News Summaries in September 2024

“Did Mexico’s President Achieve His Revolution?” Washington Post, Sept. 24, 2024

As his six years in office come to an end, Andrés Manuel López Obrador is enjoying some of the highest presidential approval ratings in the world. “More than five million people have escaped poverty on his watch,” write Post reporters Mary Beth Sheridan and David Agren. His protégé, Claudia Sheinbaum, will succeed him as president of Mexico on Oct. 1. But López Obrador has failed to change Mexico in many of the ways he promised, such as attacking corruption and impunity,  ending the violence associated with the war on drugs, and reversing neoliberal policies that favored the wealthy. “Corruption and impunity remain rampant,” the reporters say. “Organized crime groups control wide swaths of the country’s territory. And while he vowed to overturn the neoliberal policies of his predecessors, he maintained Mexico’s free-market system and shrank the bureaucracy.” Among the remarkable aspects of his tenure is that he  sharply increased the public’s faith in their national government. Just 29 percent of Mexicans said they had that faith when he took office, but by 2023 that number had reached 61 percent, twice the figure in the United States. He increased subsidies for working-class voters, doubled the minimum wage, and in a country with a wide gulf between rich and poor, championed the vulnerable, saying “the poor come first.” López Obrador said he was giving to the needy money that had been stolen by politicians. This tradition of the avenger “is very old in Mexico,” said Ilán Semo, a historian at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City. “This is Pancho Villa. It’s Emiliano Zapata.” López established cash stipends for senior citizens, single mothers, the students, and the disabled. But things actually got worse for the poorest of the poor, said a former government official who evaluated social programs and was replaced in 2019.  Programs for the very poor “were replaced by broader benefit plans, including universal pensions for the elderly,” the Post says. Money went for day-to-day needs but wasn’t invested in education or housing and the percentage of Mexicans lacking access to health care doubled to 39 percent. Controversially, he empowered the military, giving it a greater role in fighting crime and putting it in charge of running ports, building highways and stopping migrants. Though homicides dropped, crime groups increased their territories. Along with the growing role of the military came less transparency, inviting abuse. His overhaul of the judiciary may erode democracy and threaten foreign investment, some analysts say. His great popularity raises the specter of one-party rule, which dominated Mexico in the 20^th century. 

“Musk Blinks First, Bows to Pressure in Brazil to Reopen X,” Washington Post, Sept. 23, 2024

 

The social network X said Sept. 21 that it has taken steps to meet the demands of the Brazilian Supreme Court to resume operations in the country. X owner Elon Musk had angrily defied demands by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre  de Moraes that he shut down accounts tied to disinformation damaging to democracy and also appoint a legal representative in the country. Musk accused the Brazilian of acting like a dictator. But he has taken steps to meet those requirements and has paid most of the fines the government levied. “The judicial compliance by X amounts to nothing short of capitulation by the billionaire tech mogul, who has sought to assume the global mantle of right-wing free speech champion since he took over the social network in 2022,” wrote Post reporter Terrence McCoy. Moraes issued an order in response to the white flag waved by Musk requesting additional documents. He gave X five days to submit paperwork to legalize its presence in Brazil. He did not say when or whether X will be able to resume operations. 

“In Mexico, a New Pitch to Influence Young Girls,” Washington Post, Sept. 22, 2024”

 

Women soccer players in Mexico are drawing millions of followers on social media – a phenomenon “with a clear message of empowerment,” write Post reporters Lorena Rios and Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas. It is “turning the image of female celebrity here on its head,” they say. “The rise of the women’s game in soccer-mad Mexico is challenging traditional notions of gender in a country in a country captured by machismo with a new kind of female role model: the athlete influencer, the strong, skilled woman who posts more about her feats on the field than her fashion choices off it.” For example, Stephany Mayor and Bianca Sierra, teammates on the Tigres Femenil in Monterrey, have a combined social media presence of about 200,000 followers, including  a YouTube video channel on which they post videos of their lives as a couple. The Tigres Femenil has nearly half a million followers on Instagram. Players such as recent acquisition Jennifer Hermoso of Spain, winner of the 2023 World Cup, have more than a million. Soña Portales, a 18-year-old soccer player who follows the team, sees the sport empowering women off the field as well. “When you see women killing it in whatever they do, that inspires us women to believe we can also kill it in our fields.” Barbara Arredondo, a women’s rights advocate from Monterrey, sees more women in Mexico moving into leadership roles in a number of areas. That’s taking shape not only in the form of the inauguration next month of Claudia Sheinbaum as Mexico’s first female president, but also in activism and other venues. “They are being more and more vocal about injustices and becoming a reference in their fields like never before,” she says. 

