Colombia
- Luis Miguel Castellanos Barragan, “Abuso Policial: Investigaciones por Exceso de Autoridad Que Avanzan a Paso Lento” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 9, 2022).
“Out of 231 disciplinary processes for police abuse in 2021, only eleven have had results; 120 were closed for not finding responsibility.”
Colombia, Venezuela
- Venezuela Investigative Unit, “Why the Eln Is Attacking One Specific Town Along Venezuela’s Orinoco River” (InsightCrime, February 9, 2022).
The ELN appears to be operating, and fighting a grinding battle against a Venezuelan criminal group, in a region very, very far from the Colombian border.
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Felipe de la Hoz, “Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” Could Threaten Everyone’s Right to Vote” (The New Republic, February 9, 2022).
The first of two pieces published today about the dangers of border-state Republicans’ use of military force on U.S. soil.
- Rose L. Thayer, “Texas Troops Along Border With Mexico Have Authority to Detain Migrants, Some Challenge Whether It’s Legal” (Stars and Stripes, February 9, 2022).
The first of two pieces published today about the dangers of border-state Republicans’ use of military force on U.S. soil. Take it from a Latin Americanist: giving the military new open-ended internal security roles, including authority to arrest civilians, leads to some very bad places.
- Robert Moore, “Internal Investigation Confirms Border Patrol Failures Leading Up to a 16-Year-Old’s Death on the Floor of His Cell” (El Paso Matters, ProPublica, February 9, 2022).
A Border Patrol agent just did “select all,” “check all,” and falsely logged hourly checks on the welfare of unaccompanied kids in custody. Meanwhile a Guatemalan teenager died on the floor of a crowded cell.