. >> in nicaragua is home to central america's largest fresh water reservoirs. and lake nicaragua make up some eight per cent of the country's territory. for the capital managua the lake of the same name is both things in one -- the source of drinking water and a sewage basin. no surprise then that over the decades the quality of the water has deteriorated to a point of "biological collapse". but since a modern sewage treatment plant went online in 2009, there's reason for hope. this german -- nicaraguan initiative has managed to avert a water crisis. while the area still has a long way to go in terms of water management, the locals are relieved that their lake has re- gained its most vital qualities. fishing on lake managua. for many locals it's still their only source of income. this man is collecting bait for the following day. his colleagues are still out on the water and show us their catch. they're happy that the lake isn't so polluted now. a fisherman's life is hard enough. this man must catch enough fish to feed 8 family members. >> the sewage treatment

that vulnerability from an institutional point of mexico and central america impacts and jeopardizes all of the citizens of north america. >> thank you very much, everyone. >> we were just watching the news conference being held by president obama as well as mexico's president calderon and stephen harper. also those leaders taking questions. the "news nation," we'll have more on that. we're also following news at the end of this hour. new video ott of the fbi on the scene where trayvon martin was killed last month. the agents of the fbi have been there since this morning. a bureau official says they are conducting what is being called a parallel investigation into the case and focusing on whether trayvon martin's civil rights were violated when george zimmerman shot him february 26th. meantime, trayvon martin's parents are expected to file a formal request for an investigation into state attorney norm wolfinger. according to the web sources, he this indicate that wolfinger overrode the effort by the lead detective to charge zimmerman with manslaughter the night of the shooting. >> i'm

summit of the americas which greece together leaders from the caribbean and from north, south, and central americaybody here knows how critical this part of the world is to our economy and to creating jobs. a lot of the countries in the region are on the rise. in latin america alone, over the past decade, tens of millions of people have stepped out of poverty and into the middle class. they are now in a position to start buying american products. that means they've got more money to spend. we want than spending money on american-made goods that american businesses can put more americans back to work. in car exports in the western hemisphere are up by 46% since 2009 parent [applause] that is important to tampa. tampa is one of the biggest ports in the country. a lot of the business being done here has to do with trade between us and latin america. the fact that it has gone up 46% since 2009 is a big deal for tampa. florida exports to this region are up nearly 30%. we now export more to the western hemisphere than to any other region in the world. exports support nearly 4 million u.s. jobs. this is

in places like central america, guatemala, other parts in the region, it's like the days of-- it's like chicago during the days of al capone and prohibition time 50s, that is part of what is prompting some of these leaders to spec out. and you know it's also, they're building on something am so what happened over the last four and five years is that more and more voices have spoken out. you had the three former presidents of brazil and colombia and mexico, heading up for the latin manager commission and global commission calling to break the that would for considering alternative os to the war on drugs. they enlisted george sulingts, paul volcker and kofi annan, javier-- the eu defense chief, people in the business community, archbishops of colombia, guatemala, military leaders, business leaders, social justice leaders are all stepping up so what is really new is that there has been a that would for the last a taboo for the last 40 years on any discussion. the u.s. government has suppressed it, ignored it and will continue to try to derail it and distort this debate. but the fact of the

he really felt that he was this great communicator in central america.us to be militarily involved and could not persuade congress and he could not persuade the american public and he writes in his diaries about how frustrated he is on this, he doesn't understand it. congress, it's no secret, everybody says, we hear your case. no. not doing it. congress passes a law that says, we know what you want to do, you can't do it. you can't do it through the military. you can't do it through the cia, you can't do it through some agency we don't know about, you can't do it, period, that's the law. it's the law. you can't do it. we make the laws. no. and so he went and did it any way. >> through oliver north. trading arms through hostages. >> yeah. and the way that he financed it was by selling arms to the iranians, which was also illegal and something he said he would never do and never something that he would even try to defend. so that was really bad. >> should have been a bigger scandal. >> yeah. and i think because it had -- >> way worse than watergate really.

