(Even more here)

February 21, 2020

El Salvador

• “El Salvador: Bukele Vuelve a Rodearse de Militares para Criticar a Congresistas” (DW (Germany), February 21, 2020).

El mandatario reiteró sus señalamientos a la oposición ante soldados que estarán apoyando en su lucha contra el crimen organizado

Guatemala, Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Arelis R. Hernandez, Kevin Sieff, “Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program Dwindles as More Immigrants Are Flown to Guatemala or Are Quickly Deported” (The Washington Post, February 21, 2020).

Instead of allowing Central American migrants access to U.S. courts and having them wait in Mexican border towns, thegovernment instead is quickly sending them to Guatemala to pursue asylum claims there

Mexico

• “Mas de 90 Personas Fueron Asesinadas Cada Dia de Enero de 2020 en Mexico, Revela el Secretariado” (EFE, SinEmbargo (Mexico), February 21, 2020).

Una media mensual de 93 asesinatos diarios, apenas por debajo de la media anual del 2018 que era de 94 casos por día

Nicaragua

• Lucia Navas, “El General Julio Cesar Aviles Inicia Critico Tercer Mandato al Frente del Ejercito” (La Prensa (Nicaragua), February 21, 2020).

El general Julio César Avilés habrá cumplido casi 12 años al frente del Ejército cuando se realicen las próximas elecciones

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Meghann Myers, “As More Border Wall Goes Up, Troops Could Start Heading Home” (Military Times, February 21, 2020).

Roughly 5,000 troops are currently stationed on the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a mission that began in late 2018, and officials have said that will wind down as new barriers secure hundreds of miles

• Eric Katz, “Lawmakers Threaten Subpoena for Disciplinary Info on Border Agents Posting Racist Facebook Messages” (Government Executive, February 21, 2020).

To date, the House Oversight and Reform Committee said, CBP has not provided any information about the punishments meted out to any of the employees involved

• “White House Releases National Drug Interdiction Plan, Border Strategies” (The White House, February 21, 2020).

Additionally, the Administration released two counternarcotics strategies, outlining priorities in stopping the flow of drugs along both the Southwest and Northern borders

Uruguay

• “An Interview With Uruguay’s President-Elect, Luis Lacalle Pou” (The Economist (Uk), February 21, 2020).

The homicide rate in Uruguay, a traditionally safe country of about 3.5m, shot up by 46% in 2018, to 11.8 per 100,000 people, lower than Brazil’s but higher than Argentina’s

Venezuela

• “Lima Group Urges World to Help Bring Stability to Venezuela” (Associated Press, The New York Times, February 21, 2020).

Canada hosted the gathering of foreign ministers from the coalition, minus the United States, which are trying to solve the Venezuela crisis

• Marcia Biggs, Frank Carlson, “A Year After the Rise of Juan Guaido, Venezuelans Are Still Waiting for Change” (PBS NewsHour, February 21, 2020).

For residents opposed to the socialist regime of President Nicolas Maduro, the 2019 rise of opposition leader Juan Guaido offered a moment of hope that has yet to deliver

• Javier Ignacio Mayorca, “Escudo Bolivariano” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), February 21, 2020).

Las últimas maniobras de la Fuerza Armada colocan a una buena parte de la población como “enemiga” del régimen y, por ende, susceptible de ser objetivo militar en un contexto de conflicto

• “A Glut of Arms: Curbing the Threat to Venezuela From Violent Groups” (International Crisis Group, February 21, 2020).

Power in Venezuela is slipping away from state institutions and concentrating in the hands of criminals, guerrillas and other non-state actors. Any new negotiations between government and opposition must consider how to defang these armed irregulars