Venezuela’s electoral authority opened the registration period for presidential candidates for the July 28 election, yesterday, in the midst of uncertainty over how the main opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, will advance in light of a judicial ruling barring her from participating. The deadline for registration is Monday. (Associated Press)
Machado overcame her history as a hardline activist at odds with Venezuela’s dominant opposition coalition in demanding foreign intervention against Nicolás Maduro, and became the overwhelmingly preferred presidential candidate among “a population desperate for change,” writes David Smilde in Responsible Statecraft. But, in light of the Maduro government’s determination to prevent her from running, “recent polling shows that a majority of Venezuelans would support any unified opposition candidate,” notes Smilde.
Smilde is adamant that the U.S. must avoid tacit support for a boycott of the unfair electoral process, “while boycotting an election that does not meet international standards may seem morally and emotionally satisfying, the research is quite clear that participation in an unfair election is more effective than abstaining.” (Responsible Statecraft)
Venezuela’s government faced a rising tide of international criticism — from the UN, Chile, Uruguay, Canada and Argentina, among others — over the arrest of two top aides to Machado this week. Several others have arrest warrants against them, including Magalli Meda, her campaign manager and a potential stand-in for Machado on the ballot, according to some analysts. (AFP)
Few details have been released about the alleged plots against Maduro, the reason behind the arrests of more than 30 people since January including a prominent human rights attorney and staffers of the leading opposition presidential candidate, reports the Associated Press.
The arrests demonstrate Maduro and his coterie are unwilling to cede an iota of power, according to El País.
Regional Relations
“Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo can become the newest ally of the U.S. and EU in the struggle against democratic backsliding,” argues Marielos Chang in Americas Quarterly. Arévalo will travel to the U.S. next week, and would “do well to signal what kinds of international diplomacy his administration will wield as it tries to rebuild the global image of a nation fighting poverty and violence.”
“The United States is “prepared” to deploy troops to Haiti as part of a multinational effort if the crisis in the country worsens, though officials are not actively considering such a move, according to the U.S. military commander for Latin America and the Caribbean.” — Responsible Statecraft
Haiti
Gang attacks continued in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince yesterday, including a shooting that left a gang leader dead, reports Reuters.
More than 33,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in a span of nearly two weeks since intense gang violence aimed to topple the govenrment, according to a new report from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. — Associated Press
This morning Miami Herald correspondent Jacqueline Charles reported a change to one of the people nominated to the internationally-backed transition presidential council. “Some are saying don’t be surprise if other names as replaced as high stakes political chess continues being played,” she wrote on social media.
“The question of what, or who, could bring stability to (Haiti) is asked with despairing regularity by outside observers as they see images of Port-au-Prince in flames and the brutality of the latest gang leader fighting his way to international attention,” reports the Guardian.
Ecuador
Ecuador’s security crackdown is focused on organized crime on the streets, but “recent cases show that high-level government corruption has also become a massive obstacle in the fight against organized crime,” reports InSight Crime. “The Ecuadorian government’s real battle may be for control of the state.”
Ecuador’s prosecutor general’s office detained the son of Vice President Verónica Abad, in relation to an investigation of influence trafficking. (El País)
Migration
Mexico pushed back against a controversial (and legally contested) law by the U.S. state of Texas that empowers local authorities to deport migrants illegally crossing the border. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denounced the measures as “draconian,” as well as “dehumanizing” and “anti-Christian,” — he warned against any precedent that leads to local state entities superseding federal authority on matters of immigration on both sides of the border, reports the Washington Post.
Mexico
The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación target U.S. and Canadian retirees with scams that empty their bank accounts, reports the New York Times.
El Salvador
The U.S. has in custody six of 27 Salvadoran MS-13 gang leaders accused of terrorism. The information comes amid growing suspicions that the Bukele administration in El Salvador has illegally freed gang leaders in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown on gangs that has led to mass detentions, reports El Faro.
Chile
A study by the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez found elevated support for the populist governments of Argentine President Javier Milei and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele among Chileans. (El País)
Argentina
A human rights activist in Argentina was beaten, sexually abused and threatened by two attackers who graffitied her wall with President Javier Milei’s favorite slogan (Viva la Libertad Carajo) before leaving. The group to which she belongs, children of victims of the dictatorship, linked the attack to the president’s hate discourse. (Página 12)
Milei has officially remained silent, but gave “likes” to social media postings questioning the attack and its relevance. (Corta)
Regional
Argentina’s major dengue outbreak “is on track to smash previous records, reflecting wider worry around South America where warmer and wetter weather has led to a surge in cases,” reports Reuters.
Panama
Low water levels have decimated traffic through the Panama Canal, but have not affected the finances of the passage’s host country, which introduced hefty increases in tolls before the water crisis started, reports the New York Times.
Critter Corner
A Bolivian conservation programme has identified at least 60 'Paddington' bears in areas where they had not been spotted before. The animal is the inspiration behind the beloved fictional character from “Darkest Peru”, reports the Guardian.