Aldana granted U.S. asylum (Feb. 25, 2020)

The U.S. granted asylum to former Guatemalan prosecutor Thelma Aldana, yesterday. Last week the current Guatemalan attorney general, Consuelo Porras, asked the U.S. to extradite Aldana, who has been living there for nearly a year. Aldana faces arrest in Guatemala on corruption charges she says are politically motivated in retaliation for her anti-corruption efforts, in collaboration with the U.N. backed anti-impunity commission, the CICIG. Aldana was leading in polls for last year's presidential election, but was blocked by a Guatemalan court from participating. (See last Friday's post.)

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee announced Aldana's asylum on Twitter. "Thelma is a champion for justice and this is a major victory in the international fight against corruption," committee chairman Eliot Engel said. 

Last year the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency warned of credible threats to Aldana's life. Aldana garnered high-level enemies within Guatemala's political establishment for her work as attorney general, where she carried out high profile corruption probes in collaboration with the CICIG, including the investigation that landed former president Otto Pérez Molina in jail, after he was forced to resign in scandal.

The Movimiento Semilla party she participated in lauded the U.S. move as a recognition of the lack of due process Aldana would face in Guatemala.

(Associated Press, AFP, Associated Press, Prensa Libre)

News Briefs

Haiti

• A Haitian soldier was killed, and at least three more were wounded, in an exchange of gunfire between Haiti's army and police officers Sunday outside the National Palace. (See yesterday's briefs, Guardian) Caraibes, a local radio and television station also came under attack. Police protests this month are related to wages and working conditions, but they draw on the same widespread anger at corruption, government ineptitude, and economic woes, reports the Associated Press.

Chile

• Thousands of protesters clashed with Chilean police on Sunday, at the opening of the Viña del Mar music festival. Security forces used water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators armed with sticks and Molotov cocktails, reports AFP.

• In his Viña del Mar performance, Ricky Martin called on Chileans to demand human rights, and to never remain quiet.

• Bloodied eye socket graffiti -- on statues and posters on Chile's streets -- are a stirring reminder of the violence unleashed against protesters since last October -- Guardian photo-essay.

• Two months ahead of a plebiscite that could enable Chileans to rewrite their constitution, the path forward remains uncertain, writes J. Patrice McSherry in Nacla. "Chileans are very clear that they want a new political and socioeconomic model that assures their rights."

Venezuela

• One of every three people in Venezuela is struggling to put enough food on the table to meet minimum nutrition requirements as the nation’s severe economic contraction and political upheaval persists, according to a new study by the UN World Food Programme, conducted at the invitation of Venezuela's government. The study found that A total of 9.3 million people – roughly a third of the population – are moderately or severely food insecure, reports the Associated Press.

• A year after the world rapturously embraced opposition leader Juan Guaidó's claim to Venezuela's leadership, the Maduro "regime is firmly ensconced in Caracas even as the situation on the ground deteriorates further and whole tracts of the country are now in the grips of guerrilla groups and criminal outfits," reports the Washington Post. 

• Legislative elections are legally mandated this year in Venezuela and put the political opposition in a difficult position with regards to participation. The government could easily exploit divisions between parties that have been unable to establish a unified strategy. But, "if the opposition chooses to boycott the elections, it would be the first time a country would lock in single-party rule not through resorting to political violence, but through the opposition’s self-imposed withdrawal," writes Ociel Alí López in NACLA.

Mexico

• Designing effective policies to stop violence against women in Mexico requires data, writes Mónica Meltis in a New York Times Español op-ed. Angry activists need more than symbolic political gestures, she writes, calling for evaluation and monitoring of policies, in addition to using information to shape anti-femicide measures.

Regional Relations

• Last week Mexico extradited "El Menchito," allegedly a top figure in the Jalisco New Generation cartel. He is one of around 40 other alleged organized-crime figures have been sent to the United States since early December, when Attorney General William P. Barr visited Mexico to express concern over the government’s response to soaring violence, reports the Washington Post. Mexico has sharply increased extraditions of criminal suspects so far this year, in response to pressure from the U.S. Trump administration, reports the New York Times. The move also comes as the Mexican López Obrador administration struggles to show gains in the government's fight against organized crime and violence.

Migration

• The flow of migrants sent back to Mexico from the U.S. has slowed to a trickle, and experts say the Trump administration phasing out its year-old Migrant Protection Protocols policy, also known as "Remain in Mexico." Instead the U.S. is focusing on restrictive asylum policies -- shunting seekers to Guatemala, for example, or fast-tracking deportation proceedings, reports the Washington Post.

• Harsh U.S. immigration policies have pushed down legal migration by 11 percent, and new policies will push that number down further, reports the New York Times. 

Colombia

• U.S. authorities arrested a Drug Enforcement Agency special agent accused of laundering money for Colombian organized crime. (Washington Post)

Brazil

• Many Brazilians used Carnival celebrations to protest racial and gender inequality, as well as gun violence, reports the Washington Post. (See yesterday's briefs.)

• Public urination becomes a trending topic in Carnival season, but has more far reaching, structural problems all year round, reports the Washington Post.

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Latin America Daily Briefing