Costa Rican court orders deportees' release
June 25, 2025
The Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica’s Supreme Court ordered authorities to release foreign migrants locked up in a shelter after being deported by the United States. The ruling comes one day before a visit by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who will meet with President Rodrigo Chaves and tour the Los Lagos temporary immigration detention center, reports AFP.
Some 200 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were sent to Costa Rica in February under an agreement with the U.S. Trump administration, a move criticized by human rights organizations.
The migrants have been permitted to move around freely in Costa Rica since April, and were told to apply for asylum there or seek other destinations, after human rights lawyers sued Costa Rica, alleging the government violated the rights of children by detaining them in a rural camp without any legal recourse, access to education or psychological services. (Associated Press)
More Deportations
The New York Times dives into the Trump administration’s diplomatic push to create a network of nations to accept deportees from the U.S., regardless of their country of origin, “and put them in prisons, camps or other facilities. In some cases, the foreign governments could allow the people to apply for asylum or try to send them back to their countries of origin.”
Many of the countries targeted by U.S. diplomats are subject to a new full or partial travel ban to the United States by the Trump administration or are being considered for the ban. “A State Department cable dated June 14 instructed diplomats to tell the countries being considered, most of which are in Africa, that they might be able to stay off the list if they agreed to take deportees who are not their citizens.” (New York Times)
A U.S. appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to return a man wrongfully deported to El Salvador to the U.S. — Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, who was deported on 7 May less than half an hour after the court had expressly barred his removal — and to explain how it is complying in a ruling apparently designed to break a pattern of apparent government defiance of judicial orders, reports the Guardian.
El Salvador
A judge in El Salvador ordered Enrique Anaya, a lawyer and well-known critic of President Nayib Bukele, remain in jail as his prosecution on charges of money laundering proceeds. The ruling is a blow to critics pushing back against the government, in the midst of a crackdown on dissent, reports the Associated Press.
Colombia
A trial accusing former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe of witness tampering, criminal bribery, and procedural fraud is concluding. The landmark case accuses Uribe of seeking to influence witnesses who incriminated him, reports Infobae.
Regional Relations
The United States Treasury Department has sanctioned the alleged leader of Tren de Aragua (TDA), a Venezuelan gang that the Trump administration has used as justification for its immigration crackdown, reports Al Jazeera.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend next week’s Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, marking his first-ever absence from the gathering of leading emerging economies, reports the South China Morning Post.
Chile
A series of power outages illustrate China’s deepening influence in critical infrastructure in Chile at a time when the two countries are becoming more interconnected economically, write Rebecca Johns and Jim Glade in the Straits Times.
Brazil
Brazil once hugely popular military has been divided and roiled by scandal as the country’s highest court tries an explosive case in which top military officers are accused of helping former President Jair Bolsonaro attempt a coup to remain in power after losing an election, reports the Associated Press. The officers’ appearance in “civilian court marked a historic departure from the impunity senior military officers have enjoyed since the country underwent two decades of military rule.”
JBS, a giant Brazilian firm once fined billions for bribery, is trading on the New York Stock Exchange. “But the timing is raising eyebrows. A U.S. firm owned by JBS made the single biggest donation, $5 million, to President Trump’s inaugural committee, and the Brazilian company also doubled its spending on lobbying in the first three months of the year, a New York Times analysis of public records shows.”
Nigeria and Brazil signed a $1 billion agreement to boost agriculture, food security, energy and defense in the West African nation, reports Reuters.
Haiti
Drone operations in Port-au-Prince reportedly killed at least 300 alleged gang members and injured more than 400 others, according to a new report by the National Human Rights Defense Network. The approach has temporarily shaken Haiti’s criminal landscape, but legal concerns and mounting civilian casualties have raised questions about the strategy’s long-term effectiveness, reports InSight Crime. (See yesterday’s post.)
More Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s Prosecutor’s Office formally accused President Rodrigo Chaves along with six high-ranking officials and pro-government legislators of allegedly engaging in illicit financing during the 2022 electoral campaign, on Monday. The accusation centers on claims that Chaves and his circle used “two parallel structures” to finance the campaign of the Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD), reports the Tico Times.
Costa Rica's judicial police said on Monday they detained a former security minister and ex-judge on drug trafficking charges following an extradition request from the United States, reports Reuters.
Regional
“Many Latin American presidents are currently unpopular. That unpopularity seems to be at least partially systemic, rather than being linked to them as individuals. But…!!! The vast majority of presidents across the region are currently more popular than their predecessors were at the same point in their term in office.” - Latin America Risk Report
Panama
“In a country with little left-wing politics, Panama’s nearly two-month-long strike movement has shown the power of organized labor. The government has responded with repression, acting as a rearguard for multinationals like Chiquita,” writes Octavio García Soto in Jacobin.
Argentina
“Argentina, the International Monetary Fund's long-term problem child and biggest debtor, once again needs to seek forgiveness: this time for falling short on foreign currency reserve build-up targets linked to a new $20 billion deal.
The South American country is likely to get it, too,” according to Reuters.
Argentina’s economy grew less than expected in the first quarter of 2025 as a pickup in imports along with declines in exports and government spending tempered the country’s recovery, reports Bloomberg.
Ecuador
Spain's High Court authorized the extradition of William Jofre Alcivar Bautista, accused of leading a violent attack on an Ecuadorian TV station in early 2024, provided that Ecuador guarantees his safety in custody, reports Reuters.
Culture Corner
Caribe is more than a cookbook, but its also is a history, memoir and visual masterpiece by Keshia Sakarah: “a homage to family – with a dash of history and a sprinkling of joy.” - Guardian