the vulnerability from an institutional point of view in mexico and central america is an issue that impacts and jeopardizes all of the citizens of north america. >> all right? thank you very much, everyone. >> you have been watching live from the white house rose guarden as the president has held a news conference there with the leaders of canada and, also, mexico. we heard some very big news a moment ago. tucked inside all of this talk about weapons trafficking and trade, the president shared some very strong words about the supreme court and the pending ruling on his health care law. you're going to want to listen closely to this. >> and i think it's important, and i think the american people understand, and i think the justices should understand that in the absence of an individual mandate, you cannot have a mechanism to insure that people with pre-existing conditions can actually get health care. so there's not only a economic element to this and a legal element to this, but there's a human element to this. and i hope that's not forgotten in this political debate. ultimately, i'

cuban connection -- the dominant connection through the legs in a community is from mexico and central americaand he e is on the ticket andould solve the problems the repepublicans have with the hispanic vote. but i've talked to people around romney whoho say there is something about rubio that makes ththem nervous, that his record needs to be thoroughly vetted. yo can be sure they are scrubbing his record like you have never seen. little gaps in his story that maybe arel ittle. -- are little, but he will get a thorough scrub. >> he would help in florida, which ain't chump change. but people vote for president not for ce president. >> when i h hear this guy speaker, i reminded of tony bir. even when u don't agree with tony blairou like heing this guy speak. >> he is. he is like tony blair kennedyesque. for example to come up with something subststantive he has come up wh a revisionon of the dream act which, in the e end doeses not give his citizenship, but t saysou don't have t to worry abouout ling the rest of your lilife. you want citizenship, you have got to get in line that the rebels. > -

and south america, before the very first slaves arrive in virginia and the virginia colony in 1619. and most of the slaves who come to the new world go to central and south america. we estimate maybe 5% of the millions of slaves who are brought from africa to the americas end up in what is now the united states. now, the cotton ginn in the 1790s as we mentioned, the cotton gin gives slavery a new lease on life. it's a new way to make money from a slavery. and the typical slave in the period from 1830 to 1860 works on a cotton plantation. although not all of them. some slaves work in industry, slaves helped build railroads in the south. they work in mining. believe it or not, they had that gold strike in georgia in 1828. some slave owners mined gold with slave labor. but most of the slav in agriculture, most of them work in crops, plantations that raise crops like sugar and tobacco and so on. mostly of them work on cotton. well, the bell has just sounded.

olson says the profitable and highly competitive drug trade has made central america the murder capitalhe world. >>> as we near the one year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden u.s. intelligence officials say his core al-qaeda network is essentially gone and the threat of an attack by the group has substantially decreased, even though its affiliates still present a threat to the u.s. officials say it's still too soon to declare victory and al qaeda has brach in yemen growing in side gaining territory. >>> controversial over new images over osama bin laden's killing. a federal judge sided with the obama administration that releasing images leads to a threat of public security. the conservative government watchdog disagrees arguing there is no provision under the law to keep the documents secret. >> we think the court's wrong and we obviously think the obama administration is wrong. frankly, if the obama administration was so concerned about osama bin laden's killing, defending the terrorist, why are they making it the centerpiece of their campaign? >> may 1st it will be one year

i just returned from columbia in the heart of central america.ates so narrowly focus our attention on what affects us directly. we think of poor people coming north for work, but there's a bigger story than the poverty at the bottom of the pyramid. the president of the americas met this weekend, and i felt the confidence and upbeat zest in the air. as i said, in the confidence of those around me. >> i know you're a democratic and a populist hero, but congratulations on just passing the united kingdom on the sixth largest country in the world. >> president obama showed respect for this. he seems to know how to show respect to our fellow democracy, including the nondemocracy, cuba, and for them to join the other countries in the hemisphere if it wants to become a democracy. there is a belief in free systems and open markets, and the ability to bring people up from the bottom. the base of the pyramid, and the desire to bring up the poor from the bottom as they expand their gross national products. i heard this from the president of brazil and also

does the cuban connection -- the dominant threat through the latino community is for mexico and central america. >> ideally, he is on the ticket and could solve this huge problem for republicans. i talk to people around romney who say that there are things about arabiya that make -- about rubio that make them nervous. little gaps in his story that could be resolved, but he will get a thorough scrub -- >> he could help them in florida, which ain't chump change. in the last analysis, people vote for president, not vice president. >> i am reminded of tony blair. even when you don't agree with tony blair, you love to hear him speak. >> he is. he has a great life story. there is a distinction between cuban-americans and weather non- cuban hispanics consider to pinspotter -- consider cubans part of the family. he has come up with a revision of the dream act which does not citizenship but says you do not have to worry about living here the rest of your life. he what citizenship, you have got to get in line like everybody else. >> this is for children. >> this is for the children of illegal immigrants.

