Podcasts about salvadorean

The current "Pax Bukele", a state of emergency in which constitutional rights have been invalidated, was only made possible by a secret deal between President Nayyib Bukele and some of the country's most violent gangs, which actively assisted Bukele's rise.The Grayzone spoke with veteran Salvadorean journalist Walter Raudales about the stunning revelations of Bukele's covert arrangement with the cartels, and interviewed human rights lawyer Alejandro Diaz about the corruption and cruelty underlying Bukele's notorious CECOT mega-prison project.Watch on SubstackVideo by Oscar Leon

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Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele has offered to house people who've been convicted of violent crimes in the United States after meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a new Salvadorean megaprison called Cecot. The offer came alongside an invitation to receive deportees from the US. We're joined to discuss this news and to frame Bukele's background by Ana Piquer, Amnesty International's Americas Director. — Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post El Salvador Invites Trafficking of US Prisoners w/ Ana Piquer appeared first on KPFA.

Honk honk. Food truck time. Your Beefy Bones are eating some Mexican and Salvadorean food with fresh ingredients. Make sure to check them out at www.elpatrontacos.com *Leave us a message: https://anchor.fm/meatsoftheroundtable/message *Youtube, Faceybook & The Instagram: @meatsoftheroundtable *Online Merch: www.Tiny.one/MOTRTPodcast *Email: Meatsoftheroundtable@outlook.com

Salvadorean author Claudia Maldondo, comes on the show to present her book "Mom works hard" there's also a spanish version "Mama Trabaja Muchisimo." #Motherhood #LatinaMoms Audio: Kris Barnoya @Krsb28 Camera: Humberto Maldonado @oh.g.jr View Podcast Playlists: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ7-6Qe9CXRXgqFlTssxQbslk22uD25DB Follow us on Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@echalepodcast/ Listen to the Podcast: https://linktr.ee/echalepod Follow Echale Podcast: @EchalePodcast l Jose Quintero www.instagram.com/josequinterotv/ Business Inquiries: Echalepodcast@gmail.com Support this podcast: https://patreon.com/EchalePodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

