(Even more here)

January 3, 2018

Brazil

• Anna Jean Kaiser, “The New Year’s Eve Photo That Shook Brazil” (The Washington Post, January 3, 2018).

Many think the image is emblematic of Brazil’s acute inequality, an interpretation that has prompted others to push back with questions about how black and mixed-race people are seen and stereotyped in Brazil

• Alejandra S. Inzunza, Jose Luis Pardo, “A Year of Violent Tragedy Through Human Stories: 2017 in Complexo Do Alemao” (Agência Pública, RioOnWatch (Rio de Janeiro Brazil), January 3, 2018).

The walls of Complexo do Alemão remember the dead, the police threats, and the feats of the traffickers. They tell a story of violence and of a promised peace that turned into a daily conflict

Colombia

• Rodrigo Londono Echeverry (Timoleon Jimenez), “Saludo a las Fuerzas Militares y de Policia” (FARC, January 3, 2018).

La vida e integridad de nuestra dirección partidaria, así como de la masa de nuestra militancia, está siendo garantizada por los soldados y policías que antes combatimos. Un ejemplo para la comunidad mundial

• “En el Catatumbo Son Activados Seis Nuevos Batallones Con Cerca de Seis Mil Hombres” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 3, 2018).

Se crearon cuatro nuevos Batallones de Operaciones Terrestres; No.8, No.9, No.10 y No.11 – que reemplazaran a las Brigadas Móviles, 23, 30 y 33- Un Batallón de Fuerzas Especiales Urbanas y un Comando Operativo Energético

Mexico

• Carlos Ballesteros, “Mexico’s Leading Presidential Candidate Said He Will End Cartel Wars in Three Years After Being Elected” (Newsweek, January 3, 2018).

“By the middle of my six-year term, there will be no war, and the situation will be completely different,” López Obrador told reporters

• Joshua Partlow, “Five Mexican Politicians Killed in Past Week Ahead of Elections in the Summer” (The Washington Post, January 3, 2018).

Four of the five politicians killed were affiliated with the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)

• JosÉ Gil Olmos, “Detener la Violencia, el Reto para el Proximo Presidente” (Proceso (Mexico), January 3, 2018).

Esta violencia no es más que el reflejo de la descomposición estructural que vive el país y a la cual se habrán de enfrentar todos los candidatos

Peru

• Dan Collyns, “‘Act of Treason’: Fujimori Pardon Reopens Wounds for Victims of Peru’s State Terror” (The Guardian (Uk), January 3, 2018).

The Christmas Eve announcement has prompted a wave of outrage

• Julieta Pelcastre, “Peru Stands Out at Whinsec” (Revista Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), January 3, 2018).

“WHINSEC’s professional programs have allowed us to spread this vision to 744 Peruvian Army officers, warrant officers, and cadets in the last 10 years,” Brig. Gen. Balta said

Venezuela

• Fabricio Chagas Bastos, Sean W. Burges, “Invading Venezuela Is a Terrible Idea” (Americas Quarterly, January 3, 2018).

Professor Ricardo Hausmann’s heart is in the right place, but his proposal of a military intervention to save Venezuela from Nicolás Maduro’s government is simply not going to happen. Nor would it work

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Elizabeth Oglesby, “Taking Away Their Children Won’t Stop Central American Border Crossers” (The Hill, January 3, 2018).

I found that as U.S. border enforcement becomes more punitive, it turns migration into a lucrative vehicle for organized crime

• Ashley Parker, David Nakamura, Robert Costa, “Trump Takes Hard Line on ‘Dreamers,’ but Remains Interested in a Deal” (The Washington Post, January 3, 2018).

Trump has appeared to shift his position since announcing the termination of the DACA program in September, making the unfolding political drama harder to read for leaders in both parties