Journalism and Occasional Writing
I covered Latin America and the Caribbean (Haiti and Cuba, mainly) for many years, with a side trip to the Persian Gulf War. These days, I’m a state-certified Court Interpreter in New Mexico, and an ATA-certified translator, Spanish to English.
Looking Out for Their Own Skin Magazine August 30, 1993 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 43 | Section: INTERNATIONAL HAITI: DON’T CRY FOR THE ‘REPUGNANT’ RICH PETER KATEL If you’re young, rich, light-skinned and Haitian, Wahoo Bay is the place to be. It’s easy to forget that this charming resort lies on the…
The Legacy of Dead Tomatoes Magazine August 9, 1993 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 48 | Section: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT: DU PONT’S BILLION-DOLLAR FUNGICIDE PETER KATEL In the late ‘8os, something terrible happened to nurseries and fruit plantations in the Southeast. Millions of acres of shrubs, fruit trees and vegetable plants shriveled, turned brown…
A Rash of Media Murders Magazine July 5, 1993 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 50 | Section: LIFESTYLEMEDIA FOREIGN-LANGUAGE JOURNALISTS ARE DYING ON THE JOB PETER KATEL Johnny Cesaire doesn’t get around much anymore. The nightclubs and restaurants of Miami’s Little Haiti hold little appeal for the host of Radio Pepla (Peoples’ Radio),…
May 10, 1993 | Newsweek Author: SPENCER REISS with PETER KATEL in Miami | Page: 45 | Section: National Affairs There are many ways to get to Florida, but few rank with Jose Luis Palin’s trip from hell. In early March, he and four friends pushed off from a Cuban beach on a couple of…
A Murder That Didn’t Have to Happen Magazine April 19, 1993 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 29 | Section: NATIONAL AFFAIRS A BRUTAL ASSAULT ON A TOURIST IN FLORIDA PETER KATEL It was up to 6-year-old Alexander Jensen to tell the police, with the help of toy cars, miniature figures and a translator,…
New Kid on the Block, Buster Magazine January 11, 1993 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 48 | Section: BUSINESS A FLORIDA MOGUL DREAMS DREAMS OF AN EMPIRE PETER KATEL It’s, say, 1995 and the Blockbuster megastore near you is hopping. Flashing your Blockbuster frequent-shopper card, you rent a videocassette, then scrutinize the potential…
After Fidel, a Deluge of Deals Magazine June 29, 1992 | Newsweek Author: SPENCER REISSPETER KATEL | Page: 42 | Section: BUSINESS U.S. BUSINESSES GET READY FOR A POST-CASTRO CUBA SPENCER REISS PETER KATEL It must be a comfort to some true believer somewhere that Havana is still the kind of place where Fidel Castro…
Deep in the Heart of Texarkana Magazine June 29, 1992 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 22 | Section: NATIONAL AFFAIRS Ross Perot likes to say he had a Norman Rockwell-like childhood, and for anyone trying to get a picture of his birthplace, some back issues of the Saturday Evening Post wouldn’t be a…
THE BEST TEAM MONEY CAN’T BUY Magazine June 8, 1992 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 62 | Section: SOCIETY OLYMPICS ’92 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN THE U.S., CUBA’S BASEBALL STARS MIGHT EARN MILLIONS. FOR NOW, THEY ONLY PURSUE OLYMPIC GOLD. PETER KATEL They’re having trouble selling their sugar. They’re running low on medicine and…
NEW WALLS, NO INMATES Magazine May 18, 1992 | Newsweek Author: PETER KATEL | Page: 63 | Section: SOCIETY JUSTICE SOMETHING’S MISSING IN FLORIDA’S PRISONS PETER KATEL Each cell of Florida’s new 336-man death row has a black-and-white television set. But no one is watching. The new men’s prison on the grounds of the Union…