Carrots, Sticks, and Dignity
NEED TO KNOW
Carrots, Sticks, and Dignity
SOUTH/ CENTRAL AMERICA
When US President Donald Trump sent a plane of deported Colombians back to the country recently, Colombian President Gustavo Petro balked, saying he would only permit deportees to be returned “in a dignified manner.”
He turned back the flights.
US threats of high tariffs on Colombian goods and other punishments led to a standoff until Petro gave in, but only after the White House promised “dignified” returns in the future.
The affair served as a warning to the entire region, wrote the Los Angeles Times. “For Trump, the episode gave him a chance to show the rest of Latin America the risks they face if they do not fall in line with his deportation plan.”
As a result, other leaders in the region, such as those of Brazil and especially Mexico, are trying to avoid a showdown, choosing pragmatism instead.
For example, when a flight with deportees to Brazil landed in the city of Manaus in late January, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wasn’t happy.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the highest-ranking diplomat at the US embassy in Brasília soon after to demand that such an incident not be repeated.
The issue was how 88 deportees were forced to travel handcuffed on an aging US airplane in uncomfortable conditions. The Brazilian officials demanded – and were given, similar to the Colombians – assurances that such fights in the future would provide “dignified, respectful, and humane treatment” for the returning Brazilians.
“We had a very sober reaction,” said Brazilian Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski after the incident. “We do not want to provoke the American government.”
Still, it’s Mexico that has the most to lose. Colombia is a minor trade partner with the US and also isn’t a major source of migrants. But Mexico is not only the largest source of migrants to the US, the US is its largest trade partner – 80 percent of its exports head north.
As a result, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is playing it safe. “The relationship with the United States is special,” Sheinbaum said. “We are obliged to have a good relationship.”
Mexico might be feeling a little put upon since Trump became president again, however: “More than any other country, Donald Trump went after Mexico on his first day in office,” the Economist noted.
For example, the flurry of actions directed at Mexico included threatening tariffs on the country of 25 percent, ordering an investigation into trade imbalances, ordering its criminal gangs to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), declaring an emergency at the southern border, and reinstating policies that leave third-country migrants languishing on Mexican soil.
The migrant issue poses a particular problem for Mexico. Thousands who were hoping to cross the border are stuck in Mexico. Some border towns are worried that they will be overwhelmed with deported Mexicans – illegals are estimated to number about five million in the US – plus millions more who are not Mexican. Tijuana recently declared a state of emergency over the issue, CNN reported.
While Mexico accepted thousands of migrants deported from the US last month, one sticking point is the third-country nationals and who will pay for them. Sheinbaum has allowed some of those flights to land but said Mexico wouldn’t accept everyone, especially those foreign asylum-seekers who are part of the resumption of the “remain in Mexico” policy.
Still, in most cases, Sheinbaum is acquiescing to US demands or making it seem as if she is, the Washington Post noted.
Meanwhile, there is one US demand that has crossed a line for Mexico – renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Sheinbaum said when she encountered that executive order, she couldn’t help but laugh. “He says that he will call it the Gulf of America on its continental shelf,” Sheinbaum said, noting the gulf was named four centuries ago. “For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world, it is still the Gulf of Mexico.”
But she wasn’t joking when she sent Google a note afterward, telling the company to reverse the name change because one country could not unilaterally rename the gulf.
Maybe we should “rename North America as ‘América Mexicana,’” she added. “That sounds nice, no?”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Irreconcilable Differences
AUSTRIA
Austrian coalition talks collapsed Wednesday following disagreements between the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) over key posts and policies, raising the potential for early elections, Agence France-Presse reported.
On Wednesday, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl announced that the weeks of negotiations “were ultimately unsuccessful” despite trying to reach a series of concessions with the ÖVP.
Austria has been in political deadlock since the September parliamentary elections when the far-right group won the most votes but not enough for a majority.
The long-ruling ÖVP initially tried to form a ruling coalition with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the liberal New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS), but those talks failed in early January, prompting then-Chancellor Karl Nehammer to resign, Euractiv noted.
Afterward, the FPÖ and ÖVP attempted to form a coalition, which – if successful – would have led to Austria’s first far-right-led government since World War II.
But disagreements between the two parties emerged last week after Kickl insisted that his party should hold the interior and finance ministries – demands the ÖVP has rejected, among others.
Other points of contention included European Union policy, the treatment of asylum seekers, and the FPÖ’s stance on Russia – the far-right party has criticized EU sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The collapse of talks could result in two outcomes: The ÖVP could restart coalition talks with other parties, or it could call new elections.
