(Even more here)

April 30, 2018

Bolivia

• Juliana Barbassa, “Thanks, but Goodbye: Why Many of Evo Morales’ Supporters Want Him to Move On” (Americas Quarterly, April 30, 2018).

It was as affectionate as it was clear: “Que descanse.” Let him rest. Let someone else have a chance to govern

Brazil

• Julia Michaels, “Crooked Rio” (Rio Real (Brazil), April 30, 2018).

In the absence of official plans, targets, a budget or accountability, civil society has taken up the job of monitoring the intervention

Brazil, Venezuela

• Ernesto Londono, “‘Their Country Is Being Invaded’: Exodus of Venezuelans Overwhelms Northern Brazil” (The New York Times, April 30, 2018).

The population of Boa Vista, the state capital, ballooned over the past few years as some 50,000 Venezuelans resettled here. They now make up roughly 10 percent of the population

Colombia

• “Fiscal Apelo a Tratos Discriminatorios para Acusar a Dos Lideresas Sociales de Tumaco” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), April 30, 2018).

Gordillo Vélez, Fiscal 11 Especializado contra el Crimen Organizado, planteó graves referencias discriminatorias, racistas y condenatorias, señalando a sus pobladores de “auxiliar” a las guerrillas y a las bandas criminales que pululan en sus territorios

 

• Rodrigo Uprimny, “La Paz en Riesgo y el Legado de Marc Chernick” (El Espectador (Colombia), April 30, 2018).

En este momento de posible desencanto con la paz, los escritos y la memoria de personas como Marc deben hacernos perseverar en este esfuerzo por materializar esta paz imperfecta y frágil

• Kyle Johnson, “Arauca Esta Esperando la Paz, en Silencio” (International Crisis Group, La Silla Vacia (Colombia), April 30, 2018).

La guerra en Arauca sigue, y la violencia viene de todos los lados. Mientras tanto, la población afectada espera con tanta esperanza como escepticismo a la paz

• “Fiscalia Niega Tener Investigacion por Narcotrafico Contra Ivan Marquez” (Semana (Colombia), April 30, 2018).

El organismo respondió a una publicación del Wall Street Journal, según la cual, existe un video en el que el ex jefe negociador de las Farc supuestamente “habla con un asociado de un narcotraficante mexicano conocido”

• Juan Forero, Kejal Vyas, “Colombia Cocaine-Trafficking Probe Poses Risk to Peace Accord” (The Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2018).

The latest investigation into an ex-commander, a 62-year-old hard-line communist named Luciano Marín—better known by the alias Ivan Marquez and now a designated Colombian senator—stems from a cellphone video

• Mathew Charles, “Colombian Civilians Caught in Crossfire as Rebel Factions Fill Violent Vacuum” (The Guardian (Uk), April 30, 2018).

That peace deal was supposed to put an end to more than half a century of war, but in much of rural Colombia, the demobilisation has merely opened the way for other armed groups

Mexico

• Andrea Castillo, Hailey Branson-Potts, Sandra Dibble, “Pence Arrives in California to Tour Border Barrier While, Just 100 Miles West, Migrants Seek Asylum” (The Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2018).

During a 20-minute speech, Pence repeatedly called agents heroes, saying they have a tough and dangerous job

• Paulina Villegas, “Case of Missing Civilians in Mexico Shines Light on Military’s Role in Drug War” (The New York Times, April 30, 2018).

The case sheds light on the broader impact that the militarization of public security has had on large parts of the country since troops were first mobilized for anti-narcotics operations in 2006

• “Eeuu Instalara un Radar en Hermosillo; Detectara Vuelos del Crimen Organizado” (Proyecto Puente (Mexico), April 30, 2018).

La presencia de un avión del ejército de Estados Unidos se debe a la instalación de un radar, en cooperación con las fuerzas armadas del gobierno mexicano

• Ioan Grillo, “Why Mexico Is Turning Left” (U.S. News and World Report, April 30, 2018).

“The country has changed more than him,” said Francisco Abundis, head of the Parametria polling firm. “There is an atmosphere that is anti-system, anti-government. He represents this well”

• Kirk Semple, Miriam Jordan, “Migrant Caravan, After Grueling Trip, Reaches U.S. Border. Now the Really Hard Part.” (The New York Times, April 30, 2018).

The migrants were told Sunday afternoon that the immigration officials could not process their claims, and they would have to spend the night on the Mexican side of the border

• “Editorial: Why Migrant Caravan on U.S.-Mexico Border Merits Asylum Consideration” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 30, 2018).

This lengthy process doesn’t reflect anarchy. This reflects a nation functioning under the rule of law

Nicaragua

• “Multitudinarias Protestas Exigen la Paz y el Fin del Regimen de Ortega en Nicaragua” (Associated Press, El Nuevo Herald, April 30, 2018).

Esta fue la segunda manifestación multitudinaria en menos de una semana en que los nicaragüenses exigieron justicia después que las protestas de estudiantes contra la reforma de la ley del seguro social provocaran una dura represión

• Lucia Navas, “Periodista Estadounidense Tim Rogers Sale de Nicaragua por Amenazas” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), April 30, 2018).

El periodista Tim Rogers se vio obligado a salir de Nicaragua debido a que se sintió amenazado por las grupos sandinistas que lo señalan de ser de la CIA

Peru

• Patricia Montero, “Los Otros” (La Republica (Peru), April 30, 2018).

Otras cifras que se han elevado para nuestro pesar: la de los desaparecidos durante el conflicto armado que vivió el Perú debido a la insania de los criminales terroristas y, en menor grado pero innegable, al abuso de un sector de las fuerzas armadas y policiales

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Eugene Robinson, “The Immigrant ‘Caravan’ Is a Test. Trump Wants Us to Fail.” (The Washington Post, April 30, 2018).

I believe both are sincere in their desire to stanch the flow of Latino immigration — not, I strongly suspect, because of drugs or crime, but because they loathe the demographic and cultural change that is taking place

• Noah Lanard, “Another Top Trump Official Is Heading for the Exits. This One Is Big.” (Mother Jones, April 30, 2018).

During the Obama administration, Homan was seen as a loyal civil servant who was willing to compromise. Some of his former colleagues have been shocked by his rhetoric under Trump