The Latin American Report # 652

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will remain detained at the Federal Police headquarters in the capital, after the Supreme Court ratified the preemptive prison order issued by Judge Alexandre de Moraes last Saturday due to (the possibility of) a flight attempt. The controversial Brazilian leader, sentenced to 27 years for a coup plot by a panel of the top court, and who is currently exhausting his appellate resources, had been under house arrest since August 4th. Previously, since July 17th, de Moraes had decreed that he could not leave the city, monitored via an electronic ankle bracelet, with a night curfew in weekdays and a full curfew on weekends, holidays, and days off, a prohibition on approaching and accessing embassy and consulate premises and on contact with their officials, and finally, to refrain from using social media directly or through third parties, this last point being reinforced a week later with an apparent contradiction: he could give speeches or grant interviews.

Early last Saturday, the alarm for tampering with the electronic ankle bracelet was triggered, which Bolsonaro himself confirmed, later claiming he had entered a state of hallucination—at one point, he claims, he "believed" the ankle bracelet had a listening device—probably due to a change in his medication. This fact, along with the call for a vigil for his health "and the freedom of Brazil"—which was to take place near his residence—and the relatively short distance separating his residence particularly from the US embassy—13 kilometers, or 15 minutes by car—were the arguments cited by de Moraes to revoke the house arrest and detain him at the Federal Police Superintendency in Brasilia.

Venezuela

This Monday, Foggy Bottom officially designated the so-called "Cartel of the Suns" as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, relying on somewhat unstructured propaganda that presents this "organization" as one "headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals ... who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary". Four months ago, the Treasury Department had designated it as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", alleging that among its missions is providing "material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel." According to Marco Rubio, the Tren de Aragua is also "part of Maduro’s narco-terrorist regime", which allegedly sent its members abroad in a concerted effort to attack the peace of the hemisphere and particularly cities like Chicago, New York, or Aurora.

In truth, the evidence to support Washington's accusations is scattered to the point that while the theory cannot be dismissed, it seems too rushed based on the available data, especially for effectively connecting Maduro beyond a reasonable doubt. "It is not a group," a top official at the Washington Office on Latin America organization told AP. "It´s not like a group that people would ever identify themselves as members. They don´t have regular meetings. They don´t have a hierarchy." Insight Crime has developed a fairly objective profile on the topic. The designation opens new intervention options in Venezuela for the Trump administration, and particularly for the War Department.

Crime

In Ecuador, one person died following a shootout caused by hitmen who arrived in boats at the waterfront of the town of Puerto Bolivar, in the violent coastal province of El Oro, and fired indiscriminately at people there, just meters from the church where the traditional mass was being held with the presence of several local authorities, such as the mayor of Machala and the prefect of the province.

Guatemala

A sad return...

This is all for today’s report.