Adam Isacson

(Even more here)

November 22, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Caitlin Dickson, “Exclusive: Acting Homeland Security Chief Chad Wolf Makes Unannounced Visit to Privately Funded Border Wall” (Yahoo!, November 22, 2019).

The stop at the half-mile stretch of crowdfunded steel bollard fencing, which was built without permits this spring on private land in Sunland Park, N.M., was not mentioned in a media advisory sent by the DHS press office ahead of Wolf’s trip

• Michel Marizco, “Border Worker in Arizona Acquitted of Helping Migrants” (National Public Radio, November 22, 2019).

A jury has found Scott Warren not guilty on two federal felony counts of harboring illegal immigrants. Warren works with a group that leaves food and water for migrants in Arizona deserts

• Daniel Gonzalez, “Growing Numbers of Families Crossing the Border Are Coming From India and Other Continents” (The Arizona Republic, November 22, 2019).

Not only are the non-Spanish speaking families from countries far from the United States, they carry their own cash and credit cards and appear much better educated

Bolivia

• Jon Lee Anderson, “Bolivia’s Evo Morales Wants to Stay in the Game” (The New Yorker, November 22, 2019).

When I asked Morales what he would do if his exile became permanent, he seemed taken aback

• “More Clashes in la Paz but There Is Also a Tentative Agreed Date for New Elections, January 12” (MercoPress, November 22, 2019).

At least 36 people have been killed in clashes since Morales resigned on Nov. 10

• Jim Shultz, “The Rise and Fall of Evo Morales” (The New York Review of Books, November 22, 2019).

“If he would have respected that referendum, he would have finished his third term as probably the best president in Bolivia,” he said. “But he didn’t do that”

• “Jeanine Anez Espera Pacificar Bolivia Con un Llamado a Dialogo “Inmediato”” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), November 22, 2019).

La presidenta interina de Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, lamentó las muertes ocurridas en la ciudad de El Alto durante un operativo militar y policial y ofreció dialogar “inmediatamente”

Chile

• “Politica para Danar a Manifestantes en Chile Apunta a Responsabilidad de Mando” (Amnesty International, November 22, 2019).

Estos ataques han dejado hasta el momento un saldo de cinco muertos y miles de personas torturadas, maltratadas o gravemente lesionadas

• “Chile Staggers Towards a New Constitution” (The Economist (Uk), November 22, 2019).

In retrospect Ms Bachelet was right on the big things. For the past month, because of the discontents she identified, Chile has been seared by a social conflagration

Colombia

• Santiago Torrado, “Colombia se Moviliza de Forma Masiva Contra el Gobierno de Ivan Duque” (El Pais (Spain), November 22, 2019).

Las manifestaciones, en su mayoría pacíficas y rematadas por un cacerolazo, suponen la mayor ola de protestas contra el presidente

Guatemala

• Sofia Menchu, “Shifting Asylum ‘Burden,’ U.S. Sends Guatemala First Honduran Migrant” (Reuters, Reuters, November 22, 2019).

“Imagine sending back one person – the remedy proves to be more expensive than the disease,” Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei said at an event Thursday afternoon

• Francelia Solano, “Asilo, Retorno o Espera de 4 Anos. Un Hondureno Estrena a Guatemala Como Tercer Pais Seguro” (Nomada (Guatemala), November 22, 2019).

El anexo con el que se podría determinar si es o no legal la implementación del mismo no se ha dado a conocer

Mexico

• Abraham Gonzalez, “Mexico’s Top Military Brass Offer President Public Loyalty Pledge” (Reuters, Business Insider, November 22, 2019).

The military’s public show of support for Lopez Obrador comes amid heightened concern from Latin America’s left about the role that pressure from the armed forces played in the resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales

• Jose Raul Linares, “Amlo Asciende a Tres Militares Relacionados Con Espionaje, Narcotrafico y Caso Tlatlaya” (Proceso (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

En la lista de quienes fueron ascendidos hay tres miembros del Ejército relacionados con escándalos de la pasada administración federal

• IsaÍn Mandujano, “Mision de Observacion Constata Flagrante Violacion de Derechos Humanos de Migrantes” (Proceso (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

“Nos sumamos al llamado de organizaciones aliadas hacia el gobierno mexicano para que deje de colaborar con el gobierno del presidente (Donald) Trump en la implementación de políticas inhumanas como el ‘Quédate en México’”

• Sugeyry Gandara, “Al Menos 13 Grupos, Ligados a Seis Grandes Carteles, Expanden Sus Tentaculos en Tierra Mexiquense” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

Los municipios del Estado de México “se han vuelto tierra de nadie”, donde por años ha imperado la colusión de las autoridades con la delincuencia, lo que ahora complica el combate a la inseguridad

• Arturo Angel, “Se Registran 32 Mil 565 Homicidios Durante el Gobierno de Amlo; Ultimos 4 Meses Sin Alza de Asesinatos” (Animal Politico (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

La cifra mensual de crímenes se ha estabilizado desde que arrancó el segundo semestre de este 2019, frenándose así la tendencia al alza registrada en la primera parte del año

• Kate Linthicum, “Inside the Bloody Cartel War for Mexico’s Multibillion-Dollar Avocado Industry” (The Los Angeles Times, November 22, 2019).

Much of the killing today has little to do with drugs. Organized crime has diversified

• Juan Alberto Cedillo, “Nuevo Laredo Vive Narcoterrorismo, se Tiene Que Actuar: Gobernador de Tamaulipas” (Proceso (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

Las acciones violentas que está realizando el Cártel del Noreste (CDN) y su brazo armado autodenominado “Tropa del Infierno” en Nuevo Laredo son actos de narcoterrorismo y se tiene que actuar en consecuencia, aseguró el gobernador

• “Mexico Presenta Proyecto de Acuerdo Bilateral Con Estados Unidos para Combatir el Trafico de Armas” (EFE, SinEmbargo (Mexico), November 22, 2019).

De aprobarse, las inspecciones arrancarán en cinco puntos estratégicos: San Diego-Tijuana, El Paso-Ciudad Juárez, Laredo-Nuevo Laredo, McAllen-Ciudad Reynosa y Brownsville-Matamoros

• Arelis R. Hernandez, Nick Miroff, Maria Sacchetti, “Trump Administration’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program to Shuttle Migrants From Tucson to el Paso” (The Washington Post, November 22, 2019).

Tucson was one of the last major areas on the southern border that has not been diverting asylum seekers to Mexico to await their immigration court hearings

Nicaragua

• “Editorial: El Ejercito de la Dictadura” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), November 22, 2019).

Con la prolongación de la jefatura del Ejército en manos del general Julio César Avilés, por tercer período consecutivo, y con esto la cancelación de toda posibilidad de renovación en el alto mando militar, el dictador Daniel Ortega ha reafirmado la desinstitucionalización de las fuerzas armadas

• Drazen Jorgic, “Bolivia’s Ouster of Morales Stirs Tensions in Left-Leaning Nicaragua” (Reuters, Reuters, November 22, 2019).

Analysts have called the government’s strategy risky, saying inflamed tensions can fuel unrest

• Ismael Lopez, “Human Rights Situation in Nicaragua ‘Critical,’ Regional Body Says” (Reuters, Reuters, November 22, 2019).

The OAS recommended a special session of its general assembly be convened immediately to review affairs in the country

(Even more here)

November 4, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “Editorial: Only Now Do We Understand the True Cruelty of Trump’s Family Separation” (The Washington Post, November 4, 2019).

Most Americans thought the policy detestable. It was far worse than they imagined

Bolivia

• “Protestas en Bolivia Tras Ultimatum a Evo Morales para Que Renuncie” (EFE, El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), November 4, 2019).

Este sábado en una multitudinaria concentración en la ciudad oriental de Santa Cruz el líder cívico Luis Fernando Camacho manifestó que Morales tiene 48 horas para renunciar a su cargo y envió una carta a las Fuerzas Armadas

Brazil

• Jon Lee Anderson, “Blood Gold in the Brazilian Rain Forest” (The New Yorker, November 4, 2019).

Indigenous people and illegal miners are engaged in a fight that may help decide the future of the planet

• “Illegal Loggers Kill Amazon Indigenous Warrior Who Guarded Forest, Wound Another” (Reuters, Reuters, November 4, 2019).

The clash comes amid an increase in invasions of reservations by illegal loggers and miners since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office this year

Chile

• Maolis Castro, Ryan Dube, Juan Forero, “In Chile, Peaceful Protests Turn Violent by Night” (The Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2019).

After the crowds dissipate, marauding young men—numbering in the hundreds—take over

• Amanda Taub, “‘Chile Woke Up’: Dictatorship’s Legacy of Inequality Triggers Mass Protests” (The New York Times, November 4, 2019).

Perhaps the only people not shocked are Chileans. In the chaos, they see a reckoning

Colombia

• “A Cerrar la Brecha de la Colombia Rural Con la Urbana” (Semana (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

Los PDET se asemejan a una hoja de ruta trascendental para cada una de las 16 subregiones y los 170 municipios que abarcan

• “Asesinatos de Exfarc, ¿No Superamos el Conflicto?” (Colprensa, El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), November 4, 2019).

De acuerdo con cifras del Partido Farc, desde el primero de diciembre de 2016, cuando entró en vigencia el Acuerdo de Paz, 168 firmantes de ese pacto han sido asesinados

• “Onu Condena Homicidio de Exfarc en Mesetas, Meta” (El Tiempo (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

Con este homicidio, que es el primero de un desmovilizado dentro de los antiguos Espacios Territoriales de Capacitación y Reincorporación (ETCR), van 158 desde la firma del acuerdo de paz, según cifras de la ONU

• “Crimen de Dimar Torres: El Teniente Que Lo Sabia Todo” (Semana (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

Echaron del Ejército al subteniente que colaboró en el esclarecimiento del crimen de Dimar Torres. Su testimonio resultó clave para conocer buena parte del escabroso plan del asesinato, y ahora está desprotegido

• Marcela Osorio Granados, ““la Militarizacion del Cauca Traera Mas Muertos”: Guardia Indigena” (El Espectador (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

Luis Acosta, coordinador nacional de la Guardia Indígena, asegura incluso que la llegada de fuerzas militares aumenta el riesgo para las comunidades y que lo que se requiere es una atención integral por parte del Estado

• Maria Mesa Rivera, “Arauca: El Rio Que Impone los Limites en la Frontera” (Semana (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

La ribera del río que pasa por la capital del departamento de Arauca, cuyo nombre es el mismo, recibe a miles de familias que llegan desde Venezuela

• Camilo Gonzalez Posso, “Ruido de Guerra en el Norte del Cauca” (INDEPAZ, Razon Publica (Colombia), November 4, 2019).

La masacre anterior fue otra respuesta de los grupos armados al control territorial que hacen los indígenas del Cauca

Ecuador

• James Bargent, “Ecuador: A Cocaine Superhighway to the Us and Europe” (InsightCrime, November 4, 2019).

The actors that run these drug routes are a combination of Ecuadorean, Colombian, Mexican and European criminal networks

Guatemala

• Francisco Rodriguez, “Exministro Rivas: “Con Toda Seguridad, el Ejercito No Incidio en Reducir la Violencia”” (Plaza Publica (Guatemala), November 4, 2019).

El exministro de Gobernación Francisco Rivas cuenta cómo el Ejército nunca fue muy útil en las tareas de seguridad ciudadana. Por ejemplo, de los cien soldados asignados para ello en Escuintla, la mitad se ocupaban en realidad de la finca de descanso del Presidente

• Lulu Garcia-Navarro, “When Migrants Die, Many Bodies Remain Unidentified” (NPR, November 4, 2019).

More than 600 migrants have died in the Americas so far in 2019, about half of them on the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of those bodies are likely to remain unidentified, leaving families without closure

Mexico

• Mary Beth Sheridan, “Lopez Obrador and Mexico’s Military in Rare Public Spat After ‘el Chapo’s’ Son Is Freed” (The Washington Post, November 4, 2019).

The general’s speech created such a stir that López Obrador declared via Twitter on Saturday that his supporters “will not permit another coup” like the ones that rocked Mexico in the early 20th century

• Tom Phillips, “Bloody Tijuana: A Week in the Life of Mexico’s Murderous Border City” (The Guardian (Uk), November 4, 2019).

Tijuana has seen a methamphetamine-fuelled murder epidemic which produced a record 2,518 murders in 2018 and looks set to cause even more this year

• Nick Miroff, “Smugglers Are Sawing Through New Sections of Trump’s Border Wall” (The Washington Post, November 4, 2019).

The breaches have been made using a popular cordless household tool known as a reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100

(Even more here)

October 15, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Catherine E. Shoichet, “Why One Area Along the Us-Mexico Border Saw Drownings Triple and Water Rescues Skyrocket More Than 1000%” (CNN, October 15, 2019).

Water-related deaths tripled in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector from fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019, according to data CNN obtained from US Customs and Border Protection

Bolivia

• Ben Raderstorf, Michael J. Camilleri, “How Evo Morales Running Again — and Again — Undermines Bolivia’s Democracy” (Inter-American Dialogue, The Washington Post, October 15, 2019).

For Bolivians, the stakes go far beyond control of the presidency. Morales has shown a growing willingness to use state institutions and resources to secure his hold in power

Colombia

• Juanita Velez, Jineth Prieto, Laura Soto, “Duque Tendra Gobernadores en Contra de Fumigar Donde Hay Mas Coca” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), October 15, 2019).

En Nariño, Norte de Santander y Putumayo, que a diciembre pasado sumaban el 61 por ciento de las hectáreas (según cifras de la Unodc), todos los candidatos a gobernaciones están en contra de la fumigación

• “Homicidios de Ex-Farc de Este Ano Podrian Superar los del 2018: Onu” (El Tiempo (Colombia), October 15, 2019).

Así quedó en evidencia en el informe trimestral presentado la semana pasada ante el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU

Ecuador

• Kejal Vyas, Daniela Blandon Ramirez, “Ecuador Begins Cleanup After Nearly Two Weeks of Deadly Protests” (The Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2019).

A veneer of normality returned to this small Andean nation a day after the government reversed economic austerity measures that unleashed nearly two weeks of deadly protests

• Jose Maria Leon Cabrera, Clifford Krauss, “Deal Struck in Ecuador to Cancel Austerity Package and End Protests” (The New York Times, October 15, 2019).

He was forced to balance demands of the Indigenous protesters, whose opposition has contributed to the downfall of three modern presidents, and those imposed by the International Monetary Fund as a condition for a $4.2 billion loan

Guatemala

• Emily Green, “Guatemala Shut Down Its Anti-Corruption Commission. Now Its People Worry About Impunity.” (The World, Public Radio International, October 15, 2019).

Corruption is the backdrop of a high-stakes drama that has been unfolding over the last year in Guatemala

Mexico

• Alberto Pradilla, “Migracion Detiene y Encierra a Solicitantes de Refugio Pese a Tener Papeles” (Animal Politico (Mexico), October 15, 2019).

Durante el operativo del sábado en Chiapas contra la caravana de africanos, caribeños y centroamericanos, agentes del INM arrestaron a peticionarios de asilo que niegan estar presentes en la marcha

• Patrick J. Mcdonnell, “Buses to Nowhere: Mexico Transports Migrants With U.S. Court Dates to Its Far South” (The Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2019).

The bus riders had made a long and perilous overland trek north to the Rio Grande only to be dispatched back south to Mexico’s border with Central America

• Elisabeth Malkin, “14 Police Officers Killed in an Ambush in Mexico” (The New York Times, October 15, 2019).

The attack, in a part of the state of Michoacán that drug gangs have battled over for decades, bore the hallmarks of the hyper-violent New Generation Jalisco Cartel

(Even more here)

September 25, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “Homeland Security Subcommittee Approves fy2020 Appropriations Bill” (U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, September 25, 2019).

The FY2020 Homeland Security appropriations bill fully funds the President’s request for the border wall while also providing Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the detention capacity needed to enforce immigration laws

• Richard Gonzales, “Trump Administration to End ‘Catch and Release’ Immigration Policy, Says Dhs Chief” (National Public Radio, September 25, 2019).

“If they do claim fear, they will generally be returned to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)”

• “Acting Secretary Mcaleenan’s Prepared Remarks to the Council of Foreign Relations” (Department of Homeland Security, September 25, 2019).

With some humanitarian and medical exceptions, DHS will no longer be releasing family units from Border Patrol Stations into the interior

Brazil

• Edmund Ruge, “Rio Mourns Death of 8-Year-Old Agatha, Protests State’s Bloody Security Policy” (RioOnWatch (Rio de Janeiro Brazil), September 25, 2019).

According to the van’s driver and multiple witnesses, a police officer fired at a passing motorcycle, piercing the van’s exterior and striking Felix in the back

• Jon Lee Anderson, “At the u.n., Jair Bolsonaro Presents a Surreal Defense of His Amazon Policies” (The New Yorker, September 25, 2019).

Bolsonaro asserted that the forests were “practically untouched,” and blamed a “lying and sensationalist media” for propagating fake news about their destruction

Colombia

• “Excombatientes de Auc y Farc y un Militar (R) Reconocen Hechos de Desaparicion Ante la Comision” (Comision de la Verdad (Colombia), September 25, 2019).

Las personas que realizaron este reconocimiento a la Comisión son el mayor del Ejército Gustavo Enrique Soto; José Éver Veloza, excomandante de las AUC; y José Benito Ramírez, quien en la guerra fue conocido ‘Fabián Ramírez’

Colombia, Venezuela

• Anthony Faiola, “Ex-Intelligence Chief Says He Told Maduro of Colombian Guerrilla Camps in Venezuela” (The Washington Post, September 25, 2019).

The classified report — a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post — offers new allegations about the scope of Maduro’s personal knowledge of the guerrillas’ presence and activities

• Olga Patricia Rendon M., Javier AlexÁnder MacÍas, “Esta Es la Relacion Entre Maduro, Eln y las Disidencias de las Farc” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), September 25, 2019).

Una vez más el Gobierno colombiano aportará pruebas en contra del régimen chavista que mantiene una relación de beneficio mutuo con el Eln y las disidencias de las Farc

• Javier AlexÁnder MacÍas, “Grannobles Trabaja Ahora Con Marquez y Santrich” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), September 25, 2019).

Según el documento, el objetivo de la reunión habría sido discutir “la propuesta de crear un bloque político de la izquierda Latinoamericana, y el apoyo de movimiento de tropas y entrenamiento a milicias (Eln y Gao-re)”

• Tim Padgett, “South American Saber-Rattling: Why a ‘Skeleton’ Venezuela Is Threatening Colombia” (WLRN, September 25, 2019).

Are Venezuela and Colombia headed for war? Believe it or not, that’s the big worry in South America right now

El Salvador

• Kirk Semple, “Migration Likely to Top Agenda When Trump Meets el Salvador’s Bukele” (The New York Times, September 25, 2019).

The underpinnings of the bilateral relationship — including trade and cooperation in the fight against transnational crime — have not significantly changed

Guatemala

• Daniel Gonzalez, “A Dangerous Red Flower Is Driving Record Numbers of Migrants to Flee Guatemala” (USA Today, September 25, 2019).

Poor Guatemalan farmers turned to heroin poppies. When the military destroyed their crops, many had only one other choice: Flee to the U.S.

Mexico

• Maureen Meyer, Gina Hinojosa, “Five Years on, Still No Justice for Mexico’s 43 Disappeared Ayotzinapa Students” (Washington Office on Latin America, September 25, 2019).

