday was considered as a backward move, as "it fell short of what had originally been formalized with Mercosur in May," the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"A first evaluation of the EU offer reveals that it is not equivalent to what has been presented by Mercosur until now," said the statement.

Mercosur's proposal raised to over 90 percent from 88 percent the range of duty-free goods and gave the EU greater access to key sectors such as telecommunications and financial services, said the statement.

The ongoing negotiations are aimed at creating a transatlantic free-trade zone with a population of 650 million.

The EU said it offered to gradually eliminate all tariffs on industrial imports from Mercosur over a 10-year period. It also proposed tariff reduction or elimination on all farm imports, but planned to keep import quotas on a small number of sensitive products such as beef, chicken and sugar.
 

Colombian military issues ultimatum for ACC
The Colombian armed forces Wednesday issued an ultimatum for Martin Llanos, chief of the illegal United Self-Defense Forces of Casanare (ACC) and his followers, ordering them to surrender, local media reported.

The ultimatum, issued by General Carlos Alberto Ospina, commander of the Colombian armed forces, came after 30 paramilitaries voluntarily surrendered to the authorities in the municipality of Paez in central-east Colombia.

The ACC "has no reason to continue fighting, so the best thing for them is to surrender and accept the terms given by the government," said the ultimatum.

A general of the armed forces, Luis Coronado, said Llanos was still in the eastern region of the Casanare State and had received medical treatment as he was shot several times in the leg.

The ACC belongs to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which is holding peace talks with the government.

The right-wing AUC was created to attack leftist guerrillas who have been fighting the government for 40 years. But the AUC and other rightist paramilitaries quickly began a war of their own.

Colombia has been locked in a four-decade civil war, the longest in Latin America, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries fight one another. The conflicts kill more than 3,500 people each year.