Friday Reading List - 13 June 2025
Happy Friday the 13th
Good morning from Vienna, Virginia.
This week’s articles and newsletters
WPR - Anti-Gang Drone Attacks Won’t Put Haiti Back Together Again
Monday - US Policy news in LatAm - New NSC official; how the LA protests impact negotiations with Mexico; Rubio comments on Colombia; Musk in Bolivia
Tuesday - The Two Sheinbaum Narratives
Wednesday - Five comments on regional public opinion - Includes a map!
Thursday - CFK Scenarios in Argentina and five other stories
The Tuesday newsletter and Friday list of links remain free and without a paywall. Please subscribe to support this newsletter and receive additional content. It’s $90 per year for individuals and $350 per year for institutions.
Reading List
Economist - Slums, swimming pools and Latin America’s inequality
AQ - How China Is Seeking Dominance in Latin America
Reuters - Latin America set to benefit from US market shifts, investors say
FT - How smuggled US fuel funds Mexico’s cartels - Great details in this article
Foreign Affairs - The Hole in Mexico’s Security Strategy: Can Sheinbaum Take On Cartels and Corruption Without Losing Control?
MCCI - Arturo Ávila: el diputado de Morena que surte vehículos militares a Bukele
Moments in Mexico - Mexico’s Historic 2025 Judicial Elections: Winners, Controversies, and Political Implications
AQ - Mexico’s Judicial Election Is a Blow for Democracy
LA Times - A dangerous new element in Mexico's cartel wars: Colombian mercenaries
Reuters - US pushes Mexico to prosecute, extradite politicians with cartel ties
AP - US imposes sanctions on El Chapo's fugitive sons, offers $10 million reward for their capture
Bloomberg - Once the World’s ‘Most Popular Politician,’ Lula Is Losing His Way in Brazil
World Politics Review - In Latin America, Brazil Is Missing in Action
InSight Crime - Brazil’s Gangs Expand Their Control Over Internet Services
Bloomberg - With Friends Like Brazil, OPEC+ Doesn’t Need Enemies
Chatham House - History suggests Trump’s snapped back sanctions won’t deliver change in Venezuela
Guacamaya - What do we know about the new oil contracts in Venezuela?
CSIS - China’s Advance in Colombia in the Time of Gustavo Petro
WSJ - Soaring Gold Prices Draw Illicit Miners—and Armed Gangs—to Colombia’s Jungles
NPR - Colombian Presidential hopeful shot at Bogotá rally
Economist - A Harvard man turned narco-gang-buster - (Noboa, Ecuador)
Economist - Ecuador’s crime wave demands a more sophisticated response, says its former attorney-general
NYT - Gang Violence Grips Peru as Extortions and Killings Rise
Economist - Bolivia wants the world to stop treating coca leaves like drugs
NYT - The Latin American Country That Told Elon Musk ‘No’
AQ - U.S. and China Spar for Influence on the Paraguay-Paraná River System
Coindesk - Paraguay President's X Account Hacked, Shares Bitcoin Scam
NYT - Argentina’s Supreme Court Upholds Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s Prison Sentence
La Nacion - El avance narco sobre un conurbano descompuesto
Guardian - The Eternaut speaks to our uneasy times – that’s why this cult comic has become a global Netflix hit
Bloomberg - Rise of Ultra Conservative Puts Chile’s Stock Rally to the Test
ProPublica - How El Salvador’s Government Impeded a U.S. Probe of MS-13
AP - With Trump as ally, El Salvador's President ramps up crackdown on dissent
Confidencial - Colonel Generals Reinforce Bottleneck at the Top of Nicaragua’s Military
CSIS - Illicit Innovation: Latin America Is Not Prepared to Fight Criminal Drones
Atlantic Council - Why Congress must reauthorize the US Development Finance Corporation
Atlantic Council - How to improve Latin America’s agri-food security in a changing world
Upcoming events
13 June, Atlantic Council - Strengthening US-Caribbean cooperation on natural disaster readiness
18 June, Inter-American Dialogue - A Conversation on Family Remittances and Taxes
25 June, Brookings - The impact of deportation policy changes on Latino immigrant communities
Thanks for reading
Have a great weekend!
