Guaidó briefly detained by Sebin (Jan. 14, 2018)

Venezuelan National Assembly president Juan Guaidó was briefly detained by Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) agents yesterday. He was apparently detained while traveling on a highway yesterday, two days after declaring he would be willing to temporarily assume Venezuela's presidency until new elections could be organized. The opposition-led National Assembly -- as well as much of the international community -- considers President Nicolás Maduro's second term, which began Thursday, to be illegitimate having been obtained through elections widely denounced as irregular. (See Friday's post.)

A video recorded by a driver stuck in traffic on the highway appeared to show masked, heavily armed Sebin agents pulling a man assumed to be Guaidó from his vehicle and pushing him into a white van before driving away, reports the New York Times.

Venezuela’s Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez said the Sebin officers acted unilaterally -- possibly seeking to embarrass the government -- and will be sanctioned, report Efecto Cocuyo and the Miami Herald. He also suggested the opposition had orchestrated the episode. Guaidó questioned this version of events, and later told the Associated Press that the officers informed him they were carrying out orders from above.

The confusing incident will likely further increase already high tensions between the government and the political opposition, as well as Maduro's international isolation, reports the Associated Press. Opposition leader Leopoldo López, who is under house arrest, suggested that Guaidó's release represents a break within the ranks of Sebin, reports Efecto Cocuyo. Opposition party Acción Democrática suggested the detention was the work of the government's more militaristic faction. (Efecto Cocuyo)

Two international journalists covering the detention -- Osmary Hernández of CNN Español and Beatriz Adrián of Caracol Radio -- were also arrested and held for hours by the Sebin. (Efecto Cocuyo)

In a speech Friday, Guaidó said the constitution grants him the legitimacy to exercise the presidency and call new elections. He called on citizens and the armed forces to stand by his efforts, reports the Caracas Chronicles. He did not actually declare himself the country's legitimate president -- though yesterday he characterized his detention as a coup d'etat, reports Efecto Cocuyo.

Nonetheless, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro and Brazil's government responded by recognizing him as Venezuela's transitional leader. Venezuela's exiled former attorney general Luisa Ortega also referred to Guaidó as the "new interim president."

Most other countries struck a more careful balancing act. Geoff Ramsey told the Washington Post the U.S. government exercising caution and is engaged in a “careful little dance” in Venezuela. Though they has said Maduro does not legitimately hold his post, U.S. officials have stopped short of cutting off diplomatic relations. The State Department called for a transition government and said it stands by Guaidó. (Associated Press) Similarly, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera offered Guaidó full support, and called on Maduro to transfer power to the National Assembly president.

Guaidó is calling on citizens to focus their efforts in a massive outpouring on Jan. 23. In recent days he has tried to rekindle small protests by holding rallies in diverse cities, reports the Wall Street Journal.

News Briefs

International Relations

• Maduro's government in Venezuela, and Brazil's rightward swing under new President Jair Bolsonaro make confrontation between the two -- including the potential for military escalation -- increasingly likely, according to the Washington Post. (See last Wednesday's briefs.)

Nicaragua

• The New York Times reports on a safe house in Costa Rica where 50 Nicaraguan political fugitives have taken residence, just a fraction of the 23,000 who have fled their country's political repression since last April.

• Former Nicaraguan Supreme Court magistrate Rafael Solis told the New York Times he regrets his 2009 ruling permitting President Daniel Ortega to run for reelection, but has few illusions that his defection last week will have a major impact on Nicaragua's political crisis. (See Friday's briefs.)

Migration

• A new migrant caravan is forming in Honduras, organized through social media, much like the ones that grabbed headlines last year. This time, the new Mexican government said it is preparing to help migrants enter "in a safe and orderly way." (Washington Post) But U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his narrative of migrants as security threats, and maintains that a border wall with Mexico is the only solution. (New York Times)

• A member of the October 2018 caravan was killed after being deported back to Honduras by U.S. authorities who rejected his asylum claim. (Guardian)

Honduras

•  Halfway through its four-year mandate, the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) has scored some important successes but confronts growing sabotage from segments of Honduras’s political elite determined to undermine the Mission’s work, reports American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies.

Cuba

• The internet -- and greater access to it -- is giving Cuban activists space to debate in a country where political freedoms are limited, writes Yoani Sánchez in a New York Times Español op-ed recounting her work to breach digital censorship over the past decade.