As the one-year anniversary of López Obrador’s presidency approaches, expectations are high that his government will do what his predecessors have not: provide answers to the tens of thousands of families of the disappeared

Central America Regional, Mexico

• Rick Jervis, Daniel Borunda, Vicky Camarillo, Rafael Carranza, Daniel Connolly, Hannah Gaber, Diana Garcia, Julia Gavarrete, Alan Gomez, Daniel Gonzalez, Jack Gruber, Harrison Hill, Sandy Hooper, Bart Jansen, Mark Lambie, Pamela Ren Larson, Sean Logan, Aaron Montes, Omar Ornelas, Nick Oza, Rebecca Plevin, Annie Rice, Joe Rondone, Courtney Sacco, Matt Sobocinski, Lauren Villagran, Jared Weber, “One Deadly Week Reveals Where the Immigration Crisis Begins — and Where It Ends” (USA Today, September 25, 2019).

In one week, thousands of migrants overwhelm the U.S. border. We reveal their dangerous journeys and the broken immigration system that awaits them

Venezuela

• “Why Environmental Security Is Paramount to Venezuela’s Future” (Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, Washington Office on Latin America, September 25, 2019).

Resource conflicts and the management and protection of Venezuela’s natural heritage are not only important from a conservation angle—they are the key to achieving a sustainable political solution and unlocking Venezuela’s future

• “Putin Reconoce a «Todas las Autoridades Legitimas» Incluyendo la An” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), September 25, 2019).

El presidente de Rusia, Vladímir Putin, reiteró junto al gobernante venezolano Nicolás Maduro, su apoyo a «todas las autoridades legítimas» del país y expresó su respaldo al diálogo entre el chavismo y 5 partidos minoritarios

• Megan Janetsky, “More Vulnerable Wave of Migrants Flees Venezuela Amid Sanctions, While Trump Pledges U.S. Support at u.n.” (USA Today, September 25, 2019).

O’Brien’s appointment may be an indicator that the administration is trying to not “rock the boat” as it enters an election year and instead tout the sanctions and previous saber-rattling

• Joshua Goodman, “Trump Administration to Triple Democracy Aid to Venezuela” (Associated Press, Associated Press, September 25, 2019).

The funding was mostly repurposed from aid originally earmarked for Honduras and Guatemala that President Donald Trump cut last year

(Even more here)

September 23, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Emma Dumain, “Republicans Say Sc Will Recoup Military Funds Taken for Border Wall. They Can’t Be Sure” (McClatchy News Service, September 23, 2019).

The mechanisms for getting the money back are far from simple and Trump administration officials don’t get to decide how these funds are made available

• Bridget Johnson, “Interior Dept. Transfers Public Lands to Army for Border Bollard Fence” (Homeland Security Today, September 23, 2019).

The department said no Native American tribal lands or national parks were included in the transfer, which includes areas next to the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona and Otay Mountain Wilderness in California

• John Kruzel, “Just How Many ‘Fake Families’ Are Seeking Asylum at the Border?” (PolitiFact Texas, The Houston Chronicle, September 23, 2019).

It’s not entirely clear where Cuccinelli’s 30 percent figure comes from

Bolivia

• John Otis, “Bolivia Is Fighting Major Forest Fires Nearly as Large as in Brazil” (National Public Radio, September 23, 2019).

Morales is running for a fourth-consecutive term in the Oct. 20 presidential election and some analysts believe that the fires could damage his prospects

Brazil

• Dom Phillips, “Brazilians Blame Rio Governor’s Shoot-to-Kill Policy for Death of Girl” (The Guardian (Uk), September 23, 2019).

Hundreds protest over killing of Ágatha Félix, eight, allegedly shot in back by police bullet in favela

• Cecilia Olliveira, Luiz Antonio Simas, “Agatha e as Oito Criana§as Va­Timas Do Terror de Witzel No Rio de Janeiro” (The Intercept, September 23, 2019).

Entre mortas e feridas, já são nove as crianças vítimas da mais extrema barbárie que deveria levar Wilson Witzel aos tribunais

Colombia

• “‘Cuando el Territorio Esta Aislado Es Presa Facil de los Violentos’” (El Tiempo (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

Archila reveló que están en ejecución 1,1 billones de pesos y anticipó que en diciembre se sabrá realmente cuánto se requerirá en los próximos años para atender las necesidades de los seis pilares básicos

• Juanita Velez, “La Derrota de la Reincorporacion para la Farc” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

“No estamos ni con Iván Márquez, ni con Gentil Duarte. Pero tampoco con el partido”

• Juan Manuel Florez Arias, “Fiscalia Habria Esclarecido 50 % de Ataques a Exfarc” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), September 23, 2019).

De los 171 casos reportados por la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz hasta el 20 de septiembre, se han esclarecido 87 –poco más de la mitad de los casos– y 13 personas han sido condenadas

• “El Audio Que Corrobora Declaracion de Yolanda Gonzalez Tras Ser Atacada por Soldados en Arauca” (Semana (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

El escolta de Yolanda González, una lideresa protegida por la UNP, murió abatido por militares y ella resultó gravemente herida. La mujer contradice la versión del Ejército que asegura que el escolta habría disparado primero

• “Elecciones Bajo Fuego” (Semana (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

Tres candidatos a alcaldías asesinados, cuatro a concejos, más de 40 amenazados y 402 municipios en riesgo de sufrir episodios de violencia política forman la antesala de las elecciones de octubre

• Nicolas Achury Gonzalez, “Guerra en el Bajo Atrato: El Exodo de Afros e Indigenas” (El Espectador (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

Comunidades aledañas a los ríos Truandó y Salaquí han sido desplazadas y sus líderes sociales asesinados

• Olga Patricia Rendon Marulanda, “Hoy Farc Dara Version Colectiva” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), September 23, 2019).

Hoy los colombianos podrán escuchar, por primera vez, las declaraciones de los exjefes guerrilleros sobre el secuestro, caso en el que ya están acreditadas 580 víctimas

Colombia, Venezuela

• Joshua Goodman, Christine Armario, “Ap Interview: Colombia to Denounce Maduro at un Meeting” (Associated Press, Yahoo!, September 23, 2019).

Colombia’s president compared Nicolás Maduro to Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic as he goes on a diplomatic offensive

• “¿Triunfara el Dialogo Entre Colombia y Venezuela?” (Semana (Colombia), September 23, 2019).

Aunque durante más de 200 años ningún conflicto ha terminado en guerra y siempre el diálogo ha imperado, algunos dicen que esta vez hay varios factores que podrían empeorar la situación

• “Containing the Border Fallout of Colombia’s New Guerrilla Schism” (International Crisis Group, September 23, 2019).

With diplomatic ties between the two countries severed, the risk of escalation is high. Bogotá and Caracas should open channels of communication to avoid inter-state clashes

El Salvador

• Ernesto Londono, “To Influence el Salvador, China Dangled Money. The U.S. Made Threats.” (The New York Times, September 23, 2019).

While the Trump administration has suspended aid programs to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, Ms. Ou, the ambassador, noted that China had signed 13 cooperation agreements

• Nelson Rauda Zablah, “El Salvador Signs Agreement to Accept Asylum Seekers the Us Won’t Protect” (El Faro (El Salvador), September 23, 2019).

The government of El Salvador, the country that sent the most asylum seekers to the US in 2018, signed an agreement on Friday to begin accepting asylum seekers sent back from the US

• Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “U.S. Signs Asylum Deal With el Salvador to Deter Migrants Despite Violence There” (CBS News, September 23, 2019).

The deal is expected to target migrants from countries like Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and central African nations

Guatemala

• Louisa Reynolds, “Guatemala: De Carcelero a Presidente” (Proceso (Mexico), September 23, 2019).

En las pasadas elecciones guatemaltecas ganó la presidencia el exdirector del Sistema Penitenciario Alejandro Giammattei —quien asumirá el próximo enero—, conocido por haber sofocado un supuesto motín en 2006 y después acusado de facilitar una lista de reos para ejecutarlos

Venezuela

• “Editorial: Maduro Has the Upper Hand Again — as Venezuela’s People Starve” (The Washington Post, September 23, 2019).

Neither the United States nor Venezuela’s neighbors support military action, so barring direct aggression by Venezuela or the Colombian groups now based on its territory, that’s unlikely to be a means for toppling the regime

(Even more here)

September 17, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• J. Edward Moreno, “Another Budget Fight Looms This Month in Congress Centering on Border Wall Funding” (The Texas Tribune, September 17, 2019).

Democrats opposed the bill because it includes $12.2 billion to build new sections of the wall. Senate Democrats are threatening to filibuster the legislation over border funding

• “Iachr Conducted Visit to the United States’ Southern Border” (Inter-American Human Rights Commission, Organization of American States, September 17, 2019).

Since 2018, the United States has adopted a series of migration policies that have caused significant changes for the effective enjoyment of the human rights of migrant persons, asylum-seekers, and refugees in the country

• Gus Bova, “Migrants at Laredo Tent Court Tell Stories of Kidnappings and Violence While Pleading Not to Be Returned to Mexico” (The Texas Observer, September 17, 2019).

At times, the judge seemed ill-informed about how MPP works. At one point, she turned to the government prosecutors in the room and asked whether the Mexican government was providing the migrants housing

Brazil

• Matt Sandy, “The Amazon Rain Forest Is Nearly Gone. We Went to the Front Lines to See if It Could Be Saved” (Time, September 17, 2019).

Powered by murky sources of capital and rising demand for beef, a violent and corrupt frontier is now pushing into indigenous land, national parks and one of the most preserved parts of the jungle

• Robert Muggah, “What Explains Brazil’s Homicide Decline?” (OpenDemocracy (UK), September 17, 2019).

Heavy-handed policing and sentencing may generate a temporary “chilling” effect on violent crime. But studies of mano dura-style interventions across Latin America indicate that these impacts tend to be transitory and short-lived

Colombia

• “Editorial: No Peace in Our Time in Colombia” (The Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2019).

The country’s war on terrorism is back on. But the truth is that it was never off. The sooner everyone admits that the better

• “Acusan a Danilo Rueda, de Ser de Farc y Promover Siembra de Coca” (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, September 17, 2019).

Este tipo de aseveraciones y de falsas acusaciones en 2003 fueron el inicio de una fase de montajes judiciales contra varios defensores de nuestra Comisión de Justicia y Paz, entre ellos Danilo Rueda

• David Fernando Correal, Andres Palencia, Jorge Restrepo, “¿Como Explicar el Aumento de la Violencia Politica en Colombia?” (Razon Publica (Colombia), September 17, 2019).

En 2019 las acciones se concentraron en el 15 por ciento de los municipios del país

Mexico

• Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, “Michoacan Es un Cuarto Oscuro” (Nexos (Mexico), September 17, 2019).

Lo que hace el gobierno es definir un perfil de “hombre fuerte” —el “Don”, el cacique, el “mero mero”, en fin, una autoridad local— que se convierte en interlocutor legítimo

Venezuela

• “Venezuela’s Military Enigma” (International Crisis Group, September 17, 2019).

The top brass could ease or thwart a move away from President Nicolás Maduro. Sponsors of transition talks should include military representatives in the discussions sooner rather than later

• Anatoly Kurmanaev, Ana Vanessa Herrero, “Venezuela’s Maduro Trains Sights on Opposition’s Last Bastion: Congress” (The New York Times, September 17, 2019).

Analysts say Monday’s deal paved the way for Mr. Maduro to call new congressional elections as early as January, despite boycott threats from the main opposition parties

• Scott Smith, “Split Emerges in Venezuela Opposition Over Talks With Gov’t” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, September 17, 2019).

A group of minority opposition parties is entering negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro’s government without the consent of the U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó

(Even more here)

September 16, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Manny Fernandez, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Caitlin Dickerson, “‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol’s Morale Crisis” (The New York Times, September 16, 2019).

Overwhelmed by desperate migrants and criticized for mistreating the people in their care, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter

Brazil

• Caio Barretto Briso, “‘Caught Defenseless in the Crossfire’: Rio Families Cope With Deaths by Police Violence” (The Guardian (Uk), September 16, 2019).

In the first seven months of this year police caused 30% of all violent deaths in the state of Rio and killed a record 1,075 people – the highest number in more than two decades

Colombia

• “Editorial: La Memoria Historica No Es Asunto de Equilibrismos” (El Espectador (Colombia), September 16, 2019).

Hay un debate en el país sobre cuál es la mejor manera de construir la memoria. La solución no está en deslegitimar el trabajo hecho hasta ahora

• “A los Candidatos los Estan Matando Mas Justo Cuando Crece la Guerra Local” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), September 16, 2019).

Ya van siete candidatos asesinados desde el 27 de julio, último día de inscripciones, hasta el 9 de septiembre

• “El Retorno Narco: Los Grandes Capos Que Regresan a Colombia” (Semana (Colombia), September 16, 2019).

Un centenar de narcotraficantes que terminaron de pagar su condena en Estados Unidos regresaron a Colombia. ¿Qué tanto afectan la seguridad?

Colombia, Venezuela

• Juan Forero, Jose De Cordoba, “Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Worked to Flood U.S. With Cocaine, U.S. Prosecutors Say” (The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2019).

At one meeting, Mr. Cabello described sea and land drug trafficking routes through Venezuela, the documents showed. At another, Mr. Carvajal said coordination with the “comrades,” meaning the FARC, was going well

• Karen Deyoung, “Fears of Military Conflict Between Venezuela and Colombia as Tensions Over Maduro Government Escalate” (The Washington Post, September 16, 2019).

Administration officials, while acknowledging that the treaty includes provisions for the use of military force, said their immediate goal was to escalate sanctions — including the possible interdiction at sea of ships carrying Venezuelan oil

El Salvador

• Nelson Rauda Zablah, John Washington, “El Salvador Lanza su Patrulla Fronteriza y se Une a Ola de Complacencia Regional a Trump” (El Faro (El Salvador), September 16, 2019).

Policías y oficiales de Migración salvadoreños patrullarán 154 puntos ciegos. La iniciativa surgió de reuniones con el secretario de Seguridad de Estados Unidos y es parcialmente financiada por el departamento de Estado

Honduras

• “Policias Reprimen Manifestacion Opositora en Honduras” (Agence France Presse, La Prensa (Nicaragua), September 16, 2019).

Más de 1,000 personas, según estimaciones de la prensa, caminaban al son de una pegajosa canción “JOH (por el presidente Juan Orlando Hernández) es pa’fuera que vas” y con pancartas como “Fuera el narcodictador”

Mexico

• Gloria Leticia DÍaz, “Tamaulipas: Soldados y Policias se Habrian Coordinado para Asesinar” (Proceso (Mexico), September 16, 2019).

Mediante el testimonio de vecinos y familiares de las víctimas, la organización civil reconstruyó la detención arbitraria de personas, la tortura a que las sometieron para vestirlas con ropas de camuflaje y su posterior asesinato a la luz del día

• “Suspects Released in Mexico Missing Students Case” (BBC (UK), September 16, 2019).

A judge ordered that 24 local police officers arrested in connection with the students’ disappearance should be freed immediately

• Fernanda Echavarri, “Trump Is Forcing Asylum Seekers to Brave Mexican Border Cities at Night to Make Their Court Dates” (Mother Jones, September 16, 2019).

The women then showed her paperwork from US immigration officials, directing them to show up to the Mexican side of the San Ysidro Port of Entry at 3:30 a.m.

• J. Weston Phippen, “Trapped in Juarez: Life in the Migrant Limbo” (The Atlantic, September 16, 2019).

Migrants hoping to cross legally into the United States wait along the Mexican border, where life is a mixture of instability, violence, and luck

• Emily Green, “Trump’s Asylum Policies Sent Him Back to Mexico. He Was Kidnapped Five Hours Later by a Cartel.” (VICE, September 16, 2019).

The Trump administration calls the policy “Migrant Protection Protocols,” but far from offering protection, the policy has led to a brutal wave of kidnappings in some of Mexico’s most dangerous border cities

Nicaragua

• Lidia Lopez B., “Cenidh Reporta Sobre Ejecuciones Selectivas de Campesinos Opositores a la Dictadura de Nicaragua” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), September 16, 2019).

El organismo defensor de los derechos humanos en Nicaragua documentó los incidentes ocurridos en julio y agosto de este año

Venezuela

• Luc Cohen, “Venezuela’s Opposition Says Norway-Mediated Dialogue With Maduro ‘Is Finished’” (Reuters, Reuters, September 16, 2019).

Despite the setback, Norwegian diplomats are still prepared to assist

• Jonathan Blitzer, “The Fight for the Latino Vote in Florida” (The New Yorker, September 16, 2019).

Only a small percentage of the recently arrived Venezuelans are eligible to vote, but many Latin Americans in Florida see the Venezuelan government as the nexus of the region’s worst problems

(Even more here)

September 3, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “Dhs Abruptly Blocks Committee Staff Visits to Border Detention Facilities After Last Week’s Inspections Revealed Serious Problems” (House Committee on Oversight and Reform, September 3, 2019).

It appears that the Administration expects Congress to be satisfied with receiving agency tours of facilities—in some cases without the ability to photograph conditions or interview detainees—and not to question the policies or decisions that agency officials make. That is not the way effective oversight works

Colombia

• Laura Ardila Arrieta, Jineth Prieto, Ana Leon, Jerson Ortiz, Tatiana Duque, Sara Ruiz, “Sin Marquez y Compania, los Excombatientes Echan Raices” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), September 3, 2019).

Lo que en general encontramos en esos sitios es que los reincorporados en medio de todo siguen intentando echar raíces y no manifiestan querer volver a las armas

• Andrés Bermúdez Liévano, “Sexual Violence, the New Punching Bag in the Colombian Transition (Part 2)” (Justiceinfo.net, September 3, 2019).

How to address these crimes before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace? Are ordinary courts better suited? How to convince FARC members to come forward and take responsibility?

• Steven Grattan, “Killings, Threats and Delays Disenchant Colombia’s Ex-Farc” (Reuters, Reuters, September 3, 2019).

U.N. figures show just 10% of ex-guerrillas have been granted credit for farming and development projects meant to provide jobs for them in civilian life

Colombia

• Cesar Garcia, “Asesinan a Candidata a Alcaldia en el Suroeste de Colombia” (Associated Press, Associated Press, September 3, 2019).

El Alto Comisionado para la Paz, Miguel Ceballos, atribuyó el ataque a disidencias de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia que actúan en zona

• Olga Patricia Rendon M., ““Ivan Marquez” No Refundo las Farc” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), September 3, 2019).

Estas conversaciones no han dado frutos. Una muestra es que ninguno de los comandantes de las disidencias existentes apareció en el video

Colombia, Venezuela

• Joshua Goodman, “Colombian Rebels’ Rearming Ups Pressure for Maduro” (Associated Press, Associated Press, September 3, 2019).

U.S. officials reiterated accusations that Maduro’s government has been actively conspiring with Colombian rebels, especially the more radical National Liberation Army, or ELN

Cuba, Mexico

• Nina Lakhani, “More Cubans Seek Asylum in Mexico Amid Clampdown on Legal Path to Us” (The Guardian (Uk), September 3, 2019).

In the first seven months of this year, 4,604 Cubans applied for asylum in Mexico, representing 10% of all applicants. In 2018, 218 Cubans sought asylum, representing 1% of total applicants

El Salvador

• Roberto Valencia, “Las Cifras de Agosto Confirman el Descenso de la Violencia Homicida en el Salvador” (El Faro (El Salvador), September 3, 2019).

