(Even more here)

January 16, 2018

Colombia

• Jeremy Mcdermott, “Gamechangers 2017: Is Colombia’s Farc Really Gone?” (InsightCrime, January 16, 2018).

We believe that well within 20 years from today the drug trade will be dominated by a mafia run by former members of the FARC

• “La Primera Sala Plena de la Jep” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 16, 2018).

Los 31 magistrados posesionados inician labores para terminar de ajustar el sistema de justicia transicional que permitirá juzgar a los principales responsables de las miles de atrocidades

• Erick C. Duncan, “Falsos Positivos | «Hoy Hace Diez Anos Comence a Buscar el Cuerpo de Mi Hijo»” (Semana Rural (Colombia), January 16, 2018).

Sigue la lucha de Doris Tejada, la única de las Madres de Soacha que no ha podido recuperar los restos de su hijo desaparecido, asesinado y a quien hicieron pasar por guerrillero

El Salvador

• Sergio Arauz, “El Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado Persigue a Periodistas” (El Faro (El Salvador), January 16, 2018).

En El Salvador, el Organismo de Inteligencia del Estado vigila a políticos para chantajearlos y a periodistas como un medio para llegar a sus fuentes

Guatemala

• Glenda Sanchez, Roni Pocon, “Thelma Aldana: “No Veo al Presidente de la Republica Como un Aliado Contra la Corrupcion”” (Prensa Libre (Guatemala), January 16, 2018).

La fiscal general del Ministerio Público dijo que el presidente no es un aliado contra la corrupción y criticó el informe de gestión

Mexico

• Kate Linthicum, “Mexican Columnist Is Stabbed 21 Times in Front of Family, Underscoring Deadly Risks Faced by Journalists” (The Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2018).

The organization Reporters Without Borders said it believed Dominguez was targeted because of his controversial columns

• Amanda Ottaway, “As Us Tightens Stance on Migrants and Refugees, Is Mexico Prepared to Take More?” (The Christian Science Monitor, January 16, 2018).

It’s a burgeoning practice across the world, also known as “refugee offshoring,” and in line with the Trump administration’s goal

• Sandra Dibble, “Control for Street Drug Trade Pushes Tijuana to Grisly New Record: 1,744 Homicides” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 16, 2018).

“The main issue right now with the power struggle is Sinaloa and the CJNG battling for street dealers, narcomenudeo,” said an official with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

• Amanda Taub, Max Fisher, “A Haven From Mexico’s Political Parties Hints at Their Decline” (The New York Times, January 16, 2018).

Neza’s secret was breaking from the Mexican party system, which is what made Mr. Amador’s hiring and reforms possible

Venezuela

• Benjamin Gedan, Michael Mccarthy, “The Limits to Russia and China’s Support of Venezuela” (Real Clear World, January 16, 2018).

Caracas’ relationships with Moscow and Beijing are often exaggerated, including by the governments themselves

• Sonia Osorio, “¿el Regimen de Maduro Realizo Ejecucion Extrajudicial a Ex Policia Oscar Perez?” (El Nuevo Herald, January 16, 2018).

Venezuela Awareness, con sede en Miami, afirmó que durante el operativo “se violaron los derechos humanos del grupo liderado por Óscar Pérez”

• Nicholas Casey, “Deadly Siege of Venezuela Rebels Led by Former Action Hero Transfixes Country” (The New York Times, January 16, 2018).

“They don’t want us to surrender, they want us dead!” the rebel leader, Óscar Pérez, shouts in one of a series of videos posted on Twitter

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Juan S. Gonzalez, “Why Ambassador Feeley’s Resignation Is So Devastating” (Americas Quarterly, January 16, 2018).

Americans should be particularly concerned when a soldier-diplomat like Feeley feels “honor bound to resign” from a life of public service