Cuba
- Anatoly Kurmanaev, Oscar Lopez, “Mass Trials in Cuba Deepen Its Harshest Crackdown in Decades” (The New York Times, January 17, 2022).
“More than 620 detainees who have faced or are slated to face trial” after last July’s brief protests.
El Salvador
- Roberto Burgos Viale, “El Soldado Desconocido” (Revista Factum (El Salvador), January 17, 2022).
Very good takedown of El Salvador’s military, which after many post-peace-accord moves toward professionalism has reversed course, lending itself to Nayib Bukele’s political ambitions.
Honduras, Nicaragua
- Allan Bu, “Nicaragua se Va a Vaciar «Como Venezuela», Advierten Migrantes Que Van en Caravana Huyendo de Centroamerica” (Contra Corriente, January 17, 2022).
A migrant caravan left Honduras over the weekend and is already being dispersed in Guatemala. What’s new about this one is it’s nearly half Nicaraguan.
U.S.-Mexico Border
- “Morale, Pay and Politics: Texas Gis Question Border Mission” (The San Antonio Express-News, January 17, 2022).
The politicized National Guard deployment at the U.S.-Mexico border: “There’s leadership issues, morale issues. Morale is lower and keeps getting lower.”
- “Migrant Protection Protocols (Mpp) Report on December Cohort” (DHS Office of Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security, January 17, 2022).
DHS does something it didn’t do during the Trump version of “Remain in Mexico”: offer statistics about how it was carried out in the previous month.