Good morning from Vienna, Virginia.
This week’s articles and newsletters
WPR - In Colombia, Cabinet Drama Is Derailing Petro’s Reform Agenda—Again
Tuesday - Upcoming elections and the ideological pendulum - by Boz
Wednesday - Bolivia Election Notes - May 2025
Thursday - Panama Protests and five other comments
The Tuesday newsletter and Friday list of links remain free and without a paywall. Paying subscribers receive more content. It’s $90 per year for individuals and $350 per year for institutions. Please subscribe to support this newsletter and receive additional content.
Reading List
Americas Quarterly - To Fight Organized Crime, Latin America Needs a Regional Security Force
Economist - Xi Jinping tries to press China’s advantage in South America - Polling!
FT - China will not be a big winner from Trump’s policies in Latin America
InSight Crime - How Criminal Groups Have Adapted to the Digital Age
Foreign Affairs - Colombia’s Stolen Children
NYT - How Trump’s Ending of U.S.A.I.D. Threatens a Nation’s Fragile Peace
WSJ - The Potent Powder and ‘Narco-Subs’ Driving Cocaine’s Global Surge
LA Times - Indigenous activist's disappearance and killing cause outcry in Mexico's Oaxaca state
NYT - Trapped and Hungry in Mexico, Migrants Struggle to Return Home
WSJ - Trump, Mexico’s Sheinbaum Spar Over Drug Cartels
ProPublica - Trump DEA Pick Terry Cole Could Complicate U.S.-Mexico Relationship
NYT - Declassified Spy Memo Contradicts Trump on Venezuela Gang Ties
Bloomberg - Trump’s Deportations Upend a Town at Epicenter of Brazilian Migration
New Yorker - Brazil’s President Confronts a Changing World
Reuters - Brazil rejects US request to classify local gangs as terrorist organizations
Guacamaya - Maduro Arrives in Moscow for Victory Day Parade and Meeting with Putin
AP - Venezuela denies that opposition members left country under international rescue operation
Bloomberg - Machado Aides’ Venezuela Escape Exposes Maduro’s Vulnerability, Trump Envoy Says
Bloomberg - Blackouts, 162% Inflation Remind Venezuelans of Worst of Crisis
The Diplomat - Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China
Reuters - Grisly Peru mining murders spotlight 'gold curse' in the Andes
NYT - 13 Workers Found Killed at Gold Mine in Peru
Reuters - In Milei's Argentina 'economic miracle', not everyone's a winner
World Politics Review - Trump’s Deportations to El Salvador Are a Case for the ICC
El Pais - El Salvador has become the Cuba of the right
NYT - The World Is Finally Seeing How Dangerous President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador Really Is
NBC - Why Panama Canal is big, long-term prize in Trump's global trade war
Americas Quarterly - Panama’s President Mulino Is Right to Cooperate with the U.S.
Miami Herald - Leaked contract shows how Cuba pockets money Bahamas pays for medical services
CSIS - Why Suriname Matters: South America’s Overlooked Strategic Geography
Economist - Killer gangs are inches from ruling all of Haiti
ACLED - April Monthly Overview
The Hill - The US is crushing China in real time in the Americas - A pro-Trump/Rubio LatAm policy take.
Foreign Affairs - The End of the Global Aid Industry
C4ADS - Bulldozed - On problems with BRI investments
Bloomberg - One Ship, $417 Million in New Tariffs: The Cost of Trump’s Trade War
Upcoming events
7 May, Atlantic Council - Mexico: Bilateral ties after 100 days of the Trump administration
12 May, CNAS - Countering China's Digital Silk Road: Brazil
12 May, CSIS - Conversation with Former USTRs
14 May, ACLED - How the Sinaloa Cartel rift is redrawing Mexico’s criminal map
15 May, CCA - Canada / Mexico: overcoming mistrust to a critical agenda
19 May, AS/COA - An Evening with Jon Lee Anderson of The New Yorker
Thanks for reading
I don’t know who first posted this, but I laughed.
Have a great weekend!