we've announced a broaden plan for north american pandemic preparedness and a now north america, central america to fight transnational organized crime. finally, we discussed the agenda for the upcoming summit of the americas in columbia. canada looks forward to continue to working with the united states and mexico to promote democratic principles, regional stability and growth with our partners in the western hemisphere. and once again, i'll look forward to continuing our useful discussions. >> all right, i think we're going to take questions from each press delegation. so start with jo ellen. >> thank you, mr. president. after last week's arguments at the supreme court, many experts believe that there could be a ma joerty, a five member majority to strike down the individual mandate. and if that were to happen, if it were to be ruled unconstitutional, ho uh would you still guarantee health care to the uninsured and those americans who have become insured as a result of the law. and then a president for president calderon and prime minister harper, over the weekend, governor romney said the u.s

but they argue that the vast majority of weapons that are being used in mexico are coming from central america former eastern block countries in asia. it's not in their best interest for, to say that the majority of guns that are coming here because they are afraid of weapons assault bands will be reinstated and they are worried that the government is all of a sudden going to start breaking into their homes and taking their guns away so that is what they will argue until the end of the world. then you have the other side who says it's the federal government to make up the vast majority of guns in mexico are coming from the united states and that is relying very heavily on the bureau of on the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms data. there are obviously a huge issues where something around 2000 guns were purposefully allowed into mexico under that operation, so that skews the statistics a little bit. here is where the problem comes in nobody likes hearing it. the only paying -- thing that people don't like being told more than they are wrong, they don't like being told that they don't know

in central america and in the caribbean that are smaller, that have fewer resources and are startingverwhelmed. and what's happening in mexico and the the violence taking place there as a consequence of these traffickers. so it wouldn't make sense for us not to examine what works and what doesn't and to constantly try to refine and ask ourselves is there something we can do to prevent violence? >> this is president obama wrapping up the two-day summit with a joint news conference with the president of a host country. they talked about a number of issues. cuba being one of them. a labor agreement, the other. also he responded to secret service allegations, hoping that they are not true.

or in the '80s after he visited general galvin in central america. he writes to galvin that the only way to change in army is to change its doctrine. and i will do that someday. in fact, they had a small competition going between the two, and as brad eluded, this was taken general galvin was big m, and petraeus was little m anyone know what you're talking about. these letters that the exchange were very candid and i could sort trace the development of his thinking about the organization of the military, both grand strategy in u.s. foreign policy. not all of that made into the book. there's a lot that ended up on the cutting room floor, but that may be in my dissertation if i ever finish it. in any case i think we took some of the way tops included in the book. at various points you could see what he was thinking and imply sure to afghanistan and see sort out it was playing out. in the summer of june 2010, when general mcchrystal in the rolling stone article rolled out, i remember sitting on a couch watching television and watching who could potential

. >> the temporary protective status or tps is offered for people from central america and that is a disadvantage to mexican immigrants competing in a smaller market. >>> the shooting trial in the jury's hands. five men are accused in a shootings -- series of shooting that left five people dead and nine people wounded in eight days in 2010. more than 100 witnesses took the stand. the jury took the case after hearing the final struck from the judge and they will start deliberations tomorrow morning. >>> the edge on maryland. baltimore police arrested a fourth person in connection with the beating and robbery of a have virginia man for march. they got national attention after the graphic video went viral online. the 21-year-old baldwin of baltimore charged with armed robbery, theft and assault. baldwin and three others are the accused attackers in this video and the victim said he woke up with a blackand missing his watch and car keys. >> a military judge refused to throw out the case against bradley manning. he's accused of the biggest government leak in u.s. history by sending hundre

that is the reason why we have free trade agreements with all the countries of central america. that is the reason we are planning and pushing for a free trade agreement with brazil even. unfortunately, some pressures under the brazilian government are moving back. then i'm putting some restrictions to free trade, which is in benefit of no one. but the point is we need and we want more trade and more benefits. and that is the reason why mexico is pushing a lot in order to be part of the tpp, the transpacific partnership project. because there is the future at least in the short and medium term. the economy is growing in the pacific sea. the economy is growing in latin american countries and the asian countries. if we are able to match this potential with the tpp initiative and others, i am very sure that we will get all the benefits of next decade for our countries. those are my comments, and thank you for all your attention. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you for a terrific, comprehensive overview of mexico's competitiveness. let me see if i can summarize very quickly. first

