Tag: Merida Initiative

Central America
Darién

US-Panama deal to shut down Darién Gap migration route

Immediately upon taking office, Panama’s new President José Raúl Mulino struck a deal with the United States to shut down the migration route through the Darién Gap, which sees thousands annually making the perilous jungle trek while seeking to reach North America. The US has committed to cover the cost of repatriation of migrants who illegally enter Panama and to deploy Homeland Security teams on the route. Last year, a record 520,000 migrants risked their lives, often at the hands of human traffickers, to traverse the Darién Gap, an expanse of roadless jungle stretching some 100 kilometers from Panama’s border with Colombia. (Photo: David González/TNH)

Mexico

Mexico rejects US drug war aid

Mexico’s new populist president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, announced that he is dropping out of the regional US-led drug enforcement pact, and will be turning down the aid package offered through the program, known as the Merida Initiative. “We don’t want armed helicopters,” he said, addressing Washington. Instead, he is proposing a dialogue with Washington on across-the-board drug decriminalization in both nations. Mexican lawmakers say they will pass a cannabis legalization bill by the end of the year. (Photo: El Txoro)

Central America

Central America: leaders hold migration summit

The US offered Central American child migrants compassion and deportation at a DC summit, while the presidents of Guatemala and Honduras lobbied for more military aid.

Mexico

Anabel Hernández: Mexico’s new narco order

Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández, facing death threats after outing top officials as cartel collaborators, speaks on the state of the narco wars under the new government.

Mexico

Mexico: police shoot up US embassy car

A group of Mexican federal police agents attacked a US embassy car. Mexican authorities attributed the incident to “confusion”: the US embassy called it an “ambush.”