Esos números convierten el mes recién finalizado en el menos violento en lo que va de siglo XXI

Guatemala

• “Conocimiento de la Realidad y una Gran Dosis de Verdad, la Herencia de la Cicig a los Guatemaltecos” (United Nations, September 3, 2019).

“Creo que mis principales logros tienen que ver con haber generado una conciencia ciudadana. Que la lucha contra la corrupción sí era posible, que sí se puede adelantar investigaciones serias y profundas independientemente de quien sea la persona a la que se esté investigando”

• Ivan Velasquez, “I Was Proud to Lead the Cicig. Now Guatemalans Must Carry on the Fight Against Corruption.” (The Washington Post, September 3, 2019).

Jimmy Morales’s fear of the CICIG was a recognition of its efficacy. His success in driving the commission away offers a cautionary tale

• Eddy Coronado, Kenneth Monzon, “Sandra Torres Es Capturada por Financiamiento Ilicito de la Une” (Prensa Libre (Guatemala), September 3, 2019).

“Es una persecución política”, dijo Torres en su llegada a la Torre de Tribunales y señaló al presidente electo Alejandro Giammattei

Guatemala, Mexico

• Oscar Martinez, “Una Escena Miserable en una Frontera Miserable” (El Faro (El Salvador), September 3, 2019).

Cientos de migrantes están varados en las fronteras guatemaltecas debido al cerco de seguridad del gobierno mexicano. México cedió ante las presiones estadounidenses y desde hace unos meses generó un cordón de policías, militares y agentes migratorios en el sur

Mexico

• Pablo Ferri, “Uno de los Principales Acusados del ‘Caso Ayotzinapa’ Sale de Prision” (El Pais (Spain), September 3, 2019).

Algunas de las pruebas, testimonios de otros detenidos, habrían sido obtenidas mediante tortura, otras por detención arbitraria

• Mary Beth Sheridan, “Mexican Government Says More Than 3,000 Hidden Graves Found in the Search for the Disappeared” (The Washington Post, September 3, 2019).

More than 40,000 people have disappeared since 2006. Now, in a first-ever tally, officials are providing details on burial sites

• Parker Asmann, “Lack of Us Gun Control Provokes Record Bloodshed in Mexico” (InsightCrime, September 3, 2019).

At the federal level, ending the importation of high-powered assault weapons into the United States would help restrict the flow of such weapons into Mexico

• Kate Linthicum, “Death, Made in Mexico: Traffickers Embrace Fentanyl” (The Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2019).

Today, officials say the majority is smuggled from Mexico, where it is remaking the drug trade as traffickers embrace it over heroin, which is more difficult and expensive to produce

• Patrick J. Mcdonnell, “Migrants Returned to Mexican Border Towns Face Threat of Kidnapping, Extortion” (The Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2019).

In cartel-dominated Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a gateway to the United States, demanding ransoms for migrants sent back by U.S. officials is a lucrative racket

Nicaragua

• Leonor Álvarez, “Ejercito de Nicaragua se Pliega a Version Orteguista de Intento de Golpe de Estado” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), September 3, 2019).

El jefe del Ejército de Nicaragua, general Julio César Avilés Castillo, por primera vez dejó clara públicamente su posición al considerar las protestas civiles un intento de golpe de Estado contra el régimen

Venezuela

• Brian Ellsworth, Corina Pons, “Venezuela Opposition Says Norway Talks Must Focus on Elections” (Reuters, Reuters, September 3, 2019).

Asked when the talks will resume, Gonzalez responded “that question should be asked of the regime, if they’re prepared or not to discuss the important issues.”

• “ee.uu.: “No Queremos una Intervencion Militar Sino una Salida Pacifica en Venezuela”” (Voice of America, La Prensa (Nicaragua), September 3, 2019).

Dijo que Estados Unidos seguirá presionando hasta lograr elecciones libres y democráticas en Venezuela

• Michael J. Camilleri, “Plan B in Venezuela” (Inter-American Dialogue, Foreign Affairs, September 3, 2019).

Rather than clinging to the fading hope that pressure alone will topple Maduro, Washington should reorient both its sanctions policy and its diplomatic engagement around the search for a negotiated pathway to elections

(Even more here)

August 29, 2019

Colombia

• Santiago Torrado, “El Disidente de las Farc Ivan Marquez Anuncia Que Retoma las Armas en Colombia” (El Pais (Spain), August 29, 2019).

El exjefe negociador de la extinta guerrilla, en paradero desconocido desde hace un año, reaparece en un vídeo en el que junto con otros exlíderes anuncia una nueva etapa de lucha

• “Ivan Marquez, Santrich y el Paisa Vuelven a la Lucha Armada y Lo Anuncian Desde el Monte” (Semana (Colombia), August 29, 2019).

Disidencias de las Farc retoman las armas: En un video supuestamente grabado en el Inírida, Márquez aseguró que comenzaba una segunda Marquetalia

• “Ivan Marquez, ‘Santrich’, ‘el Paisa’ y ‘Romana’ Vuelven a la Guerra” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 29, 2019).

Por ahora, no se sabe con cuántos hombres contará esta guerrilla, tampoco qué pasó con otros excomandantes guerrilleros que no aparecieron en el video y, mucho menos, dónde operará las nuevas Farc

• Juanita Velez, “La Sustitucion de Duque Tendria Menos Onu y Mas Gremios y Empresarios” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), August 29, 2019).

La Alta Consejería presidencial para la Estabilización, en cabeza de Emilio Archila, está pensando dejar a la Unodc solo con la verificación, un cambio muy grande

• “Mas Sombras Que Luces, un Analisis de Seguridad en Colombia” (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación (Colombia), August 29, 2019).

De los 281 municipios priorizados para el postconflicto por la Fundación Paz y Reconciliación – Pares, hay un grupo de 123 donde antes operaban las FARC y que han sido copados por grupos armados ilegales y organizaciones criminales

• ““Ivan Marquez Ha Estado en Dialogos Con la Disidencia Armada de las Farc”: Ariel Avila” (Semana (Colombia), August 29, 2019).

El gobierno podría cantar victoria porque hay indicadores que han venido bajando, pero gran parte de ese bajonazo obedece a que actores criminales o ganaron la guerra (las zonas de las Farc) o pactaron entre ellos y lo que vemos ahora es una expansión silenciosa

El Salvador

• Nelson Rauda Zablah, Gabriela Caceres, “Pddh: La Policia Ejecuto a 116 Personas Entre 2014 y 2018” (El Faro (El Salvador), August 29, 2019).

La Policía del segundo gobierno del FMLN permitió la existencia de grupos de exterminio que persiguieron, torturaron y ejecutaron a decenas de salvadoreños en el marco de la guerra contra las pandillas

Guatemala

• “Presentan Informe Guatemala un Estado Capturado” (Comision Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), August 29, 2019).

El informe temático Guatemala: un Estado capturado, ofrece a la sociedad guatemalteca una interpretación analítica de la captura y cooptación del Estado a manos de distintas expresiones de Cuerpos Ilegales y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad

Mexico

• Soledad Loaeza, Julio Scherer Ibarra, Leon Krauze, Oswaldo Zavala, Edna Jaime, Mario Maldonado, “Amlo y la Promesa de la Transformacion” (The Washington Post, August 29, 2019).

Ante el primer informe de gobierno del presidente mexicano, analizamos las políticas y reveses de su gestión

• Molly o’toole, “Trump Administration Appears to Violate Law in Forcing Asylum Seekers Back to Mexico, Officials Warn” (The Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2019).

The alleged legal violations include denying asylum seekers’ rights and knowingly putting them at risk of physical harm — against federal regulations and the Immigration and Nationality Act

• Maria Verza, Nomaan Merchant, “Us, Mexico Widen Asylum Crackdown to Push Back All Migrants” (Associated Press, Associated Press, August 29, 2019).

Some people sent to wait in the Mexican border cities of Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros said they never requested asylum

• “Menendez, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration End Remain in Mexico Policy” (U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, August 29, 2019).

Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a group of 23 of his Democratic Senate colleagues in calling on the Trump administration to stop restricting access to the U.S. asylum system by ending its Remain in Mexico policy

Venezuela

• Lara Jakes, Anatoly Kurmanaev, “U.S. Offers Amnesty to Venezuelan Leader, if He Leaves Power” (The New York Times, August 29, 2019).

His offer of amnesty was a message to Mr. Maduro after both countries’ leaders described high-level talks that Mr. Abrams unequivocally said did not happen

(Even more here)

August 28, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Marie Arana, “Latin Americans Are Souring on Democracy. That’s Not So Surprising Considering the Region’s History” (Time, August 28, 2019).

Latin America’s wild race to democracy has failed to overcome the region’s difficult history. The wounds left unattended—inequality, injustice, corruption, violence—are powerful catalysts for discontent

• Julia Ainsley, Frank Thorp V, “Trump Admin Pulling Millions From Fema Disaster Relief to Send to Southern Border” (NBC News, August 28, 2019).

To fund temporary locations for court hearings for asylum-seekers along the southern border, ICE would gain $155 million, all from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund

• Nick Miroff, Josh Dawsey, “‘Take the Land’: President Trump Wants a Border Wall. He Wants It Black. And He Wants It by Election Day.” (The Washington Post, August 28, 2019).

He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly

• Rose L. Thayer, “Esper Approves Construction of Another 20 Miles of U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Using Dod Funds” (Stars and Stripes, August 28, 2019).

The increase in miles of border wall was approved after “lower than expected” contract costs for the previously approved 129 miles of border wall under former acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan

Brazil

• Ernesto Londono, “As Amazon Fires Rage, Brazil’s Government Employees Warn of ‘Collapse’ of Protection System” (The New York Times, August 28, 2019).

Employees of the country’s main environmental agency, Ibama, said their mission had been hobbled in recent years as a result of budget cuts, a thinner presence in remote areas, attacks on enforcement personnel, as well as political interference and a weakening of environmental regulations

Colombia

• “Asesinan a Otro Indigena en el Cauca” (Semana (Colombia), August 28, 2019).

Con ese asesinato ya son 37 los indígenas del norte del Cauca que han sido víctimas fatales en lo corrido del año, a lo que se suman las amenazas contra 55 de ellos y atentados contra otros ocho

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “El Silencio de los Fusiles Duro Poco” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 28, 2019).

Colombia registra un incremento en los combates en los últimos meses. Gobierno afirma que cumple con proteger a las comunidades, expertos indican que es un retroceso para las regiones

Guatemala

• “Fact Sheet: The Cicig’s Legacy in Fighting Corruption in Guatemala” (Washington Office on Latin America, August 28, 2019).

The CICIG assisted in filing more than 120 cases in the Guatemalan justice system, implicating more than 1,540 people, with some 660 people currently facing charges or another type of legal process

• Jody Garcia, “Giammattei Habla de su Primer Proyecto Multimillonario y su Plan B para Sustituir a la Cicig” (Nomada (Guatemala), August 28, 2019).

Celebró que en sus relaciones con Estados Unidos se dejó de hablar de Guatemala como un “tercer país seguro”, pero reclamó que no tiene detalles del convenio que el gobierno de Jimmy Morales firmó con el de Donald Trump

Honduras

• Steven Dudley, “How an Ex-Mayor Could Bring Down the Honduras President” (InsightCrime, August 28, 2019).

Tony had a proposal for the mayor: give money to the National Party campaign for his brother, who was running for re-election in Congress, and the then-candidate for president, Porfirio Lobo. In return, Tony would provide protection for Ardón and his trafficking network

Mexico

• Alberto Pradilla, “Policias Federales Agreden a Migrantes y Periodistas en Estacion Siglo Xxi en Chiapas” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 28, 2019).

A empujones y golpes, los elementos federales rompieron el bloqueo que mantenían los migrantes, dejando a varios africanos y los dos periodistas heridos

• Horacio Jimenez, Carina Garcia, “Anuncia 4t Que Buscara Regular Medios de Comunicacion” (El Universal (Mexico), August 28, 2019).

El diputado del PT, Óscar González Yáñez, aseguró que si no se regula a los medios de comunicación, estos se van a convertir en un instrumento fundamental de la derecha en las elecciones federales del 2021 y del 2024

• “23 Killed in Attack on Bar in Southern Mexico” (Associated Press, Associated Press, August 28, 2019).

The attack, along with the killing of 19 people in the western city of Uruapan earlier this month, is likely to renew fears that the violence of the 2006-2012 drug war has returned

• Eleanor Acer, Kennji Kizuka, “Complaint to the Office of the Inspector General Concerning Rape, Kidnapping, Assault, and Other Attacks on Asylum Seekers and Migrants Returned to Mexico” (Human Rights First, August 28, 2019).

To date, there are at least 141 publicly reported cases of rape, kidnapping, sexual exploitation, violent assault, and targeting by persecutors, of individuals returned to Mexico

• John Burnett, “Criminals Target Migrants in Mexico Seeking U.S. Asylum” (National Public Radio, August 28, 2019).

About 4,500 of them have been sent to Nuevo Laredo, where mayhem is rampant and extorting migrants has become the cartel’s latest income stream

Panama

• Arelis R. Hernandez, “Immigration Officials Partner With Panama to Boost Screening of Migrants Passing Through to U.S.” (The Washington Post, August 28, 2019).

U.S. officials supplied Panama’s border security force, SENAFRONT, with the devices that capture fingerprints, photographs and iris scans to process the influx of migrants showing up at the Peñitas camp

Ecuador, Venezuela

• “Ecuador Visa Rules for Venezuela Refugees Violates Human Rights Obligations” (Several NGOs, Washington Office on Latin America, August 28, 2019).

Ecuador’s entry restrictions arise, in part, out of the prevalent social polarization and xenophobia against Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Ecuador

Colombia, Venezuela

• Olivia Beavers, “State Department Opens Interim Venezuela Office in Colombia Amid Internal Conflict” (The Hill, August 28, 2019).

Charge d’Affaires James Story will oversee the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), which is located at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota?, Colombia

(Even more here)

August 27, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Chantal Da Silva, “Trump Administration Has Built Just 13 Percent of Border Wall, With Nearly 400 Miles to Go by End of 2020” (Newsweek, August 27, 2019).

While the federal immigration agency appeared pleased with its progress, the 60-mile development represents just over 13 percent of the 450 miles of border wall Trump has vowed to see built by the end of 2020

• Zoe Sullivan, “Increasing Numbers “Remain in Mexico” Awaiting Immigration Court Hearings” (TRAC Immigration, August 27, 2019).

During July a total of 11,804 immigrants were sent back to Mexico to await their MPP hearings. This is up from 5,161 during May and 5,883 in June

Bolivia

• Brendan o’boyle, Fernanda Uriegas, “Carlos Mesa’s Uphill Effort to Defeat Evo Morales” (Americas Quarterly, August 27, 2019).

Polls suggest he could win in the first round of voting by hitting a 40% threshold with a 10-point lead over Mesa

Brazil

• Manuela Andreoni, “Brazil Says It Will Reject Millions in Amazon Aid Pledged at g7” (The New York Times, August 27, 2019).

Hours after leaders of some of the world’s wealthiest countries pledged more than $22 million to help combat fires in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil’s government angrily rejected the offer, in effect telling the other nations to mind their own business

• Zoe Sullivan, “The Real Reason the Amazon Is on Fire” (Time, August 27, 2019).

Less obvious are the ways the conflagration stems from years of slashing government budgets for the environment and dismantling support for indigenous and traditional subsistence communities

Colombia

• Diana Durán Núñez, “Militares y la Comision de la Verdad (en Colombia), una Relacion “Sui Generis”” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 27, 2019).

En Latinoamérica, como regla general, las Comisiones de la Verdad y las Fuerzas Militares estuvieron siempre divorciadas. En Colombia, sin embargo, no hay divorcio a la vista

Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela

• Joshua Collins, “Venezuelans Stranded as Ecuador Imposes New Visa Rules” (Al Jazeera, August 27, 2019).

As the deadline neared, many Venezuelans in Ecuador rushed home to retrieve family members. Thousands more rushed east from their homes in Venezuela, eager to start a life in Ecuador that would soon be much harder to achieve

El Salvador

• Óscar Iraheta, “Estudio Revela Crisis Alimentaria en 280,000 Familias por Sequia” (El Diario De Hoy (El Salvador), August 27, 2019).

Como resultado de la investigación que se desarrolló en los departamentos de Ahuachapán, Usulután, San Vicente, San Miguel y Morazán, se conoció que existe un 82 % de nivel de afectación por la sequía

Haiti

• Jacqueline Charles, “He Caught One of Haiti’s Most Wanted Criminals. Now the Nation’s Top Cop Is Out of a Job” (The Miami Herald, August 27, 2019).

In Haiti, he said, bandits are everywhere — in the city, in the countryside, the slums and the villas — and Haitians must continue to “fight mercilessly against bandits and traffickers of all kinds”

Honduras

• Hector Silva Avalos, “How Drug Traffickers Became Masters of Honduras’ Forests” (InsightCrime, August 27, 2019).

Illegal timber and drug trafficking are closely linked in northeastern Honduras, a major cocaine corridor in this region. There, criminal groups have savvily combined these two businesses to maximize their illicit profits

Mexico

• Alberto Pradilla, “Migrantes Africanos se Rebelan Contra el Inm en Chiapas” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 27, 2019).

Decenas de migrantes africanos bloquearon durante horas las entradas a la estación Siglo XXI, en Tapachula, Chiapas. Solo impidieron el paso a los funcionarios del INM

• “Mexico’s Playa Bagdad Mixes Sun, Sand and Drug Trafficking” (Associated Press, WTOP, August 27, 2019).

Cartels tend to use these coastal plains for purposes like transporting drugs — or as the DEA notes, dumping bodies clandestinely. And they put a premium at keeping migrants away

• Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “Justice Department Asks Supreme Court to Allow Border Asylum Ban” (CBS News, August 27, 2019).

U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who represents the federal government before the court, urged the justices to issue an administrative stay on a ruling by a judge in San Francisco

• Almudena Toral, Patricia Clarembaux, ““El Gobierno Mexicano No Aporta Absolutamente Nada”: El Reclamo de los Albergues de Migrantes en Tijuana” (Univision, August 27, 2019).

Univision Noticias visitó cinco albergues en Tijuana. En todos, los encargados denuncian que funcionan por el apoyo de organizaciones que hacen donaciones o realizan jornadas médicas, educativas y legales

Nicaragua

• Carlos F. Chamorro, “La Comision Internacional Contra la Impunidad” (Confidencial (Nicaragua), August 27, 2019).

El programa mínimo de una Coalición Nacional debe incluir la creación de la CICIN, para ayudar a desmantelar las estructuras dictatoriales

Venezuela

• Maolis Castro, “Venezuela, Bajo el Reino del Terror Policial” (El Pais (Spain), August 27, 2019).

La represión aumenta en los barrios pobres a manos de las Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales, una unidad de la Policía Nacional creada por Maduro, que acumula centenares de denuncias por supuestas ejecuciones extrajudiciales

(Even more here)

August 26, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Will Parrish, “The U.S. Border Patrol and an Israeli Military Contractor Are Putting a Native American Reservation Under “Persistent Surveillance”” (The Intercept, August 26, 2019).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will soon construct a 160-foot surveillance tower capable of continuously monitoring every person and vehicle within a radius of up to 7.5 miles

• Patrick Mcgreevy, Taryn Luna, “California Sues Over Trump Immigration Policy on Indefinite Detention of Migrant Children” (The Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2019).