that is a reason high we have free trade agreement with all the parties of central america. that is the reason why we are planning and pushing for a free trade agreement with brazil even unfortunately some pressures under the brazilian government are moving back and putting some restrictions to protect which is to the wift of no one. but the point is, we need and we want more trade and more benefits. because there is a future at least in the short and medium term. the economy is growing in the pacific sea. i am very sure that we get all the benefits of next decade for our countries. those are my comments and thank you for all your attention. thank you. [ applause ] >> first of all you want to continue to enhance trade around the world between mexico and the rest of the world 44 trade agreements. two, you've reduced public debt. three, you want to invest in education reform and the people. and fourth you want to rederegulate. that sounds like the u.s. chamber's agenda here in the united states. after your tenure as president maybe you'll be invited back to talk about how we c

illegally to begin with and that hasn't particularly, doesn't reflect a slowing of migration from central america, from south america. just because the situation in mexico is changing doesn't really change the whole picture all that much. >> situation changing, what better job opportunities? >> in mexico, yes, mexico's economy has improved, there's a lower birthrate, an assortment of factors involved in that. >> pat zapor of catholic news service, many thanks. >> thank you. >>> congressman paul ryan delivered a major speech on the budget this week, amid protests from some catholics who say he is misusing church teachings to support cutting government programs that help the poor. speaking at georgetown university on thursday, ryan said catholic social teaching did guide his thinking on these issues and that federal programs aren't necessarily the best way to help the needy. >> simply put, i do not believe that the preferential option for the poor means a preferential option for big government. >> but in a letter to ryan, 90 georgetown faculty and staff members argued his budget does not appear to

the biggest organizations not just in one particular area but throughout the united states in central america and south america. there are a lot of emotions that though not just with and forcing u.s. immigration law but having a normal life. i was blessed with having a tremendous family. my wife and children, my three sins are agents with law-enforcement. there is a lot of pride in what went on and getting together with lisa pulitzer helped me in finalizing this book. >> was it necessary to clear any of the content of the book with former agencies? >> all the information in the book is public record because all the cases i mentioned in the book prosecuted. we a rested the individuals that are named in the book. their true names by the way. it wasn't necessary to get any type of clearance for safety because it is all public information. >> host: let's see what questions are viewers have. the first is from michigan. welcome to our conversation. >> caller: thank you very much. my question is i have heard a lot of stuff that legalizing or decriminalizing illegals drugs would help with illegal imm

blacks as racially inferior, including lincoln who wanted freed blacks to be resold in africa and central america because they couldn't live as equals to whites, and he's an abolitionist. many were very kond sending. their view was blacks were too dossile to fight for freedom and leave it to us benevolent whites to care of this issue for you. brown completely rejected them. among those he saw support from was frederick douglas. he lived in douglas' home for a time. he meets with harriet tubman. he lived his believes in a quiet, astonishing way. as to the white support, the secret six, i believe one of my favorite parts of the story in an area where there's a little room for humor, they were really par local radicals. they were very wealthy businessmen mostly in the boston area who funneled brown money and guns. they fed it to him at salons in new england and brown dines with thoreau and emerson. alcott calls brown the manliest man they've ever met. they're intoxicated by this. it's like the 1960s when you had wealthy folks in manhattan hosting black panthers and other radicals. in the end these p

vulnerability from an institutional ordered you in mexico and central america is something that impactsand jeopardize as all the citizens of north america. >> thank you very much, everyone. >> the president, canadian prime minister harper, and mexican president felipe calderon wrapping up this press conference. the heads of state are in washington for a summit of leaders of north american countries. if you missed any of this press briefing, we will rear it tonight starting at 8:00 eastern on this network. canadian president -- prime minister stephen harper will also be speaking at the woodrow wilson international center this afternoon. he will be discussing the economic and political relationship, energy, the environment, and national security. that will be on c-span2 starting at 4:00 eastern. before that, live on c-span, a discussion on what is like for news correspondents to cover foreign wars and conflicts. reporters from the associated press, cbs, and new york times will take part. we will have that live starting at 3:45 eastern, here on c-span. >> america will suffer a catastrophic

