April 21, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Paul Angelo, Rebecca Bill Chavez, “Amid Covid-19, China Ups Its Game in Latin America” (The New York Times, April 21, 2020).
As the countries of this hemisphere contend with the mounting public health crisis, the relative silence of the United States is deafening
- Alejandro Hope, “Narcos Are Suffering From the Covid-19 Lockdown Too” (The Financial Times (UK), April 21, 2020).
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
- Nick Miroff, Josh Dawsey, Teo Armus, “Trump Says He Will Issue Order to Suspend Immigration During Coronavirus Crisis, Closing Off the United States to a New Extreme” (The Washington Post, April 21, 2020).
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
- Travis Waldron, “Amazon Tribes Say Christian Missionaries Threaten ‘Genocide’ During Pandemic” (The Huffington Post, April 21, 2020).
Indigenous Brazilians are demanding a missionary group based in Florida with deep ties to far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stay off their lands
- Tom Phillips, “Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Denounced for Joining Pro-Dictatorship Rally” (The Guardian, April 21, 2020).
Far-right president deemed ‘deplorable’ for flouting social distancing rules again – while coughing repeatedly – to bolster protests amid coronavirus
Colombia
- Andrea Carolina Tapia Godoy, “Asi Va el Enfoque de Genero en el Acuerdo de Paz” (El Tiempo (Colombia), April 21, 2020).
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
- “‘Que Gobierno Ponga los Temas, los Lleve a la Mesa y los Discutimos’” (El Tiempo (Colombia), April 21, 2020).
Pablo Beltrán, del Comando Central del Eln, habló con EL TIEMPO sobre cese unilateral de abril
- “¿por Que la Violencia se Ensano Contra los Lideres Sociales en Cauca?” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), April 21, 2020).
Una de las razones de esos ataques, dice, es la defensa que han hecho del proceso de paz
- “Denuncia Publica: El covid19 Agrava la Situacion Humanitaria de las Victimas del Conflicto Armado” (Comision Colombiana de Juristas (Colombia), April 21, 2020).
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
- “100 Mil Millones de Mindefensa se Destinaran para Atender Emergencia” (El Tiempo (Colombia), April 21, 2020).
La propuesta de Iván Cepeda fue acogida por Mindefensa: los recursos para armas irán para la salud
El Salvador
- Oscar Martinez, “Bukele, el Autoritario” (El Faro, The New York Times, April 21, 2020).
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
- Sarah Marsh, Andre Paultre, “Haitian Source Says Three Deportees From U.S. Have Coronavirus” (Reuters, Reuters, April 21, 2020).
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
- Benjamin Russell, “The Hidden Mental Health Crisis at Mexico’s Border” (Americas Quarterly, April 21, 2020).
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
- Manuel Alejandro Godinez, “Guardia Nacional y Policia Municipal Cierran Negocios “No Esenciales” en Neza” (Proceso (Mexico), April 21, 2020).
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
- David Agren, “Cancun: From Tourist Beach Paradise to Hotbed of Mexico’s Drug Violence” (The Guardian, April 21, 2020).
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
- Falko Ernst, “Mexican Criminal Groups See Covid-19 Crisis as Opportunity to Gain More Power” (The Guardian, April 21, 2020).
Close to 200 active criminal groups act as guardians and protectors of communities while using extortion, kidnapping, and violence
- Marcus Weisgerber, “Pentagon Urges Mexico to Reopen Covid-Closed Factories That Supply Us Weapon Makers” (Defense One, April 21, 2020).
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
- “Mexico: 14 Migrants Get Covid-19 After Us Deports Man With Virus” (Al Jazeera, April 21, 2020).
Fourteen of the infected migrants from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and Cameroon were staying at a migrant shelter in the city of Nuevo Laredo
- Valerie Gonzalez, “16 Migrants in Tamaulipas Test Positive for Coronavirus” (KRGV (McAllen Texas), April 21, 2020).
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
- Dan Collyns, “Peru: Riot Police Block Highway as People Attempt to Flee Amid Lockdown” (The Guardian, April 21, 2020).
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
- Brian Winter, “The Backlash to Venezuelan Migration Is Here” (Americas Quarterly, April 21, 2020).
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
- Brett Samuels, “Us Announces Extended Travel Restrictions With Mexico, Canada” (The Hill, April 21, 2020).
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
- John Washington, “The Long, Winding, and Painful Story of Asylum” (The Nation, April 21, 2020).
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
- Reynaldo Mozo Zambrano, “Seis Personas Detenidas las Ultimas 48 Horas por Protestar y Opinar” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), April 21, 2020).
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
- Rafael Uzcategui, “Migrants’ Return to Venezuela Becomes a Nightmare” (OpenDemocracy (UK), April 21, 2020).
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
- Brendan o’boyle, “How Latin American Countries and Cities Have Welcomed Migrants” (Americas Quarterly, April 21, 2020).
The exodus of Venezuelans as well as Nicaraguans and Central Americans from their countries has been met with varying levels of welcome