“King James” by Anderson .Paak (2019).
May 2020
5 links from the past week
- I haven’t gotten through all of this yet, but a coalition of media outlets from 14 countries, from Mexico to Colombia to Cameroon to Nepal, has put together a remarkable series of multimedia reports about migrants from far corners of the world transiting Latin America en route to the United States. It’s called Migrants from Another World, it’s bilingual, and I command you to visit it.
- El Salvador’s El Faro visited the dangerous border town of Matamoros, Mexico, where thousands of asylum-seeking migrants remain trapped, vulnerable to crime and disease, unable to make their case on the U.S. side of the border. It’s poignant to read this through the eyes of a Central American reporter, as most of those trapped in Matamoros are Central American.
- Researchers at the University of Texas’s Strauss Center dug through 30 years of data and found that more migrants have died in the state (3,253 in 22 years), mostly of dehydration, exposure, or drowning, than Border Patrol counts in the entire four-state border region.
– Also on migration, and given honorable mention here because it’s audio, not text: National Public Radio’s Latino USA program created a 2-part series about the Trump administration’s crackdown on people seeking protection in the United States. Part one of The Moving Border reports from the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juárez; part two reports from the Mexico-Guatemala border in Tapachula. - The Venezuelan human rights group PROVEA published an infuriating report about persecution and harassment of civil society during the first two months of the country’s COVID-19 lockdown. It’s in English and Spanish.
- Somos Defensores, the coalition of Colombian groups that performs careful documentation of attacks on social leaders and human rights defenders, published its annual report covering 2019. It found a decrease in murders of social leaders in 2019—though not as deep a reduction as the government claims—but an increase in other forms of attack and intimidation. One suspects, tragically, that the organization’s 2020 interim reports will show a renewed increase in murders.
Some articles I found interesting this morning
May 29, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Monique O. Madan, “Ice Admits to Transferring Detainees With Covid-19, Says It Can’t Test Everybody” (The Miami Herald, May 29, 2020).
U.S. immigration officials admitted during a federal court hearing Wednesday that they are not conducting COVID-19 testing on every detainee who gets transferred from one detention center to another, saying they don’t have enough tests
Bolivia
- “Las Amenazas de las Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia al Senado Prenden una Nueva Alerta Sobre el Papel Indebido de los Militares en el Pais” (Several organizations, Washington Office on Latin America, May 29, 2020).
Las amenazas de las fuerzas armadas de Bolivia al Senado en el marco del tratamiento de los ascensos prenden una nueva señal de alerta sobre el papel indebido de los militares en el país
Brazil
- Thiago Bronzatto, “Coronel Do Exercito Comanda Servico Paralelo de Informacao para Bolsonaro” (Veja (Brazil), May 29, 2020).
De dentro do Palácio do Planalto, o ‘espião’ do presidente conduz investigações e produz dossiês que já provocaram a demissão de ministros
- Brian Winter, “Copying the U.S. Is Leading Brazil to Disaster on Covid-19” (Americas Quarterly, The Washington Post, May 29, 2020).
As an American analyst who has studied Brazil for nearly two decades, it has been strange to watch my country’s flag become a powerful anti-establishment symbol there
Colombia
- Sergio Saavedra, “Entre el Hambre y la Erradicacion, un Drama de Miles de Campesinos” (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación (Colombia), May 29, 2020).
Las comunidades tienen incertidumbre por su presente inmediato ¿qué puede quedar para el campesinado con esta situación? Tener que desplazarse a otros pueblos porque no hay soluciones a esta crisis humanitaria
- Juanita Velez, “Gobierno Vuelve a Idea Uribista de Desarticular Grupos Sin Verdad a Victimas” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), May 29, 2020).
El Gobierno en realidad no está cumpliendo exactamente con el contenido de lo pactado en Cuba, podría dejar a muchas víctimas sin su derecho a la verdad y, de paso, le pone una lápida encima al ya moribundo proceso de diálogo con el ELN
Colombia, Venezuela
- “Lo Que Busca el Gobierno Trump Con la Operacion Antinarcoticos Que Incluye a Colombia” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 29, 2020).
Aunque en Colombia los cultivos de uso ilícito han aumentado, todos los caminos conducen a Venezuela
- “Farc Asegura Que Con Llegada de Brigada de Eeuu a Colombia se Busca Agredir a Venezuela” (EFE, Tal Cual (Venezuela), May 29, 2020).