Ecuador

• Seventeen people died and 12 more were injured at a fire in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Guayaquil, after patients set fire to their mattresses in an attempt to break out of the unlicensed facility. (Reuters)

Spiders

• Giant spiders hanging out in Minas Gerais skies seem terrifying, but are apparently not dangerous at all. (Guardian)

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

Latin America Daily Briefing

Maduro's second term denounced as illegitimate (Jan. 11, 2019)

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro assumed his second term yesterday -- blaming the U.S. for the country's woes, but also expressing a desire for "a new beginning." He also lashed out against the European Union, as well as Colombian and Brazilian leaders. (Guardian) 

The inauguration marked a turning point in Venezuela's protracted crisis. (See yesterday's post.) The new administration was immediately labeled as illegitimate by the opposition-led National Assembly and the OAS. New National Assembly president Juan Guaidó said the congress was Venezuela's only remaining legitimate power, and that it would work with foreign powers towards a transitional government in Venezuela. He called for an open meeting today in the Caracas U.N. office, to discuss a transition law, reports Efecto Cocuyo. Guaidó's combative stance could rapidly escalate political tensions. Maduro has threatened to dissolve the National Assembly altogether. And Venezuela's political opposition has failed to reach consensus strategies in the past, notes the Washington Post. (See Monday's post.)

Internationally, Maduro is increasingly isolated. "If there is any light in this bleak picture, it is that Venezuela’s neighbors are edging toward more assertive action to stem a crisis that, with the massive flow of refugees, threatens to destabilize several other countries," notes a Washington Post editorial.

The OAS voted not to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's second term -- 19 nations supporting the motion, six against and eight abstaining. Peru and Paraguay recalled their diplomats from Venezuela.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called the inauguration a sham, and said the U.S. would not recognize "the illegitimate result of a stolen election. The president of the European Parliament also called Maduro's new mandate illegitimate, and Canada's foreign minister called on the president "to immediately cede power to the democratically-elected National Assembly until new elections are held, which must include the participation of all political actors and follow the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela." (More negative reactions: Perú, Japan, Honduras, Argentina ...)

The international condemnation will make it even more difficult for Maduro to revive the country's crisis-wracked economy, reports the Wall Street Journal. But international isolation is not Maduro's main concern -- "he still has control of the institutions," WOLA's David Smilde told the Associated Press. "He has the guns. He has the money." Reuters notes that Maduro continues to enjoy the support of the armed forces, a key pillar of his power base. (See Wednesday's briefs.)

Russia accused the U.S. of undermining Venezuelan sovereignty and creating parallel structures of power in Venezuela, reports Efecto Cocuyo. And the presidents of Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua were among the few foreign dignitaries to attend..

Looking forward, Maduro promised to make economic policy announcements on Monday at the National Constituent Assembly, reports Efecto Cocuyo.

Looking for a recap? Efecto Cocuyo reviews the step-by-step of the past three years of Venezuela's political crisis of legitimacy. 

More from Venezuela

• Venezuela is planning a seismic survey along its border with Guyana, escalating a long-term border dispute with its neighbor over oil-rich waters. The move comes as Exxon prepares to develop giant deep-water reserves off the coast of Guyana, reports Bloomberg. (See Tuesday's briefs.)

• Americas Quarterly profiles Guaidó, the fresh face of Venezuela's political opposition.

News Briefs

Nicaragua

• Nicaraguan Supreme Court judge Rafael Solis Cerda has reportedly resigned -- the highest level government defection since Nicaragua entered a political crisis in April of last year. A letter appearing to be his, circulating on social media, accuses President Daniel Ortega and his wife Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, are dragging Nicaragua toward a civil war. The letter makes reference to the human cost of the crisis -- an estimated 325 deaths, 2,000 wounded, and 550 detainees -- and said he postponed resigning since April in hopes that the Ortega government would advance in dialogue with civil society. (Confidencial and Associated Press)

• The OAS Permanent Council will meet today regarding Nicaragua. (Confidencial)

• The Violeta Chamorro foundation awarded media excellency awards honoring Nicaraguan journalists who are imprisoned, in exile and Angel Gahona, killed in government repression of protests last year.

Migrants

• "The United States was made by its frontier. Today it is being unmade by its border," writes Greg Grandin in a poetic and history spanning piece in the Boston Review. "The horrors blend into each other, with the closing of the frontier hastening the hallucinatory collapse of historical time."

