Grave abuses in Catatumbo -HRW report

March 26, 2025

Armed groups fighting over parts of the Catatumbo region near the Colombia-Venezuela border have committed grave abuses against people living in the area and displaced thousands, according to a new Human Rights Watch report.

The groups have killed, assaulted, kidnapped, and disappeared civilians. Fighting and abuses by both sides have reportedly forced over 56,000 people to flee their homes, one of the largest mass displacements in Colombia in decades. (Human Rights Watch)

“Our research points to widespread abuses against ordinary people,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director for HRW. (Associated Press)

Displaced people told Human Rights Watch that in recent years, the 33rd Front had expanded its control over people and communities in Catatumbo, imposing rules on the population through threats, killings, and forced labor as punishment. Interviewees also alleged forced recruitment, including of children. (See La Silla Vacía.)

Deportations

• U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will visit El Salvador’s maximum security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), today. It is where 138 Venezuelans deported by the U.S. earlier this month have been detained. Noem will also meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.(El País, Associated Press)

• “In the midst of Venezuela’s ongoing political and civil turmoil, there is widespread outrage over the treatment of Venezuelan prisoners deported to El Salvador by the United States under the controversial Alien Enemies Act,” reports El País. “This sentiment has intensified amid growing reports of innocent individuals being held in the brutal Center for Confinement Against Terrorism (CECOT) in San Salvador.”

Regional Relations

• The Trump administration has threatened to put 25% tariffs on any trade with the U.S. conducted by countries that purchase Venezuelan oil. China is the primary buyer of Venezuelan crude oil and gas, followed by India’s Reliance Industries, with whom Venezuela has sought to strengthen trade ties, reports El País.

• The U.S. plan to slap tariffs on countries buying sanctioned Venezuelan oil is an unprecedented mixture of punitive economic measures against a geopolitical foe that Washington could replicate against other countries like Russia and Iran, reports Reuters.

• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula’s government has been restrained towards the U.S. Trump administration, “opting for a behind-the-scenes engagement strategy that emphasizes the preservation of open diplomatic channels,” writes Andres Pagliarini in Responsible Statecraft, in conversation with Celso Amorim. “This approach does not merely reflect Brazil’s hope of avoiding Trump’s wrath … Rather, the move to deliberately avoid provoking Trump more likely stems from the conclusion that the type of disruption he represents may offer novel opportunities for Brazil to deepen the foreign policy orientation Lula has embraced since his first stint in office from 2003-2011.”

• On a visit to Japan, Lula stressed the importance of free trade and multilateralism and decried threats against democracy. (Associated Press) Specifically, he called for a trade deal between the Mercosur bloc and Japan to counter growing US protectionism, reports AFP.

Caribbean

• Weaning Caribbean countries from their dependence on Venezuelan oil and combating illegal immigration will top U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tour of three Caribbean nations this week, reports the Associated Press.

• In the context of Rubio’s trip, “the region's leaders are threading the needle between standing up against threats to their national interests and safeguarding their need for trade, aid, and remittances from their powerful neighbor to the north,” writes Lee Schlenker in Responsible Statecraft.

• Speaking at a briefing, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters that U.S. accusations about a labor program that sends Cuban workers, particularly medics, overseas was also going to be among the topics that Rubio will tackle with his counterparts. (Reuters)

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said his government has provided evidence to the U.S. that Cuban health workers in the country are not victims of human trafficking, as alleged by the Trump administration. Caribbean leaders have consistently rejected such claims and stressed the important role the Cuban medical professionals play in saving lives in the region, reports the Guardian.

Argentina

• Argentine President Javier Milei held a telephone conversation yesterday with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. After the call, Macron described Argentina as a “friend” on social media, offering a token of support at a time when the country is expected to sign a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund, reports the Buenos Aires Herald.

Migration

• The shutdown of the application for migrants to request asylum appointments in the U.S. — CBP One — and the increased Panamanian controls have all but extinguished the Darién migrant route, reports the Guardian. Crossings last month were down 96% compared with the previous year.

Haiti

• A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, reports the Associated Press.

• Images of the body of a lifeless police officer lying on dirt while dressed in camouflage and being physically assaulted by armed gang members have been popping up in WhatsApp message groups — if the death of the Kenyan policeman, if confirmed, would mark the second time an officer with the security support team has been killed in Haiti since the force began deploying in June last year, reports the Miami Herald.

Mexico

• Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said there was no evidence that a so-called "ranch of horror" strewn with human remains was an "extermination camp" but rather it was a cartel training site where those who resisted recruitment were killed, reports Reuters.

Peru

• Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said the country will hold general elections one year from now — she said voters will elect a new president, 130 deputies and 60 senators. The bicameral election system has not been used since the early 1990s, according to the Associated Press.

Ecuador

• The rupture of Ecuador's SOTE crude pipeline earlier this month spilled over 25,000 barrels of oil, affecting three rivers, wildlife and at least 5,300 people, according to authorities. (Reuters)

Histories

• Marlene Daut’s deep dive into Haiti’s first — and only — king, Henry Christophe, looks at a character often misunderstood by history, reports the Miami Herald.