(Even more here)

June 26, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• “The Lessons of the 1930s and 1980s for Latin America” (The Economist (Uk), June 26, 2020).

If the 1930s and the 1980s are any guide, the current slump may prompt regime change

• Robbie Gramer, Jack Detsch, “Trump Mulls Ending Heads-Up to Congress on U.S. Weapons Sales” (Foreign Policy, June 26, 2020).

It would eliminate a practice dating back to the 1970s of informally notifying Congress of planned arms sales well in advance, so that lawmakers and congressional staffers, the State Department, and Pentagon officials can hash out concerns

• Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), “Statement on the Inter-American Development Bank” (U.S. Senate, June 26, 2020).

Electing Mr. Claver-Carone to a five-year term just weeks before the U.S. presidential election, coupled with his unpopularity with some Members of Congress, including key members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, would not bode well for United States support for the Bank

• “Trump Administration to Asylum Seekers: Find a Homeless Shelter” (Mother Jones, June 26, 2020).

“Asylum seekers who are concerned about homelessness during the pendency of their employment authorization waiting period should become familiar with the homelessness resources provided by the state where they intend to reside”

• Robert Barnes, Nick Miroff, “Supreme Court Agrees With Trump Administration on Limits for Asylum Seekers” (The Washington Post, June 26, 2020).

Two of the court’s liberals dissented, and the other two agreed only with the outcome in the specific case

Brazil

• Marco Hernandez, Simon Scarr, Anthony Boadle, “The Threatened Tribe” (Reuters, Reuters, June 26, 2020).

Satellite images show how a lust for gold is damaging Brazil’s remote Amazon

• Julia Leite, Simone Preissler Iglesias, Martha Viotti Beck, Ethan Bronner, “The Pandemic’s Worst-Case Scenario Is Unfolding in Brazil” (Bloomberg, June 26, 2020).

With local officials now lifting quarantines despite continued growth in cases, it’s conceivable that, when Covid-19 finally recedes, Brazil will have been hit harder than any other country

Colombia

• Ariel Ávila, “Vender Armas, Como Vender Dulces” (Semana (Colombia), June 26, 2020).

Luego de meses de investigación se logró tener acceso a un archivo de investigación oficial sobre un presunto caso de tráfico de armas que involucra a la Cuarta Brigada del Ejército

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Los Golpes al Ejercito Que Le Propinan Sus Propios Soldados” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), June 26, 2020).

Este tipo de hechos se suma a escándalos de corrupción, chuzadas ilegales, seguimientos irregulares a periodistas, políticos y otras personas, que han estallado recientemente

• Laura Cano, “Abusos Sexuales en el Ejercito, una Historia Que se Repite” (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación (Colombia), June 26, 2020).

¿Hacia dónde va el discurso de indignación institucional si con un juego de palabras pareciese que pretenden evadir la gravedad de lo cometido por el Ejército?

• “El Desafortunado Trino de Maria Fernanda Cabal” (El Tiempo (Colombia), June 26, 2020).

Infiere, según el trino y el retuit que ella hace, que se trataría de un falso positivo para afectar la imagen de la institución militar

• “Ejercito y Narcotrafico: Verdugos de la Sustitucion de la Coca” (Contagio Radio (Colombia), June 26, 2020).

Hablamos con Deivin Hurtado, vocero de la Coordinadora Nacional de Cultivadores de Coca, Amapola y Marihuana (COCCAM); quien explicó el estado de la sustitución voluntaria en Colombia a la luz de tres factores de riesgo

• Camila Osorio, “A Community’s Struggle to Protect Itself From Land Mines in the Colombian Amazon” (The New Yorker, June 26, 2020).

Tom Laffay’s documentary “Siona” offers a ten-minute closeup look into the courageous demining work that Mera and her group are undertaking for the well-being of the Siona people

Guatemala

• Ricardo Marroquin, “El Video del Homicidio de Edgar Ic Activa una Alarma Sobre la Pnc” (Plaza Publica (Guatemala), June 26, 2020).

Un video recuperado por el MP demuestra que la víctima ya estaba sometida cuando recibió un disparo en la cabeza. Las imágenes contradicen la versión del parte oficial

Honduras

• Eric L. Olson, “Contradictory Signals Undermine U.S. Credibility in Honduras and Central America” (Univision, June 26, 2020).