José Miguel Vivanco, adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and former executive director of the Americas division at Human Rights Watch, leads the conversation on human rights in Latin America. FASKIANOS: Welcome to today's session of the Fall 2023 CFR Academic Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record. The video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org, if you would like to share them with your colleagues or classmates. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We are delighted to have José Miguel Vivanco with us to discuss human rights in Latin America. Mr. Vivanco is an adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and partner at Dentons Global Advisors. He formerly served as the executive director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, where he supervised fact-finding research for numerous reports on gross violations of human rights and advocated strengthening international legal standards and domestic compliance throughout the region. He is the founder of the Center for Justice and International Law, an international civil society organization providing legal and technical assistance with the Inter-American Human Rights System. So, José Miguel, thank you very much for being with us today. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of what you see as the most important human rights challenges and advances in Latin America today. VIVANCO: Well, thank you very much for this invitation. It is a pleasure to be with you all and to talk for an hour about human rights problems, human rights issues in Latin America. Let me first make a couple of points. First, I think it's very important that, in retrospect, if you look at Latin America in the 1960s, 1970s, and even 1980s, it was a region that was pretty much run by military dictatorships. So if you look at historically, the region is not in such a bad shape. I know that this comment is quite controversial and many experts who follow the region closely might disagree with that statement, but objectively speaking I think we need to recognize that most of the region is run today—with the exception, obviously, of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua—by democracies, weak democracies, the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America are facing very serious challenges and with endemic problems such as corruption, abuse of power, lack of transparency, lack of proper accountability, and so on and so forth. But in general terms, this is a region that has a chance to conduct some self-correction. In other words, electoral democracy is a very, very important value in the region, and the citizens—most of the people are able to either reward or punish the incumbent government at the times of elections. That is not a minor detail. It is extremely important, especially if you take into account that during the last twenty years in Latin America, if I'm not wrong, the vast majority of the governments elected were from the opposition. The statistics, I think, show that in eighteen of the twenty last presidential elections, the winner has been the party of the opposition; which means that even though our democracies in Latin America are dysfunctional, weak, messy, slow, you know, short-term-oriented, obviously, but at least citizens take their rights seriously and they exercise their powers so that is why you see a regular zigzag or, you know, transfer of power from a left-wing government to a right-wing government or vice versa. And that is, again, something that is, obviously, a very, very important tool of self-correction. And that, obviously, includes or has an impact in terms of the human rights record of those countries. You know, I'm not—I'm not addressing yet—I will leave it for the Q&A section—conditions in those three dictatorships in Latin America. Let me just make some few more remarks about one of the biggest challenges that I see in the region. And that is, obviously, the rise of autocracy or autocratic leaders, populist leaders, leaders who are not interested or as a matter of fact are very hostile to the concept of rule of law and the concept of independence of the judiciary. And they usually are very charismatic. They have high level of popular support. And they run and govern the country in a style that is like a permanent campaign, where they normally go against minorities and against the opposition, against the free media, against judges and prosecutors who dare to investigate them or investigate the government. Anyone who challenges them are subject of this type of reaction. And that is, unfortunately, something that we have seen in Mexico recently and until today, and in Brazil, especially during the administration of President Bolsonaro. The good news about, in the case of Brazil, is that, thanks to electoral democracy, it was possible to defeat him and—democratically. And the second very important piece of information is that even though Brazil is not a model of rule of law and separation of power, we have to acknowledge that, thanks to the checks-and-balance exercise by the Supreme Court of Brazil, it was possible to do some permanent, constant damage control against the most outrageous initiatives promoted by the administration of President Bolsonaro. That, I think, is one of the biggest challenges in the region. Let me conclude my—make crystal clear that there are serious human rights problems in Latin America today regarding, for instance, abuse of power, police brutality, prison problems. Prisons are really, in most of the countries in the region, a disaster. And you know, a big number of prisoners are awaiting trial, in detention and unable to really exercise their rights. And unfortunately, populist leaders use the prison system or essentially criminal law, by expanding the practice and enlarging the numbers of crimes that could be subject of pretrial detention, and—you know, regardless of the time that it will take for that case to be prosecuted in full respect for the rule—due process, and so on and so forth. And that—the reason is very simple. There is a real demand in Latin America for policies that will address insecurity, citizen security. If you look at statistics in terms of crime rate, it is going up in most of the country. Obviously, there are big difference between countries like Mexico, for instance, or Colombia, and if you link—if you look at the power of cartels and big mafias, and gangs in other countries, or petty crime impacting the daily life of the citizens. Regardless of that point, one of the biggest demands in Latin America is for better and more public security. And that's why political leaders, usually the solution for that request and demand is to put people in prison with essentially no real due process and increase the number of prisoners without conviction. There are challenges for free speech occasionally, of those leaders who resent scrutiny of their practice. And normally there is a campaign against free media. And there are some attempts in some countries to constantly look for ways to undermine the independence of the judiciary. Keep in mind, for instance, that now in Argentina the whole Supreme Court is under impeachment, and it's essentially an impeachment promoted by the current government because they disagree with the rulings, positions of the Supreme Court. All the justices on the Supreme Court are subject of this political trial conducted by the Argentine Congress. That is a concrete example of the kinds of risks that are present for judges and the judiciary in general, when they exercise their power and they attempt to protect the integrity of the constitution. So let me stop here and we can move on to the most interesting part of this event. FASKIANOS: Well, that was quite interesting. So, thank you, José Miguel. We appreciate it. We going to go to all of you now for your questions. (Gives queuing instructions.) We already have some hands up. We will go first to Karla Soto Valdes. Q: My name is Karla Soto. I'm from Lewis University. My question is, what specific measures could be implemented to address and/or prevent trafficking within the asylum-seeking community during their journey to the U.S.? VIVANCO: Irina, are we going to take several questions, or? FASKIANOS: I think we should do one at a time. VIVANCO: Well, Karla, there are multiple tools to address that specific issue. But this applies to essentially most of the human rights problems all over the world. The menu is pretty ample, but depends on one important factor—whether the government involved cares about its own reputation. That is a very important premise here, because if you we are dealing with a democratic government, once again, it's not—when I refer to a democratic government, I don't have in mind a sort of Jeffersonian model, I'm referring to the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America. But, if the leaders in charge are—you know, they care about their own reputation, they care about domestic debate, very important, because these types of revelations usually have ramifications at the local level. If they pay close attention to those issues, I think it's possible to apply, essentially, the technique of naming and shaming. In other words, collecting information, documenting what exactly is happening, and revealing that information to the public, locally and internationally. That is going to create naturally a reaction, a process, an awareness, and local pressure is—hopefully, it's not just twenty-four hours news, so splash—big splash, but also will trigger some dynamics. If we are dealing with a country that is run by a dictatorship, it is a very, very different question, because normally you're facing a leader, a government, who couldn't care less about its own reputation. They have taken already and assume the cost of doing business in that type of context. Now, sometimes conditions are kind of mixed, where you have democratic country in general—so there is still free media, there is an opposition, there is Congress, there are elections. But the government in charge is so—is run by an autocratic leader. That makes, you know, quite—a little more challenging to just document and reveal that information. And you need to think about some particular agenda, governmental agenda. Some specific interests of the government in different areas. Let me see—let me give you an example. Let's say that the Bolsonaro administration is seriously interested in an incorporation into the OECD in Paris. That is an important piece of information. Whatever you think that is relevant information regarding the record of that government, you could provide information to an entity that is precisely evaluating the record of the government. And the government will be much more willing to address those issues because they have a genuine interest in achieving some specific goal at the international level. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. We're going to go to Nicole Ambar De Santos, who is an undergraduate student at the Washington University in St. Louis: When we consider weak democracy in a more personal sense, like Peru, the controversy of obligation to help these nations arises. How much third party or other nations, such as the United States, intervene? VIVANCO: Tricky question. Peruvian democracy is quite messy. Part of the problem is that the system, the political system, needs some real reform to avoid the proliferation of small political parties and to create the real link or relationship between leaders, especially in Congress, and their constituencies, and so they are much more accountable to their community, the ones who elected them. I don't think the U.S., or any other government, has a direct role to play in that area. My sense is that when we are looking into a dysfunctional democracy that deserve some probably even constitutional reforms, that is essentially a domestic job. That is the work that needs to be done by Peruvians. Without a local consensus about the reforms that need to be implemented in the political system, my sense is that it's going to be very difficult for the U.S. or any other large democracy, to address those kinds of points. It's very different, that type of conversation, from a conversation or an assessment of universal values, such as human rights. When we are looking into cases of police brutality, for instance, the international community has a role to play. But if I were part of the conversation or evaluation by the U.S. government or the European Union with regard to this dysfunctional democracy in Peru, I would approach very carefully by suggesting creating the right type of incentives, more than questions of punishment, or sanctions. It's incentives for them to create the right conditions to address the domestic problem that is—has become quite endemic, in the case of Peru. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Matthew. Matthew, you don't have a last name, so can you identify yourself? Q: Hello. Yes, my name is Matthew. I am a junior student from Arizona State University studying business, but working on a thesis that has to do with human rights and the ethics of supply chain management. My question is, you were talking at the very beginning kind of just about history and how understanding history is important. And what I was hoping to get was, why is understanding history and culture important when working to address human rights issues, history of dictatorship, colonialism? In cultures it's socially acceptable things, like child labor, in some countries, that's not acceptable in Western ideology. So, yeah, just how is history and culture important when working to address human rights for the future? VIVANCO: Matthew, I think you're referring to two different issues. History is central. It's really, really relevant. Because that helps you—if you—if you follow your history, especially periods of time when massive and gross violations were committed in Latin America, it's important to put things in context and value what you have today. And the job is to—not only to preserve democracy, but also to look for ways to strengthen democracy. Because part of the problem is that domestic debate is so polarized today, not just in Latin America, all over the world, that sometimes people—different, you know, segments of society—in their positions, they're so dismissive of the other side, that they don't realize that we need to frame our debate in a constructive way. Let me put it—one specific example. If the government of Argentina, who is a government very receptive and very sensitive to vast and gross violations of human rights committed during the military dictatorship, so in other words, I don't need to lecture that government on that subject. They are actually the people who vote for the current government of Argentina—not the new government, the current government of Argentina—is deeply committed to those kinds of issues. I think that one of the biggest lessons that you should learn from the past is the relevance of protecting the independence of the judiciary. If you don't have an independent judiciary, and the judiciary becomes an entity that is an appendix of the ruling party or is intimidated by politics, and they could be subject of impeachment procedures every time that they rule something, that the powerful—the establishment disagree, I think they're playing with fire, and they're not really paying attention to the lessons that you learn from recent history in Latin America. That would be my first comment regarding that type of issue. And the second one, about you mentioned specifically cultural problems, culture, tensions or conflicts. And you mentioned—your example was child labor. And, and you suggested that that—the combination of child labor is something typical of Western ideology. If I'm not wrong, that was the language that you used. I would—I would push back on that point. And because this is not just a Western or European commitment. This is a universal one. And this is reflected on international treaties, and that are supposed to eradicate that kind of practice. If you give up to the concept of local traditions, you know, cultural, you know, issues that you need to pay attention, sure, as long as they are not to be in conflict with fundamental human rights. Otherwise, in half of the planet you're not going to have women rights, and women will be subject of traditional control. And you wouldn't have rights for minorities, and especially—and not only, but especially—the LGBTQ community. And you wouldn't have rights for racial minorities, or different religious beliefs. So, we have to watch and be very careful about what type of concessions we make to cultural traditions. I am happy to understand that different communities in Latin America might have different traditions, but there is some firm, solid, and unquestionable minimum that are the these universal human rights values that are not the property or monopoly of anyone. You know, these are—and this is not an ethical conversation. This is a legal one, because these values are protected under international law. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to combine or take two questions. The first question is from Lindsay Bert, who is at the department of political science at Muhlenberg College, who asks if you could speak on the efficacy of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in addressing the human rights violations you described. And the second question is from Leonard Onyebuchi Ophoke, a graduate student at Cavendish University in Uganda: Why is it almost impossible to hold the actors that violate human rights accountable? What could be done to make the mechanism more enforceable? VIVANCO: The inter-American system of human rights protection, there is nothing similar to inter-American system of human rights protection in the Global South. You don't have something similar in Asia, or Africa, or the Middle East. In other words, you don't have a mechanism where ultimately a court, a court of law—not just a commission, a court of law—handle individual cases, specific complaints of human rights abuses, and governments participate in public hearings. The parties involved have the obligation to present evidence before the court, and the court finally ruled on the specific matters where its decisions are binding. The number of issues that have been addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the last thirty years in Latin America are really incredible. And the impact—this is most important point—the impact at a local level is remarkable. In the area, for instance, of torture, disappearances. I'm referring to the elaboration of concepts and the imposing the obligation of local governments to adjust their legislation and practice, and to address specific problems or issues by providing remedies to victims. That is quite unusual. And the court has remarkable rulings on free speech, on discrimination issues, on indigenous populations, on military jurisdiction. One of the typical recourse of governments in the region when security forces were involved in human rights atrocities was to invoke military jurisdiction. So they say, no worries, we are going to investigate our own crimes. And the court has been actually very, very firm, challenging that notion to the point that I don't think there is a single case in Latin America today—once again, with the exception of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, that I hope that somebody will ask me a question about those three countries—and I don't think there is a single case where today security forces try to—or attempt to shield themselves from investigation invoking military jurisdiction. And the credit is to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. I can elaborate, and give you—provide you with a long list of examples of areas where the court has been actually really, really critical in advancing human rights in the region. Let me give you actually one last example that I think is very—is very illustrative, very revealing. In Chile, something like probably twenty years ago or fifteen years ago, full democracy. Full democracy. No Chile under Pinochet. The Supreme Court of Chile ruled that a mother who was openly lesbian did not qualify for the custody of her children because she was lesbian. And she had a couple. So that was sufficient grounds to rule in favor of the father, because the mother didn't have the moral grounds to educate her own kids, children. And this was decided by the Supreme Court of Chile. Not just a small first instance tribunal. And I will point out that the vast majority of the—I mean, the public in Chile was pretty much divided, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of Chileans thought that the Supreme Court was right, you know? The case went to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. And fortunately, after a few years, the court not only challenged that decision of the Supreme Court, forced Chile to change its legislation, and to change the ruling of the Supreme Court of Chile, which is supposed to be the last judgment in the country. And the impact of that one, not only in Chile, in the rest of the region, because it shapes the common wisdom, the assumptions of many people. It helps for them to think carefully about this kind of issues. And the good news is that that mother was able to have the custody of her kids. And not only that, the impact in Chilean society and in the rest of the region was remarkable. Now, the second question that was asked was about how difficult it is to establish accountability for human rights abuses against the perpetrators of those abuses. I mean, it's a real challenge. It depends on whether or not you have locally an independent judiciary. If you do have an independent judiciary, the process is slow, it's messy, it's complicated. But there is a chance that atrocities could be addressed. And that is— especially human rights atrocities or abuses committed during the military dictatorship. There are countries in the region, like for instance, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, where there are people in prison for those type of atrocities. In Brazil, thanks to an amnesty law that was passed in 1978, real investigation and prosecution of those atrocities actually never happened. And an important lesson that you could bear in mind is that Brazilian military are very dismissive of these type of issues, of human rights issues. But not only that, my sense is that Brazilian military officers at very high level are not afraid of stepping into politics, and give their opinion, and challenge the government. In other words, they were actually very, very active, and I'm referring to top officials in the Brazilian Army, during the Bolsonaro administration. There were top leaders who actually publicly argued that if they have to organize a coup again in Brazil, they are ready. That kind of language you don't find in Argentina, in Chile, in other countries where there have been some accountability. For one simple reason, the top military officers running the show are very much aware that if they get involved in politics, that they are part tomorrow of a coup d'état or something like that, at the end of the day they will be responsible. And they might be subject of criminal prosecution for atrocities committed during that period. And so there is a price to pay. So their calculation is much more, shall we say, prudent regarding this issue. But again, once again, how difficult it is? It's very difficult to establish accountability, and much more difficult when you're dealing with dictatorship, where you need to rely on the work done by, for instance, the ICC, the International Criminal Court, which is pretty active in the case of Venezuela. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Fordham. Q: Good afternoon, Mr. Vivanco. My name is Carlos Ortiz de la Pena Gomez Urguiza, and I have a question for you. El Salvador is currently battling crime and gangs with strategies such as mano dura, which have shown a significant decrease in crime at the cost of violating human rights. Do you see a possible effective integration of such policies in high-crime-rate countries, such as Mexico, to stop the growth of narco and crime gang activity? And if so, how? VIVANCO: Well, look, yeah, Carlos, very good question. Bukele in El Salvador is a real, real challenge. It's really, really a complicated case, for several reasons. He's incredibly popular. No question about it. He has managed to—thanks to that popularity—to concentrate power in his own hands. He fully controls Congress. But, much more relevant, he fully controls the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today is subordinated to the executive branch. And he is constantly going after the civil society, and free media, and the opposition. Now, in violation of the Salvadorean constitution, he's going to run for reelection. And he will be reelected, because he's also very popular. And his policies to go after gangs are cruel, inhuman, and without—not even a facade of respect for due process. Essentially, the policy which is not sustainable and is—I don't think is something that you could export to other countries—is a policy—unless you have full control, unless you have some sort of dictatorship or quasi dictatorship. Which is based, in essence, in the appearance, in the number of tattoos that people, especially in the marginal communities in the periferia in El Salvador, where shanty towns are located. The police has a, you know, green light to arrest anyone who fit that profile. And then good luck, because it's going to be very, very difficult for that person to avoid something like several months in prison. The whole point of having an independent judiciary and due process is that law enforcement agencies have the—obviously, not only the right, the duty to prevent crimes and to punish criminals. Not physically punish them. You know, it's to arrest them, to detain them, and to use proportional force to produce that attention. But they need to follow certain rules. They cannot just go around and arrest anyone who they have some sort of gut feelings that they are involved in crimes, because then you don't—you're not—the whole system is not able to distinguish and to make a distinction between potential criminals and innocent people. But it is complicated, the case of Bukele, because, for instance, I was referring initially to the technique of naming and shaming as a technique, as a methodology to expose governments with deplorable human rights record. But in the case of Bukele, he couldn't care less about. In other words, actually, I think he used the poor perception that exists, already that is established outside El Salvador as a result of his persecution of gangs in El Salvador—he used that kind of criticism as a way to improve his support domestically. In other words, when the New York Times published a whole report about massive abuses committed by Bukele's criminal system, in the prison system in El Salvador, what Bukele does is to take that one, that criticism, as actually ammunition to project himself as a tough guy who is actually, you know, doing the right thing for El Salvador. It's a question of time. It's a question of time. All of this is very sad for El Salvador, one of the few democracies in Central America with some future, I think, because I think they managed after the war to create institutions that are—that were much more credible than in the neighboring countries, like Guatemala, Honduras, and I'm not going to even mention Nicaragua. But under the control of this strongman, everything is possible today in El Salvador. He will be able to govern El Salvador this way as long as he's popular. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has relaxed its attention and pressure on that government, based on the question of migration. So they are hostage by the cooperation of Bukele government to try or attempt to control illegal immigration into the U.S. So that point trumps or, I mean, supersedes everything else. And that is actually very unfortunate. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next two questions, written questions. One is on the subject that you wanted, from Brittney Thomas, who is an undergraduate at Arizona State University: How come the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are socialist or communist while other Latin America countries are predominantly democracies? And then from Roger— VIVANCO: I'm sorry, I couldn't understand the question. Obviously, it's about Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, but? FASKIANOS: Why are they socialist or communist while other Latin American countries are predominantly democracies? VIVANCO: Oh, I see. OK. FASKIANOS: Yeah. And then the next question is from Roger Rose, who is an associate professor of political science at University of Minnesota, Morris: Given the recent decline in the norms of U.S. democracy in the last seven years, does the U.S. have any credibility and influence in the region in promoting democracy? And, again, if you could comment specifically on nations with the least democratic systems—Venezuela, Nicaragua—how could the U.S. play a more constructive role than it is currently? VIVANCO: The U.S. is always a very important player, very, very important. I mean, it's the largest economy in the world and the influence of the U.S. government in Latin America is huge. However, obviously, I have to acknowledge that our domestic problems here and serious challenges to the fundamentals of the rule of law, and just the notion that we respect the system according to which one who wins the election is—you know, has the legitimacy and the mandate to form a new government. If that notion is in question, and there are millions of American citizens who are willing to challenge that premise, obviously undermines the capacity of the U.S. to exercise leadership on this—in this context. And the autocrats and the autocracies in the region—I'm not referring to the dictatorships, but I'm referring to the Andrés Manuel López Obrador, once again, from Mexico, or Bolsonaro in Brazil—they take those kinds of developments in the U.S. as green lights to do whatever they want at local level. So that is a serious—obviously, it's a serious problem. And what is going on here has ramifications not only in the region, but also in the rest of the world. Now, Cuba is a historical problem. It's going to be too long to address the question in terms of why Cuba is a dictatorship and the rest of the region. Part of the problem with Cuba is that you have a government that violates the most fundamental rights and persecutes everyone who challenges the official line. And most of the Cubans today are willing to leave the country and to go into exile. But the problem is that we don't have the right tool, the right instrument in place, to exercise pressure on Cuba. And the right instrument today is the embargo. And that embargo, that policy is a total failure. The Cuban government is the same, exactly the same dictatorship. There has been no progress. And there's going to be no progress, in my view, as long as the U.S. government insist on a policy of isolation. You should be aware that every year 99 percentage of the states in the world condemned the isolation against Cuba, with the exception and the opposition of the U.S. government, Israel, and in the past was the Marshall Islands. Now, I don't think even the Marshall Islands joined the U.S. government defending that policy. So the policy is incredibly unpopular. And the debate at international level is about the U.S. government policy on Cuba and not about the deplorable human rights record of Cuba. That's why I was actually very supportive of the change of policy attempted during the Obama administration. Unfortunately, the isolation policy depends on Congress. And since the times of Clinton, this is a matter of who is the one in control of Congress. And the policy of isolation, it once again makes Cuba a victim of Washington. And Cuba, by the way, is not isolated from the rest of the world. So the U.S. is incredibly, I would say, powerless with regard to the lack of democracy and human rights in Cuba. And at the time, offers a fantastic justification for the Cuban government to present itself as a victim. I think that is the—this is one of the most serious mistakes of the U.S. foreign policy in Latin America that I hope that one day will be—will be addressed effectively. The case of Nicaragua and Venezuela is different, in the sense that we are looking into countries that—Venezuela in particular—have democracy for—a very questionable democracy, very weak, subject of tremendous corruption, and so on and so forth. But they have a system of political parties, free media, and so on, for many, many years. And they end up electing a populist leader whose marching orders and, you know, actually first majors was to establish some effective control of the judiciary. And the Supreme Court became an appendage of the government many, many, many years ago, which means that they managed during the Chavez administration to run the country with some sort of facade of democracy. Today, under Maduro it's no a longer a façade, it's a clear dictatorship responsible for atrocities. Fortunately, it is under investigation by the ICC. And the case of Nicaragua is an extreme case, similar to Venezuela. And it's—it's a dictator who has managed to put in prison everyone who is not in full alliance with the government, including religious leaders, and academics, and opposition leaders, civil society, et cetera. The case of Nicaragua is more complicated because Nicaragua is subject of sanctions by the U.S. government, and the European Union, and Canada, and some governments in the region. But still, we don't see much progress there. FASKIANOS: Great. I'm going to go next to Nassar Nassar, who has a raised hand. You can unmute yourself and state your affiliation. Q: Yes. Hello. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. Q: Hi. My name is Nassar Nassar. I'm from Lewis University. So my question is, which are the most significant actors in the global governance of human trafficking? And how effective are they in tackling that? VIVANCO: Well, this is a matter that is usually—the main actors—so this is organized crime. This is organized crime. This is a question regarding—this is a—it's a huge business, and extremely profitable. And if you want to address these kinds of issues, you need regional cooperation, which is very challenging. Keep in mind that at a local level, in many of the most democratic countries in the region, you have tremendous tensions among the local police and different police. For instance, the local FBI—equivalent to an FBI, is usually in tension with other branches of law enforcement. And if you expect to have cooperation from the rest of the countries in the region, it's extremely challenging. So these type of issues require effective cooperation, adjustment on legislation. Require more better intelligence. The reason why you have this type—proliferation of this type of business is because, obviously, corruption and lack of accountability. So this is—my point is that it is a reflection of how weak is our law enforcement system, and how unprofessional, and subject many times of corruption. FASKIANOS: Just to follow up on that, a written question from Patricia Drown, who's at Regent University. How are the cartels and mafia being armed, and by whom? VIVANCO: Well, in the case of, for instance, Mexico, weapons comes from the U.S. Sometimes even legally. You know, the Second Amendment plays a role here. It's so easy to have access to weapons, all kind of weapons, in the U.S. So that helps. And a lack of actually an effective control mechanism to stop that type of traffic. The amount of money that cartels moved in countries like Mexico, but Colombia as well, and this mafia scene in Central America is significant. So they do have capacity to corrupt local enforcement officials that belongs to the police, the army, even the judiciary. And as long as you don't address the root cause of the problem, which is the lack of presence of the state—in other words, there are vast—as you know, there are regions of Colombia that are not under the control of the government, the territories in Colombia. And there are regions of Mexico that, unfortunately, are increasingly under more effective control of cartels than law enforcement and legitimate officials. So that unfortunately, is the—in my view, one of the reasons why it is relatively easy to witness this type of proliferation of illegal business. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. I think we are out of time. We have so many written questions and raised hands. Maybe I'll just try to sneak in one more from Andrea Cuervo Prados. You have your hand raised. I think you also wrote a question. So if you can be brief and tell us who you are. Q: OK. Hello. I'm adjunct faculty at Dickinson State University. And, Mr. Vivanco, I have a question related to Colombia. What do you think about the state of the human rights in Colombia under the new leftist president, Gustavo Petro, compared to the previous president, Ivan Duque? VIVANCO: Andrea, I think it's pretty much the same. When we witness actually an improvement of human rights conditions in Colombia, it was during the negotiations with the FARC. I'm referring to the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos. And with the signature of the peace agreement, when they signed the peace agreement, the numbers shows a serious decline in the cases of, for instance, internally displaced people, torture cases, executions, abductions, and many other of those typical abuses that are committed in Colombia in rural areas where this organized crime and irregular armed groups are historically present. But then the policies implemented during the Duque administration were actually not very effective. There was a sort of relaxation during that period, and not effective implementation of those commitments negotiated with the FARC. That had an implication in terms of abuses. And today I don't see a major shift. My sense is that the local communities are subject of similar abuses, including human rights activists as well as social leaders, in areas where there is a very weak presence of the state. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much. José Miguel Vivanco. We really appreciate your being with us today. And I apologize. Great questions. I'm sorry, we couldn't get to all of the written ones or raised hands. It's clear we will have to do this—focus in on this again and have you back. You can follow José Miguel on X at @VivancoJM. And the next Academic Webinar will be on Wednesday, November 29, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Shibley Telhami, who's a professor at the University of Maryland, will lead a conversation on public opinion on Israel and Palestine. And in the meantime, I encourage you to learn about CFR paid internships for students and fellowships for professors at CFR.org/careers. You can follow us at @CFR_Academic. And visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. Again, José Miguel, thank you very much for today, and to all of you for joining us. VIVANCO: Thanks a lot. FASKIANOS: Take care. (END)

