Head of Right-wing Militia Arrested by FBI for Holding Migrant Families at Gunpoint in New Mexico

Paul Ratje/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

On Saturday, April 20th, the FBI arrested Larry Mitchell Hopkins, who had been operating under the alias Johnny Horton Jr. Hopkins was the leader of a right-wing militia group that was detaining migrant families at gunpoint near the border in southern New Mexico. Hopkins was arrested on charges of firearms possession by a felon. This is only a minor charge against Hopkins, and it is likely that this will lead to a deeper investigation.

Professed militia groups such as the one Hopkins controlled have a long history of targeting immigrants from Latin America, even tracing back to the Ku Klux Klan creation of it’s own border patrol in the 1970’s.

United Constitutional Patriots, the militia group run by Hopkins turned migrants in to Border Patrol. Before turning them in, they posted videos of members detaining children and parents near El Paso, Texas at gun point.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fbi-arrest-right-wing-militia-leader-immigrants-detained-gunpoint-new-mexico-a8880706.html%3famp

Regardless of your stance on migrants, he had no authority to do this and should not have done this. I cannot imagine the amount of trauma the people he and his group did this to are going through.

Argentina: Thousands launch anti-austerity strike

President Mauricio Macri agreed to cut government spending last year in exchange for a loan from the International Monetary Fund. His popularity has plummeted ahead of a presidential election in October.

Argentina is amidst social unrest due to financial insecurity, tens of thousands of Argentines protested against President Mauricio Macri’s austerity drive on Tuesday after labor unions began a 24-hour partial strike. Could this be warning sign of another immigration trend as the economy declines and social unrest creates insecurity. What will be the United States response? Argentina has been struggling these past few years at a scale that has worried the international community. And with the use of loans from the IMF, it signals a country that could be in decline.

Catastrophic landslide, caught on video, leaves entire neighborhood buried in Bolivia

At least five people have been reported missing in La Paz, Bolivia, after a massive landslide completely buried the hillside of the San Jorge Kantutani neighborhood in the Bolivian capital.

Commercial and residential buildings have been impacted by landslides, a more common occurrence during recent decades. More and more deaths and injuries are being attributed to landslides in this region. The Bolivian has tried to respond to the issue with very little success. The incoming weather is not in people favor, as reportedly rainstorms are predicted and could lead to more disaster.

Trump’s new ambassador to Colombia was once expelled from Bolivia

• Philip Goldberg was accused of fomenting dissent in 2008
• Conservative will oversee vast military aid budget

 Colombia has long been a staunch US ally but Donald Trump has criticised the new president, Iván Duque, for not doing enough to stem the flow of cocaine to the US. Photograph: Rodrigo Arangua/Getty Images/AFP Creative

Philip Goldberg served as the US ambassador to Bolivia for two years until Bolivian President, Evo Morales, accused him of working against their government and administration by meeting with right wing opposition members, of which Goldberg and the United States denied. Morales ordered Goldberg to leave the country and in return the United States expelled Bolivia’s envoy to Washington.

Goldberg has come back to prominence as he is the Colombian ambassador to the United States. Considering his history with right wing administrations, his appointment to the position leads to suspicion of the United States intentions in Colombia, especially with the neighboring Venezuelan crisis.

Red Cross volunteers in Mexico given armed escorts after thugs seize patient

Organization boosts security as drug cartels show disregard for the work of physicians and first responders in conflicts with rivals.

 Red Cross volunteers in Arriaga, Mexico on 26 October 2018. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Humanitarian aid workers in Latin America have always faced the dangers of violent attacks from drug cartels and guerrilla troops. Volunteers face the dangers of being murdered or kidnapped by these aggressors everyday. As the rate of violence by cartels rise, the work of humanitarian aid workers continue to rise as instability rises.

“Government statistics show 8,524 homicide victims over the first three months of López Obrador’s administration, an average of 94.7 per day – numbers Amlo disputed when pressed on the topic by journalist Jorge Ramos at a 12 April press conference.”

45 bodies found in clandestine graves in Mexico

Officials confirmed the discovery of up to 45 bodies at clandestine burial sites in Mexico, with an estimated 30 cadavers found in one spot in the northern state of Sonora and 15 buried under the patio of a … more

With high rates of kidnapping and murder in Mexico, unmarked graves have been sources of evidence to the escalating instability of Mexico. The government has face international pressure for the investigation of the found cadavers as slow response have been seen in the past decades. Many international volunteer groups have participated in the search of unmarked mass graves and the forensic study of the bodies, for possible identification.

The Mexican public has criticized the inaction of the government in solving the issues that have lead to the escalating number of kidnapping and deaths by cartels and mafias. Many have feared that national security could lead to even more bloodshed in the coming months.

Fentanyl takes over the drug market: What does this mean?

By Dami Cansdale

                Fentanyl is a prosthetic opioid that has been causing not only a pandemic of addictions, but tens of thousands of overdoses and deaths recently. The sudden panic in the U.S.A over the use of fentanyl has began to make an impact, however, in Mexico it is a different story. Heroine and the selling of Heroine is staring to crash, and in the Mexican market, the rise for the need of the drug overtops the need for heroine. The worth of a poppy is staring to become virtually worthless as the demand for fentanyl increases as the crackdown on it increases in America. Mexico drug dealers are beginning to gain much more money on the profits for fentanyl than heroine. This is causing a huge increase in the sales and illegal smuggling of fentanyl.

The War on Drugs has caused many hardships, and deaths among the innocent and guilty. Gang wars and drug cartel wars have begun to grow as the drug business continues to blossom. And as more laws and regulations increase on the usage of these drugs, the more Mexican drug lords and markets are beginning to produce them and sell them, for high amounts of money for the high demands. The FDA cannot allow addictive drugs that causes deaths and illnesses to be legal in the country for health and hazard reasons, but the more they increase punishments and bans on drugs, including opioids, the more money people are willing to pay to get the drug they are addicted to.