California’s battle with the Trump administration over immigration heats up as it sues to stop prolonged detention of migrant children and families

Bolivia

• Anatoly Kurmanaev, Monica Machicao, “As Amazon Burns, Fires in Next-Door Bolivia Also Wreak Havoc” (The New York Times, August 26, 2019).

It may take up to 200 years for the forests in Bolivia to heal

Brazil

• Ernesto Londono, “Brazil Marshals Forces to Fight Amazon Fires (and Restore ‘Positive Perception’)” (The New York Times, August 26, 2019).

Military officials said they had deployed two C-130 cargo planes equipped with firefighting tools to the state of Rondônia and were assessing how many of the nearly 44,000 troops based in the Amazon area to mobilize

• Manuela Andreoni, Ernesto Londono, “Amid Outrage Over Rainforest Fires, Many in the Amazon Remain Defiant” (The New York Times, August 26, 2019).

In Novo Progresso, as in many parts of Brazil, there is strong support for President Jair Bolsonaro’s policy on the Amazon, which prioritizes economic development over environmental protections

Colombia

• “El General en su Laberinto: Los Secretos de la Caceria Que Involucra al Comandante del Ejercito” (Semana (Colombia), August 26, 2019).

SEMANA revela los detalles del pliego de cargos que compromete a altos oficiales que lideraron una persecución dentro del Ejército. Entre ellos a su comandante, el general Nicacio Martínez

• “Editorial: La Caceria Dentro del Ejercito y Sus Responsables” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 26, 2019).

El Ejército no está siendo transparente con el país y, además, varios de sus miembros de alto rango han dado declaraciones falsas a los medios de comunicación

• Cecilia Orozco Tascón, ““la Memoria y la Verdad se Convirtieron en Botin Politico”: Gonzalo Sanchez” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 26, 2019).

El exdirector del Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica y doctor en Sociología analiza las implicaciones de un documento militar revelado por el diario español “El País”, en que se ordena seguir una “Narrativa Marco del Conflicto Armado”

• “Atentan Contra Dirigente del Partido Farc, ‘Ruben Zamora’” (El Nuevo Siglo (Colombia), August 26, 2019).

Fue interceptado el vehículo en el que se desplaza Emiro del Carmen Ropero, conocido como ‘Rubén Zamora’, excomandante del frente 33 de las Farc y hoy candidato a la Asamblea departamental

• Luis Jaime Acosta, “Murder of Hundreds of Colombian Activists Casts Shadow Over Peace Process” (Reuters, Reuters, August 26, 2019).

The killings have sparked fears of an organized assassination campaign like the one carried out against the left-wing Patriotic Union (UP) party in the late 1980s

• “Indigenas, Bajo Fuego” (Semana (Colombia), August 26, 2019).

Desde el acuerdo de paz con las Farc, la violencia contra estas comunidades, lejos de reducirse, ha aumentado. Esta situación ha encendido las alarmas de las organizaciones sociales, que hablan de una crisis humanitaria sin precedentes

Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela

• “Cerca de 7.000 Venezolanos Llegan a la Frontera de Ecuador y Colombia” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), August 26, 2019).

Unos 7.000 venezolanos llegaron este viernes, 23 de agosto, a la frontera internacional entre Colombia y Ecuador, tres días antes de la entrada en vigor de una visa humanitaria ecuatoriana

Guatemala

• Hector Silva Avalos, “Top 3 Security Challenges Awaiting Guatemala’s President-Elect” (InsightCrime, August 26, 2019).

The president-elect’s resume casts doubt on the public security policies that his administration may enact

Jamaica

• Azam Ahmed, “One Handgun, 9 Murders: How American Firearms Cause Carnage Abroad” (The New York Times, August 26, 2019).

Hundreds of thousands of guns sold in the United States vanish because of loose American gun laws. Many reappear in Jamaica, turning its streets into battlefields

Mexico

• Alberto Pradilla, “El Campamento de Migrantes Africanos Atrapados en Chiapas” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 26, 2019).

Decenas de africanos que huyeron de sus países duermen en tiendas de campaña en el exterior del centro de detención. Entre ellos hay niños y mujeres embarazadas, que exigen un documento que les permita seguir su camino

• “Matan en Michoacan a un Coronel del Ejercito” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 26, 2019).

De acuerdo con el medio Milenio, el coronel murió en un enfrentamiento con un grupo armado. Según Reforma, hay versiones que indican que el coronel fue emboscado por un grupo armado

Venezuela

• Reynaldo Mozo Zambrano, “Dgcim Hizo Requisa “Violenta” en Ramo Verde el Fin de Semana, Denuncia Foro Penal” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), August 26, 2019).

Foro Penal contabiliza 501 presos políticos hasta este lunes, 26 de agosto. De estos, 36 son mujeres, 107 efectivos militares y solo 20 detenidos por razones políticas han sido condenados

• Alberto Barrera Tyszka, “Una Negociacion: La Unica Salida Posible para Venezuela” (The New York Times, August 26, 2019).

El problema pasa por situarse en un modo distinto ante el otro y ante la idea misma de un pacto. Hay que entender y aceptar que ninguno de los sectores en pugna obtendrá realmente lo que quiere, lo que busca, lo que necesita

(Even more here)

August 23, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• James Laporta, “Military Drones and Surveillance Planes Designed for War Remain an Option for U.S.-Mexico Border, Documents Show” (Newsweek, August 23, 2019).

Pentagon officials are open to the idea of deploying reconnaissance planes and drones built for war to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a new cache of documents obtained by Newsweek

• “Editorial: Trump’s Latest Assault on Migrant Children Definitely Won’t Fly” (The Washington Post, August 23, 2019).

U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who oversees the Flores agreement, last year refused the government’s request to permit the long-term detention of families, on the grounds that it is harmful to children. She’s unlikely to allow it now

• Jonathan Blitzer, “The Trump Administration’s Sustained Attack on the Rights of Immigrant Children” (The New Yorker, August 23, 2019).

The idea, the official added, was to skirt Congress by instituting the change in the form of a regulation, while creating yet another pretext for assailing lawmakers for their failure to take some radical action of their own

Brazil

• Manuela Andreoni, Leticia Casado, Ernesto Londono, “With Amazon Rain Forest Ablaze, Brazil Faces Global Backlash” (The New York Times, August 23, 2019).

From January to July, fires consumed 4.6 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon, a 62 percent increase compared to last year

Colombia

• “Archila Responde Criticas de Congresistas Sobre la Implementacion de la Paz” (Semana (Colombia), August 23, 2019).

El alto consejero para la estabilización y la consolidación le respondió a parlamentarios de la U, Cambio Radical, el Polo y el Partido Liberal, entre otros, acerca del estado de implementación de los acuerdos

• “La Dura Carta Que Comandantes (R) Enviaron a la Cupula Militar” (El Tiempo (Colombia), August 23, 2019).

Se refieren al daño que los hechos de corrupción le están haciendo a las instituciones militares

• Olga Patricia Rendon M., “El Eln Busca Colarse del Choco a Venezuela” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 23, 2019).

Narcotráfico, explotación ilícita de oro y extorsiones son las rentas criminales que persigue el Eln en el norte del país. Ya puede cruzar desde Chocó hasta Venezuela

Cuba, Venezuela

• Angus Berwick, “Imported Repression: How Cuba Taught Venezuela to Quash Military Dissent” (Reuters, Reuters, August 23, 2019).

Imposing surveillance, fear and repression, Cuba helped Venezuela revamp its armed forces and military intelligence service. Reuters reveals how two agreements, undisclosed since 2008, let Havana remake Venezuela’s security apparatus

El Salvador

• Steven Dudley, “Gangs of el Salvador” (InsightCrime, Foreign Affairs, August 23, 2019).

In the land of Mano Dura, those who talk about an alternative risk getting burned—not just by a vengeful state but by the bloodthirsty gangs themselves

Guatemala

• Ferdy Montepeque, “Jueces Temen por su Seguridad Tras Salida de la Cicig” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), August 23, 2019).

Tres de los jueces que han conocido casos investigados por el Ministerio Público (MP) y la Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) hablaron ayer sobre los riesgos que representa su trabajo y señalaron que el Organismo Judicial (OJ) no ha atendido las denuncias por amenazas

• Jose Elias, “La Vigilancia de Naciones Unidas se Apaga en Guatemala” (El Pais (Spain), August 23, 2019).

La Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad de Guatemala (Cicig), creada por las Naciones Unidas para fortalecer el débil sistema de justicia guatemalteco, echó este miércoles el cierre a sus actividades en el país centroamericano tras 12 años

• Jody Garcia, Javier Estrada Tobar, “Investigacion: Como Jimmy Encontro el Negocio de la Impunidad en Jerusalen” (Nomada (Guatemala), August 23, 2019).

Jimmy Morales, el impopular presidente guatemalteco, llegó para confirmar que trasladaría su embajada de Tel Aviv a Jerusalén

Mexico

• “Faltan Recursos al Gobierno de Amlo para Garantizar Proteccion a Periodistas y Activistas, Alerta la Onu” (Proceso (Mexico), August 23, 2019).

El Diagnóstico resalta que el presupuesto asignado para este año, de 207.6 millones de pesos, era muy inferior a lo canalizado en años anteriores, y corresponde “al 64% del gasto previsto y monto inferior a lo ejercido en 2018 y 2017”

• “Ejercicio para No Olvidar: Mas de 72 Preguntas a 9 Anos de la Masacre de San Fernando” (Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho, A Donde Van los Desaparecidos (Mexico), August 23, 2019).

Preguntarse por qué sus países y México no se han tocado el corazón para darles una respuesta, una certeza, es necesario

• Hamed Aleaziz, “Trump Has Returned 35,000 Asylum-Seekers to Mexico. Now the Country Is Pushing Back.” (BuzzFeed, August 23, 2019).

Mexican immigration officials have scuttled some of those plans by implementing caps on the number of people that can be returned to the country, limiting the hours when they can be sent back, and refusing to take asylum-seekers on Sundays

Panama

• “Presidente de Panama No Ve Viable Acuerdo de Tercer Pais Seguro Con Eeuu” (EFE, La Estrella (Panama), August 23, 2019).

El presidente panameño, Laurentino Cortizo, descartó este miércoles la posibilidad de firmar un acuerdo que convierta a Panamá en un “tercer país seguro” para albergar migrantes

(Even more here)

August 22, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• James Stavridis, “Troops Are Not the Answer to the Crisis at the Border” (Time, August 22, 2019).

The Trump Administration’s effort to deter migrants by creating harsh conditions at the border may ease the flow in the short term, but any long-term solution will require much broader cooperation with the world to the south

Brazil

• Jonathan Watts, “Jair Bolsonaro Claims Ngos Behind Amazon Forest Fire Surge – but Provides No Evidence” (The Guardian (Uk), August 22, 2019).

Local newspapers say farmers in some regions are organising “fire days” to take advantage of weaker enforcement by the authorities

• Tom Phillips, “‘He Wants to Destroy Us’: Bolsonaro Poses Gravest Threat in Decades, Amazon Tribes Say” (The Guardian (Uk), August 22, 2019).

Indigenous communities face their most severe threat since military rulers bulldozed highways through the region nearly five decades ago

• Marcelo Silva de Sousa, “Killings by Police Divide Brazilian City Weary of Crime” (Associated Press, Associated Press, August 22, 2019).

Witzel said in July that police should lose their “fear of killing.” Bolsonaro said this month that with a new law he backs, criminals “are going to die in the street like cockroaches”

Colombia

• “Editorial: El Ejercito Toma en Serio a la Comision de la Verdad” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 22, 2019).

Aunque un documento filtrado esta semana, que da cuenta de esos esfuerzos dentro de la institución, ha causado revuelo, la desconfianza, en este caso particular, nos parece infundada

• Sara Castillejo Ditta, “La Implementacion de los Pdet Amenaza Con Quedarse en Letra Muerta” (El Tiempo (Colombia), August 22, 2019).

El núcleo de la Reforma Rural Integral (RRI) está en riesgo por la falta de claridad del gobierno

Cuba

• Sarah Marsh, “Tourism to Cuba Plunges After Trump’s Tightening of Travel Ban: Data” (Reuters, Reuters, August 22, 2019).

While the decline is impacting the state tourism sector, it is also hurting the many restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts and taxi drivers in the fledgling Cuban private sector that the United States says it wants to support

Guatemala

• Anita Isaacs, Alvaro Montenegro, “Salvemos la Democracia en Guatemala” (The New York Times, August 22, 2019).

Todo indica que cuando gobierne Guatemala, la seguridad económica y física de sus ciudadanos podría empeorar

Mexico

• “Militares Mataron a 6 Civiles Que Nunca Dispararon: Cndh” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 22, 2019).

El 30 de octubre de 2014, seis civiles murieron en un operativo en Luvianos, Estado de México. La CNDH rechaza la versión ofrecida por los militares y dice que las víctimas no dispararon

• “Guardia Nacional y Policia Federal Disuelven Con Jaloneos Protesta de Migrantes Africanos en Chiapas” (Animal Politico (Mexico), August 22, 2019).

Los inmigrantes protestaron frente a la estación migratoria Siglo XXI en Tapachula, Chiapas, argumentando que llevan dos meses varados sin solución a su estadía en el país

• Julia Lurie, “Beatings, Kidnappings, and Rape: Sobering New Data Shows Just How Much Violence Migrants Through Mexico Endure” (Mother Jones, August 22, 2019).

Nearly a quarter of participants reported experiencing physical violence, including beatings, thefts, and kidnappings, en route through Mexico. Sexual violence was also rampant

• Ezequiel Flores Contreras, “Detienen a “el Chaparro“, Responsable de la Ola de Violencia en Chilapa Desde 2015” (Proceso (Mexico), August 22, 2019).

Zenén Nava Sánchez, El Chaparro, líder del grupo delincuencial Los Jefes, que actualmente mantiene una confrontación con la banda de Los Ardillos, que dirige la familia del diputado local perredista Bernardo Ortega Jiménez, por el control del municipio de Chilapa

• Mario J. Penton, “These Migrants Stranded at the U.S.-Mexico Border Share Why They Fled Their Homelands” (The Miami Herald, August 22, 2019).

he municipality has barely managed to put five portable toilets in the park, leaving most of the immigrants to seek help from church programs while walking the streets in search of jobs, food or a shelter

Nicaragua

• Ismael Lopez, “La Alianza de Ortega Con la Cupula Militar” (Confidencial (Nicaragua), August 22, 2019).

Más de 20 exmilitares en cargos de Gobierno y de negocios en Albanisa

Venezuela

• Tom o’connor, “Russia Says It “Will Always Stand” With Venezuela Against U.S. as Secret Talks Emerge” (Newsweek, August 22, 2019).

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Wednesday with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez in Moscow, where the two held the latest in a series of bilateral talks

• Oliver Stuenkel, “Four Signs Trump’s Venezuela Strategy Is Backfiring” (Americas Quarterly, August 22, 2019).

The humanitarian toll of U.S. sanctions is mounting, and Guaidó’s association with Trump has become his greatest liability

• Cynthia J. Arnson, “How the Trump Administration’s Venezuela Policy Just Doesn’t Add Up” (Woodrow Wilson Center, August 22, 2019).

The Trump administration’s hostility to immigration and to foreign aid spending overall clashes openly with the effort to procure regime change via the economic strangulation of the Maduro government

• Dan Restrepo, “Las Sorprendentes Opciones Sobre la Mesa para Venezuela” (CNN, August 22, 2019).

Si los venezolanos-estadounidenses aceptan que ellos y sus familias tienen que seguir sufriendo bajo un régimen criminal con una nueva cara para presionar a Cuba, un presidente Cabello quizás le saldría bien a Trump

• “Jefe del Comando Sur de Eeuu Dice Que Crisis Venezolana Amenaza Paz Regional” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), August 22, 2019).

Faller afirmó que los países de la región están ante el desafío de unirse para responder conjuntamente ante las amenazas a la paz regional, entre las que citó la crisis venezolana

(Even more here)

August 21, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Hamed Aleaziz, “The Trump Administration Plans to Deny Work Permits to Asylum-Seekers Who Cross the Border” (BuzzFeed, August 21, 2019).

The Trump administration plans to issue a new policy that would deny work permits to asylum-seekers who cross the border without authorization as well as those who are convicted of a felony, and significantly delay when those qualified to apply for a permit can do so

• Miriam Jordan, “The Flores Agreement Protected Migrant Children for Decades. It’s Under Threat.” (The New York Times, August 21, 2019).

As early as Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to issue a sweeping new set of regulations for detaining migrant children, replacing more than two decades of protections

Colombia

• Catalina Oquendo, “El Ejercito de Colombia Prepara una Version Coordinada Sobre el Conflicto” (El Pais (Spain), August 21, 2019).

EL PAÍS buscó comunicarse con la Dirección de Comunicaciones Estratégicas del Ejército para conocer cómo garantizará que esta directriz no incida en los relatos que los militares cuentan ante la Comisión y la JEP, sin obtener respuesta

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Crimenes de Lideres en Antioquia, ¿Resueltos?” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 21, 2019).

Para las instituciones oficiales, la labor se está haciendo bien. Sin embargo para las organizaciones sociales como la Fundación Sumapaz, la impunidad en estos crímenes ronda el 95%.

• “Investigan Masacre de Cinco Personas en Neira, Caldas” (Semana (Colombia), August 21, 2019).

El sector donde ocurrió la masacre hace parte de una zona recreativa con espacios naturales para acampar

Cuba, Mexico

• Mario J. Penton, “Thousands of Cubans Try to Enter the U.S. at a Border Now Practically Closed Off to Them” (The Miami Herald, August 21, 2019).

Long lists of papers taped to window panes hold the names of thousands of migrants waiting their turn to ask for U.S. asylum. The largest number of asylum seekers by far are Cubans, followed by Venezuelans and Nicaraguans

Mexico

• Juan Camilo Jaramillo, “Entire Police Forces Continue to Be Arrested in Mexico” (InsightCrime, August 21, 2019).

Fifteen police officers from the municipality of Madera, Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, were arrested on August 15 during a joint operation by state and federal agencies

• Ewan Palmer, “Mexico Judge Approves Recreational Cocaine Use in Landmark Ruling, Cites Drug’s Ability to Provide ‘Spiritual Experiences’” (Newsweek, August 21, 2019).

In the first ruling of its kind, the district court in Mexico City granted permission for the pair to “possess, transport and use cocaine”—but not sell it

• “17 Mujeres Asesinadas, Desde Da­a de la Marcha” (Milenio (Mexico), August 21, 2019).

Las agresiones se suscitaron en nueve estados; dos víctimas fallecieron a manos de sus parejas y el crimen organizado mató a una alcaldesa https://www.milenio.com/policia/desde-dia-de-la-marcha-17-mujeres-asesinadas

Nicaragua

• Leonor Álvarez, “Daniel Ortega Prepara “Batallones de la Paz” para Futuras Elecciones” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), August 21, 2019).

Al menos siete personas murieron en las elecciones municipales de 2017. Así que no es alejado de la realidad creer que el régimen orteguista enviará a sus “Batallones de la paz” a imponer el terror en las urnas

Panama

• Nick Miroff, “U.S. Seeks Deal to Send Asylum Seekers From Africa and Asia to Panama” (The Washington Post, August 21, 2019).