Mexico

• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has remained largely silent on the issue of the wall U.S. President Donald Trump is insisting on to divide the two countries. Though he was strongly opposed to it before his election, he has chosen to remain focused on domestic issues since taking office, reports the Washington Post. He maintains that development initiatives are the proper response to undocumented migration. 

• Ruling Morena party lawmakers passed a constitutional reform required to create a new national guard through committee hearings in the Lower House yesterday, reports Americas Quarterly. A full vote on the reform could come as soon as this weekend, though Morena and allies don't have the two-thirds needed to pass it on their own.

• The National Human Rights Commission and the U.N.'s human rights commission said the proposal goes against individual human rights guarantees and is contrary to international treaties, reports Animal Político.

• Mexican authorities are investigating an apparent gang turf battle in Ciudad Miguel Alemán, near the border with Texas, that killed at least 20 people. (Guardian)

• The Sea Shepherd environmental group said fishermen in the Gulf of California attacked a vessel working to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise in the area. (Guardian)

Guatemala

• "Washington is giving President Morales a pass on his efforts to evade justice," writes U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres in Americas Quarterly. (See Wednesday's post.)

Brazil

• Violence in Brazil's Ceará state could set a troubling precedent of gang cooperation against the government, reports InSight Crime. (See Wednesday's post.)
• The Guardian reports on Sao Paulo's "digital deserts."

Archeology

• The Easter Island's famous moai statues may have been built close to sources of fresh water, according to new research. (Guardian)

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

Latin America Daily Briefing

Bolsonaro's dangerous policies (Jan. 10, 2019)

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pulled out of a U.N. migration pact signed just last month, a potential sign that the incoming government will take a far harsher stance on immigration, reports the New York Times. Immigration was not a major campaign issue in last year's elections, but communities along the Venezuelan border have been increasingly resentful of the influx of Venezuelan's fleeing their country's crisis.

It's just part of what a New York Times editorial called a "fountain of far-right decrees" Bolsonaro has loosed since his inauguration last week: "undermining protections for the environment, indigenous land rights and the L.G.B.T. community, putting nongovernmental organizations under government monitoring and purging government contractors who do not share his ideology. "

The stakes are high for the planet as well as for human rights, warns Eliane Brum in the Guardian, noting that Bolsonaro's policies threaten environmental protections that are vital to combat climate change.

Divisions in the new government are also undermining its position with investors, who are concerned over opposing positions between Bolsonaro's economic and political teams, as well as presidential tweets that contradict senior aides, reports Reuters.

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Venezuelan crisis deepens

Though Venezuela has been in a deep crisis that affects all aspects of its citizens' lives, today marks a turning point in the political aspect: Nicolás Maduro will swear in for a second presidential term, a move most observers consider illegitimate as it is based on a May 2018 election marred by significant irregularities. (See New York Times and Associated Press, for example.) El País calls it a "point of no return."

Maduro arrived this morning at the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) to swear in, entering with his wife Cilia Flores on a red carpet, reports Efecto Cocuyo. He was sworn in there instead of at the National Assembly, reports the BBC. (See Monday's post.) 

Moving forward, the opposition-led National Assembly has said it will consider the government illegitimate, setting up a likely collision course with the supra-congressional pro-government National Constituent Assembly, writes David Smilde in the Venezuela Weekly.

Maduro faces increasing international isolation -- from the region, the U.S. and the European Union -- and an intensifying humanitarian crisis that his government refuses to recognize, reports Reuters. Sixty countries deemed last year's May election illegitimate, notes the Wall Street Journal. (See Monday's post.) 

Maduro warned of retaliation against Lima Group countries that criticized his government's legitimacy last week. (Reuters) 

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Bolivian President Evo Morales were among the foreign leaders who attended this morning's ceremony, reports the Associated Press.

Protesters at various Venezuelan consulates around the world protested Maduro's legitimacy, calling him a usurper, reports Efecto Cocuyo. In Venezuela protests in Lara state were repressed by the Bolivarian National Guard, reports Efecto Cocuyo separately.

Internal divisions inside the government could prove significant: the Washington Post reports that defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, told the Maduro to step down last month, threatening with his resignation if not. The military has been a key pillar of support for the Maduro administration, which cracked down on military personal accused of plotting against the government. A new report by Human Rights Watch and Foro Penal details cases of egregious abuse and torture, part of a systemic practise by Venezuelan security forces. (See yesterday's briefs.)

More from Venezuela

• Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly said newly announced deals between deals between state-run oil company PDVSA and U.S. and French companies are illegal because they were not ratified by lawmakers. (Reuters)
• Caracas street children in pictures - Guardian.

