National

Venezuela says it's sending more troops to its border with Colombia after an attack over the weekend left 3 Venezuelan soldiers dead and 10 wounded.

The big picture: The recent incident highlights the instability in the frontier between the two countries, where Colombian guerrilla groups like the  ELN — which Colombia says was responsible for the attack — have long operated. Sebastiana Barraez, a Venezuelan journalist who has reported on the situation for nearly two decades, says Venezuela's socialist government has had a mutually beneficial relationship with the rebel groups dating back to Hugo Chavez's time in office — but things are now getting tense.

According to Barraez, economic alliances have allowed for the enrichment of Venezuelan military and government officials, and the rebel groups. She says the groups have long done the "dirty work" for the regime, which would get a cut of the revenues from extortion and drug trafficking.

But the dynamic seems to be changing. The ELN has pushed into Venezuelan territory, including in gold mining areas. That led to a clash over the summer in which a Venezuelan Army lieutenant was killed.

Gold is of particular importance to Venezuela now as its oil revenues dry up. Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, said at a Brookings Institution event last week that the regime is trading gold illegally to gain much-needed cash.

What to watch: Venezuela has not accused the ELN of killing its soldiers, or taken a public position about the group's presence in Venezuelan territory. But the Venezuelan military could still decide to increase the pressure, Barraez says.

Go deeper: Map of where Colombian rebel groups are operating.

Bloodshed and gold in the frontier between Venezuela and Colombia

An ELN flag in the Colombian jungle. Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

World

Venezuela

Latin America and Latinos

Venezuela <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="says it&#x27;s sending more troops" data-vars-click-url="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-military/venezuela-adds-troops-near-colombian-border-after-three-soldiers-killed-idUSKCN1NA2GM?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=worldNews&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29" data-vars-content-id="0c4aa781-de0f-4046-936e-8f1ab4c80036" data-vars-headline="Bloodshed and gold in the frontier between Venezuela and Colombia" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-military/venezuela-adds-troops-near-colombian-border-after-three-soldiers-killed-idUSKCN1NA2GM?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=worldNews&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29" target="_blank">says it&#x27;s sending more troops</a> to its border with Colombia after an attack over the weekend left 3 Venezuelan soldiers dead and 10 wounded.The big picture: The recent incident highlights the instability in the frontier between the two countries, where Colombian guerrilla groups like the ELN — which Colombia says was responsible for the attack — have long operated. Sebastiana Barraez, a Venezuelan journalist who has reported on the situation for nearly two decades, says Venezuela&#x27;s socialist government has had a mutually beneficial relationship with the rebel groups dating back to Hugo Chavez&#x27;s time in office — but things are now getting tense.

Another U.S. neighbor is moving closer to approving the recreational use of marijuana after a ruling from Mexico's Supreme Court last week that establishes a precedent for courts across the country.

Why it matters: Fernando Belaunzarán, a former Mexican congressman and drug legalization activist, told Axios that the court's ruling that three plaintiffs must be allowed to use marijuana recreationally provides a "legal path" to legalization. While not everyone can produce, transport or consume marijuana, anyone who requests a permit to do so before the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks must receive it. The ruling puts pressure on the Mexican legislature to take action.

Not everyone is optimistic. Andrés Aguinaco, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, told El País America that the road is full of obstacles. He believes there are two scenarios: Either Congress eliminates all or some restrictions on marijuana use or it does nothing, in which case the future of legalization will lie with the court. It could force a change to the laws, but that would be an unprecedented step.

The bottom line: This is already the fifth decision in the same direction by the Supreme Court, an important threshold in establishing a national precedent. Mexico has yet to join Canada and Uruguay in legalizing marijuana use, but activists like Belaunzarán say that could change as early as next year.

The path toward legal pot in Mexico

A ruling by the Mexican Supreme Court tilts the scales.

