Adam Isacson

(Even more here)

December 31, 2020

Brazil

• “Jair Bolsonaro 2020 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption” (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, December 31, 2020).

Bolsonaro has surrounded himself with corrupt figures, used propaganda to promote his populist agenda, undermined the justice system, and waged a destructive war against the Amazon

Colombia

• “Este 31 de Diciembre se Cumple el Plazo para Que las Extintas Farc Entreguen Sus Bienes” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 31, 2020).

Desde el Ejecutivo dicen que reportarán incumplimiento a la JEP y la Fiscalía. Farc invita a un espacio de trabajo conjunto para superar los inconvenientes

• “Exfiscal Gustavo Moreno Sera Trasladado a la Modelo, Pese a Sus Condiciones de Seguridad” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 31, 2020).

El exfiscal anticorrupción, Luis Gustavo Moreno, quien llegó al país el pasado 4 de diciembre, luego de purgar una condena de 48 meses de prisión en Estados Unidos, será trasladado a la cárcel La Modelo

• “Colombia Sets New Record in Eradicating Coca Production” (Agence France Presse, France 24 (France), December 31, 2020).

“We have achieved the highest level of manual coca eradication ever recorded by Colombia: 130,000 hectares (321,000 acres),” President Ivan Duque said

• “‘No Hay Que Poner Mas Trabas’: El Duro Mensaje del Presidente de Jep” (El Tiempo (Colombia), December 31, 2020).

La JEP cerró el año pasado con más de 36.000 decisiones adoptadas, 308.000 víctimas acreditadas en los siete macrocasos y un terreno abonado para las primeras decisiones de fondo y condenas contra los máximos responsables

Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

• “El Flujo de Extranjeros Que Buscan Cruzar Ilegalmente a Peru Aumenta en la Frontera Sur” (El Universo (Ecuador), December 31, 2020).

Las investigaciones revelan que existe una red de trata de personas en la que participan presuntos coyoteros que operan en Colombia, Ecuador y Perú

Cuba

• Abel Gonzalez, “Calls for Freedom of Expression in Cuba After Members of Artist Collective Evicted During Peaceful Protest” (Global Voices, December 31, 2020).

Since November, a group of Cubans has been demanding freedom of expression in solidarity with members of an artists collective which has been facing repression from state authorities

Mexico

• Wendy Fry, Alejandro Tamayo, “In Their Own Words: Parents Talk About Their Endless Search for Mexico’s Missing” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 31, 2020).

When met with what they say is official indifference or outright resistance, the collectives purchased shovels and other tools and began conducting their own searches in clandestine mass graves and abandoned properties

• “Mexico Cierra 2020 Con Baja en Homicidios y Ligera Alza en Feminicidios” (Animal Politico (Mexico), December 31, 2020).

En 2020 habrá una disminución de 0.4% en homicidios dolosos y de 1.3% en la tasa de homicidios por cada 100 mil habitantes, con relación a 2019

• “Mexico Fentanyl Seizures Soar by Almost 500% in 2020” (Associated Press, ABC News, December 31, 2020).

Military and police forces said on the final day of the year that they had seized an estimated 1.3 tons of the synthetic opioid, compared to 222 kilograms in 2019

• “A New Law Might Hobble the Us-Mexican Fight Against Drug Cartels” (The Economist (Uk), December 31, 2020).

The episode, described by one American official as “a total shitshow”, has complicated the Mexican-American relationship just as it had at last seemed to be getting simpler

Peru

• Aldo Pecho Gonzales, “El Ano de la Pandemia: ¿Que Abordamos Sobre Seguridad Ciudadana?” (Instituto de Defensa Legal (Peru), December 31, 2020).

Seguridad Ciudadana se prepara para afrontar un nuevo año con retos por venir, en circunstancias que seguramente serán diferentes para nuestra ciudadanía, con eminentes cambios políticos

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Rafael Carranza, “Nogales Shelter Director Juan Francisco Loureiro Dies From Covid-19 After a Lifetime Helping Migrants” (The Arizona Republic, December 31, 2020).

Don Paco, as he was known to friends and migrants, founded the San Juan Bosco migrant shelter in Nogales, Sonora in 1982

• Meghann Myers, “New in 2021: Border Deployments Slowly Winding Down as More Wall Goes Up” (Military Times, December 31, 2020).

As of Dec. 16 3,600 National Guard and reserve troops are stationed at the border, with a cap of 4,000 issued in June

Venezuela

• Luisa Quintero, “Ddhh en Venezuela: Un Ano de Graves Denuncias y Lo Que Falta por Venir” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), December 31, 2020).

Denuncias de torturas, detenciones arbitrarias y ejecuciones extrajudiciales se combinaron este año con las vulneraciones a los derechos a la alimentación, salud y servicios básicos

• Abelardo Perez, “Oro, Sangre, Ecocidio y Esclavitud Reinaron Durante 2020 en el Arco Minero” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), December 31, 2020).

El Arco Minero del Orinoco se ha convertido en una tierra de barbarie donde la ley la imponen los grupos armados irregulares

(Even more here)

December 30, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Francesco Manetto, “Jon Lee Anderson: “Estamos en una Era de Protesta y Exasperacion, Pero No de Empunar Armas Contra el Poder”” (El Pais (Spain), December 30, 2020).

Todos nos sentimos sacudidos, hostigados, dañados y algo traumatizados por el paso de Trump. Creo que los latinoamericanos han de sentir algo parecido

Argentina

• Daniel Politi, Ernesto Londono, “Argentina Legalizes Abortion, a Milestone in a Conservative Region” (The New York Times, December 30, 2020).

The Senate vote on Wednesday was a major victory for Latin America’s growing feminist movement, and its ripple effects are likely to be widespread

Bolivia

• Luis Marcelo Tedesqui Vargas, “Nuevo Alto Mando Militar Promete Esclarecer Casos Sacaba y Senkata” (El Deber (Bolivia), December 30, 2020).

El anterior jefe de las FFAA había expresado el malestar institucional por los procesos a militares por las muertes de Sacaba y Senkata

Chile

• “El Comando de Operaciones Especiales del Ejercito de Chile (Cope) Inicia Sus Funciones” (Ejército de Chile, Defensa.com (Spain), December 30, 2020).

Cabe destacar que la creación del COPE es parte de las modificaciones diseñadas para la nueva Estructura Superior del Ejército (ESE) y depende directamente del Comandante en Jefe

Colombia, Venezuela

• John Otis, “Large Venezuelan Migration Sparks Xenophobic Backlash in Colombia” (National Public Radio, December 30, 2020).

The message that Venezuelan migrants are no longer welcome comes from average Colombian citizens and powerful government officials alike

Cuba

• Nora Gamez Torres, Jacqueline Charles, “Will Biden Restore Ties With Cuba? Debate Swirls Over Next Steps as Florida Loss Muddies Plans” (The Miami Herald, December 30, 2020).

On the campaign trail, President-elect Joe Biden promised to reverse Donald Trump’s restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba. But he stopped short of saying just how far he’ll go

• Michael Crowley, Charlie Savage, Eric Schmitt, “Pompeo Weighs Plan to Place Cuba on U.S. Terrorism Sponsor List” (The New York Times, December 30, 2020).

The plan to restore Cuba to the terrorism sponsor list was developed, in a break from standard process, by the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and not its Counterterrorism Bureau

Cuba, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Jose Luis Gonzalez, “Cuban Migrants Protest at Mexico Border, Seeking Entry to U.S.” (Reuters, December 30, 2020).

U.S. authorities, including police in anti-riot gear, closed off the bridge that leads into El Paso, Texas, with a concrete barrier topped with barbed wire

Honduras

• Nina Lakhani, “Indigenous Environmental Defender Killed in Latest Honduras Attack” (The Guardian, December 30, 2020).