Acting homeland security secretary Kevin McAleenan will travel to Panama City on Wednesday to meet with the country’s newly elected president, Laurentino Cortizo

(Even more here)

August 20, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Max Daly, “Synthetic Drugs Will Change the Global Drug Trade Forever” (VICE, August 20, 2019).

Manufactured anywhere, from DIY bathroom labs to huge chemical factories, synthetic drugs are cheaper and easier to make than cocaine and heroin because there is no reliance on the cultivation of plants

• Brian Ferguson, “Troops Serving Along Mexico Border to Get Medal” (Stars and Stripes, August 20, 2019).

The AFSM was created by executive order under President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was given to troops who deployed to the border between May 2006 and July 2008 under President George W. Bush

• Rafael Carranza, “Large Groups of Migrants Stop Crossing at the Arizona-Mexico Border” (The Arizona Republic, August 20, 2019).

“What’s happening is there’s a trickle there, where they are crossing three to four people at a time every hour or so, and doing it that way”

• Adam Willis, ““They Should Respect Our Opinions”: U.S. Reps Along the Texas-Mexico Border Serve as Ambassadors for Their Homes” (The Texas Tribune, August 20, 2019).

Over the last year, these border members have watched as a kind of congressional tourism at the border has become political necessity

• Giannina Segnini, Monica Cordero, “Evangelical Leaders Supported by the White House Export Fundamentalist Agenda to Latin America” (Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism, August 20, 2019).

No official account mentioned the parallel talks Pence, Pompeo and a group of fundamentalist evangelical leaders held with President Hernández to persuade him to make state decisions based on their literal interpretations of the Bible

Argentina, Venezuela

• Gabriel Burin, “Argentina’s Fernandez Says Would Join Mexico, Uruguay in Promoting Talks With Venezuela’s Maduro” (Reuters, Reuters, August 20, 2019).

Fernandez criticized regional demands for Maduro to step down and praised Mexico and Uruguay for promoting talks between Maduro and the opposition

Brazil

• Mauricio Santoro, “La Tragedia de Rio de Janeiro Es Politica” (The New York Times, August 20, 2019).

Las fuerzas de seguridad estatales son responsables del 38 por ciento de los homicidios en la ciudad

• Anna Jean Kaiser, “Brazil’s Bolsonaro May Drop Plans to Make Son Us Ambassador Amid Backlash” (The Guardian (Uk), August 20, 2019).

“I’m not going to subject my son to failure,” Bolsonaro told reporters on Tuesday in what was the first public hint he may be reconsidering his nomination

Colombia

• “Asesinatos de Indigenas en el Norte del Cauca: Cinco Puntos para Entender el Crudo Panorama” (Semana (Colombia), August 20, 2019).

Los nueve municipios que hacen parte del Norte del Cauca han registrado múltiples hechos en contra de sus autoridades indígenas desde que se firmó el Acuerdo de Paz

• “Uribe, al Banquillo” (Semana (Colombia), August 20, 2019).

La Corte Suprema de Justicia citó al expresidente a indagatoria el 8 de octubre por presunta manipulación de testigos. A partir de esa fecha los magistrados tendrán diez días para decidir si continúan con el proceso o lo archivan

• Juanita Velez, “La Farc Da la Cara a los Desaparecidos, Pero Les Falta Mucho” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), August 20, 2019).

Hoy el partido Farc, que fue responsable de muchas de esas desapariciones, dio un primer paso para que algunas de ellas estén más cerca a la verdad: le entregaron a la Unidad de Búsqueda de Personas Dadas por Desaparecidas información sobre 276 víctimas

Colombia, Mexico

• Rafael Croda, “La Sentencia a Favor de Buitrago Que Exhibe a los Enemigos del Giei” (Proceso (Mexico), August 20, 2019).

Angela María Buitrago acaba de ganar en su país un caso judicial que deja muy mal parados a ciertos personajes de la ultraderecha mexicana y a ciertos defensores de la “verdad histórica” de la Noche de Iguala

El Salvador

• Gerardo Arbaiza, “Aumentan Muertes por Uso de Fuerza de Policia y Fuerza Armada” (La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador), August 20, 2019).

En 2011, menos de 1 % del total de homicidios provenía del uso letal de la fuerza por parte de las autoridades. En seis años ese porcentaje llegó a ser más del 10 % de ese mismo total

Guatemala

• Bill Barreto, Sofia Menchu, “Son, Brother of Outgoing Guatemalan President Cleared of Fraud” (Reuters, Reuters, August 20, 2019).

The probe soured the commission’s relations with the president, and later in 2017, the CICIG tried to impeach Jimmy Morales, 50, himself for alleged campaign finance irregularities

• Kevin Sieff, “Trump Wants Border-Bound Asylum Seekers to Find Refuge in Guatemala Instead. Guatemala Isn’t Ready.” (The Washington Post, August 20, 2019).

In the past year, Guatemala has received 226 asylum claims. Of those, not a single one has been processed, according to the government. The country’s asylum agency has eight employees

• Gabriel Labrador, “Giammattei y la Elite de Guatemala Inician la Era Post Cicig” (El Faro (El Salvador), August 20, 2019).

Giammattei promete equilibrio y lucha contra la corrupción, pero los militares y empresarios que formarán parte de su gabinete consolidan las dudas sobre la integridad de su proyecto

• “Presidente Electo de Guatemala Visita Washington en Medio de Debate Migratorio” (Voice of America, August 20, 2019).

Giammattei ha asegurado que el tema migratorio será una prioridad en su gobierno y que el acuerdo alcanzado con la administración de Donald Trump debe ser analizado en conjunto con los anexos que aún se negocian

Mexico

• Karina Cancino, Mildra Benitez Robledo, Cesar Perez Delgado, Daniel Lizarraga, “El Fiscal Que Hizo de Nayarit un Infierno” (Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (Mexico), August 20, 2019).

Esto es parte de uno de los 2 mil testimonios que muestran un mecanismo para apoderarse de casas, terrenos, comercios y negocios en el que aparecieron involucrados el exgobernador Roberto Sandoval y el propio Veytia, detenido en Estados Unidos

• Parker Asmann, “Still Without Protection, Journalists Are Mexico’s Walking Dead” (InsightCrime, August 20, 2019).

López Obrador vowed that his administration was “not going to allow the assassination of journalists.” But that promise rings hollow under the weight of the 10 journalists murdered so far this year

• Seth Harp, “Arming the Cartels: The Inside Story of a Texas Gun-Smuggling Ring” (Rolling Stone, August 20, 2019).

According to the best estimates, gunrunners move 700 to 800 guns into Mexico every day — about a quarter-million guns every year

• Christina Brown, Kara Lynum, “Immigration Lawyers: We Saw What’s Happening at the Us-Mexico Border. It’s a Tragic Farce.” (USA Today, August 20, 2019).

There is no due process in Mexico for asylum seekers, just endless obstacles to staying alive, finding an attorney and communicating with authorities

Venezuela

• Vasco Cotovio, Isa Soares, William Bonnett, “A Trail of ‘Bloody Gold’ Leads to Venezuela’s Government” (CNN, August 20, 2019).

To extract the precious metal, these men must turn rocks into dust, from sunrise to sunset, under the brutal rule of a state-sponsored network of violent gangs and corrupt military

• Anthony Faiola, Rachelle Krygier, “During Secret Venezuela Talks, Maduro Offered New Elections. Is It a Real Breakthrough or a Stall?” (The Washington Post, August 20, 2019).

Assuming the offer is genuine, major sticking points remain — first and foremost, Maduro’s fate

• Tom Phillips, “Reports of Secret Us-Venezuela Talks to Oust Maduro Draw Skepticism” (The Guardian (Uk), August 20, 2019).

Cabello has yet to directly address claims he was talking to Washington, although an aide told the Associated Press he would only do so with Maduro’s permission

• Juliana Gil Gutierrez, “Marina de ee.uu. Afirma Estar Lista para Despliegue en Venezuela Si Recibe Orden” (Agence France Presse, El Universo (Ecuador), August 20, 2019).

“No voy a detallar lo que estamos planeando y lo que estamos haciendo, pero permanecemos listos para implementar decisiones políticas y estamos listos para actuar”, dijo Faller a los periodistas

• “Editorial: Us Sanctions Are Worsening Venezuela’s Agony” (The Financial Times (UK), August 20, 2019).

The Trump administration believes that by choking Venezuela’s economy harder Mr Maduro can be ejected. The remedy is not working

(Even more here)

August 19, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• A.c. Thompson, ““Dirtbag,” “Savages,” “Subhuman”: A Border Agent’s Hateful Career and the Crime That Finally Ended It” (Propublica, Mother Jones, August 19, 2019).

Border Patrol agent Matthew Bowen had been investigated for years before he used his 4,000-pound truck to assault a fleeing migrant

• “Inside the New Border Patrol Tent Facility for Up to 2,000 Migrants in Tornillo” (KVIA (El Paso Texas), August 19, 2019).

The 197,000-square-foot facility in the West Texas desert, which opened this past week, has separate giant white tent buildings for single adult female and male detainees

Brazil

• Samy Adghirni, “Brazil Mulls Labeling Hezbollah as Terrorists in Pivot to U.S.” (Bloomberg, August 19, 2019).

The move could strain relations with Iran, a Hezbollah ally which imports $2.5 billion of Brazilian products per year, and displease Brazil’s influential Lebanese community

Colombia

• María Jimena Duzán, “El Cartel de los Ascensos” (Semana (Colombia), August 19, 2019).

Lo que está pasando en el Ejército es de cuidado: los suboficiales, es decir, la base, están enardecidos, viendo como muchos generales viven a sus anchas y promueven a sus enchufados, pese a que no cumplen los requisitos

• Andres Rosales Garcia, “En Zona de el Paisa, la Paz se Cocina a Fuego Lento” (Semana Rural (Colombia), August 19, 2019).

En San Vicente del Caguán, excombatientes de la otrora columna Teófilo Forero de las Farc hacen ingentes esfuerzos por completar el proceso de reincorporación. Ninguno de sus proyectos productivos es sostenible todavía

• Juanita Velez, Jineth Prieto, Tatiana Duque, “La Sombra de Armados y Narcos en las Elecciones Regionales” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), August 19, 2019).

Por lo menos en Putumayo, el Pacífico y Catatumbo, sus habitantes seguirán yendo a las urnas en medio del conflicto, y ahora con un fortalecido matrimonio entre narcos, guerrillas o disidencias con la política

• “Buque Hospital de ee.uu. Llega al Norte de Colombia para Mision Humanitaria” (EFE, El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 19, 2019).

El busque hospital USNS Comfort de la Armada de Estados Unidos llegó este domingo a la ciudad colombiana de Santa Marta

• Juan Francisco Valbuena G., “‘Fumigaciones Aereas Son un Elemento Muy Fuerte e Importante’: Ee. Uu.” (El Tiempo (Colombia), August 19, 2019).

Así lo dijo embajador saliente de ese país en Colombia, Kevin Whitaker, en entrevista con EL TIEMPO

Guatemala

• Azam Ahmed, “Women Are Fleeing Death at Home. The U.S. Wants to Keep Them Out.” (The New York Times, August 19, 2019).

Violence against women is driving an exodus of migrants from Central America, but the Trump administration is determined to deny them asylum

Mexico

• “Acusan a la Guardia Nacional de Actuar Como la Patrulla Fronteriza de Eu en Tijuana” (Proceso (Mexico), August 19, 2019).

El pasado martes 13 se llevaron detenidos, de forma arbitraria, a niños, adolescentes y adultos que se encontraban en playas de Tijuana en una salida recreativa

• Jason Kao, Denise Lu, “How Trump’s Policies Are Leaving Thousands of Asylum Seekers Waiting in Mexico” (The New York Times, August 19, 2019).

By early August, the waiting lists had expanded to three more cities. The total number of asylum seekers on these lists surpassed 26,000

Venezuela

• Jonathan Swan, “Amid Failure to Topple Maduro, Trump Privately Proposes a Naval Blockade of Venezuela” (Axios, August 19, 2019).

Trump has publicly alluded to a naval blockade of Venezuela. Earlier this month he answered “Yes, I am” when a reporter asked whether he was mulling such a move

• Joshua Goodman, “Us Talks Secretly to Venezuela Socialist Boss” (Associated Press, Associated Press, August 19, 2019).

Diosdado Cabello, who is considered the most-powerful man in Venezuela after Maduro, met last month in Caracas with someone who is in close contact with the Trump administration

(Even more here)

July 16, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Nick Miroff, Arelis R. Hernandez, Kevin Sieff, “Trump Administration Moves to Restrict Asylum Access, Aiming to Curb Central American Migration” (The Washington Post, July 16, 2019).

The move brought immediate threats of legal challenge; the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) contains broad provisions that allow foreigners who reach U.S. soil to apply for asylum if they claim a fear of persecution in their native countries

• Ginger Thompson, “A Border Patrol Agent Reveals What It’s Really Like to Guard Migrant Children” (ProPublica, July 16, 2019).

Most of his colleagues, he said, fall into one of two camps. There are the “law-and-order types” who see the immigrants in their custody, as, first and foremost, criminals. Then, he said, there are those who are “just tired of all the chaos” of a broken immigration system and “see no end in sight”

• Alexandra Mendoza, “Group of Activists Proposes ‘a New Vision for the Border’” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 16, 2019).

The proposal of the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), which represents 60 organizations from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, seeks to expand public safety, protect human rights and welcome newcomers and border residents

• Garrett M. Graff, “The Border Patrol Hits a Breaking Point” (Politico, July 16, 2019).

Behind this week’s migrant-center horrors lies an agency plagued by years of dysfunction—and Trump is only its latest problem

• “Unhcr Deeply Concerned About New U.S. Asylum Restrictions” (UN High Commissioner for Refugees, July 16, 2019).

UNHCR believes the rule excessively curtails the right to apply for asylum, jeopardizes the right to protection from refoulement, significantly raises the burden of proof on asylum seekers beyond the international legal standard, sharply curtails basic rights and freedoms of those who manage to meet it, and is not in line with international obligations

Mexico, Western Hemisphere Regional

• Michael D. Shear, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “Most Migrants at Border With Mexico Would Be Denied Asylum Protections Under New Trump Rule” (The New York Times, July 16, 2019).

The rule would effectively limit asylum protections to Mexicans and those who cross the United States’ southwestern border by sea

Central America Regional

• “Engel, Mccaul Bill to Address Root Causes of Migration From Central America Passes House” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Democratic Office, July 16, 2019).

Authorizes $577 million in foreign assistance to Central America to address the root causes of migration in Fiscal Year 2020

Guatemala

• Jonathan Blitzer, “How Trump’s Safe-Third-Country Agreement With Guatemala Fell Apart” (The New Yorker, July 16, 2019).

“The Guatemalans did not know what they were getting into,” a Trump Administration official said

Honduras

• Carlos Dada, “Un Pato Llamado Honduras” (El Pais (Spain), July 16, 2019).

Es uno de los países más pobres de América y un lugar estratégico para el narcotráfico, que ha secuestrado la institucionalidad y pervertido la economía y los equilibrios del poder

Guatemala, Mexico

• Santiago Perez, “New U.S. Asylum Rule Strands Thousands at Southern Border” (The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2019).

The rule, announced Monday by the Trump administration, requires asylum seekers who pass through a third country to first apply for refugee status from that country rather than from the U.S.

Mexico

• Debbie Nathan, “Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy Exposes Migrants to Rape, Kidnapping, and Murder in Dangerous Border Cities” (The Intercept, July 16, 2019).

The MPP, rather than protect migrants, puts them in grave danger. It mandates that they remain in crime-ridden Mexican border cities for months, even years

Venezuela

• “A Glimmer of Light in Venezuela’s Gloom” (International Crisis Group, July 16, 2019).

A discreet Norwegian diplomatic effort represents the best hope for breaking Venezuela’s political deadlock. To stop the country’s slide into humanitarian and economic catastrophe, pragmatic backers of both government and opposition should put aside empty hopes of outright victory and support a negotiated settlement

(Even more here)

July 11, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Maria Sacchetti, “‘Kids in Cages’: House Hearing Examines Immigration Detention as Democrats Push for More Information” (The Washington Post, July 11, 2019).

“There is no excuse for our government being so unprepared and indifferent to refugee flows that have been steadily mounting for months,” Raskin said

• Geneva Sands, Priscilla Alvarez, “Exclusive: John Sanders on Why He Left After Two and a Half Months as Acting Cbp Commissioner” (CNN, July 11, 2019).

“Why ever people come, they are here. I think that compassion and empathy is important to ensure they are treated humanely with dignity with respect,” Sanders told CNN

• Caitlin Dickerson, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “U.S. Prepares to Arrest Thousands of Immigrant Family Members” (The New York Times, July 11, 2019).

Nationwide raids to arrest thousands of members of undocumented families have been scheduled to begin Sunday, according to two current and one former homeland security officials, moving forward with a rapidly changing operation

Mexico, Western Hemisphere Regional

• Miriam Jordan, Kirk Semple, “A Sharp Drop in Migrant Arrivals on the Border: What’s Happening?” (The New York Times, July 11, 2019).

A migrant shelter in San Diego that a month ago was crowded with arrivals was nearly empty this week as migrant apprehensions have dropped sharply

El Salvador, Western Hemisphere Regional

• Teju Cole, “A Crime Scene at the Border” (The New York Times, July 11, 2019).

What sort of person needs to see such photographs in order to know what they should already know?

Brazil

• Dom Phillips, “New Generation of Political Exiles Leave Bolsonaro’s Brazil ‘to Stay Alive’” (The Guardian (Uk), July 11, 2019).

Politicians, academics and writers have fled a climate of death threats and hostility reminiscent of the military dictatorship

Colombia, Venezuela

• “De Choco a Venezuela, la Peligrosa Expansion del Eln” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), July 11, 2019).

La más reciente Alerta Temprana de la Defensoría del Pueblo, en la que se reseñan 24 alertas más emitidas entre enero de 2018 y junio de 2019, detalla el corredor que esa guerrilla está creando entre cinco departamentos

Colombia

• Cecilia Orozco Tascón, “El Sucesor del Das, ¿Tambien “Chuza”?” (El Espectador (Colombia), July 11, 2019).

En la mente enferma de los obsesos persecutores, no es posible vivir sin enemigos grandes. Desarmadas las Farc, había que crear otro monstruo que les diera una razón para odiar: el Acuerdo de Paz

El Salvador

• “Nayib Bukele’s Territorial Control Plan” (El Salvador Perspectives, July 11, 2019).

There have been arrests of more than 4200 persons in the first four weeks of the Territorial Control Plan

Mexico

• Kevin Sieff, “U.S. Begins Returning Asylum Seekers to One of Mexico’s Most Dangerous States” (The Washington Post, July 11, 2019).

The State Department warns against all travel to Tamaulipas — the same risk level it has assigned Syria and Afghanistan

• Parker Asmann, “Migrants Easy Prey Under Us ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program” (InsightCrime, July 11, 2019).

InSight Crime looks at the criminal dynamics in these four border states

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

• Javier Corrales, “Responses to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis: A Scorecard” (Americas Quarterly, July 11, 2019).

Nativism is on the rise. International norms and responsible politicians are helping to contain it, for now

Venezuela

• Javier Lafuente, ““las Torturas en Venezuela Son Sistematicas”” (El Pais (Spain), July 11, 2019).

El exjefe del Sebin se muestra calmado en la mayor parte de la charla, pero no puede evitar la incomodidad que le genera hablar de las torturas o las persecuciones del régimen

• Francisco Rodriguez, “Trump Doesn’t Have Time for Starving Venezuelans” (The New York Times, July 11, 2019).

