U.S. said Bukele gov't negotiated with gangs (Dec. 9, 2021)

The U.S. accused El Salvador's government of secretly negotiating a truce with the country's violent street gangs, reports the Associated Press. The U.S government alleges President Nayib Bukele's government bought the gangs' support with financial benefits and privileges for their imprisoned leaders including prostitutes and cellphones. Bukele called the accusations a lie on Twitter.

The U.S. Treasury made the accusations as it announced sanctions against two Bukele administration officials --  Osiris Luna Meza, chief of the Salvadoran Penal System and Vice Minister of Justice and Public Security, and Carlos Amilcar Marroquin Chica, chairman of the Social Fabric Reconstruction Unit. The U.S. said the officials negotiated with gang leaders to reduce homicides and obtain gang support for the governing Nuevas Ideas party in this year's legislative elections, reports El Faro.

This morning the U.S. also added Bukele's chief-of-staff, Carolina Recinos, to its sanctions list, accusing her of heading "a multiple-ministry, multi-million dollar corruption scheme involving suspicious procurements in the construction of a hospital, in addition to directing various government ministers to authorize several suspicious pandemic-related purchases." (U.S. Treasury)

El Faro reported the gang negotiation allegations in September of last year, and former Attorney General Raul Melara said he would investigate the report at the time. (See post for Sept. 4, 2020.) But Melara was ousted this year when Nuevas Ideas obtained a congressional majority. El Faro reports that the U.S. announcement yesterday confirms its investigation, and adds previously unknown details, including payments to gangs, the provision of cellphones to imprisoned gang members, and authorization for prostitutes to enter jails.

The U.S. also announced sanctions against Luna's mother, Alma Yanira Meza Olivares, who officials accused of collaborating with Luna in stealing pandemic relief supplies and then re-selling them to the government. Earlier this year, El Faro reported that Luna embezzled $1.6 million worth of food from a government program meant to feed Salvadorans during the pandemic, according to a criminal investigation led by ex-Attorney General Raúl Melara. (See Sept. 21's briefs.)

Melara's replacement in the attorney general's office, Rodolfo Delgado, rapidly dissolved the specialized teams of prosecutors investigating Luna's embezzlement scheme and the Bukele administration's negotiations with gang leaders, reports El Faro.

The U.S. accusations add to what was already a rapidly deteriorating relationship between Washington and San Salvador, reports the Washington Post.

In a series of Twitter messages, yesterday, Bukele said that in his last meeting with interim U.S. chargé d’affaires Jean Manes, she asked him for several things, including the release of a former San Salvador mayor, not to re-elect Delgado and to not pursue former President Alfredo Cristiani and former Attorney General Douglas Meléndez. He said he rejected the requests and said that after the meeting he cut off communication with Manes. (Associated Press)

Manes resigned last month, citing what she called the Bukele administration’s lack of interest in crossing “a bridge” of dialogue, as well as El Salvador’s refusal to extradite senior MS-13 leaders wanted on terrorism charges and concerns about a proposed foreign agents law. (See Nov. 23's briefs.)

News Briefs

More El Salvador

• El Salvador purchased 150 bitcoins as the cryptocurrency's value dipped over the weekend. (See Monday's briefs.) Bukele's policy has won him accolades from crypto aficionados, as well as criticism from mainstream economists, reports Deutsche Welle.

Migration

• The controversial U.S. migration policy, "Remain in Mexico" restarted this week. More than 30 migrants had their asylum cases processed in El Paso this week and are expected to be transported back to Mexico, reports the Washington Post. (See Dec. 3's post.) 

Honduras

• Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro's early actions have centered on building an effective transition to what she calls un estado solidario – drawing positive feedback even from potential opponents so far, writes Fulton Armstrong at the Aula Blog. "The U.S. reaction to her government will be crucial. Xiomara’s agenda, with its focus on the “root causes” of the country’s multiple crises, could make her an ideal ally to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s worked hard to focus U.S. policy on those drivers."
  
