Regional Relations
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brasilia yesterday, in the midst of a diplomatic spat between Brazil and Israel. (Reuters)
The presidents of Colombia and Bolivia, Gustavo Petro and Luis Arce, expressed support for Lula’s comments criticizing Israel’s attacks on Gaza, saying they are a genocide and comparing them to Adolf Hitler’s efforts to exterminate the Jews. (Al Jazeera, Times of Israel)
Brazil hit back against Israel’s declaration that Lula is unwelcome in Israel following the comments. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that "for a foreign ministry to address a head of state from a friendly country in this way is unusual and revolting,” reports Reuters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Caracas yesterday. In a press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yván Gil, the two officials reiterated criticisms of sanctions against their countries. (EFE, Associated Press)
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo told AFP that he hoped to turn the firm political backing he received from the EU into greater development cooperation.
Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim to the Malvinas/Falklands Islands, but dismissed opposition parties’ complaints about UK Foreign Minister David Cameron’s visit to the disputed territory this week. (EFE)
Foreign Minister Diana Mondino archly thanked Cameron for including Argentina on his visit, saying on social media that he might include Buenos Aires on the agenda next time. (Associated Press)
Cameron also visited Paraguay this week, the first visit from a UK foreign minister in 171 years. (EFE) In a meeting with President Santiago Peña, he explored potential agreements with Mercosur, the South America trade bloc, reports the Associated Press.
El Salvador
President Nayib Bukele lashed out at a BBC reporter who asked him about the country’s elevated rate of detention in the midst of an ongoing crackdown on organized crime, telling the reporter that “you have a monarchy and we don’t say anything.” He reiterated his conception of his administration’s iron-first policies as a locally developed approach to security in contrast to failed international prescriptions. (Perfil)
Bukele’s almost total control of the incoming National Assembly — 54 of 60 seats were won by his Nuevas Ideas party and another three went to allies — means the ruling party will be able to single-handedly approve loans, authorize debt issuance, international treaties, renew the emergency regime, elect the attorney general and the attorney for Defense. of Human Rights, as well as the magistrates of the Court of Accounts, Supreme Court of Justice and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, reports the Associated Press.
Honduras
Fabio Lobo will testify in the U.S. trial of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, a “a stunning last-minute addition by the prosecution,” that could painted a “damning picture” of Hernández’s alleged drug trafficking activities and “also expose new strands of the twisted web between politicians and drug traffickers in Honduras over the last decades,” reports El Faro.
Colombia
Colombia's government could restart aerial bombing campaigns against illegal armed groups — if intelligence ensures that minors will not be affected, announced Defense Minister Iván Velásquez. President Gustavo Petro ordered the bombings suspended just days after taking power in August 2022 to avoid civilian deaths, including of forcibly recruited children, reports Reuters.
Cali will host the COP16 biodiversity conference in October, reports El País.
Mexico
Fentanyle use is creeping further into Mexico, even though the scale of consumption is clouded by a lack of data and testing, reports Reuters.
Mexico’s government transferred highway maintenance work to the armed forces, the latest on a long list of projects ranging from planes, trains and policing that the armed forces now control, reports the Associated Press.
Cuba
“Exile has been a substantial part of Cuba since the nation’s origins, but the current wave of migration appears to be the largest in history,” writes Leonardo Padura in El País.
A woman detained in relation to the 2021 is determined to carry a pregnancy to term, despite attempts from officials to persuade her to abort, reports El País.
Paraguay
“A Paraguayan court has sentenced an 87-year-old former policeman to 30 years in jail for brutal torture carried out during the country's military dictatorship,” reports the Associated Press.
Chile
Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda’s death, days after the 1973 military coup against Chilean President Salvador Allende, should be reinvestigated, according to an appeals court ruling this week. Neruda’s family said international investigators have found evidence pointing to Neruda being poisoned. (Associated Press, Reuters)