
March 1, 2019
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Julia Ainsley, “Advocates: Trump Policies Are Causing Surge in Illegal Border Crossing” (NBC News, March 1, 2019).
An official from the Department of Homeland Security, of which CBP is a part, said those abandoning legal entry points may not have legitimate asylum claims
- Muzaffar Chishti, Randy Capps, Sarah Pierce, “Executive Power Showdown: Congress and White House Quarrel Over Immigration Spending” (Migration Policy Institute, March 1, 2019).
While the Democrats can claim success in the increased ATD spending and potential decrease in detention space, the spending agreement is unlikely to force ICE to decrease the numbers of people detained
- Robert Warren, “Sharp Multiyear Decline in Undocumented Immigration Suggests Progress at Us-Mexico Border, Not a National Emergency” (Center for Migration Studies, March 1, 2019).
From 2010 to 2016, about two thirds of undocumented arrivals overstayed temporary visas; only one third entered across the southern border
Argentina
- Daniel Politi, “Argentina Convicts Ex-Officials in Cover-Up of ‘94 Bombing of Jewish Center” (The New York Times, March 1, 2019).
The court sentenced eight people accused of a cover-up, among them a former federal judge and a former head of the intelligence services, but it acquitted five others, including the highest-profile defendant: former President Carlos Menem
Brazil
- Chris Dalby, “Police Exercise License to Kill in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro” (InsightCrime, March 1, 2019).
It was the second highest number of killings for the month of January since 1998
Caribbean Regional
- “U.S. Agencies Should Establish a Mechanism to Assess Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Progress” (U.S. Government Accountability Office, March 1, 2019).
State has not created an initiative-wide planning and reporting mechanism that facilitates interagency coordination or establishes consistent performance indicators across agencies, countries, and activities
Colombia
- ““El Ministro Botero Esta Intentando Confundir a los Colombianos”: Vivanco Sobre Falsos Positivos” (Semana (Colombia), March 1, 2019).
Aquí está en juego la credibilidad y legitimidad de la comandancia de las Fuerzas Militares para dirigir a un Ejército capaz de cuidar a la población de forma profesional y respetuosa de los derechos humanos
Guatemala
- Jo-Marie Burt, Paulo Estrada, “For Third Time, Amnesty Bill Fails to Reach Floor of Guatemalan Congress” (International Justice Monitor, Open Society Foundations, March 1, 2019).
Tension is rising over the proposed legislation and the possibility that convicted criminals could walk free and that future investigations in hundreds of other cases would be blocked
Mexico
- , Alfredo Corchado, “Trump Policy That Sends Asylum Seekers Back to Mexico Is About to Be Expanded to Texas” (The Dallas Morning News, March 1, 2019).
“We are hearing one thing locally and another thing in Washington, and we are trying to find out exactly what’s going on,” said Escobar, saying the situation is fluid
- “Mexico Must Consider Human Rights Concerns When Implementing Its New National Guard” (Washington Office on Latin America, March 1, 2019).
Mexico’s Congress will now have to pass three additional laws within a 60 to 120-day period
- Kirk Semple, Paulina Villegas, “Mexico Approves 60,000-Strong National Guard. Critics Call It More of the Same.” (The New York Times, March 1, 2019).
In the end, Congress decided the National Guard would have an explicitly civilian, rather than military, character, with the new force lodged under the authority of the civilian Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection
- Patricia Davila, “La Guardia Nacional Contara Con 80 Mil Elementos a Fin de Ano: Durazo” (Proceso (Mexico), March 1, 2019).
En una primera etapa la Guardia Nacional se formará con 35 mil integrantes de la Policía Militar, ocho mil de la Policía Naval, 18 mil de Fuerzas Federales y Gendarmería, y 20 mil efectivos que serán reclutados y capacitados
- Omar Ornelas, Rebecca Plevin, “Ruthless Cartel Violence Drives a Wave of Mexican Asylum Seekers. This Family Lost a Son and Fled” (The Desert Sun, March 1, 2019).
In recent years, people have been fleeing Guerrero and Michoacán not only to improve their lives, but to save their lives
Mexico, Western Hemisphere Regional
- Steven Dudley, “The End of the Big Cartels” (InsightCrime, Foreign Affairs, March 1, 2019).
For U.S. policymakers, it may be overkill to direct the resources of six federal law enforcement agencies toward dismantling these groups, especially in the era of synthetic drugs
Venezuela
- “¿Que Tanto Debilita al Regimen de Maduro las Deserciones Militares en Venezuela?” (La Republica (Peru), March 1, 2019).
“No hay comida. No tienen colchones, nosotros los sargentos de la Guardia Nacional estamos durmiendo en el suelo”
- “Gold and Grief in Venezuela’s Violent South” (International Crisis Group, March 1, 2019).
The ongoing economic crisis has driven many impoverished Venezuelans into working in the illegal mining sector. Armed state and non-state actors, Colombian guerrillas foremost among them, have also expanded in this resource-rich region
- “The Risks of Military Intervention in Venezuela” (The Economist (Uk), March 1, 2019).
“I can dispel the theory that there is a military option for Venezuela,” says a defence official in Washington. She denies that staff are being asked to draw up plans
- Andrew Duehren, Courtney Mcbride, “Democrats Strain for a Unified Message on Venezuela” (The Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2019).
Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Venezuela should hold an election before any new leader assumes power