(Even more here)

May 1, 2018

Central America Regional, Mexico

• Adolfo Flores, Kate Bubacz, “18 Reasons Why People Are Seeking Asylum in the Us” (BuzzFeed, May 1, 2018).

BuzzFeed News spoke with 18 people who were a part of the caravan heading to the United States. Here are their reasons for leaving home and undertaking the long and dangerous journey north through Mexico

• Gustavo Solis, Sandra Dibble, “Fourteen Central American Caravan Members Admitted at San Ysidro Port of Entry” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 1, 2018).

While members of the caravan wait, so are other asylum seekers, and they have been growing increasingly upset, complaining that caravan members were trying to enter ahead of people who have been waiting for more than a week

Colombia

• Sarah Macaraeg, “Border Patrol Violence: Us Paid $60m to Cover Claims Against the Agency” (The Guardian (Uk), May 1, 2018).

The federal government has settled at least 20 wrongful death claims on behalf of CBP, paying more than $9m to the families of people killed since 2003, in incidents including shooting, beating, use of Tasers and collisions with vehicles

• “Disidencias de Farc Son Solo del 7 por Ciento: Santos” (El Tiempo (Colombia), May 1, 2018).

De acuerdo con el jefe de Estado, con base en reportes de las Fuerzas Armadas, esos grupos de disidentes llegan a 1.200 integrantes, pero la gran mayoría de esos nuevos miembros son resultado de “reclutamiento forzoso”

• Karen Mcveigh, “2017 Was Deadliest Year on Record for Colombian Human Rights Defenders” (The Guardian (Uk), May 1, 2018).

Human rights groups, which documented 609 killings of right defenders from 1 November 2002 to September 2017 in the country, say the Colombian government is failing to investigate the crimes properly

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Paro Armado del Epl Termino, Pero la Crisis Continua en el Catatumbo” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), May 1, 2018).

Algunos líderes de esa zona, que prefieren no exponer su identidad a la luz pública por razones de seguridad, coincidieron en que la respuesta del Gobierno Nacional de aumentar la presencia militar en Catatumbo no es la más acertada

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

• “Escudo Antimaras Blindara Siete Zonas de Honduras” (El Heraldo (Honduras), May 1, 2018).

Este bloque armado y logístico será posible con el acompañamiento del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI), de Estados Unidos, del gobierno mexicano y, por ende, de los tres países que forman el triángulo norte

Guatemala

• “Los Negocios del “Coronel Salvatrucha”” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), May 1, 2018).

El Coronel es un hombre orgulloso de su carrera –exhibía en su hogar cada distintivo ganado desde la Escuela Politécnica hasta el curso Kaibil–, entrenado en repetidas ocasiones por el Comando Sur de Estados Unidos para combatir al narcotráfico

• Hector Silva Avalos, “Guatemala Attorney General Candidate Says Selection Process Is Flawed” (InsightCrime, May 1, 2018).

According to numerous Guatemalan sources consulted by InSight Crime, she is one of the candidates most likely to continue with the high-level corruption investigations the Attorney General’s Office is conducting. However, the postulation commission decided to eliminate her

Nicaragua

• Carlos Dada, “Nicaragua: Los Estudiantes Buscan Lideres” (El Faro (El Salvador), May 1, 2018).

Los estudiantes han pedido tiempo para seleccionar a sus representantes pero, sobre todo, para determinar qué está pasando en sus filas

Peru

• “Condenan a Oficial del Ejercito por Favorecer Trafico de Drogas en el Vraem” (La Republica (Peru), May 1, 2018).

Se trata del teniente Wilmer Eduardo Delgado Ruiz, quien fue hallado culpable del delito de conspiración para el tráfico ilícito de drogas

Venezuela

• Hernan Lugo-Galicia, “Maduro Turns Venezuela Military Officers Into Businessmen to Quell Discontent” (The Miami Herald, May 1, 2018).

The need to devote more money for the armed forces comes as uncertainty spreads through the barracks

• Antonio MarÍa Delgado, “Asesor Clave de Trump: Solucion en Venezuela Podria Requerir Militares e Individuos “Incomodos” para Eeuu” (El Nuevo Herald, May 1, 2018).

“Tendríamos que tener gente en la mesa con la cual nosotros quizás nos sentimos incómodos, gente que quizás nosotros preferiríamos ver castigados en vez de verlos como parte de la solución”, dijo Cruz

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Ryan Devereaux, ““We’re Gonna Take Everyone” — Border Patrol Targets Prominent Humanitarian Group as Criminal Organization” (The Intercept, May 1, 2018).

Common in Border Patrol slang, the word toncs, or tonks, is used to refer to migrants. Though its precise etymology is unclear, the word, by some accounts, refers to the sound a law enforcement-issued flashlight makes when it connects with a human skull

• Mike Pence, “Remarks by Vice President Pence to U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Employees | Imperial, Ca” (The White House, May 1, 2018).

Every American should understand these people are victims. They’re being exploited by open-border political activists and an agenda-driven media

• Bob Ortega, “Is Border Patrol Work Dangerous? Not Compared to Being a Cop” (CNN, May 1, 2018).

Border Patrol agents lead far safer work lives on average than most other law enforcement officers

• Nick Miroff, “Trump’s Pick to Lead Ice, Who Touted Surge in Immigration Arrests, Steps Down” (The Washington Post, May 1, 2018).

Under Homan, immigration arrests surged 40 percent after agents scrapped an Obama administration policy of targeting serious or violent criminal offenders in favor of casting a wider net

• Adolfo Flores, “First Members of Caravan Trump Vowed to Stop Are Allowed to Seek Us Asylum” (BuzzFeed, May 1, 2018).

Three mothers, four of their kids, and an 18-year-old man were allowed to ask for asylum in the US