Para las FARC el comunicado divulgado por la embajada de EEUU en ese país, en el que se anuncia la llegada de la brigada, experta en la lucha contra el terrorismo, a ese país es alarmante
Cuba
- David Shepardson, “U.S. Caps Charter Flights to Cuba at 3,600 Per Year” (Reuters, Reuters, May 29, 2020).
The action – enacted in response to a January request by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – caps such flights at about 2019 levels, preventing any increase
El Salvador
- Jorge BeltrÁn Luna, “Pddh Pide a Policia Informe de Investigacion de Posible Tortura” (El Diario De Hoy (El Salvador), May 29, 2020).
Salud dijo a la familia que Luis Iván Mejía había muerto por COVID-19. Sospechas de que fue torturado surgieron luego de abrir el ataúd
Guatemala, Honduras
- Alex Papadovassilakis, “Cocaine Seizures Expose Flaws at Guatemala, Honduras Ports” (InsightCrime, May 29, 2020).
The discovery of large amounts of cocaine in cargo shipped from Honduran and Guatemalan ports has revealed the difficulties in securing maritime shipping operations on the northern stretch of Central America’s Caribbean coast
Mexico
- Sugeyry Romina Gandara, “Al Menos 6 Carteles Distribuyen “Apoyos” (Despensas y Prestamos) en 11 Estados Durante la Covid-19” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), May 29, 2020).
Estas acciones son parte del fenómeno llamado Gobernanza Criminal, de acuerdo con la doctora Sandra Ley, profesora investigadora del Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
U.S.-Mexico Border
- “Trump Wants the Border Wall Painted Black and It Could Cost an Extra $1 Million Per Mile” (CNN Wire, KTLA, May 29, 2020).
US Customs and Border Protection, which oversees border wall construction, is painting approximately 450 feet of new border wall in San Luis, Arizona, using a “coal tar epoxy,” in an effort to assess the operational benefits
- Adolfo Flores, “An Immigrant Who Sued Ice Is Missing After Being Deported to a Dangerous Border City” (BuzzFeed, May 29, 2020).
Nuevo Laredo has earned a reputation for being a city where immigrants are easily kidnapped, extorted, and assaulted by cartels. Deportees could also be targets
Venezuela
- “Report: Civil Rights Violations Patterns 2 Months Into the State of Alarm in Venezuela” (PROVEA (Venezuela), May 29, 2020).
During the first month, the so-called Bolivarian Fury, following calls made by Nicolás Maduro himself, went on a wave of harassment against the homes of social leaders and members of the political opposition, as well as people critical of the regime
- “31% de los Migrantes Venezolanos Piensa en Retornar” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), May 29, 2020).
Entre los hallazgos destaca que cuatro de cada 10 perdieron su empleo y 66% aseguró que depende de donativos para alimentarse, desde la entrada en vigencia de la cuarentena
- Luc Cohen, Marianna Parraga, “Fourth Iranian Fuel Tanker Enters Venezuela, U.S. Slams ‘Distraction’” (Reuters, The New York Times, May 29, 2020).
Washington has said it is weighing a response to the shipments
Venezuela, Western Hemisphere Regional
- Antoni Belchi, “Us Views Iran’s Interests in Latin America With Concern” (Voice of America, Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), May 29, 2020).
“I view Iran’s interests with concern […]; we’re tracking that closely and sharing intel with our partners” in the region, the U.S. military high commander said
The day ahead: May 29, 2020
I’ll be most reachable in the morning. (How to contact me)
I’ve got two border-related meetings on the calendar this afternoon, and a long-ish list of small tasks to complete. I doubt I’ll get any big projects done today, but should be reachable during much of the morning if needed.
The best song I washed dishes to tonight
“Smokestack” by Alkaline Trio (2020).
Some articles I found interesting this morning
May 28, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Maria Teresa Ronderos, “Migrants From Another World” (Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística, Animal Politico (Mexico), May 28, 2020).
Every year thousands of people expelled from Asia and Africa cross Latin America looking for the north like swallows disoriented by an altered climate. Along the way, the already painful journey of these extraordinary human beings is made unnecessarily difficult by almost all governments
Argentina
- Uki Goñi, “Argentina Cordons Off Virus-Hit Slum as Critics Decry ‘Ghettoes for Poor People’” (The Guardian, May 28, 2020).
