Lack of border controls and Venezuela’s corruption strengthen the bonds between the National Liberation Army (ELN, in Spanish), dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish), and the Venezuelan government, the U.S. Department of State said in a report on terrorism published on November 1. “[Venezuela’s] porous [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Nicaragua, Only Central American Country To Support Maduro
Following Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to expel Venezuelan diplomats from his country, causing a diplomatic crisis, political analysts in Nicaragua view the Daniel Ortega government as increasingly isolated, being the only country in the region to continue to support the Chavista government. Ricardo de León, a Nicaraguan expert in [ … ]
UNHCR Warns Venezuelan Exodus Might Exceed 6 Million Migrants In 2020
The flow of migrants fleeing Venezuela’s severe economic, social, and political crisis might worsen in 2020, said Eduardo Stein, Joint Special Representative for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on October 28. During a speech at the International Solidarity Conference held in Brussels, [ … ]
US: Venezuela A Global Crisis Requiring A Global Solution
The crisis in Venezuela is urgent and must be given a sense of urgency, said Carol Thompson O’Connell, principal deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, on October 31. “When almost 5 million people have been forcibly displaced and have had to flee [ … ]
More Than 15,000 Political Detainees In The Last Five Years In Venezuela, Says NGO Foro Penal
Venezuela currently has 399 political prisoners, and 15,180 people were arrested for political reasons in the last five years, reported Venezuelan nongovernmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal on November 13. Gonzalo Himiob Santomé, the NGO’s director, said in a press conference that 20 of the more than 390 political prisoners in [ … ]
Venezuela’s Business Crisis
Sixty percent of Venezuela’s private companies have shut down over the last 20 years, according to data the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Production (Fedecámaras, in Spanish), presented the Venezuelan National Assembly in mid-2019. Fedecámaras said 370,000 of the 620,000 active businesses in 1998 have now disappeared. Of [ … ]
Trump: ‘Nicaragua Continues to Be a National Security Threat’
U.S. President Donald Trump extended an executive order on November 25 to sanction Nicaraguan government officials, asserting that the situation in the country constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” With the executive order renewed, the United States will announce [ … ]
FAES, Maduro’s ‘Extermination Group’
They patrol on motorcycles. Wearing masks, with a skull embroidered on their uniforms and with bullet-proof vests and assault rifles, the members of the Bolivarian National Police’s Special Actions Force (FAES, in Spanish) are frequently seen in Venezuela’s poor neighborhoods. Their presence is ominous. FAES has been accused of carrying [ … ]
Bolivia: Government Accuses Maduro of Promoting Instability
The Bolivian government appointed former president Jorge Quiroga as a delegate before the international community to explain the political and social crisis that the country experienced after the general elections of October 20. Interim President Jeanine Áñez announced the decision after a series of controversies that arose in different sectors. [ … ]
European Union Urges Sanctions Against Nicaraguan Authorities
International organizations are exerting pressure to prevent more abuses from the Nicaraguan government and restore democracy. Nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the European Union (EU) to implement the individual sanctions presented on October 14, 2019, against President Daniel Ortega and six top members of the Nicaraguan Police, [ … ]
Beijing Could Use 5G To Further Repress Citizens
As the world begins building 5G networks, U.S. officials are raising the alarm that the new technology will help authoritarian regimes further repress and control their own citizens. With 5G networks’ faster connections and greater bandwidth, “tens of billions of new devices will be connected to the internet in the [ … ]
South American Navies Strengthen the Fight Against Organized Crime
Paraguay was the host country for exercise Acrux IX, which helped counter arms and human trafficking through the Paraguay-Paraná waterway. The navies of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay increased their regional cooperation against organized crime with combined exercise Acrux IX, held in Puerto Rosario, Paraguay, September 24-27, 2019. Officers of [ … ]