Nicaraguan dissident assassinated in Costa Rica
June 20, 2025
Former Nicaraguan military officer Roberto Samcam was killed yesterday in Costa Rica, where the outspoke critic of Nicaraguan leaders Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo was living in exile. (Confidencial, Reuters)
Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of San José and went directly to the retired major’s home yesterday morning. Without saying a word, the man gunned down Sacam. The shooter escaped, reports the Associated Press.
Nicaraguan government critics — including writer Gioconda Belli and Nicaragua's former ambassador to the Organization of American States, Arturo McFields — immediately pointed to political motives. (AFP, EFE)
It is the fourth such assassination of Nicaraguan dissidents in Costa Rica — where hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have sought refuge from authoritarian repression — and takes place in a context of growing political persecution beyond Nicaragua’s borders, according to advocates. (Confidencial, El País)
In January 2024, another Nicaraguan exile, Joao Maldonado, was shot seven times in the street outside Costa Rica’s capital. He survived and accused a cell of Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front of responsibility for the attack, reports the Associated Press.
Venezuela
The Venezuelan government detained at least eight people over the past week in an intensification of a crackdown on alternative voices tracking the country’s economic decline — Venezuelans have long relied on unofficial estimates for inflation, gross domestic product and export revenue as the government has been accused of suppressing or manipulating official statistics, notes Bloomberg.
Colombia
Colombia’s Council of State has suspended a decree by President Gustavo Petro that sought to call a referendum on a labor reform, citing a lack of Senate authorization. In parallel, the Senate approved a bill that would meet many of the executive’s reform demands. (Al Jazeera, see Wednesday’s post.)
Mexico
Héctor Ulises Orduña won a federal judgeship in Mexico’s judicial elections — despite being in pretrial detention on charges of the sexual abuse of minors and incapacitated persons. The case “is the focus of all the fears of those who criticized the irresponsible conduct of the evaluation committees of the three branches of government, which approved many candidates who would not have passed stricter or more thorough scrutiny,” reports El País.
Mexico’s deeply ingrained conservatism has held the country back from fully embracing and scaling tech-driven solutions—leaving enormous opportunities in industrial innovation untapped and underfunded, according to the Mexico Political Economist. (Via Latin America Risk Report.)
Brazil
Rape is a legal reason to access abortion in Brazil — “In practice, however, advocates, activists and health experts say women encounter significant barriers to ending a pregnancy even under the limited conditions provided for by the law,” reports the Associated Press.
“BYD, China's top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is offering Brazilian car shoppers relatively low-priced options in a market where the green-car movement is still in its infancy. Brazilian auto-industry officials and labor leaders worry that the vast influx of cars from BYD and other Chinese automakers will set back domestic auto production and hurt jobs,” reports Reuters.
Regional
“Despite all the hype, it is unlikely that other Latin American governments will fully implement Bukele-style policies, as some forecasted,” writes Oliver Stuenkel in Foreign Policy. “Right-wing politicians in the region more often allude to Bukele as a talking point to burnish a tough-on-crime image than as an actual blueprint for policy.”
“A proposed tax on the money sent by immigrants in the United States to friends and families back in their home countries could have unintended devastating consequences for US. national security and for receiving countries, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean that have come to heavily rely on the funds, experts warn.” - Miami Herald
The U.S. Trump administration’s economic tariffs mean “Latin America must now decide whether to double down on the current system, where the U.S. plays a dominant yet unpredictable role, or to embrace regional integration and economic diversification with Asia and Europe to hedge against future shocks,” reports Americas Quarterly. “Depending on national policy responses and the evolution of bilateral trade negotiations, the aftermath of “Liberation Day” could open alternate pathways for economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade.”
Regional Relations
Though the Trump administration has, so far, largely focused it’s LatAm policy on deportations, making deals over cartels and cracking down on Cuba, the reported appointment of a military officer as senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council “could fuel fears of increased militarization of U.S. policy in the region. Yet without a clear policy from the top, it remains to be seen how Jensen’s background will align, or conflict, with Rubio’s,” writes Lee Schlenker at Responsible Statecraft.
Haiti
“Violence against children in Haiti increased by nearly 500% last year, according to a United Nations report, ranking the Caribbean nation as dangerous a place for children war-torn Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Nigeria.” - Miami Herald
Argentina
Argentina’s government said national spies uncovered a group of Russian residents allegedly involved in disinformation campaigns that were acting on the orders of Moscow, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
“Money laundering is one of the most difficult criminal economies to detect and prosecute, and the debate over the effectiveness of anti-money laundering policies has intensified in recent years, especially in Argentina,” reports InSight Crime. (Via Latin America Risk Report.)
Culture Corner
Brazilian artist Adriana Varejão’s “sinuous fiberglass plate paintings put mythical Amazonian creatures front and center.” — Americas Quarterly