The News Roundup is a regular section of the blog, featuring news articles from various sources around the web, with the goal of providing an overview of the weekly conversation about the countries where MCC works in the region. Quotes in italics are drawn directly from sources and do not necessarily reflect the position of MCC.
What’s in a Name? The Politics of Latin America’s Organized Crime Lexicon
Arguing about artificial labels that help make sense of organized crime in Latin America may seem trivial. After all, the reality lurking beneath these labels — bodies riddled with bullets, bank accounts stuffed with cash, and enough cocaine to sink a submarine — is so tangible, so immediate for the people wrapped up in its unceasing vortex. But the terms and phrases used about by governments and news outlets carry their own type of power. They help shape public opinion, domestic security policies, and the legal limitations of international actors. As organized crime in the region adapts to new realities on the ground, it’s imperative that our lexicon for it does so as well.
Apparently, Mexico may have to host the wall, too
Trump’s long-promised pledge to have the Mexican government pay for the wall was never realistic, and, as president, he has offered no plan to make that happen. It seems perhaps more unlikely that he will persuade a foreign nation to allow the United States to construct on its property, particularly given that the point of the wall is, among other things, to block the movement of people from that nation. Trump could theoretically get Mexico to “pay” for the wall by cutting off aid and funding to the country. But there’s essentially no way he could get Mexico to give up its territory.
Two journalists survive shootings in Mexico within 24 hours; three others killed this month
“However, it’s impossible to know because authorities lack credibility in their investigations because for years, more often than not, they have almost automatically discarded the journalistic work of the victims as motives for the attacks,” Garza said. He added that it was difficult to determine if people behind the violence are with organized crime, some level of government, security forces or a combination. “The bottom issue is impunity, attacks against journalists are rampant because practically everyone who has attacked a journalist in the past has gotten away with it,” Garza said. “So anyone can do it with the certainty that nothing is going to happen.”
Educating children in Guatemala before they decide to migrate to the US border
Meanwhile, there has been little economic development in the region, and there are limited educational opportunities for youth. These factors create the allure of opportunity in the north that “pulls” young people to migrate far from home. Research has confirmed the impact of these push-and-pull factors. In interviews with 404 unaccompanied minors or children separated from their families, the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees identified several patterns of harm in their home countries. They included violence by organized, armed criminal actors, such as drug cartels, gangs or state actors, and violence and abuse in their homes by caretakers. Many stated they had been abused by human traffickers while en route to the U.S.
El Salvador makes history as first nation to impose blanket ban on metal mining
Wednesday’s vote, which was expected by both sides to be much closer, builds on a rising tide of popular opposition to environmentally destructive projects across Latin America, where partial bans have been implemented in Costa Rica, Argentina and Colombia. El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Latin America and, while rainfall is plentiful, holding on to the water is a major issue because of unsustainable farming practices and inadequate industrial controls that have led to widespread soil erosion and the almost total destruction of its forests. More than 90% of El Salvador’s surface waters are estimated to be polluted by toxic chemicals, heavy metals and waste matter.
Nicaragua: Shirking Obligations on Gender-based Violence
Nicaragua has not submitted information to MESECVI since 2008, and its performance has become even more problematic in subsequent years. In 2012, the government passed a comprehensive law on gender-based violence (Law 779), which significantly advanced women’s legal rights and protections. Over the last three years, however, the law has been substantially undermined by legislative reforms and executive decrees. For example, mediation, an informal practice police historically used to resolve cases, was first eliminated and then reinstated. Mediation puts women’s lives at significant risk because there are no legal consequences for violating the non-binding agreements it produces. In addition, beginning in 2014, women seeking to file a legal complaint for gender-based violence were sent to neighborhood councils or the Ministry of the Family for counseling instead. Police units charged with handling domestic violence cases have been closed for over a year.
The rise of anti-immigrant attitudes, violence and nationalism in Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, Nicaraguans make up 75 percent of immigrants and represent around 7 percent of the total population. They often work in agriculture, construction and service sectors. Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica is not new, but attitudes toward Nicaraguans have become more prejudiced since the mid-20th century. Where Nicaraguans are seen as inherently violent, Costa Ricans see themselves as peace-loving. Where Nicaraguans are seen as poor, illiterate and uncultured, Costa Ricans see themselves as middle-class and educated. Where Nicaraguans are mestizo and dark-skinned, Costa Ricans are “white.”
What They Knew, and When They Knew It
As seen in newly revealed emails, reported here for the first time, officials at the highest levels of the U.S. government were aware almost immediately that U.N. forces likely played a role in the outbreak. Multiple federal agencies, from national security officials to scientists on the front lines, shielded the United Nations from accountability to protect the organization and themselves. Obama’s U.N. ambassadors, Susan Rice and Samantha Power, dodged the issue as the administration danced between often contradictory goals of protecting human rights, asserting American dominance, and defending an institution central to its multilateral diplomacy.
Colombia town vote to ban mining ‘does not change the law’: minister
Colombia’s government sided with mining giant AngloGold Ashanti on Monday, claiming Sunday’s vote in the central Colombian town of Cajamarca to ban mining has no consequences for what would be the world’s largest open-pit gold mine. In a referendum, the town’s voters banned mining, partly in an attempt to AngloGold’s plans to dig the mine.
Violent History Repeats Itself in Colombia’s Strategic Chocó Department
Chocó has long been contested territory between rival criminal groups attempting to control its drug production areas, its key shipment corridors and its ample gold resources. But although the violence is longstanding, recent government actions and the FARC peace process have created more criminal incentives for the ELN and the Urabeños to fight for power in Chocó, which is perhaps one of the most profitable Colombian departments in criminal terms. The latest official coca figures indicate that its coca cultivation areas stood just under 1,500 hectares in 2015, ranking it as the ninth Colombian department in terms of coca cultivation stretches. But Chocó has repeatedly been singled out for being a key producer of Colombian illegal gold, whose total annual value was recently estimated at $3 billion.
The Diplomatic Dust-Up Between France and Bolivia — Over a Video Game
Bolivian officials weren’t exactly thrilled with how their country was portrayed in Wildlands. Interior Minister Carlos Romero said Wednesday his country sent a letter to the French ambassador in La Paz lodging a formal complaint and reportedly asking the government to intervene, though it’s not clear how. “We have the standing to do it [take legal action], but at first we prefer to go the route of diplomatic negotiation,” Romero said.