“Musk’s X Makes a Technical Move That Dodges Brazil’s Ban, at Least Temporarily,” New York Times, Sept. 20, 2024

 

The X social network suddenly went live again Sept. 18 in Brazil despite that country’s three-week-old ban on the online company owned by Elon Musk. X was able to elude the ban by making a technical change to how it routes internet traffic. “The new twist showed how Mr. Musk appears far from backing down in Brazil, making the dispute a significant test of strength between national sovereignty and the borderless power of internet companies,” wrote Times reporter Jack Nicas. But by the night of Sept. 18 a top Brazilian regulator said his agency believed it would soon be able to restore the block on X. A statement issued by X said that “while we expect the platform to be inaccessible again in Brazil soon, we continue efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return very soon for the people of Brazil.” The relatively soft tone of the statement contrasted with Musk’s previous sharp attacks on the Brazilian Supreme Court, which ordered the ban on the grounds that X was not blocking disinformation harmful to democracy. But the Brazilian regulator said he expects Musk to keep looking for ways to get around the ban  after X is shut down again. “This is going to be a cat-and-mouse game,” he said. 

“Far From Ohio, Haitian Americans Feel the Sting of Trump’s Words,” New York Times, Sept. 19, 2024

Former President Donald Trump’s false statements about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have stirred fear and anger among Haitian Americans across the United States. “It may seem like just politics,” said Karl Racine, a former District of Columbia attorney general who migrated to the U.S. from  Haiti when he was six. “But it’s serious business, with the real possibility of violence.”  About 1.2 million people of Haitian heritage live in the U.S. Since they began arriving in the 1950s because of political instability in Haiti, “many of them, and many of their U.S.-born children, have climbed the socioeconomic ladder and integrated into American society,” wrote Times reporter Miriam Jordan.  Newcomers take jobs as  home care aids, warehouse packers and factory workers. They join a Haitian diaspora that also includes doctors, entertainers, lawyers and professional athletes. Florida has the most people with Haitian ancestry, 440,000. They include people who serve on city and county commissions, in the state legislature, and in the U.S. Congress. New York has the second largest Haitian population followed by the Boston area. There are new Haitian enclaves in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio. Donald Trump has referred to Haiti as a “shithole country” and in 2017 said all Haitian immigrants have AIDS. After falsely accusing Haitian immigrants in Springfield of stealing pets and eating them, Trump repeats the accusation, knowing he is spreading lies, says Ruthzee Louijeune, the Haitian American president of the City Council in Boston. “It’s disgusting and it should make everyone livid. They’re using racism to distract us because they do not have a plan for the American people,” she said. Many Haitian Americans elsewhere say the attacks feel personal, even though they’re aimed at immigrants  in Springfield. Mia Love, who served as a Republican member of Congress from Utah, said she is no longer willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. “He has  painted a picture of monsters eating dogs and cats.” Her parents were immigrants from Haiti – her mother worked for almost three decades in a nursing home and her father long hours as a janitor. 

“Ohio’s Governor Sends State Troopers to Help Protect Students in Springfield,” New York Times, Sept. 18, 2024

 

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced Sept. 16 he was sending state troopers to guard schools in Springfield, Ohio, after a wave of bomb threats followed statements by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating the dogs and cats of city residents. A total of 33 bomb threats have targeted city schools, including two Sept. 16 that led to the evacuation of two elementary schools. City Hall and two Springfield hospitals also were threatened. “We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know their kids are safe,” DeWine said. Vance had been promoting the false statements about Haitians eating pets before Trump made them in the Sept. 10 presidential debate. DeWine said the 36 troopers would be at 18 school buildings. Many of the bomb threats came from overseas, the Ohio governor said. Vance said “all I’ve done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’s policies.” He then said “if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.” The threats also led Wittenberg University and Clark State College in Springfield to hold classes remotely. City officials canceled an annual festival called CultureFest scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28, citing safety concerns. 

