Weekly adamisacson.com - Issue #5
The big event at work this week was WOLA's annual human rights award dinner, where we got a chance to uphold Guatemala's anti-beleaguered but persistent anti-corruption fighters.
Otherwise, it was a week of meetings with officials and talking to journalists about Colombia, and writing things that, for the most part, will come out in a few weeks. Next week I'm giving a talk at Washington College up in Chestertown, Maryland, on Monday, then talking about the origins of Central America's violence on a panel at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Tuesday. Come by and say "hi" if you're in Washington.
Actually, there are a lot of events going on in Washington this coming week.
The last week of September is always a bit chaotic in Washington, and this week will be particularly special. Beyond the Kavanaugh Supreme Court circus, we still don't know whether our president will shut down the government, whose budget year ends Sunday the 30th, if he doesn't get his border wall money (spoiler: he won't). And the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing with the nominee to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command. And look at all these events coming up around town (I count 11):
Monday, September 24, 2018
- 9:00–10:30 at the Wilson Center: A View from the White House: Latin America Policy Under the Trump Administration (RSVP required).
- 9:00–4:30 at the Wilson Center: The Scientific, Social, and Economic Dimensions of Development in the Amazon (RSVP required).
- 2:30–4:30 at the Inter-American Dialogue: A Conversation with Valdrack Jaentschke (RSVP required).
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
- 8:30–10:30 at the Inter-American Dialogue: Brazilian Elections: Starting Over or More of the Same? (RSVP required).
- 9:30 in Room SD-G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building: Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Nominations – Abrams - Faller (Vice Adm. Craig Faller is the nominee for next commander of U.S. Southern Command).
- 9:30–11:00 at USIP: What Drives Violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle? (RSVP required – I’m a panelist here, come by and say “hi.”).
- 10:00–12:00 at the Wilson Center: Admiral Eduardo Bacellar Leal Ferreira on the Evolving Role of the Brazilian Navy (RSVP required).
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
- 6:00–8:00 at Busboys and Poets 14th St.: Film Screening and Panel Discussion: ‘They’re Killing Us’.
Thursday, September 27, 2018
- 9:30–11:30 at the Inter-American Dialogue: A Conversation with Carlos Calleja (RSVP required).
- 10:00 in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Markup in the House Foreign Affairs Committee including H.Res. 1006 on Venezuela and H.R. 1567 on Mexico.
Friday, September 28, 2018
- 9:00–11:00 at the Inter-American Dialogue: Corruption, Crisis, and CICIG: What Next for the Rule of Law in Guatemala? (RSVP required).
Crazy, right? And look at what's happening in Colombia.
My Colombia peace process update covering last week is longer than usual because what's happening is so momentous:
- ELN Talks remain suspended
- Former army chief appears before JEP
- FARC party conference marked by no-shows
- US officials visit amid speculation over renewed fumigation
- Dissident leader “David” killed in Nariño
Also, in order to stay as up-to-date as possible, I posted an overview of Colombia's peace process during the week before I traveled to Colombia (August 26-September 1). That one talks about:
- Peace Commissioner Lays Out Four “Adjustments” to FARC Accord
- FARC Conference Marked By No-Shows
- Spain Offers To Accompany ELN Peace Talks
- JEP Takes on a “False Positive” Case
- Military Presents Report to Truth Commission
Here are five must-read articles by others from the past week
Brazil
- “A Scary Election in Brazil” (The Economist (Uk), September 21, 2018).
Rather than a mandate for governing, elections held under these conditions produce the opening positions of a game played between the president and a fragmented congress, which Brazilians call presidencialismo de coalição
Colombia
- Federico Rios Escobar, Nicholas Casey, “Colombia Struck a Peace Deal With Guerrillas, but Many Return to Arms” (The New York Times, September 18, 2018).
These dissident guerrillas invited The New York Times to their camp, hidden among mountains north of Medellín, to tell the story of why they abandoned the peace deal
Guatemala
- Jody Garcia, “El Cacif Invirtio q1 Millon en Lobby en Washington; Asegura Que No Es Contra la Cicig” (Nomada (Guatemala), September 19, 2018).
