(Even more here)

April 3, 2018

Brazil

• Sam Cowie, “Brazil Court to Rule on Former President Lula’s Jail Term” (The Guardian (Uk), April 3, 2018).

If Lula is jailed, his supporters will cry political persecution; if not, his detractors will allege corruption

Central America Regional, Mexico

• Karla Zabludovsky, “Other Migrant Groups Warned Against The “Caravan” Through Mexico” (BuzzFeed, April 3, 2018).

“The people who suffer the consequences are the ones that follow behind this caravan,” one migrant shelter director told BuzzFeed News

Colombia

• Julian Amorocho Becerra, “Golpe al Eln Prueba la Fragilidad en la Frontera” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), April 3, 2018).

“Nos preocupa que el Eln está planeando y ejecutando ataques en territorio colombiano desde Venezuela, tanto en la frontera de Norte de Santander, como la de Arauca”, había dicho el ministro

• “Delegados de la Farc Estan en Ecuador para Reunirse Con Comandantes del Eln” (El Espectador (Colombia), April 3, 2018).

La reunión fue agendada con el objetivo de discutir una serie de asesinatos de excombatientes y líderes sociales de las Farc por parte de unidades del ELN

• Daniel Morelo, Sara Ruiz, “En Antioquia Asesinan Lideres Donde Hay Lios de Tierra, Coca y Bacrim” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), April 3, 2018).

En los municipios donde los mataron hay o hubo presencia de grupos armados y desplazamiento histórico; y el 80 por ciento de ellos tienen corredores de narcotráfico, armas y tropas por donde pasaron las Farc

Cuba

• Chabeli Herrera, “Travel to Cuba Is Getting Popular Again — Just in Time for a Slew of New Havana Flights” (The Miami Herald, April 3, 2018).

“This came about probably mid-January, February, we started to see an increase in web traffic, an increase in leads or demands for information and increases in bookings”

Mexico

• David Agren, Joshua Partlow, “That Caravan of Migrants Trump Was Tweeting About? Mexico Stopped It.” (The Washington Post, April 3, 2018).

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute has not commented on the caravan or Trump’s allegations. Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray responded indirectly Sunday

• Sandra Dibble, “Caravan Through Mexico Is One of the Largest in 10-Year Trek History” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 3, 2018).

It’s one of the largest since the group Pueblo Sin Fronteras began staging its annual pilgrimage through Mexico a decade ago

• Kate Linthicum, “Trump’s Angry Tweets About Mexico? More Fiction Than Fact” (The Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2018).

False. While he was in office, former President Obama quietly pressured Mexico to step up immigration enforcement along its southern border

• David Agren, “The Mexican Indigenous Community That Ran Politicians Out of Town” (The Guardian (Uk), April 3, 2018).

Cherán, in the violent state of Michoacán, will stand apart from Mexico’s electioneering season, having tackled corruption and exploitation by banishing political parties, police and gangsters

Venezuela

• “Venezuela Authorities Say Inmates Started Deadly Jail Fire” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, April 3, 2018).

Saab, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, told Union Radio that police officials nonetheless bore responsibility and would be held accountable