Félix Vásquez, 60, a veteran leader of the indigenous Lenca people, was shot dead at home in Santiago de Puringla, a rural community in the department of La Paz

Mexico

• Juan Montes, “Mexico Set to Become World’s Largest Legal Cannabis Market” (The Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2020).

Mexico’s Senate passed a bill in late November legalizing recreational marijuana. Lawmakers in the lower house say they will approve a bill by February, though they want to raise the amount of pot consumers may possess in public

• Eduard Ribas I Admetlla, “No Es una Eleccion Mas. En 2021, Amlo se Juega el Control del Congreso y… Gobernabilidad” (EFE, SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 30, 2020).

El 6 de junio de 2021, 94 millones de mexicanos están llamados a las urnas para elegir a los 500 diputados federales, 15 de los 32 gobernadores, 30 congresos estatales y mil 900 ayuntamientos

• “Una Guerra en Curso: Trincheras, Pueblos Sitiados, Muertos. Cjng Quiere Michoacan. Lo Que Cueste” (Revista Zeta (Tijuana Mexico), SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 30, 2020).

Se inauguraron 22 bases de la Guardia Nacional en la entidad, pero no responden a la violencia

• Steve Fisher, Kirk Semple, “Hit Hard by the Pandemic, Mexico’s Drug Cartels Tweaked Their Playbook” (The New York Times, December 30, 2020).

When the flow of drugs regained momentum, the transportation hurdles resulted in a sharp drop in the frequency of shipments, with cocaine from the Andean countries of South America arriving in Mexico once every two weeks, instead of a few times a week

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Luis Chaparro, “Trump’s Crackdown on the Us-Mexico Border Has Been a Moneymaker for Border Agents Working With Traffickers” (Business Insider, Yahoo!, December 30, 2020).

The cartel operative, who asked not to be identified to avoid retribution, said cartels not only have ties to the Border Patrol but to CBP officers at the international bridges as well

Venezuela

• Sebastian Boccanegra, “Maduro No Estaba Disfrazado” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), December 30, 2020).

En el acto de salutación a la Fuerza Armada Nacional celebrado el 28 de diciembre de 2020, Nicolás Maduro asistió vestido de militar

• Ahiana Figueroa, “Venezuela Aun Tiene 351 Presos Politicos, Dos de Ellos Menores de Edad” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), December 30, 2020).

Los presos políticos permanecen en diferentes recintos carcelarios como el Helicoide, los calabozos de la Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar (Dgcim) y en la sede principal del Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional

• “Ovv: La Violencia en Venezuela Fue Mas Letal Que la Covid-19” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), December 30, 2020).

Entre las muertes violentas, hubo 4.231 personas que fallecieron en casos de «resistencia a la autoridad», 4.153 homicidios y otras 3.507 muertes que están en averiguación

(Even more here)

December 29, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Michael J. Camilleri, “Biden’s Latin American Opportunity” (Inter-American Dialogue, Foreign Affairs, December 29, 2020).

The Biden administration will need to expect the unexpected and plan for multiple contingencies, whether migration surges, natural disasters, or constitutional crises

Brazil

• Dom Phillips, “‘Miners Out, Covid Out’: Threats to Indigenous Reserve in Brazil Grow” (The Guardian, December 29, 2020).

Illegal goldminers supported by Bolsonaro bring environmental destruction and coronavirus to Yanomami communities

Colombia

• Valerie Cortes Villalba, “Un Dialogo Franco Entre Fuerza Publica y la Comision de la Verdad” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 29, 2020).

Miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas y de la Policía han participado en espacios de escucha como víctimas del conflicto armado y también han aportado sus versiones para el esclarecimiento de la verdad

• “Masacre en Bolivar: Asesinaron a Cinco Miembros de una Familia” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 29, 2020).

Entre las víctimas está Rosa Mendoza, una excombatiente de las Farc y su hija, menor de edad

• “Editorial: General: No Desestime a los Criticos” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 29, 2020).

Sería muy útil para la paz nacional, así como para restablecer la confianza de los ciudadanos, ver un liderazgo menos conflictivo y escudado en el debido proceso para no dar explicaciones necesarias

Colombia, Venezuela

• Thiany Rodriguez, ““Colombia Prepara Ataques Contra Unidades Militares de Venezuela”, Asi Despide Maduro el Ano” (Defensa.com (Spain), December 29, 2020).

“Desde Colombia se preparan ataques contra unidades militares del país, con mercenarios entrenados bajo el financiamiento de Iván Duque, se preparan ataques a final de este año o en los días por pasar a principio del 2021”, aseguró

Costa Rica

• Katherine Stanley Obando, “A Tale of Two Costa Ricas” (El Faro (El Salvador), December 29, 2020).

Both versions of 2020 — the rapid and competent initial Covid-response and scientific development, and the blundering financial reaction and misreading of public needs — will be part of the benefits and burdens Costa Rica carries into the future

El Salvador

• Joshua Goodman, “Us Cuts Military Aid to el Salvador Amid Intense Lobbying” (Associated Press, Associated Press, December 29, 2020).

Tucked into the omnibus spending bill signed Sunday by President Donald Trump was a provision barring access for El Salvador — as well as for neighbors Guatemala and Honduras — to a State Department program that finances the purchase of U.S. defense equipment

Guatemala

• Elsa Coronado, “From Fear to Outrage in Guatemala” (Plaza Publica (Guatemala), El Faro (El Salvador), December 29, 2020).

In Guatemala, fear of the virus was overshadowed by outrage in the face of corruption and abuse of power

• Evelyn Boche, “Bloquean Trabajo de Corresponsal de Elperiodico” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), December 29, 2020).

El fotógrafo esperaba la llegada de Mynor Moto a Puerto Barrios, pero captó al excandidato presidencial Fredy Cabrera, que le advertía al juez “¡Metete, metete!”

Honduras

• Jennifer Ávila, Otto Argueta, “The Tribulations of Honduras: Pandemic, Hurricanes, Coming Elections” (El Faro (El Salvador), December 29, 2020).

The pandemic is thriving in countries like Honduras where democracy and dictatorship blend together into a toxic autocracy

Mexico

• Arturo Angel, “2020 Con Violencia Record: Homicidios Aumentaron en 11 Estados” (Animal Politico (Mexico), December 29, 2020).

Ni el confinamiento por la pandemia, ni el despliegue masivo de la Guardia Nacional lograron una reducción de la violencia homicida

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Ilya Somin, “How Biden Can Terminate Trump’s Border Wall Project—and Save Money and Protect Property Rights in the Process” (Reason, December 29, 2020).

Additional steps may be tougher, but are still worth considering

• Ryan Devereaux, “An Unchecked Union” (The Intercept, December 29, 2020).

The next head of DHS will need to grapple with the insular, hard-right worldview held by influential border and immigration officials

Venezuela

• Betania Franquis, “#Guiriaduele, Entre la Ilegalidad y la Sobrevivencia” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), December 29, 2020).

Dos o tres lanchas parten de forma clandestina cada semana en Güiria. Surcan el oleaje del océano Atlántico que baña la costa oriental, con venezolanos que escapan

• Deisy Martinez, “Maduro Rechaza Continuidad de la an y Advierte Que “Habra Justicia”” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), December 29, 2020).

Nicolás Maduro reaccionó en rechazo a la declaratoria de la continuidad administrativa y constitucional de la Asamblea Nacional (AN) presidida por Juan Guaidó

(Even more here)

December 28, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Hannah Dreier, “To Stay or to Go?” (The Washington Post, December 28, 2020).

Some immigrants have been withdrawing cases against their lawyers’ advice, saying they’re more afraid of being in detention during a coronavirus outbreak than of what might be waiting in the places they fled

Colombia

• Valentina Parada Lugo, “Diez Verdades Que No Conociamos del Conflicto Armado” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 28, 2020).

