(Even more here)

February 17, 2021

Brazil

• Robert Muggah, “With an Election Looming, Can Brazil Finally Confront Its Injustices?” (OpenDemocracy (UK), February 17, 2021).

Brazil’s ruinous political leadership, economic mismanagement, and COVID-19 crisis are simply bringing the country’s long-standing challenges into ever-sharper relief

• Michael Fox, “Hundreds of Black Families in Brazil Could Be Evicted to Make Way for Space Base Expansion” (The World, Public Radio International, February 17, 2021).

As part of a 2019 agreement with the US, Brazil is looking to expand its space base, but it could mean evicting hundreds of Black families from their ancestral lands

Colombia

• Juan Manuel Florez Arias, Juan Pablo Perez B., “En la Foto de la Coalicion de Petro para 2022 No Caben los Exfarc” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 17, 2021).

Rodrigo Londoño ‘Timochenko’, pidió que les dieran un espacio en la alianza de partidos de izquierda que empezó a armarse desde el año pasado para las elecciones del 2022

Colombia, Venezuela

• Joshua Goodman, “Jailed Suspect in Anti-Maduro Plot Blames Colombia, Guaido” (Associated Press, Associated Press, February 17, 2021).

Álvarez was a translator and business partner of Jordan Goudreau, the former American Green Beret

El Salvador

• Rep. Albio Sires (D-New Jersey), “Congressman Sires’ Statement on His Call With Ambassador Milena Mayorga of el Salvador” (U.S. House of Representatives, February 17, 2021).

I am perplexed and disappointed that the Ambassador’s office would put out inaccurate quotes and attribute them to me. This is a first in my 15 years in Congress and this incident will unfortunately force me to reassess how I engage with El Salvador’s Ambassador

Guatemala, Mexico

• Jeff Abbott, “Guatemala Takes a Hard Line Against Migrants—With Us Support” (The Nation, February 17, 2021).

The United States has for years exported the control of migratory routes to Mexico and Central America. The repression of the most recent Honduran migrant caravan highlights this shift, but the effort began much earlier, during the Obama administration

Honduras

• Sandra Cuffe, “Hondurans Flee Climate Change, Violence, and a Mining Project” (Sierra Club, February 17, 2021).

Less well known is how mining and natural resource extraction in some areas exacerbate violence and climate change impacts, spurring localized migration

• Jeff Ernst, “The Death of a Young Woman in Police Custody Outrages Hondurans” (VICE, February 17, 2021).

Keyla Martínez, a 26-year-old student, died of asphyxiation when she was being held alone in a police cell. But many don’t buy the police line that she committed suicide

• Hector Silva Avalos, Victoria Dittmar, “One Party, Many Crimes: The Case of Honduras’ National Party” (InsightCrime, February 17, 2021).

The party that has governed Honduras since 2010 has become a federation that welcomes politicians and officials involved in criminal businesses ranging from timber to drug trafficking to the misappropriation of public funds

Mexico

• “Inm Lanza Operativos en la Bestia; Acusa a Pagina de Organizar Migrantes” (Animal Politico (Mexico), February 17, 2021).

El INM también responsabiliza a la llegada a la Casa Blanca de Joe Biden del incremento del flujo hacia Estados Unidos

• Cassandra Garrison, “Kidnap Capital Mexico Eyes Biometric Phone Registry, Sparking Privacy Fears” (Reuters, Reuters, February 17, 2021).

Critics say it reveals the pitfalls of governments seeking to gather more citizen data for law enforcement purposes

Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

• “The Mpp Program and Border Security Joint Statement by Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall” (The White House, February 17, 2021).

Individuals should not take any action at this time and should remain where they are to await further instructions

U.S.-Mexico Border

• Michael Albertus, “Why Trump’s Border Wall Failed” (The Washington Post, February 17, 2021).

U.S. law makes it very difficult to seize land from private landowners, which the federal government needed to do to build the wall

Venezuela

• “Foro Penal Contabiliza 329 Presos Politicos Hasta Este #16feb” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), February 17, 2021).

304 hombres y 25 mujeres; al hacer el desglose por ocupación, se cuentan 206 civiles y 123 efectivos castrenses