I’m traveling in Colombia between tomorrow and September 8. During that time, I’ll be posting news links sporadically, if at all.

(Even more here)

August 30, 2018

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Daniel Gonzalez, “Supreme Court Ruling Could Upend Thousands of Deportation Cases, Sowing Chaos in Court” (The Arizona Republic, August 30, 2018).

The ruling threatens to upend all deportation cases in which ICE issued incomplete notices to appear,including hundreds of thousands of pending cases and thousands more already decided

• Kevin Sieff, “U.S. Is Denying Passports to Americans Along the Border, Throwing Their Citizenship Into Question” (The Washington Post, August 30, 2018).

Under President Trump, the passport denials and revocations appear to be surging, becoming part of a broader interrogation into the citizenship of people who have lived, voted and worked in the United States for their entire lives

Brazil

• “Brazil Presidential Candidate: Let Police Kill Criminals” (Associated Press, Voice of America, August 30, 2018).

“If he kills 10, 15 or 20 with 10 or 30 bullets each, he needs to get a medal and not be prosecuted”

Brazil, South America Regional, Venezuela

• Oliver Stuenkel, “How to Address Venezuela’s Refugee Crisis” (Americas Quarterly, August 30, 2018).

In a much-needed move, the Ecuadorean government has called for a regional summit in September to discuss the situation with heads of state from around Latin America

Colombia

• Andres Cajiao, Angela Maria Silva Aparicio, Irina Cuesta, Juan Carlos Garzon Vergara, Lorena Zarate Martinez, Paula Andrea Tobo, Tatiana Prada, “Inseguridad en las Fronteras, los Desafios del Nuevo Gobierno” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), August 30, 2018).

La manera como Colombia y sus vecinos han hecho frente a la situación de seguridad en la frontera ha sido –por lo general– bilateral y reactiva, con problemas para generar confianza y establecer relaciones recíprocas

• ““No He Conocido Mejor Herbicida Que el Glisofato”: Mindefensa” (El Nuevo Siglo (Colombia), August 30, 2018).

“En mi experiencia como agricultor, no he conocido un mejor herbicida que el glifosato”, insistió

• “Duque y Timochenko en Casa de Narino, el Pacto Nacional de Medianoche” (Semana (Colombia), August 30, 2018).

Cuando Iván Duque era el candidato de Uribe, ninguno de sus partidarios se imaginaba verlo sentado con Rodrigo Londoño Echeverry, ni siquiera en su nueva condición de jefe del partido Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Fiebre del Oro Poco a Poco Acaba Con el Agua de 152 Municipios” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), August 30, 2018).

Basta mirar los mapas satelitales en Google Earth de algunos tramos de importantes ríos del país como el Sambingo (fotos) o Micay en el Cauca, el Atrato en Chocó, el Cauca en Antioquia, para darse cuenta del efecto que ha traído la minería ilegal

• Ginna Morelo, “La Herencia No Pedida de Buscar a los Ausentes” (El Tiempo (Colombia), August 30, 2018).

Nuestro gobierno tarda en desembolsar los recursos necesarios para así multiplicar los esfuerzos que en territorio se vienen haciendo para buscar a los ausentes

Colombia, Venezuela

• Geoff Ramsey, Gimena Sanchez-Garzoli, “Venezuelan Refugees Are Miserable. Let’s Help Them Out.” (Washington Office on Latin America, The New York Times, August 30, 2018).

Affording legal status to the Venezuelans who did not benefit from the registration process would reduce the grave risk of statelessness. Colombia could also resume the issuance of special border cards

Cuba

• Mimi Whitefield, “U.S. Says Cuba Is Safer Now, but There Are Still Plenty of Rules for Traveling Americans” (The Miami Herald, August 30, 2018).

Travel by Americans, excluding the Cuban diaspora who are counted separately, fell by more than 23 percent in the first six months of 2018

Mexico

• Alejandro Hope, “Amlo y los Militares: Algunos Apuntes” (El Universal (Mexico), August 30, 2018).

Lo que debería ser el foco de atención no es lo que dijo López Obrador sobre los militares, sino lo que no dijo sobre las policías

• Lizbeth Diaz, “Mexico’s Next Government to Consider New Probe Into Disappearance of 43 Students” (Reuters **, August 30, 2018).

The same experts will meet next month with President-Elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s team to discuss a possible resumption of work on the case

• Patrick Corcoran, “Mexico’s Proposed Institutional Reforms Unlikely to Yield Change in Security” (InsightCrime, August 30, 2018).

It isn’t that the prior reforms, or those proposed by López Obrador, are necessarily bad ideas. Rather, they have little to do with the root causes of the government’s inability to respond to security crises

Nicaragua

• “Nicaragua: La Crisis de Derechos Humanos Exige Accion y Rendicion de Cuentas, Senala Informe de Onu” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, August 30, 2018).

En el informe figuran el uso desproporcionado de la fuerza por parte de la policía, que a veces se tradujo en ejecuciones extrajudiciales, las desapariciones forzadas, las detenciones arbitrarias y generalizadas, las torturas y los malos tratos, y las violaciones del derecho a la libertad de opinión, expresión y reunión pacífica

Venezuela

• “Greater Support Needed for Refugees and Migrants From Venezuela – Un” (United Nations, August 30, 2018).

As of June, there were about 2.3 million Venezuelans living abroad. Nine out of 10 have sought refuge in countries within Latin America

• Nick Schifrin, “Why Venezuela’s Neighbors Are Facing a Huge Refugee Emergency” (PBS NewsHour, August 30, 2018).

Does Nicolas Maduro’s government feel any pressure to try and make life better in the country? Nick Schifrin talks with Javier Corrales of Amherst College