(Even more here)

December 18, 2017

Chile

• Ernesto Londono, Pascale Bonnefoy, “Sebastian Pinera Wins Chile’s Presidential Election” (The New York Times, December 18, 2017).

The decisive 9-point victory, which came as a surprise because recent polls had suggested the race was a tossup, showed that millions of Chileans saw Mr. Piñera as best suited to jump-start economic growth

Colombia

• “Fuerzas Armadas Le Abriran Sus Archivos a la Comision de la Verdad” (Semana (Colombia), December 18, 2017).

No es menor este avance, pues durante años se consideró que los uniformados, en especial el Ejército, habían sido muy renuentes a ponerle punto final al conflicto con las Farc a través de un diálogo político

• “Las Imprecisiones del Informe de Leon Valencia” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), December 18, 2017).

La Silla lo revisó y encontró que de los 61 políticos señalados (además de 12 candidatos de la Farc que vienen de ser guerrilleros), 2 no son hasta hoy candidatos al Congreso y en 34 casos la información es imprecisa

• Myriam Ortega, “Colombia Combats Illegal Gold Mining” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), December 18, 2017).

The Colombian Armed Forces conducted a coordinated operation against illegal mining along the Atrato, Quito, and San Pablo rivers, in the department of Chocó

• “El Ministro de Defensa Dice Que a los Lideres Sociales los Matan por Lios de Faldas y de Vecinos” (Noticias Uno (Colombia), December 18, 2017).

El ministro de Defensa, Luis Carlos Villegas, sostiene que la “inmensa mayoría” de muertes de líderes sociales se deben a peleas de vecinos, faldas y por rentas ilícitas y que, si fueran homicidios sistemáticos, él sería el primero en denunciarlos

Cuba

• Franco Ordonez, Nora Gamez Torres, “U.S. Deports Twice as Many Cubans in 2017 vs 2016” (The Miami Herald, December 18, 2017).

Some 15,410 Cuban nationals arrived to the United States in fiscal year 2017, and just 160 have been removed from the country

Honduras

• “Honduras: Al Menos 16 Muertos por las Protestas de Apoyo al Opositor Nasralla” (Univision, December 18, 2017).

El Comisionado Nacional de Derechos Humanos de Honduras, que depende del gobierno, indicó que entre los fallecidos hay dos policías y que 1,675 personas han sido detenidas

• Sarah Kinosian, “Call for Fresh Honduras Election After President Juan Orlando Hernandez Wins” (The Guardian (Uk), December 18, 2017).

Electoral observer OAS voices doubts about ‘low-quality’ election process that does little to clear up critics’ doubts

• “Statement by the Oas General Secretariat on the Elections in Honduras” (Organization of American States, December 18, 2017).

There are no conditions to affirm that the winner is one or the other, and this shows that this process has been affected by marked irregularities and deficiencies, by the violence of one side or the other before, during and after the election

• Elisabeth Malkin, “Honduran President Declared Winner, but o.a.s. Calls for New Election” (The New York Times, December 18, 2017).

The election result creates a dilemma for the Trump administration, which has pressed in public for a transparent vote count but said nothing about irregularities

• Jacobo Garcia, “Honduras Proclama Oficialmente a Juan Orlando Como Presidente” (El Pais (Cali Colombia), December 18, 2017).

La oposición ha rechazado los resultados argumentando que la revisión no se hizo de acuerdo con los estándares solicitados

Mexico

• David Agren, “Mexican Senate Votes to Keep Troops in Police Role Despite Outcry From Rights Groups” (The Guardian (Uk), December 18, 2017).

Critics say the law could be abused easily for political purposes, while others working in human rights warn the law allows soldiers to stop peaceful protests

• Kate Linthicum, “A Decade Into Mexico’s Deadly Drug War, Lawmakers Give the Military More Power” (The Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2017).

Mexico’s Congress hastily approved the Law of Internal Security, which gives the military broad new powers and solidifies its central role in the country’s drug war

• “Mexican Human Rights Group Mulls Legal Action Against Security Law” (Reuters, The New York Times, December 18, 2017).

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) may take legal action

• Eric Martin, Nacha Cattan, “Mexico’s Presidential Election Could Get Really Dirty” (Bloomberg, December 18, 2017).

Congress just slashed its budget by 300 million pesos ($16 million) — the largest cut in the agency’s history, right before the largest election in the nation’s history

• “Amlo Propone Subirle el Sueldo a Policias, Marinos y Militares para Reducir la Inseguridad” (Animal Politico (Mexico), December 18, 2017).

Planteó este domingo un decálogo de 10 acciones básicas contra la inseguridad, como mejorar el sueldo de soldados, marinos y policías, además de insistir en el tema de la amnistía

Peru

• Andrea Zarate, Nicholas Casey, “Peru’s President Faces Possible Ouster in Corruption Scandal” (The New York Times, December 18, 2017).

Odebrecht paid $782,000 in advisory fees to Westfield Capital, a company Mr. Kuczynski owns. Most of the payments occurred between 2004 and 2007, while Mr. Kuczynski served as Peru’s economy minister

Venezuela

• Isayen Herrera, Meridith Kohut, “As Venezuela Collapses, Children Are Dying of Hunger” (The New York Times, December 18, 2017).

For five months, The New York Times tracked 21 public hospitals in Venezuela. Doctors are seeing record numbers of children with severe malnutrition. Hundreds have died