Gracias al trabajo de la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, la Comisión de la Verdad y la Unidad de Búsqueda de Desaparecidos, el país ha podido conocer versiones sobre varios hechos que permanecieron ocultos

• Juan Pablo Perez B., “En los Asesinatos de Lideres, Son Varios los Imputados, Pero Pocos los Condenados” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 28, 2020).

Sólo doce han terminado en una condena, pero veinte están en juicio

• “Tras los Baldios de la Nacion” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), December 28, 2020).

El Estado colombiano no tiene certeza de cuántos son los predios considerados baldíos y mucho menos sus dimensiones reales. Aprovechándose de esa falencia, cientos de colombianos se habrían apropiado de grandes extensiones de tierra

• “Asesinan a Dos Excombatientes de las Farc en Bolivar y Cauca” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 28, 2020).

Rosa Amalia Mendoza y Manuel Alonso Villegas, exarc asesinados este domingo, 27 de diciembre en los departamentos de Bolívar y Cauca

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Kate Morrissey, “The U.S. Asylum System Is Broken. How Could It Be Reimagined?” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 28, 2020).

The U.S. has always resisted protecting refugees at its border. The incoming Biden administration will have to decide whether to break with that past

(Even more here)

December 24, 2020

Colombia

• “‘en Entrega de Bienes, Gobierno Parece Inducirnos al Incumplimiento’: Pastor Alape” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 24, 2020).

Por situación de seguridad en los territorios, muchos de ellos ya no se podrán entregar. Gobierno dice que tiene toda la logística necesaria disponible para recibir los bienes

• “Editorial: Insistir en Lo Inutil” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 24, 2020).

Si en efecto vuelven las aspersiones con glifosato, es fácil predecir qué va a ocurrir: la política de drogas de Colombia continuará en el fracaso

• “20 Anos de Incumplimiento de las Medidas Cautelares en el Caso de Jineth Bedoya” (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (Colombia), December 24, 2020).

La Fiscalía debía informar sobre los avances en las investigaciones penales por los hechos ocurridos el 25 de mayo de 2000 que atentaron contra la vida, integridad y libertad de expresión de la periodista

• “Jorge Luis Vargas, el General Pionero de la Inteligencia Policial” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 24, 2020).

La nueva cabeza de esa institución es una ficha que genera confianza en distintos sectores políticos, en el Ejército y en las agencias de inteligencia internacional

• Cruz Bonlarron Martinez, Evan King, “How the U.S. Is Quietly Undermining Colombia’s Fragile Peace Process” (Wit­ness for Peace Sol­i­dar­i­ty Col­lec­tive, In These Times, December 24, 2020).

This role has been most pro­nounced in the U.S. coun­ternar­cotics pol­i­cy in the coun­try for the past few decades. Under the Trump admin­is­tra­tion this pol­i­cy has been mixed with ani­mos­i­ty toward the 2016 peace agree­ment

Guatemala

• Vaclav Masek, “Remembering Guatemala’s Martyr of Justice: An Interview With Francisco Goldman” (NACLA, December 24, 2020).

Out now in documentary form, The Art of Political Murder presents a riveting narrative reconstruction of one of Latin America’s most controversial and bizarre criminal cases

Mexico

• Sugeyry Romina Gandara, “El Crimen Organizado en Mexico No Supo de Pandemia. Trabajo “su Territorio”, se Diversifico, Mato…” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 24, 2020).

Al menos 26 mil 105 personas fueron asesinadas de marzo a noviembre de 2020, periodo en el que se han mantenido las medidas de restricción por la pandemia

Nicaragua

• “Daniel Ortega Confisca de Forma Arbitraria Bienes de Medios de Comunicacion” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), December 24, 2020).

Carlos Chamorro denunció que el régimen de Daniel Ortega ordenó confiscar todos los bienes que pertenecen a los medios de comunicación, El Confidencial

Peru

• Roberto Paredes Vereau, “Vraem: Unos Diez Agentes del Orden Han Muerto en la Lucha Contra el Narcoterrorismo Este Ano” (El Comercio (Peru), December 24, 2020).

Especialista advierte que hace 20 años no se producía un ataque contra miembros de esta institución

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Jeremy Schwartz, Perla Trevizo, “The Trump Administration Awarded Border Wall Contracts to Build on Land It Doesn’t Own in Texas” (Texas Tribune, Propublica, The Texas Tribune, December 24, 2020).

The government’s strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays. Things could get even more complicated if President-elect Joe Biden stops border wall construction

• Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough, “Border Wall Construction Presses Full Steam Ahead in Final Days of Trump Administration” (CNN, December 24, 2020).

The work is part of a final sprint to complete as many miles of border wall as possible before President-elect Joe Biden takes office

• Yesenia Padilla, “Trump Pardons Border Agents Who Covered Up Shooting” (Southern Border Communities Coalition, December 24, 2020).

President Trump issued pardons to Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who were convicted in 2006 of shooting Osvaldo Aldrete-Davil and then attempting to cover up the shooting

• Lauren Gilger, “Despite Crackdown on Illegal Immigration, Migrants Flock to U.S.-Mexico Border” (Fronteras Desk, December 24, 2020).

There is the promise of more lenient immigration policies to come, but as Tony Payan argues, it’s more about what people are running from than what they are running toward

Venezuela

• Maryhen Jimenez Morales, Antulio Rosales, “Venezuela’s Opposition Needs a New Strategy” (Al Jazeera, December 24, 2020).

Like the December 6 sham election, the consultation has done nothing to jump start a transition to democracy

(Even more here)

December 23, 2020

Colombia

• “Cauca, una Apuesta Militar Ineficaz” (La Liga Contra el Silencio, Voragine (Colombia), December 23, 2020).

Organizaciones sociales y voceros comunitarios, a pesar del miedo, denuncian una supuesta connivencia entre la fuerza pública y los grupos ilegales

• “Una Guerra Entre Ilegales Desangra a Norte de Santander” (La Liga Contra el Silencio, Voragine (Colombia), December 23, 2020).

La pugna que enfrenta al grupo narcoparamilitar Los Rastrojos con la guerrilla del ELN ha dejado una estela de muerte

• “Antioquia y Cordoba, Otra Vez Tierra de Sangre” (La Liga Contra el Silencio, Voragine (Colombia), December 23, 2020).

El Nudo del Paramillo, frontera natural entre los dos departamentos, es hoy un corredor que ocho grupos se disputan tras la salida de las Farc

Colombia, Venezuela

• Joe Parkin Daniels, “Alarm at Colombia Plan to Exclude Migrants From Coronavirus Vaccine” (The Guardian, December 23, 2020).

President Iván Duque says undocumented Venezuelans will be denied access in a move denounced as unethical and impractical

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-New York), “Engel U.S.-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act Passes Congress” (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, December 23, 2020).

Legislation requires creation of “Engel list” of corrupt and undemocratic actors who will be denied entry to U.S.

U.S.-Mexico Border

• “2020 Was the Deadliest Year on Record for Migrants Crossing the Arizona Desert” (Mother Jones, December 23, 2020).

They are likely the result of a combination of changes to border policy by the Trump administration, an increase in hostility by US Border Patrol toward humanitarian aid workers, and record-breaking heat

• Nick Miroff, Maria Sacchetti, “Biden Says He’ll Reverse Trump Immigration Policies but Wants ‘Guardrails’ First” (The Washington Post, December 23, 2020).

The president-elect said creating a system to process thousands of asylum seekers will take months, because the government needs funding to put staffers such as “asylum judges” in place

• Michelle Hackman, Santiago Perez, Alicia A. Caldwell, “Migrants Stranded in Mexico Await Biden Administration Overhaul” (The Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2020).

