The Latin American Report # 209

(Incomplete) Haitian balance sheet

The United Nations has reported a grim balance of violence in Haiti in the first quarter of the year. We have searched a lot in recent weeks on the drama that the Caribbean nation is experiencing, but so far we have only commented on the corpses sighted in the streets by AP, Reuters, and AFP reporters. We sensed that the number of victims of the violence unleashed by the gangs was large, but it is now that the UN offers a first balance, surely incomplete, on the nightmare that Haitians are living. The human rights office of the controversial organization claims that more than 1,500 people have died so far this year, many of them "lynched, stoned or burned alive by so-called self-defense" groups. So there are civilians—many children—as well criminals or police between the dead. The criminal syndicate Viv Ansanm—under the power of Jimmy Chérizier—attacks airports as well as schools and neighborhoods, and has demanded from the international community a "detailed" plan to get the country out of the crisis. Rejecting the intervention of Caricom and other Western powers seeking an alternative to the current chaos, Cherizier, alias "Barbecue", said that "the days ahead will bring worse things than what [they] have now". The criminal leader's narrative is that the corrupt business—as usual—would be in charge of the transition, and he also charged against the potential deployment of Kenyan troops, who would be considered "invaders." U.S. organizations have called for a halt to deportations of Haitians from North America, and instead increased immigration options.

_Source

Drug Trafficking Observatory

The Navy of El Salvador, a Central American country that this week celebrated two years of an intense, effective but controversial fight against organized crime, seized a ton and a half of drugs and arrested nine Guatemalan and Ecuadorian nationals who were sailing the Pacific Ocean in a boat. The intercepted cocaine was worth $37 million in the lucrative market, according to President Nayib Bukele. Also last Tuesday, Bulgarian authorities seized nearly 200 kilograms of cocaine on a vessel from Ecuador that made a stopover in Malta. As usual, the illegal cargo was mixed with bananas, a classic South American export commodity. According to the head of Bulgarian customs, this is the largest drug shipment ever seized in the port of Burgas. The goods were hidden behind a wall of the contaminated container. How many drugs manage to "evade" national controls? Finally, on this front, Costa Rican authorities seized about 600 kilograms of cocaine that had the Iberian Peninsula as its final destination. The illicit cargo was intercepted in the Caribbean province of Limon, mixed with construction materials. In 2023, Costa Rican authorities found nearly 5 tons of cocaine hidden in containers. The once "happy" and peaceful country is increasingly choked by domestic organized crime, which has imported many practices from the most dangerous Mexican cartels.

_{Dozens of blocks of cocaine were seized in violent Guayaquil last Wednesday (source).}

Bolsonaro's request to travel to Israel was denied

The opposition leader, who still has a strong grip on a large sector of Brazilian society, was denied Friday by Brazil's Supreme Judge to obtain his passport and accept an invitation from Benjamin Netanyahu. Lula has been highly critical of Israel's fierce and deadly counter-offensive against the Gaza Strip, after Hamas' surprise incursion last October 7. Bolsonaro is under investigation by the South American giant's justice system in several cases. The main one tries to link him to an attempt to undermine Brazilian democracy and block Lula da Silva's takeover. To put more meat on the grill, the conservative politician spent some 48 hours in the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia—a visit revealed by The New York Times—, in a move that many connect with the search for protection against the judicial actions against him.

Manabí continues to be stained red

Last Sunday we commented on the shameful murder of a young mayoress in the coastal province of Manabi, crossed by drug trafficking, while in the last hours, the shooting of five Ecuadorians in a kidnapping attempt—in which five minors survived—is reported. "Crude images of what happened show the bodies piled up on the vegetation", said the media from the country immersed in a crusade against organized crime since January, but in recent days has had to lament several facts that denote the long way to go, between new and deadly scenes in prisons and events in Manabi. Also on Friday an alternate councilman allied to the political force of former president Rafael Correa was murdered. "Our alternate councilman of Samborondon, Julio Ronquillo, first from the left, was kidnapped yesterday, and today he was found murdered. An embrace of solidarity to his family, friends, and comrades," Correa said. Three inmates were reported dead after a new rebellion in the penitentiary complex of Guayas province, from where Adolfo Macías—alias "Fito", still eluding authorities—escaped at an undetermined time between December and January, an event that contributed to detonating the current security crisis.

_{Criticism is growing against Daniel Noboa, apparently somewhat disconnected from the increasingly urgent concerns of the people regarding insecurity (source of the image).}

Self-justice in Mexico. A mob kicked and beat to death a woman allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and subsequent murder of an 8-year-old girl, and who was her daughter's best friend. The kidnappers, two men, and the woman, allegedly demanded US$15,000 for her release. The event took place in the town of Taxco, in the violent and troubled state of Guerrero.