News Briefs

Guatemala

• The CICIG's relevance in Guatemala goes far beyond jailing corrupt politicians -- though that's a pretty big deal. The U.N. backed anti-graft body aims to help Guatemala obtain effective institutions, in a country where half the children are malnourished and rural areas are neglected, reports the New York Times. (See yesterday's post.)

Mexico

• Mexico is scarred by disappearances over the past 12 years -- officially more than 37,000. In Nuevo Laredo last year, 51 people were forcibly disappeared by Mexico's marines, part of a wider pattern of abuses by security forces that have not been investigated, reports The Nation.

• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador faces his first major challenge: fuel shortages causing mile long lines at gas stations and public transportation shutdowns in certain areas. The shortages have been caused by the government shutdown of certain pipelines, an effort to crack down on rampant fuel theft by criminal gangs. Security experts praised AMLO's commitment to tackling the powerful cartels. (Los Angeles Times and Washington Post)

• The latest from El Chapo's trial: text messages with his wife and alleged mistress. (Reuters)

Colombia

• Colombia's Special Peace Jurisdiction has has opened a half-dozen cases against hundreds of leftist guerrilla and military officers in its the first year of operation and expects to pass its first verdicts this year, reports the Associated Press.

Haiti

• The Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the U.S. is on trial, and evidence shows the administration was so determined to end the program that it ignored government research demonstrating inadequate conditions in Haiti. (Associated Press)

Trade

• The U.S. administration is examining the Central American Free Trade Agreement for ways to potentially block Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador's access to the U.S. market without disturbing the rest of the agreement, reports McClatchy DC.

Coffee

• Carlos Sánchz, who you probably recognize as the face of Juan Valdez coffee died at the age of 83. The New York Times calls him "one of the most recognizable pitchmen in the world."

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ... (I'm a bit behind so far in 2019, but I'll catch up over the next few days!)

Latin America Daily Briefing

Guatemala's court defends CICIG (Jan. 9, 2019)

Guatemala's Constitutional Court suspended President Jimmy Morales' unilateral decision to immediately terminate the U.N. backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala. (See yesterday's post.) The court acted on five of eleven challenges presented by Acción Ciudadana, the Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos, and Helen Mack, among others. Four of the five judges voted to suspend the controversial decision, except for Judge Dina Ochoa, appointed by Morales. (El Periódico, Soy 502, and La Hora)

Morales is willing to push the country towards a constitutional crisis in his quest to oust the CICIG, a move that is widely viewed as an attempt to shield himself and Guatemala's powerful corrupt elite from investigation, report InSight Crime and the Guardian.

The U.S. embassy in Guatemala joined international criticism of Morales' decision, tweeting yesterday that the U.S. is concerned about the future of anti corruption efforts in Guatemala.

In the midst of the political crisis, Ministro de Gobernación Enrique Degenhart dismissed the head of the National Civil Police, replacing him with the adjunct director general. (Soy 502) 

And the Procuraduria General de la Nación presented impeachment motions against CC judges before Guatemala's Supreme Court, accusing the magistrates of resolutions contrary to the constitution and abuse of power. (La Hora)

Protesters in favor and against the decision to terminate the CICIG demonstrated in Guatemala City yesterday, reports El Periódico.

More: Martín Rodríguez Pellecer analyzes the CACIF business lobby's hypocrisy the issue of corruption in Nómada. (See yesterday's post.) 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ceará on fire

Brazil's Ceará state remains the focal point of violent attacks on buses, public buildings and commerce ordered by prison gangs -- G1 counts 164 attacks over the past week, despite the deployment of 500 national guard troops. The governors of neighboring states Espírito Santo and Pará are also seeking federal security backup, reports Globo.

Officials believe the attacks are motivated by the state government's plan to change where prisoners are jailed, ending a long-term policy of separating inmates by gang affiliation, reports Reuters. The new state Penitentiary Administration secretary said the government must impose order in prisons. But tough discourse and federal forces are unlikely to dent the perennial problem of prison gang violence warn experts in Ponte. (See also BBC.) Several of the country's major prison gangs, including CV (Comando Vermelho) and the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) dispute drug trafficking territory in Ceará, but have united in common cause against the new state policy, reports El País.

The violence has been most intense in the state capital of Fortaleza, which has been brought to a standstill, reports the Guardian.