While tens of thousands of asylum seekers, mostly from Central America, have given up and returned home, many others haven’t

(Even more here)

December 22, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Michelle Hackman, “Texas Challenges Legality of Daca in Latest Bid to End the Program” (The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2020).

Judge Hanen declined to immediately end DACA as Texas requested when the state filed its suit in 2018, but he wrote in a preliminary opinion that Texas was likely to ultimately win the suit

Colombia

• “Detalles de la Acusacion Contra el Presidente y Expresidente de la Drummond” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 22, 2020).

El fiscal del caso resolvió declarar como crimen de lesa humanidad el presunto delito de concierto para delinquir que se les imputa a los reconocidos empresarios

• “Colombia No Aparece en la Lista de Llamadas de Joe Biden a Mandatarios del Mundo” (La W Radio (Colombia), December 22, 2020).

En la lista de mandatarios, presidentes, cancilleres y primeros ministros que han hablado telefónicamente con el presidente electo de los Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, no aparece el presidente Iván Duque

Colombia, Venezuela

• Joe Parkin Daniels, “Alarm at Colombia Plan to Exclude Migrants From Coronavirus Vaccine” (The Guardian, December 22, 2020).

President Iván Duque says undocumented Venezuelans will be denied access in a move denounced as unethical and impractical

Cuba

• Peter Kornbluh, “Can Biden Finish What Obama Started With Cuba?” (The Nation, December 22, 2020).

WOLA and CDA representatives said they had provided the “detailed inventory of what needs to be done” to members of Biden’s transition team, and they hoped the report would create a “momentum for engagement”

Guatemala, Honduras

• Ted Hesson, Laura Gottesdiener, “Biden Team Weighs Deportation Relief for More Than 1 Million Hondurans, Guatemalans” (Reuters, Reuters, December 22, 2020).

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is weighing whether to grant them Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Mexico

• Nina Lakhani, “Mexico World’s Deadliest Country for Journalists, New Report Finds” (The Guardian, December 22, 2020).

Nine journalists killed in 2020, bringing deaths to 120 since 2000

• Jose De Cordoba, Santiago Perez, Sadie Gurman, “U.S. Evidence Against Mexican Ex-Defense Minister Raises Conviction Doubts” (The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2020).

The case that Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos took bribes from drug cartels is largely circumstantial, people in both countries say, clouding chances of a conviction in Mexico

• Earl Anthony Wayne, “A Better Way Forward Than Mexico’s New Anti-Crime Legislation” (The Hill, December 22, 2020).

Before this grows into a very damaging bilateral problem, the two governments urgently need to engage to address the serious and legitimate issues at stake and find workable solutions

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Lucia Leal, “Asesores de Biden: Tardaremos “Meses” en Restablecer el Asilo en la Frontera” (EFE, EFE, December 22, 2020).

Rice y Sullivan intentaron contener el “efecto llamada” que puede generar entre los migrantes la próxima llegada al poder de Biden, después de cuatro años de restricciones al derecho al asilo

• Anita Snow, “Arizona Migrant Border Deaths on Track for Record Amid Heat” (Associated Press, Associated Press, December 22, 2020).

Federal statistics show that search and rescue operations near Arizona’s border inexplicably dipped to 213 during a record-hot July and August, from 232 in July and August 2019

• Nick Miroff, “Several Trump Immigration Restrictions Will Remain in Place, Biden Advisers Say, Urging Patience” (The Washington Post, December 22, 2020).

Rice and Sullivan’s interview with EFE were the first extensive on-the-record statements on immigration policy plans from Biden’s White House team

Uruguay

• Juan Manuel Montoro, “Uruguay’s New Government Is Prioritising Security, but Is It at the Cost of Free Speech?” (Global Voices, December 22, 2020).

The law aims to reform a wide range of issues, including broadening the power given to the police force during public demonstrations

Venezuela

• “Venezuela: Humanitarian Groups Under Attack” (Human Rights Watch, December 22, 2020).

Venezuelan authorities are harassing and criminally prosecuting civil society organizations that are doing essential work to address the ongoing humanitarian emergency in the country

• Eric Schmitt, Julie Turkewitz, “Navy Warship’s Secret Mission Off West Africa Aims to Help Punish Venezuela” (The New York Times, December 22, 2020).

For months, Mr. Esper had fended off pleas from the State and Justice Departments to deploy a Navy vessel to Cape Verde to deter Venezuela and Iran from plotting to spirit Mr. Saab away from the island

(Even more here)

December 18, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Hamed Aleaziz, “Dhs Inspectors Found Ice Detainees Who Were Kept in Solitary Confinement for 300 Days” (BuzzFeed, December 18, 2020).

Nearly a dozen immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were kept in solitary confinement for more than two months, including two people who were isolated for more than 300 days

Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

• Jordi Amaral, “Fleeing Venezuelans Face Difficult Realities in Caribbean Response” (Washington Office on Latin America, December 18, 2020).

Venezuelan migrants have greatly struggled to gain access to legal status in host countries in the Caribbean

Bolivia

• Jesus Reynaldo Alanoca Paco, “Bolivia Registra la Mas Baja Erradicacion de Cultivos de Coca de los Ultimos 11 Anos” (El Deber (Bolivia), December 18, 2020).

Solo se destruyeron 2.177 hectáreas de la hoja verde. Efectivos encargados de esa labor atribuyen el descenso a la pandemia y a los conflictos que vivió el país

Colombia

• Jose Andres Gonzalez Gaitan, “22 Generales del Ejercito, Investigados por Presuntos “Falsos Positivos”” (Caracol (Colombia), December 18, 2020).

La Fiscalía investiga 2.314 casos de falsos positivos contra 10.949 miembros del Ejército que involucran a 3.966 víctimas

• Maria Alejandra Velez, “Regalo de Navidad: ¿Licencia Ambiental para las Fumigaciones Con Glifosato?” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 18, 2020).

Sería un error histórico para Colombia desconocer tanto la evidencia sobre la aspersión como las demandas sociales y ambientales de los territorios

• “Declaracion Rechazo a la Audiencia del Plan de Manejo Ambiental para la Fumigacion Aerea Con Glifosato” (Numerous organizations, INDEPAZ (Colombia), December 18, 2020).

Rechazamos la pretensión del gobierno nacional de imponer el plan de aspersión aérea y dejamos constancia de nuestros desacuerdos frente a la audiencia del Plan de Manejo Ambiental del PECIG con la que se pretende haber ajustado al Plan de Manejo Ambiental con miras a reactivar las fumigaciones

• “A Juicio Presidente de Drummond Colombia por Presuntos Nexos Con Paramilitares” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 18, 2020).

De acuerdo con la Fiscalía, el actual presidente (José Miguel Linares) y el expresidente de la multinacional (Augusto Jiménez) carbonífera habrían financiado y promovido la creación y los propósitos ilícitos de las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia entre 1996 y 2001

El Salvador

• Hector Silva Avalos, “Charges Point to el Salvador Police Chief’s History of Obstructing Justice” (InsightCrime, December 18, 2020).

A police chief allegedly protecting cabinet ministers under criminal investigation underscores how the force’s highest officials still act in ways that obstruct justice and guarantee impunity

Guatemala

• Lucero Sapalu, “Ejercito Gasto Mas de q48 Millones en Reparaciones y Vehiculos” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), December 18, 2020).

El Ministerio de la Defensa (Mindef) gastó más de Q48 millones en vehículos y reparaciones de aeronaves bajo el Plan de recuperación de Capacidades del Ejército

Mexico

• “Amlo Asegura Que Ya No Hay Masacres Ni Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos por Parte de Militares” (Mientras Tanto en Mexico (Mexico), December 18, 2020).

