The Latin American Report # 686

In Venezuela, the NGO Foro Penal, which monitors cases of allegedly political prisoners, reported that, after the tortuous and trickle-down release process advanced by the Chavista leadership, dozens of relatives of prisoners who were not previously in its database have come forward to present their cases. "They didn't report it [before] out of fear, and now they're doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed," said the director of Foro Penal. Of 300 new reports of politically motivated detentions received, they have validated about 100 according to a methodology I have not independently reviewed. With this assessment, there would be about 900 political prisoners in Venezuelan jails, corresponding to the fewer than 60 releases so far—Jorge Rodríguez, in contrast, speaks of 400—since last Thursday, most associated with some form of precautionary measure. It has been speculated that there is a strong tug-of-war among Chavismo's heavyweights over this process, with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello obstructing the Hernández siblings. Meanwhile, the financial cost of the wait for relatives is not a minor issue, encompassing expenses for transportation, food, lodging, or even renting a simple mattress to sleep outdoors outside prisons like El Rodeo.

"The president of Colombia, as always, sometimes comes out to make statements without having evidence. He came out to say some absurdities," stated Diosdado Cabello at a press conference broadcast this Tuesday. In general, beyond the truthfulness or not of the particular case being discussed, the Venezuelan Interior Minister is not wrong about the carelessness with which, on many occasions, the head of the Casa de Nariño approaches political communication, bordering on irresponsibility.

Argentina

Data is data, and the truth is that since 2009 Argentina had not recorded a biennium in which the annual inflation rate decelerated. In fact, the government agency focused on statistics notes that last year's annual rate (31.5%) was the lowest since 2017, coming from nearly 118% in 2024, which was Milei's first year in office (in 2023 it had been around 211%). The South American nation's finances experienced their most tense and concerning moment after the defeat in the legislative elections in the province of Buenos Aires, but the Trump administration shouldered the burden with an extraordinary rescue, which seems to have influenced Milei's subsequent vindicatory victory in the national legislative elections. He can operate now with greater muscle in Congress to continue his strong fiscal discipline program.

Costa Rica

"What we received is confidential information that I would like to put on record in the complaint. I don't want to go into detail, but I would simply like to tell you that it concerns the life of the president of the Republic," the director of Costa Rica's Intelligence and National Security Directorate told local media regarding an alleged plan to assassinate Rodrigo Chaves using a hitman. This accusation emerges from a context in which the Costa Rican president is attempting to apply the controversial "Bukele method" to contain violence, which years ago was not a problem in the Central American nation but which, hand in hand with drug trafficking, has now taken hold as such. National elections will be held there on February 1st.

Immigration

Hard and well assessed data 👇

This is all for today’s report.