South America News

The Daily Signal reports on South America with conservative analysis of regional politics, socialist movements, economic crises, cartel violence, Chinese influence, Brazilian elections, Argentine reforms, Colombian conflicts, and U.S. policy toward this critical hemisphere neighbor.
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  • A Successful US Immigration Policy Would Send Venezuelans Home to Rebuild: The BorderLine

    In July, the Biden-Harris administration extended and “redesignated” something called Temporary Protected Status for Somalis who are present in the U.S. illegally, allowing them to stay here until 2026. Over 700,000 Venezuelan nationals also enjoy this immigration status or are eligible for it under this presidential administration, and more about them later. Somalia got its…
    Simon Hankinson
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  • ‘Feels Like I’m Back in Latin America,’ Peruvian Immigrant Tells GOP Convention Delegates

    It’s not just members of Congress and other politicians or TV personalities speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. So-called everyday Americans are taking the big stage in the speaker lineup too. Peruvian immigrant Vanessa Faura told former President Donald Trump and delegates gathered in the convention hall Monday night about her experience as…
    Olivia Pero
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  • Trump Verdict Makes NYC ‘Venezuela on the Hudson’

    It’s hard to adequately describe what happened to Donald Trump in Venezuela-on-the-Hudson. Outrageous? A travesty of justice? A devasting blow to the sanctity of our justice system and its reputation for fairness and nonpartisanship? An American repetition of the Soviet show trials of the 1930s? It’s all of those things. And you don’t have to…
    Hans von Spakovsky
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  • Agents Arrest 10 Members of Infamous Venezuelan Prison Gang at Southern Border

    The Border Patrol announced the arrests of 10 foreign nationals affiliated with an international prison gang over the Memorial Day weekend, highlighting the threat emanating from the U.S.-Mexico border. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced the arrest of the 10 individuals affiliated with Tren de Aragua, an international criminal organization originating in Venezuela whose members…
    Jason Hopkins
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  • Feds Shell Out Thousands on Computer Lessons for LGBTQ Refugees, Fostering ‘Economic Inclusion’ in Latin America

    The federal government has used taxpayer dollars to fund services for LGBTQ refugees in Latin America over the past couple of years, federal grants show. The State Department and the Inter-American Foundation, an independent federal agency, funded a trio of grants between August 2021 and October 2023 aimed at bolstering Costa Rica’s status as a haven for…
    Robert Schmad
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  • Venezuela Is Exporting Its Violent Crime Problem to US, Thanks to Biden

    Violent crime is going down in Venezuela just as the United States has been hit with a rash of high-profile violent crimes by illegal immigrants.  It’s not hard to figure out why. The killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens, Georgia, has become the latest and most prominent case of an American…
    Jarrett Stepman
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  • Georgia Bill Targets Lax Immigration Enforcement After Laken Riley Slaying, Allegedly at Hands of Venezuelan Immigrant

    EDITOR’S NOTE Nov. 20, 2024: The original version of this story was published in February. Since then, Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Georgia, signed an amended version of HB1105 in May. A judge convicted Jose Ibarra of Laken Riley’s murder on Wednesday. The Georgia House of Representatives is considering a bill that would force sheriffs to report…
    Tyler O’Neil
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  • Are We the Chump on the Latin American Block?: The BorderLine

    The interests of our Latin American friends (and enemies) are not the same as ours when it comes to immigration. They want to get foreign migrants out of their territories while making money. They also want their own access to the U.S. labor market—for example, Mexicans working in the U.S. sent back $55 billion in…
    Simon Hankinson
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  • Biden Admin Would Rather Align With Marxists Than Pro-Western Leaders in Latin America

    Juan Gonzalez, who led the Biden administration’s curious policy of embracing anti-U.S. Marxist leaders in Latin America while making enemies of their pro-Western counterparts, has resigned his post as the National Security Council’s top hemispheric adviser. Gonzalez (no relation) will depart President Joe Biden’s National Security Council in March to spend more time with his children, an anonymous official told Bloomberg on…
    Mike Gonzalez
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  • The BorderLine: Will Biden Going Soft on Venezuelan Dictator Lead to Increase in Immigrants to US?