Durante su visita a Bavispe, Sonora, señaló que ya no se encubren delitos cometidos por militares y hay autoridad moral en el comandante de las Fuerzas Armadas y los mandos

• Mary Beth Sheridan, “As Mexico’s Security Deteriorates, the Power of the Military Grows” (The Washington Post, December 18, 2020).

Under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, troops have taken on expanded tasks well beyond their bases

• “Mexican President Defends Restrictive Immigration Policies” (Associated Press, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, December 18, 2020).

López Obrador denied that the U.S. government had pressured Mexico to impose the restrictions, including the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy on asylum seekers

Peru

• “Peru: Serious Police Abuses Against Protesters” (Human Rights Watch, December 18, 2020).

We have gathered worrying evidence of excessive use of police force against demonstrators protesting the very questionable removal of president Vizcarra

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Anita Snow, “Damage From Border Wall: Blown-Up Mountains, Toppled Cactus” (Associated Press, Associated Press, December 18, 2020).

Environmentalists hope President-elect Joe Biden will stop the work, but that could be difficult and expensive to do quickly and may still leave pillars towering over sensitive borderlands

(Even more here)

December 17, 2020

Colombia

• “Ante Retos de la Pandemia, Mapp/Oea Llama a Fortalecer Sinergias y Esfuerzos en Favor de la Paz en Colombia” (MAPP-OEA (Colombia), Organization of American States, December 17, 2020).

La Misión de Apoyo al Proceso de Paz en Colombia de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (MAPP/OEA) presentó hoy ante el Consejo Permanente de la Organización su vigésimo noveno informe semestral

• Juan Pablo Perez B., Nicole Bravo, Andres Ortiz, “En Zonas Focalizadas por el Acuerdo, Duque Construye Pero No Empodera” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 17, 2020).

En esas comunidades se sienten frustrados, porque lo pactado no sólo incluía obras y recursos, sino que también le apostaba a empoderar y darles mayor capacidad de decisión a los habitantes de estas regiones. Y esta apuesta se ha ido diluyendo

• “De Aqui Vinieron las Balas” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), December 17, 2020).

Registrar cifras tiende a deshumanizar y a invisibilizar las historias de valientes ciudadanos y ciudadanas que asumieron la vocería de sus comunidades para exigir derechos o para denunciar atropellos

• “Denuncian Captura de Tres Lideres Agrarios en Narino, Bolivar y Meta” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 17, 2020).

Rober Daza, Adelso Gallo y Teófilo Acuña, dirigentes y voceros del Coordinador Nacional Agrario y la Cumbre Agraria, fueron capturados en tres operativos realizados entre el 15 y 16 de diciembre, acusados de rebelión agravada

• “‘Insecure’ Actor Kendrick Sampson Punched by Cop in Colombia” (Variety, December 17, 2020).

The helmeted officer can be seen punching him in the face, pulling a handgun and appearing to cock it before holstering the weapon and putting Sampson in handcuffs

• “Jep Rechaza Solicitud de Victimas de Expulsar a los Militares Mario Montoya y Hernan Mejia” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 17, 2020).

La Jurisdicción argumenta que no es el momento para evaluar si los militares pierden o no los beneficios por entrar a la JEP o si son expulsados

El Salvador

• Ivan Briscoe, Tiziano Breda, “A Bargain Worth Making? Bukele and the Gangs of El Salvador – War on the Rocks” (International Crisis Group, War on the Rocks, December 17, 2020).

Not long before the pandemic touched down in El Salvador, which over the years has been the Central American country hardest hit by gang violence, the

Guatemala

• Ricardo Barrientos, “Guatemala: Can the Oas Help Solve a Political Crisis?” (AULA Blog (American University), December 17, 2020).

The OAS actions appeared based more on personal relations between its representatives and Guatemalan officials, particularly the appointment of someone with a clear conflict of interest

• Hamed Aleaziz, “Secret Emails Show the Dramatic Moment a Top Ice Lawyer Tried — and Failed — to Get Deported Children Flown Back to the Us” (BuzzFeed, December 17, 2020).

ICE emails show officials scrambling to decide what to do after a plane carrying 32 immigrant children landed in Guatemala — right around the same time a judge blocked the controversial Trump administration policy that allowed them to be deported

Honduras

• Juan Pablo Sabillon, “Corruption, Weak Institutions and Natural Disasters: Is There Hope for Honduras to Rebuild?” (El Milenio, Univision, December 17, 2020).

Honduras is experiencing dire symptoms of a failed state, accelerated by a pandemic and two hurricanes, and nurtured by weak state capacity, corruption and poor rule of law. How to fix that?

Peru

• Ana Bazo Reisman, “¿Que Exigen 13 Generales Pnp en su Demanda Contra el Presidente Francisco Sagasti?” (El Comercio (Peru), December 17, 2020).

Los oficiales, pasados al retiro el 24 de noviembre, sostienen que las decisiones tomadas por el Ejecutivo violaron la normativa de la Policía

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Josh Dawsey, Nick Miroff, “Biden order to halt border wall project would save U.S. $2.6 billion, Pentagon estimates show” (The Washington Post, December 17, 2020).

The government would owe construction firms about $700 million for terminating contracts

• Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), “Congressman Gonzalez’s Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act Passes House” (U.S. House of Representatives, December 17, 2020).

This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will enhance local jurisdictions’ ability to record and report missing persons and unidentified remains found in South Texas and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border

• “Humanitarian Disgrace: U.S. Continues to Illegally Block, Expel Refugees to Danger” (Human Rights First, December 17, 2020).

The Trump Administration continues to break U.S. laws and treaty obligations that protect refugees from persecution, returning to danger people seeking protection at the southern border

(Even more here)

December 16, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• John Walsh, “Can Biden-Harris ‘Just Say No’ to the Endless War on Drugs?” (Washington Office on Latin America, Responsible Statecraft (Quincy Institute), December 16, 2020).

Even if immediate reforms are modest compared to the enormity of the problem, Biden can make a lasting contribution by simply being honest about the limits and costs of overseas supply control

Bolivia

• “Policia Guarda Silencio por Caso Sacaba y Mesa Habla Con el Giei” (El Deber (Bolivia), December 16, 2020).

El coronel Jaime Zurita llegó a la Fiscalía de Sacaba y se abstuvo de emitir sus declaraciones. El expresidente se reunió con misión de la CIDH por hechos de 2019

Brazil

• Ishaan Tharoor, “Brazil Has the World’s Second-Highest Coronavirus Death Toll. But Bolsonaro Is as Popular as Ever.” (The Washington Post, December 16, 2020).

“The benefit reached many people long before the disease did”

Brazil, Mexico

• Tom Phillips, David Agren, “Brazil and Mexico Presidents Recognize Biden’s Victory After Facing Criticism” (The Guardian, December 16, 2020).

Writing to Trump after his own election in 2018, Amlo presented himself as a fellow populist – and signed off with abrazos (hugs) as opposed to the more formal un saludo (regards) he directed at Biden

• Mark Stevenson, “Brazil, Mexico Presidents Among Last to Congratulate Biden” (Associated Press, Associated Press, December 16, 2020).

More surprising was the tardy and somewhat chilly letter López Obrador said he sent to Biden late Monday

Colombia

• Isabel Pereira Arana, Luis Felipe Cruz Olivera, “De Regalo de Navidad, Duque Insiste Con el Glifosato” (DeJusticia, La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 16, 2020).

El próximo sábado 19 de diciembre se llevará a cabo la Audiencia pública ambiental sobre el trámite de licencia para el Programa de Erradicación de Cultivos Ilícitos con Glifosato (Pecig)

• “Un Documents 375 Killings in Colombia in 2020, Urges Government Action” (United Nations, December 16, 2020).

