Hurricane Eta lashes Nicaragua and Honduras (Nov. 5, 2020)

Hurricane Eta moved towards Honduras yesterday as a weakened tropical depression but brought destructive heavy rains. Hundreds of people have been forced from their homes due to flooding and two deaths were reported in Honduras so far. The government declared a Red Alert yesterday for the entire country. La Ceiba, in the most affected area, had a curfew yesterday. Highways and bridges in Honduras' north were washed out. (Criterio, ConfidencialHN, Radio Progreso,H/T Daniel Langmeier for Honduras sources)

Officials said that least 559 people in Honduras had had to move to shelters or go to relatives’ homes to escape flooding, and at least 25 people had been rescued. His agency reported at least six rivers causing significant flooding. (Associated Press)

At least three people died in Eta rain-triggered landslides in Nicaragua. Destruction in Nicaragua's Bilwi area was extensive. Officials said more than 51,000 families remained without power in the affected areas. The seaside Miskito community of Wawa Bar, south of Puerto Cabezas, was devastated -- residents had been evacuated before the storm, but returned yesterday to find their homes largely destroyed. (Associated Press, Nicaragua Investiga)

Forecasters said central and northern Nicaragua and much of Honduras could get 380 to 635mm (15 to 25ins) of rain, with 890mm in isolated areas. Heavy rain was also likely in eastern Guatemala, southern Belize and Jamaica. The quantities of rain forecast drew comparisons to 1998’s Hurricane Mitch, one of the most deadly Atlantic hurricanes in history. In Nicaragua one expert said the amount of rain is similar to that of Mitch, but in a different topography, which has made it less deadly so far. (Associated Press, Confidencial)

News Briefs

Brazil

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has been formally accused of embezzlement, money laundering, misappropriation of funds and directing a "criminal organization." The accusations revolve around suspicions the president’s son engaged in a widespread but criminal practice in Brazilian politics known as the "rachadinha," reports the Guardian. Under the scheme, which translates roughly as the “salary split”, corrupt politicians siphon off a chunk of their employees’ publicly funded wages for personal gain. Charges were also filed against 16 others including Fabrício Queiroz, a former police officer and longtime friend of Brazil’s president who had worked with Bolsonaro’s son and has well-documented ties to Rio’s underworld.

• Damian Platt analyzes allegations linking Bolsonaro to Rio's organized crime mafias in Jacobin.

• Bolsonaro refrained from commenting on the potential winner of the U.S. election, yesterday but reiterated his support for U.S. President Donald Trump, and suggested Democratic challenger Joe Biden would interfere on issues like the Amazon rainforest if elected. (Reuters)
  

Regional Relations

• Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have joined forces in a bid to combat illegal fishing by huge Chinese fleets off their coasts. A joint statement about illegal fishing did not explicitly mention China but comes as all of the countries have grappled with how to respond to a Chinese fleet of their coastal waters, reports AFP. (See Monday's briefs and Oct. 22's.)

• Evan Ellis details how China is expanding its presence in the strategically important Caribbean, through infrastructure investment, COVID-19 aid, and security sector assistance. He argues that the expanded Chinese presence in the Caribbean, known as the United States’ 'third border,' presents a policy challenge to the United States. (Wilson Center report)

• Trump's mercurial and unilateral approach to combating organized crime and drug trafficking in Latin America has largely backfired. His policies left anti-drug allies unmoored, provided political capital to presidents who undermined anti-corruption initiatives and squandered efforts to improve regional security by throwing resources at an ineffective border wall, reports InSight Crime.

• Haitian instability is an expensive headache for the Dominican Republic, DR President Luis Abinader said in a Wilson Center presentation. "We will be the speaker to the whole Americas, to the whole region, and also to countries like France (who historically have been tied to Haiti) so that we can work on a development plan for Haiti that will also help the Dominican Republic. Our country cannot continue to maintain the cost related to the situation in Haiti." (Dominican Today)

Colombia

• Seven people, including two prominent social leaders, have been killed in a spate of attacks in northern Colombia. The attacks happened on Tuesday in the northeastern department of Norte de Santander and Antioquia in the northwest, reports AFP.
  

Bolivia

• Conservative opponents of Bolivia's president-elect Luis Arce have announced a two-day strike starting today, reports AFP.

Migration

• Cuban asylum seekers stranded by the U.S. government's policies were dismayed by their compatriots' support for Donald Trump in Florida, reports Reuters.

Venezuela

• Many Venezuelan critics of Nicolás Maduro are hoping for Trump's reelection in the U.S., reports Reuters.

Nicaragua

• Nicaraguan lawmakers passed a law that would permit life-sentences if it is ratified by the legislature elected next year. (Confidencial)

Mexico

• Crop-substitution is a valuable policy in tackling poppy cultivation in Mexico, but the complex issues -- including geographic isolation -- faced by the Sierra campesinos requires a multi-pronged approach, reports InSight Crime.

Feminismos

• A 9,000-year-old skeleton of a female equipped "for big game hunting" has challenged one of the most widely held tenets about ancient hunter gatherers — that males hunted and females gathered. (New York Times)

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

Latin America Daily Briefing