(Even more here)

December 14, 2017

Brazil

• Giselle Ouchana, “‘(A Upp) Ja Acabou. So Estamos Aguardando a Ordem para Sairmos Daqui’, Diz Policial” (O Globo (Brazil), December 14, 2017).

Se em 2017 a verba de manutenção das UPPs era de R$ 5,4 milhões, para o ano que vem as 38 unidades terão apenas R$ 10 mil. O total, irrisório, equivale a R$ 833 por mês ou R$21/mês para cada uma das UPPs

Colombia

• “Public Pronouncement 13th December 2017” (Peace Brigades International, December 14, 2017).

In the river basins of the Bajo Atrato, the ethnic communities accompanied by the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission (Cijp) have lost two of their most two emblematic leaders in the past 12 days

• Alejandra Sanchez Inzunza, Jose Luis Pardo Veiras, “San Carlos, el Pueblo Colombiano Donde Conviven los Enemigos” (The New York Times, December 14, 2017).

Entre 1998 y 2005, el 70 por ciento de sus habitantes huyó. Después de años de masacres y desapariciones, los sancarlitanos se enfrentan hoy a la reconciliación en tiempos de paz

• “¿Que se Puede Esperar Realmente del Cese al Fuego del ‘Clan Usuga´?” (El Tiempo (Colombia), December 14, 2017).

Esa declaración de alias ‘Otoniel’ pretende ‘vender’ ante los colombianos la idea de que su organización criminal tiene bases políticas y por ello anuncia una especie de “tregua”

Ecuador

• “Ecuador: El Vicepresidente Jorge Glas, Sentenciado a 6 Anos de Prision en Caso Odebrecht” (BBC (UK), December 14, 2017).

Se sustentó en la acusación de la Fiscalía respecto a que Glas recibió unos U$13,5 millones en sobornos por parte de Odebrecht para adjudicar contratos de obra

El Salvador

• Julie Lopez, “Jose Miguel Cruz: Las Pandillas, “una Mafia de Pobres Que Van en Contra de Otros Pobres”” (Plaza Publica (Guatemala), December 14, 2017).

Durante el estudio, un dato sorprendió a Cruz: muchos pandilleros dijeron que querían dejar la mara. Aunque el experto no es optimista acerca de cómo los gobiernos de la región contrarrestan a estos grupos, cree que ese detalle es una luz al final del túnel

Guatemala, Mexico

• Molly o’toole, “As Trump Blocks Refugees, Africans Fleeing Violence Make the Treacherous Trip to the U.S. Through Mexico” (The Intercept, December 14, 2017).

The administration’s cynical calculus is that it is less burdensome to “keep them over there.” Yet Trump’s policies may be exacerbating the global refugee crisis and unwittingly bringing it to his doorstep

Honduras

• Sarah Kinosian, Whitney Eulich, “In Post-Election Limbo, Hondurans Foresee Next Challenge: Rebuilding Trust” (The Christian Science Monitor, December 14, 2017).

When the presidential winner is announced, “there needs to be a big social pact, a national dialogue with outside mediation by an international actor”

• Kate Linthicum, Tracy Wilkinson, “Trump Administration Focus on Immigration and Drug War Outweigh Democracy Concerns in Honduras” (The Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2017).

The administration’s relative silence on last month’s disputed election in Honduras, where a right-wing incumbent and friend of the White House has been accused by opponents of stealing votes, is reminiscent of America’s ideologically driven Cold War policies

• Elisabeth Malkin, “U.S. at a Crossroad as It Confronts Turmoil in Honduras” (The New York Times, December 14, 2017).

The question is whether the United States is willing to overlook a possibly fraudulent election

Mexico

• “U.S. Senate Reports Reveal Internal Disagreements Over Technology and Border Wall Funding, Personnel Priorities in Administration’s Fy 2019 Budget Proposal” (Senate Committee on Homeland Security Democrats, December 14, 2017).

The White House directed DHS to deny requested pay raises for DHS law enforcement officials in FY 2019

• Daniel Gonzalez, Jill Castellano, Rob o’dell, “‘Mass Disaster’ Grows at the U.S.-Mexico Border, but Washington Doesn’t Seem to Care” (The Arizona Republic, December 14, 2017).

A USA TODAY NETWORK investigation found federal authorities largely fail to count border crossers when their remains are recovered by local authorities, and even local counts are often incomplete

• “Mexico Draft Security Law Threatens Rights and Should Be Rejected, un Rights Experts Warn” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, December 14, 2017).

“We are concerned that the bill gives the armed forces a leadership and coordination role in certain circumstances, rather than limiting their role to aiding and assisting civilian authorities,” the experts said

• Maureen Meyer, Ximena Suarez-Enriquez, “By Strengthening Military’s Role in Fighting Crime, Mexico’s Proposed Security Law Will Worsen Human Rights Abuses and Harm Transparency” (Washington Office on Latin America, December 14, 2017).

Despite the president’s request, the Senate will likely vote on the bill tomorrow and send it to the lower house of Congress for its final approval by the end of the current legislative session on Friday, December 15

• J. Jesus Esquivel, “Con Solo el 6% de la Produccion de Amapola, Narco Mexicano “Inunda” de Heroina Eu: Elias Beltran” (Proceso (Mexico), December 14, 2017).

“Las fuerzas armadas en nuestro país erradican más de 94% de los plantíos (de amapola), es una cifra importante que se ha compartido con las autoridades americanas”, dijo

• Tracy Wilkinson, “U.S. and Mexico Agree to Agree — and Skirt Controversy” (The Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2017).

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was scheduled to preside but went to lunch instead at the White House with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Julián Aguilar, Kiah Collier, T. Christian Miller, “The Taking” (ProPublica, December 14, 2017).

The federal government’s boldest land grab in a generation produced the first border wall — and a trail of abuse, mistakes and unfairness

• Greg Moran, “Cbp Has to Hire 5,000 New Border Patrol Agents. It’s Paying a Private Company $297 Million to Help.” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 14, 2017).

The contract with a division of Accenture, an international professional services corporation with $35 billion in revenues in 2017, comes at a time when the Border Patrol is struggling to meet minimum staffing levels

• Mac Margolis, “Latin America Needs a China Strategy” (Bloomberg, December 14, 2017).

The result to date has been a lopsided playing field, where China takes the lead, controls the cash and writes the contracts, many of which are leonine