Abbreviated News Briefs (May 5, 2017)

Abbreviated News Briefs

• The Sinaloa Cartel is in the midst of a bloody war of succession, since the capture and subsequent extradition to the U.S. of its leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, reports the Guardian. The new generation angling to take over -- the "narco-juniors" -- seem to be inaugurating a messier period, leaving behind the discretion of their elders in favor of conspicuous displays of wealth, violence and impunity. Earlier this week authorities arrested one contender in the succession fight, raising the possibility of further bloodshed. (See Wednesday's briefs.)

• Mexican women have reacted with anger at a tweet by the Office of the Public Prosecutor suggesting a young women's lifestyle was to blame for her murder, reports the BBC. Lesby Berlin Osorio, 22, was strangled on Wednesday night with a telephone cord on the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) campus in Mexico City. Tweeting almost 50,000 times with hashtag #SiMeMatan, people speculated how their personal lives would be used against them if they were murdered.

• International investments in Mexico's auto sector are not spilling over to workers in part because of protection contracts -- agreements negotiated between a company and a union that doesn’t legitimately represent workers -- reports Bloomberg. "Mexican assembly-line workers earn about one-tenth of what their U.S. counterparts make. Adjusted for productivity, base wages for workers in plants that make transportation equipment rose 20 percent in Mexico between 2006 and 2016, according to calculations by Boston Consulting Group Inc.; in China, they climbed 157 percent over the same period."

• At least 10 people were killed in clashes between security forces and fuel thieves in Mexico's Puebla State, reports the Los Angeles Times. Four soldiers and six civilians died in two clashes Wednesday night in one of the primary areas for theft from fuel pipelines that link refineries to central Mexico, reports the Wall Street Journal. (See April 27's briefs.)

• Eight Latin American countries have collectively denounced Venezuela's "excessive use of force" against civilian protesters after the death toll from anti-government unrest in the country rose to 36, reports Al Jazeera. In the meantime protesters have maintained street presence and pressure on the government.

• A Colombian U.N. employee working on crop-substitution was kidnapped by a dissident FARC faction, marring a visit by UN Security Council ambassadors to show support for the peace deal implementation. It's the first time the entire Security Council has travelled to South America, a significant demonstration, reports Al Jazeera. A group of UN officials in coordination with Colombian authorities was attempting to negotiate the worker's release.

• Argentine human rights activists reacted with fury to a Supreme Court ruling this week that could allow human rights abusers to get out of jail early. Given delays in the justice system, many could be released as soon as their appeals are heard, reports the Guardian. Families of victims of the military dictatorship say its part of an ongoing attempt to downplay the abuses of the military regime. "This government is trying to make forgetfulness normal," said Estela de Carlotto of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo yesterday. (See yesterday's briefs.)

• The U.N. expressed concern over an attack that wounded 13 members of an indigenous tribe in northern Brazil, and called for an investigation, reports AFP.

• Jose Dirceu, chief of staff to former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been released from prison while he appeals his corruption sentence, reports the BBC.

• The Wampis indigenous community in Peru declared itself an autonomous nation two years ago, now it is asking the Peruvian government for formal recognition in order to protect its territory, according to the Independent.

• A documentary by the Guardian -- the Fight -- documents the struggle for disability rights and benefits in Bolivia that led to police repression of campaigners. "Even in a world grown numb to images of protesters being beaten with truncheons, sprayed with pepper spray and doused by water cannon, there is still something shocking about a video showing the brutal treatment of wheelchair users, amputees and other disability activists by Bolivian riot police."