(Even more here)

October 4, 2018

Argentina

• “Former Argentine President Acquitted of Arms Smuggling” (Associated Press, The New York Times, October 4, 2018).
  

  “The same judicial branch that processed the case for 22 years without a firm sentence, now declares Menem innocent because too much time has passed”

Brazil

• Brian Winter, “Meet the New Brazil. A Lot Like the Old Brazil.” (Americas Quarterly, October 4, 2018).
  

  Bolsonaro now seems on the verge of becoming Brazil’s next president. He no longer wears his uniform, but make no mistake: He is the modern-day heir to Brazil’s long tradition of soldiers in power

• Tom Phillips, “Brazil Election: The Top Candidates, Key Issues and the Stakes Explained” (The Guardian (Uk), October 4, 2018).
  

  Some polls suggest Bolsonaro could win an eventual duel with Haddad, having gained critical ground among female voters and in north-eastern Brazil

• Tom Phillips, “‘Brazil Is at War’: Election Plays Out Amid Homicidal Violence” (The Guardian (Uk), October 4, 2018).
  

  Latin America’s largest democracy suffered a record 63,880 homicides last year and the phenomenon is driving some to support the hardline policies of candidate Jair Bolsonaro

Colombia

• “Report of the Secretary-General” (Mision de la ONU en Colombia, October 4, 2018).
  

  Some have cited concerns about their physical and legal security as a motivating factor for leaving the areas where some 1,500 former combatants are undergoing reintegration. Regardless of their motivations, this development has underlined the continued fragility of the peace process

• “Las Garantias de Seguridad: Una Mirada Desde Lo Local” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), October 4, 2018).
  

  En las zonas analizadas, los frágiles equilibrios y acuerdos entre las facciones ilegales se han roto y se han renovado procesos de disputa

• “Sube Tension Entre Fiscalia y Jep por Inspeccion al Expediente Madre del Secuestro” (Semana (Colombia), October 4, 2018).
  

  A través de un comunicado, la presidenta de la JEP, Patricia Linares, cuestionó la indebida intromisión de la Fiscalía General de la Nación, que a través de una orden de policía judicial ordenó inspeccionar el “proceso madre” de secuestro

• Ariel Ávila, Diego Alejandro Restrepo, “La Guerra por el Bajo Cauca y Norte de Antioquia” (Fundacion Paz y Reconciliacion, El Espectador (Colombia), October 4, 2018).
  

  Tienen aumentos de la violencia homicida hasta del 200%. Tarazá e Ituango, entre los casos más dramáticos

Colombia, Venezuela

• Juan Manuel Florez, Juliana Gil Gutierrez, Rosalinda Hernandez, “¿Militarizacion, la Salida a la Crisis Con Venezuela?” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), October 4, 2018).
  

  ¿Qué consecuencias tendría un eventual enfrentamiento militar? Según expertos en seguridad nacional, el que saldría peor librado sería Colombia

El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua

• Meagan Flynn, “Federal Judge, Citing Trump Racial Bias, Says Administration Can’t Strip Legal Status From 300,000 Haitians, Salvadorans and Others — for Now” (The Washington Post, October 4, 2018).
  

  He said there were “serious questions as to whether a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor” in the administration’s decision, which would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law

Mexico

• Jorge Carrasco Araizaga, “Lopez Obrador Entrampado Ante los Militares” (Proceso (Mexico), October 4, 2018).
  

  De su rechazo a que cumplan funciones de seguridad interna, ha pasado al reconocimiento de que no se puede prescindir de ellas en el mediano plazo; y de su pretensión de crear una Guardia Nacional habla ahora de Guardia Civil… con participación militar

• Mariana Hernandez, Rafael Lopez, “Septiembre, el Segundo Mes Mas Sangriento del Sexenio” (Milenio (Mexico), October 4, 2018).
  

  En septiembre se cometieron mil 456 homicidios relacionados con el crimen organizado, una cifra que se ubica como la segunda más alta del sexenio

Peru

• Andrea Zarate, Nicholas Casey, “Fujimori Is Ordered Back to Prison in Peru, Angering Supporters” (The New York Times, October 4, 2018).
  

  It was the latest dramatic turn for Mr. Fujimori, 80, who ruled as a dictator in the 1990s after suspending the Constitution, only to land in a prison cell

Venezuela

• Franco Ordonez, “Pence Intensifies Warnings About China. Venezuela Is Exhibit A” (McClatchy DC, October 4, 2018).
  

  Pence pointed directly at the economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, where he said Beijing has given a “lifeline” to the leaders there through $5 billion in questionable loans

• Patricia Zengerle, “Senior U.S. Lawmaker on Foreign Relations to Visit Venezuela” (Reuters **, October 4, 2018).
  

  Corker will meet with U.S. officials, Venezuelan officials, representatives from the opposition and members of the National Assembly and civil society groups