Friday Reading List - 18 April 2025
Much more to write next week. The news is nonstop.
Good morning from the Pacific Northwest. It’s been a long week of travel. Back in the DC area next week.
This week’s articles and newsletters
WPR - Paraguay’s Pena Is Using One Dam Scandal to Hide Another
Monday - US Policy in Latin America - Trade war, CELAC, potential US drone strikes in Mexico
Tuesday - Ecuador - Comments on Noboa's win
Wednesday - Poll - Panama's discontent
Thursday - Six Stories - What if the gangs are in control and Bukele is far weaker than we think?
The Tuesday newsletter and Friday list of links remain free and without a paywall. Paying subscribers receive more content.
Reading List
CSIS - Surveying Hutchison’s Port-folio in Latin America: Strategic Vulnerability or Business as Usual?
NYT - Mexico’s Reliance on U.S. Natural Gas Could Be Its Achilles’ Heel
Guardian - What can the global left learn from Mexico – where far-right politics hasn’t taken off?
NYT - How Brazil’s Rare Earths Mine Illustrates China’s Grip Over Minerals
Reuters - Brazil auto market offers warning for US tariff policy
AP - As legacy of Ford fades in Brazil, China's BYD looks to extend global lead in EV sales
Guardian - World’s largest meat company may break Amazon deforestation pledges again
Economist - The judge who would rule the internet
Bloomberg - From Hiding, Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Seeks to Rally Citizens as Maduro Flails
AP - US intelligence contradicts Trump claims linking gang to Venezuelan government to speed deportations
BBC - Colombia declares health emergency after dozens die of yellow fever
Reuters - Ecuador's Noboa faces tough future with the legislature. Can his mom help?
Foreign Policy - How Noboa Avoided the Incumbency Trap
Al Jazeera - Ecuador’s Indigenous movement splinters over presidential election support - Written before the election, but quite relevant after
Pirate Wire Services - Ecuador’s indigenous peoples apparently haven’t forgiven left-wing violence against them
Economist - Milei’s bold move: making Argentina’s economy normal
C4ADS - End-User Unknown - On Guatemala weapons trafficking
Economist - Guatemala’s indigenous people grow impatient with their champion
Letras Libres - Trump quiere convertir a El Salvador en su colonia penitenciaria
WSJ - El Salvador’s Bukele Plans to Double the Size of Giant Prison Holding U.S. Deportees
Mother Jones - The Real Reason El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele Cozied Up to Trump
Mother Jones - Meet the Miami Lobbyist Who Helped Bukele Seduce MAGA
CSIS - Advancing U.S.-Panama Security Cooperation
BBC - Haiti gun trafficking: Tracing weapons flows from the US
NYT - Haiti’s Gangs Have Evolved. The United States Cannot Withdraw.
Bloomberg - Trump Trade War: Latin America Is Stuck in the Middle of US-China Tensions
WSJ - U.S. Plans to Use Tariff Negotiations to Isolate China
Politico - Trump May Be Triggering the Fastest Nuclear Weapons Race Since the Cold War
The Atlantic - Kleptocracy, Inc.
Upcoming events
18 April, Atlantic Council - Navigating the path to growth and prosperity in Latin America and the Caribbean
22 April, Inter-American Dialogue - Eighth Annual Latin America Energy Conference – Shifting Currents: Energy and Geopolitical Realignment in the Americas
24 April, CCA - Canadian election: geopolitical implications
24 April, Inter-American Dialogue - Perspectives on Remittance Flows in 2025
7 May, Atlantic Council - Mexico: Bilateral ties after 100 days of the Trump administration
Thanks for reading
Have a great weekend!