Two men at a pro-marijuana rally in Guadalajara. Photo: Ulises Ruiz/AFP via Getty

Mexico

Another U.S. neighbor is moving closer to approving the recreational use of marijuana after a ruling from Mexico&#x27;s Supreme Court last week <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="that establishes a precedent" data-vars-click-url="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-court-sets-precedent-on-legal-recreational-pot-use/2018/10/31/8cd05030-dd69-11e8-8bac-bfe01fcdc3a6_story.html?utm_term=.93efdf07e060" data-vars-content-id="258fb3f1-f851-4c86-beab-1eb2acb8d2e8" data-vars-headline="The path toward legal pot in Mexico" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-court-sets-precedent-on-legal-recreational-pot-use/2018/10/31/8cd05030-dd69-11e8-8bac-bfe01fcdc3a6_story.html?utm_term=.93efdf07e060" target="_blank">that establishes a precedent</a> for courts across the country.Why it matters: Fernando Belaunzarán, a former Mexican congressman and drug legalization activist, told Axios that the court&#x27;s ruling that three plaintiffs must be allowed to use marijuana recreationally provides a &quot;legal path&quot; to legalization. While not everyone can produce, transport or consume marijuana, anyone who requests a permit to do so before the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks must receive it. The ruling puts pressure on the Mexican legislature to take action.

Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) says he is asking for President Trump's support for a plan that would include development aid from the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the Central American countries from which thousands of immigrants are departing for the United States.

Why it matters: AMLO is taking exactly the opposite approach from Trump, who today said the U.S. would begin cutting off foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — through which a migrant caravan has passed en route to the U.S.-Mexico border. AMLO argued that immigrants "do not leave for pleasure, it comes out of necessity."

Trump and Mexico's AMLO take opposing immigration stances

AMLO wants development aid, Trump wants to cut it

Mexican President EPN (left) and President-elect AMLO. Carlos Tischler/Getty Images

Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) says he is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="asking for President Trump&#x27;s support" data-vars-click-url="https://lopezobrador.org.mx/2018/10/21/en-mexico-habra-trabajo-para-mexicanos-y-centroamericanos-hermanos-migrantes-cuentan-con-nosotros-afirma-amlo-en-chiapas/" data-vars-content-id="35882d27-2212-4a95-8b47-88416fb93bd2" data-vars-headline="Trump and Mexico&#x27;s AMLO take opposing immigration stances" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://lopezobrador.org.mx/2018/10/21/en-mexico-habra-trabajo-para-mexicanos-y-centroamericanos-hermanos-migrantes-cuentan-con-nosotros-afirma-amlo-en-chiapas/" target="_blank">asking for President Trump&#x27;s support</a> for a plan that would include development aid from the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the Central American countries from which thousands of immigrants are departing for the United States.Why it matters: AMLO is taking exactly the opposite approach from Trump, who t<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="oday said the U.S. would begin cutting off" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/trump-tweets-foreign-aid-immigrant-caravan-5d8c64a5-42ef-4bc9-999f-8afeaf661c88.html" data-vars-content-id="35882d27-2212-4a95-8b47-88416fb93bd2" data-vars-headline="Trump and Mexico&#x27;s AMLO take opposing immigration stances" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/trump-tweets-foreign-aid-immigrant-caravan-5d8c64a5-42ef-4bc9-999f-8afeaf661c88.html" target="_self">oday said the U.S. would begin cutting off</a> foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — through which a migrant caravan has passed en route to the U.S.-Mexico border. AMLO argued that immigrants &quot;do not leave for pleasure, it comes out of necessity.&quot;

The environmental platform put forward by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's right-wing president-elect, could cause a rise in greenhouse gas emissions and a 268% spike in deforestation, according to a simulation from the National Institute of Space Studies in Brazil.

Why it matters: The simulation took into account policies like increased deforestation in Amazonian territory, non-protection of indigenous territory and an eventual exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, among others. Those scenarios worry environmental groups, with Greenpeace Brazil saying Bolsonaro could be "one of the last presidents of Brazil who can act in time to avoid irreversible damage to the planet." 

Brazil has made some progress in recent years in reducing deforestation, according to Prodes, a government environmental institution. But that progress is now at risk.

A recent report from Global Forest Watch (GFW) finds that Brazil experienced its second-highest rate of tree cover loss in 2017, a phenomenon related to fires in the region. Although the fires can be related to natural climate factors such as El Niño, research also shows a direct link between them and agricultural expansion.  

Christian Poirier, program director of Amazon Watch, told Axios he believes Bolsonaro's controversial rhetoric about minority groups is actually tied to his interest in removing environmental protections

“He attacks indigenous groups, or traditional communities such as 'Quilombolas' because they represent one of the main obstacles to execute his industrial expansionist plan," he says.

Why it matters: Brazil has the world's largest rainforest, and a weakening of environmental protections there can have irreversible consequences that affect people's lives — a recent severe drought in Sao Paulo, for example —and reach well beyond Brazil. Bolsonaro's policies could exacerbate those troubles. 

