IRTF News

In both Nicaragua and the U.S. commercial advertisements and surging diesel fumes fill up majority of the roads. However, in the article, unlike the U.S., it is argued that the Nicaraguan government has made changes to push for a more socialist economy. The Gloria Quintanilla Cooperative which is a women-led, coffee-producing community in Santa Julia is a significant example of these social transformations. The community has its own leadership structure, separate from the municipal government. The women who oversee the cooperative, also have legal rights to the large tract of land. One of the biggest social changes made in the community was the banning of alcohol, causing 90% of domestic violence within the community to have been eliminated. The article compares Nicaragua’s political will, which was manifested through an organized state power, reversed decades of neglect and compares it to the U.S. and the declining effects privatization is having on both the infrastructural and economic aspects back home.

‘Hondurasgate’ exposed a plan to boost far-right American puppets across the Western Hemisphere. Under the auspices of fighting international cartels and combating Chinese influence, Trump has sought to revive authoritarianism in the region.

U.S. interference in Latin Ameican politics is hardly novel. Since the very founding of the United States, its governments have tended to assert that the entire Western Hemisphere is America’s neocolonial possession. If anything, the recent Pink Tide—the period of left-wing populism in Central and South America that came about at the beginning of the 21st century—is a historical anomaly. From the Monroe Doctrine of the 19th century; the counterinsurgency doctrines created after World War II; the brutal, CIA-trained death squads that terrorized opposition parties in the 1970s and ’80s during Operation Condor; and the hard austerity politics of the neoliberal era at the end of the millennium, right-wing, US-backed governance has been the overwhelming Latin American status quo since the excising of the Spanish Empire.

A business-friendly agro-industry law, implemented by the country’s new right-wing government, is intensifying pressure on Garífuna land.

Following a devastating earthquake near the border of Chocó and Valle del Cauca, journalist David Escobar recounts navigating the destruction in Cali to ensure his family's safety while witnessing both heart-wrenching loss and community-driven rescue efforts across the city. He contrasts the selflessness of ordinary citizens helping one another in the streets with the callousness of politicians using the natural disaster to post divisive messages on social media.

On July 6, Honduran police violently evicted members of the Garífuna community of San Juan-Tela, using tear gas and live ammunition and arresting five human rights defenders. The incident occurred after a new law gave security forces more power to carry out evictions in areas that were more involved in economic projects. Garífuna and campesino organizations argue that the law protects economic interests while threatening ancestral and rural communities. The communities talk about the long history of land conflicts and state violence. Since then, other communities have faced evictions, arrests, and violence. Grassroots organizations have now been organizing protests and appealed to international organizations, asking for the revoking of the law, as well as the protection of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and campesino land rights.

Sign the letter in support of the Garífuna community of San Juan-Tela: https://grassrootsonline.org/garifuna/

According to a new report from the International Crisis Group, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella’s proposed hardline military strategy and plan to abandon peace negotiations could backfire, worsening violence and fragmentation among armed groups. The report advises the new administration to combine targeted military pressure with improved intelligence, institutional presence, and strategic dialogue to effectively protect civilians and reduce conflict.

A new interactive tool from Relevant Research tracks the growing number of deaths inside ICE's civil immigrant detention system, with links to source material and downloadable data. https://www.detentionmortality.com/