John Kurc photo at Arizona Public Media. Caption: “Border wall construction at Guadalupe Canyon in southeastern Arizona.”

(Even more here)

February 4, 2021

Western HemispÓhere Regional

Who will take charge is more of a mystery than usual. There is a plethora of presidential candidates, a disturbing number of whom have criminal records

Argentina

After a period in which it had a respectable fighter fleet, the Argentine Air Force retired several aircraft such as the Mirage III and the IAI Kfir, but without financial resources it was unable to replenish these losses

Colombia

La Unidad Nacional de Protección deberá hacer valoración del riesgo colectivo de las comunidades afrodescendientes de Curvaradó y Jiguamiandó, mientras que la JEP deberá informar sobre las medidas cautelares otorgadas

Este nombramiento les genera mucha ilusión por el compromiso que Nichols ha demostrado con los derechos humanos y con los derechos de los afro en particular

El Salvador

Hay hallazgos: rastros de heroína en el carro de los empleados públicos, una pistola disparada por uno de ellos y videos donde queda claro que emboscaron al camioncito de los efemelenistas. Pero también hay un hombre herido, el atacante, y una duda esencial

Guatemala, Mexico

The arrest of government agents for this latest massacre has sent shock waves through the country as one of the few times local police have been charged with such a horrific crime

Mexico

He is charged with human rights violations in relation to the illegal arrest and torture of journalist Lydia Cacho who in her 2005 book had detailed his role and that of others in a pedophilia ring that preyed on young girls

Tanto en la masacre de Nuevo Laredo como en la última de Camargo los señalados son el grupo de operaciones especiales de la Policía Estatal. Se trata de un cuerpo que ha venido cambiando de nombre pero que siempre ha mantenido las denuncias por violaciones a los derechos humanos

La Comisión Nacional para los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) amenazó con sanciones a su personal tras la publicación en Animal Político de varios testimonios sobre secuestros a migrantes que permanecieron ocultos

At least 12 state police officers — some of whom belong to an elite special operations group (GOPES) trained and vetted by the United States — were arrested for allegedly participating in the massacre

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

El INM llegó a pedir a EU que dejase de utilizar estos pasos para devolver migrantes debido a la inseguridad en El Sásabe y Sonoyta, Sonora

The change, which has not been publicly disclosed, raises concerns in U.S. border communities and at the Department of Homeland Security because the large-scale release of parents and children into the United States has triggered previous waves of unauthorized migration

U.S.-Mexico Border

Many environmental groups have begun to make their case to the Biden administration, suggesting ways to mitigate the impacts of the wall or even remove sections of it. But because those baseline studies never happened, many are worried we’ll never know exactly what was lost

Had the two cases remained on the Court’s calendar, it is likely that a future Republican president would have been able to reinstate Trump’s policies immediately, and without having to worry about legal challenges

In the years since her husband was killed, Puga said, she has never received a word of condolence from the U.S. government

Rodney Scott, current chief of Border Patrol, is identified as one of the San Diego officials whose actions allegedly obstructed justice in the investigation into Anastasio Hernandez Rojas’ death

If Mexico no longer allowed Central American families to be expelled across the border, most of the asylum seeking families would be released in the United States while their immigration cases are heard. The first stop for many would be El Paso

President Biden could and should have gone further, though, in particular by ending Title 42 expulsions altogether and creating a path to safety for asylum seekers stranded and at grave risk in Mexico

Venezuela

Entre 2019 y 2020 se registraron al menos 37 creaciones, activaciones, adscripciones, trasferencias, etc., de unidades, comandos, empresas, direcciones, servicios, centros logísticos y de instrucción, entre otras dependencias de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana

The United States will continue to recognize Guaidó as the legitimate president even as the European Union recently said it can no longer consider him interim president

Instead of issuing limp statements, Europe should join Washington to get Maduro’s regime to negotiate with the democratic opposition