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August 14, 2020
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Nick Miroff, “Dhs’s Changing Mission Leaves Its Founders Dismayed as Critics Call for a Breakup” (The Washington Post, August 14, 2020).
The president took office with immigration enforcement plans that placed DHS at the forefront of his domestic agenda. In the three and a half years since, the White House has run the department as an instrument of policy and politics
Bolivia
- Miguel Angel Melendres Galvis, “Ministerio de Gobierno Advierte Que en Chapare se Gesta una “Narcoguerrilla”” (El Deber (Bolivia), August 14, 2020).
El viceministro de Régimen Interior y Policía, Javier Issa, alertó que en el Chapare cochabambino se gesta una “narcoguerrilla”, luego de identificar a algunas personas que exhibieron armas de fuego en los puntos de bloqueo
- “Protests and the Pandemic Bring Chaos to Bolivia” (The Economist (Uk), August 14, 2020).
Politically unstable when the pandemic hit, Bolivia is descending into chaos
Brazil
- “Southcom Hosts New U.S. Space Force ‘U.S.-Brazil Space Engagement Talks’” (U.S. Southern Command, August 14, 2020).
Not only is this the first senior space flag officer event between the U.S. and Brazil, but it is the first such event for the U.S. Space Force
Colombia
- “Los Indices de Impunidad Que Involucran Empresarios Con el Conflicto Son Altos” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 14, 2020).
Hay acusaciones a 439 actores económicos acusados de haber financiado o colaborado con grupos armados al margen de la ley en el conflicto colombiano, pero las condenas son casi nulas
- “Campesinos de Vista Hermosa, Bajo la Estigmatizacion de la Fuerza Publica” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), August 14, 2020).
Los últimos enfrentamientos entre campesinos y miembros del Ejército, ocurridos en la vereda Nueva Colombia, ilustran las ya constantes agresiones por la que atraviesan las comunidades de la región del Guayabero
- “Glifosato: Comunidades Dicen No a Reuniones Citadas por Policia” (Semana (Colombia), August 14, 2020).
Mientras la Policía y la Anla continúan los trámites que le permitirían al Gobierno hacer fumigaciones aéreas con glifosato, diferentes colectivos adelantan campaña para no legitimar los espacios propuestos
- “La Flip Le Exige al Ejercito Nacional Que Esclarezca las Circunstancias del Asesinato del Reportero Abelardo Liz” (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (Colombia), August 14, 2020).
El ataque se presentó en medio del operativo que adelantaba el Ejército Nacional para desalojar a las comunidades indígenas de las haciendas Granadita y Gracia Arriba
- Camilo Pardo Quintero, “¿Que Pasa Con la Seguridad en Cali?” (El Espectador (Colombia), August 14, 2020).
A la masacre en la que murieron cinco menores de edad en el barrio Llano Verde, de la Comuna 15, le siguió ayer una explosión junto al CAI del sector, ocurrida en pleno momento del velorio
- “Colombian Authorities Must Seek Justice for Brutal Massacre of 5 Afro-Colombian Teenagers” (Washington Office on Latin America, August 14, 2020).
This occurred in Llano Verde, a neighborhood in eastern Cali where the majority of families were forcibly displaced as a result of the armed conflict
- Andrea Shalal, “U.S. Plans Major Investment Program With Colombia: White House” (Reuters, Reuters, August 14, 2020).
Colombia is primed to play a pioneering role in the Trump administration’s “Back to the Americas” initiative, Mauricio Claver-Carone, U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser on Latin America, told Reuters
El Salvador
- Seth Robbins, Hector Silva Avalos, “Homicide Drop in el Salvador: Presidential Triumph or Gang Trend?” (InsightCrime, August 14, 2020).
El Salvador’s downward trend in homicides suggests that gang cells in the streets have chosen not to battle with Bukele’s troops or among themselves
Honduras
- “¿Es Honduras una Sociedad Militarizada?” (Criterio (Honduras), August 14, 2020).
En la última década en Honduras ha sido prevaleciente la presencia de militares en las calles reprimiendo protestas sociales, interviniendo instituciones como salud y educación y hasta ocupando titularidades de secretarías de estado
- Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), “Rep. Omar Leads Letter to Condemn Trump Administration’s Plan to Invest in Controversial Projects in Honduras” (U.S. House of Representatives, August 14, 2020).
By any reasonable standard, the human rights and environmental impacts of the Jilamito hydropower project and the record of both Ingelsa and the Honduran state should have prevented this investment from going forward
Mexico
- “How Will Mexico’s President Handle “el Mencho”, a Kingpin on the Rise?” (The Economist (Uk), August 14, 2020).
He has had 20 months in office to prove that his pacific policy can work, but so far the results are disappointing. American pressure, and El Mencho’s outrages, could oblige him to adopt tactics he has hitherto resisted
Nicaragua
- “U.S. Support for a Return to Democracy in Nicaragua” (U.S. Department of State, August 14, 2020).
In the more than two years since the government of Nicaragua launched a brutal crackdown on the country’s citizens, the U.S. continues to exert economic and diplomatic pressure
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Adolfo Flores, “A Girl Fleeing the Men Who Raped Her Came to the Us Seeking Protection, but Ice Quickly Sent Her Back” (BuzzFeed, August 14, 2020).
Since March, 110,107 immigrants have been quickly sent back to their home countries without so much as a court hearing under the new policy
Venezuela
- C. Todd Lopez, “Southcom Chief: Venezuela’s Maduro at Center of ‘Vicious Circle of Threats’” (U.S. Department of Defense, August 14, 2020).
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro continues to serve as a threat to the democratic freedom in neighboring nations in South America, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said
- Benoit Faucon, Aruna Viswanatha, “U.S. Seizes Iranian Fuel Cargo for First Time” (The Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2020).
One official said the vessels had been taken over without the use of military force but didn’t provide any details
- “Jefe del Comando Sur: «Miro Con Alarmas Lo Que Esta Haciendo Rusia en Venezuela»” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), August 14, 2020).
Craig Faller destacó que el Comando Sur está atento a lo que ocurre en la región y dijo que Maduro se sostiene por actividades ilegales y la influencia rusa