(Even more here)

June 6, 2018

Brazil

• David Biller, r.t. Watson, “Where Gangs Pick the Politicians, a Murder in Rio Ignites a People’s Revolt” (Bloomberg, June 6, 2018).

The women known as the “seeds’’ of Marielle Franco are hoping to overcome all of that. About 10 from Rio intend to run for state assembly or federal congress

• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, “Former Brazilian President: Revolutionary Conditions Are Developing in Brazil” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2018).

Everyone who values democracy and freedom knows what has to be done. Yet, as elsewhere, the old mainstream is out of step with the new realities

• Angelika Albaladejo, “Pcc Files Document Gang’s Explosive Growth in Brazil and Beyond” (InsightCrime, June 6, 2018).

Elsewhere in Brazil, the number of PCC members is estimated to have grown from just over 3,000 in 2014 to more than 20,000 today

Guatemala

• Estuardo Porras Zadik, Pedro Pablo Marroquin Perez, “Guatemala’s Efforts to Fight Corruption Are Under Attack” (The Washington Post, June 6, 2018).

Lobbying firms financed by influential businessmen, in coordination with the Guatemalan ambassador to the United States, have been working for months on a misinformation and defamation campaign against the work of CICIG and Velásquez

• “La Conred Fue Alertada a Tiempo, Pero No Evacuo” (ElPeriodico (Guatemala), June 6, 2018).

Casi a las 14:00 horas la Conred elevó la alerta y consideró la evacuación. A las 15:20 horas, se produjo la segunda y más grande explosión del volcán

Mexico

• Luis Hernandez Navarro, “Valentina Rosendo Cantu: La Hora de la Justicia” (La Jornada (Mexico), June 6, 2018).

Ahora, a 16 años de la agresión contra Valentina, está a punto de emitirse una sentencia por la vía civil contra los perpetradores del crimen. Una sentencia que debe ser condenatoria

• “La Semar Defiende Actuacion de Marinos en Ciudad Guzman; Disparos Fueron Disuasivos, Dice” (Proceso (Mexico), June 6, 2018).

Refirió que al realizar un reabastecimiento logístico en inmediaciones de Ciudad Guzmán un grupo de marinos fue agredido por más de un centenar de personas que presuntamente se manifestaban contra su presencia en la entidad

• “Caso Ayotzinapa Lo Va a Seguir Investigando el Mp, Pero Con Controles Externos: Patron en Cnn” (Aristegui Noticias, June 6, 2018).

Da la oportunidad para crear un mecanismo extraordinario de justicia y verdad, afirmó Mario Patrón, director del Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez

Nicaragua

• “Declaration of Support for the People of Nicaragua” (Organization of American States, June 6, 2018).

Its appeal to the Nicaraguan Government and other social actors to demonstrate commitment and engage constructively in peaceful negotiation with clear outcomes

• Jose De Cordoba, Juan Montes, “Nicaragua’s Political Crisis Descends Into ‘Dark Days’” (The Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2018).

“The people are out in the street demanding that Ortega leave, but he has shown an unexpected ability to kill”

• Tim Rogers, “The Unraveling of Nicaragua” (The Atlantic, June 6, 2018).

If there is any bright spot for Nicaragua, it’s the student-led movement. Their bravery, solidarity, and leadership in the nationwide push for justice and democracy has inspired a nation

• Carlos Dada, “Masaya se Atrinchera Contra Ortega” (El Faro (El Salvador), June 6, 2018).

Los jóvenes aprenden de los mayores cómo fabricar morteros y establecer la defensa de la ciudad. La delegación policial está sitiada, sin acceso a víveres ni apoyo exterior. En los barrios, la población entierra a sus muertos

• Cinthya Torrez Garcia, Lucía Vargas C., “Muerte y Caos Orteguista en Granada” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), June 6, 2018).

La ciudad de Granada fue el centro de fuertes enfrentamientos ayer entre paramilitares del régimen de Daniel Ortega y ciudadanos autoconvocados, dejando un saldo de dos fallecidos y varios heridos

Venezuela

• Luis Alonso Lugo, “Oas Adopts Resolution, Could Bring Suspension of Venezuela” (The Miami Herald, June 6, 2018).

19 is still far from the 24 votes required to launch a process that could end in a suspension of the South American country

• “Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela” (Organization of American States, June 6, 2018).

To declare that the electoral process as implemented in Venezuela, which concluded on May 20, 2018, lacks legitimacy

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Rafael Carranza, “Faith Groups to Feds: Migrant Family Separation Not ‘Consistent With Biblical Values’” (The Arizona Republic, June 6, 2018).

Now, religious leaders are also speaking out against it, including evangelical Christians, one of the President Donald Trump’s main support blocks

• Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “Caught in Limbo, Central American Asylum-Seekers Are Left Waiting on a Bridge Over the Rio Grande” (The Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2018).

Two uniformed U.S. Customs officials are stationed under a tent just on the U.S. side of the bridge’s dividing line, ensuring that none of the families pass

• “Statement From Dhs Press Secretary on May Border Numbers” (Department of Homeland Security, June 6, 2018).

The number of apprehended illegal border crossers increased slightly from the previous month and climbed by 160 percent in May 2018 in comparison to May 2017

• Ioan Grillo, “When Democracy Isn’t Enough” (The New Republic, June 6, 2018).

One thing that could be done is to recognize that elections and freer markets will not, on their own, improve people’s lives—governments are going to have to do more

• Ted Hesson, “White House Blasts Merkley After His Attempt to Visit a Shelter for Migrant Children” (Politico, June 6, 2018).

White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Monday that Merkley was “irresponsibly spreading blatant lies” and “smearing hardworking, dedicated law enforcement officials” who deal with migrants

• Rick Jervis, “New ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy on Border Creates Overflow Court Hearings in South Texas” (USA Today, June 6, 2018).

“I trust and hope you will be reunited with your family members,” he told the defendants. “But I also hope you understand that the reason you were separated is that you violated the laws of the United States”