"Venezuela Says It Arrested Fourth U.S. Citizen in Roundup of Foreigners," Washington Post, Sept.  17, 2024

Venezuela has arrested a fourth American citizen, part of a roundup of foreigners detained since authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro launched a crackdown on protesters against his widely discredited claim to have won the country’s July 28 presidential election. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the American plotted against Venezuela and was taking photos of electrical, oil and military facilities. Cabello also accused the CIA of organizing an assassination plot against Maduro, which U.S. officials firmly denied. The U.S. State Department said it is aware of “unconfirmed reports” of another arrest in Venezuela. A State Department spokesman said “any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.” Cabello tied the alleged plot to the prior arrests of three Americans including a former U.S. Navy SEAL and the detentions of two Spaniards and a Czech citizen. A United Nations report released Sept. 17 on Maduro’s crackdown described “unprecedented levels of violence” in Venezuela, including alleged sexual abuse and torture by Maduro security forces. A U.N. official said sexual violence “was perpetrated against women and girls, but also against men with reported electric shocks, beatings with blunt objects, suffocation with plastic bags, immersion in cold water and forced sleep deprivation.” The report documented “dozens of raids into private homes of suspected government critics, without arrest warrants, and prompted solely by videos posted on social media,” wrote Post reporter Samantha Schmidt. The Biden administration said Sept. 12 it was imposing individual sanctions on 16 Maduro allies, angering Venezuelan officials. Cabello Sept. 17 accused Spanish intelligence of sending mercenaries to Venezuela and said the detainees were involved in a trafficking network run by a Venezuelan criminal organization. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Sept. 17 with Venezuelan opposition leaders, saying the U.S. will strive to ensure that the will of Venezuelan voters is respected and to hold Maduro and his representatives accountable for their actions. 

“Cuba Slashes Size of Daily Bread Ration as Ingredients Run Thin,” Reuters, Sept. 17, 2024

 

Cuba Sept. 16  cut the weight of subsidized daily bread by 25 percent, or about the weight of a small bar of soap. Its communist government blamed the scarcity of wheat flour needed to produce the bread, a shortage it blamed on the U.S. trade embargo. It’s the latest shrinkage of Cuba’s ration book, or “libreta.” Reuters said the book “was once considered a hallmark of Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, providing a range of deeply discounted products to all Cubans, including bread, fish, meat, milk and cleaning and toiletry supplies.” But now the government only offers a fraction of those products, which often arrive in poor quality, late, or not at all. “The Caribbean island nation is suffering from extreme shortages of food, fuel and medicine, shortfalls that have primed a record-breaking exodus of its citizens to the nearby United States,” Reuters said. 

“How Mexico Is Helping Biden and Harris at the U.S. Border,” Washington Post,  Sept. 14, 2024

 

A big reason for the drop in apprehensions of migrants this year at the Mexico-U.S. border is that Mexico is blocking migrants from arriving there. The country has set up what Post reporter Mary Beth Sheridan calls “a massive dragnet.” The migrants “have been stopped at highway checkpoints or plucked from buses and trains,” she writes. “But the government can’t afford to deport them. So it sends them back…to southern Mexico – where many simply turn around and head north again.” Since the start of 2024 the government has sent about 10,000 migrants a month to the south, twice as many as last year. Thousands more are sent south by plane or in minibuses. But observers question whether the results are sustainable. More and more migrants are camped out in Mexican cities. Aid workers say it's adding to the suffering of already suffering people. “I call it the policy of wearing people out,” said Eunice Rendón of the advocacy group Agenda Migrante. The crackdown began after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Mexico City last December. Blinken pressed Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to toughen enforcement and “Mexico’s migration agency went into overdrive,” Sheridan says. 