José Miguel Vivanco, adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and former executive director of the Americas division at Human Rights Watch, leads the conversation on human rights in Latin America. FASKIANOS: Welcome to today's session of the Fall 2023 CFR Academic Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record. The video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org, if you would like to share them with your colleagues or classmates. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We are delighted to have José Miguel Vivanco with us to discuss human rights in Latin America. Mr. Vivanco is an adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and partner at Dentons Global Advisors. He formerly served as the executive director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, where he supervised fact-finding research for numerous reports on gross violations of human rights and advocated strengthening international legal standards and domestic compliance throughout the region. He is the founder of the Center for Justice and International Law, an international civil society organization providing legal and technical assistance with the Inter-American Human Rights System. So, José Miguel, thank you very much for being with us today. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of what you see as the most important human rights challenges and advances in Latin America today. VIVANCO: Well, thank you very much for this invitation. It is a pleasure to be with you all and to talk for an hour about human rights problems, human rights issues in Latin America. Let me first make a couple of points. First, I think it's very important that, in retrospect, if you look at Latin America in the 1960s, 1970s, and even 1980s, it was a region that was pretty much run by military dictatorships. So if you look at historically, the region is not in such a bad shape. I know that this comment is quite controversial and many experts who follow the region closely might disagree with that statement, but objectively speaking I think we need to recognize that most of the region is run today—with the exception, obviously, of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua—by democracies, weak democracies, the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America are facing very serious challenges and with endemic problems such as corruption, abuse of power, lack of transparency, lack of proper accountability, and so on and so forth. But in general terms, this is a region that has a chance to conduct some self-correction. In other words, electoral democracy is a very, very important value in the region, and the citizens—most of the people are able to either reward or punish the incumbent government at the times of elections. That is not a minor detail. It is extremely important, especially if you take into account that during the last twenty years in Latin America, if I'm not wrong, the vast majority of the governments elected were from the opposition. The statistics, I think, show that in eighteen of the twenty last presidential elections, the winner has been the party of the opposition; which means that even though our democracies in Latin America are dysfunctional, weak, messy, slow, you know, short-term-oriented, obviously, but at least citizens take their rights seriously and they exercise their powers so that is why you see a regular zigzag or, you know, transfer of power from a left-wing government to a right-wing government or vice versa. And that is, again, something that is, obviously, a very, very important tool of self-correction. And that, obviously, includes or has an impact in terms of the human rights record of those countries. You know, I'm not—I'm not addressing yet—I will leave it for the Q&A section—conditions in those three dictatorships in Latin America. Let me just make some few more remarks about one of the biggest challenges that I see in the region. And that is, obviously, the rise of autocracy or autocratic leaders, populist leaders, leaders who are not interested or as a matter of fact are very hostile to the concept of rule of law and the concept of independence of the judiciary. And they usually are very charismatic. They have high level of popular support. And they run and govern the country in a style that is like a permanent campaign, where they normally go against minorities and against the opposition, against the free media, against judges and prosecutors who dare to investigate them or investigate the government. Anyone who challenges them are subject of this type of reaction. And that is, unfortunately, something that we have seen in Mexico recently and until today, and in Brazil, especially during the administration of President Bolsonaro. The good news about, in the case of Brazil, is that, thanks to electoral democracy, it was possible to defeat him and—democratically. And the second very important piece of information is that even though Brazil is not a model of rule of law and separation of power, we have to acknowledge that, thanks to the checks-and-balance exercise by the Supreme Court of Brazil, it was possible to do some permanent, constant damage control against the most outrageous initiatives promoted by the administration of President Bolsonaro. That, I think, is one of the biggest challenges in the region. Let me conclude my—make crystal clear that there are serious human rights problems in Latin America today regarding, for instance, abuse of power, police brutality, prison problems. Prisons are really, in most of the countries in the region, a disaster. And you know, a big number of prisoners are awaiting trial, in detention and unable to really exercise their rights. And unfortunately, populist leaders use the prison system or essentially criminal law, by expanding the practice and enlarging the numbers of crimes that could be subject of pretrial detention, and—you know, regardless of the time that it will take for that case to be prosecuted in full respect for the rule—due process, and so on and so forth. And that—the reason is very simple. There is a real demand in Latin America for policies that will address insecurity, citizen security. If you look at statistics in terms of crime rate, it is going up in most of the country. Obviously, there are big difference between countries like Mexico, for instance, or Colombia, and if you link—if you look at the power of cartels and big mafias, and gangs in other countries, or petty crime impacting the daily life of the citizens. Regardless of that point, one of the biggest demands in Latin America is for better and more public security. And that's why political leaders, usually the solution for that request and demand is to put people in prison with essentially no real due process and increase the number of prisoners without conviction. There are challenges for free speech occasionally, of those leaders who resent scrutiny of their practice. And normally there is a campaign against free media. And there are some attempts in some countries to constantly look for ways to undermine the independence of the judiciary. Keep in mind, for instance, that now in Argentina the whole Supreme Court is under impeachment, and it's essentially an impeachment promoted by the current government because they disagree with the rulings, positions of the Supreme Court. All the justices on the Supreme Court are subject of this political trial conducted by the Argentine Congress. That is a concrete example of the kinds of risks that are present for judges and the judiciary in general, when they exercise their power and they attempt to protect the integrity of the constitution. So let me stop here and we can move on to the most interesting part of this event. FASKIANOS: Well, that was quite interesting. So, thank you, José Miguel. We appreciate it. We going to go to all of you now for your questions. (Gives queuing instructions.) We already have some hands up. We will go first to Karla Soto Valdes. Q: My name is Karla Soto. I'm from Lewis University. My question is, what specific measures could be implemented to address and/or prevent trafficking within the asylum-seeking community during their journey to the U.S.? VIVANCO: Irina, are we going to take several questions, or? FASKIANOS: I think we should do one at a time. VIVANCO: Well, Karla, there are multiple tools to address that specific issue. But this applies to essentially most of the human rights problems all over the world. The menu is pretty ample, but depends on one important factor—whether the government involved cares about its own reputation. That is a very important premise here, because if you we are dealing with a democratic government, once again, it's not—when I refer to a democratic government, I don't have in mind a sort of Jeffersonian model, I'm referring to the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America. But, if the leaders in charge are—you know, they care about their own reputation, they care about domestic debate, very important, because these types of revelations usually have ramifications at the local level. If they pay close attention to those issues, I think it's possible to apply, essentially, the technique of naming and shaming. In other words, collecting information, documenting what exactly is happening, and revealing that information to the public, locally and internationally. That is going to create naturally a reaction, a process, an awareness, and local pressure is—hopefully, it's not just twenty-four hours news, so splash—big splash, but also will trigger some dynamics. If we are dealing with a country that is run by a dictatorship, it is a very, very different question, because normally you're facing a leader, a government, who couldn't care less about its own reputation. They have taken already and assume the cost of doing business in that type of context. Now, sometimes conditions are kind of mixed, where you have democratic country in general—so there is still free media, there is an opposition, there is Congress, there are elections. But the government in charge is so—is run by an autocratic leader. That makes, you know, quite—a little more challenging to just document and reveal that information. And you need to think about some particular agenda, governmental agenda. Some specific interests of the government in different areas. Let me see—let me give you an example. Let's say that the Bolsonaro administration is seriously interested in an incorporation into the OECD in Paris. That is an important piece of information. Whatever you think that is relevant information regarding the record of that government, you could provide information to an entity that is precisely evaluating the record of the government. And the government will be much more willing to address those issues because they have a genuine interest in achieving some specific goal at the international level. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. We're going to go to Nicole Ambar De Santos, who is an undergraduate student at the Washington University in St. Louis: When we consider weak democracy in a more personal sense, like Peru, the controversy of obligation to help these nations arises. How much third party or other nations, such as the United States, intervene? VIVANCO: Tricky question. Peruvian democracy is quite messy. Part of the problem is that the system, the political system, needs some real reform to avoid the proliferation of small political parties and to create the real link or relationship between leaders, especially in Congress, and their constituencies, and so they are much more accountable to their community, the ones who elected them. I don't think the U.S., or any other government, has a direct role to play in that area. My sense is that when we are looking into a dysfunctional democracy that deserve some probably even constitutional reforms, that is essentially a domestic job. That is the work that needs to be done by Peruvians. Without a local consensus about the reforms that need to be implemented in the political system, my sense is that it's going to be very difficult for the U.S. or any other large democracy, to address those kinds of points. It's very different, that type of conversation, from a conversation or an assessment of universal values, such as human rights. When we are looking into cases of police brutality, for instance, the international community has a role to play. But if I were part of the conversation or evaluation by the U.S. government or the European Union with regard to this dysfunctional democracy in Peru, I would approach very carefully by suggesting creating the right type of incentives, more than questions of punishment, or sanctions. It's incentives for them to create the right conditions to address the domestic problem that is—has become quite endemic, in the case of Peru. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Matthew. Matthew, you don't have a last name, so can you identify yourself? Q: Hello. Yes, my name is Matthew. I am a junior student from Arizona State University studying business, but working on a thesis that has to do with human rights and the ethics of supply chain management. My question is, you were talking at the very beginning kind of just about history and how understanding history is important. And what I was hoping to get was, why is understanding history and culture important when working to address human rights issues, history of dictatorship, colonialism? In cultures it's socially acceptable things, like child labor, in some countries, that's not acceptable in Western ideology. So, yeah, just how is history and culture important when working to address human rights for the future? VIVANCO: Matthew, I think you're referring to two different issues. History is central. It's really, really relevant. Because that helps you—if you—if you follow your history, especially periods of time when massive and gross violations were committed in Latin America, it's important to put things in context and value what you have today. And the job is to—not only to preserve democracy, but also to look for ways to strengthen democracy. Because part of the problem is that domestic debate is so polarized today, not just in Latin America, all over the world, that sometimes people—different, you know, segments of society—in their positions, they're so dismissive of the other side, that they don't realize that we need to frame our debate in a constructive way. Let me put it—one specific example. If the government of Argentina, who is a government very receptive and very sensitive to vast and gross violations of human rights committed during the military dictatorship, so in other words, I don't need to lecture that government on that subject. They are actually the people who vote for the current government of Argentina—not the new government, the current government of Argentina—is deeply committed to those kinds of issues. I think that one of the biggest lessons that you should learn from the past is the relevance of protecting the independence of the judiciary. If you don't have an independent judiciary, and the judiciary becomes an entity that is an appendix of the ruling party or is intimidated by politics, and they could be subject of impeachment procedures every time that they rule something, that the powerful—the establishment disagree, I think they're playing with fire, and they're not really paying attention to the lessons that you learn from recent history in Latin America. That would be my first comment regarding that type of issue. And the second one, about you mentioned specifically cultural problems, culture, tensions or conflicts. And you mentioned—your example was child labor. And, and you suggested that that—the combination of child labor is something typical of Western ideology. If I'm not wrong, that was the language that you used. I would—I would push back on that point. And because this is not just a Western or European commitment. This is a universal one. And this is reflected on international treaties, and that are supposed to eradicate that kind of practice. If you give up to the concept of local traditions, you know, cultural, you know, issues that you need to pay attention, sure, as long as they are not to be in conflict with fundamental human rights. Otherwise, in half of the planet you're not going to have women rights, and women will be subject of traditional control. And you wouldn't have rights for minorities, and especially—and not only, but especially—the LGBTQ community. And you wouldn't have rights for racial minorities, or different religious beliefs. So, we have to watch and be very careful about what type of concessions we make to cultural traditions. I am happy to understand that different communities in Latin America might have different traditions, but there is some firm, solid, and unquestionable minimum that are the these universal human rights values that are not the property or monopoly of anyone. You know, these are—and this is not an ethical conversation. This is a legal one, because these values are protected under international law. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to combine or take two questions. The first question is from Lindsay Bert, who is at the department of political science at Muhlenberg College, who asks if you could speak on the efficacy of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in addressing the human rights violations you described. And the second question is from Leonard Onyebuchi Ophoke, a graduate student at Cavendish University in Uganda: Why is it almost impossible to hold the actors that violate human rights accountable? What could be done to make the mechanism more enforceable? VIVANCO: The inter-American system of human rights protection, there is nothing similar to inter-American system of human rights protection in the Global South. You don't have something similar in Asia, or Africa, or the Middle East. In other words, you don't have a mechanism where ultimately a court, a court of law—not just a commission, a court of law—handle individual cases, specific complaints of human rights abuses, and governments participate in public hearings. The parties involved have the obligation to present evidence before the court, and the court finally ruled on the specific matters where its decisions are binding. The number of issues that have been addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the last thirty years in Latin America are really incredible. And the impact—this is most important point—the impact at a local level is remarkable. In the area, for instance, of torture, disappearances. I'm referring to the elaboration of concepts and the imposing the obligation of local governments to adjust their legislation and practice, and to address specific problems or issues by providing remedies to victims. That is quite unusual. And the court has remarkable rulings on free speech, on discrimination issues, on indigenous populations, on military jurisdiction. One of the typical recourse of governments in the region when security forces were involved in human rights atrocities was to invoke military jurisdiction. So they say, no worries, we are going to investigate our own crimes. And the court has been actually very, very firm, challenging that notion to the point that I don't think there is a single case in Latin America today—once again, with the exception of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, that I hope that somebody will ask me a question about those three countries—and I don't think there is a single case where today security forces try to—or attempt to shield themselves from investigation invoking military jurisdiction. And the credit is to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. I can elaborate, and give you—provide you with a long list of examples of areas where the court has been actually really, really critical in advancing human rights in the region. Let me give you actually one last example that I think is very—is very illustrative, very revealing. In Chile, something like probably twenty years ago or fifteen years ago, full democracy. Full democracy. No Chile under Pinochet. The Supreme Court of Chile ruled that a mother who was openly lesbian did not qualify for the custody of her children because she was lesbian. And she had a couple. So that was sufficient grounds to rule in favor of the father, because the mother didn't have the moral grounds to educate her own kids, children. And this was decided by the Supreme Court of Chile. Not just a small first instance tribunal. And I will point out that the vast majority of the—I mean, the public in Chile was pretty much divided, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of Chileans thought that the Supreme Court was right, you know? The case went to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. And fortunately, after a few years, the court not only challenged that decision of the Supreme Court, forced Chile to change its legislation, and to change the ruling of the Supreme Court of Chile, which is supposed to be the last judgment in the country. And the impact of that one, not only in Chile, in the rest of the region, because it shapes the common wisdom, the assumptions of many people. It helps for them to think carefully about this kind of issues. And the good news is that that mother was able to have the custody of her kids. And not only that, the impact in Chilean society and in the rest of the region was remarkable. Now, the second question that was asked was about how difficult it is to establish accountability for human rights abuses against the perpetrators of those abuses. I mean, it's a real challenge. It depends on whether or not you have locally an independent judiciary. If you do have an independent judiciary, the process is slow, it's messy, it's complicated. But there is a chance that atrocities could be addressed. And that is— especially human rights atrocities or abuses committed during the military dictatorship. There are countries in the region, like for instance, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, where there are people in prison for those type of atrocities. In Brazil, thanks to an amnesty law that was passed in 1978, real investigation and prosecution of those atrocities actually never happened. And an important lesson that you could bear in mind is that Brazilian military are very dismissive of these type of issues, of human rights issues. But not only that, my sense is that Brazilian military officers at very high level are not afraid of stepping into politics, and give their opinion, and challenge the government. In other words, they were actually very, very active, and I'm referring to top officials in the Brazilian Army, during the Bolsonaro administration. There were top leaders who actually publicly argued that if they have to organize a coup again in Brazil, they are ready. That kind of language you don't find in Argentina, in Chile, in other countries where there have been some accountability. For one simple reason, the top military officers running the show are very much aware that if they get involved in politics, that they are part tomorrow of a coup d'état or something like that, at the end of the day they will be responsible. And they might be subject of criminal prosecution for atrocities committed during that period. And so there is a price to pay. So their calculation is much more, shall we say, prudent regarding this issue. But again, once again, how difficult it is? It's very difficult to establish accountability, and much more difficult when you're dealing with dictatorship, where you need to rely on the work done by, for instance, the ICC, the International Criminal Court, which is pretty active in the case of Venezuela. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Fordham. Q: Good afternoon, Mr. Vivanco. My name is Carlos Ortiz de la Pena Gomez Urguiza, and I have a question for you. El Salvador is currently battling crime and gangs with strategies such as mano dura, which have shown a significant decrease in crime at the cost of violating human rights. Do you see a possible effective integration of such policies in high-crime-rate countries, such as Mexico, to stop the growth of narco and crime gang activity? And if so, how? VIVANCO: Well, look, yeah, Carlos, very good question. Bukele in El Salvador is a real, real challenge. It's really, really a complicated case, for several reasons. He's incredibly popular. No question about it. He has managed to—thanks to that popularity—to concentrate power in his own hands. He fully controls Congress. But, much more relevant, he fully controls the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today is subordinated to the executive branch. And he is constantly going after the civil society, and free media, and the opposition. Now, in violation of the Salvadorean constitution, he's going to run for reelection. And he will be reelected, because he's also very popular. And his policies to go after gangs are cruel, inhuman, and without—not even a facade of respect for due process. Essentially, the policy which is not sustainable and is—I don't think is something that you could export to other countries—is a policy—unless you have full control, unless you have some sort of dictatorship or quasi dictatorship. Which is based, in essence, in the appearance, in the number of tattoos that people, especially in the marginal communities in the periferia in El Salvador, where shanty towns are located. The police has a, you know, green light to arrest anyone who fit that profile. And then good luck, because it's going to be very, very difficult for that person to avoid something like several months in prison. The whole point of having an independent judiciary and due process is that law enforcement agencies have the—obviously, not only the right, the duty to prevent crimes and to punish criminals. Not physically punish them. You know, it's to arrest them, to detain them, and to use proportional force to produce that attention. But they need to follow certain rules. They cannot just go around and arrest anyone who they have some sort of gut feelings that they are involved in crimes, because then you don't—you're not—the whole system is not able to distinguish and to make a distinction between potential criminals and innocent people. But it is complicated, the case of Bukele, because, for instance, I was referring initially to the technique of naming and shaming as a technique, as a methodology to expose governments with deplorable human rights record. But in the case of Bukele, he couldn't care less about. In other words, actually, I think he used the poor perception that exists, already that is established outside El Salvador as a result of his persecution of gangs in El Salvador—he used that kind of criticism as a way to improve his support domestically. In other words, when the New York Times published a whole report about massive abuses committed by Bukele's criminal system, in the prison system in El Salvador, what Bukele does is to take that one, that criticism, as actually ammunition to project himself as a tough guy who is actually, you know, doing the right thing for El Salvador. It's a question of time. It's a question of time. All of this is very sad for El Salvador, one of the few democracies in Central America with some future, I think, because I think they managed after the war to create institutions that are—that were much more credible than in the neighboring countries, like Guatemala, Honduras, and I'm not going to even mention Nicaragua. But under the control of this strongman, everything is possible today in El Salvador. He will be able to govern El Salvador this way as long as he's popular. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has relaxed its attention and pressure on that government, based on the question of migration. So they are hostage by the cooperation of Bukele government to try or attempt to control illegal immigration into the U.S. So that point trumps or, I mean, supersedes everything else. And that is actually very unfortunate. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next two questions, written questions. One is on the subject that you wanted, from Brittney Thomas, who is an undergraduate at Arizona State University: How come the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are socialist or communist while other Latin America countries are predominantly democracies? And then from Roger— VIVANCO: I'm sorry, I couldn't understand the question. Obviously, it's about Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, but? FASKIANOS: Why are they socialist or communist while other Latin American countries are predominantly democracies? VIVANCO: Oh, I see. OK. FASKIANOS: Yeah. And then the next question is from Roger Rose, who is an associate professor of political science at University of Minnesota, Morris: Given the recent decline in the norms of U.S. democracy in the last seven years, does the U.S. have any credibility and influence in the region in promoting democracy? And, again, if you could comment specifically on nations with the least democratic systems—Venezuela, Nicaragua—how could the U.S. play a more constructive role than it is currently? VIVANCO: The U.S. is always a very important player, very, very important. I mean, it's the largest economy in the world and the influence of the U.S. government in Latin America is huge. However, obviously, I have to acknowledge that our domestic problems here and serious challenges to the fundamentals of the rule of law, and just the notion that we respect the system according to which one who wins the election is—you know, has the legitimacy and the mandate to form a new government. If that notion is in question, and there are millions of American citizens who are willing to challenge that premise, obviously undermines the capacity of the U.S. to exercise leadership on this—in this context. And the autocrats and the autocracies in the region—I'm not referring to the dictatorships, but I'm referring to the Andrés Manuel López Obrador, once again, from Mexico, or Bolsonaro in Brazil—they take those kinds of developments in the U.S. as green lights to do whatever they want at local level. So that is a serious—obviously, it's a serious problem. And what is going on here has ramifications not only in the region, but also in the rest of the world. Now, Cuba is a historical problem. It's going to be too long to address the question in terms of why Cuba is a dictatorship and the rest of the region. Part of the problem with Cuba is that you have a government that violates the most fundamental rights and persecutes everyone who challenges the official line. And most of the Cubans today are willing to leave the country and to go into exile. But the problem is that we don't have the right tool, the right instrument in place, to exercise pressure on Cuba. And the right instrument today is the embargo. And that embargo, that policy is a total failure. The Cuban government is the same, exactly the same dictatorship. There has been no progress. And there's going to be no progress, in my view, as long as the U.S. government insist on a policy of isolation. You should be aware that every year 99 percentage of the states in the world condemned the isolation against Cuba, with the exception and the opposition of the U.S. government, Israel, and in the past was the Marshall Islands. Now, I don't think even the Marshall Islands joined the U.S. government defending that policy. So the policy is incredibly unpopular. And the debate at international level is about the U.S. government policy on Cuba and not about the deplorable human rights record of Cuba. That's why I was actually very supportive of the change of policy attempted during the Obama administration. Unfortunately, the isolation policy depends on Congress. And since the times of Clinton, this is a matter of who is the one in control of Congress. And the policy of isolation, it once again makes Cuba a victim of Washington. And Cuba, by the way, is not isolated from the rest of the world. So the U.S. is incredibly, I would say, powerless with regard to the lack of democracy and human rights in Cuba. And at the time, offers a fantastic justification for the Cuban government to present itself as a victim. I think that is the—this is one of the most serious mistakes of the U.S. foreign policy in Latin America that I hope that one day will be—will be addressed effectively. The case of Nicaragua and Venezuela is different, in the sense that we are looking into countries that—Venezuela in particular—have democracy for—a very questionable democracy, very weak, subject of tremendous corruption, and so on and so forth. But they have a system of political parties, free media, and so on, for many, many years. And they end up electing a populist leader whose marching orders and, you know, actually first majors was to establish some effective control of the judiciary. And the Supreme Court became an appendage of the government many, many, many years ago, which means that they managed during the Chavez administration to run the country with some sort of facade of democracy. Today, under Maduro it's no a longer a façade, it's a clear dictatorship responsible for atrocities. Fortunately, it is under investigation by the ICC. And the case of Nicaragua is an extreme case, similar to Venezuela. And it's—it's a dictator who has managed to put in prison everyone who is not in full alliance with the government, including religious leaders, and academics, and opposition leaders, civil society, et cetera. The case of Nicaragua is more complicated because Nicaragua is subject of sanctions by the U.S. government, and the European Union, and Canada, and some governments in the region. But still, we don't see much progress there. FASKIANOS: Great. I'm going to go next to Nassar Nassar, who has a raised hand. You can unmute yourself and state your affiliation. Q: Yes. Hello. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. Q: Hi. My name is Nassar Nassar. I'm from Lewis University. So my question is, which are the most significant actors in the global governance of human trafficking? And how effective are they in tackling that? VIVANCO: Well, this is a matter that is usually—the main actors—so this is organized crime. This is organized crime. This is a question regarding—this is a—it's a huge business, and extremely profitable. And if you want to address these kinds of issues, you need regional cooperation, which is very challenging. Keep in mind that at a local level, in many of the most democratic countries in the region, you have tremendous tensions among the local police and different police. For instance, the local FBI—equivalent to an FBI, is usually in tension with other branches of law enforcement. And if you expect to have cooperation from the rest of the countries in the region, it's extremely challenging. So these type of issues require effective cooperation, adjustment on legislation. Require more better intelligence. The reason why you have this type—proliferation of this type of business is because, obviously, corruption and lack of accountability. So this is—my point is that it is a reflection of how weak is our law enforcement system, and how unprofessional, and subject many times of corruption. FASKIANOS: Just to follow up on that, a written question from Patricia Drown, who's at Regent University. How are the cartels and mafia being armed, and by whom? VIVANCO: Well, in the case of, for instance, Mexico, weapons comes from the U.S. Sometimes even legally. You know, the Second Amendment plays a role here. It's so easy to have access to weapons, all kind of weapons, in the U.S. So that helps. And a lack of actually an effective control mechanism to stop that type of traffic. The amount of money that cartels moved in countries like Mexico, but Colombia as well, and this mafia scene in Central America is significant. So they do have capacity to corrupt local enforcement officials that belongs to the police, the army, even the judiciary. And as long as you don't address the root cause of the problem, which is the lack of presence of the state—in other words, there are vast—as you know, there are regions of Colombia that are not under the control of the government, the territories in Colombia. And there are regions of Mexico that, unfortunately, are increasingly under more effective control of cartels than law enforcement and legitimate officials. So that unfortunately, is the—in my view, one of the reasons why it is relatively easy to witness this type of proliferation of illegal business. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. I think we are out of time. We have so many written questions and raised hands. Maybe I'll just try to sneak in one more from Andrea Cuervo Prados. You have your hand raised. I think you also wrote a question. So if you can be brief and tell us who you are. Q: OK. Hello. I'm adjunct faculty at Dickinson State University. And, Mr. Vivanco, I have a question related to Colombia. What do you think about the state of the human rights in Colombia under the new leftist president, Gustavo Petro, compared to the previous president, Ivan Duque? VIVANCO: Andrea, I think it's pretty much the same. When we witness actually an improvement of human rights conditions in Colombia, it was during the negotiations with the FARC. I'm referring to the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos. And with the signature of the peace agreement, when they signed the peace agreement, the numbers shows a serious decline in the cases of, for instance, internally displaced people, torture cases, executions, abductions, and many other of those typical abuses that are committed in Colombia in rural areas where this organized crime and irregular armed groups are historically present. But then the policies implemented during the Duque administration were actually not very effective. There was a sort of relaxation during that period, and not effective implementation of those commitments negotiated with the FARC. That had an implication in terms of abuses. And today I don't see a major shift. My sense is that the local communities are subject of similar abuses, including human rights activists as well as social leaders, in areas where there is a very weak presence of the state. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much. José Miguel Vivanco. We really appreciate your being with us today. And I apologize. Great questions. I'm sorry, we couldn't get to all of the written ones or raised hands. It's clear we will have to do this—focus in on this again and have you back. You can follow José Miguel on X at @VivancoJM. And the next Academic Webinar will be on Wednesday, November 29, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Shibley Telhami, who's a professor at the University of Maryland, will lead a conversation on public opinion on Israel and Palestine. And in the meantime, I encourage you to learn about CFR paid internships for students and fellowships for professors at CFR.org/careers. You can follow us at @CFR_Academic. And visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. Again, José Miguel, thank you very much for today, and to all of you for joining us. VIVANCO: Thanks a lot. FASKIANOS: Take care. (END)

