36 Hours In Rio De Janeiro

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/travel/what-to-do-in-rio-de-janeiro.html

Two Russian Planes Land In Venezuela

VENEZUELA

A Little Help

Two Russian military planes landed in Venezuela on Saturday loaded with dozens of soldiers and a large amount of equipment to “fulfill technical military contracts,” according to Russia’s Sputnik news agency.

A Venezuelan journalist said via Twitter that he estimated around 100 soldiers and 35 tons of equipment were unloaded from the two planes, the BBC reported.

The influx of support from Venezuela’s long-standing ally comes as the US, Europe and other Latin American nations are pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, and the beleaguered president has repeatedly suggested that Washington is attempting to orchestrate a coup to replace him with opposition leader Juan Guaido.

As the US has taken a more forceful line against Maduro, Moscow’s relationship with his government has deepened, the BBC said, suggesting Russia might see a similar opportunity in Venezuela to the one it has exploited in Syria by supporting President Bashar al Assad.

Declassification Diplomacy: Trump Administration to Turn Over Trove of Declassified Records to Argentina on Human Rights Violations Committed During Military Dictatorship | National Security Archive

Declassification Diplomacy: Trump Administration to Turn Over Trove of Declassified Records to Argentina on Human Rights Violations Committed During Military Dictatorship | National Security Archive

Brasil: No Quarter

BRAZIL No Quarter Former Brazilian President Michel Temer was arrested Thursday morning in connection with corruption investigations that began while he was still in office. Temer, 78, took over as interim president after the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff and held office from 2016 to 2018. Temer’s former Mining and Energy Minister Moreira Franco was also arrested, the BBC reported. Temer has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but his arrest was widely expected once he lost the legal protections provided to serving elected officials in Brazil. The televised perp walk came nearly a year after the country was obsessed with the trial of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and money laundering, the New York Times noted. Temer was the subject of at least 10 corruption probes in recent years, some of them associated with the notorious Operation Car Wash investigation involving the state oil company Petrobras. The flurry of accusations made him Brazil’s most unpopular leader in recent history and helped fuel the campaign of current President Jair Bolsonaro.

Venezuela-Deja Vu

VENEZUELA

Déjà Vu

US-Russian talks on resolving the political crisis in Venezuela ended Tuesday without making headway on the fate of President Nicolas Maduro.

With Moscow insisting that Maduro is Venezuela’s only legitimate leader and Washington seeking to replace him with opposition leader Juan Guaido, there’s an eerie sense of déjà vu to the discussions recalling US-Russia sparring over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“No, we did not come to a meeting of minds, but I think the talks were positive in the sense that both sides emerged with a better understanding of the other’s views,” said US special representative Elliot Abrams, according to Reuters.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reportedly warned the US not to intervene militarily, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.

Nevertheless, Abrams said the negotiations were productive and noted that both sides agreed “on the depth of the crisis.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature said Tuesday that members of the armed forces who abandon Maduro to facilitate his ouster will keep their rank and be reinstated once a new government is in place, Channel News Asia reported.

Brasil: Jair In Washington

BRAZIL

Inspiration and Perspiration

On his first official visit to Washington, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declared an end to what he described as decades of hostility toward the United States and said he would be actively seeking a new era of close relations.

“The American people have always been an inspiration for me,” said the unabashed admirer of US President Donald Trump, accordingto Reuters. “We have good relationships around the world, but I am extending my hands so that the relationship with the United States is increasingly more important.”

The Brazilian government on Monday waived visa requirements for visitors from the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan in a bid to increase tourism and, presumably, exercise a little soft power.

Love for Coca-Cola and Disney aside, however, Bolsonaro’s economy minister urged the US to invest more heavily in the country, and adopt more liberal trade policies toward Brazil, lest Washington lose out to big spenders in Beijing.

Brasil: Not Off Limits Now

BRAZIL

Not Off-limits Now

Two gunmen stormed into a Brazilian school Wednesday and shot dead at least five teenagers and two school officials before killing themselves.

The motives of the shooters – former pupils aged 17 and 25 – are not yet known, Reuters reported.

Before the attack on the Raul Brasil school in Suzano, a city on the eastern outskirts of metropolitan Sao Paulo, the pair shot and killed the owner of a car rental agency from which they stole a car.

Although Brazil tallies more annual homicides than any other country, school shootings remain rare, with the last one occurring in 2011. Gun laws are also strict, though it is not hard to get a gun illegally and President Jair Bolsonaro is working to make getting a licensed one easier as well.

The post-shooting debate echoed similar discussions in the United States, with some saying armed teachers might have limited the death toll and others arguing more guns would lead to more killings, Reuters said.

Panama: The Chinese Canal

The Chinese Canal

Panama is the one of the world’s hippest hot spots this year, Vogue recently exclaimed.

The Chinese government agrees.

The isthmus country is the exemplar of Chinese investment and influence in Latin America.

China operates ports at the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal, plans to build a cruise ship terminal on a former US Air Force base and almost built its embassy in a choice spot for monitoring military vessels in the canal before American officials objected, the St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote in a searing editorial.

Latin America is now the second-largest recipient of Chinese direct foreign investment, the Diplomat reported.

Some of those investments make perfect sense. Ozy wrote that Chile is the world’s biggest copper producer. China is the largest buyer. It makes sense the two countries would be close.

Other deals seem only to benefit China.

In Ecuador, China agreed to build a $19 billion dam and other infrastructure in exchange for 80 percent of the nation’s oil rather than cash payments. But the dam is faulty. Its construction led to scandals that have resulted in bribery charges and convictions of top Ecuadorian officials. The oil goes to Beijing all the same, however, robbing the poor South American country of its greatest source of foreign currency.

“The strategy of China is clear,” Energy Minister Carlos Pérez toldthe New York Times. “They take economic control of countries.”

That investment has political impacts, too.

Numerous Latin American countries have chosen to rescindrecognition of Taiwan, which Chinese leaders view as a breakaway province.

China and to a lesser extent Russia have extended billions in loans to Venezuela, an economic basket case. The US is pushing for opposition leader Juan Guaido to replace the corrupt and embattled President Nicolas Maduro. But CNBC reported that leaders in Beijing are backing Maduro.

In a Voice of America broadcast, Americas Society/Council of the Americas Vice President Eric Farnsworth said China was a “wild card” in the future of Venezuela. If Guaido can convince the Chinese he will pay back their debts, argued Farnsworth, they might leave Maduro high and dry.

That’s great for Guaido and potentially great for the people of Venezuela, but it’s not so great for Venezuelan sovereignty.

Chinese crime syndicates have also made inroads into Latin America, reported Diálogo, a news website run by the US military.

Foreign Policy suggested that the US counter Chinese investments with humanitarian aid, or “soft power.”

But it’s hard to believe the Latin Americans will take notice of anything but hard cash.

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