News Briefs

Venezuela

•  Venezuelan intelligence and security forces have detained and tortured military personnel accused of plotting against the government, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and Foro Penal. The groups analyzed cases involving a total of 32 people. "Some detainees were subjected to egregious abuses that amount to torture to force them to provide information about alleged conspiracies ... The abuses include brutal beatings, asphyxiation, cutting soles of their feet with a razor blade, electric shocks, food deprivation, forbidding them to go to the bathroom, and death threats. Several detainees did not have access to their families or lawyers for days. During their detention in prisons or military intelligence headquarters, they did not have access to adequate medical treatment." HRW emphasizes that these are not isolated cases of abuse, but part of a systemic practise by Venezuelan security forces.

• The abuses against the military, a key element of the government's power base, demonstrate the challenges President Nicolás Maduro faces moving into his extremely contested second term tomorrow, reports the Miami Herald.

• Maduro's second inauguration tomorrow, without having been chosen in a legitimate election, marks a real breaking point for Venezuelan democracy argues Provea. (See Monday's post.)

• There is greater impatience internationally with Venezuela's leadership, though it is not clear what that means concretely, reports the Guardian.

• The U.S. sanctioned seven prominent Venezuelans yesterday, including former National Treasurer Claudia Patricia Díaz and television mogul and businessman Raúl Gorrín -- all in relation to a corruption scheme based on the country's complicated multi-tiered currency exchange system. (Miami Herald)

• Maduro is singularly unpopular (see yesterday's briefs), but so is the political opposition, notes the Washington Post.

International Relations

• Latin America's democratic institutions are increasingly under threat on multiple fronts: authoritarian governments in Venezuela and Nicaragua, Bolsonaro in Brazil, and an inward gazing government in Mexico, argues Jorge Castañeda in a New York Times op-ed. "The great absence, perhaps for better than for worse, is Washington. It will almost certainly not play a role in any of these potential or already burning crises ... But it surely will not lead the hemisphere away from these authoritarian temptations, nor toward greater collective responsibility."

• The Mercosur trade bloc a memorandum to increase economic and commercial cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission, a sign of the group's interest in diversifying beyond the Western Hemisphere, writes Andrés Serbin at the AULA blog.

Migration

• U.S. President Donald Trump insists that a $5.7 billion wall along the border with Mexico is the only solution to undocumented migration, which he called "a growing humanitarian and security crisis" yesterday. (Washington Post) Response to the perennial unilateral demand in Mexico was muted, reports the New York Times.

• WOLA emphasized: "there is no security emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. What we do have at the border is a growing humanitarian crisis, as tens of thousands of Central American children and families come to the border each month seeking asylum."

• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador launched his own plan to stimulate the economy on the Mexican side of the border, aimed in part at improving Mexico's economy and dissuade citizens from migrating in search of better opportunities, reports the Associated Press.

Argentina

• A major corruption investigation in Argentina has the opportunity to overcome accusations of partisanship if the judiciary advances against big fish who are accused -- major businessmen, relatives of President Mauricio Macri, as well as former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, argues Hugo Alconada Mon in a New York Times Español op-ed.

Peru

• Peru's new attorney general criticized President Martín Vizcarra's proposal to revamp the prosecutor's office, warning that it would affect the institution's autonomy. Vizcarra proposed the legislation after the previous attorney general refused to step down following an outcry over his attempts to remove prosecutors from a corruption investigation last week. (Reuters)

Organized crime

• Cartel operatives have become the dominant Hollywood bad guy, a leading genre that "associates Latino identity with inherent, pure evil again and again" writes Héctor Tobar in a New York Times op-ed.

Photography

• Graciela Iturbide’s Photos of Mexico Make ‘Visible What, to Many, Is Invisible’ -- New York Times' Lens column.

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ... (I'm a bit behind so far in 2019, but I'll catch up over the next few days!)

Latin America Daily Briefing

Morales announces immediate termination of CICIG (Jan. 8, 2019)

Guatemala's constitutional crisis deepened rapidly yesterday when the government gave international anti-corruption prosecutors 24 hours to leave the country. President Jimmy Morales accused the U.N. backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) of putting the country's security at risk. Foreign minister Sandra Jovel met with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres yesterday and accused the CICIG of meddling in Guatemala's internal affairs. (Nómada and New York Times)

The move comes a day after Guatemalan migrations officials attempted to block reentry to the country of a Colombian national CICIG investigator and were forced to back down by a Constitutional Court order backed by public ministry arrests. (See yesterday's post.) This all takes place within a series of escalating attacks by the Morales administration against the CICIG, which since August, 2017, has been consistently protected by the CC, Guatemala's highest court.