Breaking generational traumas is not easy. It can take a lot of work and heartbreak to get to where you want to be. Which is why we encourage people in the Courage Driven Latina program to make connections with everyone else in the program. It's easier to be courageous when you know your friends have your back. That's why it's incredible that this week's guests are sisters and joined the Purpose Driven Latina program together, one of the first versions of the Courage Driven Latina program.   Tania Cruz-Sanchez was born in Toronto, Canada, and is the oldest of Salvadorean parents. She is currently a Grade 6/7 teacher in a French Extended program school in Toronto. After 5 years, she is finally loving what she does as she is finally taking the time to figure out the work/life balance in her life. Much of this is thanks to Purpose Driven Latina, now Courage Driven Latina. The more she learns about herself and specifically how she does things, how she learns, and her pace (and embracing all this) - the more flexible and creative she becomes in acknowledging and being open to figuring out how to best support and guide the diverse learners/thinkers/doers in her classroom. As a Leo sun and Aries Rising, Tania re-charges with an expresso shot, an amazing lake view, and her journaling notebook with pens/highlighters of all the colors.   Arely Cruz-Sanchez is a first-generation Canadian (born and raised in Toronto) and a proud Salvadoreña! She is the youngest of two daughters and the first to pursue a doctoral degree in the family (currently a PhD Candidate in Cell & Systems Biology/Behavioural Neuroscience). She considers herself a total nerd as she is a neuroscientist who is a huge Harry Potter/Star Wars/Marvel/DC fan, reads romance-fantasy novels (shout out to ‘A Court of Thorns & Roses' Fans!), and loves dying her hair different colors. She loves physical activity (for the past 4 years she has explored CrossFit, Olympic Lift training, and bodybuilding) and values family and loyalty (her sun sign is Cancer and she is a Sagittarius rising). Her sister, Tania, introduced her to CDL and she is finally embracing a new version of herself that she has been looking for a long time.   In this week's episode, Arely and Tania open up about what it's like to navigate life, break away from generational trauma, and face new challenges side-by-side. They joined Purpose Driven Latina to gain the confidence to take control of their own lives. Arely touches on dealing with manipulation in a graduate program and the hilarious "Are you okay?" email that left them both dying with laughter. Listen to hear more about how these two purpose-driven sisters became courage-driven Latinas. Connect with Tania: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tania-cruz-sanchez-55530b201 X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/MlleCruzSanchez   Connect with Arely: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arely-cruz-sanchez-636153162/   Website: www.theerikacruz.com Follow Erika on: Instagram @‌theerikacruzTikTok @‌theerikacruzLinkedIn How to work with Erika: Join the waitlist for Courage Driven Latina here.   Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Grab a couple of Brita water filter jugs, because we are back for our fifth season of new/old Wie is de Mol episodes - and we're going back to 2011's offering in El Salvador & Nicaragua! Over these ten weeks, three guys who all turned up cosplaying as Jan - Logan, Michael & Bindles - are recapping and looking back at all that happened on the trip through two countries that we still can't quite believe they visited, continuing with the third episode and elimination of Horace. In this episode - we wonder if this is a contender for the title of messiest episode ever, Logan forgets who goes, Pieter Jan no-sells the first execution, we wonder how tall Pepijn is, Chain Gang gets a Salvadorean adaptation, we try not to give Papa Bear any ideas, Pieter Jan asks to be a picture, Art has potentially been getting tips from Michelle, Logan spots an error, we try and work out how the Mole would sabotage the Hotel challenge, Production seems to be misleading us, Pieter Jan gets excited about sacrifice, we wonder if the public were clamouring for the return of this episode's eliminated player, Logan reveals his suspicions and Bindles admits muting himself. Thank you for listening - we will see you next week for Episode 4! Please note: This season is intended on being spoiler-free, so please watch the episodes along with us. As with our coverage of Seasons 14 & 17, there are no spoilers due to Logan not having seen the season before. However, any season we have already covered (WIDM 10, 14, 17-23 and Renaissance; Belgie 4-11) is fair game though. This episode also contains a reference to the Mole in Celebrity Mole: Hawaii. Additional note: Jan continues to be a complete enigma. He's baffling.   Social Media: Facebook Twitter Michael Logan Bindles Instagram YouTube Patreon

