On Thursday, 2 December, at noon EST, I’ll be holding an online training related to Mexico security. The 90 minute session will focus on understanding the dynamics of recent violent incidents and issues including the attack at the hotel in Cancún, the massacres in Michoacán, the assassinations of journalists, and the shootouts in Tamaulipas. While everyone is invited to attend, the target audience members are analysts and managers at GSOCs and corporate intelligence teams who help the private sector monitor and understand security issues.
The cost of the course is $300 and there will be a discount code for paying newsletter subscribers so they only pay $100. My company Hxagon can provide bulk rates if you want your whole team to attend. More information will be in a newsletter next week. In the meantime, please email info@hxagon.com if you have any questions.
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Friday Reading List - 12 November 2021
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Good morning and happy Friday. The links to the three newsletters we published this week are below.
Monday - Venezuela - Recent money laundering investigations
Tuesday - Nicaragua - A dictatorship consolidates
Wednesday - Politics and Polls (Chile and Argentina)
Training
On Thursday, 2 December, at noon EST, I’ll be holding an online training related to Mexico security. The 90 minute session will focus on understanding the dynamics of recent violent incidents and issues including the attack at the hotel in Cancún, the massacres in Michoacán, the assassinations of journalists, and the shootouts in Tamaulipas. While everyone is invited to attend, the target audience members are analysts and managers at GSOCs and corporate intelligence teams who help the private sector monitor and understand security issues.
The cost of the course is $300 and there will be a discount code for paying newsletter subscribers so they only pay $100. My company Hxagon can provide bulk rates if you want your whole team to attend. More information will be in a newsletter next week. In the meantime, please email info@hxagon.com if you have any questions.
Reading List
Wall Street Journal - Nicaragua’s Shift Toward Dictatorship Is Part of a Latin American Backslide
Americas Quarterly - The Huge Risk Facing Latin American Oil Companies
Americas Quarterly - Argentina’s Warning to Latin America: “I Am You, Tomorrow”
World Politics Review - Four November Elections Could Shake Up Latin American Politics
NPR - The powerful women behind drug trafficking in Latin America
Financial Times - Policing the Amazon: on the front lines of deforestation
Wall Street Journal - Brazilian Farmers Who Protect the Amazon Rainforest Would Like to Be Paid
New York Times - Brazil’s Far-Right Disinformation Pushers Find a Safe Space on Telegram
New York Times - The Bolsonaro-Trump Connection Threatening Brazil’s Elections
Economist - President Jair Bolsonaro is bad for Brazil’s economy
Guardian - Two Cancúns collide as masked gunmen storm Mexican beach
Wall Street Journal - Tale of Gym Bag Stuffed With Cash Ensnares Top Opponent of Mexico’s President
Globe and Mail - For Mexico’s Lopez Obrador, energy nationalism rises above all else - and that means fossil fuels
Associated Press - Mexico’s Army Stands Between Gangs, Enforcing Turf Divisions
Washington Post - Mexico makes first arrest in Pegasus spying scandal
Reuters - Analysis: Corporate Mexico feels heat from global supply chain crunch
New York Times - Here’s How Mexico Can Clean Up Its Dirty Energy Industry
Vice - Journalists Keep Getting Killed in Mexico After Posting on Facebook
El Universal - ¿Menos violencia, más delito?
Associated Press - US negotiating with Mexico to get visas for DEA agents
InSight Crime - What Does Massive Fentanyl Seizure Say About US-Mexico Security Relations?
InSight Crime - Avocados In, Butterflies Out - How Illegal Logging is Devastating Western Mexico
Financial Times - Mexico’s once roaring auto sector falls on hard times
Americas Quarterly - Mexico’s Opposition Searches for a Winning Message
El País - Renuncia Santiago Nieto, jefe de la Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, tras su polémica boda en Guatemala
Economist - Six ways Nicolás Maduro stays in power in Venezuela
Associated Press - Court filings: Maduro ally met with US prior to arrest
CNN - What I learned about freedom from a 2x2 Venezuelan prison cell
Council on Foreign Relations - Lessons from the Failure of Democracy Promotion in Venezuela
Washington Post - The European Union makes a policy play in Venezuela. Washington is not amused.