United States oil sanctions have only made the country’s people poorer and their plight more desperate

(Even more here)

July 10, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Robert Muggah, “Violent Crime Has Undermined Democracy in Latin America” (Igarape Institute, The Financial Times (UK), July 10, 2019).

Last year, a mere 13 per cent of them expressed confidence in their national political parties, compared with 44 per cent who supported the armed forces

• Alan Gomez, Lauren Villagran, “Border Patrol Apprehensions Along Southern Border Fall for First Time in 2019” (USA Today, July 10, 2019).

Homeland Security said the slowdown in migrants entering the country should help the department get a better handle on “capacity challenges” it has experienced in recent months

• Jacob Soboroff, Julia Ainsley, “Migrant Kids in Yuma Report Sex Assault, Retaliation From U.S. Agents” (NBC News, July 10, 2019).

The reports from the Yuma CBP sector describe similar unsanitary and crowded conditions but go further by alleging abuse and other misconduct by CBP officers

Colombia

• Dylan Baddour, “Coca, the Illicit Plant That Funded Colombia’s Civil War, Is Flourishing Again. Duque’s Plan to Destroy It Is Drawing Opposition.” (The Washington Post, July 10, 2019).

His administration is challenging a 2015 court ruling that ended 25 years of U.S.-led flights; a decision is expected as early as this month

• Isabella Gomez, “La Carta Con la Que el Gobierno Notifica a Jep de Reduccion de Presupuesto para 2020” (Blu Radio (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

“Para este año, para inversión nosotros asignado $90.000 billones, para el 2020 nos anuncian $67.000 mil millones. Lo que nos implica una reducción de aproximadamente el 30%”

• “General Jorge Romero Sale del Ejercito Tras las Investigaciones de Semana” (Semana (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

El hasta ahora jefe del Comando de Apoyo Integral y Desarrollo fue llamado a calificar servicios. Varios testimonios lo involucran en una especie de cartel para la venta de salvoconductos de armas, entre otras conductas irregulares

• “Dinamicas de la Confrontacion Armada y Afectacion Humanitaria” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

En el primer semestre de 2019 tanto los combates de la Fuerza Pública, como los enfrentamientos entre grupos armados ilegales tuvieron incrementos. El actor armado más activo fue el ELN, seguido por las disidencias de las FARC

El Salvador

• Melissa del Bosque, “Immigration Officials Use Secretive Gang Databases to Deny Migrant Asylum Claims” (ProPublica, July 10, 2019).

The information is being provided through a new “fusion” intelligence-gathering center in El Salvador that is funded by the State Department and works in tandem with the Department of Homeland Security

Guatemala

• “Guatemala: Red Alert for Threats to Justice and Human Rights” (Amnesty International, July 10, 2019).

In Last Chance for Justice, the organization exposes the serious setbacks and imminent risks to human rights in Guatemala as a result of measures taken by the Jimmy Morales administration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office led by Consuelo Porras, the judiciary, and the national Congress

Mexico

• Nick Miroff, “Border Arrests Drop as Mexico’s Migration Crackdown Appears to Cut Crossings” (The Washington Post, July 10, 2019).

The number of people taken into custody along the U.S. southern border fell 28 percent in June, a drop that U.S. authorities say reflects the early impact of Mexico’s crackdown on Central American migration

• “Us Returns First Asylum Seekers to Violent Nuevo Laredo” (Associated Press, The New York Times, July 10, 2019).

The 10 migrants crossed the border to seek U.S. asylum Monday and will now have to wait in Mexico as their applications are processed

• Kate Morrissey, “Tijuana Asylum Line Reaches Highest Count on Record as Migrants Protest Long Waits” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 10, 2019).

An estimated 9,150 people are now waiting in the Mexican border city to request asylum in the United States

• Andrew Selee, “Mexico’s Migration Dilemmas” (Migration Policy Institute, Foreign Affairs, July 10, 2019).

The López Obrador administration has adopted an enforcement-first approach to migration, just as previous Mexican administrations have done when faced with pressure from Washington

Nicaragua

• “Daniel Ortega’s Most Wanted: Nicaragua’s Exiles in Costa Rica” (The Guardian (Uk), July 10, 2019).

Costa Rica has become a precarious refuge for thousands of Nicaraguan exiles. In the streets of San José, they continue to feel President Ortega’s reach

Venezuela

• Abraham Lowenthal, David Smilde, “Venezuela: Is There a Way Out of Its Tragic Impasse?” (Woodrow Wilson Center, July 10, 2019).

Lowenthal and Smilde offer insights about the ways that transitions have worked in the past, with reference to specific aspects of the Venezuelan case

• Francesco Manetto, “Guaido Retoma la Negociacion Con el Chavismo Pese a las Criticas de Parte de la Oposicion” (El Pais (Spain), July 10, 2019).

Mientras el ala radical de la oposición le demanda mayor dureza con el chavismo, el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional tampoco se atreve a eludir el intento de una negociación

(Even more here)

July 8, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Simon Romero, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Manny Fernandez, Daniel Borunda, Aaron Montes, Caitlin Dickerson, “Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Migrant Detention Center in Clint, Tex.” (The New York Times, July 8, 2019).

An out-of-the-way border station in the desert outside of El Paso has become the epicenter of outrage over the Trump administration’s policies on the southwest border

Colombia

• “Las Ovejas Negras en el Ejercito” (Semana (Colombia), July 8, 2019).

SEMANA revela audios y videos, con algunas de las pruebas de las investigaciones que se adelantan en Fiscalía y Procuraduría, en contra de generales del Ejército que terminaron desencadenando una cacería entre militares

• “Los Formatos de la Discordia para Duplicar las Afectaciones del Ejercito” (Semana (Colombia), July 8, 2019).

SEMANA revela los polémicos formatos firmados por altos oficiales del Ejército en las que se comprometían a duplicar los resultados, incluidas las bajas

• Natalia Tamayo Gaviria, “La Iglesia Catolica Le Dice No al Glifosato” (El Espectador (Colombia), July 8, 2019).

A cambio de reactivar esta estrategia, suspendida desde 2015 por la administración de Juan Manuel Santos, la Iglesia pidió por el cumplimiento de los acuerdos de sustitución voluntaria

• “Vendettas en el Valle y Cauca” (Semana (Colombia), July 8, 2019).

La reaparición de cuerpos desmembrados en Buenaventura, decapitados en Tuluá y masacres en el Cauca hace temer que en esa región del país se reactivaron ajustes mafiosos de cuentas al peor estilo de los carteles mexicanos

• Yamid Amat, “‘Si No Existiera la Jep Habria Que Crearla’: Jefe de Mision de la Onu” (El Tiempo (Colombia), July 8, 2019).

Gobierno Duque sí está apoyando proceso de paz, e inclusive va más allá, dice Carlos Ruiz Massieu

El Salvador

• Anna-Catherine Brigida, “El Salvador’s Tough Policing Isn’t What It Looks Like” (Foreign Policy, July 8, 2019).

Shootings reported as enfrentamientos, or confrontations, often mask killings of civilians and other misconduct

Guatemala

• Patrick J. Mcdonnell, “Death at the Border: 4 From Guatemala, 3 of Them Children, Succumb to Heat in Texas” (The Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2019).

On June 23, Border Patrol agents found the bodies of Chicas Perez and her 18-month-old son, Denilson, along with the remains of two other children, in the brush just north of the Rio Grande outside McAllen, Texas

Honduras

• “Seis Manifestantes Muertos Por “Excesivo Uso de la Fuerza” en Honduras, Segun Amnistia Internacional” (El Heraldo (Honduras), July 8, 2019).

Al menos seis personas murieron en Honduras desde abril por el “excesivo uso de la fuerza” de militares contra manifestantes que exigen la renuncia del presidente Juan Orlando Hernández

Mexico

• Kirk Semple, “Mexican Opium Prices Plummet, Driving Poppy Farmers to Migrate” (The New York Times, July 8, 2019).

Some evidence is emerging that fentanyl, a powerful and highly addictive synthetic opiate, is replacing heroin and other drugs, particularly on the East Coast

• Mark Stevenson, “Mexican President Gets Little Backlash for Migrant Crackdown” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, July 8, 2019).

This sympathy has been eroded by the migrant caravans of late 2018 and early 2019, which left a bad taste in the mouth of Mexicans and caused deep divisions among pro-migrant groups

• Angela Kocherga, “On the Border: ‘It Was Hell’” (The Albuquerque Journal, July 8, 2019).

In the border city of Ciudad Juárez, where 200 to 300 migrants a day are returned to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocol, asylum-seekers say they feel anything but protected as drug violence escalates

• Anthony Esposito, “Mexico’s New National Guard Was Created to Fight Crime, but Now It’s in a Face-Off With Migrants” (Reuters, July 8, 2019).

Using almost a third of the National Guard’s total ranks for migration duties means fewer security forces to tackle one of Mexico’s most pressing issues, spiraling violence, which last year cost a record 33,000 lives

Venezuela

• Rocio San Miguel, “Analisis de Entorno Politico – Militar Con Ocasion de los Actos Oficiales del 5 de Julio en Venezuela” (Asociación Civil Control Ciudadano (Venezuela), July 8, 2019).

La Fuerza Armada Nacional, con un contenido cada vez mas radical, de carácter político partidista, en los discursos de sus mandos, se separa cada día mas de la posibilidad de establecer algún vaso comunicante con los principios de control democrático y retorno al carril constitucional

• Michael Stott, “Worries Mount Over Human Cost of Us Sanctions on Venezuela” (The Financial Times (UK), July 8, 2019).

Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodriguez at New York brokerage Torino Capital set out evidence that US financial sanctions are associated with a 797,000 b/d drop in oil production, worth about $16.9bn a year

• Juan Manuel Florez Arias, Richard Aguirre Fernandez, “Dialogo, ¿Salida a la Crisis u Oxigeno para Maduro?” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), July 8, 2019).

El establecimiento de una nueva mesa de diálogo entre gobierno y oposición venezolanas en Barbados abre una posibilidad de salida de la crisis, pero también de división de la oposición

• Scott Smith, “Maduro Shows Military Might in Independence Day Celebration” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, July 8, 2019).

Maduro applauded and pumped his fist as soldiers marched past, tanks rolled by and fighter jets streaked overhead at a Caracas military base

• David Smilde, Abraham F. Lowenthal, “Venezuela Negotiations Deserve Strong International Support” (The Hill, July 8, 2019).

Solutions to bitter conflicts generally are possible when key actors on both sides are convinced that negotiating a change of regime on mutually acceptable terms is preferable to a prolonged and destructive stalemate, or the potential defeat of their side

(Even more here)

June 28, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “Two Soldiers Died by Suicide Along the Mexico Border, Me Says” (Associated Press, Military Times, June 28, 2019).

A medical examiner says two soldiers helping secure the Mexico border in Arizona died by suicide

• Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Emily Cochrane, “House Passes Senate Border Bill in Striking Defeat for Pelosi” (The New York Times, June 28, 2019).

Speaker Nancy Pelosi capitulated to Republicans and Democratic moderates and dropped her insistence on stronger protections for migrant children in overcrowded border shelters

• Riane Roldan, “June Has Been a Deadly Month for Migrants Crossing the Border Into Texas” (The Texas Tribune, June 28, 2019).

As migrants continue arriving at the Texas-Mexico border, drownings have spiked in recent weeks, with nine people drowning in El Paso-area canals this month alone. Border Patrol and soldiers have rescued others

Brazil

• Terrence Mccoy, “Cocaine, Leaks and Opposition: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Challenged by Scandal, Defeats” (The Washington Post, June 28, 2019).

Another week in Brazil, another scandal consuming the young presidency of Jair Bolsonaro

Colombia

• “Gobierno de Colombia Dara Mas Proteccion a Exguerrilleros de las Farc Tras Asesinatos” (Associated Press, El Universo (Ecuador), June 28, 2019).

Duque señaló a la prensa desde Medellín que “a los criminales que están detrás de asesinatos de líderes sociales, excombatientes de las FARC y cualquier colombiano, los vamos a enfrentar”

• Tatiana Duque, “Los Asesinatos de Exfarc Ponen en Vilo la Verdad Que Busca la Jep” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), June 28, 2019).

Durante las últimas dos semanas, dos excombatientes de las Farc fueron asesinados en Cauca y tres en Nariño, todos de la misma forma: a disparos y por sicarios

Guatemala, Mexico

• “Chairman Engel, Nadler, and Thompson Call on Trump to End Unlawful Safe Third Country Negotiations” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Democratic Office, June 28, 2019).

The State Department’s most recent Human Rights Reports on Guatemala and Mexico make it clear that these countries do not meet the legal standards required for safe third country agreements

Honduras

• Carlos Dada, “Los Ninos Con Piedras se Unen a las Protestas en Honduras” (El Faro (El Salvador), June 28, 2019).

Estudiantes con edades que van de los 11 a los 18 años se han unido a las protestas en un país militarizado, en el que se respira gas lacrimógeno

Mexico

• Alberto Pradilla, “Casa del Migrante en Sonora Acusa Que Guardia Nacional Intento Irrumpir en Albergue” (Animal Politico (Mexico), June 28, 2019).

Los albergues de la zona norte denuncian que elementos de la Guardia Nacional quisieron entrar a las instalaciones de Agua Prieta. El gobierno no ofrece explicaciones

• Ángeles Mariscal, “Cierran el Paso a Migrantes Que Suben al Tren” (Aristegui Noticias, June 28, 2019).

‘¡Ejército! ¡Están rodeados! ¡Están rodeados!’, gritan a migrantes durante operativo de detención en Palenque, Chiapas

• Arturo Angel, “Guardia Nacional Iniciara Sin Reglamento, Con Dudas Sobre su Estado de Fuerza y Capacitacion” (Animal Politico (Mexico), June 28, 2019).

Las autoridades no han transparentado los detalles sobre los cursos de capacitación y procesos de evaluación de los elementos de la Guardia Nacional

• Stephania Taladrid, “The Violence Beat” (Columbia Journalism Review, June 28, 2019).

Since Turati began chronicling the conflict, it has claimed almost 250,000 lives. More than 40,000 people are missing

• Joel Rose, “Trump Administration’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Leaves Migrants Confused, Scared” (National Public Radio, June 28, 2019).

More than 6,000 migrants have been returned to Juarez so far. Most of them are poor, are staying in shelters run by churches in town, waiting for their days in court

• Cedar Attanasio, “‘It’s Not Safe Here.’ Migrants Detail Violence They Face as U.S. Makes Them Wait in Mexico” (Associated Press, Time, June 28, 2019).

Cartel violence in Juarez is down from its height five years ago, but it is still one of the most dangerous cities in the world

Venezuela

• Brian Ellsworth, Mayela Armas, “Special Report: Why the Military Still Stands by Venezuela’s Beleaguered President” (Reuters, Reuters, June 28, 2019).

In a series of actions that began in 1999, the former lieutenant colonel and one-time coup leader began taming the military by bloating it, buying it off, politicizing it, intimidating the rank and file, and fragmenting the overall command

• “Jefe del Comando Sur Asegura Que Venezuela Requiere de “Paciencia Estrategica”” (EFE, El Estimulo (Venezuela), June 28, 2019).

“La jefatura ha sido clara, todas las opciones están sobre la mesa. Y estas opciones incluyen un amplio abanico de herramientas y políticas. Ya veremos cómo se desarrollan, pero -como militar- mi trabajo es estar preparado”

(Even more here)

June 25, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Jonathan Blitzer, “Ice Agents Are Losing Patience With Trump’s Chaotic Immigration Policy” (The New Yorker, June 25, 2019).

Preparations that would typically take field officers six to eight weeks were compressed into a few days, and, because of Trump’s tweet, the officers would be entering communities that now knew they were coming

• Dan Restrepo, Trevor Sutton, Joel Martinez, “Getting Migration in the Americas Right” (Center for American Progress, June 25, 2019).

Advancing U.S. national interests requires a fundamental reassessment of current and recent approaches in the Americas, beginning with abandoning the policies of the current U.S. administration that are impeding effective national and regional responses to migration

• Clara Long, Nicole Austin-Hillery, “We Went to a Border Detention Center for Children. What We Saw Was Awful” (CNN, June 25, 2019).

US Border Patrol is holding many children, including some who are much too young to take care of themselves, in jail-like border facilities for weeks at a time without contact with family members, regular access to showers, clean clothes, toothbrushes, or proper beds. Many are sick

Colombia

• Megan Janetsky, “They Were Raped During Colombia’s Civil War. Now They Want Justice for Their Children.” (Public Radio International, June 25, 2019).

They called for the government to pay monetary reparations — compensation for war damages — to both sexual abuse survivors and children born as results of the abuse

• “Ejercito Traslada Base Militar por Denuncias de Abusos en el Catatumbo” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 25, 2019).

El plazo para desmontar esta guarnición en El Carmen (N. de Santander) es de siete días Por supuestos casos de abusos que van desde ocupación de bienes indígenas hasta graves hechos de tortura, atribuidos a miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas, el Ejército Nacional acordó este fin de semana trasladar una base militar, ubicada en zona rural del municipio de El Carmen

• Natalia Herrera Durán, “Maria del Pilar Hurtado, la Lider Que Habia Denunciado “Casas de Pique”” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 25, 2019).

La madre asesinada el viernes 21 de junio era María del Pilar Hurtado, una líder comunitaria de la Fundación de Víctimas Adelante con Fortaleza (Funviavor) del Cauca que se había desplazado a Tierralta (Córdoba) hace un año

• Juanita Velez, Adelaida Avila Cabrera, “Mientras la Quieren Tumbar, la Jep Esta por Senalar Culpables” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), June 25, 2019).

Ya abrió siete macro casos, que involucran a más de la mitad de las 11.827 personas que se han sometido a ella, 9.704 de las Farc y 2.059 de la Fuerza Pública. La idea es abrir otros para abarcar a todos los llamados comparecientes

Colombia, Ecuador

• “Fuerzas Armadas de Ecuador y Colombia Hacen Ejercicio para Detener las Narcoavionetas” (El Universo (Ecuador), June 25, 2019).

Ecuador pone en práctica el funcionamiento de planes de interdicción a través de la flota de aviones Super Tucano, que de acuerdo con Oswaldo Jarrín, ministro de Defensa, ya ha dejado algunos resultados

Honduras

• “Policia Militar Ataca Con Bala Viva a Estudiantes y Viola Autonomia de la Unah” (El Heraldo (Honduras), June 25, 2019).

A los minutos se escucharon los llantos, había varios heridos de bala, cuatro estudiantes con edades entre 21 y 22 años que fueron trasladados al Hospital Escuela, con heridas en las piernas, glúteos y otras partes de cuerpo

• Ryan Dube, “Honduras’s Leader Struggles With Ills That Drive Migration” (The Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2019).

The White House and State Department have praised Mr. Hernández for fighting cocaine traffickers and reducing the homicide rate. U.S. diplomat Kimberly Breier thanked the president in April for “empowering Hondurans to build their future at home”

• Sandra Cuffe, “Honduras Protest Crackdown: Five Things to Know” (Al Jazeera, June 25, 2019).

Protests against President Juan Orlando Hernandez are likely to continue as the anniversary of the 2009 coup approaches

Mexico

• “Nueva Evidencia de Tortura en el Caso Ayotzinapa Reafirma la Urgencia de Investigar a Funcionarios Que Incurrieron en Violaciones a Derechos Humanos y Obstruyeron la Busqueda de la Justicia y Verdad” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mexico Field Office, June 25, 2019).