El Cacif pagó US$135 mil (Q1 millón) a dos lobistas en Washington para tener acceso e influenciar acciones del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Está en duda si ha sido para desprestigiar a la CICIG
Mexico
- Ioan Grillo, “He Dedicated His Career to Exposing the Cartels. Then He Was Gunned Down in the Street.” (Esquire, September 20, 2018).
Corruption at the state level has been partly responsible for a lack of progress in prosecuting such deaths
U.S.-Mexico Border
- John Washington, ““Kick Ass, Ask Questions Later”: A Border Patrol Whistleblower Speaks Out About Culture of Abuse Against Migrants” (The Intercept, September 21, 2018).
For Mario, the encouragement to “operate in the gray” summed up the attitude of the Border Patrol — operating outside of the law. He described some of the actions of Border Patrol as “borderline inhumane”
And some electioneering. Support Beto!
(That's me talking, of course, not WOLA, my employer, which is not affiliated with my personal site or this e-mail newsletter.) I've liked Beto O'Rourke since I met him in El Paso in 2011, and want him to be Texas's next senator. I encourage you to support his scrappy grassroots campaign—and I think he can win. Imagine a member of Congress who asks you to recommend books to read so he can do his job better:
Beto O’Rourke Would Be a Great Texas Senator
I first met Beto O’Rourke in October 2011 when we were both panelists at a conference at the University of Texas at El Paso. He was an El Paso city councilman with a lot of buzz around him (the next year, he would unseat his district’s sitting congressman and head to Washington). I was in […]
Here's some music that's been in my headphones while I do all this.
Adam Isacson on Instagram: “#carseatheadrest”
25 Likes, 0 Comments - Adam Isacson (@adamisacson) on Instagram: “#carseatheadrest”
Adam Isacson on Instagram: “Couldn’t get a clear shot because @rollingblackoutscf never stand still. Best live show I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve been getting out…”
8 Likes, 0 Comments - Adam Isacson (@adamisacson) on Instagram: “Couldn’t get a clear shot because @rollingblackoutscf never stand still. Best live show I’ve seen…”
And finally, links to all the Latin America security news I found noteworthy this week.
Some articles I found interesting: Friday, September 21
(Posting this a bit late—I fell behind near the end of the week. Even more here) September 21, 2018 Western Hemisphere Regional Erica Werner, Josh Dawsey, Seung Min Kim, “Trump Demands a Border Wall but Many Republican Lawmakers Aren’t Convinced” (The Washington Post, September 21, 2018). Behind all the rationalizing lies a hardening reality: Many congressional […]
Some articles I found interesting: Thursday, September 20
(Posting this a bit late—I fell behind near the end of the week. Even more here) September 20, 2018 Western Hemisphere Regional Ron Nixon, “U.S. Loses Track of Another 1,500 Migrant Children, Investigators Find” (The New York Times, September 20, 2018). Senate investigators said the department could not determine with certainty the whereabouts of 1,488 out […]
Some articles I found interesting this morning
(Even more here) September 19, 2018 Western Hemisphere Regional Jean Guerrero, “Government Report Shows Border Wall Designs Can Be Broken” (KPBS (Los Angeles), September 19, 2018). A U.S. Customs and Border Protection report obtained by KPBS through a Freedom of Information Act request reveals mock-ups of all eight border wall prototypes were found vulnerable to […]
Some articles I found interesting this morning
(Even more here) September 18, 2018 Brazil Andres Schipani, Joe Leahy, “Contradictions Expose Brazil Election Frontrunner’s Soldier Image” (The Financial Times (UK), September 18, 2018). Mr da Silva, his former childhood friend, summed it up. Mr Bolsonaro was Brazil’s version of Mr Trump, a social media Pied Piper gathering diverse disgruntled followers from across the […]
Some articles I found interesting this morning
(Even more here) September 17, 2018 Western Hemisphere Regional Ryan Devereaux, “Justice Department Attempts to Suppress Evidence That the Border Patrol Targeted Humanitarian Volunteers” (The Intercept, September 17, 2018). Within hours of the exhibits being submitted Monday, Trump administration lawyers called on Macdonald to seal the text messages Brazil Alejandro Chacoff, “Brazil Lost More Than […]
See you next week! It's going to be a busy one. In the meantime, watch for a provocative article on WOLA's website about U.S. aid to Guatemala's military. Should post on Monday.