Friday Reading List - 17 January 2025

Even though I focus on Latin America, readership goes up every time I mention Bitcoin up top. So let me summarize this as Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin. And Ethereum and Tether too, for good measure.

Jan 17, 2025

Good morning.

This week’s World Politics Review column was Maduro’s consolidation of his election fraud last week in Caracas.

This week’s newsletters:

Monday - Biden issues new sanctions against the Maduro regime - plus some additional notes about the upcoming transition to the Trump administration and US policy towards the region
Tuesday - Bukele, Bitcoin, the IMF, and Tether
Wednesday - Mexico - Sheinbaum’s approval soaring after 100 days in office
Thursday - Six Stories - comments on Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and a question: Who is legally Ecuador’s president right now?

I’m working hard in 2025 to make this newsletter a valuable resource for subscribers, and I’m pushing for paying subscriptions. If you work for an organization that needs more analysis about Latin America, please consider paying to subscribe. I’m focused every Monday on US policy towards Latin America and writing about political and security risks around the region every other day of the week.

The price point is set for businesses and organizations that can afford to pay for quality analysis. That said, I know it’s out of reach for college students, most retirees, and readers who have a personal rather than professional interest in Latin America. I’m working on creating an option for readers who can’t afford the subscription. In the meantime, if you need access to an article, just ask. Tuesday’s newsletter and the Friday list of links continue to be free for everyone.

Feedback is always welcome.

Reading List

Stimson Center - Great Power Competition and Green Protectionism

The Baffler - None of This Is Happening - On violence in Michoacan, Mexico

Bloomberg - EU, Mexico Seal Trade Deal as Trump Threatens Both With Tariffs - breaking news this morning

LA Times - Trump's tariffs brought China and Mexico closer. Will his second term change that?

Guardian - ‘A trash can for the US’: anger in Mexico and Canada over toxic waste shipments

AP - With Trump returning to the White House, Brazil displays a judicial path not taken by the US

WSJ - Trump Invited Bolsonaro to His Inauguration. Brazil Won’t Let Him Go.

Bloomberg - Zuckerberg's Fact-Checking Reversal Worries Brazil

AP - New Brazil law restricts use of smartphones in elementary and high schools

NYT - The Mafia’s Grip on a Brazilian Lottery Seemed Invincible. Until the Apps Came.

Bloomberg - How Online Gambling Unleashed Transnational Crime on the Philippines - Given the recent surge in online gambling in Brazil (see NYT story above) and the role of organized crime in traditional gambling platforms there, this is a story worth monitoring.

AP - An ex-Green Beret behind a failed Venezuela raid in 2020 lashes out at CIA and FBI

Bloomberg - Chevron Filed Taxes in Venezuela Despite Sanctions, Documents Show

Bloomberg - Trump Team Readies Oil Sanctions Plan for Russia Deal, Iran Squeeze

El Tiempo - Los documentos secretos de la venta de Monómeros en Colombia que está moviendo Álex Saab desde Caracas

La Silla Vacia - La transición energética de Petro se queda sin aire con las eólicas

InSight Crime - Ecuador’s Criminal Crossroads: Debating Security Policy in the 2025 Presidential Elections

WOLA Podcast - From Promise to Pressure: Bernardo Arévalo’s First Year in Power in Guatemala

El Faro - Claudia Paz y Paz: “What Consuelo Porras seeks in Guatemala is impunity in all cases”

TuNota - El oscuro nexo entre capos guatemaltecos, mexicanos y el poder político en Honduras

Economist - Tether’s move to El Salvador is a win for President Nayib Bukele - Mentions my Tuesday newsletter.

FT - How El Salvador became a model for the global far right

Monitoreamos - Dictadura de Nicaragua cambia la Constitución para quitar la nacionalidad a "traidores a la patria"