The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday

• Juan Gomez, Silvia Corredor Rodriguez, Valeria Arias Suarez, Carlos Mayorga, “Antioquia Silenciada: El Mapa de Riesgos de los Liderazgos Sociales” (La Paz en el Terreno, El Espectador (Colombia), December 16, 2020).

El control ilegal sobre una nutrida lista de ‘botines’ de guerra que van más allá de la coca, la poca presencia del Estado y conflictos con grandes empresas mineroenergéticas tendrían silenciados a los líderes y las lideresas sociales antioqueños

• Cecilia Orozco Tascón, “Tres Conspiraciones (¿Criminales?) Contra la Jep” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 16, 2020).

Varios elementos tienen en común los tres operativos: uno, agentes de la DEA que intervinieron en el primero también lo hicieron en el segundo y en el tercero

• “Bachelet Insta a Colombia a Aumentar la Proteccion de la Poblacion Debido al Aumento de la Violencia en Zonas Rurales” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Colombia Field Office, December 16, 2020).

La Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, Michelle Bachelet, condenó el martes el incremento de la violencia ejercida por parte de grupos armados no estatales, grupos criminales y otros elementos armados en Colombia

Colombia, Venezuela

• “Seguridad y Migracion en la Frontera Colombia-Venezuela” (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación (Colombia), December 16, 2020).

En los veinticuatro (24) municipios fronterizos de Colombia ubicados en estas regiones , durante el 2020, han sido asesinadas 472 personas; 63 de nacionalidad venezolana; 24 han sido masacradas; 1.365 personas han sido desplazadas forzosamente y 13 han sido secuestradas

Cuba

• Ben Bartenstein, “Biden Plots Cuba Reset in Rebuke of Trump’s Sanctions” (Bloomberg, December 16, 2020).

The prospect of a détente between Washington and Havana rekindles memories of the thaw that Biden helped champion during the Obama administration

• Peter Kornbluh, William Leogrande, “Mexico: New Security Law Strips Diplomatic Immunity From Dea Agents” (The Guardian, December 16, 2020).

Despite Trump’s repeated falsehoods about Obama’s “one-sided deal” with Cuba, during its short duration, the policy of positive engagement achieved remarkable results

El Salvador

• Hamed Aleaziz, “The Trump Administration Has Finalized an Agreement to Send Asylum-Seekers to el Salvador to Seek Protection” (BuzzFeed, December 16, 2020).

Earlier this year, the Biden–Sanders task force, organized after the president-elect won the Democratic nomination, recommended an end to the agreements signed with the Central American countries

• Nick Miroff, “El Salvador Ready to Accept Asylum Seekers Sent From U.S. Border, Dhs Says” (The Washington Post, December 16, 2020).

Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris has criticized the agreements with Central American countries. President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Mexico

• Diego Enrique Osorno, “Otros Danos Colaterales” (Milenio (Mexico), December 16, 2020).

No se refiere a los civiles que han muerto a manos de militares por pasarse un retén o en otro evento castrense, sino a soldados que acabaron siendo procesados por esto

• Luis Fernando Najera, “Choix, el Punto Rojo del Norte” (Riodoce (Sinaloa Mexico), December 16, 2020).

Se repite la historia: queman casas y asesinan a pobladores; no pasa nada, dice el alcalde

• Jose De Cordoba, Santiago Perez, “Mexico Passes Law Curbing Operations of Foreign Security Agents” (The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2020).

The new law is likely to make U.S. agencies reluctant to share information with Mexican institutions they consider to be corrupt, and Mexican officials won’t meet with their U.S. counterparts because of the requirement they disclose the meetings

• Oscar Lopez, “Mexico, in Rebuke to U.S., Adopts Measure Restricting Foreign Agents” (The New York Times, December 16, 2020).

A senior U.S. law enforcement officer who has spent much of his career working on cases involving Mexico said Tuesday that the legislation may all but cripple American investigations in Mexico

Peru

• Alejo Marchessini, “Asi Sera el Programa de Entrenamiento de las Fuerzas Armadas de Peru Con las Fuerzas Armadas de Estados Unidos” (Defensa.com (Spain), December 16, 2020).

Tendrán en promedio una duración de 365 días y se realizarán en los Departamentos de Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cerro de Pasco, Huánuco, Huancavelica, Junín, Lima, Loreto, San Martin y Ucayali

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Jessica Suriano, “The Border Patrol Is Cracking Down on Humanitarian Aid” (The Nation, December 16, 2020).

Agents have targeted Arizona’s No More Deaths after the group went public with evidence of abuses of power in immigration enforcement

• Madison Lee Beal, “Rapid Migrant Expulsions Strain Mexican Border Community” (The Tucson Sentinel (Tucson Arizona), December 16, 2020).

“What really gets me so angry is that they don’t get an opportunity to see a judge or to get a lawyer”

(Even more here)

December 15, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), “How Joe Biden Must Build an All Americas Foreign Policy to Lead” (The Hill, December 15, 2020).

No president today would name high ranked foreign policy staff without including individuals with knowledge and background on China, Europe, or the Middle East. The same needs to be true for Latin America and the Caribbean

• Cassandra Garrison, “In Latin America, a Biden White House Faces a Rising China” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

Under Trump, China has left the United States trailing in terms of power and influence across most of Latin America

• Dianne Solis, “Though Daca Survived Supreme Court Ruling, Texas Court Case Could End Immigration Program” (Dallas Morning News, The Chicago Tribune, December 15, 2020).

Notably, the federal judge in the Texas case, brought by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, has ruled against two other deferred action programs initiated by the Obama administration

Brazil

• “The Rise of the Pcc: How South America’s Most Powerful Prison Gang Is Spreading in Brazil and Beyond” (CLALS, InsightCrime, SSRN, December 15, 2020).

The report describes the origins of the PCC, its unique model of organization, and its ability to regulate criminal markets in the areas it controls

Chile

• Carlos Reyes P., “Pinera Rechaza Proyecto de Indulto General para Detenidos en el Estallido Social y Anticipa Que de Ser Necesario el Gobierno “Utilizara su Facultad de Veto”” (La Tercera (Chile), December 15, 2020).

El Mandatario aseguró que la iniciativa “atenta contra el orden público, la seguridad ciudadana, la democracia y el Estado de derecho”

Colombia

• Juanita Velez, Kyle Johnson, “Ni Solo Coca Ni Solo Disidencias: Radiografia de los Ex Farc Asesinados” (Conflict Responses, 070 (Universidad de los Andes Colombia), December 15, 2020).

La hipótesis del Gobierno que culpa a las disidencias vinculadas al narcotráfico no deja ver las diferencias entre cada asesinato ni ayuda a comprender o resolver el problema

• Mateo Medina Abad, “Asi se Descontamina Colombia” (Semana Rural (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

SEMANA RURAL le explica en qué va el desminado humanitario en el país y cómo los excombatientes están aportando en el proceso

• “Asi Funcionaba la Red Narcotrafico de Alias “Servi”, Jefe de la Oficina Que Sera Extraditado a ee.uu” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

Una de las cabezas de esta organización creada por Pablo Escobar en los ochenta, usa el contrabando para legalizar dinero del narcotráfico

• “Liderazgos Sometidos por los Fusiles” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

Grupos armados ilegales, algunos heredados del paramilitarismo, cooptan no sólo las gestiones de líderes y lideresas del departamento de Córdoba, sino la vida misma de las comunidades

Colombia, Venezuela

• “Disorder on the Border: Keeping the Peace Between Colombia and Venezuela” (International Crisis Group, December 15, 2020).

The two countries should urgently reopen communication channels to lower tensions and lessen the suffering of migrants who cross the border

Cuba

• Javier Corrales, “Cuba’s Racial Reckoning, and What It Means for Biden” (Americas Quarterly, December 15, 2020).