Drastic measures are being taken to contain the coronavirus in the Villa Azul area of Buenos Aires which has emerged as a hotspot
Brazil
- “Brazil’s Losing Battle Against Covid-19” (The Economist (Uk), May 28, 2020).
Mr Bolsonaro’s attitude causes more damage, however. Brazil’s federal system is more president-centred than America’s. To work well in a crisis, all levels of government must co-operate
- Omar G. Encarnacion, “Brazil Is Suffering. Bolsonaro Isn’t.” (Foreign Policy, May 28, 2020).
The Brazilian president is proving that right-wing populism has ways of overcoming self-inflicted disasters
Colombia
- Beatriz Valdes Correa, “Con Desaparicion Forzada Despojaron a los Sucrenos de Sus Tierras” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 28, 2020).
En el informe “Exhumando Justicia y Verdad”, el Movice detalla cómo las alianzas del Bloque Héroes de los Montes de María de las Auc con políticos, empresarios y Fuerza Pública posibilitaron la desaparición de personas que pueden hallarse en 15 fincas y 18 cementerios
- “La ‘Ceguera’ Prevalece Ante la Violencia Que Sufren Lideres Sociales” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), May 28, 2020).
En su más reciente informe, Somos Defensores señala que los asesinatos contra líderes sociales disminuyeron en 2019, pero no en la cantidad que afirma el gobierno nacional, y advierte que se incrementaron otras agresiones que no son tenidas en cuenta por las autoridades
- Juan Masullo, Julia Zulver, “In War-Torn Colombia, One Community Stands Up to Outsiders” (Political Violence at a Glance, May 28, 2020).
Pacelli provides an example of how strong community organization can quickly be repurposed to face the challenges of COVID-19
- Corey Dickstein, “Army’s 1st Sfab Is Headed to Colombia to Boost Anti-Drug Fight” (Stars and Stripes, May 28, 2020).
About 45 soldiers from one of the brigade’s advisory teams based at Fort Benning, Ga., will travel Monday to the South American country
- “Sfab Mission Arrives in Colombia” (U.S. Embassy in Colombia, May 28, 2020).
Its mission in Colombia will begin in early June and will last several months, during which it will focus its efforts primarily on the “Zonas Futuro” defined by the National Government
- “General Navarro Dice Que Militares de Ee. Uu. Vendran por 4 Meses” (El Tiempo (Colombia), May 28, 2020).
Navarro afirmó que todos los miembros de la brigada de asistencia extranjera que vengan al país cumplirán todos los protocolos de distanciamiento por la pandemia de coronavirus
- “Asi Funcionara la Mision Militar de Ee. Uu. Que Apoyara la Lucha Contra el Narcotrafico” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 28, 2020).
“Este personal asesorará dentro de las unidades militares a los Estados Mayores de las Fuerzas de Tarea Conjunta Hércules, Vulcano, Omega y de la Brigada contra el Narcotráfico”
Colombia, Venezuela
- Santiago Serna Duque, “El Covid-19 Golpea a los Migrantes y Exige Despolitizar la Frontera Entre Colombia y Venezuela” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 28, 2020).
El secretario de Frontera y Cooperación Internacional para Norte de Santander, Víctor Bautista, advirtió que de no establecerse un manejo conjunto en la frontera colombo-venezolana, la crisis del COVID-19 “nos puede explotar en las manos”
Mexico
- “Gunmen Attack Daughter of Murdered Mexican Reporter Maria Elena Ferral in Veracruz” (Committee to Protect Journalists, May 28, 2020).
De Luna Ferral is the editor of El Quinto Poder, a local news website based in Papantla, a town in northern Veracruz. She continued editing the website’s Facebook page after her mother was murdered
- Juan Montes, David Luhnow, “Mexico’s Leader Has Answer for All His Needs: The Army” (The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2020).
President López Obrador has boosted the military’s roles in public works, fighting coronavirus and confronting drug cartels, a tack some see as risky
- Parker Asmann, “As Officer Murders Soar, Identity Crisis Plagues Mexico’s Local Police” (InsightCrime, May 28, 2020).
So far this year, at least 215 police officers have been killed across the country, or more than one a day
- “Decomisan Arsenal y Taller de Blindaje del Cartel del Golfo en Tamaulipas” (Proceso (Mexico), May 28, 2020).
