History 216 Modern Latin America

Restoring Peace, at a heavy cost “One of the most dangerous places on Earth.” That was one of the ways many travelers and journalists used to describe El Salvador pre 2022. Now, the gang signs in neighborhoods are painted over in white plaster. Bullet holes are pulled and rebuilt over. These actions are partly resulted…

Earlier this month, there was an oil spill caused by a OCP pipeline located in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Although the OCP company states that their efforts to remove the oil were successful in removing most of the oil, they admit that the oil spill could not be effectively contained due to the geographical landscape of…

The state of Haiti has a long, tumultuous history, but most recently, increased gang violence has wreaked havoc on the country. Most of Haiti’s citizens live in fear of the violent gangs that have taken over vast swaths of the country. Specifically in their capital, Port-au-Prince, gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier runs the streets and…

There has been a spike in the number of unaccompanied minors migrating from Central America into the U.S to be reunited with relatives that had already crossed the U.S border. This number reached a new record in December of 2022. This year on January 26th Federal Mexican agents found over 50 immigrant minors in a…

US federal law enforcement arrested four men who were involved in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise in July of 2021. Law enforcement arrested Venezuelan-American Tony Intriago, Colombian Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, financier Walter Veintemilla, and Frederick Joseph Bergmann. Intriago, Pretel Ortiz, and Bergmann are all part of CTU Security, a private security firm based…

Summary Chile has been struck by dozens of wildfires throughout their summer, which has caused three of their central regions, Bíobío, Ñuble and Araucanía to declare a state of emergency. These fires in the central region have been exceedingly difficult to deal with as local  temperatures reach a 40 celsius, or 104 fahrenheit. Over 200…

Haiti has been in a state of disarray due to gang violence and police-led protests in Port-au-Prince. The violence began to escalate after the assassination of President Jonevel Moise in 2021, leaving Haiti under the rule of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who many view as an illegitimate ruler. The UN estimates that about 60% of…

Alfonso Cuaron’s movie, Roma, which came out in 2018, is situated in the colony of Roma in Mexico City and it’s set in the year 1970 to 1971. It follows the daily lives of an upper-class Mexican mestizo family and focuses specially on Cleo, their maid. Although it is classified as a drama movie, Cuaron…

Analysis On January 8th, 2023, thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro raided and vandalized the seat of power in the nation’s capital Brasilia. The supporters were violently attempting to overthrow the recent election which crowned Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula) the country’s new democratically elected president. Since his loss in the…

Al Jazeera Article: Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/1/25/photos-peru-protesters-clash-with-police-after-president-calls-for-truce The Independent Article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/machu-picchu-peru-protests-tourists-b2266786.html Key People: Pedro Castillo – Former President of Peru Dina Boluarte – Castillo’s former Vice President and current President. Summary: Castillo attempted to dissolve congress in December of 2022 to derail his third impeachment. He was unsuccessful and was arrested instead with Boluarte taking over the…