Desde el viernes pasado diversos medios de comunicación publicaron un video que expone la tortura en contra de uno de los detenidos por el caso Ayotzinapa, Carlos Canto Salgado, por tres individuos

• Adolfo Flores, “Mexico Is Deploying 15,000 Troops to the Border to Stop Immigrants From Reaching the Us” (BuzzFeed, June 25, 2019).

Monday’s press conference appeared to mark the first time Mexican officials have disclosed they were sending troops to its border with the US

Nicaragua

• “Editorial: Las Sanciones y el Ejercito” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), June 25, 2019).

Según analistas políticos, el caso de Mojica es el más importante porque la sanción es una advertencia indirecta que envía EE. UU. a los altos mandos del Ejército de Nicaragua, de que también podrían ser sancionados por su complicidad con la dictadura

Venezuela

• Anthony Faiola, “Maduro’s Ex-Spy Chief Lands in U.S. Armed With Allegations Against Venezuelan Government” (The Washington Post, June 25, 2019).

Figuera arrived in the United States on Monday armed with allegations about Maduro’s government: The illicit gold deals. The Hezbollah cells working in Venezuela. The extent of Cuban influence inside Maduro’s Miraflores Palace

(Even more here)

June 24, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “Editorial: There’s No Excuse for Mistreating Children at the Border. Here’s What to Do About It.” (The New York Times, June 24, 2019).

President Trump has promoted policies that undermine all these goals, and Congress has failed to agree on a coherent vision. You can help turn that around. Here’s how

• Serena Marshall, Lana Zak, Jennifer Metz, “Doctor Compares Conditions at Immigrant Holding Centers to ‘Torture Facilities’” (ABC News, June 24, 2019).

The disturbing, first-hand account of the conditions were observed by lawyers and a board-certified physician in visits last week to border patrol holding facilities in Clint, Texas, and McAllen

• Caitlin Dickerson, “‘There Is a Stench’: No Soap and Overcrowding in Detention Centers for Migrant Children” (The New York Times, June 24, 2019).

A chaotic scene of sickness and filth is unfolding in an overcrowded border station in Clint, Tex., where hundreds of young people who have recently crossed the border are being held

• Ken White, “Why a Government Lawyer Argued Against Giving Immigrant Kids Toothbrushes” (The Atlantic, June 24, 2019).

The sheer effrontery of the government’s argument may be explained, but not excused, by its long backstory

• Chantal Da Silva, “Border Patrol Agents Find Woman and Three Children Dead Near Border” (Newsweek, June 24, 2019).

Guerra’s statement on the deaths came ten hours after the sheriff warned of a “dangerous heat advisory,” asserting that people in the area should “avoid outdoor activities”

• Lomi Kriel, Dug Begley, “Trump Administration Still Separating Hundreds of Migrant Children at the Border Through Often Questionable Claims of Danger” (The Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2019).

More than 700 children were taken from their parents or, in a few cases, from other relatives between June 2018 and May 2019

Brazil

• Daniel Schweimler, “Police Violence Worsens in Brazil’s Poor Neighbourhoods” (Al Jazeera, June 24, 2019).

Despite many questionable police killings, no Rio de Janeiro police officer has yet been convicted or jailed

Colombia

• “Operacion Silencio” (Semana (Colombia), June 24, 2019).

SEMANA revela los detalles del cerco de amenazas y presiones sobre los militares que están denunciando los falsos positivos y actos de corrupción en el Ejército. ¿Por qué los quieren callar y qué información tienen?

Colombia, Cuba

• “Gobierno Pide a Fiscalia Tramitar Extradicion de Negociadores del Eln” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 24, 2019).

‘Pablo Beltrán’ y el alto comisionado, Miguel Ceballos, se refirieron a esta solicitud“A nosotros nos mandaron acá en Cuba a hacer negociaciones de paz, con una agenda que ya estaba firmada y sigue firmada, nosotros nos enteramos de esa acción aquí en Cuba, por supuesto no sabíamos, nos enteramos acá”, detalló ‘Beltrán’

Colombia

• Carolina Avila Cortes, “Hay Mas de 300 Posibles Victimas de Ejecuciones Extrajudiciales en la Region Caribe” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 24, 2019).

Este es el departamento con mayor número de víctimas y aseguran que bajo la comandancia de Nicacio Martínez, en la X Brigada Blindada, 58 personas fueron asesinadas y presentadas como exguerrilleros o extorsionistas

• “¿Ejecutados? Semana Encontro Nuevas Denuncias Sobre Posibles Ejecuciones Extrajudiciales” (Semana (Colombia), June 24, 2019).

Arauca y Tumaco son los escenarios de hechos que dejan muchas dudas y que tendrá que investigar la Fiscalía y Procuraduría

Colombia, Venezuela

• Dylan Baddour, “Colombia’s Border Czar Stands Against the Anti-Migrant Tide” (The Atlantic, June 24, 2019).

Muñoz has now spent 16 months through two presidential administrations leading his nation’s efforts to respond to the migration crisis. He is upbeat, though there are few hints that the flow of Venezuelans will stop anytime soon

Colombia

• “¿por Que los Quieren Callar?” (Semana (Colombia), June 24, 2019).

Los militares que están confesando en la JEP cómo participaron en los falsos positivos son blanco de amenazas y presiones. ¿Qué están contando que es tan incómodo?

• Julieta Pelcastre, “Colombian Navy Boosts Tactical Land Mobility” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), June 24, 2019).

The U.S. delivered 12 Humvees to strengthen the Colombian Navy’s tactical land mobility. These vehicles will be operational in mid-June 2019

Cuba

• Anthony Faiola, “As Sanctions Bite in Cuba, the U.S. — Once a Driver of Hope — Is Now a Source of Pain” (The Washington Post, June 24, 2019).

The lawn of the Nicaraguan Embassy — a launch point for migrants seeking to enter the United States via Mexico — is overflowing with visa applicants

Guatemala

• Alleen Brown, “She Defended Her Land Against a Mine in Guatemala. Then She Fled in Fear for Her Life.” (The Intercept, June 24, 2019).

For years, Tahoe Resources argued that there were no Xinca people left in the communities surrounding the mine who would require any consultation. They were wrong

Mexico

• Maya Averbuch, Kirk Semple, “Mexico’s Crackdown at Its Southern Border, Prompted by Trump, Scares Migrants From Crossing” (The New York Times, June 24, 2019).

Immigrants’ advocates anticipated that the increasing presence of security forces would continue to drive down the number of people trying to migrate north, but they expected that in time, the flows would rebound

• Oliver de Ros, “Mexico Officials Detain More Migrants as Crackdown Steps Up” (Associated Press, Associated Press, June 24, 2019).

Many of the National Guardsmen are soldiers and police officers who now wear black armbands indicating they are part of the National Guard

Belize, Guatemala, Mexico

• Jacobo Garcia, Teresa de Miguel, Fred Ramos, “El Caribe Turbio” (El Pais (Spain), June 24, 2019).

Este especial describe la enigmática realidad que se levanta a pocos pasos de los centros turísticos más importantes del mundo

Mexico

• “Deportations After Deal: A New Reality in Mexico” (BBC (UK), June 24, 2019).

Photojournalist Encarni Pindado has seen the impact of the harsher policies on the people making their journey north.

• Lizbeth Diaz, “Two More Border Cities Added to U.S.-Mexico Asylum Program: Sources” (Reuters, Reuters, June 24, 2019).

The policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or Remain in Mexico, will be implemented later this week in Nuevo Laredo in the northern state of Tamaulipas

Venezuela

• “Army and Police Officials ‘Detained’ in Venezuela” (BBC (UK), June 24, 2019).

Activists say six officials have been detained as President Maduro intensifies a crackdown on dissent Six members of Venezuela’s military and police have been arrested, activists say, weeks after a failed uprising against President Nicolás Maduro

• James Dobbins, “Preparing for a Venezuela After Maduro” (Foreign Affairs, June 24, 2019).

There is no sign that the Trump administration set any post-conflict preparation in train before U.S. officials began issuing musing about military action, or even that they have now done so

• Admiral Craig Faller, “Ussouthcom Commander Admiral Craig Faller Message to the Venezuelan Military” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), June 24, 2019).

I hope the day comes soon when we can welcome you back into our hemisphere’s professional brotherhood-of-arms. We look forward to Venezuela’s return to the family of democracies in this hemisphere

(Even more here)

June 18, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Priscilla Alvarez, Geneva Sands, “Trump Admin Considers Temporary Courts Along the Southern Border” (CNN, June 18, 2019).

Site assessments have been completed for almost all the ports of entry to determine where such temporary immigration courts, described by sources as “soft-sided,” would be needed

Colombia

• Tatiana Duque, Juanita Velez, “Gentil Duarte Da un Paso Mas para Revivir a las Farc” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), June 18, 2019).

La disidencia de Gentil Duarte, que es la más grande del país, se está consolidando en Putumayo, está dando los primeros pasos para entrar a Cauca y por medio de su aliado Iván Mordisco llegó hasta Nariño

• Sebastian Forero Rueda, “La Verdad de las Mujeres en la Guerra, en Manos de Justicia Transicional” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 18, 2019).

La Jurisdicción Especial de Paz y la Comisión de la Verdad reciben este martes, 18 de junio, cinco informes sobre violencia contra mujeres indígenas, afrodescendientes, exiliadas y defensoras de derechos humanos que recogen más de 900 testimonios

• “Gobierno Planea Retomar Aspersion Con Glifosato En “Cuestion de Semanas”” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 18, 2019).

Según reveló Botero, la aspersión se retomaría en julio

Ecuador

• Pablo Jaramillo Viteri, Chris Kraul, “Ecuador Defends Decision to Let the U.S. Use the Galapagos Islands for Anti-Drug Flights” (The Los Angeles Times, June 18, 2019).

Ecuador signed the new agreement with the U.S. last year, but it was detailed only at a little-noticed news conference in April

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

• Matthew Lee , “Us Restores Some Aid to el Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala” (Associated Press, Associated Press, June 18, 2019).

The State Department said that after a review of more than $615 million in assistance that President Donald Trump ordered in March to be cut entirely, it would go ahead with $432 million

Guatemala

• Sandra Cuffe, “Guatemala Arrests Fugitive Ex-Military Chief Accused of Genocide” (Al Jazeera, June 18, 2019).

Luis Enrique Mendoza, on the run since 2011, faces charges for his alleged role in 1982 massacre of Maya Ixil people

• MartÍn RodrÍguez Pellecer, “Habra Otro Invierno en el Gobierno, el Pacto Es Castigado, y Otras Sorpresas de la Eleccion” (Nomada (Guatemala), June 18, 2019).

No hay mucho qué celebrar para la alianza conocida como el Pacto de Corruptos en el Congreso. Y hubo un voto de protesta que no puede ser ignorado

• Gabriel Labrador, “Guatemala se Resigna en las Urnas a Ver Morir a la Cicig” (El Faro (El Salvador), June 18, 2019).

El resultado probablemente condena a muerte a la Comisión Contra la Impunidad, pieza clave de la lucha contra la corrupción en los últimos diez años

Mexico

• Alonso Urrutia, “Asumira el Gobierno Control de Albergues para Indocumentados: Amlo” (La Jornada (Mexico), June 18, 2019).

Había casos, dijo, de organizaciones no gubernamentales dedicada a apoyos a migrantes a quienes se le entregaban los recursos y el dinero nunca llegó a los migrantes

• Alberto Pradilla, “Todos Alerta: Migrantes Eluden Retenes en la Carretera y Corren en un Intento de Abordar el Tren” (Animal Politico (Mexico), June 18, 2019).

En una de las salidas de Huixtla, Chiapas, migrantes centroamericanos se aferran a la posibilidad de abordar el tren, para avanzar en su ruta hacia el norte

• Maria Verza, “Overcrowding, Abuse Seen at Mexico Migrant Detention Center” (Associated Press, Associated Press, June 18, 2019).

Located in the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, it’s a secretive place off-limits to public scrutiny where cellphones are confiscated and journalists aren’t allowed inside

• Nick Miroff, “Arrests Along Mexico Border Are Falling, Preliminary Figures Show” (The Washington Post, June 18, 2019).

U.S. authorities detained more than 85,000 “family unit” members at the border in May, an average of nearly 2,800 per day. That number has declined about 13 percent since the beginning of June

• Alejandro Lazo, “Mexican Shelters Strained by Migrants Struggle With U.S. Returnees” (The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2019).

Shelters in Mexico are already overcrowded, and resources are thin in border communities such as Tijuana

• Maria Sacchetti, “‘the American Dream Has Turned Into Hell’: In Test of a Deterrent, Juarez Scrambles Before U.S. Dumps Thousands of Migrants” (The Washington Post, June 18, 2019).

More than 200 migrants were sent back to Juarez on Thursday, double the previous day, and officials expect as many as 500 migrants each day will be returned from El Paso to Juarez in coming weeks

• Ted Hesson, “Mexican Official Claims Gains in U.S. Border Enforcement” (Politico, June 18, 2019).

The Mexican official, who briefed reporters in Washington, said U.S. Border Patrol arrested 2,600 people per day after the agreement was struck on June 7. That would be a steep drop from the daily average of 4,300 border arrests in May

(Even more here)

June 17, 2019

Colombia

• Joe Parkin Daniels, “Journalist Finally Brings Attackers to Justice but Warns: ‘Colombia’s Sliding Backwards’” (The Guardian (Uk), June 17, 2019).

“When you see social leaders threatened, when you hear women threatened with rape if they don’t shut up, when you see journalists attacked for not toeing the government line, it’s heartbreaking”

• “Jep Busca a 1.615 Militares y Policias Que No se Han Reportado” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 17, 2019).

Para mantener el beneficio de la libertad debían presentarse a la JEP y, a través de la Sala de Definición de Situaciones Jurídicas, concretar el régimen de condicionalidad mediante el cual se comprometen a garantizar la verdad, la reparación y la no repeticiónEllos obtuvieron su libertad o pasaron de una cárcel a una sede militar, y aún no responden

• Juan Jose Aux Trujillo, “Jep, en la Mira de un Referendo” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), June 17, 2019).

La recolección de firmas para el referendo que pretende hacer dos reformas constitucionales –una jurídica, en la que eliminaría la JEP, y una política, que transformaría el Congreso– ya inició

• “Ivan Marquez Pierde su Investidura de Congresista” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 17, 2019).

El Consejo de Estado tomó esta decisión luego de advertir que el exjefe de las Farc no se posesionó en el Congreso y la única excusa posible para su ausencia, que haya sido por “fuerza mayor”, no pudo comprobarse

• Hector Riveros, “La Declaracion del Coronel Acelero Todo” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), June 17, 2019).

El expresidente Álvaro Uribe anunció formalmente su intención de promover una modificación constitucional que revoque los poderes actuales -cortes y legislativo- y que cambie el componente de justicia (JEP)

Guatemala

• Sonia Perez D., “Ex-First Lady Leads Guatemalan President Vote, Runoff Likely” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, June 17, 2019).

With votes tallied from just over a third of polling centers, Sandra Torres had captured 24% of Sunday’s vote, followed by four-time presidential candidate Alejandro Giammattei with 15%

• Javier Corrales, “Guatemala: Nueve Vicios de las Elecciones Latinoamericanas en un Solo Ejemplo” (The New York Times, June 17, 2019).

Si una persona con poco conocimiento de América Latina quisiera enterarse de los males típicos de las elecciones presidenciales de la región, no tendría que ir más lejos que a Guatemala

• Nina Lakhani, “Thelma Cabrera: Indigenous, Female and Shaking Up Guatemala’s Election” (The Guardian (Uk), June 17, 2019).

The campesino leader is running for president in a country whose indigenous majority is chronically overlooked – and she has a chance of making the runoff

Mexico

• Maria Verza, Rebecca Blackwell, “Mexico Reinforces Migrant Checks Amid U.S. Pressure” (Associated Press, Time, June 17, 2019).

The Associated Press saw nearly 10 armed soldiers at a checkpoint near Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, in Chiapas state, wearing black armbands to indicate they are part of the National Guard

• Jude Webber, “Grim Border Trek Continues in Defiance of Mexico Crackdown” (The Financial Times (UK), June 17, 2019).

Mr Martínez’s brother is holed up in a hotel near Veracruz in south-eastern Mexico, with a party of three adults and three children, after being tipped off about a huge roadblock ahead. “When it’s that big, you can’t buy them off,” the coyote said

Peru, Venezuela

• Mitra Taj, “As Peru Tightens Its Border, Desperate Venezuelans Cling to Asylum Lifeline” (Reuters, Reuters, June 17, 2019).

A record 4,700 asylum claims were filed in Peru on Friday, part of more than 8,000 Venezuelans who entered the country that day

(Even more here)

June 7, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• James Laporta, “Exclusive: U.S. Marines Faced Down Armed Gunman at Mexico Border in Latest Threatening Encounter” (Newsweek, June 7, 2019).

Three individuals, one armed and aiming a firearm at U.S. service members in Yuma, Arizona were apprehended late last month

Colombia

• “Entrenamiento Militar Bajo Tortura: ¿Origen de Falsos Positivos?” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 7, 2019).

Expuso videos, testimonios y documentos que apuntan a que los entrenamientos militares se basan en la humillación, tortura y maltrato de los oficiales en curso, lo cual, en su concepto, contribuye a que estén dispuestos a matar sin contemplación

• “Lento Avance en Paz Enfria Relacion Gobierno- Comunidad Internacional” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 7, 2019).

Lo que piensan algunos defensores del acuerdo de paz con las Farc es que hay un “desconcierto generalizado” en la comunidad internacional por la postura del gobierno de Iván Duque sobre la implementación de lo pactado en La Habana

• “Por Peticion de la Corte, Duque Firma Ley Estatutaria de la Jep” (Semana (Colombia), June 7, 2019).

El mandatario finalmente promulgó en silencio y a regañadientes la norma que trató de modificar con las fracasadas objeciones

• Nicolas Sanchez Arevalo, “Una Nueva Guerra en Choco: Lo Que Hay Detras del Desplazamiento de 417 Indigenas” (El Espectador (Colombia), June 7, 2019).

Huyen de combates entre el Eln y las disidencias de las Farc, lo que abriría una nueva confrontación en el sur del departamento

• German Arenas Usme, “El Placer: Pueblo Fantasma Lleno de Temor en Medio de la Selva de Putumayo” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), June 7, 2019).

Los habitantes de esa región todavía no han superado las secuelas del conflicto armado que padecieron hace un par de décadas y están sufriendo una nueva ola de violencia que ha producido más desplazamientos forzados

Cuba

• William M. Leogrande, “U.S.-Cuba: You Can’t Get There From Here” (AULA Blog (American University), June 7, 2019).

The biggest losers are the small entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and artists who have been agents of change on the island

El Salvador

• “El Salvador Stops Honouring the Leader of the el Mozote Massacre” (The Economist (Uk), June 7, 2019).

Mr Bukele’s order to take down Monterrosa’s name—which he announced on Twitter—signals an attempt to break with those parties’ legacies

Guatemala

• Nicholas Kristof, “‘Food Doesn’t Grow Here Anymore. That’s Why I Would Send My Son North.’” (The New York Times, June 7, 2019).

