(Even more here)

January 25, 2023

Western Hemisphere Regional

A blow-by-blow account of controversies at the CELAC summit in Argentina. The body will next be presided by St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bolivia, Colombia

As Colombia’s government moves away from forced coca eradication, Bolivia’s experience carries some “replicatable” lessons

Bolivia, Colombia, Peru

Peru sends Colombia a protest note after Gustavo Petro condemns the security forces’ raid on a Lima university

Brazil

“Well armed gold miners” have kept food and medical care from reaching the Yanomami reservation in Brazil’s Amazon. An official calls for military intervention

Colombia

“The shift away from crop eradication means that the success of Petro’s anti-narcotic efforts now hinges on other measures, of which there are few details.” Cites WOLA

Gustavo Petro and Chris Dodd meet at the CELAC summit. Drug policy and extradition of armed-group leaders engaged in negotiations appear to be on the agenda

The Petro government extends the UN Human Rights office’s mandate for nine more years

Guatemala

This year’s elections process will determine whether Guatemala can still be called a democracy

Honduras

The killing of a young man in Cortés highlights the need for police reform in Honduras

Mexico

The military’s internal security role is supposed to “support” police. But now they don’t even have to notify the police about arrests

“El Grande” testifies about how Mexico’s onetime top-cop would receive payments from organized crime figures

Mexico, Western Hemisphere Regional

Nearly half of journalists killed worldwide last year were killed in Latin America. Mexico nearly tied Ukraine

Peru

Protests in central Lima. Military deployed into Peru’s south. Reporters targeted by riot police

“The relative silence of much of the regional and global community has dismayed human rights advocates”

Peru, Venezuela

Amid Peru’s protests, Venezuelan migrants are encountering the sort of political instability they fled, along with increased xenophobia

U.S.-Mexico Border

It’s been a week and a half since a National Guardsman wounded a migrant, and Texas authorities are being untransparent

20 Republican states once again file a lawsuit in the 5th Circuit to undo a Biden administration immigration policy, this time targeting the new humanitarian parole program for some countries’ migrants

“President Biden came into office vowing to dismantle Trump-era restrictions on asylum, but has found himself proposing similar policies amid an unprecedented migrant crisis”

20 Republican states go to court once again to block a Biden administration immigration policy, this time the “humanitarian parole” program for 30,000 migrants per month

Venezuela

A giant step backward for political freedoms in Venezuela is nearing approval