April 8, 2021
Western Hemisphere Regional
- Ted Hesson, Mica Rosenberg, “U.S. Scours Files for More Trump-Era Migrant Family Separations Than Previously Known” (Reuters, Reuters, April 8, 2021).
The effort is expected to uncover a small number of additional separations on top of thousands that have already been reported
Brazil
- “Brazil’s Army Is Trying to Distance Itself From Jair Bolsonaro” (The Economist (Uk), April 8, 2021).
Mr Bolsonaro’s approval rating has fallen below 30%. And the pandemic is still raging: a record 4,211 deaths were reported on April 6th. To the army’s embarrassment, Eduardo Pazuello, a general, was in charge as health minister
Colombia
- Mathew Charles, “In Colombia, Child Soldiers Play Many Roles” (InsightCrime, April 8, 2021).
The recruits are useful. They can collect extortion fees, work in cocaine labs, or be forced into sex work. They can also sell and smuggle drugs, are used as assassins, and are often sent to the front lines of battle
- “Gobierno Pide Limitar la Protesta Porque Con Ella se “Desprestigia” a la Policia” (El Espectador (Colombia), April 8, 2021).
La Andje pide urgente la regulación del derecho fundamental a la protesta pues, a su juicio, la ciudadanía se aprovechará del mismo, “desprestigiando a la autoridad policial”
- “Procuraduria Pide a la Corte Constitucional No Revivir Proyecto de las Curules de Paz” (El Espectador (Colombia), April 8, 2021).
La propuesta, bautizada también como las “curules de paz”, no prosperó en la plenaria del Senado y tampoco en los estrados judiciales, por lo que la única posibilidad que para sobrevivir depende de la Corte Constitucional
- Juan Pablo Perez B., “El Auto de la Jep del Secuestro Angustia a los Ex-Farc por Como Pasaran a la Historia” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), April 8, 2021).
Temen pasar a la historia como una banda criminal que cometió delitos de lesa humanidad, si aceptan los cargos que les fueron imputados a sus jefes
El Salvador
- Joshua Goodman, “El Salvador President Snubs Visiting Biden Envoy” (Associated Press, Associated Press, April 8, 2021).
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele refused to meet with a visiting senior U.S. diplomat this week over what he sees as a pattern of slights from Democrats and the Biden administration
- Roberto Valencia, “Bukele Devuelve el Desplante a la Administracion de Biden” (The Washington Post, April 8, 2021).
Dos meses han transcurrido desde aquel desplante y, lejos de apaciguarse, las aguas no han dejado de estar revueltas entre Washington y San Salvador
Haiti
- Jacqueline Charles, “‘When We Aren’t Killed, They Kidnap Us.’ Riding a Bus in Haiti Now a Dangerous Quest” (The Miami Herald, April 8, 2021).
No longer is traveling Haiti’s already chaotic roadways a question of whether Haitians will reach their destination, but rather will they make it back home alive as armed robberies and kidnapping-for-ransom become almost daily occurrences
Mexico
- “Retorica Peligrosa” (Centro Prodh, Animal Politico (Mexico), April 8, 2021).
Las menciones de los organismos internacionales de derechos humanos son falsas. Estas instancias han sido clave para documentar y llamar la atención sobre la crisis de derechos humanos que empezó a cernirse sobre México con el recrudecimiento de la llamada guerra contra las drogas
- Arturo Angel, “Violencia Sube en 10 Estados, Pese a Mas Presencia de Guardia Nacional” (Animal Politico (Mexico), April 8, 2021).
Mientras tanto la depuración y profesionalización de las fuerzas de seguridad locales – una de las justificaciones para la puesta en marcha de la Guardia Nacional – ha quedado en el limbo
- Estefania Vela, “De Nuevo Laredo a Mazapa de Madero: El Indice de Letalidad de la Sedena Crece” (Animal Politico (Mexico), April 8, 2021).
Murieron más civiles de los que fueron lastimados en los enfrentamientos de la SEDENA (por cada civil herido, fallecieron 4.7 civiles)
- Whitney Eulich, “A Woman’s Death in Mexico Fueled Outrage. Can It Fuel Police Reform?” (The Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2021).
The encounter between Ms. Salazar, a Salvadoran living in Mexico on a humanitarian visa, and four police officers was videotaped by a bystander. Her death sparked nationwide protests
- Laura Sanchez Ley, Daniel Lizarraga, “La Fgr Exonero a Cienfuegos Sin Interrogar a Testigo Principal” (Expansion (Mexico), April 8, 2021).
La FGR exoneró al general Salvador Cienfuegos sin haber interrogado a Jesús Ricardo Patrón, el ‘H3’, único testigo encarcelado en México y quien de acuerdo a la DEA identificó al exsecretario
Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border
- Robert Zepeda, Catherine Mckenzie, Jack Feeley, Olga Delauz, Haley Yamada, “Migrants Coming From Central America to Us: ‘We Don’t Have Many Options’” (ABC News, April 8, 2021).
As a result of intensifying pressure from the U.S. to secure the border, the Mexican and Central American governments have cracked down on people trying to make their way to the U.S.
- Dianne Solis, “Number of Migrants Now Crossing the Border Rises, but Most Are Still Expelled” (The Dallas Morning News, April 8, 2021).
“I have a big concern that the numbers will increase to the point where we have a refugee camp like in Matamoros,” Pimentel said
U.S.-Mexico Border
- Rafael Bernal, “Five Reasons Why Us Faces Chronic Crisis at Border” (The Hill, April 8, 2021).
Conditions on the southwest border represent a serious political challenge to President Biden
- Ryan Grim, “Deconstructed: A Big New Idea to End the Border Crisis” (The Intercept, April 8, 2021).
Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar reports back from her visit to an El Paso facility housing unaccompanied migrant children
- Nick Miroff, “Border Agents Took 172,331 Into Custody in March, Statistics Show” (The Washington Post, April 8, 2021).
The increase last month was so large that it did not fit on the y-axis of the CBP chart that tracks changes in monthly enforcement data
- Kirk Semple, “With the U.S. Asylum System Closed to Many, Some Find Sanctuary in Mexico” (The New York Times, April 8, 2021).
A record number of people petitioned for asylum in Mexico last month, drawn by family ties and high approval rates — and discouraged by the difficulty of getting into the U.S.
- Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “Biden Officials Defend Border Response as Number of Migrant Children in U.S. Custody Tops 20,000” (CBS News, April 8, 2021).
“We are doing our best to expel under Title 42 authority where we can and where there is capacity on the Mexican side,” the official added
- Philip Bump, “The Data Is Clear: An Unusual Surge in Border Apprehensions Did Occur in March” (The Washington Post, April 8, 2021).
Now that we have the official data, it is also clearly true that the administration’s efforts to play down the increase don’t hold up very well
Venezuela
- Brian Contreras, “Cabello: Periodistas Que Cubran Conflicto en Apure Deben Ser Considerados Enemigos” (Tal Cual (Venezuela), April 8, 2021).
Según el también vicepresidente del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), los comunicadores sociales cubren las noticias en Apure a la espera de que asesinen a venezolanos para «hacer fiesta»