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March 27, 2018
Brazil
- Jill Langlois, “Another Week in Rio Begins With Gunfire and Death; Army to Begin Patrolling the City” (The Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2018).
The country’s army said that it will now begin patrolling the streets of Rio alongside military police officers in an effort to check the violence
- Renato Domingues, “Nearly 4,000 Troops Patrol Rio Favelas Amid Wave of Violence” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, March 27, 2018).
Soldiers walked the streets and armored vehicles rolled through the neighborhood
- Jonathan Watts, “Amazon Priest Who Championed Land Rights for Brazil’s Poor Is Arrested” (The Guardian (Uk), March 27, 2018).
Police in the jungle city of Anapu accuse Lopes of extortion and sexual harassment, but in denying the charges, his followers say they have been trumped up to silence an influential opponent of plans to clear forests
Colombia
- “En Menos de una Semana Han Muerto Tres Lideres Sociales en Antioquia” (El Espectador (Colombia), March 27, 2018).
En el departamento continúan sumándose los líderes sociales asesinados. La ONG Nodo Antioquia había advertido a las autoridades que esto podía a suceder
- “Iachr Urges Colombia to Adopt Urgent Measures to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Social Leaders” (Inter-American Human Rights Commission, Organization of American States, March 27, 2018).
According to the Ombudperson’s Office, 22 human rights defenders were assassinated in Colombia over the first months of 2018. The majority of those murders were focalized against human rights defenders
- Edinson Arley Bolanos, “Estas Son las 12 Modalidades de Asesinatos de Lideres Sociales” (El Espectador (Colombia), March 27, 2018).
El Cuerpo Élite de la Policía, encargado de investigar estos crímenes, ha establecido que así los están matando,
Colombia, Ecuador
- Olga Patricia Rendon M., “Informacion, Clave Contra Disidencias en la Frontera” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), March 27, 2018).
La frontera entre ambos países está, por decirlo de algún modo, “caliente”
- “Mensajes de Solidaridad Tras Secuestro de Equipo de el Comercio en Mataje” (El Comercio (Ecuador), March 27, 2018).
Embajadas, instituciones del Estado, periodistas, políticos y ciudadanos se expresaron consternados tras el secuestro de dos comunicadores y un conductor de este Diario
Cuba
- Sarah Marsh, “Cuba’s Communist Party Admits Errors, Slowdown in Reforms” (**, March 27, 2018).
Many Cubans, whose expectations were raised by Castro’s reforms, have felt frustrated by the slowdown that they believe means Havana is not truly committed to updating the economy
Guatemala
- “Iachr Releases a New Report on the Human Rights Situation in Guatemala” (Inter-American Human Rights Commission, Organization of American States, March 27, 2018).
Major human rights challenges remain. Several of the reasons that prompted the internal armed conflict persist
Haiti
- Jacqueline Charles, “Haiti Has a New Army With Much of the Old Leadership. Some in the U.S. Aren’t Happy.” (The Miami Herald, March 27, 2018).
While Haiti has budgeted $8.5 million for the army this year, the Haiti National Police remains a priority for the United States, which has warned Haitian officials that the military cannot take resources away from the police or endanger its existence
Mexico
- Gloria Leticia DÍaz, “Mexico, Con “Nivel Continuo y Elevado de Impunidad” Contra Defensores de Derechos Humanos: Onu-Dh” (Proceso (Mexico), March 27, 2018).
El relator especial de Naciones Unidas sobre la situación de defensores de derechos humanos, Michael Forst, encendió las luces de alarma sobre la persistencia de “un nivel continuo y elevado de impunidad” en México que “legitima” las agresiones
- ““Haganse Responsables. Tiraron Desde Helicoptero”, Reclama Tia de Ninas Asesinadas a la Marina” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), March 27, 2018).
A través de un video la mujer denunció que los elementos de la Marina les dispararon a sus familiares confundiéndolos con delincuentes
- Jorge Carrasco Araizaga, “La Marina Niega Haber Disparado Contra Familia Desde Helicoptero en Nuevo Laredo” (Proceso (Mexico), March 27, 2018).
Sin referirse en ningún momento a la familia acribillada, entre ellas dos niñas de 4 y 6 años de edad, la Marina dijo que según “los resultados preliminares” de la investigación los impactos de bala que recibió “el personal civil” provinieron del fuego cruzado
- “Members of Congress: Mexico Must Investigate Illegal Use of Spyware” (Washington Office on Latin America, March 27, 2018).
11 Members of Congress expressed concern for the lack of progress in the Mexican government’s investigation into the illegal use of government-exclusive Pegasus spyware against prominent activists and journalists
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Josh Dawsey, Mike Debonis, “Trump Privately Presses for Military to Pay for Border Wall” (The Washington Post, March 27, 2018).
Ryan offered little reaction to the idea, these people said, but senior Capitol Hill officials later said it was an unlikely prospect
- James Bosworth, Sarah Kinosian, “Challenges and Good Practices in Regulating Private Military and Security Companies in Latin America” (Inter-American Dialogue, March 27, 2018).
The result, in the most troubling cases, is that these companies become private militias accountable first and foremost to their benefactor rather than the rule of law