(Even more here)

July 8, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Abraham Mahshie, “Southcom Commander Describes Chinese and Russian Threats in the Americas” (The Washington Examiner, July 8, 2020).

The great power threats that exist in the Western Hemisphere look different than those in other parts of the globe, U.S. Southern Command’s Adm. Craig Faller told the Washington Examiner

Brazil

• “Brazil Starts Producing Swedish Gripen Jets” (DefenseNews, July 8, 2020).

Saab Aeronáutica Montagens, a new manufacturing plant located near Sao Paulo, has begun producing Gripen E/F aerostructures, including the tail cone and front fuselage for the single-seat Gripen E version of the jet

• Tom Phillips, “Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Tests Positive for Coronavirus” (The Guardian, July 8, 2020).

“It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters

• Felipe Araujo, “Brazil Must Address Its Own Racist Police Violence” (Foreign Policy, July 8, 2020).

Brazilian police are among the world’s deadliest, and Rio’s are the country’s most lethal

Caribbean Regional, Western Hemisphere Regional

• Sam Lagrone, “Destroyers Continue to Prowl 4th Fleet as Coast Guard, Navy Rack Up $1b in Drug Seizures” (USNI News, July 8, 2020).

The Navy has had more warships operating in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific in the last three months than it has in the last five years

Colombia

• Ricardo Monsalve Gaviria, “Briceno, Piloto de Proyectos de Paz Que Aun No Cuajan” (El Colombiano (Medellin Colombia), July 8, 2020).

Han pasado cinco años de esos anuncios para un municipio que fue escenario de guerra y después pasó a ser llamado “el laboratorio de la paz”, y parece que todo se hubiera derrumbado

• “United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia Report of the Secretary-General” (UN, July 8, 2020).

The report covers the period from 27 March to 26 June 2020

• “Gobierno Le Dice No a Propuesta del Eln para Cese al Fuego Bilateral” (Semana (Colombia), July 8, 2020).

La propuesta de esa guerrilla era “crear un clima de distensión humanitaria” para reiniciar los diálogos de paz, pero no hizo mención alguna a la posibilidad de liberar secuestrados o algún otro gesto humanitario

• Jose David Escobar Moreno, “El Mapa de las Denuncias Contra la Fuerza Publica por Violencia Sexual” (El Espectador (Colombia), July 8, 2020).

La ONG Temblores armó, con base en datos de Medicina Legal, un extenso listado sobre víctimas que denunciaron haber sido violadas por policías o militares entre 2017 y 2019

El Salvador

• Efren Lemus, Carlos Martinez, Oscar Martinez, “Nueva Informacion de la Reunion Entre Mario Duran y Renuente de la Ms-13” (El Faro (El Salvador), July 8, 2020).

En diciembre de 2015 el actual ministro de Gobernación y pre candidato a alcalde de San Salvador por Nuevas Ideas, Mario Durán, se reunió en persona con uno de los más influyentes líderes de la Mara Salvatrucha-13

Guatemala

• Alex Papadovassilakis, Hector Silva Avalos, “Attack on Top Court Threatens Constitutional Crisis in Guatemala” (InsightCrime, July 8, 2020).

The attempt to strip immunity from the Constitutional Court judges is the latest salvo by Guatemala’s elites and their political allies in their assault on independent bodies that have taken on corruption investigations

Honduras

• Charles Call, “Fleeting Success: The Legacy of Honduras’ International Anti-Corruption Mission” (SSRN, July 8, 2020).

This report draws conclusions about the legacy and lessons of MACCIH, analyzing the political, juridical, social, and institutional impact of the OAS Mission

Honduras, Venezuela

• Julieta Pelcastre, “Honduras Shuts Spaces to Venezuelan Narcotrafficking” (Dialogo (U.S. Southern Command), July 8, 2020).

A commission including representatives from Honduras, the United States, and Venezuela’s interim government traveled to Gracias a Dios department to assess the modus operandi of the Cartel of the Suns

Mexico

• Kirk Semple, Paulina Villegas, Natalie Kitroeff, “Years After 43 Mexican Students Vanished, a Victim’s Remains Are Found” (The New York Times, July 8, 2020).

The identification of one victim’s remains is the first sign of progress in years in a case that traumatized Mexico and became a symbol of corruption and injustice

• Natalie Kitroeff, “‘a Colossal Error’: Mexican Leader Under Fire for Plan to Visit Trump” (The New York Times, July 8, 2020).

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will meet in the White House this week with President Trump, and he said he planned to praise the administration for its “respectful treatment” of Mexicans

• Azam Ahmed, Michael Crowley, “Mexico’s Leader Sought Harmony With Trump. He Got a Lopsided Relationship.” (The New York Times, July 8, 2020).

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, visiting the White House Wednesday, has avoided fighting the Trump administration. Critics say he is too willing to bend to the American president’s will

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Suzanne Gamboa, “Latino Lawmakers, Group Blast Trump White House Meeting With Mexico’s Lopez Obrador” (NBC News, July 8, 2020).

Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” asylum policies have put migrants at risk of cartel violence and human trafficking and coronavirus infection, Castro said

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Murat Oztaskin, ““Usa v Scott” and the Fight to Prove That Humanitarian Aid Is Not a Crime” (The New Yorker, July 8, 2020).

Ora DeKornfeld and Isabel Castro’s short documentary “USA v Scott” highlights the moral questions facing an Arizona community when Scott Warren was prosecuted for bringing water to migrants in the desert

• Christina Leza, “What Is the U.S.-Mexico Border to Indigenous Peoples Who Have Lived There?” (Yes! Magazine, July 8, 2020).

Indigenous peoples tend to understand and talk about the U.S.-Mexico border in different terms from those who understand the border to be an agreement between governments, often describing the border as artificial or “imaginary”

• Jill Biden, Julissa Reynoso, “E Pluribus Unum Is on the Ballot This November” (The Washington Post, July 8, 2020).

Joe Biden is deeply committed to fair treatment for those who have made the painful decision of leaving their countries behind in hopes of finding the American Dream. As president, he will restore asylum protections and make sure that children are kept safe with their families

Venezuela

• Luisa Quintero, “Maduro Ratifica a su Ministro de Defensa Vladimir Padrino y Renueva la Cupula Militar” (EFE, El Comercio (Peru), July 8, 2020).

Padrino desató esta semana las críticas de la oposición, que le tildó de “cobarde”, “indigno” y “violador de la Constitución”

• Vivian Sequera, “Venezuela Poverty Rate Surges Amid Economic Collapse, Inflation – Study” (Reuters, Reuters, July 8, 2020).

When measured solely by income levels, some 96% of the population lives in poverty, a figure unmatched elsewhere in the region and comparable to poor African countries like Nigeria or Chad

• “La Oposicion Venezolana Ante un Callejon Sin Salida: Ir a Elecciones o Quedarse Sin Nada” (EFE, El Comercio (Peru), July 8, 2020).

Los opositores a Nicolás Maduro todavía no deciden si participarán en las elecciones para la Asamblea Nacional del próximo 6 de diciembre, con el cuestionado Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) como árbitro