U.S. military plan for Haiti lacks partner
Oct. 26, 2022
No country has volunteered to contribute troops for a rapid deployment of an international military force to Haiti. The U.S. could scrap its U.N. Security Council proposal for such a plan unless a foreign partner steps up soon, reports the Miami Herald.
“The potential reversal is a diplomatic setback for the White House, which had been hoping to corral an armed, foreign force that would be backed with equipment, training and logistical support from the United States. But the United States never volunteered its own forces, raising frustration among its partners,” according to the Miami Herald.
Dispatching U.S. troops is unlikely, reports Bloomberg. The Biden administration is wary of unilateral action, and instead prefers joint efforts with other countries.
Canada and Brazil would be the most likely candidates, though neither has expressed interest, notes the Miami Herald.
More Haiti
Roberson Alphonse, one of Haiti’s top investigative journalists, survived an apparent assassination attempt in which he was shot in his car while on his way to work in the capital Port-au-Prince. (Associated Press and Miami Herald)
Journalists have long been targets in Haiti’s deep-seated security crisis. Yesterday authorities found the body of another journalist, Garry Tess, who had been missing for several days. And, last month, two other journalists identified as Tayson Latigue and Frantzsen Charles were fatally shot and their bodies set on fire while reporting in a slum controlled by gangs. (Associated Press)
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)has announced the closure of its mango preclearance program in Haiti, blaming the “worsening challenges” faced by its inspectors on the ground, reports the Caribbean Media Corporation.
El Salvador
Prison deaths are mounting in El Salvador, where the arrests of more than 55,000 people in the midst of a crackdown on gangs have swamped an already overwhelmed criminal justice system. At least 80 people arrested under the state of exception started in March have been killed in jail without being convicted of anything, reports the Associated Press.
Regional
Organization of American States head Luis Almagro unfairly maligned the reputation of Brazilian lawyer Paulo Abrao who he abruptly fired as Inter-American Commission of Human Rights head in 2020, according to a new administrative ruling. It’s the second administrative ruling questioning Almagro’s leadership in as many months, notes the Associated Press.
The new issue of Americas Quarterly looks at the region’s new generation of millennial politicians — most of whom angle for pragmatic reform, rather than ideological revolution. It’s a generation that has mostly grown up in democracies, and an era of decreasing poverty — but which has grown frustrated with governments mired in corruption and stagnating economic growth, writes Andrea Moncada in the cover story.
Migration
Mexico's foreign ministry announced the formal end of the U.S. “Migrant Protection Protocols” program, that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. immigration hearings. (Reuters)
A first flight carrying Venezuelan migrants voluntarily returning to their homeland from Mexico departed yesterday, reports Reuters. Mexico is dealing with a major increase of Venezuelans after a U.S. asylum policy shift.
Mexico
Mexico’s public has largely supported President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s expansion of the military into civilian government roles — a stance that reflects an overall negative view of the country’s political establishment, but which bodes ill for future democratic governments’ ability to “maintain authority in the hands of elected officialsm,” according to an article in Americas Quarterly.
Brazil
Minas Gerais is Brazil’s second most populous and fourth largest state — and, historically, a bellwether for the country’s presidential elections. It has become a campaign focal point for both candidates ahead of Sunday’s runoff vote, reports the Guardian.
Paraguay
Oscar Villalba, leader of the violent Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) has been killed in a clash with soldiers, officials say. (BBC)
Culture Corner
Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighborhood has long been a magnet for artists, and many former homes of its most celebrated residents have been turned into museums. “House museums draw us out of curiosity about the living conditions and the possessions of a figure we venerate or loathe,” writes Francine Prose in the New York Times. “If we believe that ghosts are still inhabiting these structures, we long for the quiet and solitude that will enable us to hear what they have to say.”