US bears responsibility for Sinaloa violence, AMLO
Sept. 20, 2024
Outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the U.S. “jointly responsible” for the wave of violence that has engulfed Sinaloa state in the past two weeks. (Animal Político) Over 50 people have died as factions of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel battle each other in the wake of the July arrests of leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in the United States. (See Wednesday’s post.)
Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum noted yesterday that the U.S. did not seek to coordinate with Mexican authorities with regards to the arrests. (Animal Político)
“An explanation is required, because if we are now facing a situation of instability and confrontation in Sinaloa, it is because they made that decision, and we do not agree that Mexico should be ignored because we have the problem here,” AMLO said. There “cannot be a cooperative relationship if they take unilateral decisions” like this, he added. (Associated Press)
“The latest controversy aside, the underlying question is whether both countries have the capacity to maintain a common agenda against organized crime,” according to El País.
More Mexico
Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved a reform that will pass the civilian 130,000-troop National Guard security force to the aegis of the armed forces. The bill would also enable lawmakers to create a law permitting military participation in internal security, reports La Jornada. (See also El País and yesterday’s briefs.)
Ten years after the 43 Ayotzinapa students disappeared in Iguala in one of Mexico’s most emblematic human rights atrocities, their families are still demanding answers about what happened. (Associated Press)
Migration
“Internal government reports obtained by The New York Times, along with interviews with migrants and advocacy groups, have shed light on conditions migrants face at the U.S. Guantánamo base, “including allegations that migrants have been forced to wear blackout goggles during transport through the base; that their calls with lawyers are monitored; and that some areas are unfit for habitation, with rats and overflowing toilets.”
Brazil
The Brazilian Amazon is facing a security crisis — indeed, it “may have among the densest concentrations of criminal organizations in Latin America, if not the world,” writes Robert Muggah in Americas Quarterly. “Against this backdrop, some local leaders are experimenting with promising new strategies to prevent and reduce crime and disrupt illicit financial flows.”
Fires
Forests and farms in the Amazon and across Brazil “have been ablaze like seldom before thanks to a highly combustible cocktail of extreme drought affecting nearly 60% of the country, the climate crisis and a seemingly insatiable appetite to destroy the environment for immense financial gain,” reports the Guardian.
Brazil’s government has responded tepidly to raging fires in Brazil, which are the worst of the past 14 years, according to Observatorio del Clima. (El País)
Fires are raging out of control across Peru “razing crops, damaging archaeological treasures and leaving several regions in a state of disaster,” reports Reuters.
Colombia
About 10,000 people heeded Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s call to march yesterday in defense of his administration’s pension reform, which has been challenged before the Constitutional Court. (El País)
Martinique
Martinique’s government imposed a 9pm to 5am curfew in parts of the capital to quell escalating violent protests over the high cost of living, reports the Guardian.
Regional Relations
Scott MacDonald analyzes how the U.S. presidential election could impact Latin America and the Caribbean. “Relations with Central America and the Caribbean represent a mosaic of overlapping initiatives uneasily pulled together around migration, the illicit trafficking of guns and drugs, mutual concerns over environmental challenges, and the need for financing of critical sustainability projects.” (Global Americans)
Venezuela announced it would seek Argentine President Javier Milei’s arrest in response to a dispute over a cargo plane seized in 2022. Earlier this month, Argentina submitted a request to the ICC seeking the arrest of Maduro and several of his top officials, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
Argentina
Pope Francis questioned the Milei administration’s protest repression policy — saying the government has slashed spending and “instead of paying for social justice it payed for pepper spray.” The remarks come after footage last week showed security forces using pepper spray on a ten-year-old girl who was with her parents at the protest. (Página 12 and Buenos Aires Times)
Today is the 40th anniversary of the “Nunca Más” report that documented dictatorship atrocities in Argentina - Página 12 and El País
Ecuador
President Daniel Noboa is leading in the polls ahead of February’s presidential election in Ecuador. Leftist efforts to create a unity opposition coalition failed days before the registration deadline, reports El País.
“The IDB and Ecuador are in the process of finalizing a $150 million loan for a violence prevention program that will include social service centers in at-risk areas as well as anti-money laundering, data analysis, and investigative training for law enforcement,” writes Catherine Osborn at the Latin America Brief.
Regional
IDB President “Ilan Goldfajn is trying to navigate Latin America’s deep polarization, while also pushing a “change of culture” at the region’s multilateral lender,” reports Americas Quarterly.