(Even more here)

July 10, 2019

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Robert Muggah, “Violent Crime Has Undermined Democracy in Latin America” (Igarape Institute, The Financial Times (UK), July 10, 2019).

Last year, a mere 13 per cent of them expressed confidence in their national political parties, compared with 44 per cent who supported the armed forces

• Alan Gomez, Lauren Villagran, “Border Patrol Apprehensions Along Southern Border Fall for First Time in 2019” (USA Today, July 10, 2019).

Homeland Security said the slowdown in migrants entering the country should help the department get a better handle on “capacity challenges” it has experienced in recent months

• Jacob Soboroff, Julia Ainsley, “Migrant Kids in Yuma Report Sex Assault, Retaliation From U.S. Agents” (NBC News, July 10, 2019).

The reports from the Yuma CBP sector describe similar unsanitary and crowded conditions but go further by alleging abuse and other misconduct by CBP officers

Colombia

• Dylan Baddour, “Coca, the Illicit Plant That Funded Colombia’s Civil War, Is Flourishing Again. Duque’s Plan to Destroy It Is Drawing Opposition.” (The Washington Post, July 10, 2019).

His administration is challenging a 2015 court ruling that ended 25 years of U.S.-led flights; a decision is expected as early as this month

• Isabella Gomez, “La Carta Con la Que el Gobierno Notifica a Jep de Reduccion de Presupuesto para 2020” (Blu Radio (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

“Para este año, para inversión nosotros asignado $90.000 billones, para el 2020 nos anuncian $67.000 mil millones. Lo que nos implica una reducción de aproximadamente el 30%”

• “General Jorge Romero Sale del Ejercito Tras las Investigaciones de Semana” (Semana (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

El hasta ahora jefe del Comando de Apoyo Integral y Desarrollo fue llamado a calificar servicios. Varios testimonios lo involucran en una especie de cartel para la venta de salvoconductos de armas, entre otras conductas irregulares

• “Dinamicas de la Confrontacion Armada y Afectacion Humanitaria” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), July 10, 2019).

En el primer semestre de 2019 tanto los combates de la Fuerza Pública, como los enfrentamientos entre grupos armados ilegales tuvieron incrementos. El actor armado más activo fue el ELN, seguido por las disidencias de las FARC

El Salvador

• Melissa del Bosque, “Immigration Officials Use Secretive Gang Databases to Deny Migrant Asylum Claims” (ProPublica, July 10, 2019).

The information is being provided through a new “fusion” intelligence-gathering center in El Salvador that is funded by the State Department and works in tandem with the Department of Homeland Security

Guatemala

• “Guatemala: Red Alert for Threats to Justice and Human Rights” (Amnesty International, July 10, 2019).

In Last Chance for Justice, the organization exposes the serious setbacks and imminent risks to human rights in Guatemala as a result of measures taken by the Jimmy Morales administration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office led by Consuelo Porras, the judiciary, and the national Congress

Mexico

• Nick Miroff, “Border Arrests Drop as Mexico’s Migration Crackdown Appears to Cut Crossings” (The Washington Post, July 10, 2019).

The number of people taken into custody along the U.S. southern border fell 28 percent in June, a drop that U.S. authorities say reflects the early impact of Mexico’s crackdown on Central American migration

• “Us Returns First Asylum Seekers to Violent Nuevo Laredo” (Associated Press, The New York Times, July 10, 2019).

The 10 migrants crossed the border to seek U.S. asylum Monday and will now have to wait in Mexico as their applications are processed

• Kate Morrissey, “Tijuana Asylum Line Reaches Highest Count on Record as Migrants Protest Long Waits” (The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 10, 2019).

An estimated 9,150 people are now waiting in the Mexican border city to request asylum in the United States

• Andrew Selee, “Mexico’s Migration Dilemmas” (Migration Policy Institute, Foreign Affairs, July 10, 2019).

The López Obrador administration has adopted an enforcement-first approach to migration, just as previous Mexican administrations have done when faced with pressure from Washington

Nicaragua

• “Daniel Ortega’s Most Wanted: Nicaragua’s Exiles in Costa Rica” (The Guardian (Uk), July 10, 2019).

Costa Rica has become a precarious refuge for thousands of Nicaraguan exiles. In the streets of San José, they continue to feel President Ortega’s reach

Venezuela

• Abraham Lowenthal, David Smilde, “Venezuela: Is There a Way Out of Its Tragic Impasse?” (Woodrow Wilson Center, July 10, 2019).

Lowenthal and Smilde offer insights about the ways that transitions have worked in the past, with reference to specific aspects of the Venezuelan case

• Francesco Manetto, “Guaido Retoma la Negociacion Con el Chavismo Pese a las Criticas de Parte de la Oposicion” (El Pais (Spain), July 10, 2019).

Mientras el ala radical de la oposición le demanda mayor dureza con el chavismo, el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional tampoco se atreve a eludir el intento de una negociación