The Latin American Report # 488

This AP story offers a detailed account of how an ad hoc band of immigration lawyers was activated to file petitions in Judge James E. Boasberg's federal court, at odds with Trump after entering a temporary restraining order to stay the invocation of a late 18th century law to deport dozens of alleged “tough”, “bad” Venezuelan people accused of belonging to the infamous “Tren de Aragua” gang. U.S. officials have some wild guidance for profiling a Venezuelan as a suspected TdA member: “Chicago Bulls jerseys, high-end urban street wear, and tattoos of clocks, stars or crowns”. Andry José Hernández Romero, a Venezuelan makeup artist who entered the United States through the now-dead CBP One mobile app, had tattoos with crowns on his wrists, though with the kind words “Mum” and “Dad” next to them.

The deportation operation began at least a week earlier in a hush-hush manner, as an intelligence operation, and only hours before the departure of the controversial flights to El Salvador took place was there confirmation that something fishy was going to happen. “I've been doing this for a long time, and I've seen some pretty weird stuff,” said a Texas attorney to AP. “But to do this in the middle of the night, to send people to another country, and straight to a prison when they haven't been convicted of a crime?” Caracas has denounced Bukele's complicity in the operation. The "world´s coolest dictator" even mocked Judge Boasberg via X, and for sure, he has a good relationship with Trump at the best moment in a long time to be friendly with the head of the White House.

Argentina

Similar is the case of Milei, who did not object to Trump's reciprocal tariffs that have the markets bleeding but supported them. “As you can see, we conduct policy with actions, not mere words, and on that, we agree with President Donald Trump,” he said at Mar-a-Lago last Friday. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner mocked Milei after Trump's apparent disdain while the conservative leader was in Palm Beach. “When I woke up, I thought I'd find on TV the photo-op with your `friend' Trump that you went looking for,” she wrote on social media. “What a way to mess around and spend money on nothing.” Argentina is waiting for the IMF Executive Board to decide how much money it will send up-front to the depressed white and blue coffers, as part of the generous $20 billion deal that could prove key to the continuation of the orthodox agenda of budget cuts and deregulations that the Balcarce 50 boss has advanced since storming to national power in Buenos Aires.

More Latam discussion on tariffs

President Claudia Sheinbaum did not rule out that the Aztec nation would respond reciprocally to the tariffs on aluminum, autos, and steel. They managed to elude the broad tariffs barrage announced last week. Sheinbaum has acted with considerable aplomb, betting on negotiation and making some gestures in terms of security, which for the moment has allowed her to keep her country mostly safe from this trade nightmare. The leader of MORENA states that they are seeking to avoid the imposition of tariffs on U.S. products to be able to reach a prior agreement.

In the south, the president of Chile's Central Bank said Monday that it is too early to determine the impact of the tariffs on the country's economy. Following in South America, the Peruvian peso, interest rates, and the local stock market fell amid the financial turmoil shaking the world. “We are talking with the unions, talking among ourselves (also), to (implement the) measures (necessary) to minimize the impact” of the tariffs, the Peruvian economy minister said today. Last year, the Andean country exported some 9.5 billion dollars to the United States, mainly blueberries, grapes, clothing, copper, and coffee. There has been a Free Trade Agreement since 2009, but the Asian giant is its main trading partner. Argentina's assets also fell sharply on Monday.

_{Peru's copper reserves are increasingly valuable (source of the image).}