Martin Mejia – AP photo from The Miami Herald. Caption: “Colombia’s President Ivan Duque, center, speaks, flanked by Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, left, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, at the Foreign Ministry in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019.”

(Even more here)

February 26, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

I am a member of the Senate, and I have grave concerns when our institution looks the other way at the expense of weakening Congress’s power

Not only is the national emergency not justified, it could also be damaging to the interests of the United States, the authors say

The national emergency declaration and the profound cynicism that surrounds it are not just an attack on military construction and some other spending accounts. They represent an attack on the norms that preserve order and protect us from violence

Resolution is expected to pass in the chamber, but Republicans want to be sure the margin isn’t veto-proof

Trump could do an end-run around Congress and scrounge up funds from other dusty corners of the Pentagon’s budget, but he’ll still need to reckon with the unsavory prospect of depriving some Republican allies of signature projects

Central America Regional

America can slow the exodus of the desperate by investing in democracy, judicial reform and economic growth. So far, Mr. Trump has shown little interest

Colombia, Venezuela

Una vez en el territorio colombiano, cada uno debe buscar ayuda para su subsistencia. Algunos consiguen apoyo, pero otros deben buscar algún familiar o conocido

Colombia

Sectores políticos y de opinión pública creen que, aunque el gobierno Duque dice que no va a destruir lo pactado con las Farc, su estrategia es ponerle freno a la implementación y quitarle oxígeno por medio de los recursos

Colombia’s most-wanted man, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, directs the wholesale cocaine trade, as well as terrorism against the state

Conservative senators, led by Republicans Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, for more than a year have blocked the confirmation of career Foreign Service officer Joseph Macmanus to become ambassador to Colombia

Cuba

Most significantly, it restored the word “communism” in the final version and scaled back a proposal to allow same-sex marriage

Dominican Republic, Western Hemisphere Regional

Pike said the main objective of the conference is to create a CAA guide to countering threat networks. This guide will be based on U.S. doctrine, but the intent is to make it acceptable for all partner nations to improve interoperability

Guatemala

La tendencia feminista a nivel mundial –aunque ninguna de las candidatas defiende este concepto– refuerza la trayectoria política de largo aliento de las tres presidenciables: Sandra Torres, Thelma Aldana y Zury Ríos

The bill has received pushback from the U.N., the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and other human rights groups that say it violates Guatemala’s international obligations to investigate human rights violations

En apenas media hora de una entrevista concertada para hablar de las elecciones, el embajador menciona una de quincena veces esa última palabra: «corrupción»

Mexico

The number of asylum seekers arriving in this troubled city has reached a critical point as renewed drug violence explodes, creating what local leaders say is a pressure cooker

Esta es la primera de las tres leyes que requiere la Guardia Nacional. Se prohíbe uso de fuerza letal para retirar bloqueos y manifestaciones. Se autorizan armas de descargas eléctricas pero no balas de goma

Guillen said Monday that Mexico is accepting children who are accompanied by their parents, saying the numbers remain small

Venezuela

Over the past few days, at least 270 soldiers, National Guard troops and police officers have made similar escapes over the border to Colombia and Brazil

In the letter, the signing organizations urge the regional bloc to commit to migration policies that include “durable, coordinated, long-term measures and from a protection perspective in favor of people from Venezuela”

Brazil’s vice-president, retired general Hamilton Mourão, said on Monday that under no circumstances would his country allow the United States to intervene militarily from Brazilian territory

What Pence ended up telling the young Venezuelan leader was not necessarily what he traveled so far to hear: Pence told Guaidó the Trump administration still believes in a peaceful resolution

Listening to the Chavistas, we heard some pragmatism and openness to negotiation. The opening is a narrow one and full of mistrust

Venezuelans were in as much need of food as ever, the aid was sitting useless in Colombia, and Mr. Maduro appeared to remain fully in power

The Trump administration has repeatedly hinted at military intervention. But Saturday showed the regime is ready to call that bluff. That means Mr. Guaidó and his international alliance must settle in for a potentially prolonged economic and diplomatic siege

It’s a delicate, demanding task. And we need to trust the Trump administration to pull it off without a misstep. God help us all

The officials would not detail which US military aircraft are being used, but the Navy and Air Force maintain several large fixed-wing aircraft capable of intercepting communications and monitoring the status of weaponry

The civil militia has an official membership of 1.6 million. Just last month 86 percent of Venezuelans said they opposed foreign military action. Invaders might not find themselves hailed as liberators