The Latin American Report # 646

I always find the drift of Colombian politics interesting. In recent hours, we have seen how a leftist president verbally confronts the leader of a strengthened "remnant" of the extinct FARC-EP, a guerrilla organization whose origins date back to the end of the first half of the 20th century, with a deep leftist vocation. Composed mainly of former members of the FARC-EP who never accepted—or abandoned—the peace agreement signed in 2016 in Havana, either due to the lack of guarantees for their socioeconomic security—there is a very solid, incontestable argument here—or to continue profiting from illicit activities like drug trafficking, kidnappings, and extortion, the so-called Central General Staff has been a headache for the current head of the House of Nariño, who bet—with very little success, if any—on "Total Peace".

In fact, today the Colombian Government seems more close to reach agreements with the so-called Gulf Clan, the country's largest criminal organization, while it increases his denunciations and military moves towards the guerrillas. The National Liberation Army, for example, caused an international scandal last year when one of its fronts kidnapped the father of a renowned national team footballer who plays in England. Regarding the Central General Staff in particular, it is at the center of a very dangerous crisis for Petro, which leads him to incur in contradictions with his historical positions on how to confront the guerrillas themselves, the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and Trump's recent attacks against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

As I have already covered in my last reports, it all stems from the presence of minors among the recent victims of a series of bombings carried out since October under orders from Petro himself against structures of the Central General Staff. The government has firmly defended the actions, arguing that it was protecting the lives of soldiers outnumbered in personnel and weaponry—something which, in any case, says a lot if true—and also alluding to the fact that if no action is taken, if steps back, it ends up inciting the guerrillas to recruit (forcibly) more children to use them as "human shields." The Ombudswoman's Office strongly disagrees with this narrative and, while placing the greatest responsibility on the guerrillas, demands that the security forces not re-victimize, fatally, the minors whom, on the contrary, they must protect.

"The FARC will evaluate revolutionary trials against the material and intellectual perpetrators of the murder of children of the working class and workers," threatened the veteran guerrilla known as Iván Mordisco, appealing to a classist narrative typical of Marxism, also pointing—and here in full agreement with opposition actors—to the "hypocrisy" of the Colombian president regarding his positions on Gaza and the US deployment in the Caribbean. Petro downplayed the statements and insisted on downgrading Mordisco's group to the status of a criminal organization that responds to the interests of drug trafficking, without any leftist ideological aura of any kind. This Wednesday, the president denounced the murder of another social leader—the 174th so far this year—, linked to his political coalition, in a locality with a strong presence of a Central General Staff front.

Argentina

President Javier Milei reaffirmed this Wednesday that he has fulfilled all his campaign promises, and he would not be, to a certain extent, utterly wrong in that regard. The Trump-blessed, self-assumed first libertarian liberal president of Argentina always spoke about the macroeconomy, about ordering the fiscal balance, promoting "sound" reforms, reducing the size of the State, and defending a firm policy of zero monetary emission. What Milei never actually said, is that all, or the vast majority of, Argentines would live well and make it to the end of the month, or when a more hopeful outlook in this sense could begin to be seen.

In fact, what he usually repeats is that the economic model he advocates tends to generate fewer poor people. There is no a clear commitment here, as in the case of taking down one figure: inflation. "We renew our commitment to all Argentines to implement all second-generation reforms, so that once and for all, we enter the path that makes Argentina great again," he wrote today on X, cited by EFE.

Guatemala

This wire reports on the difficulties faced by Guatemalans deported by the Trump administration to reintegrate socioeconomically into their country of origin. The United States slammed the door in their face and, at least from what I read, turns a blind eye to the harsh realities to which they return. Thus, the White House's stance continues to be configured in an isolationist plan, seeking to close itself off and guarantee its security, even by bombing drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean, without seeking better conditions for Latin Americans in particular. However, although it allowed many migrants to enter, the Biden administration also turned a blind eye not only to those realities that made them flee their homes, marked by a lack of opportunities and insecurity, but also to the impact on them of human smugglers and organized crime in general along the entire migratory route.

This is all for today’s report.