Calling new elections would benefit the FPÖ because the far-right party is leading the polls with 35 percent, while the ÖVP has dropped to third place with 18 percent.
The Trade
EL SALVADOR
El Salvador offered to incarcerate criminals of any nationality deported from the US and house them in its mega-jail, a deal made the same day that the US offered to help El Salvador develop nuclear energy capabilities, CBS News reported.
According to El Salvador’s Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco, the civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed by El Salvador and the US aims at providing the country with “competitive” energy pricing while cutting its dependence on favorable geopolitics and oil prices.
Tinoco explained that the US’ experience in civil nuclear energy will provide El Salvador with the tools to train the expert personnel who will manage the technical and regulatory aspects of this “unprecedented” transition.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the nuclear agreement immediately after praising El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s offer to take individuals incarcerated in the US, including US citizens, as an “offer of friendship” that no other country ever made, the BBC reported.
Bukele said he would house convicted criminals in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) – a mega-jail capable of holding up to 40,000 people – charging the US a fee that would be “relatively low” for the country but “significant” enough to make El Salvador’s prison system sustainable.
El Salvador’s nuclear plans are in a very early stage. According to the World Nuclear Association, the US is the largest producer of nuclear energy. Nuclear supporters say that this resource is one of the most reliable and environmentally friendly energy sources, while critics believe it is dangerous, wasteful, and expensive.
Before receiving significant exports of US nuclear material and equipment, partner countries will need to sign a 123 Agreement intended to promote mutual nuclear nonproliferation between the United States and its partners.
Because El Salvador is not one of the eight countries able to enrich uranium and procure the necessary fuel for nuclear power, it has to rely on other countries for new nuclear technology.
El Salvador signed a similar agreement with Argentina last October.
Justice in Exile
BANGLADESH
The United Nations human rights office on Wednesday accused former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her administration of possible “crimes against humanity” over the government’s crackdown against the student-led demonstrations last year, Al Jazeera reported.
The accusations follow a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the protests in Bangladesh between July 1 and Aug. 15 last year, when the country was grappling with mass protests against Hasina’s 15-year rule.
The demonstrations initially began over a proposal to change public sector job quotas but later evolved into large-scale anti-government protests. Hasina and her ruling Awami League launched a crackdown against demonstrators that resulted in hundreds of deaths.
In its findings, the UN said the government oversaw a systematic crackdown on protesters in order “to ensure its continuation in power.” It added that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, imprisonment and infliction of other inhumane acts” took place.
The UN office also estimated that the number of deaths was “as many as 1,400 people,” noting that the majority were killed by Bangladeshi authorities and that up to 13 percent of those killed were children.
The figure is even higher than the interim government’s recent estimate of 834.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said some violations could amount to international crimes, potentially prosecutable by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to UN News.
Bangladesh is a member of the ICC, which handles cases such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
However, Hasina is currently in exile in India – which is not a member of the tribunal – and has defied arrest warrants to face trial in Bangladesh for crimes against humanity.
The UN report came as Bangladesh’s leading rights group Odhikar found that at least 12 people died in detention between August and December, with the cause of death for some victims listed as torture or gunshot wounds.
DISCOVERIES
Marking Water
Scientists studying Amazon river dolphins in central Brazil about a decade ago noticed some odd behavior.
The male dolphins would roll on their backs, expose their genitals above the water, and urinate in the air. Then, another male would put his face in the area where the urine landed.
The research team from Canada’s CetAsia Research Group then conducted a study to better understand why the dolphins – also known as botos or pink river dolphins – were doing this.
They conducted nearly 219 hours of observations and recorded 36 instances of males performing “aerial urination,” Popular Science reported.
They explained that one male would swim in a linear, circular, or zig-zag fashion while doing it. The other male – dubbed the “receiver” – would then swim to the landing spot and stick its snout into the stream. Sometimes the males would also chase the stream.
The perplexing findings provide some new insights into the role of urine in aquatic animals, the researchers noted.
Many land-based creatures, such as cats, dogs, and rats, use urine as a way to mark their territory, but also communicate other information, such as physical health and reproductive availability.
However, urine has been less studied in marine creatures. Still, previous research has detected instances of communication: For example, dominant male African cichlid fish interpret urine pulses for both reproductive and territorial information.
Lead author Claryana Araújo-Wang and her colleagues believe some form of communication is happening with the cetaceans.
“This behavior will require more research,” she told BBC Wildlife. “However, we hypothesize that aerial urination helps in advertising male quality in terms of social position or physical condition.”
The boto snouts have many bristles that could help them pick up signals and “decode” messages from their fellow dolphin’s urine.
Since it has only been observed in male botos, the researchers believe it may be a socially learned behavior.