(Even more here)

June 16, 2022

Brazil

• “Brazil’s True Believers: Bolsonaro and the Risks of an Election Year” (International Crisis Group, June 16, 2022).

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, risks losing his October bid for re-election. If he disputes the result, his shrinking but increasingly far-right support base might take to the streets. State institutions should prepare to deal with baseless fraud accusations and to curb possible violence

• Terrence Mccoy, “Man Confesses to Killing Missing Journalist and Colleague, Police Say” (The Washington Post, June 16, 2022).

The announcement appeared to bring a grim conclusion to the disappearance of journalist Dom Phillips and former government official Bruno Pereira

• Fabianno Maisonnave, Edmar Barros, Mauricio Savarese, “Brazil: Suspect Confesses to Killing Pair Missing in Amazon” (Associated Press, Associated Press, June 16, 2022).

Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, nicknamed Pelado, told officers he used a firearm to kill Pereira and Phillips

Colombia

• “Fronteras en Llamas, Desafio para el Proximo Gobierno de Colombia” (Agence France Presse, Milenio (Mexico), June 16, 2022).

Los grupos armados que se lucran del narcotráfico avanzaron en los últimos años sobre las fronteras con Venezuela, Ecuador y Panamá

• “Informe al Consejo Permanente: Mapp/Oea Urge Avanzar Hacia la Paz Completa en Colombia” (MAPP-OEA (Colombia), Organization of American States, June 16, 2022).

MAPP/OEA expresa su altísima preocupación por la persistencia de acciones violentas por parte de grupos armados ilegales que afectan gravemente a las comunidades

• “Plan de Detenciones Masivas Como Criminalizacion Juvenil” (Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, June 16, 2022).

Con estas detenciones el Fiscal General de la Nación mantiene una política de persecución, estigmatización y judicialización de la protesta social a los líderes sociales que acompañan las justas protestas

• Santiago Rodriguez Alvarez, “Las Adhesiones de Militares a Petro Ahondan la Polarizacion en la Fuerza Publica” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), June 16, 2022).

El sector de veteranos de la Fuerza Pública que adhirió a Gustavo Petro no lo ayuda a despolitizar sus propuestas de reforma a esta institución

• Julie Turkewitz, “The Tiktok Star and Political Chameleon Vying for Colombia’s Presidency” (The New York Times, June 16, 2022).

Rodolfo Hernández bills himself as a paragon of democracy and a successful businessman who cares for the poor. A trip to Bucaramanga, the mountain-fringed city where he built his empire, reveals a different picture

El Salvador

• “Gangsters and Preachers – the Culture of Sexism Inside the ms13” (InsightCrime, June 16, 2022).

InSight Crime focuses on the stories of Elvis and Flaca, two former gang members who left the MS13 for the church. Their experiences with violence, abortion and homosexuality reflect both what divides and unites these two ways of life

Mexico

• Beatriz Guillen, ““Lo Que Pasa en el Ejercito se Queda en el Ejercito”: El Infierno de Denunciar un Abuso Sexual en las Fuerzas Armadas de Mexico” (El Pais (Spain), June 16, 2022).

Una sargento narra a EL PAÍS las trabas y el riesgo de acusar a un superior de una agresión sufrida en las instalaciones militares

• “Legisladoras y Legisladores de Mexico Deben Decir No a la Reforma Militarista de Lopez Obrador” (Amnesty International, June 16, 2022).

Entregar la Guardia Nacional a la SEDENA sería el último clavo en el ataúd del Estado democrático de derecho

• “Migrantes en Monterrey Acusan Robo; Exigen Venta de Boletos” (Milenio (Mexico), June 16, 2022).

Cientos de migrantes siguen varados en la Central de Autobuses de Monterrey la mañana de este miércoles, casi 24 horas después de haber sido dejados a su suerte por autoridades del Instituto Nacional de Migración

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Jenn Budd, “I Was a Border Patrol Agent. The Experience Was Horrifying” (The Guardian (Uk), June 16, 2022).

When I learned of the death of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, I felt I was in some way connected to it – I knew too much about how the system worked

• Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “U.S. Border Patrol Migrant Apprehensions Reached Record Levels in May” (CBS News, June 16, 2022).

May’s tally of migrant arrests surpassed the previous monthly record U.S. Border Patrol set in March 2000, when the agency recorded 220,000 apprehensions

• Rick Jervis, “‘They Run Out of Water and They Die’: More Migrants Risk Entering Us During Dangerous Summer Months” (USA Today, June 16, 2022).

More asylum seekers are risking their lives to cross deserts or trek over mountains to reach the U.S. during perilous summer months

• “Cbp Releases May 2022 Monthly Operational Update” (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, June 16, 2022).

The number of unique individuals encountered nationwide in May 2022 was 177,793, a 15 percent increase in the number of unique enforcement encounters over the prior month

• Anna Flagg, Julia Preston, “‘No Place for a Child’: 1 in 3 Migrants Held in Border Patrol Facilities Is a Minor” (Marshall Project, Politico, June 16, 2022).

Thousands of kids have been routinely detained in cold, overcrowded cells built for adults, while authorities have resisted improving conditions

Venezuela

• “Venezuela Situation – Fact Sheet: June 2022” (UN Refugee Agency, June 16, 2022).

To date, over 6.1 million have left their homes, of which 5 million are in the Americas

• Geoff Ramsey, “Venezuela Negotiations Should Create Space for Civil Society” (Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, Washington Office on Latin America, June 16, 2022).

If implemented well, a mechanism allowing interested civil society actors to participate directly or indirectly could benefit future negotiations between political actors in Venezuela

• “Armed Groups Grow Under Maduro” (Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), June 16, 2022).

The Nicolás Maduro regime has been exploiting the growth of armed groups in Venezuela, encouraging the strengthening of some illegal groups considered useful for social control and repression