Political Report # 1201 "Obama Built the Structures for Trump": A Terrifying Legacy of Mass Deportation

Jose Juan Moreno sits in the room at the University Church on Chicago's Southside where he has sought sanctuary from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since April. (Photo: Hoda Katebi) By Alex Shams, Truthout

For the last six months, Jose Juan Moreno has been confined to a small room above the University Church on Chicago's South Side. Safe inside, he cannot venture more than 50 steps from the corner where he sleeps. If he goes beyond that, US authorities have promised to deport him from the country. Although he has lived 17 years in Chicago -- the only home any of his five American-born children have ever known -- Moreno originally crossed the border from Mexico without papers. Under US law, that means he is subject to arrest and deportation at any time, a status he shares with 11 million people in the United States considered "undocumented." Earlier this year, Moreno received a deportation order from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the authority that carries out the raids and arrests that represent the strong arm of national immigration policy. He was told to leave by April 15, otherwise he'd be deported. In response, Moreno did the only thing he could think of -- he sought sanctuary in the church, praying that even if the authorities would not respect his family or his long years of work in the US, at least they might respect the sanctity of a holy place. So far, they have. But for how much longer is anybody's guess.

Political Report # 1162 Terrorized by Police Raids and Mass Displacement, Rio Prepares for Olympics

A girl stands in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: Aldo Santiago) By Renata Bessi and Santiago Navarro F.,  Truthout

At least 77,206 people have already been displaced from Rio de Janeiro as the city prepares to host the Olympic Games on August 5-21, and police raids -- predominantly against Black youth in favelas and working class neighborhoods -- have intensified. According to Larissa Lacerda, a member of the Rio Cup and Olympics Popular Committee, since the start of 2016, police raids in the favelas have provoked mass killings of poor, Black youth. Lacerda's organization is a collective that brings together unions, NGOs, researchers, students and impacted communities. She said she expects the situation to only get worse in the final days before the start of the Olympic Games, just as abuses worsened before the Panamerican Games and the World Cup. "We are seeing an increased militarization of the city, in the context of a violent and racist security policy that particularly impacts Black youth who live in working class neighborhoods and favelas," Lacerda told Truthout. "These youth are murdered on a daily basis by police. But everyone is impacted by these policies that are based in fear, that create walls, both visible and invisible, and promote the social and spatial segregation of the city, and the increasing criminalization of social movements."

Political Report #1101, Fracking Expands in Latin America, Threatening to Contaminate World's Third-Largest Aquifer By Santiago Navarro F. and Renata Bessi, Truthout

Schlumberger employees work during an oil fracking process in Vaca Muerta in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, September 20, 2013.   (Photo: Anibal Adrian Greco / The New York Times) By Santiago Navarro F. and Renata Bessi, Truthout

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking - a method whereby hydrocarbons trapped within rocks are extracted - is expanding rapidly in Latin America. Fracking emits benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, which are considered by the World Health Organization to be carcinogenic and responsible for blood disorders and other immunological effects. Despite these adverse health effects, however, reserves have already been mapped out in Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Fracking produces large volumes of toxic and radioactive waste and dangerous air pollutants.

Political Report # 1094 Hearts, Minds and Body Counts: The Politics of El Salvador's Security Crisis By Hilary Goodfriend, Truthout

Members of the Salvadorian police force detain a man in possession of an illegal firearm in San Salvador, El Salvador, May 26, 2015. (Meridith Kohut / The New York Times) By Hilary Goodfriend, Truthout

Estela Ramírez knows firsthand the debilitating effect that insecurity has on individuals and communities. As longtime union activists in the precarious garment industry, she and her fellow organizers are increasingly fearful to navigate the working-class neighborhoods that host both garment factories and their employees - neighborhoods with steadily rising murder rates. They are also increasingly concerned about braving the bus routes that take workers to union meetings and activities. Some of her colleagues have faced gang threats, intimidation and violence at the behest of employers for their labor activism in the maquila factories. Ramírez sighs. "All this bloodshed is directed at the poor," she says. "Here, the rich don't die. Poor people die."

Political Report # 1093 Indigenous Communities Seek Autonomous Development Projects in Guatemala By Jeff Abbott, Truthout | Report

The fourth meeting of Latin America Network Against Dams and For Rivers was held in Colonia el Naranjo, Guatemala in October 2005. (Photo: Glen Switkes / International Rivers) By Jeff Abbott, Truthout | Report

As Guatemala faces its greatest political crisis since the 1980s, behind the scenes, plans for the United States' Alliance for Prosperity continue to move along. The plan, which was modeled after Plan Colombia, would provide the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - the "northern triangle" of Central America - with an additional $1 billion aid package, on top of existing aid plans, to spur further investment in the region. The expansion of hydroelectric construction projects and the further integration of electric grids are central to the plan, yet these projects threaten indigenous communities' land rights.

Political Report #1076, "Guantánamo Diary'' Reveals How US Empire Can Capture, Torture and Imprison With Impunity By Mark Karlin, Truthout

 

A detainee walks up the stairs in a cell block common area of Camp 5 at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba, August 20, 2014. (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

By Mark Karlin, Truthout

Mohamedou Ould Slahi has never been charged him with a crime by the United States government, yet he as been imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay since 2002. Three years into his captivity, Slahi began writing a diary, recounting life before and after this terrible miscarriage of justice befell him. Guantánamo Diary is a tremendously important book, and it can be yours to own by making a donation to Truthout today. Given that the author of Guantánamo Diary - Mohamedou Ould Slahi - is still imprisoned there and prohibited from talking with the media, Truthout interviewed human rights activist and writer Larry Siems, who is the editor of Mohamedou Ould Slahi's handwritten diary. Siems is the former Director of Freedom to Write and International Programs at PEN American Center. He is also the author of The Torture Report: What the Documents Say About America's Post-9/11 Torture Program.