Las armas y vehículos decomisados estaban destinados al capo Evaristo Cruz, alias “el Vaquero”, jefe de plaza del Cártel del Golfo en la ciudad fronteriza de Matamoros
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Lomi Kriel, “House Democrats Demand Trump Administration Stop Rushing Through Deportations of Migrant Children” (Texas Tribune, Propublica, The Texas Tribune, May 28, 2020).
The letter signed by five key House leaders overseeing immigration cited a May 18 ProPublica/Texas Tribune story that found the U.S. government has aggressively begun to rush the deportations of unaccompanied children in its care to countries where they have been raped, beaten or had a parent killed
Venezuela
- Javier Ignacio Mayorca, “Desapariciones” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), May 28, 2020).
En los cuatro meses de 2020, las cifras de personas desaparecidas en Venezuela se han disparado de forma inexplicable ¿Gente que se va sin decir adiós o policías fuera de control?
- Benoit Faucon, Ian Talley, “U.S. Threatens Sanctions to Deter Tankers Carrying Fuel to Venezuela” (The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2020).
The two were expected to arrive in Venezuela in the wake of three Iranian tankers carrying gasoline that have reached the country
WOLA Podcast on Venezuela
It’s great to have two Venezuela experts on staff to explain what’s happening there. With great nuance, rare clarity, and zero shouting.
Listen above, or download the .mp3 file here. The text from the WOLA landing page is below.

This podcast, WOLA’s first to focus on Venezuela since January, features Geoff Ramsey, WOLA’s director for Venezuela, and David Smilde, a WOLA senior fellow specializing in Venezuela. (Dr. Smilde is the Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University.)
This situation report covers a lot of ground. Ramsey and Smilde explain the current humanitarian situation in Venezuela, with the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic likely to come, along with the effect of sanctions. The discussion moves on to alternatives, like what it would take to bring the country’s ever-worsening crisis to a political solution. This brings up the role of external powers like Russia, China, Iran, and the United States. Ramsey and Smilde unpack the current state of U.S. policy, which at the White House level is heavily driven by Florida electoral politics. They note that the Trump administration’s mixed messages are inadvertently dividing a Venezuelan opposition that is already in a bad moment after a botched mercenary invasion at the beginning of May.
Geoff Ramsey and David Smilde co-manage WOLA’s Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog. Also mentioned in the podcast is a May 2020 paper that both co-authored in the European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, which explores the recent history and theory of negotiation efforts in Venezuela, as well as prospects and necessary conditions for a negotiated solution today.
Listen to WOLA’s Latin America Today podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The main feed is here.
The day ahead: May 28, 2020
I won’t be reachable until mid-afternoon. (How to contact me)
I’ve written two articles for other publications in the past two days: one on Colombia and one on militaries during COVID-19. I don’t know when they’re coming out, but I think they turned out well. This morning I’ll be writing a book review, recording a podcast about Venezuela, “attending” a strategy meeting and a webinar about the border, and “meeting” my new intern. I’ll be able to communicate after all of that, likely mid-to-late afternoon.
The best song I washed dishes to tonight
“Runaway Dog” by Retirement Party (2020).
Some articles I found interesting this morning
May 27, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Sandra Weiss, “The Authoritarian Temptation” (International Politics and Society, May 27, 2020).
Under the pretext of the coronavirus and embedded in measures to protect public health, authoritarian tendencies are spreading from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego. Three trends are emerging
- Anthony Boadle, “Who Says the Americas Are New Covid-19 Epicenter as Deaths Surge in Latin America” (Reuters, Reuters, May 27, 2020).
Latin America has passed Europe and the United States in daily infections
- Joshua Goodman, “Spread of Coronavirus Fuels Corruption in Latin America” (Associated Press, Associated Press, May 27, 2020).
From Argentina to Panama, a number of officials have been forced to resign as reports of fraudulent purchases of ventilators, masks and other medical supplies pile up
Bolivia
- Ivan Alejandro Paredes Tamayo, “Se Acerca el Plazo Que Dieron las Ffaa a la Asamblea Legislativa para Aprobar Lista de Ascensos y Crece la Friccion Politica” (El Deber (Bolivia), May 27, 2020).
Hay malestar en filas militares contra el Alto Mando porque no incluyó en la lista de ascensos a los que cumplen los requisitos. El Ejecutivo remitió la nómina al Senado subsanando las observaciones
Bolivia, Peru
- Linda Farthing, Thomas Grisaffi, “Corona Hits the Cocaine Supply Chain” (Latin America News Dispatch, May 27, 2020).