“As Trump Demonizes Immigrants, Two Targeted Communities Fear What’s Next,” Sept. 14, 2024

 

“Everyone’s scared,” said the manager of the Haitian eatery in Springfield, Ohio, hours after former President Donald Trump targeted Haitians in the community after his false charge in the Sept. 10 presidential debate that they were stealing and eating people’s pets. The manager decided to close the eatery before dark Sept. 13 after it got a call before the lunch rush asking whether dogs and cats were on the menu. It was also a day in which city hall received a bomb threat in a message the mayor said was hateful toward immigrants. Two elementary schools went into lockdown and evacuated their students because of the threat. Said Post reporters Danielle Paquette and Karin Brulliard: “The incendiary claims about immigrants that Trump echoed to millions of Americans have turned a dangerous spotlight on those in the cities he keeps name-checking: Springfield and Aurora, Colo., a Denver suburb where he has repeatedly asserted Venezuelan criminals are ‘taking over.’” Trump said in news conference Sept. 13 “we’re going to get these people out” and promised “the largest deportation in the history of our country.” Trump said the day before he was angry about Venezuelans taking over Aurora and “illegal” Haitian migrants taking over  Springfield [authorities have said Haitians are there legally]. Residents of buildings in  Aurora that some officials claim are under gang control said the false rumors have led armed groups to the properties offering vigilante-style protection. Aurora officials, both Republicans, said that while it was true that a Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was operating in the area and that it and other criminals had “significantly affected” some apartment complexes they had not taken them over. Nor had they taken over Aurora, a proudly diverse community that Post reporters said has a population of 400,000 bigger than Pittsburgh or Cincinnati that would be hard to take over. One resident of an apartment complex targeted with xenophobic messages said she received a text message at the phone number she uses to advertise homemade Venezuelan food  saying “Colorado veterans are building a militia with more fire power than you guys can imagine.” In Springfield, the head of a Haitian community support group said he’s getting text messages now from fellow Haitians asking “should we move” and “are we safe?” 

“In Brazil ‘s Drought, Climate Change Isn’t the Only Culprit,” Washington Post, Sept. 13, 2023

 

In the grip of its worst drought on record, Brazil is the scene of depleted rivers landlocking communities that had been accessible only by boat.  Fires are razing areas that were once wetlands. “And in the densely populated southeast, smoke from tens of thousands of blazes is choking cities,” writes Post reporter Terrence McCoy. Even with Brazil’s history of drought-inflicted damage, “recent scenes of privation and struggle have been startling.” Locals are walking dried-up riverbeds looking for water. In Sao Paulo, officials advise people to avoid outside activity because of forest fire smoke. While much of the cause is climate change and its higher temperatures, drought has been intensified by the deforestation of the Amazon. The loss of vegetation is reducing the volume of water reaching the continent after moisture from the Atlantic is first deposited in the southeastern Amazon. Many Brazilians think the forest is a waste of land that could be better put to use farming. “You can  put this in capital letters,” said climate researcher Luciana Gatti of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. “It will get worse and worse. We are heading toward an apocalyptical situation and unfortunately we only wake up at the last minute.” 

“City Gets Bomb Threat Over Immigrants,” Washington Post, Sept. 13, 2024

 

A bomb threat Sept. 12 led to the evacuation of city hall and numerous buildings in Springfield, Ohio, the mayor of the city said. The threat “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community,” Mayor Rob Rue told the Post. An elementary school also was the target of the bomb threat, said Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott. The threat followed false statements by former President Donald Trump and his vice-presidential running mate J.D. Vance that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing and killing and eating pets.  Trump said in his Sept. 10 presidential debate with Kamala Harris that “in Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” The debate had an audience of 67 million people. Police officials said there is no evidence to support the claim. [Haitians were invited by city officials to settle in Springfield to counter its population and economic decline]. The Trump campaign condemned the bomb threats and said those responsible should be held fully accountable. 