Keep It Simple, Stupid, because we are back for our fifth season of new/old Wie is de Mol episodes - and we're going back to 2011's offering in El Salvador & Nicaragua! Over these ten weeks, three guys who often wonder what the heck kind of nonsense they've gotten themselves into by covering Mole seasons - Logan, Michael & Bindles - will be recapping and looking back at all that happened on the trip through two countries that we still can't quite believe they visited, beginning with the premiere episode and elimination of no-one. In this episode - we explain why we made the extra effort to do this season, warzones make Michael laugh, Bindles has a Salvadorean friend, we look ahead to some people trafficking, we explain why Dutch people don't tend to speak Spanish, the bus ride threatens to give Papa Bear Gilles de Coster some ideas, Jan doesn't know what a goat is, we discuss the weird claims to fame that this cast have, Pieter Jan doesn't care anymore, Logan gets a new opinion, Michael finds common ground with Art, there are flashbacks to Hong Kong, Horace tempts fate, we finally discuss the first iteration of the Path of Temptation, Australia 6 gets (a small amount of) praise, we wonder who would have gone home, the production team changes, Logan locks in his first set of suspicions (with some exclusions), Bindles teases some hidden clues and accusations are thrown about errors that have already been made. Thank you for listening - we will see you next week for Episode 2! Please note: This season is intended on being spoiler-free, so please watch the episodes along with us. As with our coverage of Seasons 14 & 17, there are no spoilers due to Logan not having seen the season before. However, any season we have already covered (WIDM 10, 14, 17-23 and Renaissance; Belgie 4-11) is fair game though. There are also brief references to Qui est La Taupe and Mole Australia 6. Additional note: Oh, we're only just getting started - our final season of the year begins now!   Social Media: Facebook Twitter Michael Logan Bindles Instagram YouTube Patreon

