The Latin American Report # 651

The United States increased uncertainty regarding Venezuela’s immediate future after the precaution notice issued by the U.S. aviation authority for aircraft flying over the South American nation and the southern Caribbean Sea, in a context it characterizes as “potentially dangerous for the region.” Beyond what this may (or may not) mean in concrete military terms, the statement could be aimed at discouraging travel to Venezuela and deepening psychological warfare—read this claim from the Washington Post—designed to push Maduro to leave Miraflores Palace quietly. Some airlines decided to suspend routes related to Venezuela, such as Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, and Brazil’s Gol. In this regard, a former official of Trinidad and Tobago’s civil aviation authority stated that the announcement does not imply an imminent conflict.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government called for massive participation in elections held this Sunday, in which voters over 15 from the so-called communes choose projects/initiatives that will be automatically funded by Miraflores Palace starting next week. This is a very interesting mechanism through which Venezuelan authorities have managed to gain some level of support among young people, who in many cases are among the main promoters or beneficiaries of the more than 36,570 proposed community projects. Two are selected for each of the proximately 5,340 communes and communal circuits in the country.

#Youcannotbeserious

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro attributed to certain medications prescribed by “several doctors” the alleged hallucinatory and paranoid state that supposedly led him to tamper with the electronic ankle monitor with which the Supreme Federal Court was monitoring his house arrest. He says he thought the device had a sort of listening system. Judge Alexandre de Moraes considered this and other surrounding actions/conditions—including Bolsonaro’s residence being close to the U.S. embassy in Brasília—indicative of an attempted escape, so issuing the preventive detention order just days before the former president was due to begin serving his 27-year sentence for coup-mongering.

The head of the Planalto Palace, who has had a very tight schedule recently between COP30 and the G20 summit in South Africa, said that Bolsonaro “will serve the sentence determined by the Justice system.” The judicial process against Bolsonaro was the main argument when Washington levied heavy tariff measures against Brazil, recently considerably relaxed after direct conversations between Trump and Lula.

Bolivia

The relationship between Bolivia’s newly inaugurated president and vice president is deteriorating too rapidly. “Rodrigo Paz, you lie. Rodrigo Paz is just a liar, he has not solved a single problem for the people up to now,” said vice president Edmand Lara, a former police officer and TikTok fanatic. “I know and understand that Edmand had a very complicated week due to various family matters, and we are always ready for dialogue prioritizing the country’s problems, not individual issues or political factions, but solutions,” responded president Rodrigo Paz.

Among the sources of friction is the creation of a vice ministry whose responsibilities overlap with Lara’s, and the closure of the Ministry of Justice, which also affects Lara’s interests due to his closeness to the person heading that portfolio. Civil society has mobilized independently around the issue of the Ministry of Justice—which Paz has said he will replace with a better mechanism—, while voters loyal to Lara have also taken to the streets to defend him.

Crime

In Colombia, two pieces of good news in tackling crime and (potential) sexual offenders. The Army’s anti-kidnapping unit rescued at least 17 minors from Ecuador, Guatemala, and Canada who were allegedly being held—along with nine adults—by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect in the town of Yarumal, and who had reportedly entered the country from New York. The sect, which appears to be attempting to establish a colony in Colombia, has been accused of “alleged crimes against minors in Guatemala and the United States, including convictions of some leaders for kidnapping and child sexual exploitation.” “There are indications that some of the minors may have been abducted, creating a possible scenario of human trafficking under religious doctrinal cover,” notes a police report cited by AFP.

Meanwhile, in the department of Amazonas, police and prosecutors arrested a teacher accused of sexually abusing five children between six and nine years old. Finally, in Mexico, a new political assassination once again shines a spotlight on the insecurity and impunity with which organized crime operates. An Indigenous leader, former mayor, and former congressional candidate was shot dead in the state of Veracruz on Sunday morning. In November alone, three former candidates have already been killed there, adding to the shocking murder of a mayor in a public square earlier this month in the state of Michoacán. The question that almost always remains unanswered is: why were they killed?

This is all for today’s report.