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March 23, 2017

Colombia

• Florence Panoussian, “For Farc Moms, Peace in Colombia Marks New Beginning” (Agence France Presse, Yahoo!, March 23, 2017).

A baby boom has swept the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as the leftist rebel group has embarked on a historic peace process with the government

• Juanita Velez, “Lo Que Muestra la Entrega de Alias ‘Mojoso’” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), March 23, 2017).

La entrega la semana pasada de ‘alias Mojoso’, el comandante de la disidencia del Frente 14 de las Farc, muestra que los guerrilleros que se le rebelaron al proceso de paz y se mueven por las regiones históricas de las Farc pueden terminar acorralados

• “Fiscalia, Contra las Cuerdas por el Asesinato de Lideres Sociales” (Pacifista (Colombia), March 23, 2017).

La vicefiscal, María Paulina Riveros, terminó reconociendo graves fallas tanto en el cumplimiento de los deberes del Gobierno como en los de la propia Fiscalía

• “Jurisdiccion de Paz Sin Acuerdo en el Congreso” (El Espectador (Colombia), March 23, 2017).

Por falta de quórum en la Cámara fue imposible que el Congreso entregara un texto final de la reforma constitucional. Continúa el debate sobre los puntos más polémicos del texto

Cuba

• Emily Swanson, Michael Weissenstein, “Rare Poll Finds Cuban Citizens Favor Better Us Relations” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, March 23, 2017).

Seventy-six percent said they had to be careful about expressing themselves freely. Over half of Cubans said they would move away from the country if given the chance. Of those, 70 percent said they would head to the United States

Honduras

• “Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Human Rights Situation in Honduras” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, March 23, 2017).

In his report, the High Commissioner describes the situation of human rights in Honduras

• Lauren Gambino, “Protesters in Dc Confront Honduran President Over Berta Caceres Murder” (The Guardian (Uk), March 23, 2017).

President Juan Orlando Hernández traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers on Tuesday and was greeted by protesters carrying signs with photographs of murdered activists and chants of “asesino”

El Salvador, Honduras

• Julieta Pelcastre, “El Salvador and Honduras Unite Against Gangs and Drug Trafficking” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), March 23, 2017).

The public sense of peace and security in the Northern Triangle region has improved, thanks to the Tri-national Task Force’s deployment

Mexico

• Victor Ballinas, Andrea Becerril, Jose A. Roman, “La Jornada: Fuerzas Armadas Si Han Violado Derechos Humanos, Dice Cndh” (La Jornada (Mexico), March 23, 2017).

“Reitero, han bajado las recomendaciones contra ellos, pero eso no quiere decir que si hay una sola queja no se actúe. Elevo mi exigencia de que se acepten las recomendaciones y que se cumplan”

• Jorge Javier Romero Vadillo, “El Ejercito Ofendido” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), March 23, 2017).

*Que salgan los militares a descalificar a los críticos, como si de simples afrentas a su honor se tratara, es un signo ominoso que señala un retroceso respecto al avance histórico de su subordinación al poder civil *

• “Colectivo Contra la Ley de Seguridad Interior Clama: “Detengamos Militarizacion, Formemos Policias” (Video)” (Proceso (Mexico), March 23, 2017).

En el video, de poco más de 9 minutos de duración, víctimas de abusos y violaciones graves a los derechos humanos a manos de la fuerza pública cuentan sus historias y piden a la ciudadanía detener la militarización del país

• Antonio Heras, “Atacan Helicoptero Militar Que Intercepto Narco Avioneta en Bc” (Proceso (Mexico), March 23, 2017).

Un grupo armado disparó armas de grueso calibre contra una aeronave de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana (FAM) cuando ésta intentaba interceptar una avioneta que volaba sobre la zona sur del municipio de Ensenada

• Nathaniel Parish Flannery, “Rising Violence in Chihuahua, Mexico Points to Homegrown Disputes” (InsightCrime, March 23, 2017).

The fight appears to be mostly focused on retail drug dealing rather than a wider battle for control of smuggling routes

• Anthony Esposito, “Mexico Warns Firms Not in Their Interest to Build Border Wall” (Reuters , March 23, 2017).

“There won’t be a law with sanctions, but Mexicans and Mexican consumers will know how to value those companies that are loyal to our national identity and those that are not”

Central America Regional, Mexico

• Whitney Eulich, “Long a Way Station for Refugees and Immigrants, Mexico Now Plays Host” (The Christian Science Monitor, March 23, 2017).

The number of refugee applicants could reach 20,000 this year, more than double the 2016 total, causing Mexicans to begin asking what they want their welcome mat to look like

Venezuela

• David Luhnow, Jose De Cordoba, “Nations to Challenge Venezuela’s Authoritarian Regime” (The Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2017).

Fourteen nations plan to issue a joint statement in coming days calling on the government of President Nicolás Maduro to release political prisoners, return full powers to the National Assembly and set a timetable to hold regional elections

• Guillermo Amaro Chacon, John Carey, “Political Imprisonment in Venezuela” (Latin America Goes Global, March 23, 2017).

In the nearly four years since Maduro assumed the presidency, the overall rate of political imprisonment has more than doubled

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Geneva Sands, “Union Head: Border Wall Needed Only in ‘Strategic Locations’” (ABC News, March 23, 2017).

Aside from increased pay for Border Patrol agents, Judd said that boosting morale and changing the way the polygraph is administered are his top priorities