For example, Brazil's hydroelectric power plants generate 63% of the country's energy. Poirier points out that environmental degradation would jeopardize the stable rainfall patterns that make hydroelectric plants feasible, and gas or coal-powered plants would have to fill the gap. Alternatives such as wind or solar energy aren't yet in a position to meet Brazil's energy needs.

If Brazil cuts down more rainforest, it would cause an uptick in greenhouse gas emissions, since healthy forests are a major carbon "sink." Given recent warnings of the urgency of cutting emissions, deforestation could jeopardize the world's global warming goals. 

Bolsonaro could ramp up deforestation, environmentalists warn

His arrival leaves doubts related to Brazil's global warming policies.

A Bolsonaro supporter on election day. Photo: Phil Clarke Hill/In Pictures for Getty Images

Science

Global warming

Climate change

The environmental <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="platform" data-vars-click-url="https://flaviobolsonaro.com/PLANO_DE_GOVERNO_JAIR_BOLSONARO_2018.pdf" data-vars-content-id="b5f66ad1-90b1-4e3a-b1fc-76661931a679" data-vars-headline="Bolsonaro could ramp up deforestation, environmentalists warn" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://flaviobolsonaro.com/PLANO_DE_GOVERNO_JAIR_BOLSONARO_2018.pdf" target="_blank">platform</a> put forward by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil&#x27;s right-wing president-elect, could cause a rise in greenhouse gas emissions and a 268% spike in deforestation, according to a simulation from the National Institute of Space Studies in Brazil.Why it matters: The simulation took into account policies like increased deforestation in Amazonian territory, non-protection of indigenous territory and an eventual exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, among others. Those scenarios worry environmental groups, with Greenpeace Brazil <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="saying" data-vars-click-url="https://www.greenpeace.org/brasil/blog/a-responsabilidade-do-brasil-no-futuro-do-meio-ambiente/" data-vars-content-id="b5f66ad1-90b1-4e3a-b1fc-76661931a679" data-vars-headline="Bolsonaro could ramp up deforestation, environmentalists warn" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.greenpeace.org/brasil/blog/a-responsabilidade-do-brasil-no-futuro-do-meio-ambiente/" target="_blank">saying</a> Bolsonaro could be &quot;one of the last presidents of Brazil who can act in time to avoid irreversible damage to the planet.&quot;

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Sérgio Moro, the judge best known for his role in a major corruption investigation that sent Brazil's former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to jail, is leaving the judiciary to take over President-elect Jair Bolsonaro's Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Why this matters: This goes hand in hand with the policy that led the far-right leader to victory: fighting corruption. The decision is also controversial because Moro indirectly helped boost Bolsonaro's chances — before Lula was jailed he was leading the presidential polls.

"Lava Jato" judge to be Bolsonaro's Minister of Justice

Sergio Moro indirectly aided in Bolsonaro's election

Moro in 2016. Photo: Paulo Lisboa/Brazil Photo Press/LatinContent/Getty Images

Brazil

Sérgio Moro, the judge best known for his role in a major corruption investigation that sent Brazil&#x27;s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="to jail" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-22/it-s-jail-or-the-presidency-for-lula-as-key-brazil-ruling-looms" data-vars-content-id="d2109631-c253-4501-8daf-47e3583b7f2f" data-vars-headline="&quot;Lava Jato&quot; judge to be Bolsonaro&#x27;s Minister of Justice" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-22/it-s-jail-or-the-presidency-for-lula-as-key-brazil-ruling-looms" target="_blank">to jail</a>, is leaving the judiciary to take over President-elect Jair Bolsonaro&#x27;s Ministry of Justice and Public Security.Why this matters: This goes hand in hand with the policy that led the far-right leader to victory: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="fighting corruption." data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/jairbolsonaro/status/1058002067707609089" data-vars-content-id="d2109631-c253-4501-8daf-47e3583b7f2f" data-vars-headline="&quot;Lava Jato&quot; judge to be Bolsonaro&#x27;s Minister of Justice" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/jairbolsonaro/status/1058002067707609089" target="_blank">fighting corruption.</a> The decision is also controversial because Moro indirectly helped boost Bolsonaro&#x27;s chances — before Lula was jailed he was leading the presidential polls.

Diego Rodriguez

Stories

Bloodshed and gold in the frontier between Venezuela and Colombia

The path toward legal pot in Mexico

Bolsonaro could ramp up deforestation, environmentalists warn

"Lava Jato" judge to be Bolsonaro's Minister of Justice

Trump and Mexico's AMLO take opposing immigration stances