Interamerican Watch Newsletter - Issue 494

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Inter-American Watch

Tuesday 5/19/2026

Argentina

The Federal Criminal Economic Court again rejected an appeal by the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, in the case in which he is being prosecuted along with other officials for alleged misappropriation of taxes and social security funds. ...Read more >>
Source: cadena3.com
On December 1, 2025, when Judge Luis Armella raided the headquarters of Sur Finanzas, the company owned by Ariel Vallejo, the financier linked to Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, a series of operations allegedly began to eliminate any traces of Pablo Toviggino from the Pilar mansion. ...Read more >>
Source: perfil.com

Bolivia

The Bolivian government denounced the existence of a “macabre plan” to overthrow President Rodrigo Paz, allegedly financed by drug trafficking. According to government spokesperson José Luis Gálvez, the social protests are being promoted by former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) with the objective of “breaking the constitutional order.” ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
The Bolivian city of La Paz remains surrounded by union and social blockades despite the military and police operations deployed on Saturday to clear the main access points. According to the Bolivian Highway Authority (ABC), 22 roadblocks remained in place early Sunday morning, most of them in the department of La Paz. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com

Cuba

The Cuban regime obtained more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran and began discussing possible plans to use them against the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels, and even areas near Florida, according to intelligence revealed by Axios. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
Brigadier General Ramón Romero Curbelo, identified as head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (Minint), was publicly recognized in photographs released by the CIA itself on X, showing the meeting held this Thursday in Havana between the director of the US intelligence agency, John Ratcliffe, and high-ranking Cuban officials. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
Cuba's economy is under the total control of GAESA, the military conglomerate that, as Emilio Morales, president and CEO of Havana Consulting Group, explained in an interview with Infobae, has displaced civilian institutions and transformed the state into an opaque structure without checks and balances. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
The international shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd (German) and CMA CGM (French) have stopped accepting new orders related to Cuba while they assess the potential effects of the recent US Executive Order that expands sanctions on the island. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
The ties between Ecuador and Venezuela during the governments of Rafael Correa, Hugo Chávez, and Nicolás Maduro left a trail of possible corruption in the management of the Regional Compensation System (Sucre), which remains under investigation. The case has resurfaced after Colombian businessman Alex Saab Morán, a former minister in the Maduro government, was deported by Venezuela to the United States this past weekend (May 16, 2026). There, he faces charges for a series of financial crimes, according to the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners (Saime). ...Read more >>
Source: eluniverso.com
Ecuador's Interior Minister, John Reimberg, stated on Sunday (May 17, 2026) that the Andean nation will collaborate with the United States in any investigations that may be opened based on information provided by Colombian businessman Alex Saab, identified as a front man for Nicolás Maduro and deported this week to the United States. ...Read more >>
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo.com

Haiti

Clashes between gangs in the suburbs of the Haitian capital have left at least 78 dead since Saturday, including 10 bystanders, according to a provisional toll released Thursday to AFP by the United Nations Office in Haiti (BINUH). ...Read more >>
Source: france24.com

Interamerican Institute for Democracy

A survey conducted after last year's elections in Bolivia by Integrated Communications and Research at the request of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy has revealed a complex landscape of public opinion, marked by a dual discontent—economic and institutional—that now extends to the symbolic and identity-related spheres. While the economy and justice are the primary concerns for citizens, the debate on national identity and the model of the State adds a crucial layer to the diagnosis: to what extent is the current crisis eroding national belonging or paving the way for impulses toward profound change in the state structure? ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
Bolivian society identifies drug trafficking as one of its major problems. Such is the concern these days that people show widespread acceptance of the "narco-state" narrative. A survey conducted months after last year's elections by Integrated Communications and Research at the request of the Inter-American Institute for Democracy shows that more than three-quarters of the population believe this perception persists, although the public's appreciation of democracy is experiencing a relative recovery. Likewise, the majority support for international cooperation, along with the marked disparities based on age, gender, and region, highlights the need for tailored policies to address the situation. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
Guest Columnist | Hugo Marcelo Balderrama
21st-century socialism is a leprosy that all people of good will are obligated to combat. This task begins by unmasking criminal concepts like indigenism, which is nothing more than a front for narco-terrorism. ...Read more >>
Source: intdemocratic.org

Nicaragua

Diplomatic tensions between the Ortega-Murillo regime and the governments of neighboring countries have increased in recent days. First, the members of the Central American Integration System (SICA) decided to break the blockade that the Nicaraguan regime had been imposing, thus changing the decision-making mechanism. ...Read more >>
Source: diariolasamericas.com

Peru

Peru's National Elections Board (JNE) proclaimed this Sunday that Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez will be the candidates who will compete for the presidency in the second round of elections on June 7, after the results of the 2026 General Elections were officially confirmed, with no candidate achieving an absolute majority. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com

United States

The United States is moving forward with a possible formal indictment against Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former Cuban dictator and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of small planes three decades ago, according to US officials familiar with the matter who spoke to CBS News. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com

Venezuela

Alex Saab arrived Saturday at a Miami airport after being deported by the Venezuelan government to the United States, where he faces charges for alleged crimes in the North American country, according to the Venezuelan Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Foreigners (SAIME). ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com
After several weeks of much speculation about his whereabouts, Alex Saab, frontman for former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, was deported to the United States this Saturday. ...Read more >>
Source: infobae.com