(Even more here)

February 28, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Elliot Spagat, “Amid Clouds of Dust, Border Wall Prototypes Are Demolished” (Associated Press, February 28, 2019).

The nearly $3 billion that Congress has provided for barriers during the first half of Trump’s term requires that money be spent on designs that were in place before May 2017, effectively prohibiting the prototypes from being used

• Aziz Huq, “Congress Is Voting to End Trump’s ‘Emergency.’ but the Vote Won’t Stop Him.” (The Washington Post, February 28, 2019).

There is no necessary connection between judicial intervention and the maintenance of constitutional democracy. A court can intervene and increase the risks to democracy — precisely what happened in Chadha

• Perry Bacon Jr., “What the House Vote Means for Trump’s National Emergency” (FiveThirtyEight.com, February 28, 2019).

In the Senate, 20 Republicans would need to join Democrats to override a Trump veto, but there aren’t nearly that many GOP members who come from purpleish states and break with Trump relatively often

• Richard Cowan, “‘Chumps?’ Democrats Blast Trump Diversion of Pentagon Money to Border Wall” (Reuters, Reuters, February 28, 2019).

Republican Representative Kay Granger urged McMahon to inform Congress of the specific projects the Pentagon would defer. He said specific decisions had not yet been made

• Daniel Gonzalez, “28 Women May Have Miscarried in Ice Custody Over the Past 2 Years” (The Arizona Republic, February 28, 2019).

Ten of the miscarriages occurred in fiscal year 2017, and 18 occurred in fiscal year 2018

Brazil

• “Numero de Mortes Violentas Cai Mais de 10% No Brasil Em 2018” (O Globo (Brazil), February 28, 2019).

São 51.589 assassinatos, ante 59.128 registrados em 2017. Número, no entanto, ainda é alto; taxa é de 24,7 mortes a cada 100 mil

Colombia

• “Militares Piden al Presidente Duque Sancionar la Estatutaria de la Jep” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 28, 2019).

15 militares, beneficiados por la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, le solicitaron al presidente Iván Duque que sancione la ley estatutaria de la JEP

Cuba, Venezuela

• John Otis, “Cuba’s Reliance Upon Venezuela for Cheap Oil Looms as Potential Threat” (The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2019).

The result would be power outages, fuel shortages and government spending cuts that would cause the Cuban economy to shrink by as much as 10%

Cuba

• Stephen Wicary, “Trump Nears Key Cuba Sanctions Decision Over Support for Maduro” (Bloomberg, February 28, 2019).

With the 45-day deadline looming — and a 15-day notification period for Congress — a decision on Helms-Burton could come by the end of this week

Honduras

• Parker Asmann, “Honduras President Selective When Targeting Criminal Crackdowns” (InsightCrime, February 28, 2019).

Hernández has chosen to hammer down on the gangs, rather than address the allegedly corrupt government officials linked to the country’s drug trafficking groups

• “Lluvia de Condenas Internacionales Ante Encarcelamiento de 12 Defensores del Medio Ambiente” (Criterio (Honduras), February 28, 2019).

Mientras el Estado hondureño se ensaña contra las personas que se oponen a un proyecto minero en la comunidad de Guapinol, Tocoa, en el departamento de Colón, varias organismos internacionales ha levantado la voz

Mexico

• Patrick Timmons, “Desperate Migrants Brave River as U.S., Mexico Harden Eagle Pass Border” (UPI, February 28, 2019).

Border Patrol agents and Texas state troopers positioned trucks on the river’s banks, lights flashing, in a show of force to discourage them from entering the water

• “La Onu-Dh Participara en la Capacitacion de los Elementos de la Guardia Nacional: Ebrard” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), February 28, 2019).

Participará en “la definición de los contenidos, de los sistemas de selección y del entrenamiento en el uso de la fuerza” para la formación de la Guardia Nacional

• Jorge Carrasco Araizaga, “Bola de Mandos” (Proceso (Mexico), February 28, 2019).

Si algo han demostrado los 12 años de combate a la delincuencia organizada es que los militares no están dispuestos a quedar bajo las órdenes de los civiles

Venezuela

• Ryan Dube, “Venezuelan Opposition Leader’s Return From Colombia to Spell Showdown With President” (The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2019).

“To have the international community not echo that call to use force but in fact say very clearly, ‘No, we’re not doing that’ is a big deal,” said a former high-ranking U.S. official

• Rick Gladstone, “U.S. Urges New Venezuela Elections. One Obstacle: Russia.” (The New York Times, February 28, 2019).

An American resolution at the United Nations, which could be put to a vote on Thursday in the 15-member Security Council, is likely to be vetoed by Russia