Bolsonaro accused of heading spy network
June 17, 2025
Brazil
Brazilian federal police formally accused former president Jair Bolsonaro, of presiding over an illegal spying network which allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists during his administration, reports the Guardian.
Haiti
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for a stronger security force in Haiti, as the underfunded, poorly manned U.N.-backed mission has failed to make headway against the nation's spiraling gang crisis. (Reuters)
The Haitian government has turned to drones to go after gang leaders who have captured much of the capital. But legal experts say that violates international law, reports the New York Times.
Colombia
Colombian interior minister Armando Benedetti said the Petro administration could hold plans for a labor reform popular referendum if the Senate advances with a reform plan. (La Silla Vacía)
The Senate’s reform proposal is advancing and could be approved, reports La Silla Vacía.
In the meantime, Colombia’s national registrar said holding a referendum in August, as the Petro administration had planned to do by decree, doesn’t meet the minimum three-month legal requirement to organize such a consultation. (El Tiempo)
Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who has been hospitalized since he was shot in the head during a campaign event, is out of an emergency surgery performed but is in “extremely critical” condition, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said. (Guardian)
Mexico
Gunmen stormed the village hall in San Mateo Piñas and killed the mayor, Lila Gema García Soto, and a local official who was meeting with her — its the latest deadly attack on local officials in Mexico, reports the BBC.
Argentina
Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is scheduled to surrender tomorrow, to start a six-year corruption sentence — her supporters are planning a massive demonstration to accompany her to court, and protest the politicized case against her. The Milei administration is anxiously working to avoid an image like that of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva being embraced by a multitude before entering jail. (Página 12)
Underlying tomorrow’s protests are two clashing, but parallel narratives, according to Carlos Pagni: Milei’s “Forces of Heaven” are nearly a mirror of Kirchner’s Peronism: “another economic program, another government program, the same epic, messianic spirit. The idea that for a government program, one must give one’s life. Life for Perón, life for Milei, it’s always the same sacrificial and mystical tone of politics.” (La Nación)
Panama
Panamanian authorities arrested Francisco Smith, leader of the banana workers’ union SITRAIBANA, accusing him of orchestrating road blockades during a six-week strike against Chiquita Brands. The arrest, just days after a deal ended the labor dispute, has sparked outrage among workers and heightened tensions in Bocas del Toro, near the Costa Rica border, reports the Tico Times.
Regional
In the next 12 months, presidential elections will be held in Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. “The commonality among the six elections is just how undefined they all are and what that says about broken political and party systems in the region,” according to James Bosworth at the Latin America Risk Report.
Bolivia
“Fatal clashes between police and supporters of former president Evo Morales have deepened Bolivia’s political and economic crisis, heightening tensions in the Andean country just two months before the presidential election,” reports the Guardian. (See last Friday’s post.)
Ecuador
Ecuador's mining ministry announced the launch of a new registry of concessions for the first time in seven years, yesterday, in an effort to attract more mining projects and curb illegal operations, reports Reuters.
The popularity of “healing” through psychedelics — ayahuasca tourism — is fueling exploitation of Indigenous peoples and threatening biodiversity in Ecuador, write Indigenous activists Nina Gualinga and Eli Virkina in the Guardian.