(Even more here)

December 15, 2020

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), “How Joe Biden Must Build an All Americas Foreign Policy to Lead” (The Hill, December 15, 2020).

No president today would name high ranked foreign policy staff without including individuals with knowledge and background on China, Europe, or the Middle East. The same needs to be true for Latin America and the Caribbean

• Cassandra Garrison, “In Latin America, a Biden White House Faces a Rising China” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

Under Trump, China has left the United States trailing in terms of power and influence across most of Latin America

• Dianne Solis, “Though Daca Survived Supreme Court Ruling, Texas Court Case Could End Immigration Program” (Dallas Morning News, The Chicago Tribune, December 15, 2020).

Notably, the federal judge in the Texas case, brought by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, has ruled against two other deferred action programs initiated by the Obama administration

Brazil

• “The Rise of the Pcc: How South America’s Most Powerful Prison Gang Is Spreading in Brazil and Beyond” (CLALS, InsightCrime, SSRN, December 15, 2020).

The report describes the origins of the PCC, its unique model of organization, and its ability to regulate criminal markets in the areas it controls

Chile

• Carlos Reyes P., “Pinera Rechaza Proyecto de Indulto General para Detenidos en el Estallido Social y Anticipa Que de Ser Necesario el Gobierno “Utilizara su Facultad de Veto”” (La Tercera (Chile), December 15, 2020).

El Mandatario aseguró que la iniciativa “atenta contra el orden público, la seguridad ciudadana, la democracia y el Estado de derecho”

Colombia

• Juanita Velez, Kyle Johnson, “Ni Solo Coca Ni Solo Disidencias: Radiografia de los Ex Farc Asesinados” (Conflict Responses, 070 (Universidad de los Andes Colombia), December 15, 2020).

La hipótesis del Gobierno que culpa a las disidencias vinculadas al narcotráfico no deja ver las diferencias entre cada asesinato ni ayuda a comprender o resolver el problema

• Mateo Medina Abad, “Asi se Descontamina Colombia” (Semana Rural (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

SEMANA RURAL le explica en qué va el desminado humanitario en el país y cómo los excombatientes están aportando en el proceso

• “Asi Funcionaba la Red Narcotrafico de Alias “Servi”, Jefe de la Oficina Que Sera Extraditado a ee.uu” (El Espectador (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

Una de las cabezas de esta organización creada por Pablo Escobar en los ochenta, usa el contrabando para legalizar dinero del narcotráfico

• “Liderazgos Sometidos por los Fusiles” (Verdad Abierta (Colombia), December 15, 2020).

Grupos armados ilegales, algunos heredados del paramilitarismo, cooptan no sólo las gestiones de líderes y lideresas del departamento de Córdoba, sino la vida misma de las comunidades

Colombia, Venezuela

• “Disorder on the Border: Keeping the Peace Between Colombia and Venezuela” (International Crisis Group, December 15, 2020).

The two countries should urgently reopen communication channels to lower tensions and lessen the suffering of migrants who cross the border

Cuba

• Javier Corrales, “Cuba’s Racial Reckoning, and What It Means for Biden” (Americas Quarterly, December 15, 2020).

Like the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, the N27 protest was sparked by police brutality against Afro-Cubans

• Jacobo Garcia, “Liberado el Escritor Cubano Carlos Manuel Alvarez, Detenido al Intentar Salir de su Domicilio” (El Pais (Spain), December 15, 2020).

El director de la revista ‘El Estornudo’ y colaborador de EL PAÍS fue puesto en libertad tras seis horas detenido. El escritor se encuentra bajo vigilancia desde que participó en el Movimiento San Isidro

Mexico

• Dolia Estevez, “¿Habra Consecuencias por las Trabas a la Dea?” (SinEmbargo (Mexico), December 15, 2020).

Tres presidentes consecutivos dieron órdenes de que los agentes de la DEA, el FBI, la CIA y el ICE, operaran en México con toda libertad

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Maya Srikrishnan, “What’s Behind Tijuana’s Violent Year” (Voice of San Diego, December 15, 2020).

The Sinaloa and Arellano Felix cartels have long been at war with each other for “turf.” After the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2016, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel became increasingly involved

Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

• Deisy Martinez, ““Hay 102 Personas Desaparecidas en Ruta Hacia Trinidad y Tobago”, Afirman Diputados” (Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela), December 15, 2020).

Diputados de la Asamblea Nacional (AN) continúan recabando información sobre lo ocurrido y se evalúan acciones ante organismos internacionales de derechos humanos

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Max Rivlin-Nadler, “Border Patrol Rushing to Build New 30-Foot Barriers at Friendship Park” (KPBS (Los Angeles), December 15, 2020).

Border Patrol has told the stewards of the park that it plans to quickly replace the two fences that line it with two thirty-foot fences made of metal bollards

• Jenn Budd, “Congress Must Pass the Missing Persons & Unidentified Remains Act of 2020” (Medium, December 15, 2020).

Congress must pass the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2020 (H.R. 8772). It is a true unicorn of legislation in that it has wide bipartisan support

• Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “Families at Border Present Familiar Test for Biden’s Homeland Security Pick” (The New York Times, December 15, 2020).

The Biden administration will be expected to balance demands for more lenient policies with moderates’ concerns that any show of tolerance could lead to more illegal migration

• Mimi Dwyer, Ted Hesson, Laura Gottesdiener, “Biden’s Pledges Could Spur More Migration. But in a Pandemic, the Border Is Unprepared” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

U.S. border officials and shelter directors along the border are concerned about the effects of a major surge in migration in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, as is the Biden transition team

• Cat Cardenas, “Asylum Seekers in Matamoros Celebrated Joe Biden’s Victory. But the Final Weeks of the Trump Administration Are Bringing Fresh Anxiety.” (Texas Monthly, December 15, 2020).

Immigration advocates are hopeful that the Biden administration will work to reverse the regulations, but doing so could take as many as sixty days

Venezuela

• “Venezuela: Justice Needed for Systematic Abuses” (Human Rights Watch, December 15, 2020).

The new report from the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s office, indicating that the office’s examination of possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela is moving forward, advances the search for justice

• Angus Berwick, Sarah Kinosian, “Maduro Wields Powerful Hate Law Against Remaining Foes in Venezuela” (Reuters, Reuters, December 15, 2020).

A Reuters review of over 40 recent arrests found in each case that authorities used the law to detain critics of the president, his aides or allies