he investigated central america as his primary space where he was hoping to obtain land. in 1862 lincoln actually held a meeting at the white house with five free african-americans from the district of columbia to pitch this proposal, this colonization proposal to them. he obtained $600,000 in funding from congress to subsidize and support their transport. he was in the process of negotiating contracts with the government of colombia, which on panama at the time, the government of haiti, which was interested in obtaining population, one of the two free black governments in the world at the time. the other being liberia. and later, and this is where menard comes in, the government of the united kingdom through its colonies in the west indies, british honduras or modern-day belize and the modern-day country of guyana. menard was hired shortly after this particular speech which stirred quite a bit of controversy both in the white and black communities. frederick douglas denounced it. he said that the president had made himself look utterly ridiculous in taking on the approac

of air mexico, which is now one of the most profitable airlines in the world or latin america, central america. so the past 9/11 -- since 9/11 it has been a difficult decade but without government aid, we've made enormous strides in this industry. if you look at where delta is, where united is, consolidation has really helped but we've helped ourselves. soap we have among the most competitive cost structures and most efficient operations in the world. but we have to have policy that supports the growth of the industry. and this is an important industry. it generates more jobs than manufacturing, okay. if you look at the faa data and i've got a deck here, i'll give you my e-mail address and nick's e-mail address after this, if you send me your e-mail address, i'm send you the presentation because we've done a lot of research on competitiveness around the world. if you look, only the agricultural and oil history industry have a greater contribution to gdp versus the u.s. airline industry. the economy is important. it represents 5% of our gdp, 10 million jobs. this is the airline industry. so wha

i had been in south and central america for four years doing the same basic job. same basic job. >> right. >> so i had quite a bit of experience. >> and you had some interesting experience in korea. >> yes. and as far as battle is concerned, war is concerned, i felt the sting of battle when i was very young. >> you were at pork chop hill? >> yes. >> did being on the ground then in korea, and as you said, feeling the sting of battle in that sense, help you, those days in november supporting colonel crandall? >> absolutely. i understand war a little better than i had when i first encountered it, mm-hmm. >> okay. so tell me about bruce crandall? what was he like? and him as a commander? >> he was a tremendous leader. almost to a point of a little bit dangerous. i'll give you an example. we were coming back in one evening, from a operation, and had been inserting troops, and we were empty. and we come in near this one village and we had normally received fire from that village, and he came in with the radio and says, yellow "x" to one of the other pilots, take over th

those who have served and to focus on the 90% that haven't served. [ applause ] >> south america, central america have not been centered on the defense establishment's radar scope over time. but we have it as the nexus of far coe terrorism. we have it as a continent whied populism movement changing the government. hugo chavez is rumored to be on the last years of his life. what do you see are the implications of this hemisphere in your national defense? >> that's a great question -- >> and homeland security and immigration. >> it all comes together. an answer has to touch on that. i have to be brief and not as comprehensive as i should be. i would begin by saying there's a lot of great stuff going on in latin america that we need to be grateful for at the same time we're troubled by the violence and drug wars. we've seen an incredible wave of democratization in latin america. in many ways it was the main precursor along with what happened in eastern europe to the arab revolutions or things we're seeing unfold right now. the number of latin countries that when democratic in the 80s and 90s is asto

i think what has driven this is the extraordinary violence in mexico and central america.he homicide rates have driven -- risen dramatically. it is all related to drugs and drug trafficking. this has made the issue more urgent. it is very hard for them to see how better implementation of existing policies is going to solve their problems. host: our guest is here until 10:00 talking about drug efforts related to latin-american. if you like to ask questions, here are the numbers for republicans, democrats, and independents. you can send an e-mail or send us something off of twitter. the first call is from phoenix, arizona. frank is on the democrats' line. caller: good morning, c-span. i will tell you how i feel about this. i was very successful for many years but m.l. a recovering heroin addict. it makes so much sense to legalize illegal drugs. first of all, it would relieve pressure on law enforcement tremendously. it would relieve pressure on the penal system, families, the medical community. it would probably create employment, generate more taxes. it would reduce the nee