Guterres "strongly" rejected the summary termination of the CICIG, and said he expected Guatemala to fulfill its obligations under the agreement with the U.N. that established the CICIG a decade ago. The U.S. did not immediately comment, part of an ongoing trend in the face of Morales' onslaught, a change from previous administrations' strong defense of the CICIG. 

Yesterday Morales also asked the public ministry to investigate alleged wrongdoing in the CICIG and accused the Constitutional Court magistrates of meddling in areas outside of their jurisdictions, reports El Periódico.

Morales' decision to summarily end the CICIG's mandate was immediately challenged legally. Acción Ciudadana requested a judicial stay on the order terminating the CICIG agreement, and asked for the removal of Morales and Jovel, based on their failure to recognize CC decisions. (El Periódico) And lawyer Alfonso Carrillo also requested a stay in which he noted the conflicts of interest Morales and many lawmakers have when it comes to the CICIG, which is investigating their alleged wrongdoing. (Prensa Libre)

Additionally several experts question whether Morales can even terminate the mandate in this fashion, reports Prensa Libre.

Morales' efforts to undermine the popular anti-corruption commission date to investigations into alleged illicit financing in his 2015 presidential campaign, as well as investigations of alleged graft by family members. He took the unusual step of making yesterday's announcement flanked by family members of those accused of corruption by the CICIG in the past decade, notes Nómada. The Bitkov family -- which became the focal point of an anti-CICIG campaign in the U.S. last year, alleging links between the commission and Russian interests -- spoke after Morales, reports La Hora. (See post for April 27, 2018.) Another notable participant was Francisco Valdés Paiz, accused in the 2009 murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg. The family of former government minister Carlos Vielmann, in preventive detention on accusations of torture and summary execution, also spoke. (See briefs for Oct. 29, 2018.)

Morales' efforts have the support of Guatemala's most powerful business lobby, the CACIF, which yesterday backed the president's allegations that CICIG investigations have been marked by grave procedural flaws, reports La Hora. A group of lawmakers is analyzing measures that could undermine the CC, such as combining it with the Supreme Court, reports El Periódico.

U.S. lawmakers Senator Patrick Leahy, Representative Eliot L. Engel, Representative Norma Torres, and Representative James McGovern came out in defense of the CICIG and against efforts to undermine the fight against corruption in Guatemala. (La Hora and La Hora)

(See also Reuters, Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press)

News Briefs

Nicaragua

• Three hundred journalists and press freedom advocates called on Nicaragua's government to respect freedom of expression and free journalists Miguel Mora y Lucía Pineda Ubau who have been detained since Dec. 21. (Confidencial)

Brazil

• Bolivian President Evo Morales lamented the rise of intolerance in the region, which he linked to the U.S. administration's xenophobia. He was responding to a Brazilian lawmaker of President Jair Bolsonaro's party who said those who like indigenous communities should go to Bolivia which is governed by an "Indian." (Guardian)

• Bolsonaro's first steps after taking office last week included transferring responsibility for certification of indigenous lands to the ministry of agriculture, which has historically favored industrial interests over conservation, reports the New York Times.

• Brazil's swing to the right under Bolsonaro was even quicker and more pronounced than expected: in just a few days he "eradicated the country’s Labor Ministry, ordered monitoring of nongovernment and international organizations, undermined indigenous rights and excluded the LGBT community from explicit protection by the Human Rights Ministry," reports the Washington Post.

• Pension reform remains a major challenge for Brazil's newest government, which lacks Congressional support to unilaterally pass reform, notes the Wall Street Journal.

• But three-quarters of Brazilians believe the new president is on the right track, and optimism has jumped drastically in the months since Bolsonaro was elected, reports the Economist.

Venezuela

• Most Venezuelans desperately want President Nicolás Maduro out -- but they also oppose foreign military intervention to achieve that objective, writes David Smilde at the Conversation. Many also voiced opposition to ongoing talks with the government, which have proved fruitless in the past. However, they do support "a negotiated settlement to remove President Maduro from power," demonstrating the necessity for diplomacy in resolving Venezuela's crushing crisis.(See yesterday's post.)

• Latin American countries have not done enough to oppose Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro -- but the region's commitment to democracy requires overriding its principle of nonintervention argue Benjamin Gedan and Fernando Cutz in a Washington Post opinion piece. (See yesterday's post.)

