Hello, and welcome to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: Colombia’s President-elect Gustavo Petro causing concern within the Armed Forces. Cuba privatizes an island for tourism. Mexico’s latest violence figures.
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Petro signals push against Colombia’s military
The friendly photo op between Colombia’s President-elect Gustavo Petro and the former right-wing leader Álvaro Uribe was unlikely to be the end of the conflict between these political rivals, and the appointment of prosecutor Iván Velásquez as Mr. Petro’s future Defense Minister this week has shown why.
Why it matters. Defense Minister is a key office in Colombia, where military matters are at the top of the agenda following decades of armed conflict.
- The ministry presides over Colombia’s Armed Forces, as well as controlling Colombia’s National Police — which members of the new ruling coalition want to hand over to the Interior Ministry to separate it from the military.
- Mr. Petro has been one of Mr. Uribe and the military’s harshest critics throughout the last two decades of right-wing rule in Colombia,...