(Even more here)

January 13, 2021

Western Hemisphere Regional

• Nancy San Martin, “Miami’s Spanish-Language Media Is Overrun With Trumpist Conspiracies” (Foreign Policy, January 13, 2021).

Social media influencers with large followings such as Cuban American YouTube celebrity Alexander Otaola argued there is a tendency among far-left liberals to “criminalize” Trumpism and warned “the opposition” that Democrats now have “absolute power”

• Jason Marczak, “How Trump and the Capitol Riot Aftershocks Can Be Felt in Latin American Countries” (NBC News, January 13, 2021).

The president’s terrible example could contribute to a backslide erasing decades of progress in the region’s many young democracies

Brazil

• Brian Winter, “Bolsonaro Goes All in on Trump. Isolation May Await” (Americas Quarterly, January 13, 2021).

He and his most loyal followers really do see themselves as visionary soldiers in a global battle against socialism and other ills, and if Brasília is to become the hemisphere’s sole remaining outpost, so much the better

Colombia

• Andrew Ivey, “The Post-Conflict Colombian Military Looks for a Development Role” (War on the Rocks, January 13, 2021).

Military commanders advocating for integral action have clashed with civilian policymakers, who tended to favor combat solutions to the nation’s insecurity, even as the number of combatants has declined

• Jhoan Sebastian Cote Lozano, “Condenan a la Nacion y al Ejercito por Caso de “Falsos Positivos” en Tolima” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 13, 2021).

Su familia demandó a la Nación por la ejecución extrajudicial y, luego de 13 años del crimen, un juez ordenó su reparación

• “El 2020 Fue un Ano de Consolidacion y Expansion de las Disidencias de las Farc” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 13, 2021).

El grupo armado de “Gentil Duarte” cobra más fuerza en el sur del país, mientras que el de “Iván Márquez” intenta ganarle terreno en zonas controladas por el primero

• “Giovani Claro, Excombatiente Asesinado, Era el Lider de una Cooperativa Agropecuaria en Tibu” (El Espectador (Colombia), January 13, 2021).

Es el cuarto firmante de paz asesinado en 2021 y el 253 desde el 24 de noviembre de 2016

Cuba

• Ed Augustin, Kirk Semple, “Cuba, Though Angered by Terror Designation, Is Looking Past Trump” (The New York Times, January 13, 2021).

Cubans are ready to move on, a sentiment underlined by their president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who tweeted on Tuesday that the American decision had been made in “the death throes of a failed and corrupt administration”

El Salvador

• Carlos Martinez, Sergio Arauz, Efren Lemus, Oscar Martinez, “Direccion de Penales Saca de Maxima Seguridad a Lider Sano de la Ms-13 Por ” (El Faro (El Salvador), January 13, 2021).

El inusual traslado ocurrió justo un mes después de que este medio revelara las negociaciones entre el Gobierno y líderes de la MS-13 encarcelados en los penales de máxima seguridad

Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico

• Alejandra Lorena, “In Central America, Tensions Rise as Soldiers Aim to Stop Migrants” (Reuters, Reuters, January 13, 2021).

Guatemalan military spokesman Ruben Tellez said on Friday that up to 4,000 soldiers would be deployed to stop the migrants from entering en masse

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• Leon Krauze, “Biden and Mexico Must Work Together to Help Migrants. Here’s Where to Start.” (The Washington Post, January 13, 2021).

If the new president’s goal is to alleviate the pain of thousands of immigrants, he should aim to reset the relationship with Mexico, a country Trump extorted

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Alfredo Corchado, Todd J. Gillman, “In South Texas, Trump Says His Border Wall Saves Lives and Jobs, and Warns of Danger From Biden’s Looser Policies” (The Dallas Morning News, January 13, 2021).

In South Texas, Trump autographed a plaque on the barrier and told a small audience of uniformed Border Patrol agents and others that “we inherited a broken, dysfunctional and open border”

• Jane C. Timm, “Fact Check: Mexico Never Paid for It. But What About Trump’s Other Border Wall Promises?” (NBC News, January 13, 2021).

Experts say Trump’s work at the border has had a big impact — on both people and the environment

• Rafael Carranza, “Here’s Where Us-Mexico Border Wall Construction Stands as Trump Wraps Up Presidency” (USA Today, January 13, 2021).

In a call with reporters last week, Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said federal contractors are averaging between 1.5 and two miles of new barriers per day

• Jasmine Aguilera, “What to Know About the Legacy of Trump’s Border Wall” (Time, January 13, 2021).

Though the federal government has the power to terminate these contracts, the government will likely still have to pay a termination fee, which Bolter says is likely still cheaper than continuing

• Megan Janetsky, “Trump’s Rush to Build Us Border Wall Fuels Fear of Lasting Harms” (Al Jazeera, January 13, 2021).

CBP said rapid construction is important to border security, but it also means builders are going in virtually blind, without any environmental impact studies

• Rafael Carranza, “Fact Check: 5 Claims Trump Made During His Final Visit to the Us-Mexico Border” (The Arizona Republic, January 13, 2021).

During his remarks, Trump made several misleading or false statements about his border and immigration policies. Here are five things he said that merit a closer examination

• Molly Smith, “Cbp Must Improve Transparency, el Paso Federal Judge Rules” (El Paso Matters, January 13, 2021).

It’s the third federal court ruling in a month that found agencies of the Department of Homeland Security to be in violation of the Freedom of Information Act

• Alex Ward, “An Expert on Asylum Seekers and Refugees Is Joining Biden’s National Security Council” (Vox, January 13, 2021).

President-elect Joe Biden will name Katie Tobin as the senior director for transborder security on the National Security Council

• Monica Campbell, “Why Biden’s Day One Promise to End ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program May Go Unfilled” (The World, Public Radio International, January 13, 2021).

Some immigration policy experts said Biden might be hesitant to approve any quick changes, such as fast-tracking the adjudication of the MPP cases

• “Chaos, Cruelty, & Illegality: The Trump Administration’s Record on Asylum” (Human Rights First, January 13, 2021).

Its policies punish people seeking protection, separate children from their parents, and turn the system created by Congress to protect refugees from persecution into one that delivers them back to danger

Venezuela

• “Maduro Pide a Congresistas Abrir Canales de Dialogo Con ee.uu.” (Associated Press, La Tercera (Chile), January 13, 2021).

Según el presidente venezolano, los intentos por retirarlo del poder y las sanciones financieras estadounidenses fueron fundamentales para el colapso de la economía nacional, la cual se prevé pase seis años de recesión

• Geoff Ramsey, “Venezuela Is the Perfect Test Case for Biden’s Promised Return to Multilateralism” (Washington Office on Latin America, Responsible Statecraft (Quincy Institute), January 13, 2021).

Serious efforts should be made to explore exactly what Maduro is willing to concede, and which elements of U.S. pressure can be leveraged to get him to the negotiating table