(Even more here)

Colombia, Ecuador, Western Hemisphere Regional

• Antony J. Blinken, “Making Democracy Deliver for the Americas” (U.S. Department of State, October 21, 2021).

Our record on partnering with the region’s democracies to improve civilian security has been mixed. That’s because often, we tried to fix this problem by relying too much on training and equipping security forces, and too little on the other tools in our kit

Mexico

• “Informe de Seguridad, Octubre 2021” (Presidencia de Mexico, October 21, 2021).

Document is a PDF

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Eileen Sullivan, “‘It Should Not Have Happened’: Asylum Officers Detail Migrants’ Accounts of Abuse” (The New York Times, October 21, 2021).

More than 160 reports, obtained by Human Rights Watch, reveal details of mistreatment that asylum seekers described experiencing from border officials and while in U.S. custody

• Hamed Aleaziz, “A Leaked Us Government Report Documents How Children With “Crippled” Legs and Epilepsy Were Forced Into the “Remain in Mexico” Program” (BuzzFeed, October 21, 2021).

The report offers a rare window into the behind-the-scenes dysfunction and confusion surrounding the so-called Remain in Mexico program that’s set to come back

Venezuela

• David Smilde, “From Populist to Socialist to Authoritarian Chavismo: Obstacles and Opportunities for Democratic Change” (Woodrow Wilson Center, October 21, 2021).

Smilde argues that a “starting assumption in analyzing such an authoritarian context should be stability, not change. However, there are still spaces and resources that provide opportunities for working for a return to democracy”