It's a bitcoin ATM that takes coins and exchanges them for bitcoin. Edgar Borja shows Mike Peterson his new bitcoin bank machine. Transactions only take seconds using the lighting network. It's a Salvadorean made machine that services the needs of people (worldwide) who don't use credit cards or bank cards.The K1mini is small enough to sit on a countertop. The functionality works seamlessly with a little song and video when the transaction is complete. There is a version of the machine that can receive bills as well.K1.svTwitter  @k1elsalvador ​Live From Bitcoin Beach

Only 30% of Salvadorean people have access to bank accounts, but now with Bitrefill and the new bitcoin law, everybody has access to banking. Rodrigo Gomez talks with Mike Peterson about El Zonte's new successful housing project called New Story and how local people are now eligible for bitcoin mortgages. The first community in the world to be paying their mortgages with bitcoin. This is a live program and we are seeing real time results from with over 200 families thus far. Yet another exciting, evolving movement.Live From Bitcoin Beach

Darvin Otero talks with Mike Peterson about Tiankii, a company that is mobilizing merchants with payment tools that are at work today. Tiankii is keeping the peer to peer philosophy while providing consumer level adoption solutions. Menos es más - Less is more!Live From Bitcoin Beach

Hey everyone! We're back with some painfully hilarious stories of our first time driving, failing our drivers exam twice

How does an idea go from supporting your children's bilingual journey via books to meeting your Kickstarter goal of 30 days in 5 hours? In this episode, 2 Latina moms and childhood friends, Ana Guzman and Luciana Yarhi share the inspiring story behind the bilingual education company, Binibi. Join us as we talk about the importance of bilingualism in babies, their journey as moms, and what inspired them to start their own company while living in 2 separate continents. Plus, we'll share with you their favorite Salvadorean must-haves and remedies. Asi que no te lo pierdas! Guest Info & Recommendation Links from this episode: 3.31 Complete Show Notes List & Show Links Follow Binibi on IG @binibi Website: www.binibi.co Empower Yourself: Get Janny's Free How to Raise a Bilingual Child Guide Here. Join our Private Raising Bilingual Kids Facebook Group Shop: Get 25% Off your first Mi Legasi Shop purchase with code: POD25 GIVING TUESDAY TU LUCHA ES MI LUCHA TEE GIVING TUESDAY FIGHT FOR MUJERES TEE Let's Connect: Janny: Janny on Instagram: https://instagram.com/milegasi The Latina Mom Legacy on Instagram https://instagram.com/thelatinamomlegacy Facebook: https://facebook.com/milegasi Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/milegasi TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mi_legasi Chisme: Join La Lista our Newsletter at Milegasi.com and always be in the know. Hey! Send me a DM on IG and tell me what you think about the show or use #thelatinamomlegacy so I know you're a mamamiga :) XOXO Janny --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thelatinamomlegacy/support

In this episode, I talk to Ms. Elisa Klein who is running for our city council. I am so glad that Ms. Klein took time out of her busy campaign schedule to talk to me about her background, what she loves about our city and what she plans to do as a member of the city council. We also talked about her favorite movies (we both love Marvel movies!) and her favorite foods. I am now curious to try pupusas, the Salvadorean dish she mentioned. She had great suggestions for people (incl. kids) to be more involved with their city! Here's what we talked about: Can you tell me something about your background? What does ‘place 8’ mean? Is Plano divided in different regions? What do you love about Plano? What’s one thing you would like to change once you are on the city council? What’s one thing that you don’t want to change? What’s your favorite movie or TV show? What advice do you have for students who may want to run for office and make a difference? What can students and kids do to be more aware about our city? Please listen, rate and share. And email me at RiyaRambings@gmail.com with your comments, ideas and suggestions for future episodes!

Hello all! Thanks for joining us for another awesome episode with my wonderful guest; Clory Paola Campos. Clory is a Los Angeles Native, Salvadorean and Vegan! In this episode, she will share her journey with us; how she became vegan, and how she's been able to stick to it. In this episode, we discuss easy to go-to ingredients to create plant-based dishes and low-cost food options. Clory continuously shares delicious vegan recipes on her instagram , vegan restaurants, and fashion tips. Clory founded an online jewelry shop, Clory La Joyera, in which she donates a percentage to non-profit organizations. So get ready and take some mental notes! Follow Clory on Instagram : vegan acct: @clorypaola Jewelry acct: @clory.la.joyera --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rosa-manriquez/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rosa-manriquez/support

Mireya Romero discusses her experiences growing up in South Los Angeles as a Salvadorean woman, receiving the diagnosis of Down's Syndrome for her daughter, and being a recipient of services. Learning Objectives Ethics Codes: 1.07, 1.10, 2.09, 3.01 Making Culturally Sensitive considerations to case management. Active listening as a process of treating others with compassion, dignity, and respect. Active listening as a process of incorporating and addressing diversity in practice. Active listening as a process of exploring motivating operations impacting parent/caregiver adherence to treatment. Activity: Using Matrix as a tool in taking perspective when working with parents from different backgrounds and belief systems. CEU Link (1.5 Ethics CEU): https://behavioral-analytics.mykajabi.com/offers/yLLiEuXK

Cynthia Grande is of Salvadorean descent and is a native of Los Angeles. Listen to her great advice from her early beginnings in Law School to how she took the jump to become an #Lawtina Entrepreneur!!! cynthia@thegrandelawfirm.com https://thegrandelawfirm.com/ @cyngrande @grandelawfirm Book Recommendation: Start with Why by Simon Sinek For comments or questions contact me via email at randy@rgtaxes.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Mireya Romero discusses her experiences growing up in South Los Angeles as a Salvadorean woman, receiving the diagnosis of Down's Syndrome for her daughter, and being a recipient of services. Learning Objectives Ethics Codes: 1.07, 1.10, 2.09, 3.01 Making Culturally Sensitive considerations to case management. Active listening as a process of treating others with compassion, dignity, and respect. Active listening as a process of incorporating and addressing diversity in practice. Active listening as a process of exploring motivating operations impacting parent/caregiver adherence to treatment. Activity: Using Matrix as a tool in taking perspective when working with parents from different backgrounds and belief systems. CEU Link (1.5 Ethics CEU): https://behavioral-analytics.mykajabi.com/offers/yLLiEuXK

Mireya Romero discusses her experiences growing up in South Los Angeles as a Salvadorean woman, receiving the diagnosis of Down's Syndrome for her daughter, and being a recipient of services. Learning Objectives Ethics Codes: 1.07, 1.10, 2.09, 3.01 Making Culturally Sensitive considerations to case management. Active listening as a process of treating others with compassion, dignity, and respect. Active listening as a process of incorporating and addressing diversity in practice. Active listening as a process of exploring motivating operations impacting parent/caregiver adherence to treatment. Activity: Using Matrix as a tool in taking perspective when working with parents from different backgrounds and belief systems. CEU Link (1.0 Ethics CEU): https://behavioral-analytics.mykajabi.com/offers/26P2kAvi

Mireya Romero discusses her experiences growing up in South Los Angeles as a Salvadorean woman, receiving the diagnosis of Down's Syndrome for her daughter, and being a recipient of services. Learning Objectives Ethics Codes: 1.07, 1.10, 2.09, 3.01 Making Culturally Sensitive considerations to case management. Active listening as a process of treating others with compassion, dignity, and respect. Active listening as a process of incorporating and addressing diversity in practice. Active listening as a process of exploring motivating operations impacting parent/caregiver adherence to treatment. Activity: Using Matrix as a tool in taking perspective when working with parents from different backgrounds and belief systems. CEU Link (1.0 Ethics CEU): https://behavioral-analytics.mykajabi.com/offers/26P2kAvi

Join us in our first episode, where we get to know different aspects of the Peruvian, Guatemalan, Salvadorean, and Mexican culture.

In today's episode we have the beautiful Salvadorean tiktok queen and social media influencer Laura Issela! She talks about how she started her career, her transition from El Salvador to the US, and about her plans for the future. You do not want to miss this! 

Short intro of what is ahead of our podcast and life journey. I hope you enjoy, and you can relate to our topics and conversations. A Guatemalan and a Salvadorean women who are best friends ready to take over the world, with their charisma, point of views, and determination. Are you ready?

An In My Mug exclusive coffee sent only to subscribers on Friday the 20th of March, 2020. Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995, and after completing his studies at university he had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. After five years he left J. Hill & Cia to begin his second experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet “Grano de Oro” from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply his coffee knowledge and experience gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, Neto has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. You can normally only taste coffee from this farm when it's roasted by Drop Coffee in Stockholm as it's an exclusive farm to them, however, as a special 1 off we reached out to Joanna and she very kindly agreed to share some Los Andes with us just for all you lovely In My Mug subscribers. A super elegant and complex cup, this one makes me think of cloudy lemonade - there's even an effervescent acidity to it. It's got a creamy body where the lemon shifts into clementine, with a slight floral hint. On the finish, I get soft marzipan. This is a great example of what you can get from SL28 plants combined with the best Salvadorean soil. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest City: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Los Andes Producer: Ernesto Menéndez Altitude: 1,720 m.a.s.l. Variety: SL28 Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Cloudy lemonade, clementine, floral, marzipan Clean Cup: (1-8): 7 Sweetness: (1-8): 7 Acidity: (1-8): 7 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5 Flavour: (1-8): 7 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5 Balance: (1-8): 6.5 Overall: (1-8): 7 Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 90.5 Roasting Information Medium - not too far! Keep this medium - through first at a steady pace and push it into the gap, dropping before you reach second.

An In My Mug exclusive coffee sent only to subscribers on Friday the 20th of March, 2020. Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995, and after completing his studies at university he had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. After five years he left J. Hill & Cia to begin his second experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet “Grano de Oro” from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply his coffee knowledge and experience gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, Neto has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. You can normally only taste coffee from this farm when it's roasted by Drop Coffee in Stockholm as it's an exclusive farm to them, however, as a special 1 off we reached out to Joanna and she very kindly agreed to share some Los Andes with us just for all you lovely In My Mug subscribers. A super elegant and complex cup, this one makes me think of cloudy lemonade - there's even an effervescent acidity to it. It's got a creamy body where the lemon shifts into clementine, with a slight floral hint. On the finish, I get soft marzipan. This is a great example of what you can get from SL28 plants combined with the best Salvadorean soil. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest City: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Los Andes Producer: Ernesto Menéndez Altitude: 1,720 m.a.s.l. Variety: SL28 Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Cloudy lemonade, clementine, floral, marzipan Clean Cup: (1-8): 7 Sweetness: (1-8): 7 Acidity: (1-8): 7 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5 Flavour: (1-8): 7 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5 Balance: (1-8): 6.5 Overall: (1-8): 7 Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 90.5 Roasting Information Medium - not too far! Keep this medium - through first at a steady pace and push it into the gap, dropping before you reach second.