The first step is to obviously find a better way, or a non-addictive substitute for these heavy medications. That means putting much time, effort, and funding, into research. The less these drugs are administrated, the less addictions occur. But, when that begins to take effect, what about the ones who are already addicted to these drugs? This is a tricky situation to help. Because as more bans increase, the more illegal buying, selling, and smuggling occur. No bans mean easy access and more overdoses and death. Both are not the best option but stopping a sudden overdose pandemic is the more important cause. There should be more research with unbiased people to find a better way to help the addicted by lessoning the supply and demand of these drugs.  

Check out the article I based this off here:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/mexico-drugs-fentanyl-takes-heroin-market-190430151340907.html

Another death by the border: What does this mean?

                One person was found dead and three others pronounced missing as a rubber raft appeared by the U.S. and Mexican border. A ten-month-old child was pronounced dead by drowning to death. The other members of her family swam to safety, found a border patrolman, and was able to rescue his wife and his 6-year-old child. Another family, a father and son, were found safe on the edge of the river. However, there are still 3 missing people out of the group who are feared to be drowned in the rushing water. The sad thing about this tragic event is that it is not the only one that occurs. In fact, many deaths, injuries and drownings happen at the river near the U.S. border. With the War on Drugs rising and worsen life styles, many people seek refugee and a new life in a new country. For the citizens of Mexico, the U.S. is the closest and easiest to travel too, and with life being so different, the U.S.A seems like a great place for a family to continue to live.

Immigrants are not welcomed with open arms to their neighboring country. America’s new leaders have put strict laws and signed strict acts to lesson the impact and numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers, which include ridiculous hard testing, fees, payments, and life long struggles. To become a citizen is a very long and tedious process, which includes money which many families do not have. Illegal immigrants cause great anger and debate along American people, which tends to be guided by biased claims and ignorance. Either way, it is a great struggle for the life and survival of each person involved with immigration.

Yet people still fight to have a life in America, even though they are treated horribly and have no fair rights compared to others. This only portrays that their homelife in Mexico is so bad that they would rather be ridiculed and treated poorly because its better than their conditions now. Now, I do agree we cannot accept every single person and a system needs to be in place to ensure safety of everyone, but I do not agree with poor treatment. There needs to be new and safer regulations, because not even a wall will stop people from trying to gain access to America.

Will ending aid help emigration?

                It is known that Donald Trump has stopped supplying aid to foreign countries to help people emigrate into a different country, like America. However, this seemed to not make much of an impact to the growing immigration and emigration that we see in the 21^st century. The main reason why Trump claims he ended aid is that America has given away millions with nothing in return. The fact that if you offer aid you shouldn’t expect much in return is highly debatable, but this was the reason why aid decreased to other countries. Trump also claims that the more money he offers the more people leave their home, so he also wants those numbers to lessen.

What the president is not recognizing is the fact that these funding projects were aimed to help citizens stay in their own country, providing basic living needs like food, shelter, and clean water. This aid helped create safe havens and try to improve living quality the best way possible to encourage citizens of their country to stay. This was already a struggle as resources are scarce and hard to come by, but now that Trump is stopping the funding, the struggle will increase to keep people inside when they could move to a better area of the world.

This money is not just given either. It goes through many intense processes to be assured that the money is being used for the appropriate intentions, helping people live better lives. American agencies observe the money intake and outtake and what it is spent on. So, it is very unlikely countries could use this for bad purposes, though historically this has happened countless times.

The other point to this all is despite popular beliefs, many families do not want to leave home, even if living conditions in other countries are better. Their roots, history, and family ties are all in their home country. However, many families are forced due to war, natural disasters, or other horrible events. Others just have horrible home lives and just ran out of options. Ending this fund does nothing but increase immigration.

Check out the article here:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-04-09/experts-say-trumps-cuts-to-central-american-aid-wont-slow-migration-crisis

U.S. faces a new lawsuit?

                After the Fidel Castro revolution, large sparks and debates have appeared over time as to who owns what part of the world. This includes important port areas, which helps with importing and exporting, along with trade and other valuable resources. There are questions as to what citizen of which country owns a certain port. Donald Trump has included himself in the debate as to if the port belongs to Havana, or if it was sanction as part of Havana shooting down two U.S. planes. The debate is strong and is heating up, and there will probably be a hearing seeming there has been no agreement as to who the official owner of the land is. Now, the popular costal cruise ship company, Carnival, is getting lawsuits about using a popular port in Havana for their commercial Cruises, with no permissions. Carnival and the United States counter these claims by stating the port is in fact their port and is free use for America.

Is the debate over one little port a big deal? Well, yes. The relationship between Latin American countries and America has just only been recently reunited. The fighting and debates can cause major issues, and “rip the bandage off of an old wound.” So, to speak. America has done a lot of unethical and debatable things to Latin American countries and other countries. America abused their power and blatantly lied to its citizens on more than one occasion. The fact that new debates begin to grow on who owns a certain piece of land can increase to more than just a lawsuit here and there. America owes Latin America a lot, and as new claims from the president submerge, new debates and harsher opinions are coming from other countries and their leaders.

The state of leadership in this world is weak. Communication is horrible and there are many lies to cover up many historical truths. Getting along with one another has also been a historical problem that has resulted in catastrophic events like world wars and nuclear warfare. New peace and open minds need to begin to develop to find some sort of peace throughout all the world.

Check out the article I based this off here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48113549?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world/latin_america&link_location=live-reporting-story