(Even more here)

October 2, 2018

Bolivia, Chile

• “Un Court Rules Against Bolivia in Sea Spat” (BBC (UK), October 2, 2018).
  

  As the judge dismissed Bolivia’s arguments one by one, Mr Morales’s face turned increasingly sombre

Brazil

• Beatrice Christofaro, Marcelo Silva de Sousa, Peter Prengaman, “In Brazil Congress, Bolsonaro’s Record Thin; Army Was Focus” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, October 2, 2018).
  

  The Associated Press reviewed and categorized all 642 legislative filings by Bolsonaro since he entered Congress in 1991

• Ciara Long, “In Brazil, Voters’ Far-Right Fears Carry Weight of History” (The Christian Science Monitor, October 2, 2018).
  

  “Fascist,” “authoritarian,” “far-right” – words that are thrown around in US politics these days. But what does it feel like to discuss those terms in a country that actually has memories of a military dictatorship?

• Noam Chomsky, “I Just Visited Lula, the World’s Most Prominent Political Prisoner. A “Soft Coup” in Brazil’s Election Will Have Global Consequences.” (The Intercept, October 2, 2018).
  

  One of the most significant political prisoners of the current period is kept in isolation so that the “soft coup” in Brazil can proceed on course, with likely consequences that will be severe for Brazilian society, and for much of the world

Colombia

• “Gobierno No Tiene Plata para Invertir en Defensa Antiaerea” (El Tiempo (Colombia), October 2, 2018).
  

  Botero admitió este martes que aunque “hay otras razones” para descartar la compra de nuevo armamento, la falta de plata es “suficiente”

• “Estan Equivocados, Si Hay Garantias: Farc Sobre Ivan Marquez y el Paisa” (Semana (Colombia), October 2, 2018).
  

  Desde el Congreso, el partido político de la ex guerrilla le hizo un llamado a Iván Márquez y a El Paisa para que se vinculen activamente al partido

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Van Mas de 150 Hechos Violentos de las Disidencias” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), October 2, 2018).
  

  Walter Patricio Arizala, alias Guacho, y Ricardo Abel Ayala, alias Cabuyo, son los cabecillas de disidencias que más han llamado la atención de las autoridades por sus acciones criminales en Nariño y Antioquia respectivamente

• Manuel Rueda, “Colombia’s President Cracks Down on Drug Use” (Associated Press **, October 2, 2018).
  

  President Ivan Duque signed a decree on Monday enabling police to search people and confiscate any drugs they have on them. Offenders will also be fined

• “Infographic: Agresiones y Homicidios de Lideres Sociales” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), October 2, 2018).
  

  Los primeros 8 meses de 2018 han sido los más violentos desde el 2010, comparando el periodo de enero a agosto de cada año

Cuba

• Mimi Whitefield, “Why No One Can Agree on What Really Happened to the U.S. Diplomats in Havana” (The Miami Herald, October 2, 2018).
  

  “This episode has gotten way out of hand with wild speculation and competing theories from specialists”

El Salvador

• Cora Currier, Danielle Mackey, “El Salvador Is Trying to Stop Gang Violence. But the Trump Administration Keeps Pushing Failed “Iron Fist” Policing.” (The Intercept, October 2, 2018).
  

  By pushing policies like these, the U.S. is fueling violence on one hand, while trying to solve it with the other through tertiary prevention

Guatemala

• Sandra Cuffe, “Guatemala’s Army Breaks Ranks With President Over Court Ruling” (Al Jazzeera, October 2, 2018).
  

  “The army has to obey civilian rule and the Constitution, and the authentic interpreter of the Constitution is the Constitutional Court. So, what the army is saying regarding the court is what is right”

• Jo-Marie Burt, Paulo Estrada, “Dos Erres Massacre Trial Starts Today” (International Justice Monitor, Open Society Foundations, October 2, 2018).
  

  After years of inaction by the Guatemalan courts, FAMDEGUA brought the case to the Inter-American System of Human Rights. In 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the state of Guatemala responsible

Mexico

• Hannah Wiley, “Critics Say New Barriers on Border Bridge Are Meant to Deter Asylum-Seekers” (The Texas Tribune, October 2, 2018).
  

  A big booth perched at the bridge’s halfway point, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are stopping and turning away asylum-seekers

• Andrea Vega, “#Seguridadsinguerra Pide a la Corte Discusion Abierta Sobre Ley de Seguridad” (Animal Politico (Mexico), October 2, 2018).
  

  “Queremos que se privilegie el diálogo, un diálogo que no existió en las cámaras de diputados y senadores, ni con el ejecutivo federal el pasado mes de diciembre cuando se aprobó esta Ley”, dijo el actor Diego Luna

• Luis Hernandez Navarro, “Amlo, el Ejercito y el 68” (La Jornada (Mexico), October 2, 2018).
  

  Es muy delicado involucrar a las fuerzas armadas en funciones de policía. Buena parte de las violaciones a los derechos humanos que la milicia ha cometido son resultado, en mucho, de su acción en tareas de seguridad pública

• Shawn Donnan, “Trump’s New Nafta Pact Looks More Like a Rebranding Than a Revolution” (Bloomberg, October 2, 2018).
  

  “Trump is more interested in smoke and mirrors — the optics of striking a deal that seems advantageous to him — than in real changes in trade agreements,’’ Rodrik wrote

• Elisabeth Malkin, “50 Years After a Student Massacre, Mexico Reflects on Democracy” (The New York Times, October 2, 2018).
  

  What was clear after the violence of that night was that Mexico’s government was willing to go to extreme lengths to maintain control

Nicaragua

• Jude Webber, “Nicaragua Issues New Warning to Protesters” (The Financial Times (UK), October 2, 2018).
  

  The Nicaraguan Police on Friday declared demonstrations illegal and on Saturday deployed riot police against protesters gathering for a march

Peru

• Franklin Briceno, “Ex-Army General Accused of Murder Leads Mayoral Race in Peru” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, October 2, 2018).
  

  On Thursday, a panel of judges will decide if the 62-year-old ex-general is guilty of killing a journalist who was murdered while covering the bloody conflict between the Peruvian state and Shining Path guerrillas