• Reports show a third of Venezuelans eat only one meal a day, and that the economy has shrunk 50 percent since Maduro assumed office six years ago. (Miami Herald)

Guyana

• Oil income has complicated Guyana politics headed into presidential and legislative elections in coming months, reports the Economist. And Venezuela is attempting to take advantage of the disarray to reassert old claims to Guyana's oil-rich waters.

Cuba

• Cuba's communist system shows no signs of collapse, but a debate over whether to democratize or maintain dictatorship is in full swing -- though outsiders might be hard pressed to understand the rhetoric, writes Jon Lee Anderson in a New York Times Español op-ed, part of the Revolución 60 series commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Cuban revolution this year.

• The Cuban revolution synthesized a generation's desire for autonomy -- anti-imperialism. But the Cuban dichotomy is now about authoritarianism or democracy, wrote Sergio Ramírez in an earlier piece in the series.

• Cuba could have a new constitution in February, which would create the position of a prime minister and weaken the president's post, reports the Miami Herald.

Migrants

• The U.S.'s policy of metering asylum application appointments at the border is pushing many migrants into the hands of human smugglers, reports the New York Times.

• About a third of the people deported from the U.S. last year, about 60,000 by October, were sent through Tamaulipas in Mexico, an area so dangerous that Mexican officials and advocates say the practise is a violation of deportees' human rights. (Washington Post)

Colombia

• Deforestation favors organized crime in Colombia, reports InSight Crime.

Mano Dura

• Hardline security policies continue to attract politicians and voters in the midst of Latin America's homicide epidemic, despite evidence that they only worsen violence. But alternative policies from around the region show more promising results, reports World Politics Review.

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ... (I'm a bit behind so far in 2019, but I'll catch up over the next few days!)

Latin America Daily Briefing

CC defends CICIG investigator (Jan. 7, 2019)

Guatemalan migration authorities permitted an international corruption investigator to reenter the country yesterday, after a tense 26 hour standoff in defiance of Guatemala's highest court. Colombian national Yilen Osorio, an investigator with the U.N. backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was detained on Saturday by migration authorities in the international airport. They were acting in response to a government directive from December, that prohibited the reentry of 11 CICIG investigators for reasons of national security. But a Constitutional Court decision immediately invalidated that decision, meaning Osorio should have been allowed into Guatemala.

The standoff was resolved yesterday when the Constitutional Court ordered Osorio's release within the hour, threatening the migration director with immediate termination otherwise. The CC did not mention Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel nor Government Minister Enrique Degenhart, who have led the moves against the CICIG.

It's the latest in a series of escalating attacks by the Morales government against the CICIG, which has been shielded by the Constitutional Court. Yesterday attorney general Consuelo Porras sent more than 30 representatives and security personnel to the airport to protect Osorio and ordered the detention of two immigration officials who denied his entry. It's her first strong move in favor of the CICIG since assuming office last year .

Nómada calls the Morales administration's ongoing onslaught part of a "slow motion" coup as Guatemala heads into an electoral year and the president and close associates face accusations of corruption. Sixty-three organizations of civil society voiced concern over the situation yesterday, including Helen Mack and Rigoberta Menchu. 

Civic groups protested his detention outside the airport yesterday. Anti-CICIG demonstrators also gathered during the day.

Morales appointee Judge Dina Ochoa dissented from yesterday's CC decision. There are rumors that the Supreme Court will be maneuvering against CC judges in retaliation for their decisions against Morales.

Jovel travelled last night to New York, where she is scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres later today. La Hora reports that the Guatemalan government plans to denounce the pact creating the CICIG.

(El Periódico, El Periódico, Nómada, Associated Press, Soy 502, Soy 502, y Prensa Libre)

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Battle lines ahead of Maduro's second inauguration in Venezuela

Pressure in Venezuela is intensifying ahead of President Nicolás Maduro's second swearing-in later this week. His reelection last May was considered illegitimate by the opposition and much of the international community. 

On Friday the Lima Group, a coalition of mostly conservative governments from the region and Canada, urged Maduro to refrain from a second term and instead hand over power to the opposition controlled National Assembly as a first step to holding new, fairer elections, reports the Associated Press. The thirteen countries said they would not recognize Maduro's legitimacy in his second term. Though the U.S. is not part of the Lima Group, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo participated in Friday's meeting by video conference, reports the New York Times. Mexico abstained from the Lima Group declaration for the first time, a sign the López Obrador administration intends stick to a policy of non-intervention, and seeks a negotiated transition for Venezuela. (Miami Herald and El País)

The National Assembly started a new year of legislative sessions on Saturday. Opposition lawmakers chose 35-year-old Juan Guaidó of the Voluntad Popular party to lead the only state body considered independent from the executive power. About 20 foreign diplomats from the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy and Germany attended the assembly’s inaugural session in a show of solidarity, reports the Associated Press.

