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.
Inside The Immigrant-Prosecuting Machine That Transformed America’s Deportation Policy
It’s unclear how many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who live in the United States have deportations on their records. But the number is likely high, given Border Patrol’s efforts to make sure most people the agency apprehends pass through formal deportation proceedings. Since prosecutors can easily secure convictions for illegal re-entry, Sessions’ order could fundamentally transform the federal justice system in a way CBP never imagined when it recommended systematically hauling border-crossers into criminal court with Operation Streamline in 2005. People nowhere near the border who would’ve previously been deported could further swell the court system and federal prisons.
Mexico’s military is a lethal killing force – should it really be deployed as police?
In Mexico, Naranjo was supposed to work “outside of hierarchies” to effect Peña Nieto’s aggressive anti-narcotics policy. He did his job with vigour. During his 2012-2014 tenure, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission reported that the army accumulated 2,212 complaints – 541 more than those lodged against the military in president Calderón’s first two years. Mexico has now been trapped between two duelling rogue forces – the cartels and the military – for ten years. Impunity is rampant. Of the 4,000 complaints of torture reviewed by the attorney general from 2006 to 2016, only 15 resulted in convictions. A decade’s worth of forced disappearances and killings have also gone unpunished.
Mexico’s Ruling Party, Others Caught in Old Tricks
The PRI ruled Mexico for 71 years, despite accusations of stolen or bought elections, before being ousted in 2000 voting. When it returned to power in 2012 under President Enrique Pena Nieto, its leaders couldn’t stop talking about how their party had changed. Now, with several former PRI governors in jail, on the lam or under investigation for corruption, the party is reeling and Pena Nieto’s unpopularity has hit record lows. Experts say it appears to be returning to tried and true methods to hold on to power. “Some people want to believe in this new PRI baloney, but it’s obvious that democracies tend to reward parties that are consistent over time,” said Federico Estevez, a political science professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. “You just sort of know what to expect from the PRI.”
Homicides in Guatemala: Conclusions and Recommendations
The importance of this exercise cannot be overstated. Without a clear understanding of the dynamics of homicides, local authorities and their international partners have a hard time developing clear strategies and effectively allocating resources. Yet, the answer remains elusive, at least when we consider the limited data that we studied. Indeed, our first and arguably most important conclusion is that, given the high number of homicides that fall into the category of unknown, it is hard to say with any precision that the statements made by authorities about gang-related or drug trafficking-related homicides are incorrect. But it equally hard to say that they are correct.
Mafia of the Poor: Gang Violence and Extortion in Central America (report)
This report focuses on the rise of Central American gangs, the ubiquitous violence that has followed in their wake, and the unsuccessful attempts by the region’s governments to address the social ills created by the ‘Mafia of the poor’. What the authorities should do, the text continues, is reduce the negative impact of gangs without necessarily branding them as enemies of the people. Well if that’s the case, then targeting the social and economic roots of gang culture might be a good place to start.
El Salvador’s new metal-mining ban is terrifying for ‘artisanal’ miners
The strategy was successful, and they managed to win a moratorium on metal mining in 2008. Vidalina Morales was one of the activists who led that effort. The diminutive mother of five was alarmed when prospecting began in her municipality of Cabañas, and she joined other mothers to try to stop the mining activities. The moratorium was a good first step, she said, “but there was still always the possibility that transnational companies may be able to come to explore.” Now, with the new law, that option is “closed,” Morales said. Which for her is the right outcome. “Without doubt we’re thrilled because these projects bring more damage than benefits,” Morales says. It’s also the right outcome for legislators on both sides of the aisle. More than 80 percent support an end to metal mining; even the right-wing ARENA party voted overwhelmingly to support the new rules. Just about everyone celebrated the momentous law. Everyone, that is, except Fredy Flores and the 600 artisanal mining families in San Sebastian.
Senate Democrats to Trump administration: Let Haitians stay
Sixteen U.S. Senate Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, are urging the Trump administration not to return tens of thousands of Haitians to Haiti as the head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is recommending. James McCament, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is calling for Temporary Protected Status, the immigration relief that has allowed 58,000 Haitians to live and work freely in the United States without fear of deportation, to be terminated as early as January. McCament made the recommendation to U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary John Kelly in an April 10 memo obtained by the Miami Herald. He argues that “conditions in Haiti no longer support its designation” for temporary protection/. He said the benefit, which expires July 22 for Haitians, should be extended for six months and then terminated.
The FIP’s findings are largely a microcosm of the security dynamics in the rest of Latin America. Robert Muggah, research director at the Brazil-based Igarapé Institute, has said the region’s “turbo-urbanization” has put cities on the frontlines in the unceasing battle to reduce violence. And as citizens continue to move from rural to urban settings, the importance of cities to countries’ overall security will only increase. It is estimated that 87 percent of all residents in Latin America will be living in cities by 2050. As in Colombia, urban violence across the region is geographically concentrated. According to Igarapé, approximately 80 percent of all homicides in Latin America’s large and medium-sized cities occur on just 2 percent of city streets. So in order for Latin America to shed its dubious distinction as the world’s most violent region, it will have to prioritize not just cities but the small, hyper-violent pockets where the vast majority of homicides take place.
The Life-Saving Weaving of Bolivia’s Indigenous Women
In the high-altitude city of La Paz, Bolivia, rates of heart problems dwarf those of cities at sea level. But an unexpected partnership between medicine and art is helping address this problem. Doctor Franz Freudenthal is a pediatric cardiologist who created a device that fixes abnormal openings in the heart through a non-invasive procedure. But these tiny, intricate devices cannot be made by machine, so Freudenthal enlisted help from the country’s indigenous Aymara women. With their traditional weaving skills, they knit these life-saving devices by hand. It’s the perfect blend of technology and artistry.