“Mexico Approves Proposal to Overhaul Its Judiciary System,” New York Times, Sept. 12, 2024

Mexico’s Senate passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s judiciary system, clearing the last major obstacle to the historic change. The measure would remove 7,000 judges from their current jobs, including members of the supreme court on down to local judges. Going forward, judges will be seated based on popular elections, not the current appointment-based system. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is leaving office in a few weeks, championed the measure, saying it was needed to cleanse the judiciary of graft, influence-peddling and nepotism. But a number of legal experts, along with thousands of workers in the court system, condemned the change. “Where does that leave my 27 years of service?” said Sandra Herrera Benitez, a court clerk and a spokeswoman for judicial workers. “Now, to be a judge or magistrate you have to be friends with the president or some politician.” Stanford University law professor Amrit Singh said “the judiciary will be politicized beyond recognition.” Some analysts say the overhaul is an act of retaliation by López Obrador after the supreme court blocked some of his plans, such as weakening Mexico’s electoral watchdog agency and putting the national guard under military control. “Days before the vote, opposition legislators said they had been threatened, blackmailed and offered bribes to get them to approve the overhaul,” wrote Times reporter Emiliano Rodriguez Mega. 

 

“Why Voters Could Soon Elect Nearly All of the Judges in Mexico,” New York Times, Sept. 12, 2024

 

Mexico’s judicial changes (see summary above) could be one of the most far reaching judicial overhauls of any major democracy, Times reporters say. “Relatively few countries allow judges to be elected on a significant scale, but none to the degree that Mr. [Andrés Manuel] Lopez Obrador is proposing, according to legal scholars,” the Times says. Critics say that while the system needs revamping the new overhaul would erode judicial independence and allow López Obrador’s party to concentrate power. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has called the overhaul “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.” Foreign companies have also expressed concern that it will be harder to find judges who are impartial when it comes to disputes between government and business. Others warn drug cartels could influence judicial elections as they have other elections. The changes won’t all take effect right away.  A large part of the judiciary would be up for election in 2025 and the remainder in 2027. 

“Colombia Is Deadliest Nation for Environmental Activists, Report Finds,” New York Times, Sept. 11, 2024

At least 196 people were killed last year defending the environment according to a report by an environmental watchdog group, Global Witness. For the second year, Colombia recorded the most deaths.  There were 79 killings of environmentalists and activists, 19 more than the year before. About half of those killed last year were indigenous people, many of them members of Afro-descendant communities or small farmers. Global Witness said that organized crime groups were responsible for about half of the killings. One reason activists become targets is because of their opposition to illicit gold mining sites. Their opposition to logging and agribusiness interests also puts them in danger. Apart from killings, environmental activists around the world face other threats including abductions, arrests and smear campaigns. “The spate of killings carries a heavy political weight,” wrote Times reporter Manuela Andreoni, because Colombia is getting ready to host a global biodiversity summit in October called COP16.  Global Witness has documented 2,106 killings of environmental defenders since 2012. The vast majority last year occurred in Latin America, “where a struggle for land and wealth in some of the world’s most biodiverse areas continues to victimize traditional communities and governments with low law enforcement capacity have often failed to deliver justice,” wrote Andreoni. 

“As Haitians Flee the Capital, Fears Rise That Gangs Will Follow,” Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2024

 

Continuing gang warfare in Port-au-Prince despite the recent arrival of a Kenyan police force is fueling an exodus of people into already impoverished cities and towns, write Post reporters Widlore Mérancourt and Amanda Coletta. Fears are growing that gangs whose violence has ravaged the capital will follow. The number of Haitians who have left their homes jumped 60 percent between March and May of this year. All  told, more than 578,000 Haitians have left their homes since 2021, five percent of the population, according to United Nations figures. “The U.N.-approved, Kenyan-led security force that started arriving here in June has so far shown little effect” in taming gang violence, the reporters said. Overwhelmingly, people fleeing Port-au-Prince are heading south. They are cramming in with relatives or strangers in communities already facing shortages of teachers and classrooms, where health care, water and waste systems are already under strain. As the influx grows, so too do cases of violence, arousing fear that the gang violence of the capital is “metastasizing,” the story says. A U.N. official said Haitians “were able to deal with Hurricane Matthew. They were able to deal with all sorts of natural disasters. But this new wave of violence is harming a lot of people, and the local authorities are simply overwhelmed.” The U.N. security force led by the Kenyan police aims to help stabilize Haiti so it can elect a president and National Assembly in February 2026. But there’s doubt now whether that can happen. The U.N. effort suffers from underfunding. Donors have contributed only 25 percent of the $674 million in humanitarian aid requested for Haiti by the U.N. About half of the people who have fled are children, many of them without their parents, and observers worry they will end up as gang members. In many cases, people uprooted from their homes face “food insecurity.” 

