Regional
The landmark court ruling that holds Chiquita International responsible for financing a paramilitary death squad in Colombia opens a new precedent in corporate responsibility and could inspire a spate of similar suits around the region, reports Deutsche Welle. (See Wednesday’s post.)
"This verdict sends a powerful message to corporations everywhere: profiting from human rights abuses will not go unpunished. These families, victimized by armed groups and corporations, asserted their power and prevailed in the judicial process," Marco Simons, EarthRights International General Counsel and one of the plaintiff's attorneys, said in a statement. (USA Today)
Haiti
The international security mission about to deploy to Haiti is far too opaque and must not be seen as a panacea for Haiti’s polycrisis, argues Pierre Espérance in Foreign Policy. “The United States should clarify its role in the mission and take responsibility for spearheading it, as it appears to be doing. Haitians must also be involved in managing the force, including developing its goals and monitoring its practices. We must ensure that it is accountable to the Haitian people.”
Regional Relations
Cuba’s increasing closeness to Russia is born of economic necessity, and is yet another example of how U.S. sanctions have backfired, writes William LeoGrande in Responsible Statecraft, noting how Cuba’s initial neutrality on the war in Ukraine has shifted in the midst of economic crisis.
“This week, foreign ministers from the BRICS countries gathered in Russia for their first meeting since Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates officially joined the group in January,” reports the Latin America Report. “Other hopeful members are now courting the bloc, including Thailand, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, all of which sent senior officials to the summit.”
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said democracy was at risk, in reference to far-right gains in the European Parliament. He is in Italy today taking part in the G7 meeting at the invitation of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. (Reuters)
Argentine President Javier Milei is also attending the G7, and met with IMF head Kristalina Giorgieva this morning. (Ámbito)
Argentina's government rejected media reports that Milei would travel to China in the coming weeks and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, reports Reuters.
Argentina
The IMF unlocked a new disbursement in Argentina’s $44 billion program, and willwill send about $800 million to Argentina to help refinance debts the country owes to the international lender. IMF officials applauded Milei’s economic program, which has eased monthly inflation for five straight months, albeit as another recession threatens the country, reports Bloomberg.
Argentine stocks surged, a sovereign risk index plummeted after Argentina’s Senate passed (by a razor thin margin) a version of the economic reforms sought by Milei, reports El País. (See yesterday’s post.)
Migration
“Driven by mounting pressure from the U.S. to block millions of vulnerable people headed north, but lacking the funds to deport them, Mexican authorities are employing a simple but harsh tactic: wearing migrants out until they give up,” reports the Associated Press. Concretely, the government is rounding up migrants around the country and busing them to cities in the country’s south — as many times as it takes.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar warned yesterday “that migrants who do not opt for a legal pathway into the U.S. will face great consequences, a message coming at a time when the Biden administration needs Mexico’s cooperation in easing the flow of migrants to their shared border,” reports the Associated Press.
Mexico
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated support for outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s constitutional reform that would make judgeship positions elected, reports Reuters.
Peru
“Peru’s Congress is accelerating steps that undermine judicial independence, restrict civic space, and hinder investigations into organized crime and human rights violations ahead of the end of the legislative session on June 15,” according to Human Rights Watch.
Colombia
A Colombian military hospital would provide medical treatment to Palestinian children injured in the Israel-Hamas war under a plan announced by the country’s foreign ministry yesterday, reports the Associated Press.
Guatemala
Guatemalan Indigenous authorities, “who just months ago thwarted efforts to annul the electoral victory of Bernardo Arévalo are still working to build inroads with the new administration,” reports El Faro English.
Brazil
In addition to the human costs of devastating flooding in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, thousands of businesses — an estimated 45,000 businesses in Puerto Alegre — have been impacted, reports Al Jazeera.
The flooding in Rio Grande do Sul “led to record marijuana seizures there as criminal groups seeking to exploit the chaos and up their trafficking activities lost valuable product to an uptick in drug interdictions due to a heightened police and military presence,” reports InSight Crime.
El Salvador
A high level MS-13 leader, César Humberto López Larios o César Antonio López Larios, alias Greñas de Stoners, was captured in Mexico and deported to the U.S. — which means all of the Salvadoran street gang’s historic leadership is behind bars, reports El Faro.
Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is waging a multi-front public relations battle to transform “from one of the world’s most notorious despots into a harmless, charming and likable person,” reports Bloomberg.
History
“Genetic analysis of the skeletons of 64 infant boys who are thought to have been sacrificed in the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá more than a thousand years ago may shed light on the symbolic role twins played in the myths and rituals of their civilization,” reports the Guardian.