The Latin American Report # 395

_{Edmundo González, former Venezuelan presidential candidate (source).}

The Venezuelan government has reaffirmed that there is not the slightest chance that the opposition can “invoice democracy” next January, as former candidate Edmundo González would be imprisoned as soon as he sets foot again in Caracas. Chavismo seems immovable from the Miraflores Palace for the times to come, in spite of the reasonable doubts that hover over the Venezuelan post-electoral scene. The opposition does not have the muscle to turn this trend around, trapped in its own cognitive and operative insufficiency, widely discussed in our reports throughout this year. I do not understand how it continues to promise its bases anything else. “On January 10, the only one who will be sworn in is called Nicolás Maduro. There is not a single possibility, [...] not even half a chance, [of] Mr. [...] González setting foot in Venezuela without being arrested”, declared the powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

Last Monday, the Venezuelan attorney general said that around 530 people who had been detained in late July have been released, in a smart move by Chavismo in the face of Donald Trump's return to the White House. It is still unknown what policy the controversial mogul will apply towards the oil-producing nation, because the context has changed somewhat since he spent political capital trying to remove Maduro from power in 2019—a soundly failed operation. Civil society organizations denounce that three inmates have died in state custody, and so on Tuesday there was a vigil led by prisoners´ relatives to draw the attention of the international community. Ottawa sanctioned recently five judicial and electoral officials with direct involvement in the disputed electoral process. Opposition leader María Corina Machado has been "in hiding" for weeks, although I believe authorities know very well her wherabouts.

_Source

More obstacles for irregular migrants

Donald Trump's shadow continues to cover—for the worse—those on their way to the United States, from the Darién Gap opening the doors to Central America to border cities like Mexico's Reynosa. In the latter, a migrant shelter has closed its doors to new irregular migrants due to an escalation of kidnappings by cartels. Migrants who secure appointments to present themselves at an official port of entry—through the CBP One mobile application—must be guarded on their way by police to avoid any mishaps with criminal groups ready to extort them. “Until people have security and [criminals] stop kidnapping migrants when they arrive ... we don't want any more arriving,” said the reverend running the ‘Path of Life’ shelter in Reynosa.

Meanwhile, a new caravan left Tapachula yesterday, Wednesday, heading for Mexico City, trying to mitigate the risks concerning the violence in the south or seeking more economically welcoming places in the Aztec territory itself. President Claudia Sheinbaum, very sensitive to Trump's threats, has pledged to “attend to” these caravans before they fulfill their goal, although in any case they have long since been dispersed by repression or sometimes deceitful negotiations. The director of the hostel “The Good Samaritan” in the border city of Ciudad Juárez believes that the authorities are containing the migrants in the south and that is why there have been no new arrivals at his place for three months.

The fentanyl route 👇

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.