As trafficking routes shrink, in parts of Peru and Bolivia, the price of coca leaf has slumped to one third, or even one sixth, of its previous levels
Brazil
- Bruno Carvalho, “The Amazon Will Soon Burn Again” (The New York Times, May 27, 2020).
Unlike drier areas in Australia or California, the rainforest can’t catch on fire unless humans cut trees down. The Amazon is being devastated on an industrial scale, and for what?
- Stephen Eisenhammer, Gabriel Stargardter, “Bolsonaro Brought in His Generals to Fight Coronavirus. Brazil Is Losing the Battle” (Reuters, Reuters, May 27, 2020).
Brazil has lost two health ministers in the past six weeks – one was fired, the other resigned – after they disagreed publicly with Bolsonaro over how best to combat the virus
Colombia
- Camilo Galvis, “Se Mantiene Aislamiento por un Mes Mas para Poblacion Vulnerable” (Caracol (Colombia), May 27, 2020).
Se trata del coronel en retiro Martín Arrauth. Este oficial fue, según fuentes dentro de las instituciones, hombre de confianza del ex comandante de las fuerzas militares, general Alberto José Mejía
- ““Queremos Evitar un Genocidio”: Solicitud de Farc Ante la Cidh” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 27, 2020).
Diego Martínez, peticionario en representación de ese partido ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH), dijo que se acude a esa instancia tras haber intentado por todas las vías garantizar la vida de los excombatientes
- “‘Preocupa Que Ningun Militar de Alto Mando Ha Sido Condenado en Colombia por Casos de Conflicto’: Cajar” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 27, 2020).
Esta fue una de las inquietudes que el colectivo de abogados José Alvear Restrepo y la Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos le manifestaron, a través de una conferencia virtual, a la Corte Penal Internacional
- Laura Gil, “Colombia’s Government Is Using the Coronavirus to Weaken the Historic Peace Agreement” (The Washington Post, May 27, 2020).
Now, with Colombians focused on the coronavirus emergency, a new window has opened for the government and the Democratic Center to pursue old and new ways to attack peace
- “Cauca Grita Con Dolor: Radiografia de la Violencia en Esa Region” (Semana (Colombia), May 27, 2020).
Este departamento vive un preocupante recrudecimiento de la violencia. SEMANA cuenta detalles de cómo y por qué llegaron estos niveles de barbarie, que el año pasado dejaron una cifra cercana a los 1.000 muertos. Disidencias, ELN, Clan del Golfo y carteles mexicanos operan allÃ
Costa Rica
- Susanne Schweitzer, “In Costa Rica, Defending Indigenous Territory Comes at a Price” (Latin America News Dispatch, May 27, 2020).
When Indigenous communities attempt to recover land that legally belongs to them in the Térraba territory, they are often met with violence
Mexico
- Maria Hinojosa, “The Moving Border: Part Two, the South” (Latino USA, National Public Radio, May 27, 2020).
We visit Tapachula, a Mexican city on the border with Guatemala that has become a frontier for this trend and is overwhelmed by desperate migrants arriving from across the globe
- Maureen Meyer, “One Year After National Guard’s Creation, Mexico Is Far From Demilitarizing Public Security” (Washington Office on Latin America, May 27, 2020).
The López Obrador administration has only deepened the militarized nature of public security in Mexico and made civilian policing at the federal level nearly obsolete
- Meaghan Beatley, “America’s Guns Fuel Mexico’s Domestic Violence Epidemic” (Foreign Policy, May 27, 2020).
Lockdowns and an easy supply of weapons have been a fatal combination for Mexican women
- Jorge Alejandro Medellin, “La Armada de Mexico Cancela su Asistencia al Ejercicio Rimpac 2020 por el Covid” (Defensa.com (Spain), May 27, 2020).
El ejercicio multinacional se realizará a finales de agosto en aguas de los Estados Unidos (costas de Hawaii y California) y en el participarán alrededor de 25 países, entre los cuales México estaba invitado
- Leon Krauze, “With Coronavirus Hurting the Drug Business, There’s an Opportunity to Corner Cartels” (The Washington Post, May 27, 2020).
