(Even more here)

March 19, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Molly o’toole, Sarah D. Wire, “Pentagon Discloses Military Projects in California That It Could Tap for Trump’s Wall” (The Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2019).

“Now that members of Congress can see the potential impact this proposal could have on projects in their home states, I hope they will take that into consideration before the vote to override the president’s veto”

• Chantal Da Silva, “Trump Administration Accused of Ignoring u.n. Human Rights Expert’s Request to Visit U.S.-Mexico Border” (Newsweek, March 19, 2019).

At least 22 requests from U.N. special rapporteurs have gone ignored by the Trump administration, with the last response from Trump officials having come in May 2018

• Julia Ainsley, “More Lawyers, Reporter Questioned at Border by U.S. Border Agents” (NBC News, March 19, 2019).

DHS officials have said there is no policy that targets lawyers and journalists, but they do have broad authority in who they choose to stop for screening

• Lisa Schlein, “Latin America Is World’s Deadliest Route for Migrants” (Voice of America, March 19, 2019).

International Organization for Migration spokesman, Joel Millman, says since February 1, 79 deaths have been reported along this route. He says this is nearly three times higher than the numbers reported in the Mediterranean

Brazil

• Deb Haaland, Joenia Wapichana, “Protecting Indigenous Lands Protects the Environment. Trump and Bolsonaro Threaten Both.” (The Washington Post, March 19, 2019).

Among the many parallels between their administrations, Bolsonaro and Trump are both taking extreme action to strip the hard-earned rights of indigenous peoples to the benefit of extractive industries and commercial farming

• Dom Phillips, “‘Same Rhetoric’: Bolsonaro’s Us Visit to Showcase Populist Alliance With Trump” (The Guardian (Uk), March 19, 2019).

Much of that rhetoric owes much to another star guest seated beside Bolsonaro at the “opinion formers” dinner: Olavo de Carvalho, a pipe-smoking rightwing Brazilian philosopher

• Ben Fox, “Brazilian President Bolsonaro Visits Cia During U.S. Trip” (Associated Press, Time, March 19, 2019).

Bolsonaro underscored the difference between his administration and that of former President Dilma Rousseff by stopping by CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to discuss “international themes in the region,” according to his son

Colombia, Venezuela

• Christopher Torchia, “Colombia: 1,000 Venezuelan Forces Crossed Border Since Feb.” (Associated Press, The Washington Post, March 19, 2019).

Some deserters say their small military salaries were the only source of income for their families

Colombia

• “En el Catatumbo ‘Nos Dejaron Con la Burra Enflorada’” (La Opinión de Cúcuta, Verdad Abierta (Colombia), March 19, 2019).

“Hablar de sustitución en la región del Catatumbo se convirtió en un problema, porque prácticamente somos declarados objetivo militar”

Colombia, Venezuela

• Phil Stewart, “As Venezuela Crisis Deepens, U.S. Sharpens Focus on Colombia Rebel Threat” (Reuters, Reuters, March 19, 2019).

U.S. officials see a growing threat from both Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) and factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that refuse to adhere to a 2016 peace agreement

Colombia

• Tatiana Duque, “La Guerra Narco en Tumaco Ya Golpeo a los Lideres de Sustitucion” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), March 19, 2019).

Al menos desde septiembre del año pasado, según una de las fuentes, Argemiro había dicho que tenía amenazas

• “Por Lo Menos 8 Menores de Edad Han Muerto por Confinamiento en Choco” (El Tiempo (Colombia), March 19, 2019).

Desde hace casi un mes, comunidades de tres zonas del Chocó viven en medio de las balas tras la creciente confrontación que sostienen el Eln y el ‘Clan del Golfo’ quienes se disputan el control territorial

El Salvador

• Jason Motlagh, “Inside el Salvador’s Battle With Violence, Poverty, and U.S. Policy” (National Geographic, March 19, 2019).

As migrants flee the decimated Central American nation, changes in the United States could send thousands back into the chaos

Guatemala

• Jo-Marie Burt, Paulo Estrada, “Amidst International Pressure, Guatemala Congress Does Not Pass Amnesty Bill, for Now” (International Justice Monitor, Open Society Foundations, March 19, 2019).

Despite the international rebuff of the amnesty bill, including a resolution by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering Guatemala to withdraw the proposal, its supporters say they are not giving up

Mexico

• Fernanda Echavarri, “Teens Fleeing Central American Gangs Are Stuck at the Border—and Fear for Their Lives” (Mother Jones, March 19, 2019).

Some of the teens have been at this shelter, the Casa YMCA de Menores Migrantes (YMCA Home for Underage Migrants), for a couple of days, some more than three months

• Daniella Silva, “Officially, the Notebook Does Not Exist. But It’s the Key for Migrants to Get Into the U.S.” (NBC News, March 19, 2019).

“If I continue to stay here, I am going to be killed,” said a mother of two from Honduras, who spent two months waiting in Tijuana to cross into the U.S.

• Catherine E. Shoichet, “Investigators Are Scrambling to Solve a Mystery Just Miles From the Us-Mexico Border” (CNN, WTOP, March 19, 2019).

Authorities are investigating what they’ve said may be a mass kidnapping, and Mexico’s top leaders have offered several possible explanations in recent days

• Rafael Carranza, “Mexican Journalist Gunned Down at His Home Near Arizona-Mexico Border” (The Arizona Republic, March 19, 2019).

Reading from a local newspaper report on his show, Barroso chronicled how on Thursday evening a “pollero,” or smuggler, had assembled nearly a dozen migrants at a portion of outdated fencing in the middle of the city of San Luis Rio Colorado

Nicaragua

• “Estados Unidos “No Descarta” Ninguna Opcion en Nicaragua Como Con Venezuela” (EFE, La Prensa (Nicaragua), March 19, 2019).

Washington “no descarta ninguna otra opción”, entre ellas la militar, según declaró este lunes en Madrid el embajador Todd Robinson, enviado especial de Estados Unidos para Centroamérica

Peru

• Fiorella Montano, Monica Cuti, “Golpes, Bullying, Drogas y Licor en el Colegio Militar de Arequipa” (La Republica (Peru), March 19, 2019).

La República accedió a más de 70 testimonios escritos y verbales sobre estas irregularidades en el colegio militar Francisco Bolognesi. Incluso hay una denuncia por tocamientos indebidos en el Ministerio Publico

• Oscar Chumpitaz, “Narcos Usan via Maritima para Burlar Fuerte Control en el Vraem y el Huallaga” (La Republica (Peru), March 19, 2019).

Tienen hasta cinco nuevas rutas. Ya no optan por vuelos debido a que la PNP y las FFAA cuentan con mayor capacidad en las zonas de producción. A la fecha se han incautado siete toneladas de droga en diversos puertos de Áncash, La Libertad, Lambayeque y Piura

Venezuela

• Dion Nissenbaum, Jessica Donati, “Trump Administration Officials Clash Over Relief for Venezuelan Immigrants” (The Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2019).

Mr. Abrams favors offering a form of the Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure programs

• Juliana Gil Gutierrez, “El Camino de la Transicion Saldria de Venezuela” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), March 19, 2019).

Carlos Vecchio, delegado del presidente interino Juan Guiadó ante Estados Unidos, entró a las sedes diplomáticas de su país en Nueva York para tomar control de estas oficinas

• Rafael Croda, “Los Contactos Entre Maduro y Guaido: Discretos y Funcionales” (Proceso (Mexico), March 19, 2019).

Es claro que, desde el momento en que Guaidó abordó el vuelo en Panamá, sabía que podría ingresar sin problemas a su país, tal como ocurrió a su llegada