“Many Livelihoods Are Upended Over X Ban in Brazil,” New York Times, Sept. 9, 2024

 

Overnight, many Brazilians who built businesses on the giant social network X were forced to search for a new platform where they could reach clients, market their work and connect with sponsors. The pressure was on after the Brazilian supreme court ordered a shutdown of the Elon Musk company for refusing to close accounts that judges said undermine democracy with fake news. “The idea that so many businesses and livelihoods could be suspended so swiftly, on the whims of a single tech executive challenging a judge, shows how the digital economy has become concentrated in the hands of just a few technology giants,” wrote Times reporter Ana Ionova. Among those affected were Adriano Kitani, who relied on X, formerly Twitter, for 80 percent of his work as a freelance illustrator. Just hours before X went down, Adrienni Rodrigues, a music producer, “rushed on to the social network to share the biggest news of her career: the launch of her first album.” She had just enough time to notify her 4,000 followers about the launch but then could see nothing more about it. She “lost this place where we already had a relationship with an audience that likes our music.”  Leonardo Nascimento, a digital lab coordinator with the Federal University of Bahia, said “it’s like throwing the baby out with the bath water.” X has 20 million users in Brazil, making it the fifth-largest international market for the company. But the country only accounts for an estimated 2 percent of X’s earnings. Brazilians are turning to other platforms such as BlueSky and Threads. But Caroline Metta, a lawyer who helps run a big X account, said “it’s like starting from scratch. To be honest, we’re praying every day for X to come back.” 

“Venezuelan Leader Who Challenged Strongman in Vote Flees to Spain,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 8, 2024

The man widely acknowledged to be the landslide winner of Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election fled his country for Spain, depressing the spirits of those in the movement opposing strongman Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The 75-year-old Edmundo González arrived in Spain Sept. 8 seeking asylum after a Venezuelan judge issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of instigating demonstrations protesting Maduro’s unfounded claims to have won.  María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, remains in her country but is in hiding and fears arrest. She said of González that his life was in danger. “And the mounting threats, summonses, arrest orders and even blackmail and coercion he has faced show that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him,” she said.  Machado “faces possible arrest and finds herself increasingly isolated with many of her allies detained or in exile,” wrote Journal reporters Kejal Vyas and Ryan Dubé.  Geoff Ramsey, an analyst for the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, D.C., said the departure was a “massive blow” to the opposition and leaves the  United States with few options to oust Maduro. “Now the question is whether the government will go after Machado directly, or if it is content to persecute her top advisers for now.” Pressure also is growing on a group of opposition aides who while taking refuge in the Argentine diplomatic residence in Venezuela organized a voter turnout drive that brought millions of voters to the polls in the July 28 election (see August 21 story). They also mobilized thousands of monitors to collect vote talles proving González had won. On Sept. 7, black-clad officers with Venezuela’s intelligence police encircled the residence and cut off its power supply, raising fears of a police raid. Argentine diplomats had been expelled, but Brazil then took guardianship of the compound.

“Venezuela Revokes Brazil’s Custody of Argentine Embassy That’s Housing Maduro Opponents,” The Guardian, Sept. 7, 2024

 

Venezuela has informed Brazil that it can no longer represent Argentina’s interests in the country, a move that raises doubt about the continued safety of top opposition aides holed up in the Argentine embassy in Caracas. Sheltered there for months, the aides played a key role in organizing a get out the vote effort for opposition candidate Edmundo González and in developing strong evidence that he beat Nicolás Maduro in a landslide in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election. Venezuela’s foreign ministry claimed that the action was necessary because the aides are planning “terrorist” acts. The Argentine government issued a statement saying that “any attempt to invade or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community. Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro’s Venezuela, the fundamental human rights are not respected.“ Among the opposition aides is Magalli Meda, the former campaign chief for María Corina Machado, the top opposition leader who was barred from running. “Meda has taken to social media to denounce what she fears is an impending raid to arrest her and the other government opponents by Venezuelan security forces,” the Guardian said in a report also based on Reuters and Associated Press contributions. Brazil issued a statement saying it would remain in custody of the Argentine Embassy until Argentina decides on a country acceptable to Venezuela to play that role. 