    The BorderLine is a weekly Daily Signal feature examining everything from the unprecedented illegal immigration crisis at the border to immigration’s impact on cities and states throughout the land. We will also shed light on other critical border-related issues like human trafficking, drug smuggling, terrorism, and more. ——————————————————— The Biden administration announced a deal to ease economic sanctions…
    Simon Hankinson
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  • Why Did Biden Choose Venezuela Over Canada for Oil?

    The United States needs more heavy oil for a whole series of reasons. President Joe Biden could have chosen to have that oil come from a close friend and ally, environmentally conscious Canada, or from one of the world’s nastiest regimes, Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela, which doesn’t give a toss about the environment. Which did he…
    Brian Lee Crowley
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  • ‘We Have 2 Different Latin Americas, Moochers and Looters’

    There’s a socialist wave in Latin America. Mexico, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil recently elected leftists. These politicians at least distance themselves from thugs like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, but all propose socialism-lite policies giving government more control over more people. Why don’t people in Latin America learn from the mistakes of the past?…
    John Stossel
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  • South American Partners Turning Away From US and Toward China, Iran

    Earlier this month, Beijing’s state-owned China Southern Power Grid announced the acquisition of nearly $3 billion in assets of Peru’s electric power grid, giving China control of at least 70% of Peru’s electric distribution market. The deal is remarkable, among other reasons, because it follows months of violent protests that have rocked Peru since December…
    Mateo Haydar
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  • Venezuela Is Bizarre Piece of Biden’s Incoherent Energy Policy Puzzle

    Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the Biden administration announced an easing of sanctions on Venezuela. With the midterm elections safely behind President Joe Biden, the administration likely hoped that Americans would be too busy finishing their turkey dinners to notice the administration’s latest turkey—a giveaway to Venezuela.   The Treasury Department issued limited sanctions relief…
    Katie Tubb
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  • China, Russia Creeping Further Into West as Major Latin American Nations Reject US. Where’s Biden’s Strategy?

    Soon after Brazil’s leftist former president, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, secured a non-consecutive third term in October, the White House rushed to embrace the incoming government. With the addition of Brazil, a new bloc of Latin American countries that were once reliable U.S. partners will now be governed by presidents determined to expand ties…
    Mateo Haydar
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  • A Venezuelan Man of Mystery Helps Tell Story of America’s Open Border

    EAGLE PASS, Texas—Meet Luis Antunez, your new neighbor from (probably) Venezuela. He’s a 40-year-old trader from Tucupita. Or a policeman from Puerto Carreno, or a criminal from Caracas. We may never know for sure. I found Antunez’s ID card the week before last on the banks of the Rio Grande here in Eagle Pass while…
    Simon Hankinson
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  • Miss Venezuela 1984, Now a US Conservative, Reflects on Her Country’s Decline

    “I was born in paradise,” Carmen Maria Montiel says of her home country of Venezuela. But “bureaucracy and corruption” turned her homeland into a nation she hardly recognized.  Montiel, a journalist, writer, political activist, and Miss Venezuela 1984, says her home country was destroyed by crippling economic policies and poor immigration regulations. “It’s exactly what…
    Virginia Allen
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  • How China Is Chief Beneficiary of ‘Marxist Hurricane’ Sweeping South America

    Colombians last month elected a far-left former terrorist as their new president. Gustavo Petro, a Marxist ideologue who was a part of the M-19 guerrilla organization, is the most recent in an ever-expanding list of far-left leaders winning elections in South America. He is set to take office Aug. 7. Traditionally, Colombia has been a staunch…
    Timothy Doescher
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  • How Socialist Policies Destroyed His Home Country of Venezuela

    Two decades ago, Venezuela was a thriving country. Today, Venezuela is ranked 176th on The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, just above North Korea.  How did Venezuela fall from prosperity so quickly? How did socialist policies affect the nation’s economy? Is there any hope for its future?   Jorge Galicia, a refugee from Venezuela and…
    Virginia Allen
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  • Maduro Carries on Chavez’s Legacy As Venezuela Circles Drain in Downward Spiral

    For much of the 20th century, Venezuela was the poster child for the successful South American republic—that is, democratic when its neighbors were despotic, and prosperous when its neighbors were poor. It was the wealthiest Latin American country, and it’s now the poorest, after its adoption of communism and one-man rule. How could a country…
    J. William Middendorf
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