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Uruguay’s Next Big Challenge: Social Security Reform
President Lacalle Pou hoped that his referendum victory would offer him more time, as well as a stronger mandate, to pursue a series of reforms, including on social security, that are key to reducing Uruguay’s high public spending.
Alejandro Trenchi
Oil, Water, and Climate Change in the Guyana-Suriname Basin
Yes, the rising sea levels might only affect offshore drilling operations minimally. But the rising waters and other manifestations of climate change disrupt habitation and the normal conduct of political, economic, and social business within those societies, such that having the wealth could be of little consequence for the people there.
Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
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Colombia’s Northern Region Paralyzed by Clan del Golfo
Illustration Credit: Mehaniq.
Last week, Colombian kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known as Otoniel, was extradited to the United States, where he will face drug- and arms-trafficking charges in the Southern District Court of Florida. The 50-year-old Otoniel has been involved in crime since he was an adolescent, as a member of both the left-wing Ejército Popular del Pueblo (EPL) and the right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). After the demobilization of the AUC under then-President Álvaro Uribe, the Clan del Golfo formed in 2007. Otoniel has led the paramilitary group since 2009. Under his leadership, the Clan del Golfo became one of Colombia's most powerful criminal organizations, controlling half of the drugs that come out of the South American country. President Iván Duque, who approved the United States’ extradition request last month, described Otoniel as the most dangerous narco-trafficker in the world and compared him to Pablo Escobar.
Following Otoniel’s extradition, the Clan del Golfo—also known as the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC)—retaliated by shutting down communities across Colombia’s northern departments of Antioquia, Bolívar, Magdalena, Chocó, Córdoba, and Sucre. For four days, the group implemented a paro armado (armed strike), ordering civilian populations to stay home and “cease all social, economic, educational, and cultural activities.” In an effort to show the Colombian government its political and military capabilities, the Clan del Golfo intimidated civilians, left tens of thousands of people without basic supplies, blocked major roads, burned over 100 vehicles, and killed 26 people. President Duque responded by deploying nearly 2,000 additional troops and police to contain the violence and lift the roadblocks. On Tuesday, Clan del Golfo announced the end of the strike.
The same day Clan del Golfo ended their strike, Marcelo Pecci, a high-profile Paraguayan anti-drug prosecutor, was killed in the coastal city of Cartagena, which has a large Clan del Golfo presence. Colombian National Police Director Jorge Luis Vargas said that early investigations suggest that a transnational criminal network is behind Pecci’s murder. According to media reports, the police are actively investigating whether the Clan del Golfo had any involvement.
Photo: Courtroom sketch of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández seated next to his lawyer Raymond Colon in New York’s Southern District Court. Source: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg.
On Tuesday, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was recently extradited to the United States, pleaded not guilty to drug and arms trafficking charges before a New York federal court. According to investigators, Hernández amassed millions of dollars in bribes for facilitating drug shipments and harboring traffickers. In the courtroom, Hernández’s lawyer Raymond Colón complained that his client was being held in solitary confinement and said that he was being treated like a “war criminal” or “terrorist.” Following Tuesday’s first hearing, Mr. Colón hinted at his defense strategy to the press, which includes subpoenaing President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Mr. Angél Martinez, a member of Hernandez's defense team, claims that during Hernández's government, Honduras actively fought alongside the United States against organized crime. Judge Kevin Castel is anticipated to schedule the date of Hernández's trial during the next court hearing, which is set for September 28. If found guilty, Hernández could face life in prison.
This week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador threatened to skip next month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles if the Biden Administration does not extend invitations to all leaders in the hemisphere. López Obrador, who last week visited Central America’s Northern Triangle countries and Cuba, said that the summit should be a place without exclusion. Similarly, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states have expressed concerns about the Biden administration’s unwillingness to invite Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to the summit. On Wednesday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted, “There is no Summit of the Americas if all American nations are not present.” According to media reports, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s attendance is also up in the air. On Tuesday, Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, echoed Lopéz Obrador’s comments by asking, “Are Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela not countries in the Americas?” Less than a month before the summit, the White House has still not issued the official invitations.
In the Media
Andrés Cañizález - Advierten que en Venezuela hay una política sistemática para cercar y limitar la libertad de expresión (El Nacional)
Andrés Cañizález- El mundo en dictadura: la democracia vive una era de retroceso generalizado (Confidencial Nicaragua)
Richard Feinberg- Make ‘friend-shoring’ of supply chains the centerpiece of upcoming Summit of the Americas (The Hill)
Sergio Guzmán - Paro armado en Colombia: 5 claves para entender las acciones violentas con las que el Clan del Golfo paralizó parte de Colombia (BBC News Mundo)
Francisco Monaldi - Así afectan a la economía rusa las sanciones que involucran a su combustible (CNN Español)
Francisco Monaldi - Maduro: cero transparencia y control total de los petrodólares (Runrunes)
Luis Gilberto Murillo - ‘Las prioridades del Gobierno deben ser las mismas de la Colombia profunda’ (El Nuevo Día Colombia)
Luis Gilberto Murillo - A Townhall with Colombian Vice-Presidential Candidates: What’s next for the United States’ close regional ally? (Wilson Center)
Patricio Navia - ¿Nueva Constitución o programa de gobierno? (El Líbero)
José Antonio Ocampo - Acuerdo de convivencia pacífica: el llamado de intelectuales y políticos (La Silla Vacía)
Upcoming Dates
Sunday, May 29: First Round of Presidential Elections (Colombia)
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