American carbon emissions are partly responsible for wretchedness in Guatemala that drives emigration, yet when those desperate Guatemalans arrive at the U.S. border they are treated as invaders

• Sandra Cuffe, “Us Agents’ Deployment to Stem Guatemalan Migration Raises Alarm” (Al Jazeera, June 7, 2019).

When asked about the Gonzalez letter indicating it was the Morales administration that requested troops, Morales scoffed, said journalists should ask the letter’s author and promptly left

Honduras

• “Gobierno Militariza Toda Honduras Como Si Tratase de un Estado de Sitio” (Criterio (Honduras), June 7, 2019).

Las principales ciudades de Honduras amanecieron este jueves llenas de elementos de la seguridad del Estado en momentos en que este país centroamericano se debate en una crisis política-social

Mexico

• David J. Lynch, Kevin Sieff, Nick Miroff, “Mexico Aims to Avoid Tariffs With Potential Deal Limiting Migrants Going North, Allowing U.S. to Deport Central American Asylum Seekers” (The Washington Post, June 7, 2019).

Any migrants who made it to the U.S. border generally would be deported to the appropriate third country. And any migrants who express a fear of death or torture in their home country would be subjected to a tougher screening standard

• Alberto Pradilla, Manu Ureste, “¿por Que Detuvieron a Irineo y Cristobal, Defensores de Derechos de Migrantes?” (Animal Politico (Mexico), June 7, 2019).

Mujica y Sánchez están acusados de tráfico de personas y han sido vinculados a las caravanas; un fenómeno que, en la práctica, permite a los migrantes atravesar México sin recurrir a un coyote

• Leon Krauze, “Mexico’s Breaking Point?” (Slate, June 7, 2019).

Nothing would be a more indefensible concession than granting a potential request for Mexico to become a “safe third country” for Central American immigrants. McAleenan is mistaken: Mexico is not a safe country for refugees

• Azam Ahmed, Michael D. Shear, “Mexico and the U.S. Have Made Progress Toward Averting Tariffs” (The New York Times, June 7, 2019).

Guatemalans looking for refuge would have to apply for asylum in Mexico rather than the United States. And those fleeing El Salvador and Honduras would have to seek asylum in Guatemala rather than continuing on to Mexico or the United States

Venezuela

• Geoff Ramsey, “5 Takeaways From U.S. Individual Sanctions: A Key to U.S. Strategy in Venezuela” (Washington Office on Latin America, June 7, 2019).

Though offering sanctions relief to individuals emerges as a dominant tool of the U.S. government strategy in Venezuela, it remains to be seen how effective such offers can be at lowering exit costs

(Even more here)

June 6, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Justin Wise, “Us Military Personnel Ordered to Paint Border Barriers to Improve ‘Aesthetic Appearance’” (The Hill, June 6, 2019).

A disgraceful misuse of taxpayer $$,” Durbin said on Twitter. “Our military has more important work to do than making Trump’s wall beautiful”

• Caitlin Dickson, “Border Patrol Is Confiscating Migrant Kids’ Medicine, U.S. Doctors Say” (Yahoo!, June 6, 2019).

“At the end of the day, as a medical provider, as a physician, we take an oath to first do no harm. And taking somebody’s medications seems like it’s causing harm”

• Nick Miroff, “Arrests Along Mexico Border Surged Again in May, Blowing Past ‘Breaking Point’” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2019).

It was by far the largest one-month arrest total since President Trump took office, and it was the highest monthly figure in 13 years

• Dara Lind, “The Border Is in Crisis. Here’s How It Got This Bad.” (Vox, June 6, 2019).

There really is something unprecedented — and deadly — happening at the US/Mexico border right now. But the threat is to migrants themselves

• w.j. Hennigan, “The Trump Administration Is Scouting Military Bases to Shelter Migrant Children” (Time, June 6, 2019).

Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for children under 18 years old until they can be given to an adult relative, stated it has taken about 40,900 children into custody through April 30. That’s a 57% increase from last year

• Maria Sacchetti, “Trump Administration Cancels English Classes, Soccer, Legal Aid for Unaccompanied Child Migrants in U.S. Shelters” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2019).

In an email obtained by The Washington Post, U.S. officials say program for sheltering minors who crossed the border is running out of money, must focus on “essential” services

Colombia

• “‘Confiamos Plenamente en el Papel de las Fuerzas Armadas’: Farc” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 6, 2019).

Varios senadores se sorprendieron cuando escucharon al senador Lozada pronunciando palabras de elogio a las Fuerzas Armadas y la Policía

• “Senado Aprobo el Ascenso del General Nicacio Martinez” (Semana (Colombia), June 6, 2019).

Con una votación de 58 contra 19 se negó la proposición de la oposición de votar por separado el ascenso de este oficial y eso dio vía libre para su promoción a la mayor dignidad de las Fuerzas Militares

• Helen Murphy, Luis Jaime Acosta, “Thousands of Colombian Farc Rebels Return to Arms Despite Peace Accord -Military Intelligence Report” (Reuters, Reuters, June 6, 2019).

The internal report puts the number of combatants belonging to dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) groups at around 2,300, a sharp increase from about 300 at the time of the controversial peace agreement

• Rafael Croda, “La Dea Enfrenta Demanda Penal por Operaciones Ilegales en Colombia” (Proceso (Mexico), June 6, 2019).

Entre los agentes acusados figuran Brian Witek, quien dirigió un operativo de “entrampamiento” (incitación al delito, lo que es ilegal en Colombia) contra el exguerrillero de las FARC Jesús Santrich

• Juan Jose Aux Trujillo, “107 Lideres Politicos Han Sido Victimas de Violencia” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), June 6, 2019).

El resultado es preocupante, a cuatro meses de las elecciones, el pico de violencia, secuestros y asesinatos contra líderes políticos va a alcanzar su punto más alto

• “Gobierno Asegura Que Crimenes de Lideres Sociales se Han Reducido” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 6, 2019).

Según Barbosa, en lo corrido de este año están verificados 22 asesinatos. claro que la ONU ya ha recibido reportes de 57 posibles casos de líderes y defensores asesinados, que están en proceso de documentación

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

• “Central America | Food Insecurity in the Dry Corridor – Emergency Response Coordination Centre (Ercc) – Dg Echo Daily Map” (European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, ReliefWeb, June 6, 2019).

English Map on Guatemala and 4 other countries about Food and Nutrition, Protection and Human Rights, Refugees and Drought; published on 03 Jun 2019 by ECHO

El Salvador

• Jose Miguel Cruz, “Nayib Bukele y los Riesgos del Populismo” (El Faro (El Salvador), June 6, 2019).

Las probabilidades de que la gestión de Nayib Bukele resulte ser la continuación de la corrupción sistémica, el nepotismo, la preferencia por el autoritarismo y la ineficiencia en las instituciones, son perturbadoramente altas

Guatemala

• Kevin Sieff, “Guatemala Says It’s Working With the United States to Tighten Borders, Break Up Migrant Caravans” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2019).

Plans to renegotiate a regional open-borders agreement, break up migrant caravans and subject families to DNA testing

Honduras

• Nina Lakhani, “Honduras Deploys Security Forces as Doctors and Teachers Demand President’s Resignation” (The Guardian (Uk), June 6, 2019).

Juan Orlando Hernández, the US government’s top ally in Central America, is under increasing pressure amid public anger over crumbling public services, dismal approval ratings – and explosive revelations that he was the subject of a US Drug Enforcement Administration trafficking investigation

Mexico

• Jorge G. Castaneda, “Mexico Has Tried to Avoid Trump. It Can’t Anymore.” (The New York Times, June 6, 2019).

President López Obrador has few cards to play. But any alternative is preferable to continuing to kowtow to Washington

• Marco Ugarte, “Mexico Officials Intercept About 1,000 Migrants on Highway” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, June 6, 2019).

Unarmed agents wrestled some migrants who resisted to the ground, but the vast majority complied and boarded buses or immigration agency vans

• Mathieu Tourliere, “Operativo Policiaco-Militar Frena Caravana Migrante en Chiapas” (Proceso (Mexico), June 6, 2019).

Este fuerte operativo ocurrió en medio de las negociaciones que el gobierno mexicano emprende en Washington con la administración del presidente Donald Trump para evitar que éste imponga aranceles

• David Agren, “Migrants Brave the ‘Beast’ as Mexico Cracks Down Under Us Pressure” (The Guardian (Uk), June 6, 2019).

As in previous crackdowns, migrants will be forced to take longer, more risky routes – such as the Beast – to avoid immigration checkpoints

• Eric Martin, Nacha Cattan, “Before Trump Threat, Mexico Agreed on Migrant Detention Target” (Bloomberg, June 6, 2019).

Both countries early this year set the target, which the people said was as many as 800 detainees per day

• Catherine E. Shoichet, “3 Myths About Mexico and Migration, Debunked” (CNN, June 6, 2019).

Deportations from Mexico have been on the rise in recent months, and the country has launched several new efforts in response to the situation

Venezuela

• John Hudson, “Exclusive: In Secret Recording, Pompeo Opens Up About Venezuelan Opposition, Says Keeping It United ‘Has Proven Devilishly Difficult’” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2019).

‘The moment Maduro leaves, everybody’s going to raise their hands and [say], “Take me, I’m the next president of Venezuela,” ’ Pompeo said in an audio recording obtained by The Washington Post

(Even more here)

June 5, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Carlo Munoz, “Military Officials Dispute Reports of Marine Shooting on Mexican Border” (The Washington Times, June 5, 2019).

Command officials are in the midst of an investigation into claims an active-duty Marine fired his sidearm after a physical confrontation with three unknown individuals during a surveillance operation near the El Centro Border Patrol station

• Courtney Kube, Julia Ainsley, “Trump Admin May House Migrant Children at Fort Benning Military Base” (NBC News, June 5, 2019).

Defense Department spokesman Major Chris Mitchell said that HHS would soon be touring Fort Benning with defense officials

• Teresa Garcia Castro, “Pretrial Detention in Latin America: The Disproportionate Impact on Women Deprived of Liberty for Drug Offenses” (Washington Office on Latin America, June 5, 2019).

Across most of Latin America a higher proportion of women than men are awaiting trial behind bars

Brazil

• Jonathan Watts, “Deforestation of Brazilian Amazon Surges to Record High” (The Guardian (Uk), June 5, 2019).

The world’s greatest rainforest – which is a vital provider of oxygen and carbon sequestration – lost 739sq km during the 31 days, equivalent to two football pitches every minute

Colombia, Venezuela

• Diana Castrillon, Natalie Gallon, “They Risked Everything for Guaido. Now Venezuela’s Military Defectors Are Lost” (CNN, June 5, 2019).

A voluntary program called Permiso Especial de Permanencia (PEP) would allow them to live and work legally in the country. Another option offers the defectors a three-month stipend to help get them on their feet

• “Tough Journey: From Venezuela Crisis to Colombia Conflict Zone” (Agence France Presse, France 24 (France), June 5, 2019).

Every day, hundreds of Venezuelans cross the Arauca river into Colombia in search of a better life — but first, they must run a gauntlet of rebels, drug runners and land mines

Colombia

• Francesco Manetto, “New Colombian Army Chief Led Brigade Probed for Killings During Civil War” (El Pais (Spain), June 5, 2019).

At least 23 of the cases under scrutiny date back to the period when the general was second-in-command of the 10 Brigade

• “Colombia: Un Experts Condemn Attacks on Reintegrated Former Combatants, Urge Respect for Peace Process” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 5, 2019).

We urge the Colombian government to cease inciting violence against demobilised individuals of the FARC-EP and to meet the guarantees that were made to them during the negotiations in Havana

• Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli, “Indigenous and Social Leaders Remain at Risk in Colombia” (Washington Office on Latin America, June 5, 2019).

Since WOLA’s last update on April 29, at least a dozen more Colombian activists or members of vulnerable Afro-Colombian, indigenous and rural communities were murdered

Cuba

• Matthew Lee , Michael Weissenstein, “Trump Administration Halts Cruises to Cuba Under New Rules” (Associated Press, Associated Press, June 5, 2019).

The Trump administration on Tuesday ended the most popular forms of U.S. travel to Cuba, banning cruise ships and a heavily used category of educational travel

• Ian Talley, Jose De Cordoba, “U.S. Imposes New Travel Curbs on Cuba” (The Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2019).

The move is likely to have a major economic impact in Cuba, whose economy is already reeling from decreased economic aid from Havana’s main ally, Venezuela

Mexico

• David Vicenteno, “Reclutamiento para Guardia Nacional Costara 17 Mil 500 Mdp: Durazo” (Excelsior (Mexico), June 5, 2019).

El Secretario de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana resaltó que este gasto implica el paso de los elementos de las Fuerzas Armadas y la Policía Federal a la nueva corporación

• Damian Paletta, Erica Werner, Mary Beth Sheridan, Seung Min Kim, “Gop Lawmakers Warn White House They’ll Try to Block Trump’s Mexico Tariffs” (The Washington Post, June 5, 2019).

Imposition of tariffs on all Mexican goods requires a legal justification, and administration officials say the existing emergency declaration could provide the basis for that, although it’s also possible Trump would declare a new emergency

• Alejandro Moreno, “El 84% Respalda Postura de Amlo Ante Presiones de Trump” (El Financiero (Mexico), June 5, 2019).

59 por ciento cree que México debería considerar dejar a Estados Unidos y buscar otros socios comerciales, como China

• Hector de Mauleon, “El Informe Que Amlo No Quiso Recibir” (El Universal (Mexico), June 5, 2019).

Defensores de derechos humanos consideraron “preocupante” y “desalentador” que el jefe del Ejecutivo se negara a escuchar lo que la Comisión tiene que decirle sobre la situación de los derechos humanos

• Mary Beth Sheridan, “In Tariff Talks, Mexico’s Negotiators Fear Crisis in U.S. Relations, Politics Back Home” (The Washington Post, June 5, 2019).

Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security have said they want Mexico to strengthen security on its border with Guatemala and intensify its investigation of smuggling rings that transport most migrants across Mexican territory

Venezuela

• Molly o’toole, “Venezuela, Now a Top Source of U.S. Asylum Claims, Poses a Challenge for Trump” (The Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2019).

Venezuela has overtaken China to become the No. 1 country of origin for those claiming asylum in the U.S. upon arrival or shortly after, with nearly 30,000 Venezuelans applying for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2018

(Even more here)

June 4, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Rose L. Thayer, “Soldier Dies While Deployed in Arizona for Border Mission” (Stars and Stripes, June 4, 2019).

The military, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are investigating circumstances surrounding the death, though foul play is not suspected

• Spencer S. Hsu, “Judge Rejects House Suit to Block Transfer of Billions of Dollars for Trump Border Wall” (The Washington Post, June 4, 2019).

The decision is at odds with a May 24 ruling by a federal judge in California that temporarily blocked part of the plan because it was using money Congress never appropriated for that purpose

• Bob Ortega, “Trial Begins for No More Deaths Volunteer Who Aided Migrants” (CNN, June 4, 2019).

No More Deaths, founded in 2004, generally has operated without penalties, but its relations with the Border Patrol have not always been smooth

• Dianne Gallagher, Geneva Sands, Kate Sullivan, “Third Undocumented Migrant in 3 Days Dies After Being Apprehended at Us-Mexico Border” (CNN, June 4, 2019).

CBP said in a statement later Monday that the woman collapsed about 25 minutes after being apprehended, and that agents “quickly initiated emergency medical care.”

Brazil, Venezuela

• Nelza Oliveira, “Brazilian Government Authorizes Funds for Military Operations to Help Venezuelans” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), June 4, 2019).

In the past 12 months, the government spent more than $67 million from state funds to support military activities associated with Operation Shelter (Operação Acolhida) in the state of Roraima

Colombia, Venezuela

• Nelson Matta Colorado, “Desde Venezuela Traian las Armas a Bandas de Medellin” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), June 4, 2019).

Esta es la historia de cómo las autoridades descubrieron una organización señalada de traficar armas de Venezuela para los combos de Medellín. Cinco detenidos se declararon inocentes

• Juan Camilo Montoya E., “Colombia y Rusia, Sin Grandes Coincidencias” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), June 4, 2019).

Al término del encuentro, Lavrov reconoció que había hablado con su colega colombiano sobre posibles nuevos suministros de equipos militares

Colombia

• “En las Regiones No Pierden la Esperanza de Paz” (Semana (Colombia), June 4, 2019).

Pese a los tropiezos jurídicos y los incumplimientos en torno a los acuerdos del proceso de paz, la mayoría de los excombatientes se mantienen en su promesa de abandonar las armas y apostarle a la reincorporación a la vida civil

• Anastasia Moloney, “Colombia’s Push for Land Titles Brings Hope for Farmers Amid Fragile Peace” (Reuters, June 4, 2019).

Across rural Colombia, six out of 10 plots of land do not have a formal title or are not registered, according to USAID

• “Comunicado Urgente: Esmad Agrede a Comunidades Movilizadas Pacificamente Contra Erradicacion Forzada” (Asociación Minga (Colombia), June 4, 2019).

Según las denuncias de la comunidad, el Escuadron Móvil Antidisturbios, ESMAD, agredió indiscriminadamente a los manifestantes, dejando un número indeterminado de afectaciones

Honduras

• Hector Silva Avalos, “Narco-Politics Cast Shadow on Honduran Presidents: Court Documents” (InsightCrime, June 4, 2019).

Honduras’ most powerful drug trafficking organization, Los Cachiros, bribed the country’s former president and opened a line of communication to current President Juan Orlando Hernández, documents recently unsealed in a New York federal court show

Mexico

• Kate Morrissey, “San Diego Immigration Court ‘Overwhelmed’ by Remain in Mexico Cases” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 4, 2019).

On a given day, three of San Diego’s seven judges generally have afternoons full of MPP cases. On a recent Tuesday afternoon, 82 people were scheduled to appear before three judges

• Kirk Semple, “Mexico Cracks Down on Migrants, After Pressure From Trump to Act” (The New York Times, June 4, 2019).

According to the raftsmen, the recent crackdown by the Mexican authorities has not affected their illegal traffic

• “Posicionamiento del Gobierno de Mexico Sobre Migracion e Imposicion de Tarifas Arancelarias” (Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores (Mexico), June 4, 2019).

Hemos recibido 24,541 solicitudes de refugio, así como 8,835 migrantes retornados de Estados Unidos que realizan su proceso migratorio ante tribunales estadounidenses mientras aguardan en territorio mexicano

• Falko Ernst, “Mexico’s Hydra-Headed Crime War” (International Crisis Group, June 4, 2019).

Each fissure redraws the front lines, ushering in fresh spates of killings. And each split carries the conflict deeper into society

Venezuela

• Andrew Rosati, David Wainer, Ethan Bronner, “U.S. on Sidelines as Allies Struggle for New Venezuela Strategy” (Bloomberg, June 4, 2019).

Recently concluded talks in Norway and separate discussions between Europe and both sides of the Venezuelan divide have effectively pushed the U.S. to the margins

• Amie Ferris-Rotman, Anton Troianovski, “Trump Said Russia Was Getting Out of Venezuela. The Kremlin Says That’s Not True.” (The Washington Post, June 4, 2019).

Peskov said he had no idea what Trump’s tweet was referring to

• Fernando Cutz, “One Way to Bring Down Maduro and His Cronies: Indictments” (The New York Times, June 4, 2019).

There is speculation in Washington that sealed indictments of members of Mr. Maduro’s inner circle already exist and that the Justice Department is waiting for the right moment to release them