April 3, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Kate Goldman, “No Masks, Disinfectant or Soap. This Is Detention Amid a Pandemic” (The New York Times, April 3, 2020).
Their lives are at risk even though many of them have committed no crime and if they have, it was that they crossed the border without authorization
Brazil
- Jonathan Watts, “Brazil: Coronavirus Fears Weaken Amazon Protection Ahead of Fire Season” (The Guardian, April 3, 2020).
Fewer law enforcement officials going into the field open door for land invasions, indigenous communities and NGOs warn
- Lisandra Paraguassu, Anthony Boadle, Ricardo Brito, “Brazil’s Bolsonaro Isolated, Weakened by Coronavirus Denial” (Reuters, Reuters, April 3, 2020).
Even top military officers in the government – who until now have neither publicly criticized nor defended Bolsonaro – sprang to Mandetta’s defense
- Jon Lee Anderson, “In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, Trump’s Close Ally, Dangerously Downplays the Coronavirus Risk” (The New Yorker, April 3, 2020).
Bolsonaro doesn’t seem likely to reform his delinquent behavior. “I’m sorry, some people will die. They will die—that’s life,” he said, in an interview on Friday
Colombia
- Gwen Burnyeat, Par Engstrom, Andrei Gomez Suarez, Jenny Pearce, “Justice After War: Innovations and Challenges of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace” (LSE Latin America and Caribbean, London School of Economics, April 3, 2020).
If this novel and innovative institution can achieve a fair and effective form of transitional justice that encompasses truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence, the country could make a significant shift into a new phase of peacebuilding and violence-reduction
- “Cese del Fuego del Eln Impactaria en Nueve Departamentos del Pais” (El Espectador (Colombia), April 3, 2020).
Según inteligencia oficial, el Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) actualmente está presente en 115 municipios del país
- “Van 71 Lideres Sociales y 20 Desmovilizados Asesinados Este Ano” (El Tiempo (Colombia), April 3, 2020).
El Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y la Paz (Indepaz) reportó que en lo corrido de este año han sido asesinados 71 líderes sociales o defensores de derechos humanos
Ecuador
- Tom Phillips, Blanca Moncada, “‘They’re Leaving Us to Die’: Ecuadorians’ Plead for Help as Virus Blazes Deadly Trail” (The Guardian, April 3, 2020).
Dead bodies kept in homes or dumped on roadsides as authorities and hospitals are overwhelmed by Covid-19 in Andean nation’s second city
Mexico
- Gloria Leticia DÍaz, “Ong de Mexico, Eu, Guatemala, el Salvador y Honduras Exigen la Destitucion del Comisionado del Inm” (Proceso (Mexico), April 3, 2020).
Al menos dos centenares de organizaciones de la sociedad civil de México, Estados Unidos, Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras, así como universidades y activistas, demandaron la destitución del comisionado del Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), Francisco Garduño Yáñez
- Ricardo Ravelo, “Amlo, el Amigo de los Narcos” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), April 3, 2020).
El Presidente está negociando con el narcotráfico que le permitan gobernar sin violencia. Aunque no lo dice con palabras, sus actos hablan y son más
Central America Regional, Mexico
- Conor Finnegan, Mel Madarang, “Mexico, Central America Urge Action to Stop Coronavirus Spreading From Us” (ABC News, April 3, 2020).
“ICE’s expectation is that each country will continue to meet its international obligation to accept its own nationals”
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Gail Emrick, “Protect Our Health Care Workers — Halt Border Wall Construction” (Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center, The Hill, April 3, 2020).
As a public health professional working to prevent illness in our U.S.-Mexico border communities, I am shocked that the non-essential construction of Trump’s border wall continues despite national, state and local emergency declarations
- “Wall Construction, Troops and Checkpoints Show Complete Disregard for Public Health” (Southern Border Communities Coalition, April 3, 2020).
The use of checkpoints, like the one in Temecula, California that stands between farmworkers and the nearest hospital, sends the wrong message at a time like this
- Dara Lind, “Leaked Border Patrol Memo Tells Agents to Send Migrants Back Immediately — Ignoring Asylum Law” (ProPublica, April 3, 2020).
The guidance provided to Border Patrol agents makes clear that asylum-seekers are being turned away unless they can persuade both a Border Patrol agent — as well as a higher-ranking Border Patrol official — that they will be tortured if sent home