Boz

The U.N.’s Latest Haiti Mission Has Familiar Problems—and a Major Blind Spot The Security Council may be setting up the new U.N. mission to Haiti for failure, just as it did to its predecessor.

The Security Council may be setting up the new U.N. mission to Haiti for failure, just as it did to its predecessor, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

The Trump-Appointed Diplomat Accused of Shielding El Salvador’s President From Law Enforcement A previously undisclosed State Department report and interviews reveal accusations that U.S. Ambassador Ronald D. Johnson shielded Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele from U.S. and Salvadoran law enforc...

NEW: A previously undisclosed State Department report and interviews reveal accusations that U.S. Ambassador Ronald D. Johnson shielded Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele from U.S. and Salvadoran law enforcement.

A map of how Latin American leaders respond to Trump - September 2025 My analysis is provided in both chart and map form for you to disagree with!

Updated chart and new map. boz.substack.com/p/a-map-of-h...

Top Trump Aides Push for Ousting Maduro From Power in Venezuela

It's not surprising that Rubio is pushing for regime change in Venezuela. But this article doesn't suggest they have put together any realistic plan for making it happen. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/u...

Chile Gears Up for Yet Another ‘Change Election’ Despite demands to overhaul Chile’s political system, no direction for change has emerged, nor is one likely after upcoming elections.

Despite demands to overhaul Chile’s political system, no direction for change has emerged, nor is one likely after upcoming elections, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

Also, imagine a scenario in which Maduro gives Trump the location of a Tren de Aragua camp inside of Venezuela and invites the US to hit it with air strikes. Absurd? Perhaps in a previous year, but not entirely impossible in the crazy timeline we currently live in.

U.S. preparing options for military strikes on drug targets inside Venezuela, sources say President Donald Trump has not approved any action yet, and the U.S. and Venezuela are talking through Middle Eastern intermediaries, sources told NBC News.

Probably true, but less consequential than most people think. The most likely scenario is that they'll hit some "TdA" sites, declare mission accomplished, and be done.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Amnesty International report accuses Ecuador of 'forced disappearances.' It couldn't come at a worse time for Noboa National protests kicked off Monday and have spread to the capital as indigenous federation CONAIE calls for a national strike

Report accuses Ecuador of 'forced disappearances.' It couldn't come at a worse time for Noboa

National protests kicked off Monday and have spread to the capital as indigenous federation CONAIE calls for a national strike

LATEST by me for PWS

Mexico’s Fuel Theft Scandal Is a Blessing in Disguise for Sheinbaum A major scandal offers Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum an opportunity to tackle graft and improve her political position.

A major scandal offers Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum an opportunity to tackle graft and improve her political position, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

They Helped Oust a Dictator. Now the New Regime Is Coming for Them.

Strong reporting in the NYT about the recent crackdown in Nicaragua that seems to indicate Rosario Murillo consolidating power around herself to prepare for a transition in government www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/w...

I have a clear personal preference for G, but the only correct answer is D, where half the world's population lives.

Argentina’s Voters Are Running Low on Patience With Milei A scandal allegedly involving a top adviser and his sister is the sort of political corruption that voters elected Milei to stop.

A scandal allegedly involving a top adviser and the president’s sister seems like the exact sort of political corruption that Argentinians elected Javier Milei to stop, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

Trump’s War on Drug Cartels Has Global Implications The war against Latin America’s drug cartels is part of Trump’s vision of the world divided into spheres of influence.

The Trump administration genuinely considers the U.S. to be at war with Latin America’s drug cartels.

As James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes, the perceived conflict is part of Trump’s broader foreign policy vision of the world.

If Milei's LLA had lost by five points in the province of BsAs, it would have been close enough. A 13 point loss points to real political trouble for Argentina's president.

Maduro doesn’t care about the eleven people who were killed on the boat or the legality of the operation. Ordering extrajudicial executions is part of his day job. Maduro only cares about how the video impacts regional public opinion.

Quoted in Bloomberg. Whether or not I think this naval operation was strategic, just, or legal, the political reality is that Trump is engaging in a militarized security populism that has plenty of supporters in this hemisphere.

Where do the left-wing oil populists go?

It points to a larger issue: the Trump administration doesn't use the right tools to solve problems. They have weakened the full spectrum of US power. Yes, there are a lot of naval ships in the southern Caribbean. Great for a one-off op; terrible for sustainable security and development.

Will Venezuela be the first target of Trump's new MAGA Monroe Doctrine? Trump "believes that if you are powerful, you should use your power," a former senior U.S. official told Newsweek.

Tom Shannon in Newsweek: "If there is a new Monroe Doctrine, it's kind of emasculated in the sense that the president is not bringing what you need to the game in order to win,"
www.newsweek.com/will-venezue...

Trump sent ships to the Caribbean to blockade the Panama Canal. All the talk about Venezuela could be a decoy to accomplish the mission of retaking the Canal that he promised in his inaugural address.

Crazy theory? Sure. But not much crazier than the idea of invading Venezuela.

Marco Rubio will head to Latin America again as Trump prioritizes immigration Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading back to Latin America next week for visits to Mexico and Ecuador.

Rubio going to Mexico and Ecuador next week. apnews.com/article/rubi...

I keep reading interviews & comments from Tuto Quiroga in international media outlets. He's spending more time messaging to US investors than he is to Bolivian voters. It would be a smart move for a leftist candidate (who needs stability around market concerns), but it's a waste of Quiroga's time.

The Economist quotes my newsletter. www.economist.com/the-americas...

Messi’s Favorite Drink Is Rocked After Milei Ends Price Controls For decades, yerba mate farmers benefited from state intervention. But now under a libertarian president many growers are struggling to survive.

The headline is pure clickbait, but the article does a good job explaining the economics of the yerba mate industry in Argentina. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

After a Rebuke to the Left, Bolivia Could Face a Troubled Transition The MAS party lost, but the real test for the country will be the coming transition of power and governing beyond that.

After the long-dominant MAS party imploded in recent elections, Bolivia’s opposition now faces a new test: the coming transition of power and governing beyond that.

Columnist James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes:

Will the US invade Venezuela? - August 2025 The short answer is no. The long answer in this newsletter takes about 2,000 words.

Today's newsletter tries to answer variations of the questions I was asked all last week.
boz.substack.com/p/will-the-u...

Addressing Illegal Gold Mining in the Western Hemisphere: New Approaches for U.S. Policy Read FACT’s latest report drawing on examples from Latin American countries to make the case that the crisis of illegal gold mining has become too large for the United States to ignore.

New report published by the FACT coalition about illegal gold mining thefactcoalition.org/report/illeg...

12 points on Bolivia's election And it's not even over yet

Tried to collect all my Bolivia thoughts including a few I made in various social media posts here in one newsletter available to everyone (no paywall). boz.substack.com/p/12-points-...

The Specter of Political Violence Once Again Haunts Colombia The assassination of Miguel Uribe Turbay is rattling Colombia, which is already on edge ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The assassination of Miguel Uribe Turbay is rattling Colombia, which was already politically polarized and on edge ahead of next year’s presidential election, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

Paz benefited by turning himself into a box for Bolivia's protest vote. He's not part of the MAS, but he's also not fully part of the rightwing political elite who spent the past two decades running against the MAS. Many people are voting for him as a way of voting against other candidates.