The United States would be prudent to avoid sharing counter narcotics intelligence with the President of Honduras, someone who could be tied to drug traffickers, according to prosecutors in New York

Mexico

• Sugeyry Romina Gandara, “Nos Preocupa Violar los Ddhh y Nos Estamos Capacitando para No Fallarle a los Mexicanos: Sedena” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (Sedena) mostró preocupación por su reputación en materia de derechos humanos y por el trato hacia la ciudadanía, por ese motivo implementaron capacitaciones

• Antonio Baranda, “Reconoce Ejercito Desgaste por Multitareas” (Reforma (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

Sostiene que ante esta “problemática” se requiere impulsar un liderazgo que priorice la disciplina militar y privilegie la moral del personal y el bienestar de sus familias

• Pedro MatÍas, “Ikoots de Santa Maria del Mar Piden Urgentemente la Guardia Nacional Ante Temor de un Ataque Armado” (Pagina 3 (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

“Los recientes hechos de muerte y dolor en la zona, nos dan razones suficientes para preocuparnos por nuestra integridad, somos los más pequeños, los más indefensos y los más alejados de esta franja costera”

• “Estos Son los 4 Carteles Que Operan en Edomex; Hay Posibles Alianzas para Mantener el Control: Sedena” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

El Secretario reveló que en la entidad se tiene presencia del Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Guerreros Unidos, Los Caballeros Templarios y La Familia Michoacana y destacó la existencia de posibles alianzas entre ellos

• Kevin Sieff, “Lopez Obrador’s Plan to Meet Trump in Washington Draws Criticism in Mexico” (The Washington Post, June 26, 2020).

López Obrador said he would travel to Washington in early July to mark the start of the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. But the timing has raised questions in Mexico

• Agustin Gutierrez Canet, “La Marcha de la Locura” (Milenio (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

Buena parte de la comunidad mexicana se sentiría abandonada por nuestro gobierno ante los ataques racistas de funcionarios estadounidenses, si no hay respuesta de nuestro gobierno

• Isabella Gonzalez, “Critican Ex Asesores Visita de Amlo a Trump” (Reforma (Mexico), June 26, 2020).

El ex asesor del ex Presidente de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama para América Latina, Dan Restrepo, y el ex asesor para América Latina del candidato presidencial Joe Biden, Juan S. González, criticaron la visita

• Alfredo Corchado, “Mexico’s President Endures Barrage of Criticism as He Announces He’ll Meet With Trump” (The Dallas Morning News, June 26, 2020).

Top Mexican American leaders, think tank groups and even former Mexican diplomats used words such as “a huge mistake” to describe the planned meeting. Others called López Obrador a “fraud”

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Meghann Myers, “The Military Is Drawing Down Its U.S.-Mexico Border Mission. Sort Of.” (Military Times, June 26, 2020).

Effectively, Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Christian Mitchell confirmed to Military Times, that means about 1,000 troops are going home

• Anne Gearan, Nick Miroff, Toluse Olorunnipa, “Trump Visits Border Barrier in Push of Immigration Message Amid Pandemic and Civil Unrest” (The Washington Post, June 26, 2020).

“It’s never mentioned anymore — the wall is never mentioned anymore,” Trump said during a roundtable in Yuma

• Anna Giaritelli, “Border Crisis on Tap as People Flee Economically Strapped Mexico and Central America” (The Washington Examiner, June 26, 2020).

The country’s top border official expects a dramatic rise in the number of migrants who flee home countries in Mexico and Central America

Venezuela

• “Enforced Disappearance as a Tool of Political Repression in Venezuela” (RFK Human Rights Center, June 26, 2020).

In a new report co-published with Foro Penal, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights documents how Venezuela’s Bolivarian regime has strategically used enforced disappearances to silence political opponents and other critical voices

• Kejal Vyas, Juan Forero, “Venezuelan Opposition Guru Led Planning to Topple Maduro” (The Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2020).

Leopoldo López, founder of Mr. Guaidó’s former political party, and other allies considered at least six proposals from private security contractors to carry out military incursions

• “How Venezuela’s Regime Plans to Win This Year’s Legislative Election” (The Economist (Uk), June 26, 2020).

With a legislative election due by December, this month the regime took two big steps to ensure it will not lose