If both governments cooperated on taking down real transnational criminal organizations as enthusiastically as they have worked in suppressing migrant caravans made up of thousands of impoverished and terrified potential refugees, cartels would be in real trouble
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Elizabeth Findell, “Push to Build Border Wall Accelerates in Texas Despite Coronavirus Pandemic” (The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2020).
Since March, the government has filed 24 federal cases against South Texas landowners for the border wall, more than the previous eight months combined
- Philip Bump, “There’s New Wall on 194 Miles of the Border. Sixteen Miles Didn’t Have a Barrier Before.” (The Washington Post, May 27, 2020).
Of the 170 miles of primary wall that have been built, three miles are in places where no barrier existed before
- John Burnett, “Unlikely Allies Band Together in Laredo to Oppose the Border Wall” (National Public Radio, May 27, 2020).
Folks in black “No Border Wall” T-shirts marched in the streets earlier this year. They share their movement with sedate bankers in starched, white shirts and gray suits who are just as passionate
- Stephanie Leutert, Sam Lee, & Victoria Rossi, “Migrant Deaths in South Texas” (University of Texas Strauss Center, May 27, 2020).
https://www.strausscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/MigrantDeathsSouth_Texas.pdf
Venezuela
- Angus Berwick, Matt Spetalnick, “U.S. Targets Venezuela’s First Lady for Drug Trafficking, Other Crimes” (Reuters, Reuters, May 27, 2020).
First lady Cilia Flores has a long record as a power broker in Venezuela. Now, with the help of a jailed former bodyguard, U.S. prosecutors are preparing to charge her with crimes that could include drug trafficking and corruption
- Angus Berwick, Matt Spetalnick, “Venezuela: Urgent Aid Needed to Combat Covid-19” (Human Rights Watch, May 27, 2020).
As of May 25, 2020, Venezuela had 1,121 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 10 deaths. The real number is almost certainly much higher
The day ahead: May 27, 2020
I may be reachable in the afternoon between meetings. (How to contact me)
I’m on a writing deadline in the morning and will have e-mail and chat apps closed until I finish. I’ve got internal meetings in the late morning, and will be sitting in on an online event about militaries in Latin America in the afternoon.
The best song I washed dishes to tonight
“Mr. Motivator” by Idles (2020).
Some articles I found interesting this morning
May 26, 2020
Brazil
- Javier Bonilla, “El Ejercito Brasileno en la Lucha Contra la Deforestacion de la Selva” (Defensa.com (Spain), May 26, 2020).
El operativo Verde Brasil 2 ya está en marcha e involucra a 3.800 efectivos del Ejército, 110 vehículos, 20 embarcaciones y 12 aviones, con bases en Belém, Porto Velho y Cuiabá
- David Biller, “In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, Everyone Else Is to Blame for Virus” (Associated Press, Associated Press, May 26, 2020).
Mainstream media outlets Globo and Folha de S.Paulo later announced they would stop covering Bolsonaro’s informal press conferences outside the residence due to concern for their journalists’ safety
- Renata Brito, “Death and Denial in Brazil’s Amazon Capital” (Associated Press, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, May 26, 2020).
Doctors and psychologists say denial at the grassroots stems from a mixture of misinformation, lack of education, insufficient testing and conflicting messages from the country’s leaders
Colombia
- “Dos Meses de Cuarentena / Pandemia del Covid-19 No Ha Detenido el Avance de la Politica de Paz Con Legalidad” (Presidencia de Colombia, May 26, 2020).
Las instrucciones del Jefe de Estado fueron claras: privilegiar la vida y evitar que se detengan las acciones de la Paz con Legalidad, particularmente, en los territorios más vulnerables
- “Colombia Registra en Cuarentena la Menor Tasa de Homicidios en 46 Anos” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 26, 2020).
“Entre el 20 de marzo y el 20 de mayo se registraron 1.321 homicidios en todo el país, mientras que en el mismo periodo del año anterior se presentaron 2.012 casos, lo que equivale a una reducción del 34 %”, indicó la Policía
Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela
- “Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela: Population Movement in the Covid-19 Context” (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, May 26, 2020).
Returnee flows of people on the move raise concerns about the increased risk of COVID-19 infection in that population group
Colombia, Venezuela
- ““Santrich” Esta en Caracas “Con Anuencia del Regimen de Maduro”, Dice Asesor de Guaido” (El Espectador (Colombia), May 26, 2020).
