Good morning.

Pedro Castillo did an interview yesterday in which he tried to disavow some of the more extreme positions in his platform, distance himself from his political allies, and move to the center.  Should anyone believe him?

A reminder that next week I will be hosting a webinar with my analysis of the politics and implications of the elections in Peru and Ecuador. It’s on April 28th 2-3 PM ET, exclusively for paid subscribers. There will be an open Q+A at the end so bring your questions. Hope you can join. 

Here are the links to the four newsletters I published this week.

• Monday - Crime and Security Update (With focus on Mexico’s new cell phone law plus webinar invite link)

• Tuesday - Region - The politics of Covid is generating anger and apathy

• Wednesday - Politics and Polls (Peru and Chile)

• Thursday - The risk of inaction on the environment

The Tuesday and Thursday newsletters don’t have a paywall. Paying subscribers support the newsletter and get access to additional content including Monday’s and Wednesday’s posts and next week’s webinar. Thanks to everyone who subscribes!

Reading List

BBC - Coronavirus: Fake cures in Latin America’s deadly outbreak

Brookings Institution - Biden takes a reformist drug strategy, but the challenge of supply countries remains

Associated Press - Wealthy Latin Americans flock to US in search of vaccines

The Diplomat - Latin America Believed in Chinese Vaccines. Now It May Have Reason to Rethink.

USA Today - Biden was tough on drugs for decades. Now he faces challenges in fighting money laundering

The Dialogue - Climate and Migration: Two Biden Priorities Meet in the Northern Triangle

Center for Strategic and International Studies - Populism, China, and Covid-19: Latin America’s New Perfect Storm

Washington Post - Opinion: The United States can’t ignore China’s vaccine diplomacy in Latin America

Science Magazine - Possible ‘embassy’ in ancient Maya city illuminates the birth of an empire

Financial Times - Central America needs a bold gesture from the US

Bloomberg - There’s No App to Beat Covid in Latin America

Guardian - US-made guns are ripping Central America apart and driving migration north

Guardian - A lucrative border-industrial complex keeps the US border in constant ‘crisis’

Americas Quarterly - Settling Investment Disputes Would Boost Latin America’s Economic Recovery

Guardian - Joe Biden’s billions won’t stop Bolsonaro destroying the Amazon rainforest

CNN - Brazil's indigenous groups protest bill that would allow commercial mining on their land

BBC - Covid in Brazil: Hunger worsens in city slums

InSight Crime - Private Jets Laden With Cocaine Travel from Brazil to Europe

New York Times - Félix Salgado Macedonio es Morena

Washington Post - Opinión: Caso Zaldívar: el proyecto de AMLO contra la democracia

Forbes - Is President Lopez Obrador Destroying Mexico?

Wilson Center: Mexico Institute - Mexico’s Broken Politics

Guardian - Violence erupts as Mexico’s deadly gangs aim to cement power in largest ever elections

Vice - US Companies Are Helping Mexican Cartels Get Rich Kidnapping Migrants

Associated Press - Mexico’s drought reaches critical levels as lakes dry up

Committee to Protect Journalists - Proposed Venezuelan foreign funding law could have ‘huge impact’ on independent outlets

Foreign Policy - The U.N.’s Moment in Venezuela Has Arrived

Telegraph - Europe's appetite for cocaine triggers brutal battle for lucrative routes through Venezuela

Bloomberg - Venezuela’s Guaido Taps $152 Million of Frozen Funds in the U.S.

CNN - Why vulnerable migrants say they'll reject the Covid-19 vaccine in Colombia

Reuters - Analysis: Copper price boost? Peru’s socialist swerve worries miners

Wilson Center - Politics at the Extremes: Peru’s Presidential Election

Global Americans - Has anything changed since French Guiana’s 2017 social upheaval?

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - China’s Improvised Mask Diplomacy in Chile

El Pais - Nicaragua’s political dynasty: heirs in a golden cage

Confidencial - Oposición continúa sin ponerse de acuerdo sobre reformas electorales orteguistas

Economist - Guatemala’s top tribunal comes under pressure

InSight Crime - Guatemala’s War Between Morales and CICIG Not Over Yet

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - China’s New Silk Road:

Navigating the organized crime risk

NPR - A 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack: The Untold Story Of The SolarWinds Hack

The New Yorker - The Incredible Rise of North Korea’s Hacking Army

Reuters - A rediscovered forgotten species brews promise for coffee's future

Guardian - Oppression of journalists in China ‘may have been factor in Covid pandemic

Upcoming events

26 April, AS/COA - A Conversation with Horacio Rodríguez Larreta

26, Wilson Center - Latin America & the Global Cold War

27 April, Atlantic Center - Beyond the headlines: Central American migrant’s human journey

27 April, Inter-American Dialogue - How Do We Support Students and Their Teachers in the Reopening of Schools? The Role of Diagnostic Learning Evaluations

28 April, Latin America Risk Report Webinar: Elections and Politics in Ecuador & Peru (For paying subscribers, link in Monday’s newsletter)

29 April, Inter-American Dialogue - Energy Transition in Latin America – The Role of the Private Sector

29 April, Institute of the Americas - Renewing U.S. Hemispheric Engagement in a Changing World, a keynote address by Governor Bill Richardson

5 May, Institute of the Americas - La Jolla Energy Conference: Elections and Energy

5 May, Global Initiative - China’s New Silk Road: Navigating the organized crime risk

6 May, Inter-American Dialogue - Healthcare Investment & Economic Recovery in the Americas

7 May, Institute of the Americas - La Jolla Energy Conference: Getting to Net-Zero – Technology, Critical Minerals and Energy Transition

Thanks for reading

I get to enjoy another quarantine lockdown weekend here in Bogota. At least the weather is nice. Hope all is well wherever you are.