Sinaloa capture showcases Sheinbaum security strategy
Dec. 5, 2024
Mexican security forces’ capture of 800 kilos of fentanyl this week comes at a critical time for President Claudia Sheinbaum’s new security strategy, which shows a renewed commitment to the militarized National Guard, while giving added weight to intelligence, coordination, and investigation tasks, reports El País. (See yesterday’s briefs.)
The raid occurred in Sinaloa state, where the number of reported disappearances in has doubled to more than 200 in the three months of infighting between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, reports the BBC.
Security czar Omar García Harfuch emphasized that violence in Sinaloa will not be reduced overnight. (Animal Político) The seizure is “a calling card for García Harfuch, the man the president trusts to pacify the country,” according to El País.
The raid comes after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened punitive tariffs if Mexico doesn’t do more to crack down on drug and migrant traffic into the U.S., notes the New York Times.
More Mexico
Mexico is looking for an agreement with the incoming administration U.S. government so that Mexico does not receive deportees from third countries in case of large-scale deportations from the United States, Sheinbaum said today. (Reuters)
CPAC Buenos Aires
Argentine President Javier Milei presented himself as a global far-right leader at the Buenos Aires CPAC, yesterday. He emphasized the importance of the “cultural battle” against socialist ideas, and pointedly criticized leftist leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. (El País)
"You can't raise the white flag in front of the left, trying to appease them is not an option. They do not act out of good faith, but out of a criminal ambition for power. They would rather the country collapse than prosper without them," Milei said. (Buenos Aires Times)
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro spoke remotely, because he cannot travel for legal reasons. He thanked Milei for providing refuge for supporters of his convicted of attacking Brazilian public authorities in 2023.
“This act of welcoming these politically condemned people, these refugees who are there, for us, the good Brazilians, it will not be possible to forget it,” Bolsonaro, said, referring to fugitive Brazilians who remain on the run in Argentina. They were convicted in Brazil for a riot attacking government buildings in Brasilia in January 2024.
Regional Relations
The spread of organized crime in Latin America is intimately related to the migration crisis in the region. Turmoil in Latin America had a direct impact on the U.S. presidential election, “and because the crisis-fueled mass migration shows little sign of abating, it is likely to continue dividing the United States and, by extension, hindering its capacity for global leadership,” argues Will Freeman in Foreign Affairs.
“Donald Trump was elected on inflation and cost-of-living issues. His proposed trade war on Mexico and Canada would aggravate both,” writes Kurt Hackbarth in Jacobin.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Uruguay, for the final stages in years-long negotiations for a trade deal between EU and the Mercosur trade bloc. The agreement would create a trans-Atlantic market of some 700 million people, but has been delayed by objections from France and European farmers, reports the Associated Press.
Von der Leyen’s decision to attend the summit in Montevideo, which opens Thursday, is a sign that negotiators see a deal on the pact as likely, reports Bloomberg.
Regional
The International Court of Justice is hearing from 98 states and 12 international organizations this week in a case that will culminate in a non-binding opinion clarifying the obligations states have to respond to climate change and their liabilities - Just Caribbean Updates
Police in nine South American countries seized more than 3,400 homemade bombs and 28 metric tons of bomb-making materials in raids targeting the booming black market in explosives, according to Interpol. (AFP/Bloomberg)
Colombia
Colombian Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla resigned in the midst of a corruption scandal, the latest to affect President Gustavo Petro’s government, reports Al Jazeera.
One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cocaine cartel, Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, has been released from a U.S. prison and is expected to be deported back home, reports the Associated Press.
El Salvador
El Salvador’s deteriorating economy is a major obstacle for President Nayib Bukele — multilateral lending organizations, including the IMF, should “consider the deterioration in El Salvador’s governance and rule of law and serve as a tool to urge the government for greater transparency, anti-corruption measures and respect for democratic institutions,” argues WOLA.
Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s proposal to tighten military retirement rules is facing opposition from part of the armed forces, which could affect an austerity plan aimed at calming investors, reports Bloomberg.
Lula officially recognized three more Indigenous territories yesterday, pushing to 13 the number of lands to which he has granted legal protection in his current term of governance, reports Reuters.
The number of Brazilians living below the poverty line has dropped to its lowest point since 2012, according to official data, though a quarter of the population were still under the threshold, reports AFP.
Argentina
Half of Argentina’s population is below the poverty line, and 65.5 percent of its children live in poverty, according to the latest report by the Observatorio de la Deuda Social Argentina de la Universidad Católica Argentina. (Página 12)
Bahamas
A parliamentary session in the Bahamas was been dramatically suspended after an opposition MP threw a ceremonial mace out a window, reports the BBC.
Cuba
Cuba said it had reconnected its national electrical grid today, though generation remained well below demand one day after a plant failure left most of the island in darkness, reports Reuters. (See yesterday’s post.)
Histories
Silva, the most common surname in Brazil, is intimately tied to slavery and slave owning — the long-stigmatized name has now been reinterpreted by many, reports the New York Times.