More than 7.1 million Venezuelans have now fled the country, making the exodus the largest migration crisis in the world. But while most Venezuelan migrants had previously sought a safe haven in other countries in South America, migration patterns have shifted toward the U.S. under the false hope that things will be better there.
“The worst is yet to come.” That’s the message from the International Monetary Fund about what to expect in 2023. For Latin America, the IMF’s bad news about the year to come will add to a pile of years’ worth of other economic and political problems and will be critical to every political story in the region for the year to come.
Between October 2021 and August 2022, U.S. authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border took undocumented migrants into custody more than 2 million times—a record number that has generated nonstop commentary about a “border crisis.” But the numbers fail to convey a dramatic shift in the migrant population over the past nine years.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has long had a contentious relationship with democratic countries. But in the past few days, Managua took jabs at the EU, the U.S., some Latin American neighbors and even the Vatican. It seems Ortega has settled on a new international strategy to strengthen and perpetuate his hold on power.
The “War on Drugs” has failed. While that statement is absolutely true, it’s also a cheap applause line. Calling out the failures of the war on drugs is easy, and these days doing so generally finds widespread support. But it’s easier to criticize the current failed approach than to develop and implement alternatives.