Iván Simonovis, comisionado de seguridad e inteligencia, mostró imágenes de satélite y un video en el que, asegura, aparece el rearmado jefe guerrillero de las extintas Farc
Cuba, Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border
- Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “Cuban Doctors and Nurses Seeking Asylum Keep Border Clinic Running During Pandemic” (The Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2020).
The clinic, run by U.S. volunteers with Florida-based nonprofit Global Response Management, has been staffed since it opened last fall almost entirely by asylum seekers. Most are Cubans like Tamayo with prior medical training
Honduras
- Hector Silva Avalos, Victoria Dittmar, “Honduras Politician’s Murder Linked to Underworld Violence in Copan” (InsightCrime, May 26, 2020).
Recent violence in Copán has been linked to the fall of the Valle clan beginning in 2014, and the later arrest of Tony Hernández and surrender of Ardón to US authorities in 2018
Mexico
- Catalina Perez Correa, “Acuerdo Militarista” (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, El Universal (Mexico), May 26, 2020).
No es subordinada, pues los castrenses tendrán que “coordinarse” mas no “subordinarse” a las autoridades civiles. Y no es “complementaria”, pues las Fuerzas Armadas seguirán siendo los protagonistas centrales
- Alejandra Garcia, Isaac Vargas, Nancy Chavez, Sara Velazquez, “El Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion y su Dominio en el Mercado de la Metanfetamina en Mexico” (Animal Politico (Mexico), May 26, 2020).
Los laboratorios de metanfetamina que se dedican al abastecimiento de la demanda internacional y local han sido localizados en una variedad de lugares que van desde casas en fraccionamientos, bodegas en zonas industriales, locales abandonados, o espacios montados ex profeso en sierras y caminos apartados
Mexico, Venezuela
- Joy Olson, “Mexico Uniquely Positioned to Help Venezuelans” (Joy Olson’s Blog, May 26, 2020).
Mexico could, and should, use its good offices and long history of non-intervention, to help the Venezuelan people by encouraging the acceptance and execution of an a-political humanitarian response
Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border
- Alfredo Corchado, Valeria Olivares, “Covid-19 Cases Rise in Juarez and el Paso as Mexico Readies for Reopening of Factories” (The Dallas Morning News, May 26, 2020).
This nation is far from flattening the COVID-19 curve, but thousands of maquiladora employees are set to return to work after the government caved in to intense pressure from the Trump administration
- Sergio Arauz, “Matamoros: Un Botadero de Migrantes en Plena Pandemia” (El Faro (El Salvador), May 26, 2020).
Matamoros, ciudad controlada por La Maña, la crisis humanitaria se resume en un campamento a la orilla del río Bravo: 2,000 personas de Centroamérica, Venezuela, Cuba y otros países, sobreviven hacinados
Nicaragua
- “Ivan Acosta Podria Continuar en su Cargo a Pesar de la Sancion de Estados Unidos” (Nicaragua Investiga, May 26, 2020).
El Ministro de Hacienda y Crédito Público Iván Acosta podría continuar en su cargo hasta terminar su mandato, pero se vería imposibilitado de firmar convenios o préstamos en nombre de Nicaragua
U.S.-Mexico Border
- John Burnett, “Trump’s Border Wall Would Go Through Laredo’s Historic Downtown” (National Public Radio, May 26, 2020).
The federal government plans to build 69 miles of the massive barrier through the city’s historic downtown but not if opponents in Laredo have anything to do with it
- Morgan Loew, “Critics in Southern Arizona Call New Border Wall Contract Wasteful, Unnecessary” (KOLD (Tucson, Arizona), May 26, 2020).
Critics argue that this spot between Nogales and Sasabe is so remote and rugged, that the cost to build and damage done by a border wall far outweigh any benefit
Venezuela
- Kejal Vyas, Benoit Faucon, “Second Fuel Tanker From Iran Arrives in Venezuela” (The Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2020).
A second tanker dispatched by Iran was welcomed Monday by Venezuelan naval frigates and helicopters as it entered national waters
The day ahead: May 26, 2020
I’ll be most reachable mid-day and near the end of the day. (How to contact me)
I’ve got a long staff meeting on the calendar this morning. Before and after that, I’ll be working on a list of smaller commitments. In the afternoon I’ll be finishing an article on Colombia and doing research for a longer commentary about militaries in Latin America, and may not respond right away to incoming messages.
The best song I washed dishes to tonight
“Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider” by 2nd Grade (2020).