The year is 1999, baggy jeans are in, the Backstreet Boys are at the top of the charts, and Tony Hawk is becoming a household name. A young Salvadoran living in one of the most dangerous housing projects in Yonkers discovers his love of skateboarding. Join us, Strap on your skate shoes, grab your board, and watch out for ripped laces on this skate session with Jeremy Lugo. Jeremy Lugo is a writer and marketing specialist, born and raised in Yonkers, New York. He gained notoriety when he launched his magnum opus, Ripped Laces, which built a loyal following for its coverage of skateboarding footwear and trends. His work is featured on HypeBeast, Thrasher Magazine, Complex, and he’s collaborated with leading footwear brands like Vans, Reebok, Converse, and others. He’s a proud first generation Salvadoran immigrant. In this episode: Growing up  and learning to skateboard in the projects of Yonkers Escaping poverty via skateboarding Salvadoran community in Yonkers - Apartment pupuserias Health, nutrition and maintaining connection to your culture and food From hobby to business, flying by the seat of your pants in the early internet age Why shoes are 90% of your outfit! Designing shoes for Vans and Converse Ian Michna Jenkem Magazine Oliver Clark Skate shoes - company history Skateboarding in the 2020 Olympics and mainstream popular culture Skateshoe recommendations - budget pick and luxury pick Budget -Vans, converse, Emericas, Etnies, Es Luxury - DC Josh Kalis, Adidas Show Resources: https://www.instagram.com/jeremylugorl/ www.rippedlaces.com http://www.jenkemmag.com/home/ https://www.oliverclarknyc.com/ Music: Salvi Nacion by Crooked Stilo

Hello and welcome to Salvis Unidos Podcast! Let’s go back in time real quick. It’s the mid to late 90s. Not everyone owns a computer. The world wide web is not yet widely accessible. Smart phones? Forget about it. Your best chance of learning about where you came from is the stories your parents tell you. Maybe you’ve never been to El Salvador or tasted the food. You’ve never smelled the tropical air or heard the señoras in the local mercado. Maybe you have and you miss the mango verde y minutas. But you don’t live in El Salvador. You don’t quite fit in to the culture here, you’re not quite accepted by your primos over there. Ni de aqui ni de alla. You’re a child, teenager, or young adult trying to stay connected to where you came from and hoping to be accepted at the same time. Those years left a lot of Salvadorans feeling disconnected from their own culture. It was isolating . . . but we were not alone. I’m your host Carlos, a Salvadoran-American born in El Salvador and living in New York. Join me on this journey to discover what the Salvadoran experience looks like outside El Salvador and what it means to be Salvadoran in a globalized world. Walk with me as we work to unite Salvadorans of all backgrounds, locations, and languages through stories from our shared experience and heritage. Tune in and we’ll discover how our diversity will shape the future of our culture. We’re not alone. Salvadoreños. Salvis Undios. Into the future.

The World Cup qualifiers that preceded a brief but bloody conflict between El Salvador and Honduras in the summer of 1969. The war between the Central American neighbours was over land rights and a long-running border dispute. Mike Lanchin has been hearing from the former captain of the Salvadorean football team, Salvador Mariona. Photo: Salvador Mariona shows a picture of the El Salvador national team during the World Cup Mexico 1970 (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images)

As a foreign correspondent for Reuters, best-selling novelist Fiona Neill worked with Salvadorean refugees in Nicaragua, learnt to make jewellery in the Andean mountains of Peru and travelled all over writing reports on civil war refugees. She ‘surfed’ down the side of an active volcano, survived revolutions and serious illness and even life as features editor of Marie Claire. Her new book - Beneath the Surface – is a gripping tale of secrets and lies set against the backdrop of the fenlands in Cambridgeshire. On this episode we cover:   Her column Slummy Mummy in the Saturday Times Getting a book deal Her novels becoming darker and darker The domestic comedies in having young children Dysfunctional families and adolescent mental health The remote, desolation of the Fens north of Cambridge The disturbing storyline in her new book Beneath the Surface Moving to Latin America to ‘all the places you shouldn’t visit’ Life in Chile under the fascist dictatorship of Pinochet Disappearances and government repression Getting tear-gassed Accidentally tear-gassing herself (!) Living with El Salvadorian refuges in Nicaragua A melting pot of left-wing ideology The everyday reality of no electricity, little water Working in a handicraft-painting workshop in Nicaragua The sad sight of the migrant caravan heading for the US The gang violence they are escaping How the gang violence was actually a US export Colombia and the cocaine wars The heart-breaking image of the father and daughter washed up in the river The adrenaline-filled job as a news journalist Heading to Costa Rica rather than staying in the UK recession Researching way different populations were internally displaced Working for Reuters in Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia and more Being lucky as international reporters rather than local journalist Moments of fear that happened quickly Being in a car chase during an election Being at the centre of a fascinating period of history Visiting isolated communities of Mennonites in the Belize jungle The Mennonites originally coming from Northern Europe Pig’s trotters and sauerkraut for breakfast London not being the easiest city to live in Moving back to London to work at Marie Claire Taking a year to come down from the adrenaline of news reporting in south America Going to Paris for the day to see an Alexander McQueen show Marie Claire covering illegal abortion in Tibet The days when we were all obsessed with magazines Moving to work at The Thames How writing makes her feel balanced Returning to Nicaragua with her husband and three children How Nicaragua has it all – beaches, mountains, biodiversity ‘Surfing’ down the side of an active volcano How London is an exciting place to bring up kids London being ‘ a really, dynamic, energy-giving city’ Her books being very much UK based at the moment The punk scene in deepest Norfolk  Lisa’s obsession with seeing Nick Cave sitting outside his Brighton beach hut (well, Hove, actually…) Having a specific playlist for every book she writes How music travels with us wherever we go  

For today’s episode, we had the pleasure of getting to know Anita and Steffanie Rodas, from Anita’s Cuisine in Merriam, Kansas. Anita opened her Salvadoran restaurant in 2015 and has some really interesting dishes on her menu, including one sandwich in particular that we haven’t seen on any other menu in Kansas City.   Dishes featured in this episode: Panes Rellenos Pupusas Chilaquiles Tamales Find Anita’s Cuisine online at https://www.anitascuisine.com/ and on Instagram @anitas.cuisine and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Anitascuisine/.  Anita’s Cuisine is located at 5815 Merriam Drive, Merriam, Kansas.    The Open Belly podcast is hosted by Danielle Lehman and shares the stories of first-generation American chefs in Kansas City. You can find the Open Belly podcast online at openbellypodcast.com or on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @openbelly.

Valentine’s Day 2019, in La Voz en Breve, and journalists Mariel Fiori y Antonio Flores-Lobos went to a Salvadorean restaurant in Kingston, named Mi Casita. In there, the journalist interviewed Ana Cecilia Fabbie (Mi Casita) and Greg Shaheen (Kingston Land Trust). In the middle of... Read More ›

The first episode of the year Diosas! We are excited to have comedian J-Stir on the show. We talk about creating in chaos, channeling inner peace, give tips on how to improve your credit score and where to get a traditional Salvadorean chorizo burger. (Yeah you heard right) Funny ass foo'! Tune in Diosas. xoxo

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF8P4W1MNHY&t=237s   This week's episode was about interracial dating amongst a group of us from different backgrounds. Katrina (@curiositykilleddkat) is Filipina, Abby (@super_abbz) is Salvadorean and Christian (@custarroz) is a mix of several things, as for myself my dad is from Nigeria and my momma is from Louisiana. We talk about how our families would react to us bringing home someone of a different race and talk about the world's views on it as well. It was a pretty honest conversation and I wanna thank ya'll for listening and wanna ask you to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on ig (@richreally_out_here). Give a rating as well, see ya'll next week!

Just when we thought we were out, he pulls us back in! Isaac has disavowed Trump but not necessarily Trumpism, and he provides a list of Trump policy achievements to Charles as well as listener favorite Dan D'Aprile and special guest Unpopular Opinion's Adam Tod Brown. These include eradicating third party payments, dealing with Salvadorean refugees, and getting rid of gender reassignment surgeries in the military? Isaac makes a strong and compelling case and everyone is on his side. Just kidding! Also discussed: the decline of mail bombs, where the money is in solar, and a special appearance by black on black crime!

In 2001, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck El Salvador, killing nearly 1,000 people. In the wake of the humanitarian disaster triggered by the natural disaster, the United States welcomed nearly 200,000 Salvadorans to live and work legally. (Undocumented Salvadorans already in America could also apply for status.) For more than 15 years, this population has existed under temporary protected status. This week, the Trump administration announced that this program will end in fall 2019. “We’re in 2018, 17 years on, and the country has in fact largely recovered from the earthquakes. The Trump administration at least on that point is absolutely correct,” said Stephen Offutt, an associate professor of development studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. “What’s not been taken into account is the fact that El Salvador is still a dangerous place.” While Salvadorian churches at times offer the only options for gang members hoping to leave that life behind, “that’s not the whole story,” said Offutt. Instead, as CT reported last year, pastors and other religious leaders have been kidnapped or extorted by the gangs. “One of the reasons I respect pastors in these communities so much is because they stay there,” he said. Offutt joined associate digital media producer Morgan Lee and guest host, managing editor Andy Olsen, to discuss how US immigration policies may defund Salvadorean churches, the intensity of the violence in the country, and how pastors instruct their congregations to interact with gangs.

Javier Zamora was born in El Salvador and migrated to this country at the age of nine. He is a poet, and his recent collection "Unaccompanied" draws on his experiences as a child and immigrant. He also loves pupusas, karaoke, and exploring the United States. ¡Disfruta!   http://www.javierzamora.net/

RaqC & Rubi sit down with hollywood actor Al Coronel & Wendy Carrillo who is currently running for Congress. Its the perfectly balanced show of entertaiment and politics. We discuss how it's ok to have a change of heart in your career after the age of 30 and what leads a Salvadorean woman to decide to run for such an important role in office, Congress! We talk about careers, finding love on social media, chivalrous men, dating, being an undocumented immigrant and so much more. A must listen to episode that will for sure inspire you!

In November 1989 government soldiers shot dead six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter. The shocking killings became a turning point in the Salvadorean civil war. We hear from Lucia Cerna, who was forced to flee the country because of what she witnessed that night. (Photo: Mourners gather for the funeral of the Salvadorean Jesuits. Credit: AP/Luis Romero)