Wilson Center - Democratization in Venezuela: Thoughts on a New Path
Amnesty International - The world cannot fail those fleeing the crisis in Venezuela
Teleamazonas - Nuevos elementos respecto a los negocios de Alex Saab en Ecuador
Reuters - Colombia oil theft surges as smuggled gasoline dries up
Global Americans - Colombia: A renewable energy powerhouse?
Pirate Wire Services - Colombia simulated a cyber-attack during protests to generate support for domestic electronic surveillance
El Tiempo - La Violencia Que Amenaza La Paz: Cada 6 días han matado a un excombatiente de las Farc
Washington Post - The ‘new’ Drug War and how the U.S. aided the capture of Colombia’s most wanted man
Infobae - Nuevo método de los ladrones en Bogotá: se hacen pasar por conductores de aplicaciones para robar a los pasajeros
NPR - Guyana is a poor country that was a green champion. Then Exxon discovered oil
Human Rights Watch - When Digital Rights and Cybercrime Collide: A Trial to Watch in Ecuador
InSight Crime - Peru Governor Accused in China Wood Trafficking Network
Reuters - Analysis: Valuing Argentina's peso: It could cost the Peronists an election
Financial Times - ‘There’s no future in Argentina’: Peronists face voter anger in midterms
Financial Times - Argentina and the IMF: the looming clash over its $57bn bailout
Associated Press - Chilean president impeached over Pandora Papers revelation
CNN - Nicaraguan exiles blame Ortega regime for attacks and threats, as the strongman secures a fifth term in office
Washington Post - Opinion: Ortega, emboldened after stealing the election, is ready to tighten his grip in Nicaragua
Los Angeles Times - The secret-poll watchers of Nicaragua. How they monitored a questionable presidential election
Bloomberg - U.S. Neglect Helped Cement Ortega’s Nicaragua Takeover
Americas Quarterly - Nicaragua: How Latin America Reacted
Associated Press - El Salvador sends troops, police into streets amid killings
El Faro - Decisive Loan for the Bitcoin Country
Miami Herald - After democratic elections, El Salvador has ‘spirit of hope’ under President Bukele | Opinion
The Intercept - Violent Infiltration: In Honduras Land Battles, Paramilitaries Infiltrate Local Groups — Then Kill Their Leaders
InSight Crime - Controversial Legal Reforms in Honduras Continue Country's Anti-Corruption Legacy
New Yorker - Is the President of Honduras a Narco-Trafficker?
Wall Street Journal - Cuba’s Dissidents Dig In Despite Government Crackdown
Miami Herald - Cuba’s foreign minister warns diplomats his government won’t allow protest march
BBC - Haiti water shortage: 'We pray for rain every day'
Miami Herald - U.S. warns Americans to leave Haiti as security crisis deepens, hostages remain captive
Associated Press - US pledges to strengthen Haiti police amid fuel, gang crisis
Wall Street Journal - Global Food Prices Surge as Inflation Spreads
The Atlantic - China Is Watching You: With generous state support at home and low-cost sales abroad, Hikvision has become a world heavyweight.
Upcoming Events
16 November, Wilson Center - The Pulse of Democracy in the Americas: Results from the 2021 AmericasBarometer Study
17 November, AS/COA - Navigating the China-U.S. Divide: A Challenge for Latin America
17 November, AS/COA - A Better Healthcare Future for the Americas: Ensuring Sustainable Healthcare Systems
17 November, Chatham House - The fake news pandemic in Latin America
18 November, WOLA - Protect Colombia’s Peace: Civil Society Perspectives on the Fifth Anniversary of the Colombian Peace Accords
2 December, Hxagon - Training on analyzing recent security issues in Mexico
Thanks for reading
Have a great weekend!