“US Secures the Release of 135 Nicaraguan Political Prisoners,” AP, Sept. 5, 2024

 

U.S. officials said Sept. 5 that they have secured the release of 135 Nicaraguan political prisoners, who are now in Guatemala and will apply for entry into the U.S. or other countries. A Nicaraguan human rights advocate called the release “a triumph for the Nicaraguan people’s resistance.” Haydeé Castillo said the prisoners weren’t really freed because their release involves a forced displacement from their country.  U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the prisoners were released on humanitarian grounds. “No one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association and practicing their religion,” Sullivan said. A U.S. State Department official, Eric Jacobstein, said “these are individuals, some of whom have been victims of torture…who’ve had an extremely difficult time, we did find them generally in very good health and spirits.” Jacobstein said the Nicaraguan government received nothing in exchange for the release of the prisoners. AP also noted that Nicaragua’s National Assembly has approved criminal code changes letting the government try Nicaraguans and foreigners in absentia. 

“Venezuelan Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Opposition’s Former Presidential Candidate,” Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2034

 

A Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant late Sept. 2 for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González, who outside analysts say easily defeated Nicolás Maduro in the country’s July 28 presidential election, despite Maduro’s claims to the contrary. “The move is the latest escalation of repression against the opposition,” said AP reporters. The warrant accuses González of crimes including conspiracy, falsifying documents, and usurpation of powers. González has made no public appearances since the day after the election. Venezuela’s supreme court has named Maduro the winner, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. Opposition leader María Corina Machado said on X in response to the warrant that “Maduro has lost all touch with reality.” The warrant “crosses a new line that only strengthens the resolve of our movement. Venezuela and democracies around the world are more united than ever in our quest for freedom.” 

 

“US Government Seizes Plane Used by Venezuelan President, Citing Sanctions Violations,” Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2024

 

U.S. authorities have seized a plane widely used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for foreign travel. The luxury jet was seized in the Dominican Republic and taken to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The U.S. Justice Department said Maduro associates in late 2022 and early 2023 used a shell company in the Caribbean to hide their involvement in the purchase of the $13 million plane from a company in Florida.  The transaction circumvented an executive order barring Americans from business transactions with representatives of the Maduro government.  The Venezuelan government issued a statement calling the seizure a “repeated criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy.” [The seizure appears to be a pressure tactic to oust Maduro from the presidency after the July 28 presidential election showed opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez to have won in a landslide, according to a number of analysts. The U.S. also has offered Maduro amnesty from narcotrafficking charges if he leaves.] Late September 2 a Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant for González (see story above).

 “Lula Says Elon Musk’s Wealth Does Not Mean World Must Accept His ‘Far-right’ Free-for-all’”, The Guardian September 2, 2024

The world doesn’t have to put up with Elon Musk’s “far-right free-for-all just because he’s rich,” says Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula made those comments after the Brazilian supreme court voted unanimously Sept. 2 to uphold a ban on Musk’s social media giant X. The suspension came after Musk refused to obey court orders requiring the removal of profiles spreading disinformation and wouldn’t name a local legal representative in Brazil.  Musk sent an invitation to his 196 million followers on X to demonstrate September 7 against the ban. He said Brazilians will “march for freedom, protesting judicial overreach and defending free speech.” Brazilian authorities say false information on X is undermining democracy. A Brazilian columnist, Pedro Doria, said he was concerned that Alexandre de Moraes, the supreme court judge who first issued the ban (see next story) had gone too far to rid social media of anti-democratic far-right voices, wrote Guardian reporter Tom Phillips. Doria termed “quite absurd” a decision last week to ban the use of virtual private networks to access X. But Doria objected to Musk’s attempt to portray himself as a free-speech torchbearer. Doria drew a comparison to how Musk behaved during Turkey’s May 2023  election. “When the Turkish asked him to block certain accounts […] he blocks them and then he goes on Twitter and says: ‘Well the option would be to block the entire county and I’m not doing that.’” There are fears that the supreme court ban on X “could strengthen the country’s far-right movement by allowing it to pose as a champion of free speech,” said Phillips. Mush has “unabashedly aligned himself” with former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro just as he has championed the candidacy of Donald Trump for president in the U.S.