(Even more here)

July 12, 2018

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Tal Kopan, “Trump Administration to Turn Away Far More Asylum Seekers at the Border Under New Guidance” (CNN, July 12, 2018).

Under new guidance given Wednesday to the officers who interview asylum seekers at the US’ borders and evaluate refugee applications, claims based on fear of gang and domestic violence will be immediately rejected

• Caitlin Dickerson, Miriam Jordan, Ron Nixon, “‘I Want Her Back’: Some Migrant Families Reunite, but Other Parents Grow Desperate” (The New York Times, July 12, 2018).

The other 46 were deemed “ineligible” for a variety of reasons. Some of their parents had been accused of crimes. One parent had a communicable disease. In a dozen cases, the parents had been deported already

• Bob Ortega, “Migrants Describe Hunger and Solitary Confinement at for-Profit Detention Center” (CNN, July 12, 2018).

The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy has been a financial boon for GEO Group, which along with its affiliates contributed more than half a million dollars to then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign

• Molly o’toole, “Trump Immigration Policy Has Plunged Migrants Into a Purgatory in Mexico: ‘It’s as if They Killed You’” (Newsweek, July 12, 2018).

They are trapped in limbo by the Trump administration’s ever-shifting immigration policy, with officials now widely employing a controversial deterrence tactic: making migrants wait in Mexico, indefinitely

Brazil

• Dom Phillips, “‘Lesser Evil’: How Brazil’s Militias Wield Terror to Seize Power From Gangs” (The Guardian (Uk), July 12, 2018).

Known as “militias”, paramilitary groups – which often include former and serving police officers and firefighters – have quietly taken control of swathes of Rio’s western suburbs

Colombia

• Juan David Moreno Barreto, “Los Archivos de Inteligencia para Reconstruir la Verdad” (El Espectador (Colombia), July 12, 2018).

El presidente Juan Manuel Santos le ordenó al Ministerio de Defensa que le entregara los archivos reservados de inteligencia a la Comisión de la Verdad, salvo aquellos que puedan comprometer la seguridad nacional

• Ariel Ávila, “Legalizacion de la Censura” (Semana (Colombia), July 12, 2018).

A veces pienso que es mejor tirar la toalla y dejarle todo a los corruptos, al fin y al cabo eso es lo que eligen los colombianos. Votan por los mismos políticos de siempre

• “The Missing Peace: Colombia’s New Government and Last Guerrillas” (International Crisis Group, July 12, 2018).

Backed by international actors, the current government and guerrilla negotiators should aim for rapid progress in negotiations to minimise the chance of a sceptical incoming president abandoning the peace process

• Maria Camila Rincon Ortega, “La Escalofriante Radiografia de los Asesinatos Contra Lideres Sociales en Colombia: Esto Es Lo Que Sabemos” (CNN, July 12, 2018).

Desde la elección presidencial del pasado 17 de junio se han asesinado a 22 líderes. Es decir, uno diario hasta la fecha de corte

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico

• “Readout From Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen’s Meetings in Guatemala” (Department of Homeland Security, July 12, 2018).

The U.S. government plans to co-host with the Government of Mexico in the near future a major summit in the U.S. to discuss implementation of an ambitious, action-oriented agenda to reduce illegal migration flows

Mexico

• Dave Graham, Michael o’boyle, “Mexico’s President-Elect Will Cancel Planned U.S. Helicopter Order” (Reuters **, July 12, 2018).

In April, the U.S. government said Mexico had requested to buy eight MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission helicopters

• Gabriel Stargardter, “Mexico Opposes U.S. Plan to Make It Take Asylum Seekers – Document, Source” (Reuters **, July 12, 2018).

Mexico views the proposal as a red line it will not cross, according to the briefing note prepared for Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray for a meeting he had with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

• Tracy Wilkinson, “Trump Sends High-Level Delegation to Mexico in Overture to New Leader” (The Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2018).

Pompeo will be accompanied by President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, who is nominally in charge of the Mexico portfolio

Nicaragua

• “Daniel Ortega Is Causing a Bloodbath in Nicaragua” (The Economist (Uk), July 12, 2018).

The next few weeks will be crucial. Venezuela shows that a regime which is heedless of the human cost can survive sustained national protests and international pressure