CIA Creates Cuba Task Force

The CIA, the United States’ intelligence agency, has created a new Cuba task force, which seeks “to create fissures among the Cuban political elite, in hope of pressuring the Cubans to replace perceived anti-American hard-liners with more practical leaders more amenable to Mr. Trump’s demands,” reports the New York Times.

Earlier this week Político reported that “the U.S. has increased its intelligence assets in Cuba in recent months as it pushes the country’s communist regime to reform or fall from power,” citing a source who said “the U.S. has recently sent spies and assets to Cuba.”

The CIA has long history of involvement with Cuba, notably backing a failed attempt to overthrow the communist government, the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, as well as numerous plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, also failed.

“The creation of the task force shows the extent to which the agency is preparing for what may be a protracted covert campaign against what has long been one of its hardest targets,” reports the New York Times.

More Cuba

• United ⁠Nations human ⁠rights experts condemned recent ‌measures against Cuba ‌by ⁠the ⁠United States and urged the international ​community to act quickly to ​avoid a “silent Gaza” from ⁠unfolding on ⁠the ⁠island, reports Reuters.

Brazil

• Brazilian right-wing presidential Senator Flávio Bolsonaro named conservative Congressman Alfredo Gaspar as his running mate yesterday in a surprise choice that underscored his campaign’s challenges, reports Reuters.

Migration

• Cubans fleeing the island’s economic and fuel crisis are increasingly looking to Brazil after the Trump administration closed most pathways for their migration to the United States, reports NPR.

• A U.S.federal judge took the final step in allowing the Trump administration to terminate temporary protected status for 350,000 Haitians, meaning many are likely to lose their jobs and be at risk of deportation back to Haiti, reports the Washington Post.

Haiti

• “As Haiti prepares for its first general elections in a decade, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé sees the vote as more than an exercise in democratic renewal. He views it as an opportunity to reset a nation gripped by gang violence, mass displacement, economic collapse and years of political paralysis,” reports the Miami Herald.

Colombia

• Colombia’s outgoing defense minister has warned of a heightened risk of “terrorism” ahead of tomorrow’s inauguration of president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, reports Al Jazeera.

• Incoming vice president José Manuel Restrepo is one of the most experienced members of a government in which the president and several ministers have never held public office before. Americas Quarterly reports he will be the international face of the government and will have a say on other critical matters.

• “With less than a third of cycling journeys taken by women, Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, is installing bike lanes, teaching cycling and making sure ‘stereotypes are left behind,’” reports the Guardian.

Argentina

• Celebrations of Javier Milei’s economic policies ahead of next year’s presidential election ignore a basic fact: “for many of Argentina’s citizens, the economy felt better under CFK,” writes James Bosworth in Latin America Risk Report. “Further, there is nothing normal about 30% or even 20% inflation, especially when GDP is growing at under 5%.”

• Milei’s latest push to lure private investment to Argentina suffered a setback yesterday as lawmakers watered down legislation to ease limits on foreign land ownership in response to fierce backlash, reports Bloomberg.

• China’s embassy in Argentina accused the United States ‌of using visa revocations to obstruct cooperation between a local company and China’s Huawei calling the move an affront to sovereignty and free-market principles, reports Reuters.

Mexico

• A young Mexican influencer, César Gastélum, was fatally shot by a motorcyclist as he was streaming video to his followers in Culiacán, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. “Experts say that Mexican cartels are increasingly targeting influencers,” reports the New York Times.

• Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said that authorities were investigating the killing and working to identify the killer, reports the Guardian.

Venezuela

• The New York Times reconstructs the 48 hours after Venezuela’s twin earthquake in July, in which the acting government found its hands tied by years of repression, corruption, economic mismanagement and sanctions. Yet on the international stage, acting president Delcy Rodríguez “has in many ways emerged from the disaster in a stronger position. She has made new allies and deepened her partnership with President Trump, who said she was doing a “fantastic job” after the quakes.”

• A new national poll conducted in the aftermath of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes suggests the disaster has not only deepened public frustration with the government’s response but may also be reshaping Venezuelan attitudes toward Trump’s policy of engaging with the country’s interim government, reprots the Miami Herald.

• “Venezuela’s anti-imperialist leftists are growing increasingly vocal about their distaste for the interim government’s cozy rapport with Washington,” reports AFP.

Chile

• Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast said he will push Congress to approve legislative reforms to fight organized crime. Kast announced he will call for a constitutional reform to formalize Chile’s “duty” to safeguard its people’s security. (AFP)

Vatican

• The Vatican announced yesterday that Pope Leo XIV would go to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November. It will be a homecoming of sorts for the U.S.-born pontiff, who worked and lived in Peru for many years, reports the New York Times.