  
• He also argues that: "rhetoric that the 2009 coup reversed a flourishing democracy is exaggerated – it has always been a flawed democracy and ousted President Mel Zelaya, like his peers, was a flawed leader. But this vote and early reactions indicate broad agreement that the past 12 years have exhausted the country."
  
  
• Castro campaigned promising to legalize abortion in Honduras, but she faced an uphill battle in the face of strong conservative opposition, reports Reuters.
  
  
• Honduran electoral authorities began an unprecedented recount of some of the ballots from last month's congressional elections, this week, after allegations of fraud and inconsistencies at some of the ballot boxes. Congressional candidates from Castro's Liberty and Refoundation party and its ally, the Salvador Party of Honduras, have accused the ruling National Party of "inflating" the vote tally in their favor. Castro's ability to implement ambitious reforms depend on the balance of power in the unicameral congress, reports Reuters.
  

Chile

• Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast's father was a member of the Nazi party during WWII, reports the Associated Press based on a recently unearthed document. An ID card that appears to show Kast's German-born father joined the National Socialist German Workers’ party in 1942 adds a new twist to Chile's polarized presidential runoff later this month. In the past Kast has angrily rejected claims that his father was a supporter of the Nazi movement, describing him instead as a forced conscript in the German army.
  

Brazil

• Brazil's Chamber of Deputies rejected a bill that would have created a police force controlled by the executive, ostensibly aimed at combating terrorism. Critics said the parallel security force would have created a political police with the power to act secretly, and would criminalize social movements and political opposition. (Folha de S. Paulo, Forum)
  
  
• The Brazilian government's refusal to demand proof of vaccination from travelers -- against the country's health regulator's recommendations -- has angered critics, who say the country will become a haven for unvaccinated tourists. (Guardian)
  

Peru

• The world's largest area containing isolated and uncontacted tribes, the so-called Javari-Tapiche corridor in the Amazon, is under increasing threat from illegal logging and gold mining, advancing coca plantations and drug trafficking violence, a new report by organization of indigenous people of Peru's eastern Amazon, ORPIO. (Reuters)
  

Regional

• "Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, democracy advocates were already sounding alarms about a global “democratic recession.” ... The pandemic brought a double blow to democracy, distracting attention from these troubling trends while further weakening democratic institutions," according to a new Wilson Center report. "Strongmen and elected leaders alike clothed antidemocratic actions as public health measures, curtailing protests supposedly to encourage social distancing, and limiting speech supposedly to control disinformation."
  
  
• A comprehensive global report, released this week by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, adds to a growing body of evidence that students suffered massive educational losses during the pandemic, reports the Washington Post. The exceptionally long closures in Latin America and South Asia, the study’s authors say, dealt students there an outsize hit.
  

Bolivia

• Bolivia has the world's largest lithium reserves, but has long struggled to extract them, reports the Economist. The Arce administration is more open to working with foreign companies than previous governments, and is advancing towards implementing a new technology called “direct lithium extraction” (DLE), which could help the country turn a corner in its quest to industrialize lithium.

Mexico

• Mexico remained the deadliest country for reporters in the Western Hemisphere in 2021, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Three people were killed in retribution for their reporting this year, and the group said it was investigating six other killings of reporters in Mexico to determine the motives of the killers. (New York Times)
  
  
• Mexican manufacturing is booming, and the country's industry could benefit from increasing difficulties in sourcing from China and global efforts to shorten supply chains, reports the Economist.

Ecuador

• Ecuador's mining industry is threatened by legal uncertainty, the sector's guild said, citing a decision by the country's top court to withdraw environmental permissions for a project in a protected forest. (Reuters)

Haiti

• Haitian film 'Freda' was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and has generated excitement at home and abroad -- Washington Post.

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ... 

Latin America Daily Briefing