Press Review of the Americas

In the News: 1,500 US troops soon deployed to reinforce the Mexican border

U.S. officer patrol in Brownsville, Texas, May 2, 2023. © Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP

Text by: Margaux Ratayzyk

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In the United States, additional troops will soon be deployed to the border with Mexico to deal with a possible influx of migrants. The Pentagon, in charge of the US military forces, announced Tuesday, May 2, 2023 the upcoming dispatch of 1,500 soldiers. Authorities fear a surge in attempts to enter the United States after Covid-19 regulations are relaxed.

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The cordon that contained the migration policy of the United States will finally be undone," writes CNN en Español. "And no one seems totally prepared for what is happening" – in other words, for an increase in the number of migrants.

End of a strict migration protocol

Until now, Joe Biden's administration has used Title 42 to stem immigration. This is a strict protocol put in place by former President Donald Trump to deport asylum seekers and prevent migrants from entering the US, citing the Covid-related health emergency. But as of Thursday, May 11, 2023, title 42 will be lifted. The end of this measure augurs an increase in the number of attempts to cross the US border.

The soldiers soon to be deployed will not participate "in maintaining order", clarifies CNN en Español, which notes that these soldiers "are supposed to play a strictly administrative role".

Brazil: Eight corpses found on Yanomami lands

Eight people were found dead in Yanomami lands, in northern Brazil, federal police said Tuesday, May 2, 2023. This reserve is in the grip of a serious humanitarian crisis due to illegal mining.

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The bodies found are not those of indigenous people," says Correio Braziliense. The daily puts forward the hypothesis of a "response" of the Yanomami to the attack that killed one of their own and wounded two other indigenous people Saturday, April 29, 2023. In a statement, the police explained that they will carry out "forensic examinations to determine the causes of these deaths".

Since Saturday, five more deaths have been recorded in the region. Folha de São Paulo recalls that these events come "three months after the beginning of the federal government's operation to expel 20,000 invaders from the region". President Lula, elected last January, quickly began a fight against illegal gold miners on Yanomami indigenous lands. But for now, tensions persist.

Presidential election in Paraguay: protests against an "irregular" election

Barely elected president of Paraguay on Sunday, April 30, 2023, Santiago Peña already sees his legitimacy challenged. On Monday, May 1, 2023, supporters of the "anti-system" candidate Paraguayo Cubas demonstrated in Asunción, the capital, to denounce alleged irregularities in the vote. Clashes broke out with the police. Around 70 people across the country were arrested for disturbing public order or refusing to comply.

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Allegations of fraud spark protests ", headlined ABC Color on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, publishing the photo of a crowd of demonstrators, Paraguayan flags in hand.

In Asunción, protests near the High Court of Electoral Justice turned into a riot. Demonstrators even "tried to enter the building" of this electoral institution, reports the daily Última Hora.

In another article, the newspaper reported that protests were also "reported in other parts of the country," and even abroad. In Buenos Aires, in neighboring Argentina, which has a large community of Paraguayans, "some gathered to demand transparency in the election process" in Paraguay, notes Última Hora.

For its part, the electoral justice system excludes any fraud. The new president, Santiago Peña, called for calm.

Texas manhunt: Suspect in quintuple murder of neighbors arrested

In the United States, the man suspected of killing five of his neighbors in the state of Texas has been arrested, announced Tuesday, May 2, 2023 the American authorities. He had been wanted for several days.

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After a manhunt that stretched all the way to the Mexican border Francisco Oropesa, a Mexican national who has already been deported from the United States at least four times, was arrested. He was "a few miles from the scene of the shooting," near the small town of Cleveland, says the New York Times. Police report that Francisco Oropesa was hiding in the closet of a laundry room under a pile of laundry.

The suspect was practicing shooting in his garden

Last week, Francisco Oropesa's neighbors asked him to stop practicing shooting in his backyard because the noise prevents a baby from sleeping. The situation escalated: the man armed into his neighbors' house and killed five people, including a nine-year-old child. All were from Honduras.

The New York Timesreturns to the phenomenon of "indiscriminate gunfire" in Texas, which "make the inhabitants tremble": the daily explains that "the sound of guns - whether hunting, shooting training or celebration - is common in most of rural America. ". That's why, according to the New York Times, when a family member called for help to report that his neighbor was shooting, the police did not intervene immediately.

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