Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images photo at The Guardian. Caption: “Jair Bolsonaro coughs as he speaks in Brasilia Sunday.”

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April 21, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

As the countries of this hemisphere contend with the mounting public health crisis, the relative silence of the United States is deafening

Criminal gangs are suffering from disrupted supply chains. For governments, this presents a rare opportunity to take back control of areas run by organised crime

The president’s announcement caught some senior Department of Homeland Security officials off guard, and the agency did not respond to questions and requests to explain Trump’s plan

Brazil

Indigenous Brazilians are demanding a missionary group based in Florida with deep ties to far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stay off their lands

Far-right president deemed ‘deplorable’ for flouting social distancing rules again – while coughing repeatedly – to bolster protests amid coronavirus

Colombia

Según la Comisión, la implementación del enfoque de género ha sido fragmentada e insuficiente. Consideran que el Estado no ha tenido una comprensión integral ni transversal del tema

Pablo Beltrán, del Comando Central del Eln, habló con EL TIEMPO sobre cese unilateral de abril

Una de las razones de esos ataques, dice, es la defensa que han hecho del proceso de paz

Tenemos conocimiento directo de la grave situación que afrontan las víctimas y defensores de derechos humanos en las regiones. A continuación se comparten las principales denuncias de las víctimas que acompañamos

La propuesta de Iván Cepeda fue acogida por Mindefensa: los recursos para armas irán para la salud

El Salvador

Ninguna democracia puede funcionar como funciona El Salvador ahora mismo: el presidente tuitea y los militares salen a las calles a cumplir la orden

Haiti

Three migrants the United States deported two weeks ago to Haiti, on a flight that raised objections from human rights advocates, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while in quarantine

Mexico

Trauma is a common thread for the Central Americans, Cubans, Haitians, West Africans and others who come through this city of 350,000 near Mexico’s border with Guatemala

Los 3.5 kilómetros que tiene la avenida Gustavo Baz, en la colonia Benito Juárez, están abarrotados de negocios que, pese al llamado a quedarse en casa, mantenían sus puertas abiertas

In Cancún, at least four cartels are thought to be contesting routes to smuggle cocaine in from South America and a local drug market targeting tourists and locals

Close to 200 active criminal groups act as guardians and protectors of communities while using extortion, kidnapping, and violence

The continued flow of various weapons to the Pentagon during the pandemic will depend to a surprising degree on Mexico

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

Fourteen of the infected migrants from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and Cameroon were staying at a migrant shelter in the city of Nuevo Laredo

About 10% of all positive cases in the state of Tamaulipas are migrants who were either repatriated to Mexico or foreigners deported from U.S.

Peru

Riot police in Peru have blockaded a major highway and fired teargas into crowds of people attempting to flee the capital city and return on foot to their rural hometowns

Peru, Venezuela

Even before the coronavirus pandemic forced borders to close in March, several governments in the region were taking aggressive steps to stem the flow of migrants

U.S.-Mexico Border

The United States, Canada and Mexico will extend restrictions barring nonessential travel across their respective shared borders for another 30 days amid the coronavirus pandemic

Many of today’s asylum seekers, especially those from Central America and Mexico (which, taken together, account for most of the people seeking asylum in the United States), are fleeing non-state persecutors

Venezuela

Un abogado por escribir una queja en Facebook, un médico por tener “una conducta hostil” con la policía y en Falcón tres productores del campo y un abogado, tras las protestas en la población de Churuguara

Migrants who have been forced to return to Venezuela because of the COVID-19 crisis risk human rights abuses as the government fails to respond to the crisis

Venezuela, Western Hemisphere Regional

The exodus of Venezuelans as well as Nicaraguans and Central Americans from their countries has been met with varying levels of welcome