Like the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, the N27 protest was sparked by police brutality against Afro-Cubans

• Jacobo Garcia, “Liberado el Escritor Cubano Carlos Manuel Alvarez, Detenido al Intentar Salir de su Domicilio” (El Pais (Spain), December 15, 2020).

El director de la revista ‘El Estornudo’ y colaborador de EL PAÍS fue puesto en libertad tras seis horas detenido. El escritor se encuentra bajo vigilancia desde que participó en el Movimiento San Isidro

Mexico

• Dolia Estevez, “¿Habra Consecuencias por las Trabas a la Dea?” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 15, 2020).

Tres presidentes consecutivos dieron órdenes de que los agentes de la DEA, el FBI, la CIA y el ICE, operaran en México con toda libertad

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Maya Srikrishnan, “What’s Behind Tijuana’s Violent Year” (Voice of San Diego, December 15, 2020).

The Sinaloa and Arellano Felix cartels have long been at war with each other for “turf.” After the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2016, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel became increasingly involved

Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

• Deisy Martinez, ““Hay 102 Personas Desaparecidas en Ruta Hacia Trinidad y Tobago”, Afirman Diputados” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), December 15, 2020).

Diputados de la Asamblea Nacional (AN) continúan recabando información sobre lo ocurrido y se evalúan acciones ante organismos internacionales de derechos humanos

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Max Rivlin-Nadler, “Border Patrol Rushing to Build New 30-Foot Barriers at Friendship Park” (KPBS (Los Angeles), December 15, 2020).

Border Patrol has told the stewards of the park that it plans to quickly replace the two fences that line it with two thirty-foot fences made of metal bollards

• Jenn Budd, “Congress Must Pass the Missing Persons & Unidentified Remains Act of 2020” (Medium, December 15, 2020).

Congress must pass the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2020 (H.R. 8772). It is a true unicorn of legislation in that it has wide bipartisan support

• Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “Families at Border Present Familiar Test for Biden’s Homeland Security Pick” (The New York Times, December 15, 2020).

The Biden administration will be expected to balance demands for more lenient policies with moderates’ concerns that any show of tolerance could lead to more illegal migration

• Mimi Dwyer, Ted Hesson, Laura Gottesdiener, “Biden’s Pledges Could Spur More Migration. But in a Pandemic, the Border Is Unprepared” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

U.S. border officials and shelter directors along the border are concerned about the effects of a major surge in migration in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, as is the Biden transition team

• Cat Cardenas, “Asylum Seekers in Matamoros Celebrated Joe Biden’s Victory. But the Final Weeks of the Trump Administration Are Bringing Fresh Anxiety.” (Texas Monthly, December 15, 2020).

Immigration advocates are hopeful that the Biden administration will work to reverse the regulations, but doing so could take as many as sixty days

Venezuela

• “Venezuela: Justice Needed for Systematic Abuses” (Human Rights Watch, December 15, 2020).

The new report from the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s office, indicating that the office’s examination of possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela is moving forward, advances the search for justice

• Angus Berwick, Sarah Kinosian, “Maduro Wields Powerful Hate Law Against Remaining Foes in Venezuela” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

A Reuters review of over 40 recent arrests found in each case that authorities used the law to detain critics of the president, his aides or allies

(Even more here)

December 14, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “How a Private Prison Company’s Defamation Suit Against One of Its Critics Backfired” (Mother Jones, December 14, 2020).

“It turns out,” the judge wrote, “that CoreCivic, Inc., did, in fact, operate detention facilities for parents separated from their children”

Brazil

• David Biller, “Swift Backlash for Brazil Students Targeting Misinformation” (Associated Press, December 14, 2020).

Pursuit of Sleeping Giants Brazil is part of a growing trend over the last several years to instrumentalize the judiciary against those who train fire on conservative media outlets, interest groups and Bolsonaro’s administration

• “Brazilian Naval Peacekeepers Conclude Unifil Mission After a Decade” (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), December 14, 2020).

Brazilian peacekeepers led MTF, which until the latest departure had six ships and about 800 sailors, since 2011

Chile

• Maximiliano Vega, “¿las Fuerzas Armadas Deben Tener un Rol en la Convencion?” (La Tercera (Chile), December 14, 2020).

En las últimas semanas ha surgido la idea de que exoficiales o incluso oficiales participen en mesas técnicas de la Convención al momento de abordar el tema de Defensa

Colombia

• Yohir Akerman, “El General Rey” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 14, 2020).

Centrémonos en el caso de un militar que no es el personaje de mayor rango, pero donde la evidencia es abrumadora y estremecedora

• Rodrigo Uprimny, “La Adiccion Gubernamental a la Fumigacion” (Dejusticia (Colombia), El Espectador (Colombia), December 14, 2020).

El próximo sábado 19 la ANLA realizará una audiencia en el trámite de la eventual licencia ambiental para esas fumigaciones

• “‘el Estado Entregaba las Listas para Senalar a las Comunidades Negras’: Mancuso” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 14, 2020).

El excomandante paramilitar aseguró también que la mayoría de las desapariciones forzadas se hicieron por pedido de las Fuerzas Militares

• Andrés Bermúdez Liévano, “Donde Hay Coca, Hay Pocos Jueces y Fiscales” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 14, 2020).

De los 75 municipios con más coca u homicidios de líderes de sustitución, a febrero de este año solo había jueces especializados en tres (Puerto Asís, Tumaco y Cúcuta) y jueces penales en seis

Colombia, South America Regional, Uruguay

• Guillermo Garat, Eliezer Budasoff, Jorge Galindo, “La Cocaina Universal” (El Pais (Spain), December 14, 2020).

Grupos criminales utilizan la logística de empresas legales. Se disloca el negocio con grupos multinacionales que aumentan la oferta en todo el mundo

Honduras

• “Honduras Otorga Medalla Gran Cruz de las Ffaa a Jefe del Comando Sur de Ee Uu” (El Heraldo (Honduras), December 14, 2020).

Craig Faller, jefe del Comando Sur de Estados Unidos, recibió este viernes la Medalla Gran Cruz de las Fuerzas Armadas de parte del gobierno de Honduras por su cooperación

Mexico

• Francisco Mejia, “Ejercito Recibira Curso de Capacitacion en Materia de Derechos Humanos” (Milenio (Mexico), December 14, 2020).

La Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) y la Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) firmaron un Convenio de colaboración para la formación de militares

• Azam Ahmed, “She Stalked Her Daughter’s Killers Across Mexico, One by One” (The New York Times, December 14, 2020).

For many in the northern city of San Fernando, her story represents so much of what is wrong in Mexico — and so remarkable about its people, their perseverance in the face of government indifference

• Adyr Corral, “Dea Pide Mas Agentes y Avion Espia para Operar en Mexico” (Milenio (Mexico), December 14, 2020).

El proyecto presupuestal solicitado al gobierno estadunidense también incluye una partida de 7.7 mdd para capacitar policías e infiltrarlos en células delictivas de diferentes regiones

Nicaragua

• Cristopher Mendoza Jiron, “Los Derechos Humanos Conculcados por el Regimen de Daniel Ortega” (Onda Local (Nicaragua), December 14, 2020).

Los años 2018, 2018 y 2020 son inolvidables para Nicaragua y no precisamente por las cosas buenas que dejaron sino por la consolidación de otro régimen dictatorial, el de la familia de Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo

• Enrique Saenz, “¿Necesitamos un Ejercito en una Nicaragua Democratica?” (Confidencial (Nicaragua), December 14, 2020).

El ejemplo de Costa Rica, la historia del Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica, y nuestra propia historia, nos ofrecen pistas fehacientes para la respuesta

• Carlos F. Chamorro, “A Dos Anos del Asalto y la Ocupacion de Confidencial” (Confidencial (Nicaragua), December 14, 2020).