Guaidó said Maduro's second on Jan. 10 will mark a rupture of the constitutional order, and promised to create a "Transition Commission" to recover democracy in Venezuela. (Efecto Cocuyo)

The promise is vague, but could be a first step towards a democratic opposition group with the authority to negotiate an actual transition with Venezuela's power holders, write David Smilde and Abraham Lowenthal in The Hill. They note -- again -- that military intervention would be disastrous, though the option keeps coming up in discussions about Venezuela.

Maduro called for "civil-military union" ahead of Thursday's inauguration, and said yesterday that he is responding to a popular mandate. (Efecto Cocuyo)

The OAS called an extraordinary session of its permanent council to address the Venezuela situation on Thursday, and voiced support for Guaidó. (Efecto Cocuyo)

More from Venezuela

• A Supreme Court judge magistrate fled Venezuela ahead of the inauguration, saying he would not ratify Maduro's second term. Christian Zerpa had been a crucial Maduro ally in the court which has backed all of the government's controversial decisions in recent years. The Supreme Court said Zerpa had been accused of sexual harassment in November and referred to him as a "former magistrate." (Reuters and Efecto Cocuyo)

• Speaking from the U.S., Zerpa said Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, is in control of the Venezuelan judiciary. He said the decision makers in Venezuela are Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, Tareck El Aissami, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez and Delcy Rodríguez. (Efecto Cocuyo)

• Efecto Cocuyo notes that two lawmakers from the PSUV party attended Saturday's inaugural session, contrary to the ruling party line that holds the National Assembly in contempt.

• Without even soap, Venezuela's health care system is heading for total collapse warn experts. (Guardian)

News Briefs

Brazil

• It's going to take a couple of posts to catch up Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's first days in office -- more on that tomorrow. For now: Bolsonaro said he'd be open to hosting a U.S. military base to counter supposed Venezuelan influence in the region, reports the Associated Press. Brazil's armed forces were taken by surprise by the offer, and are not thrilled by the idea, according to Reuters.

• Attacks in Brazil's northern Ceará state have continued since Wednesday, despite the deployment of at least 300 members of the elite National Public Security Force. Officials believe the attacks on banks, public buildings and vehicles were ordered by powerful prison gangs in retaliation for new tighter rules for inmates. (Guardian)

• Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel will implement a shoot-to-kill security policy, and said the state needs a Guantánamo Bay style prison camp. Human rights activists warn the moves will likely worsen an already grave security situation. (Guardian)

Migration

• Two weeks after the U.S. announced a drastic change in immigration policy -- that asylum seekers will be kept in Mexico while awaiting adjudication -- Mexican officials remain in the dark over how the plan will be implemented, reports the Guardian. (See Dec. 21's post.)

Mexico

• Central American migrants hoping to reach the U.S. are settling into Mexico for the medium term. As they await asylum appointments in the U.S. 2,200 have applied for humanitarian visas in Mexico, reports the New York Times.

• Testimony at the New York trial of Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán seems to indicate points of contact between Mexico's underworld and U.S. law enforcement agencies, reports the New York Times. Former Sinaloa heir apparent Vicente Zambada Niebla also alleged that a senior military officer in the Mexican defense ministry and a member of former president Vicente Fox’s security team – were accomplices of the Sinaloa cartel, reports the Guardian.

Cuba

• The more that is known about Havana Syndrome, the more mysterious it gets. The latest? The sounds that U.S. and Canadian diplomats posted in Cuba heard before suffering a variety of severe physical symptoms were recordings of crickets. (New York Times and Guardian)

Juntas nos defendemos

• A campaign pushing back against sexual abuse in Argentina demonstrates the power of collective action against machista culture, and the growing muscle of Argentina's feminist groups. In a New York Times Español op-ed I argue that they are demonstrating intertwined nature of the -- apparently diverse -- issues of femicide, abortion, sexual harassment, and gender equality. They are all part of a struggle to control female bodies, a battle that intensifies as women successfully demand and obtain more liberties.

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ... (I'm a bit behind so far in 2019, but I'll catch up over the next few days!)

Latin America Daily Briefing