Nuestra redacción, ocupada manu militari, está en las mentes y corazones de los reporteros, y en la decisión de no aceptar la censura y autocensura

Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

• Sarah Kinosian, “14 Migrants Found Dead Off of Venezuela’s Eastern Coast” (Reuters, Reuters, December 14, 2020).

Fourteen people believed to have traveled from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago were found dead in waters near the South American nation’s coast

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Miriam Jordan, “As Biden Prepares to Take Office, a New Rush at the Border” (The New York Times, December 14, 2020).

The president-elect has promised a more humane border policy. But devastated economies and natural disasters in Latin America have fueled a spike in migration that could make pledges hard to keep

• Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “U.S. Border Officials Expelled Dozens of Migrant Children in Violation of Court Order” (CBS News, December 14, 2020).

U.S. border officials have expelled at least 66 unaccompanied migrant children without a court hearing or asylum interview since a federal judge ordered them to stop the practice

• Franco Ordonez, “On Immigration, Activists’ Demands May Exceed Biden Realities” (National Public Radio, December 14, 2020).

A person familiar with transition discussions. He told NPR that the Biden campaign and then the transition team felt that immigration activists had become too adversarial

• Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “The Trump Administration Says the U.S. Can’t House More Migrant Children. Shelter Officials Disagree.” (CBS News, December 14, 2020).

Federal shelter contractors who operate these facilities disagree with the administration’s court declarations and say there’s a safe way to care for and house migrant children before they’re placed with family members

(Even more here)

December 11, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Luis Alberto Moreno, “Latin America’s Lost Decades” (Foreign Affairs, December 11, 2020).

It is perhaps little surprise, then, that Latin America, the region with the world’s biggest gap between the rich and the poor, would also be ground zero for the pandemic

Chile

• Carlos Reyes P., “Pinera Dice Que el Gobierno Esta Impulsando la Modernizacion de Carabineros “Con Enfasis en Crear una Cultura de Respeto a los dd.hh.”” (La Tercera (Chile), December 11, 2020).

El Mandatario se reunió esta tarde con el director del Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Sergio Micco, en La Moneda

Colombia

• “En Zonas Pdet, Respaldo de la Comunidad a la Reincorporacion de Farc Llega al 80%” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 11, 2020).

Así lo reveló el informe “Luces y sombras de la implementación del Acuerdo” realizado por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo en Colombia (PNUD), PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo) y la Universidad de los Andes

• “Juana Perea, la Mujer Que Desafio al Clan del Golfo” (Vorágine, La Liga Contra el Silencio, Voragine (Colombia), December 11, 2020).

El asesinato de esta lideresa y empresaria en Nuquí, un rincón paradisiaco de la costa chocoana, muestra el dominio que ejercen los paramilitares en distintas poblaciones de ese departamento

• “Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil Pedimos a la Cidh una Visita Oficial a Colombia” (Several Colombian NGOs, Coordinacion Colombia Europa Estados Unidos, December 11, 2020).

También pedimos al organismo incluir a Colombia en el capítulo 4 de su informe anual, en el que se exponen las situaciones de los países materia de especial preocupación

• Joshua Collins, “Covid-19 Fuels Growing Conflict and Displacement in Colombia” (The New Humanitarian, December 11, 2020).

The city is part of a conflict zone in Colombia’s northern Bajo Cauca region, where illegal mining, coca production, and extortion are the economic lifeblood of the rival armed groups

• “La Denuncia Que se Viene en Contra del Ministro de Defensa por las Protestas del 9s” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 11, 2020).

Este viernes el colectivo dhColombia radicará una denuncia en contra del ministro Carlos Holmes Trujillo y otros altos mandos policiales solicitando investigue la responsabilidad que estos pudieron tener, por línea de mando, en los hechos de abuso policial

• Jose David Escobar Moreno, ““Ivan Marquez” y “Romana” Llegan al Meta para Disputarle las Rutas del Narcotrafico a “Gentil Duarte”” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 11, 2020).

La Segunda Marquetalia contactó a viejas fichas de las Farc para comprar cocaína y venderla a carteles mexicanos y mafias europeas

Cuba, Guyana, South America Regional, Suriname

• Mario J. Penton, “Thousands of Cubans in South America Planning Caravans to the U.S. Border to Seek Asylum By” (The Miami Herald, December 11, 2020).

From Guyana to Paraguay and Chile, Cuban migrants are posting notes on social networks to join the caravans, which have already created problems in Suriname

Honduras

• Claudio Escalon, “Hondurans Forming Migrant Caravan for U.S. Stopped in Homeland” (Associated Press, KPBS (Los Angeles), December 11, 2020).

Hundreds of Hondurans trying to start a new caravan to reach the U.S. border were stopped by Honduran security personnel

• Signy Fiallos, “Honduras: Muerte, Represion y Desaparecidos Deja Confinamiento en Pueblos Indigenas y Negros” (Criterio (Honduras), December 11, 2020).

Para este grupo poblacional, que se estima representa el 10 % de la población hondureña (unas 934,000 personas), distribuida en nueve grupos étnicos, la decisión que tomó el gobierno de confinamiento sólo agravó la ya difícil situación

Mexico

• “Mexico Reopens Case of Indigenous Woman Who Died After Alleged Rape by Soldiers” (Reuters, Reuters, December 11, 2020).

The decision to review the case comes a week after Mexico’s representative for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said in a hearing that the victim, Ernestina Ascencio, died from health problems, sparking backlash

• “Mexico No Ha Cumplido Mandatos de la Corte Idh para Capacitar a Militares” (Animal Politico (Mexico), December 11, 2020).

De acuerdo con diversas organizaciones, ninguna de las instituciones de fuerzas federales ha cumplido con la obligación de capacitar a sus elementos en materia de derechos humanos

• Arturo Angel, “Tortura e Impunidad Siguen: Fgr Resuelve 3 de 1,259 Casos en el Sexenio” (Animal Politico (Mexico), December 11, 2020).

Aunque el presidente sostiene que ya no se permiten ni la tortura ni la impunidad, la Fiscalía responsable sigue recibiendo denuncias de nuevos casos

• Michael Evans, Megan Detura, “U.S. Prosecutions Bring Mexico Corruption Into Focus” (National Security Archive, December 11, 2020).

Since 2007, the U.S. government has relied on a small coterie of Mexican officials to implement the Mérida Initiative. Now, some of those same individuals are facing trial in the United States

• Ricardo Ravelo, “Tema Explosivo” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 11, 2020).

¿Podrá el Gobierno de México limitar el número de agentes de la DEA en México? ¿Cuál es el objetivo? ¿Qué no hagan investigaciones que pongan en evidencia el llamado narco-Estado?

U.S.-Mexico Border

• John Burnett, “Contractors Dynamite Mountains, Bulldoze Desert in Race to Build Trump’s Border Wall” (National Public Radio, December 11, 2020).

“Wow! This is almost like busy work they’re doing,” exclaims biologist Myles Traphagen as he drives his truck up to the construction staging area and beholds the destruction for the first time

Venezuela

• Ronny Rodriguez Rosas, “Ipys Venezuela Registro 21 Casos de Violaciones a la Libertad de Expresion Durante el 6d” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), December 11, 2020).

Un total de 21 casos de violaciones a la libertad de expresión ocurrieron el domingo, 6 de diciembre, durante el desarrollo de las elecciones parlamentarias

Venezuela, Western Hemisphere Regional

• “US$1.44 Billion Needed to Support Refugees and Migrants From Venezuela Amid Covid-19” (UNHCR, IOM, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, December 11, 2020).

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, launch a US$1.44 billion regional plan to respond to the growing needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela and the communities hosting them across 17 countries